Changing Fate: Death or Crippling

Dai Mubai suddenly looked up, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, his voice sharp and panicked. "No, I didn't!"

His flustered tone revealed his true thoughts.

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with disbelief as she looked at Dai Mubai. She never imagined that her fiancé, the man to whom she had been betrothed since childhood, actually hated her deep down.

An indescribable chill instantly swept through her limbs and bones.

Looking at his flustered appearance, Lin Kong curled his lips into a cold smile and continued, "So you ran away! You abandoned Zhu Zhuqing and fled to the Shrek Academy alone. You wanted to give up, you didn't want to be that whetstone to be manipulated anymore, right? These past few years at the Shrek Academy, you've been living for yourself, living very freely, right?"

Then what?

Lin Kong didn't finish his sentence, but the unfinished words deeply captivated Dai Mubai's heart.

Dai Mubai's gaze involuntarily turned to Zhu Zhuqing, and the hatred in his eyes could no longer be concealed, surging out like a flood bursting its banks.

Zhu Zhuqing's face turned deathly pale, and her body swayed, almost unable to stand. If it weren't for the tree trunk supporting her, she would probably have collapsed to the ground long ago.

" Zhu Zhuqing is here. She was tricked into coming here. She's here to force you to continue being a whetstone, Dai Mubai. Am I right?" Lin Kong's voice was like the last straw, breaking Dai Mubai's taut nerves.

Dai Mubai completely broke down. He clutched his head, squatted on the ground, and screamed like a madman, "No, no... it's not like that!"

Zhu Zhuqing could no longer hold on. Her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground, covering her face with her hands. The pent-up grievances, despair, and heart-wrenching pain of many years finally erupted into a heart-wrenching sob, echoing through the forest. "I... I was actually... I was tricked into coming here to force him..."

This is why Zhu Zhuqing was able to get here despite being pursued.

Lin Kong's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife, piercing through Dai Mubai's heart, which he had been trying to conceal. " Dai Mubai, stop deceiving yourself. Realize your own heart. You love Zhu Zhuqing? You have romantic feelings for her? Don't be ridiculous!"

As he spoke, he even let out a low, sarcastic chuckle.

"You two have been separated since childhood and have hardly spent any time together. The so-called 'engaged couple' is just a title imposed on you by your families. Every time you meet, what surges deep inside you isn't concern for her, but resentment—resentment that she can't be stronger? Resentment that she can't be a more capable assistant to you like her sister? Subconsciously, haven't you felt countless times that she's holding you back, making your 'path to the throne' even more difficult?"

"Stop talking! I told you to stop talking!" Dai Mubai seemed to have his most painful wound touched, painfully covering his ears and screaming almost in despair, trying to block out this cruel judgment.

Lin Kong's words brutally exposed the dark thoughts he himself didn't even want to think about, laying them bare in broad daylight.

"Waaaaah..." On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing could no longer hold on. She slowly squatted down, buried her face in her arms, and her suppressed sobs finally turned into a complete breakdown.

It turns out that he was not only a pawn abandoned by his family, but also, in the eyes of his only "companion," perhaps just a burden... The pain brought by this realization was more piercing and heart-wrenching than the simple fear of death.

Lin Kong looked at the two people in front of him, one on the verge of madness and the other completely broken down, sighed silently, walked to Zhu Zhuqing's side, took out a clean robe from his Storage Soul Tool, and gently draped it over her trembling shoulders.

Then, he turned back to Dai Mubai, his tone returning to calm, yet with certainty. " The Hell White Tiger duo is only 'qualified' to participate in the competition for the throne. But if they don't want to compete, there are countless ways to break free from this shackle."

Dai Mubai's eyes flickered violently, and his breathing became more rapid.

To break free? He longed for it too!

Zhu Zhuqing also raised her tear-filled face, looking at Lin Kong, her voice hoarse with a final hope. "What... way?"

Lin Kong looked directly into Dai Mubai's eyes and slowly stated the first, and most cruel, option. "The simplest one is to 'die.' The competing combination will naturally cease to exist."

Dai Mubai felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively took a half-step back, staring warily at Lin Kong: "You... you want to kill me?"

Lin Kong raised an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Dai Mubai paused, recalling Lin Kong's character and strength. If he truly wanted to kill, he would have had ample opportunity just now. He shook his head with difficulty. "... No."

However, Lin Kong immediately followed up with an even more piercing question, his tone chillingly calm. "So, Dai Mubai, have you ever considered... killing Zhu Zhuqing?"

"Ah--!!" Dai Mubai screamed as if stung by a scorpion, clutching his ears tightly with both hands, crouching down, and almost pleadingly screaming, "Stop talking! Please stop talking! Stop talking!!!"

Zhu Zhuqing's crying stopped, leaving only her body trembling uncontrollably.

Lin Kong observed their reactions, his tone remaining calm, yet revealing the cold truth. "If you don't choose the extreme method of killing, there are still many ways. Cripple, have your Martial Soul destroyed, absorb a completely wrong Soul Ring that ruins your Martial Soul's potential... There are plenty of ways to 'reasonably' lose your eligibility to compete."

His gaze locked onto Dai Mubai again. " Dai Mubai, you obtained your Third Soul Ring here. You clearly had the opportunity to choose a seemingly powerful but actually conflicting Martial Soul Origin Soul Skill that would severely limit your future development and 'actively' cripple yourself, thus withdrawing from the competition. But you didn't. You chose the most suitable Soul Skill, the one that would best enhance your combat power."

Dai Mubai stopped screaming, looked up at Lin Kong, his eyes filled with complex emotions—confusion and resentment. "Why did I cripple myself? I just wanted to become stronger!"

"Yes, good question." Lin Kong nodded, then his icy gaze seemed to pierce through people's hearts, "So, by the same logic—have you ever thought about, or subconsciously hoped for... crippling Zhu Zhuqing?"

He took a step forward, his voice not loud, but it resounded like thunder in Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's ears:

"I'm not sure if you ever actually considered killing her. But the option of 'disabled her,' this more 'gentle,' more 'feasible,' the thought that could 'free you' or at least lighten your 'burden'... Can you honestly say you've never thought about it, in some corner of your heart?"

The air was deathly silent.

Only Dai Mubai's heavy breathing and Zhu Zhuqing's suppressed gasps could be heard.