As they walked out of the wooden house, their hands were tightly clasped together.
During this time, Su Cheng continuously infused Zhu Zhuqing with diluted and gentle innate power, gradually dispelling the residual negative thoughts and impurities within her meridians.
Zhu Zhuqing's physical constitution was extraordinary.
The effects of two kinds of immoral herbs, though not as immediately apparent upon ingestion as other spirit herbs which could drastically enhance soul power levels or purify bloodlines to promote martial soul evolution in a short period, were the most effective in enhancing the physique of soul masters.
In addition, over the past year, Zhu Zhuqing had consciously restrained various negative thoughts within herself, trying to reject the mixed killing intent prevalent in the City of Slaughter. She focused her cultivation on understanding her own Hell White Tiger martial soul and the killing intent characteristics derived from it.
Her issues were not actually severe.
The reason she appeared so fatigued earlier was precisely due to her refusal to assimilate into the environment.
Even without Su Cheng's assistance, given time, she would have been able to cleanse the impurities within her body to a considerable extent, although less efficiently.
After all, the level of soul power here far surpassed that of ordinary places.
As the two walked on the streets within the inner city of the City of Slaughter, almost no one dared to approach them. Those who saw Zhu Zhuqing quickly avoided her.
However, those people were also astonished to find that the pure killing intent and formidable aura that the Wind King usually emitted almost completely converged at this moment.
Even more unbelievably, she was behaving exceptionally affectionately with a strange man, obediently staying close to him.
On her previously icy face, her deep and delicate features occasionally revealed a hint of displeasure or a faint smile, instantly making her appearance vivid and lifelike countless times over.
As if transforming from a daunting goddess statue into a stunningly beautiful woman who could captivate an entire nation.
Even though these emotions only occasionally flickered at the corners of her eyes and brows, it was enough to stir the hearts of onlookers.
Of course, they only dared to glance from afar.
In the inner city of the City of Slaughter, the name of the Wind King was almost synonymous with the God of Slaughter.
"What are your plans for the future?" Su Cheng asked as they walked toward the outer city.
Compared to before, Zhu Zhuqing's temperament had become even more aloof.
Her black hair fluttered behind her, resembling a pure and agile spirit detached from the impure world, yet also akin to a calm and proud tiger roaming through the jungle.
"Didn't the Pope already tell you? She has decided to take me as her disciple, so naturally, I will join the Martial Soul Hall," Zhu Zhuqing replied.
"What about the Star Luo Empire? If you want to further improve your strength quickly, I have some good suggestions and places suitable for your continued training."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She withdrew her fair jade-like hand from Su Cheng's grasp and turned to stare at him coldly.
After a while, she calmly said, "You don't want me to go to Martial Soul City."
"You're mistaken. That's not what I mean."
"That's exactly what you mean." A hint of red flashed in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes, and her killing intent began to stir once again.
"Do you think I'm not as good as her? In your heart, is she that important?"
"If that's the case, then please leave me alone in the future and don't provoke me again!"
Her face showed no expression as she silently stared at Su Cheng, her demeanor icy. However, inside, she felt uneasy, a mix of anticipation and nervousness.
She actually had some confidence in saying these words.
If Su Cheng really didn't care about her, she couldn't believe he would have accompanied her in dreams for over twenty years.
From childhood to adulthood, they grew up together, supporting each other and sharing all their skills and techniques without reservation.
Not to mention the Nirvana Sutra, a priceless treasure that could help evolve their martial spirits.
Unlike Bo Saixi, Bibi Dong, or even Qian Renxue, she was convinced that the exceptionally clear dream was definitely connected to Su Cheng.
Because when they met, they were both only six or seven years old, just having awakened their martial spirits.
From that moment on, Su Cheng's actions were unusual.
His goals were clear, his path was defined, and his methods were extraordinary.
He even pretended to be her father to impart some cultivation knowledge. Could this be something a child under ten could do?
Moreover, Su Cheng was an illegitimate son of the Star Luo Emperor at the time, with a growing environment similar to hers. His family wasn't even as influential as the Zhu family, so it didn't make sense for him to perform such extraordinary actions.
In the end, he even revealed the true situation of the Heaven Dou Empire, specifically naming and pointing out that Emperor Xue Qinghe was actually Qian Renxue of the Spirit Hall. How could that not be problematic?
The subsequent events in reality further confirmed her suspicions.
"..."
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's firm attitude, Su Cheng felt a headache coming on.
He certainly didn't want Zhu Zhuqing to follow him back to Spirit City.
Now, with Qian Renxue's rapid increase in strength, even though Zhu Zhuqing had gone through the trials of the Slaughter City and continued to quickly improve her strength through innate skills, she was definitely no match.
Yes, she recognized Bibi Dong as her teacher, but even so, Su Cheng didn't think the situation would improve much.
In fact, the situation might become more chaotic for him.
He still hadn't fully figured out what Bibi Dong was thinking or her stance.
These things couldn't be easily solved by relying on strength alone.
However, as Su Cheng remained silent, Zhu Zhuqing's heart sank bit by bit.
Her face stiffened, and the light in her eyes gradually dimmed.
She had already made enough concessions.
Unlike Qian Renxue's upbringing.
Qian Renxue grew up as the eldest son of the Heaven Dou Empire, mingling with the nobility. Even in the Spirit Hall, she was the sole heir of the Qian family, with unparalleled talent, destined to be the next Pope, naturally arrogant.
On the other hand, before that dream, Zhu Zhuqing had no status to speak of. Her greatest role was to spur the growth of Empire's Crown Prince Dai Weisi and her elder sister Zhu Zhuyun.
Even the Zhu family was merely a vassal of the royal Dai family.
From a young age, she had seen the filth and dirt of the noble circles, making her thoughts not as extreme as Qian Renxue's.
Or rather, she was more calm.
Her methods weren't as drastic; she needed time to plan slowly.
"...So, is this your answer? I understand."
She gave Su Cheng a deep look and was about to turn away.
"Of course not." Su Cheng snapped back to reality and quickly grabbed her arm.
He quickly ran through his prepared words in his mind.
"Let me show you something first."
As he spoke, he stretched out his other hand, where an exceptionally pure transparent sword aura flowed between his fingers, effortlessly pushing away the powerful soul power surrounding them.
Zhu Zhuqing's pupils shrank slightly.
In this place, not only couldn't they use soul skills, but the surrounding soul power was also filthy and oppressive, suppressing all other forces, even significantly limiting the release of spiritual power.
Even though she had evolved her Wind God Domain through continuous battles in the Slaughter City, allowing her to condense wind blades for combat.
But that was merely a combat technique, using the existing soul power of the Slaughter City.
In other words, it was a self-created soul skill.
It wasn't that she could truly use her martial spirit's full power for combat.
But the aura in Su Cheng's hand was clearly different.
It was purely his own energy.
Its nature was extremely domineering, forcibly pushing away the pervasive soul power of the Slaughter City.
She was sure that if driven by this power, soul ring skills could definitely be activated.
"What is this?!"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Su Cheng with suspicion.
Then she had a sudden thought.
The power Su Cheng had transferred into her body earlier seemed somewhat different too.
But it was clearly diluted, mixed with a lot of ordinary soul power, far less obvious than it was now.
"This is a high-level power I researched, which I call 'Innate Power.'"
"Innate Power?"
"That's right." Su Cheng took a deep breath.
"Zhuqing, of course you can go to Spirit City, and I will protect you. Moreover, I will teach you how to cultivate and condense Innate Power.
"But before you reach a certain level of strength, don't provoke Xiaoxue. With your wisdom, I believe you wouldn't do something so meaningless.
"And of course, I won't let her come after you."
"..." Zhu Zhuqing pursed her lips and then turned her head with a light scoff.
Seeing this, Su Cheng breathed a sigh of relief, knowing she had accepted his proposal.
As long as there were no more incidents like the last one, everything would be manageable; there would be room to maneuver.
But her gaze indicated she had many other thoughts.
In the future, he must keep a closer eye on her; this girl had a lot on her mind now.
Just the fact that she managed to become Bibi Dong's disciple was a mystery to him.
With Bibi Dong's personality, she didn't seem like someone who would willingly take on disciples; at most, she would give a verbal invitation.
Hu Liena only became her direct disciple because she filled an emotional void from the past and got lucky.
Zhu Zhuqing certainly had other thoughts.
The memories from those dreams were deeply engraved in her heart, naturally leading her to many conclusions.
She understood that before they met, Su Cheng already had a deep connection with Qian Renxue.
But so what?
That was just destiny.
She was never someone favored by fate.
But unlike before, she had learned how to fight against destiny.
When the time comes, it will be a matter of skill.
In their youth, they were rivals and friends; in their teenage years, they supported each other through life and death; in adulthood, they conspired together...
After twenty years of daily companionship, each scene was etched into her bones.
Zhu Zhuqing believed their bond was deeper than anyone else's.
Since she couldn't give up on this relationship, she would fight for it.
Su Cheng had taught her much more than just cultivation.
She was never short of patience.
No matter how strong Qian Renxue was, could she be stronger than Pope Bibi Dong?
As Su Cheng once taught her, strength was important, but so were people's hearts and interests, which could also determine the final outcome.
And this was something that arrogant old woman would never understand...
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