Douluo Continent, Shrek Academy.
Inside a dormitory.
Watching the sky-screen broadcast, Dai Mubai saw that Zhu Zhuyun had actually chosen to join the Heavenly Court too, becoming that Heavenly Emperor's maid...
He suddenly felt that his fiancée Zhu Zhuqing becoming that Heavenly Emperor's maid was not quite so unbearable anymore.
After all, there had not been much affection between him and Zhu Zhuqing, or he would not have chosen to run off to the Heaven Dou Empire alone.
The reason he found it humiliating was that Zhu Zhuqing was his fiancée in name.
No man could accept his fiancée becoming someone else's maid.
But his elder brother and Zhu Zhuyun...
Were a different matter altogether.
After all, his elder brother Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun had been childhood sweethearts. Their feelings were definitely much deeper than those between him and Zhu Zhuqing.
At the thought of the humiliation and fury Dai Weisi might face...
For a moment, Dai Mubai gloated over his misfortune.
"Oh, big brother, that sister-in-law of mine has now chosen to join the Heavenly Court and become a maid too..."
"I'm sure His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor will... take very good care of that dear sister-in-law of mine for you! Hahaha!"
Still, gloating was one thing...
When he thought about how, even with Zhu Zhuyun joining the Heavenly Court, Zhu Zhuqing might still have to serve that Heavenly Emperor and bow her head to his commands...
Dai Mubai's mood, which had improved a little because Zhu Zhuyun had also joined the Heavenly Court, once again became unbearably miserable and stifled.
Dai Mubai let out a low growl and slammed his fist into the wall. "Fuck!"
"Zhu Zhuqing is my fiancée!"
"Heavenly Emperor Hao, Lin Hao... you bastard!"
In contrast to Dai Mubai losing his composure again...
At that moment, inside Ning Rongrong and Xiao Wu's dormitory, the two were simply curious.
"Xiao Wu, what do you think Zhu Zhuqing and her sister saw in that jade slip?"
Dressed in pajamas, Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged on her bed, propping her chin in her hands as she looked at the sky screen in utter confusion.
"They're both clearly such proud people. Why did they both become so determined to join the Heavenly Court after reading that jade slip, without even hesitating?"
Xiao Wu swung her scorpion braid, equally puzzled. "Exactly. It's so strange."
"Although I haven't spent that much time with Zhu Zhuqing, I have a rough idea of her personality. Proud, stubborn... once she decides on something, almost no one can change her mind."
"Yet after reading that jade slip, her attitude suddenly changed?"
"And her sister Zhu Zhuyun was so resistant to becoming a maid of the Heavenly Court just now, but now she's actually made the exact same choice as Zhu Zhuqing..."
"The key is that jade slip!"
Ning Rongrong waved her little fists, her eyes brimming with curiosity. "Just what is in that jade slip? I'm so curious!"
Xiao Wu nodded as well.
And Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong were not the only ones puzzled and curious...
Heaven Dou City, the crown prince's residence.
Standing before the window, Qian Renxue looked up at the sky screen and silently pondered, If I get the chance to go to the Shrouding the Heavens World, I must see for myself...
Just what secret is hidden in that jade slip to make the Zhu sisters commit themselves so unhesitatingly!
As for whether she would also choose to join the Heavenly Court and become the Heavenly Emperor's maid after reading it?
What a joke!
Qian Renxue was not worried in the slightest. After all, she was the distinguished heir to the Angel God. How could the Zhu sisters possibly compare to her?
Spirit Hall, inside the bedchamber of the Supreme Pontiff's Palace.
A hint of inquisitiveness likewise flashed through Bibi Dong's lovely pinkish-purple eyes.
"I must take a look..."
Tang Wutong, Gu Yuena, Ice Empress, Snow Empress, Tang Wulin...
Were all the same.
Douluo Continent, Star Dou Great Forest.
Watching Jiang Xiaoxiao likewise lead Zhu Zhuyun out of town on the sky screen...
Huo Yuhao could not suppress his curiosity and quietly asked the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm in his Sea of Consciousness:
"Brother Sky Dream, do you think... Senior Jiang Xiaoxiao is going to summon another 'Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace'?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm instinctively wanted to say, How could that be possible? Do you think Moon-Escaping Immortal Palaces are cabbages? You can have one whenever you want?
But in the end, recalling how outrageous this Shrouding the Heavens World was...
He said uncertainly, "P-probably not?"
"Although I've always stayed in the Star Dou Great Forest, I've learned about the outside world through the minds of some Soul Masters."
"A Soul Tool airship as inconceivable as the 'Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace'-never mind the Sun Moon Empire, you couldn't find a single one even if you searched the entire Douluo Continent."
"It's outrageous enough that the Heavenly Court has one. Surely a terrifying weapon of war like that can't be mass-produced?"
Huo Yuhao nodded at this, feeling that Brother Sky Dream's analysis made perfect sense.
After all, a Soul Tool like the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace had to be extraordinarily precious and rare...
Yet the next second, Huo Yuhao's mouth fell open, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Ah... huh?"
The Sky Dream Ice Silkworm was also dumbstruck. "T-there really is another one?"
"Could that Heavenly Court... actually mass-produce such terrifying Soul Tools?"
Gasp!
At the thought of that possibility, the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm felt his entire silkworm self becoming unwell.
Shrouding the Heavens World, outside White Wood Town.
Jiang Xiaoxiao stood in an open space outside town, forming profound hand seals as Dao resonance flowed.
In an instant, a deep hum came from the distant sky. A thirty-three-tiered silver-white immortal palace, identical to the one that had picked up Zhu Zhuqing and as enormous as a moving mountain, tore through the clouds.
Zhu Zhuyun watched this scene. Although she had already seen the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace in the sky-screen broadcast, at this moment...
As she looked up at this "massive ship" with her own eyes, she still could not help being awestruck!
Taking in all of Zhu Zhuyun's astonishment, Jiang Xiaoxiao lifted the corners of her lips in a faint smile of accustomed ease.
She reached out and gently pinched Zhu Zhuyun's smooth cheek rather affectionately. "All right, snap out of it."
"Don't look like you've never seen the world. Work hard in the Heavenly Court from now on. If you can earn the Heavenly Emperor's appreciation and be promoted to a steward of the Heavenly Court..."
"You might have a chance to receive a 'Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace' of your own to travel in."
"I... I have a chance too?"
Zhu Zhuyun turned to Jiang Xiaoxiao in surprise, her beautiful eyes filled with yearning.
Owning such a luxurious immortal palace and soaring across the heavens was a scene she would never have dared imagine even in her dreams!
"Of course. His Majesty is fair in his rewards and punishments, and never stingy toward those who render meritorious service."
Jiang Xiaoxiao spoke with certainty, then waved her hand. "All right, get aboard."
"We should reach White Emperor City in about a day."
Once the two boarded the "Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace," its enormous hull started moving soundlessly, turning into a streak of light that vanished into the vast night sky in an instant.
Since it was already late at night, Jiang Xiaoxiao said little and led Zhu Zhuyun straight to a bedroom to rest.
Inside the bedroom.
Zhu Zhuyun lay on the soft, comfortable cloud bed, yet felt no sleepiness at all.
Everything that had happened today felt like a dream.
Forced to leave the Douluo Continent and come to this utterly unfamiliar Shrouding the Heavens World, she had even gone from the noble fiancée of a prince of the Star Luo Empire to a prospective maid of the Heavenly Emperor...
"Zhu Zhuqing... my dear little sister, it seems you made your choice a step ahead of me."
"But a younger sister shouldn't think she can surpass her elder sister!"
The rest of the night passed without further words.
Early the next morning.
[First-person perspective: Shrek Academy student, Zhu Zhuqing (Level 28)]