"Hmm..."
Xiao Wu emerged from his embrace, somewhat embarrassed as she wiped away her tears, her cheeks flushed red.
Having experienced a life-and-death calamity and seen the treachery of human hearts, this simple-minded Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast seemed to have matured a great deal overnight.
She looked at Li Yifei, her eyes filled with reliance and trust.
"Yi Fei brother, I... can I follow you from now on?"
...
Night, like spilled ink, blurred and deepened the boundary line between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.
In the forest, the wind howled, yet it couldn't mask the sharp whistles of two figures streaking through the air.
Zhu Zhuqing's figure was slender and graceful, yet at this moment, she was like a phantom, weaving through the depths of the dense forest.
The speed and agility bestowed by her feline Spirit were utilized to their utmost. Each tap of her toes was as silent as a feather; each turn carried an unbelievable nimbleness.
Her chest heaved violently, her lungs burning with pain, but she dared not stop.
Behind her, that familiar yet suffocating spirit power fluctuation clung to her like a shadow.
Another gust of fierce wind struck, accompanied by the faint glow of a spirit ring.
Yellow spirit ring, first Spirit Ability — Netherworld Sting!
A chill ran down Zhu Zhuqing's spine. She dodged sharply to the side, barely avoiding the claw carrying a sinister chill.
The claw's wind grazed her left shoulder, tearing her clothes and revealing the snow-white skin beneath.
She could even feel the temperature of that claw and the power it contained.
It was a power sufficient to easily tear her apart.
Yet, the point of impact of that claw strike was always at the very edge of her narrow escape.
It wasn't a mistake, but rather a kind of... deliberate restraint.
Seizing the moment when her opponent's old force was exhausted and new force hadn't yet been generated, Zhu Zhuqing's long right leg swept out fiercely, stirring up a cloud of rotten leaves and mud, raising a large amount of dust.
Using this brief cover, her figure shot upwards again, leaping towards a thick, ancient tree, then using the momentum to continue fleeing deeper into the forest.
"Sister..." Zhu Zhuqing's heart trembled as she raced, the torn clothing on her chest a stark reminder.
Those claw marks were no different from the other wounds on her body — all shallow, merely skin-deep injuries, yet always causing enough pain to keep her on edge, never allowing her to relax her guard.
The one pursuing her was her own biological sister, Zhu Zhuyun.
Mutual slaughter — this was the fate of the women of the Zhu Family, just as it was for the men of the Dai Family of the Star Luo Empire.
Zhu Zhuqing loathed this deeply.
It was merely the Dai Family's own presumptuous decision, yet the women of their Zhu Family had to pay the bloody price for it generation after generation.
She was unwilling, unwilling for her life to be defined by such rules.
She was clear that her original spirit power Rank was far inferior to her sister's.
The sisters shared the same Spirit, and their first few Spirit Abilitys were also identical.
But Zhu Zhuyun was a few years older, with more combat experience and higher spirit power.
In theory, she shouldn't have been able to hold on for so long, let alone flee all the way to the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.
The reason she had endured until now, aside from the ten-level spirit power boost brought by the Chat Group which greatly increased her strength, lay more importantly with Zhu Zhuyun herself.
Her sister was holding back.
This notion, initially just a vague suspicion, had now become an undeniable fact deep in her heart.
At first, in order to escape, Zhu Zhuqing exerted every ounce of her strength, with no mind to spare for considering her opponent's intentions.
Every dodge, every counterattack, consumed all her energy.
It wasn't until she received the reward from the Chat Group, causing her spirit power Rank to soar by ten levels — though she hadn't fully displayed it — that she gradually gained some leeway while facing Zhu Zhuyun's pursuit.
With this leeway, she could finally spare a sliver of her focus during the life-or-death chase to observe.
She began to notice that each of Zhu Zhuyun's attacks seemed fierce, yet always fell within a range she could withstand.
Claw shadows sealed her escape routes, yet always left a sliver of a chance.
spirit power impacts shook her, causing her blood and Qi to churn, yet never harmed her foundation.
Even the Netherworld Sting always left marks on her clothes, avoiding fatal points.
Once, twice, over a dozen times — after repeated verification, Zhu Zhuqing was certain. This wasn't coincidence, nor was it her good luck.
This was her sister showing mercy.
Zhu Zhuqing's heart was a tumult of mixed emotions. She knew her sister, like her, truly didn't wish for this sisterly strife.
The rules of the Star Luo Empire's royal family were like invisible shackles, binding them, forcing them to act against their will.
Each instance of Zhu Zhuyun holding back was like dancing on a knife's edge; the slightest misstep could be detected by the royal family, inviting even harsher punishment.
"Sister..." Zhu Zhuqing silently called out in her heart.
The pursuit before her eyes was less a life-or-death struggle and more a tacit, sisterly escape orchestrated by fate.
She was no longer willing to struggle so passively. She wanted to change, to change this cruel fate.
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze inadvertently swept over the Chat Group's livestream replay interface.
In the image, Li Yifei held Xiao Wu, his posture upright. Facing Tang Hao, a Titled Douluo, he had erased him with such ease it seemed effortless.
It was a power beyond her comprehension, a power capable of shattering all rules.
"I will save you, sister!" Zhu Zhuqing said to herself in her heart. The voice was not loud, but carried an unprecedented firmness.
No! Not just her sister. What she wanted to save was the entire Zhu Family!
She wanted the Zhu Family to break free from this fate of mutual slaughter. She wanted all the women of the Zhu Family to live their own lives, not become sacrificial pawns in royal power plays.
The vast Universe Li Yifei had revealed, that world where one could break the shackles of Mortals through the Gene Primal Energy Method, had brought her unprecedented hope. It was a hope that transcended all the rules of the Douluo Continent.
She was no longer that girl who could only struggle to survive in the shadows of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuyun.
She had gained strength, gained a new perspective, and also gained... the courage to change everything.
She withdrew her gaze from the livestream replay, refocusing on the pitch-black dense forest ahead.
The night wind blew, bringing waves of coolness, yet it couldn't disperse the fervent heat in her heart.
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly stopped.
The spirit power fluctuation from Zhu Zhuyun behind her also ceased. The two sisters stood facing each other from a distance of no more than a hundred meters, separated by layers of tree shadows.
"Zhuqing, you can't escape," Zhu Zhuyun's voice carried a trace of weariness, yet remained cold and hard.
Zhu Zhuqing turned around. The torn clothing on her chest looked especially glaring under the moonlight.
She didn't answer, merely watched her sister quietly.
Zhu Zhuyun stepped out from the tree shadows. The moonlight outlined her graceful figure.
Her face bore a trace of barely perceptible fatigue, but those Netherworld-like eyes remained sharp.
"How much longer are you going to struggle?" Zhu Zhuyun spoke again, a complex emotion tingeing her tone.