Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends.

"Lingling, did you see that! Did you see that! I told you! He's so handsome! And the way he was thinking just now... wow, he doesn't just look handsome, he also seems a bit unfathomable?"

Ye Lingling gently withdrew her arm, nodded, and unusually agreed, "Yes, it is indeed very special."

It wasn't just her appearance; her calm and reserved demeanor, as if containing countless secrets, was completely different from the flamboyant or arrogant geniuses in the academy.

Dugu Yan stared in the direction Lin Wan had disappeared, her eyes gleaming with excitement and intense interest: "This Lin Wan truly lives up to her reputation! Interesting, very interesting!"

Ye Lingling looked at her friend's expression as if she had discovered a new continent and shook her head helplessly, but only she knew the slight ripple of curiosity in her heart.

……

The Star Luo Empire, Star Luo City.

The atmosphere at the Star Luo Royal Primary Soul Master Academy is completely different from that at the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

The place exudes an atmosphere of iron-bloodedness, discipline, and competition. The academy's architecture is more rugged and robust, with huge beast sculptures everywhere, and the students' eyes are mostly filled with a wolfish sharpness.

In a class of freshmen, the atmosphere was somewhat subtle.

The teacher was explaining the most basic knowledge of soul power guidance on the podium, and most of the students below were listening attentively.

The competition in the Star Luo Empire begins in childhood, and no student who can enter the Royal Academy dares to relax easily.

A little boy sat by the window in the classroom. He had dazzling short blond hair, which was neatly combed. He wore a white school uniform with gold trim specially made by Starry Royal Academy. He sat upright, and his face had an arrogance and composure that did not match his age.

His pupils were a rare dark gold, and when he looked at people, he always had a sense of looking down on them.

He is none other than the Frog Prince Levin, whose martial soul is the Golden Frog, and who possesses innate full soul power.

At this moment, he seemed to be listening attentively, but his peripheral vision kept glancing at an empty seat diagonally in front of him, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. That empty seat belonged to Pinocchio; the guy was late again.

The thought of Pinocchio gave Levin a headache and a sense of revulsion.

That guy who was randomly placed near him by the system, and who was also detected to have innate full soul power, and was thus specially recruited into the Star Luo Royal Academy, was simply the biggest source of noise in his academy life!

He is talkative, gossipy, and nine and a half out of ten sentences he speaks are exaggerated boasts or blatant lies. His martial soul is also a special lie puppet, which can increase his cultivation speed by lying.

Levin had absolutely no desire to have anything to do with such a guy; he felt it would lower his own status.

However, it was just a joke.

Because they were all born with full soul power and were among the most outstanding freshmen this year, they were not only assigned to the same class, but also arranged to live in adjacent dormitories.

This greatly disturbed the usually quiet Levin.

Just then, the classroom door was suddenly pushed open, and a figure rushed in.

"Teacher! I'm so sorry I'm late! It's all because of that big tree at the entrance of the academy. It kept telling me its story of living for three hundred years, and I was so engrossed in listening that I was late!"

A boy who spoke very quickly, loudly, and with a slightly comical tone stood at the door and spoke loudly without batting an eye.

He is Pinocchio.

His nose seemed to have grown a little longer than when he first awakened his martial soul, and it was slightly red from running. He was wearing the same school uniform, but it was obviously not as formal as Levin's. His eyes were darting around, making him look exceptionally clever.

The teacher on the podium was clearly used to this scene. He sighed helplessly and waved his hand: "Pinocchio, go back to your seat. Don't make up this kind of thing again... uh, don't be late again."

"Thank you, teacher! You look so handsome today, like a majestic fire lion king!"

Pinocchio grinned and offered a poorly executed compliment before dashing off to his seat, winking at Levin as he passed by.

Levin turned his head away expressionlessly and looked out the window, completely ignoring him.

Pinocchio rubbed his slightly itchy nose with a disgruntled expression and sat down obediently.

On the other side of Levin sat a little girl.

She looked very young, and seemed a bit thinner than her peers. She wore a well-fitting school uniform, sat upright, but had an unusually aloof expression, even carrying a hint of precociousness and melancholy that seemed out of place with her surroundings.

She has long black hair and pure black eyes, like deep pools. Her small oval face already shows the beginnings of a beauty, but she always keeps her lips tightly pursed and rarely smiles.

She is Zhu Zhuqing, the eldest daughter of the Zhu family of the Star Luo Empire, and also Dai Mubai's fiancée.

Levin had a good impression of Zhu Zhuqing. Although she was also very quiet, her silence was completely different from Pinocchio's noisyness. It was a kind of quietness that carried a heavy pressure.

Moreover, although her talent was not as high as Levin's, she cultivated extremely diligently, and there was always a tenacious spirit in her eyes that she refused to admit defeat, which Levin, who was equally proud and pursued strength, greatly admired.

Occasionally, they would have some simple exchanges during sparring sessions or theoretical discussions.

Levin discovered that although Zhu Zhuqing was a man of few words, she often saw things in the heart and had her own ideas about cultivation. She was a worthy opponent and classmate to watch.

Chapter 78 Zhu Zhuqing's Desire

As for that noisy Pinocchio?

Levin just wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

He just hoped that this guy wouldn't cause any more trouble, or that one day his Lie Puppet Martial Soul would fail on the spot because he had lied too much, although he knew that was impossible.

The teacher on the podium continued lecturing, and Levin snapped out of his reverie and refocused his attention on the lesson.

His goal in coming to this world was to become stronger, until he stood at the top, and he had no time to waste on boring people and things.

……

As night fell, the majestic outline of the Starry Imperial City appeared even more solemn and oppressive under the sparse stars and cold moon.

Zhu Zhuqing's slender figure blended into the heavy night, silently returning to the Zhu residence.

High walls and deep courtyards, strict rules, every brick here is imbued with the coldness and cruelty unique to the Star Luo Empire.

She was used to using the side door, habitually suppressing her presence and minimizing her own presence, like a wary kitten struggling to survive on the edge of a predator's territory.

However, tonight's chance encounter seems unavoidable.

Just as I passed through a corridor, a figure turned around in the dimly lit area ahead.

She was a girl a few years older than her, with a shapely figure, wearing a gorgeous purple outfit that accentuated her mature curves beyond her years.

She bears a striking resemblance to Zhu Zhuqing, having inherited the Zhu family's excellent genes, with black hair, black eyes, and a pretty face.

But in those eyes that looked at Zhu Zhuqing, there was no warmth that sisters should have, only an unyielding cold indifference, and even a hint of hostility.

It was her older sister, Zhu Zhuyun.

The air seemed to freeze instantly, and the dim light from the lamps in the corridor stretched the shadows of the two sisters, twisting and intertwining them on the cold stone floor.

Zhu Zhuqing paused slightly, then resumed her normal pace. She lowered her eyes, intending to walk past Zhu Zhuyun silently, just as she had done countless times before.

There was no need for communication or eye contact; they had long since run out of things to say to each other, leaving only a cold, competitive relationship.

But deep down, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help but sigh softly, a feeling of indescribable weariness and bitterness welling up inside her.

Once, when she was not yet six years old, before her martial spirit awakened, and before those heavy burdens of fate weighed down on her, their relationship was not like this.

In my memory, there are also vague fragments of chasing butterflies together in the garden and secretly sharing a piece of dessert.

At that time, Zhu Zhuyun was still a kind older sister.

However, everything changed completely on the day he awakened his martial spirit at the age of six.

She, Zhu Zhuqing, is a Netherworld Cat who has awakened a level seven soul power; her talent is exceptional.

This should have been a cause for celebration, but it turned into a death knell for their sisterhood.

She was officially chosen by her family and betrothed to Dai Mubai, the third prince of the Star Luo Empire. Her older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, had already been betrothed to the older and more powerful eldest prince, Davis.

From that moment on, they were no longer sisters, but destined enemies.

Under the Iron-Blooded Succession Rules of the Star Luo Empire, these are two pieces that must clash with each other until one is completely crushed.

This is the fate of the women of the Zhu family in Xingluo. Their Cat Martial Soul can unleash the powerful Martial Soul Fusion Technique, Netherworld White Tiger, with the Evil Eye White Tiger of the Xingluo royal family. Generation after generation, these women must marry princes of the Xingluo royal family, becoming their most direct weapons and vassals in their power struggles.

The competition among the princes of Xingluo was far more bloody and brutal than in other countries.

There is no warmth, and no way out.

Among the princes, there was only constant competition, suppression, and even killing.

Until only the last victor remains, who is then crowned emperor.

For the loser, death often means certain death. And their partner will not fare well either.

Davis is several years older than Dai Mubai, and his soul power level and power management are already far ahead of Dai Mubai.

Zhu Zhuyun was also older than her, and had started cultivating earlier, thus coming into contact with these cruel rules earlier as well.

To everyone else, the combination of Davis and Zhu Zhuyun had an almost overwhelming advantage.

Zhu Zhuqing was well aware of how bleak her future was.

Dai Mubai? The man who is nominally her fiancé?

Thinking of him, a deeper chill and disgust flashed in Zhu Zhuqing's obsidian-like eyes.

She had seen him a few times; the prince, a few years older than her, seemed to have chosen a completely different path, despite bearing the same heavy fate as her.

His eyes were frivolous, his behavior unrestrained, and he was always surrounded by beautiful women, indulging in wine and women, showing absolutely no sign of struggling to survive.

He seemed to have already resigned himself to his fate, or rather, he was resisting this suffocating twist of fate in a self-destructive way.

He never took her, his fiancée, seriously. Perhaps in his eyes, she was just a symbol destined to perish along with him.

Since that's the case, Zhu Zhuqing didn't want to take him seriously.

She didn't want to die; she wanted to live!

A strong will to survive is the greatest motivation that sustains her daily rigorous training.

But she saw no hope. Dai Mubai couldn't give her any hope, and her family wouldn't offer her a second option.

She was like a butterfly trapped in a transparent glass dome, able to see the sky outside, but each flap of her wings resulted in a head injury, with no way out.

Until... she noticed that person at the Star Luo Royal Junior Soul Master Academy.

Levin.

That boy had dazzling blond hair and dark gold eyes, and always exuded an air of innate nobility and composure.

He possesses innate full soul power and the top-tier martial soul, the Golden Frog, a talent that is rare to find even once in a hundred years.

He trained harder than anyone else, with sharp and determined eyes and a clear goal.

He is a true genius, destined to grow into a powerful figure.

Whether it's the Xingluo royal family or the Zhu family, they will inevitably try their best to win him over in the future.

A wild, even audacious, idea quietly entered the mind of young Zhu Zhuqing at that moment, like a faint firefly caught in endless darkness.

What if... what if she could be with him?

If she can win over Levin and get him to choose her.

So, would the Zhu family and the royal family make an exception and let her go for the sake of this unprecedented genius, Levin?

Could this lead to the annulment of her hopeless engagement with Dai Mubai, sparing her from embarking on that doomed path of competition?

This idea is so absurd and impractical that it challenges the centuries-old ironclad rules of the Star Luo Empire.

Every time she thinks about it, Zhu Zhuqing feels her heart race and a sense of unease creep in.

She knew it was difficult, almost impossible. Levin didn't seem to have anything special about her; at most, he had a slight appreciation for her talent and hard work, and they occasionally interacted.

Chapter 79 Daily Attractions

But this was the only possible way for Zhu Zhuqing, who was mired in despair, to escape her fate.

Therefore, she could only try cautiously, little by little.

She will train even harder to ensure that she remains one of the most dazzling rising stars in the academy, so that he cannot ignore her presence.

In practical classes, she would choose to cooperate with him or act as his opponent to demonstrate her strength and resilience.

After theory classes, she would ask him questions about things she didn't understand, thus creating brief but natural opportunities for communication.

All of this was done with extreme discretion and care. Rather than seduction, it was more like a desperate young girl clumsily fighting for a glimmer of hope.

This was her bravest yet most powerless act of resistance against the cold and cruel fate that she had undertaken as a young girl.

Zhu Zhuyun's icy gaze lingered on Zhu Zhuqing for a few seconds, as if she were examining an object and assessing the condition of her competitor.

In the end, she said nothing, only letting out a barely audible snort from her nose, as if she disdained to waste any words, and turned and walked away with haughty steps.

A purple hem flashed by in the corner of the corridor, taking away the suffocating oppression.