Zhu Zhuqing

Biodata

Power Progression

Background / History

Star Luo Succession Struggle

Zhu Zhuqing belongs to the Star Luo Empire’s Spirit Cat Lineage, whose marriage alliances connect it to the imperial succession. She and Dai Mubai are matched through their families rather than mutual affection. The struggle places her life at risk: she understands defeat to mean death, while Zhu Zhuyun later offers survival only through the crippling of her Soul Power 8 11 108.

She initially comes to Shrek Academy for Dai Mubai and the opportunity to grow strong enough to survive. After falling in love with Lu Ning, her goal changes from preserving her own life to securing a future with him. She continues training even after becoming Shrek’s strongest student apart from Lu Ning 69.

Choosing Lu Ning’s Instruction

During the teaching wager at Shrek, Zhu Zhuqing decisively chooses Lu Ning. She has already witnessed his strength and values a teacher’s ability to make her stronger over reputation or theoretical authority 8.

She accepts the risks of his whale-rubber method, but prepares a small piece of thousand-year whale rubber incorrectly and suffers dangerous side effects. Lu Ning helps her recover; the resulting improvement is limited by the small quantity and improper preparation 11 12 13.

During their Star Dou Great Forest expedition, Lu Ning gives her a Thunder Shadow Leopard left leg bone. Its absorption brings her to Level 30, after which they hunt the Soul Beast needed for her third ring. She initially conceals the bone from Ning Rongrong because knowledge of such treasures can invite murder 23 24 25 26.

Defeating Tang San

Wanting practical experience—and determined to answer Yu Xiaogang’s mockery of Lu Ning—Zhu Zhuqing arranges a match against Tang San. She pays the Soto Great Soul Arena’s staff 30,000 Gold Soul Coins to secure the pairing, accepting that restrictions on large bets will prevent them from profiting through wagers 28 29.

She evades Blue Silver Entanglement, cuts through Spider Web Restraint with Netherworld Slash, and forces Tang San onto the defensive. Yu Xiaogang orders him to concede before he uses the Eight Spider Lances. Zhu Zhuqing wins without revealing her own Soul Bone skill, but acknowledges that Tang San also withheld his trump card 31.

Yu Xiaogang subsequently accuses her of using fallen cultivation methods because she reached Level 30 in twenty days. She denies the accusation and refuses to answer to someone she does not recognize as her teacher. Lu Ning defends her, although his disclosure of her Soul Bone prompts Flender to warn about the danger of attracting bone hunters 32 33.

Heaven Dou Training

Against the Imperial Fighting Team, Zhu Zhuqing is assigned to reach the healer Ye Lingling. She finds an opening in Tang San’s defense, breaks through his Blue Silver Grass, and charges toward her target 42 43.

After Shrek’s relocation, she benefits from Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s Mimicry Cultivation Environment and extensive resources. Lu Ning also sends her the Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone through Dugu Yan. By his return, she is Level 43 and can easily defeat a Soul Ancestor instructor 59 61 80.

Tournament and Rejection of the Clan’s Rules

In the First Team’s match against Heaven Dou’s Second Team, Zhu Zhuqing uses clones to trap the opposition, allowing Ma Hongjun’s flames to finish the battle. Later, she accepts Lu Ning’s Netherworld Skull and promises to obtain five rings before the Finals 93 99.

At the Finals, she insists on facing Zhu Zhuyun herself. Her newly revealed Soul King rank surpasses her sister’s Level 47. She overwhelms Zhu Zhuyun in their opening collision, then combines Netherworld Shadow Clone with Netherworld Slash. Soul Emperor referees intervene to shield Zhu Zhuyun and award Shrek the victory 108 109.

Before the final team match, Lu Ning arranges for Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, and Dugu Yan to leave Spirit City with Flender and Bai Baoshan. Zhu Zhuqing tells her sister that she loves Lu Ning, never loved Dai Mubai, and no longer cares whether she retains the Zhu surname. Zhu Zhuyun warns that the clan will punish her defiance; later discussions identify expulsion and removal from the clan register as the best outcome she can expect, not a punishment already confirmed 110 114.

Appearance

• Build: Tall and slender, with long legs; she stands over 1.7 meters tall during the early forest expedition 24.
• Complexion: Described as a healthy moon-white, associated in the narration with her Martial Soul’s connection to moonlight 13.
• Clothing: Frequently wears a tight-fitting black outfit 32 80.
• Expression: Usually maintains an icy gaze and reserved expression 31 61.
• Martial Soul possession: Manifests black cat ears and a cat tail 86.

Personality

Zhu Zhuqing’s discipline begins as a survival strategy. She respects demonstrated strength, accepts that advancement involves risk, and refuses to waste opportunities that might help her escape her family’s succession struggle. Her upbringing also leaves her convinced that strength is the foundation on which rules depend 8 11 66.

Her reserve conceals strong loyalty. She remembers Yu Xiaogang’s insults toward Lu Ning and chooses to defend him through victory over Tang San rather than argument. Even so, she recognizes weaknesses in her own training and actively seeks practical combat experience 28.

She is fastidious and uncomfortable discussing private matters. Despite her closeness to Lu Ning, she initially fears their relationship becoming academy gossip. She also hesitates to accept valuable Soul Bones because she feels indebted to him 24 47 99.

Her relationship with Lu Ning does not erase her determination to act for herself. When Zhu Zhuyun takes the stage, she rejects his offer to fight in her place and demands the opportunity to confront her sister personally 108.

Abilities & Skills

Nether Civet Martial Soul

A feline Martial Soul suited to agility-based combat 17 18.

• Grants excellent night vision, allowing her to locate Lu Ning in an unlit forest campsite 17.
• Martial Soul possession produces cat ears and a tail and strengthens her physique 86 87.
• Shares its lineage and core techniques with Zhu Zhuyun’s Hell Spirit Cat 108 109.

First Soul Skill: Hell Stab

A rapid charging attack used by both sisters 109.

• Accelerates her movement during close-range engagements 31.
• In their direct clash, Zhu Zhuqing’s superior physique and Soul Power interrupt Zhu Zhuyun’s attack and dislocate her arms 109.

Third Soul Skill: Netherworld Slash

Releases a crescent-shaped cutting radiance from her fingertips, accompanied by moonlike imagery 31.

• Cuts through Tang San’s Spider Web Restraint 31.
• Can be performed simultaneously by her shadow clones 109.
• Her combined attack leaves cuts on the hands of the Soul Emperor referees who block it 109.

Fourth Soul Skill: Netherworld Shadow Clone

Creates several clones that can surround opponents and execute coordinated attacks 109.

• Used to trap Heaven Dou Royal Academy’s Second Team 93.
• Combines with Netherworld Slash to attack Zhu Zhuyun from multiple positions 109.

Enhanced Physical Combat

Her Soul Bones and high-age fifth ring give her physical capabilities beyond those of ordinary agility specialists at the same rank 109.

• Her kicks impress Feng Xiaotian by exceeding both his speed and the force of his own attacks 103.
• The Thunder Shadow Leopard leg bone lets her kicking power rival same-level Power Attack System Soul Masters, apart from exceptional pure-strength specialists 103.
• Her thirty-thousand-year fifth ring further strengthens the physique that originally enabled its absorption 109.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Thunder Shadow Leopard left leg bone — fifty thousand years: Given by Lu Ning. Strengthens her constitution, helps her reach Level 30, and grants an attack that releases crescent-shaped energy from her leg 23 24 25.
• Netherworld Skull — fifty thousand years: Given by Lu Ning despite her initial refusal. Its absorption brings her to Level 50; together with her leg bone, it supports her absorption of a thirty-thousand-year fifth ring 99 100 109.
• Narcissus Jade Muscle Bone: An immortal herb supplied by Lu Ning through Dugu Yan. Contributes to her advancement from Level 34 to Level 43; she later states that the herb gave her more than five ranks overall 59 61 80.
• Wine Gourd cultivation aid: Regularly uses Lu Ning’s wine to improve cultivation. She credits it as part of her rapid progress 26 38 68.
• Whale rubber: Used to strengthen her body and increase future Soul Ring absorption capacity. Her first attempt produces dangerous side effects because she prepares it improperly 12 13 26.

Relationships

• Lu Ning — Teacher and romantic partner. He supplies cultivation resources, protects her from accusations, and supports her decision to confront Zhu Zhuyun. She ultimately chooses a life with him over her arranged marriage and clan standing 8 32 69 108 110.
• Zhu Zhuyun — Older sister and succession rival. Zhu Zhuqing believes she would have died at her sister’s hands had she remained home. Their hostility softens during their farewell after Zhu Zhuqing makes clear that she no longer seeks the throne 108 110.
• Dai Mubai — Partner in an arranged family marriage, not a romantic attachment. She explicitly states that she never had feelings for him 8 110.
• Ning Rongrong — Fellow student under Lu Ning and close friend. Zhu Zhuqing welcomes her back to Shrek, reassures her about Lu Ning’s feelings, and invites her to stay in her room 8 80.
• Tang San — Fellow Shrek student and arena opponent. Defeating him becomes Zhu Zhuqing’s way of vindicating Lu Ning’s instruction, though she recognizes that their match ends before either uses a Soul Bone trump card 28 31.
• Yu Xiaogang — Hostile instructor whose authority she rejects. He treats her rapid advancement as evidence of fallen cultivation; she denies the charge and refuses to recognize him as her teacher 32.
• Dugu Yan — Delivers her immortal herb and reassures her that Lu Ning is safe in Medicine Valley 59.

Notable Quotes

“On the road to becoming stronger, you always have to pay a price.” 11

“I want to fight the next match myself.” 108

“I stopped caring long ago whether my surname is Zhu.” 110