On the Douluo Continent, everyone waited in anticipation...
At that moment, the illusory figures on the Heavenly Screen finally stopped flickering, and that majestic, icy voice rang out across heaven and earth once more, like a divine decree.
[Ding! First selected participant: Zhu Zhuyun of the Star Luo Empire's Zhu Family (Level 38 Soul Elder)]
In the Zhu Family residence, Star Luo Empire.
A young woman who bore a seventy-to-eighty-percent resemblance to Zhu Zhuqing, but with greater maturity and cold severity between her brows, abruptly raised her head toward the Heavenly Screen, surprise written all over her face.
She was none other than Zhu Zhuqing's elder sister, Zhu Zhuyun.
It's actually me?
As Zhu Zhuyun thought this, she looked toward her father, Zhu Hongfeng, and her fiancé, Dai Weisi, who were drinking and chatting beside her in the night.
Both men wore equally stunned expressions.
Zhu Hongfeng was the first to recover. He looked at his eldest daughter, his eyes full of solemnity.
He said gravely, "Zhu Yun, it's just as well that it's you!"
"Then I have a task for you!"
Zhu Zhuyun immediately bowed slightly. "Father, please give me your instructions."
Zhu Hongfeng glanced at Dai Weisi beside him, who carried himself with composure and wore a smile, then said to Zhu Zhuyun, "Once you reach the Shrouding the Heavens World, if possible..."
"Bring back that wretched girl who has utterly disgraced our Zhu Family!"
At this point, Zhu Hongfeng added a particular reminder. "Remember, you must bring her back alive and safe!"
"...I intend to take her with me to personally beg His Majesty's forgiveness! If she's missing an arm or a leg, I fear she would offend His Majesty's eyes."
"Father, I understand." Zhu Zhuyun nodded.
Zhu Hongfeng relaxed a little, then silently glanced at Dai Weisi again before giving Zhu Zhuyun another reminder.
This time, his tone grew even graver, even carrying a hint of warning. "And another thing..."
"Even when you reach the Shrouding the Heavens World, you must always remember who you are and what your status is! Don't imitate Zhu Zhuqing. She has dragged our Zhu Family's reputation through the dirt!"
At his words, Zhu Zhuyun felt a little worried about her younger sister.
On the surface, however, she gave a cold laugh, her tone filled with disdain.
"Rest assured, Father. How could I be a shameless bitch like Zhu Zhuqing? She actually intends to become a maid to a native of another world. How laughable!"
Dai Weisi looked at Zhu Hongfeng then and said with a confident smile:
"Rest assured, Father-in-law. I trust Zhu Yun."
"Speaking of which, Zhu Zhuqing's choice... is understandable. You needn't blame her too harshly."
Dai Weisi shifted his tone, his contempt undisguised. "After all, Zhu Zhuqing's fiancé is Dai Mubai, a weak, useless piece of trash who only thinks of running away and lingering in brothels."
"It's hardly surprising that she would seek another way out."
Zhu Hongfeng nodded, a trace of a smile appearing on his face. "You are right, Your Highness."
Then he looked at Zhu Zhuyun again. "Zhu Yun, of all my daughters, you put my mind most at ease. I trust you as well."
"I will not disappoint you or His Highness, Father!"
Yet although she said this, Zhu Zhuyun's heart was filled with curiosity.
Just what had Zhu Zhuqing seen through that jade slip back then that made her choose to become a maid to a native of that world?
Although Zhu Zhuyun had not spent much time being close to her younger sister, since they had to put on a hostile front within the family,
she actually understood the pride and stubbornness in her younger sister's heart very well.
Just then, the Heavenly Screen trembled again.
[Ding! Second selected participant: Xu Han, resident of Eastsea City, Sun Moon Federation (Level 0)]
In Eastsea City, Sun Moon Federation.
On the bustling streets, people were discussing the unusual movements of the Heavenly Screen.
The next second, a golden beam connecting heaven and earth silently descended, enveloping a black-haired youth standing by the roadside and watching the Heavenly Screen's livestream with curiosity.
The youth's figure flickered, and he vanished without a trace along with that pillar of light.
Not far away, Tang Wulin, who had just finished his forging practice and was about to return to the academy, could not help widening his eyes at the beam.
"Huh?"
"That close? Damn it, why wasn't it me?"
Tang Wulin clenched his fists, envy written all over his face. "He was just teleported away right in front of me... I'm so jealous!"
"No, I have to hurry and find Gu Yue and Xie Xie to vent about this!"
In the Shrouding the Heavens World.
White Wood Town, Eastern Wasteland.
As a ripple of golden spatial fluctuations swept past, Zhu Zhuyun appeared in the shadows of a small grove a hundred meters outside White Wood Town.
Zhu Zhuyun swiftly surveyed her surroundings, sensing the energy of heaven and earth that was utterly different from that of the Douluo Continent. Every breath left her feeling refreshed and at ease.
"So this is... the Shrouding the Heavens World?"
Zhu Zhuyun took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed her curiosity, and did not immediately attempt to cultivate.
After all, Zhang Ming's experience remained vivid in her mind...
It was dangerous outside the city!
With that thought, she looked toward the towering ancient city walls nearby.
Through the Heavenly Screen's earlier viewpoint, she had already gained a preliminary understanding of the Shrouding the Heavens World, so she was not overly curious and walked briskly straight toward the city gate.
"White Wood Town..."
Soon, she reached the foot of the gate. Gazing at the three large, ancient, forceful characters above it, she frowned slightly.
"Not Clear Breeze Town?"
"Then it looks like, if I want to find my younger sister, I'll probably have to find someone from the Heavenly Court first and contact Jiang Wanwan..."
After all, Zhu Zhuqing had only just joined the Heavenly Court. She was surely unknown, and no one would recognize her.
But Jiang Wanwan, who had taken Zhu Zhuqing to White Emperor City, was already at the deacon rank, and her position in the Heavenly Court did not seem low.
"I wonder if there's anyone from the Heavenly Court in this town? And would they know Jiang Wanwan?"
Thinking this, Zhu Zhuyun strode toward the city gate.
However, she had only just reached the entrance and had yet to enter when a woman's voice, carrying a hint of teasing amusement, sounded beside her.
"Oh my, what a pretty little girl. Such an unfamiliar face."
"Who are you in such a hurry to find?"
Zhu Zhuyun's heart tightened, and she instantly grew alert.
She had not even noticed when this person had approached her!
She abruptly turned her head and saw a beautiful, alluring woman in a pale purple dress leaning beside the city gate, watching her with a smile.
"Who are you?"
Zhu Zhuyun instinctively retreated half a step, silently circulating the Soul Power within her.
Only...
She did not know whether it was her imagination, but Zhu Zhuyun found that the woman before her... actually looked somewhat familiar?
Seeing Zhu Zhuyun's nervous look, the purple-clad woman smiled and extended a slender, jade-like finger, lightly tapping Zhu Zhuyun's smooth forehead.
The movement did not look fast at all, yet Zhu Zhuyun discovered to her shock...
She could not react at all.
"What are you so nervous about?" The woman's voice was beguiling to the bone.
"Weren't you just muttering to yourself about looking for my good-for-nothing younger sister, Jiang Wanwan?"
Meanwhile.
Another flash of golden light passed...
Heaven · Burial Heaven Island.
[Third-person view: Xu Han, resident of Eastsea City, Sun Moon Federation (Level 0)]