"Everything is a lie, then?"
Above the clear sky, sudden gusts of wind stirred up waves.
Inside the vast mansion, a subtle sense of oppression rose in everyone's hearts out of nowhere.
"So, you've been targeting me since twenty years ago? You really are a good father, a good family head! Then what am I?"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flashed with cold light as she looked back towards the depths of the Duke's mansion, where Duke Zhu Hongtao was at the moment.
The boundless blue sky was instantly shrouded by patches of dark clouds.
"There were no other people, no big sister, second sister, third sister and the like, it turns out it was all fake, in fact, the only one involved in the whole scheme from beginning to end was myself! I was the one being used as a tool!"
The accumulation of oppression, resentment, hatred, and regret over the past few months...
Endless turmoil and boiling.
Until this moment, it all erupted in an instant.
"Boom!"
A huge roar erupted into the sky.
The air was displaced, and fierce winds swept in all directions.
The finely carved stone sculptures, carved beams, and painted pillars collapsed into ruins in an instant.
A huge air current originated from where Zhu Zhuqing stood at this moment, straight through to Zhu Hongtao's studyroom.
The next moment.
"Whoosh!"
Accompanied by a loud rumble, the huge and exquisite study walls instantly disintegrated, turning into an empty space.
Only Zhu Hongtao remained unscathed, sitting calmly in place.
But he wasn't resisting the impact; he was firmly pressed onto his seat by the force of the wind pressure.
Zhu Zhuqing stood at a distance, looking at him, then slowly walked forward.
"Huh?" At this moment, she suddenly realized that there was something wrong with this "father" in front of her.
With a step, her tall figure crossed the air and appeared in front of Zhu Hongtao in an instant.
Her fair and slender palm gently reached out.
The soul power flowing on Zhu Hongtao's body was instantly dispersed.
Ripples spread, and Su Cheng's face appeared in front of Zhu Zhuqing.
"How is this possible..." Her eyes widened slightly.
Even at this moment, all the complex emotions in her heart dissipated, leaving only a full sense of astonishment.
"You, Wh..."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyelids trembled slightly.
Her delicate fingers slowly reached forward, as if wanting to touch the other's cheek.
But at the moment they were about to touch, she suddenly turned her palm into a claw and grabbed his collar.
"Su Cheng!"
Zhu Zhuqing gritted her teeth and growled lowly.
The astonishment just now and the momentary joy turned into a raging anger again.
"How could it be you!"
Su Cheng was helpless at this moment too.
He knew Zhu Zhuqing would definitely have doubts, and her emotions must have been unstable recently, so he had been low-key during this period.
But he didn't understand why she suddenly erupted today.
Clearly, they were about to reach the final step, yet unexpected complications arose.
Sighing inwardly, he could only speak intermittently in a low voice, "Uh, could you let go of me first."
His physical body was weak now, lacking in vitality, and his cultivation had plummeted.
Just the subconscious breath fluctuation from Zhu Zhuqing just now made it difficult for him to breathe.
If it weren't for her instinctively restraining the outward release of her breath, he wouldn't even be able to speak now.
Zhu Zhuqing ignored Su Cheng and carefully examined him.
Then she seemed to notice something, and her expression suddenly froze.
The fingers that had tightly gripped his collar relaxed slightly.
"What else do you have to say now?" Zhu Zhuqing said coldly, her tone without much fluctuation, but clearly suppressing the complex emotions in her heart.
"No matter what, you are the biggest beneficiary, aren't you? I won't harm you."
"And then, what do you want me to do next?" Zhu Zhuqing was not moved by his explanation, but asked Su Cheng coldly.
"Become emperor, then surrender to the Tian Dou Empire," Su Cheng said in a low voice.
"Surrender? Why should I surrender?" Zhu Zhuqing furrowed her delicate eyebrows, dismissing his words.
"You can't beat the Tian Dou Empire. Don't think their strength is only superficial. The Martial Soul Hall has seven great envoys, there's Pope Bibi Dong, and there's Jue Gu two peak Douluos. If Tian Dou Empire is not strong enough, they will support it wholeheartedly."
"..." Zhu Zhuqing showed a slight surprise at his words, but did not speak.
"And if you surrender, you'll be safe. The current ruler of the Tian Dou Empire is not from the Tian Dou royal family; their emperor is someone from the Martial Soul Hall."
Su Cheng continued.
"Why do you think the Martial Soul Hall would choose to help them? The current emperor is not Xue Qinghe himself; he has long been replaced by the Martial Soul Hall's Young Mistress Qian Renxue."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flickered slightly as she stared at Su Cheng, "So, you've actually been with the Martial Soul Hall all along?"
If Xue Qinghe, the grand Tian Dou Emperor, could be impersonated by someone else, it seemed understandable that Su Cheng could also disguise himself as Zhu Hongtao.
After all, before this, she had never heard of anyone being able to disguise even their Martial Soul.
"..." After a moment of silence, Su Cheng nodded and said, "Yes, I am from the Martial Soul Hall."
Zhu Zhuqing narrowed her eyes, silently watching him.
After a while, she calmly said, "Su Cheng, you've lied to me all my life, and now you still want to deceive me?"
If Su Cheng were truly from the Martial Soul Hall, with his abilities, he could have achieved even better results than what they had now. There was no need for him to go through the trouble of nurturing her to achieve what they had now.
Not to mention, Su Cheng's cultivation was even higher than hers before.
He could completely control the Martial Soul of the Hell White Tiger himself, and then ascend to the throne with absolute power.
In this regard, her identity as a Miss of the Zhu Family might not even be higher than his identity as a bastard.
"Zhuqing, you don't need to be so wary of me. With your current strength, who else is worth fearing for you, let alone me, just a mere Soul Grandmaster."
"As I said before, I won't harm you."
Zhu Zhuqing remained silent about his words, and instead asked, "Then who is the one currently impersonating the Tian Dou Emperor Qianren Xue?"
"She is the daughter of the former Pope Qian Xunjia and the current Pope Bibi Dong, as well as the granddaughter of the 99th level Limit Douluo Qiandao Liu. In other words, she is the current Young Mistr of the Martial Soul Hall, and the power she can wield far exceeds your imagination."
"You seem to know her well?" Zhu Zhuqing's eyes flickered uncertainly as she silently scrutinized him.
"...Sort of."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing fell silent for a moment, pondering something.
After a long while, she nodded lightly and looked at Su Cheng.
"Su Cheng, do you know, you've been the only friend I've had since childhood. I know saying this now might seem even more ridiculous to you. But in the past, that's what I thought; I thought I was the one who understood you the most."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice lowered, "It seems I was just being presumptuous."
Su Cheng's eyelids drooped slightly, remaining silent.
"What about my father?"
"He... went to a distant place."
At Zhu Zhuqing's words, her eyes twitched slightly, and the hand gripping Su Cheng's collar unconsciously tightened a bit.
"When did this happen?"
"...Five years ago."
"Did you do it?"
"..."
Seeing this, Zhu Zhuqing sneered mockingly, "You really are calculating and lucky. You even managed to obtain an external soul bone, and immediately used it to deceive me. What have I done to offend you?"
"Zhuqing, think about it, have I ever done anything to harm you these years?"
"You haven't done anything to harm me, and then you think you can decide what's best for me?! Have you ever considered my feelings? Am I just a tool or a puppet in your eyes?"
Zhu Zhuqing's voice suddenly became somewhat agitated.
"I know you must have further plans. Just spill it out, what do you want me to do!"
"I just said, after you become the emperor, surrender to the Tian Dou Empire."
"I'm talking about what comes after!" Her tone was impatient.
"There's nothing after."
"Nothing?!" Zhu Zhuqing widened her eyes slightly, "Did you do all this, turning yourself into a cripple, just to let me become a Title Douluo, then become the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, and then surrender to that Qianren Xue?!"
"...You could say that."
"Then you really are scheming." Zhu Zhuqing's face turned ugly, "But why should I listen to you? Didn't you say that Qianren Xue wouldn't hold the Star Luo royal family accountable?"
"Yeah, why should you..." Su Cheng sighed inwardly.
If he wouldn't have told Zhu Zhuqing about Xue Qinghe's true identity, she would probably fight to the death for a glimmer of hope, with uncertain outcomes in the end.
But now, she seemed to have no need to ascend to the throne anymore. Although it was a readily available position for her now.
"You're getting soft again." Su Cheng felt somewhat helpless.
With Zhu Zhuqing's current strength and influence, coupled with the precarious situation of the empire, becoming the Emperor of Star Luo would indeed be a piece of cake.
But did she still need this position now?
Zhu Zhuqing was never someone who sought power.
Power was just a means to achieve her ultimate goal.
After a long silence, Zhu Zhuqing observed Su Cheng's expression and suddenly said, "Do you really want me to become the emperor?"
"Yes."
"For the sake of the Martial Soul Hall?"
"No."
"Then is it for that Qianren Xue?"
"...Not exactly."
"Are you begging me?"
"Hehe." Su Cheng chuckled lightly, "Let's just say that."
"Fine, I agree." Zhu Zhuqing nodded, "I hope you weren't lying to me this time."
[Main mission completed, you can withdraw at any time within one hour.]
Upon hearing the prompt that the main mission was completed, Su Cheng's heart stirred, and he suddenly realized.
With Zhu Zhuqing's current strength and authority, she already had the conditions to seize power.
If there were any deficiencies in reputation before, after the battle on the border, she had almost raised her prestige to the peak of the entire Star Luo Empire.
The rest depended on her own will.
Since she had made a decision now, the mission naturally completed.
Just like the first simulation, destroying the Martial Soul Hall depended on their remaining strength.
As long as it plummeted to the bottom, there was no need to destroy the Martial Soul Hall's buildings, and the mission would naturally be completed.
Su Cheng looked at Zhu Zhuqing and said lightly, "What else do you want to do? Do you want to kill me to vent your anger? It's up to you."
"Hmph." Zhu Zhuqing snorted coldly at his words, loosening the hand that had been gripping him tightly and saying coldly, "Your wish was to be free, right? I'll give you freedom. Go wherever you want, just don't bother me here."
"Then I'll thank Miss Zhuqing."
A hint of a smile appeared in Su Cheng's eyes as he adjusted his clothes and got up from the already shaky chair beneath him.
He walked away slowly.
Zhu Zhuqing silently watched his departing figure, her expression trance-like for a moment.
"Surrender? Why should I?" she murmured softly to herself, "We'll see if it's feasible after a fight..."
At this moment, Zhu Zhuqing was fearless.
Even if she couldn't win, she was still in control.
As a 28 year old Title Douluo, with the incomparable power of the Hell White Tiger, she had her own pride.
Moreover, according to Su Cheng's words, even if she lost, her life wouldn't be in danger.
"So this is what freedom feels like."
Zhu Zhuqing silently felt the immense power within herself at this moment, as well as the unfathomable potential in her bloodline, couldn't help but let out a light laugh.
The legend of reaching Godhood at level one hundred was just that, a legend.
But the 99th level, the human limit, was only a matter of time for her.
"Seems like that's all there is to it..."
Her laughter gradually faded.
Tears silently streamed down her cheeks.
Having torn apart Su Cheng's disguise just now, Zhu Zhuqing could already sense clearly that he didn't have much time left to live.
With depleted bloodlines, damaged martial souls, and a life force as fragile as a candle in the wind, it could be extinguished at any moment.
As for avenging her father?
A joke; after her martial soul awakened at the age of six, she no longer had a father.
. . .
I will be taking a break for 2-3 days due to personal reasons. As compensation, I have uploaded some extra chapters. Have a great day!
. . .
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