Chapter 313 Another Choice, Peerless God Realm, Prisoner Golden Dragon King?!
The woman who presided over the awakening ceremony stared wide-eyed, her voice trembling:
"This talent...it looks extraordinary!"
"And his innate soul power... is actually so high!"
The father was stunned, and the mother covered her mouth.
Six-year-old Zhu Zhuqing simply turned around curiously, looked at the beautiful "big cat" behind her, and reached out to touch it.
"Hello... Hello."
Beyond the sky, countless people watched this scene, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.
That was Zhu Zhuqing's martial spirit.
That was the source of her strength throughout her life.
That was what she had just been taken away from.
The scene continues.
After awakening her martial spirit, Zhu Zhuqing's life underwent a dramatic change.
She no longer needed to read and write, nor did she need to learn needlework etiquette.
There is only one thing she has to do every day—cultivation.
The father hired the best teachers and devised the most rigorous training plan.
I have to get up before dawn every day to run, practice horse stance, and train my body movements until late at night before I can rest.
She was very tired, but she didn't cry.
Because her father said she was a genius, and geniuses have to work harder than others.
She didn't understand what genius meant, but she knew that every time she made even a little progress, her father would smile with immense joy. She wanted to make her father happy.
When she was seven years old, a strange man came to her house.
The man was dressed in a magnificent robe, with a dignified face and an imposing aura between his brows.
Behind him was a boy, two years older than Zhu Zhuqing, with rare blond hair and heterochromatic eyes, one gold and one blue.
The boy stood at the doorway, surveying the unfamiliar courtyard with an indifferent, even somewhat impatient gaze.
"This is the Zhu family's daughter?"
The man's voice was deep and carried an undeniable air of authority.
The father bowed respectfully:
"Yes, Your Highness."
Your Highness?
Seven-year-old Zhu Zhuqing hid behind the door, not understanding what those two words meant.
The man looked at her, his gaze piercing:
"Come here, let me take a look."
Zhu Zhuqing subconsciously looked at her father.
Her father nodded to her, his eyes filled with encouragement, but also with a complex emotion she couldn't understand.
She obediently walked over and stood in front of the man.
The man looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her martial spirit mark for a moment before he nodded slightly.
"good.
"A ghostly cat with such excellent qualities is worthy of my son."
Then, he turned to the blond boy and said, "Mu Bai, come here."
The boy reluctantly walked over and stood in front of Zhu Zhuqing. He was a head taller than her, looking down at her with scrutiny in his heterochromatic eyes, even a hint of disdain.
"Is it her?" the boy's voice was cold. "My fiancée?"
Fiancée. These three words, like a boulder, crashed into the peaceful life of seven-year-old Zhu Zhuqing.
She didn't understand what a fiancée was, but she could sense that everything had changed from that day on.
Beyond the celestial canopy, Dai Mubai stared at the aloof young man in the image, his body stiffening slightly. That was him. That was him in his youth, arrogant, cold, and conceited.
He lowered his head, looking at Zhu Zhuqing in his arms, his voice hoarse: "Zhuqing...I..."
Zhu Zhuqing gently shook her head, signaling him not to speak. Her gaze remained fixed on the sky.
The images shift, and time seems to accelerate.
At the age of eight, Zhu Zhuqing was taken to the Xingluo Imperial Palace for the first time.
It was a towering, breathtaking building, resplendent in gold, yet as cold as a prison.
There, she met Dai Mubai's older brother, Davis, for the first time.
He was a boy a few years older than Dai Mubai, who also had golden hair.
But in those eyes, there was no arrogance like Dai Mubai's, only a bottomless chill.
He stood on the high steps, looking down at her, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"This is Mu Bai's fiancée?"
Davis's voice was soft, yet as cold as a knife.
"She's quite pretty, but... I wonder how long she'll live."
Zhu Zhuqing didn't understand what he was saying, but she instinctively felt a chill.
That night, her father told her about that cruel rule for the first time.
In the imperial family, the heir apparent is not chosen by the eldest son, but only by the strongest.
Two princes, upon reaching adulthood, must engage in a life-or-death duel; the victor becomes king, the loser... dies.
The princes' spouses also could not escape this fate.
A fiancée is both a partner and a comrade-in-arms. They live and die together.
"Zhu Qing".
The father's voice trembled.
"From today onwards, you are no longer just a daughter of the Zhu family."
You are Dai Mubai's fiancée, his shadow, his sword.
"You need to become stronger, you need to become very, very strong."
"Because if Mu Bai loses, you will die too."
Nine-year-old Zhu Zhuqing sat by the window, the moonlight shining on her, casting a long, long shadow.
She didn't cry or make a scene.
She simply gazed quietly at the clump of green bamboo in the courtyard for a very long time.
Then, she put away all her toys, cut her long hair short, and changed into a neat and stylish outfit.
From that day on, she never climbed a tree again, never ran and laughed in the courtyard again, and never asked "why" again.
She began to cultivate herself diligently.
I get up before dawn every day and don't rest until late at night.
Her body began to show marks, some bruised, some red, and some even bleeding.
She never cried out in pain.
Because she knew she wasn't cultivating for herself.
She was cultivating for that boy named Dai Mubai. She was cultivating for that cruel rule.
She is cultivating herself in order to survive.
When she was ten years old, she saw another side of Dai Mubai for the first time.
It was a rainy day. She went to the palace as usual and waited in the training ground for an hour, but he did not come.
She went to find him and saw the boy, soaking wet and curled up on a stone bench in a corner of the back garden.
His face was injured, his arms were covered in blood, and his heterochromatic eyes were filled with resentment and anger.
"You lost again?"
She asked softly.
Dai Mubai abruptly raised his head, looked at her, a hint of embarrassment flashing in his eyes, which then transformed into an even stronger fierceness:
"It's none of your business!"
She wasn't angry; she simply walked over, sat down beside him, took a handkerchief from her bosom, and handed it to him.
"Wipe it off."
Dai Mubai paused for a moment, then didn't answer.
She wasn't annoyed; she simply placed the handkerchief beside him and sat quietly, keeping him company in the rain.
After a long while, Dai Mubai's voice suddenly rang out, hoarse as sandpaper scraping the ground:
"Tell me...am I really useless?"
She thought for a moment and answered seriously:
"You're just not strong enough yet."
"What if... I'm never strong enough?"
His voice was trembling.
If I lose... will you be afraid?
She was silent for a moment, then said softly:
"Afraid."
Dai Mubai's body stiffened.
"but."
Zhu Zhuqing turned her head and looked at him, her eyes clear as water.
"What I fear more is that you don't even dare to try."
(End of chapter)