A boy's beauty, clear as the breeze and moonlight, his thoughts untainted; a young man's grace, a Banished Immortal without equal

Shrouding the Heavens World, White Wood Town.

Time slipped by, second after second. Jiang Xiaoxiao waited quietly, until two hours later...

"Whew!"

At last, Zhu Zhuyun slowly lowered the jade slip pressed against her brow.

Her red lips parted slightly, her eyes still unfocused. She murmured unconsciously, her voice as faint as dream talk, yet filled with the shock of having everything she understood utterly overturned.

"So this is... His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor?!"

"A boy's beauty, clear as the breeze and moonlight, his thoughts untainted; a young man's grace, a Banished Immortal without equal..."

Within that information...

Besides the immortal cultivation method, the Mystic Moon Goddess Scripture, Zhu Zhuyun seemed to have also "seen" a blurry figure.

At first, he seemed to be merely a handsome, refined boy standing atop a mountain, his presence pure and flawless. His eyes were as clear as a deep pool reflecting the bright moon's radiance, unstained by a single speck of dust.

The next moment, the scene shifted, and the boy had become a young man.

Yet his bearing remained peerless as he stood alone above the clouds, his handsomeness and transcendence seemingly gathering all the grace of heaven and earth.

He was like a Banished Immortal descending into the mortal world, making even the sun, moon, and stars pale beside him.

That supreme bearing, towering above all things and looking down upon the cycles of time, branded itself deep into Zhu Zhuyun's soul.

"So that's how it is. So that's how it is..."

"This is everything my sister saw. This is... the truth of this world?!"

Now, after fully understanding what the Shrouding the Heavens World was, and what cultivating immortality meant...

Zhu Zhuyun finally understood why her younger sister Zhu Zhuqing, proud and lofty as she was...

Had chosen to become His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor's maid after seeing this jade slip, so resolutely, without even a trace of struggle or hesitation.

As it turned out, the Titled Douluo realm, regarded as the highest pursuit on the Douluo Continent...

Before this Shrouding the Heavens World, before the system revealed by this jade slip...

Was so insignificant and laughable!

Lord Heavenly Emperor... able to shroud the heavens with a flick of his finger, sever the river of stars with a thought... just how peerless must his splendor be?!

Zhu Zhuyun murmured inwardly, her eyes filled with yearning.

And just as Zhu Zhuyun's heart was still reeling, her worldview utterly reshaped, Jiang Xiaoxiao's voice rang out, carrying a hint of amusement and understanding, drawing her back to reality:

"Well?"

"Do you still want to join the Heavenly Court now? If you don't, you can leave right now."

Despite saying that, a faint light flashed at Jiang Xiaoxiao's fingertips.

A completely transparent crystal ball, with what seemed to be mist swirling inside it, appeared in her palm. It could test one's fortune.

She was not worried at all about Zhu Zhuyun leaving.

Clarity had already returned to Zhu Zhuyun's eyes as she looked at Jiang Xiaoxiao...

After witnessing the truth of the Shrouding the Heavens World with her own eyes, joining the Heavenly Court was no longer a choice Zhu Zhuyun needed to hesitate over, but a necessity.

Besides...

The women of their Zhu Family, whether herself or Zhu Zhuqing, had all grown up under the family's cruel "education."

Although she dearly loved her little sister Zhu Zhuqing, because of the family's rules, he had no choice but to show this sister a face full of hostility, and would even have to mercilessly kill her in the future.

You were never the only one who wanted to change the family's circumstances and truly control her own destiny, Zhu Zhuqing, my foolish little sister...

Zhu Zhuyun sighed inwardly, also coming to understand her foolish sister's painstaking intentions.

Had her choice to join the Heavenly Court not been, besides for herself, an attempt to find a different way forward for the Zhu Family and for her older sister?

It was simply that she had been trapped within the confines of the Douluo Continent's outlook back then, unable to understand.

With that thought, Zhu Zhuyun hesitated no longer. She nodded firmly, her voice resolute:

"Senior, I want to join the Heavenly Court!"

As she spoke, she stepped forward of her own accord and gently laid her slender, fair hand over the transparent crystal ball.

Hum-

The crystal ball trembled slightly. The mist swirling within began to flow rapidly and gather, finally bursting into a deep blue light.

Looking at that blue radiance, a barely perceptible trace of disappointment flashed through Jiang Xiaoxiao's eyes. "Not purple...?"

But she quickly adjusted her mindset, satisfaction returning to her face.

In this era, when Lord Heavenly Emperor alone monopolized fortune, blue fortune was already rare; there might not even be one such person in a million.

Bringing her back to the Heavenly Court would likewise be no small contribution.

However...

Jiang Xiaoxiao put away the crystal ball and deliberately brought up the earlier matter to tease her. "Little girl, who was it just now who swore so solemnly that 'even if I die, I will absolutely never become His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor's maid'?"

"Isn't this change a little too quick?"

At those words, Zhu Zhuyun's breathtakingly beautiful face showed frank acceptance and a measure of self-mockery.

"Please stop teasing me, Senior. Before, I was gazing at the sky from the bottom of a well, ignorant of the bright moon above."

"Now that I have seen the truth and have a chance to serve His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, why would I be unwilling?"

Seeing how thoroughly Zhu Zhuyun's attitude had changed, Jiang Xiaoxiao nodded in satisfaction.

"Mm, being able to understand that means you're not too stupid."

"In that case, come with me!"

With that, Jiang Xiaoxiao said no more. Her skirts swayed as she walked toward White Wood Town's gate.

Douluo Continent.

Star Luo Empire, the Zhu Family residence.

Crash-!

With a loud crash, an expensive glass wine cup was hurled hard against the floor and shattered, wine splashing everywhere.

Zhu Hongfeng, the Zhu Family's patriarch, bristled with rage, his chest heaving violently, his face filled with irrepressible shock, anger, and disbelief.

"Wh-what on earth is going on?!"

"Zhuyun... how could she choose to join the Heavenly Court too?! She was my steadiest child, the one I had the highest hopes for!"

Zhu Hongfeng was utterly furious. Two daughters in succession had chosen the same path of "rebellion." This made him feel he had lost all face, and filled him with deep anxiety about the family's future.

After all, how were they supposed to appease the Star Luo Imperial Family's wrath?

Beside him, Dai Weisi's face was even more livid, so dark it almost seemed ready to drip water.

His fists were clenched tightly, his knuckles white from the force.

Just moments ago, he had still been assuming the posture of a victor, condescendingly "mocking" Dai Mubai, mocking Zhu Zhuqing, mocking that Heavenly Court deacon for wasting her efforts...

Yet in the blink of an eye!

His fiancée, the fiancée whose hand he had never even held, had actually announced before countless people across the entire Douluo Continent that she wanted to become that Heavenly Emperor's maid!

At the thought that his fiancée might one day fawn over another man at his side...

Dai Weisi felt a surge of evil fire rush straight to the top of his head.

It was as though an invisible, verdantly green hat had already been planted on his head.

It even seemed as though someone was asking beside his ear: "What has hip-hop? What, who do you like best?"

However, Dai Weisi was, after all, the Star Luo Empire's current crown prince.

After taking several deep breaths, he suppressed his anger and forced an extremely strained smile at Zhu Hongfeng.

"Father-in-law, I... I believe Zhuyun... she probably only did this to investigate Zhuqing's whereabouts. It's merely a temporary expedient."

"I suddenly feel somewhat unwell, so I shall take my leave."

With that, without waiting for Zhu Hongfeng's response, Dai Weisi hurried out of the Zhu Family residence.

He feared that if he stayed even a moment longer, he would lose control and disgrace himself.

Watching Dai Weisi's retreating figure as he left in disarray, Zhu Hongfeng hurriedly called loudly after him:

"Rest assured, Your Highness!"

"When those two unfilial daughters, Zhuqing and Zhuyun, return in three months, I will personally break their legs!"

"So they can never go to that whatever-it-is Shrouding the Heavens World again!"

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy...