Chapter 119: I'm Intrigued, She's Gone Dark!
Five soul rings rose from beneath Meng Hongchen's feet, spreading a faint mist of ice around her. Her ice-blue eyes were dyed crimson, and wisps of snow-white spread from her hair roots until her wine-red hair turned completely white. White hair and red eyes—her transformation delighted those with a fetish for this unique look!
Du Qianjue was momentarily stunned. Although he had anticipated Meng Hongchen's soul-bound form, seeing such a natural combination of white hair and red eyes in person really struck him. Wow! His DNA was definitely reacting. He couldn't bear to strike her too hard. What should he do?
Noticing Du Qianjue staring blankly at her, Meng Hongchen saw a hint of affection in his gaze and felt a sweet thrill. "He really likes me!" she thought delightedly. "Do you think I look good?" Meng Hongchen winked playfully, her usually cold demeanor now appearing somewhat mischievous.
Hearing her question, Du Qianjue seriously scrutinized her. White blouse, white blazer, white pleated skirt, white over-the-knee socks—absolute territory... Combined with her white hair and red eyes, her outfit might seem a bit cheesy, but it gave her a sense of purity on her that made one irresistibly want to taint her...
"Not bad, you look very beautiful, and so do your clothes," Du Qianjue commented critically after a thorough examination. Putting aside Meng Hongchen's beauty-biased infatuation, her attractiveness was genuinely striking.
It was puzzling how her grandfather, who was short and stout, could have grandchildren as stunning as Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen. It was simply unscientific.
"Do you like me?" Meng Hongchen blushed and asked shyly, her heart racing with joy from being complimented. "Ah~ Praise from Qianjue! I'm so happy, I want to give him my heart! I want to give him everything, let him do as he pleases!"
Meng Hongchen's eyes became slightly unfocused, her slender body trembling with a sickly pleasure. No, this wasn't enough. She wanted more!
"?" Du Qianjue tilted his head, confused. "What's this about? Aren't you supposed to be smitten with Wang Dong who disguises herself as a boy? How did I become the target?"
Du Qianjue quickly conjured an ice mirror to check his reflection, reassuring himself, "Oh, it's just because I'm too handsome. No worries then."
"I don't like you, and I have a girlfriend. We can't be together," Du Qianjue said brutally, shattering the girl's fantasies. "I don't want her to misunderstand."
Meng Hongchen's blushing face froze. She thought she could hear the sound of her heart breaking. The fleeting pleasure was instantly replaced by a bone-chilling cold and a feeling of despair as deep as an abyss. "No—!"
Observing the pair chatting rather than competing, Sky Tyrant Douluo Huang Jin Xu was flabbergasted. "This is a match! The semifinals of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament!!!" "This isn't the place for romance!"
Meng Hongchen's dreams shattered. She had thought Du Qianjue was her destined partner, with whom she would spend her life. Instead, he had a girlfriend... The thought of Du Qianjue holding another woman, kissing her, marrying her, while Meng could only watch their love from a corner, crushed like a stray dog unable to make a sound.
Du Qianjue and his lover stood in the sunlight, while Meng Hongchen lingered in a dark, cold corner. She imagined another woman looking at her with a scornful smile, disdain written all over her face.
No. It shouldn't end like this. Only she deserved to stand by Du Qianjue's side, only she should be the one embraced in his arms under the sun!
That scornful, disdainful smile should be on Meng Hongchen's face!!!
Meng Hongchen had gone dark. No, her hair didn't turn black; it turned as red as her eyes. "No, no! You can only be mine!" Meng mumbled to herself, then suddenly looked up at Du Qianjue and shouted, "You can only be mine! Let me defeat you, and I'll take you back to the Sun-Moon Empire, so you'll be mine alone forever!"
Meng's left hand surged with elemental power, slowly forming the Fifth Soul Ring Skill: Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill. From her right hand, a slim, ice-blue Level 5 close-combat soul guidance device sword materialized from her starlight sapphire storage ring.
"What's up?" Du Qianjue exclaimed in shock, seeing Meng's crazed smile and unhealthy crimson flush. Her expression reminded him of a terrifying female creature.
The Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill aimed directly at Du Qianjue's heart as if trying to pierce through the person residing in his heart, making space for Meng. Horrified, Du Qianjue quickly used earth elements to create a cage, trapping Meng inside and intensifying its strength.
Meng's sudden dark turn caught Du Qianjue off guard. "What's going on with her?!" he wondered, staring at the earth cage that boomed loudly from Meng's frantic attacks, attempting to break free. But how could she shatter a cage Du Qianjue had solidified to the level of a Titled Douluo?
Du Qianjue stroked his chin, deep in thought. Wait... White hair, red eyes, ponytail, love-struck, and a poisonous soul... Were all her buffs maxed out? Just missing a scythe as a weapon?
Du Qianjue's face stiffened. Could it be that Meng Hongchen, originally just a severely love-struck character in the story, had turned into a dark yandere in his presence? Should he preemptively deal with her to prevent future troubles?
"Shh..." Watching the continually assaulted, rumbling earth cage, Du Qianjue shivered. This was not fun at all! With a wave of his hand, he dispersed the earth cage, ready to disqualify Meng directly. Competing against her was just too tormenting.
However... When the earth cage disappeared, a dusty silhouette of Meng emerged, holding a scythe in her hand. "Wow!" Du Qianjue was so startled that he slapped her out of the arena with a gust of wind. Meng was smacked down without a chance to resist, her hand-formed Ice-Fire Poison Dragon Drill scythe gradually dissipating.
As she stood up again, her expression returned to its usual cold detachment, but a trace of mad obsession and hysteria flickered in her eyes when she saw Du Qianjue. "Meng, what happened just now?" As soon as Meng returned to the waiting area, Xiao Hongchen rushed up, anxiously checking on her. "Did that bastard Du Qianjue do something to you? I'm going to fight him right now!" Xiao clenched his teeth in anger.
Meng's performance on the stage had also startled him; he had never seen such madness in his sister before. This was definitely not normal. Surely Du Qianjue must have done something behind the scenes; he had thought well of him, but appearances are deceiving!
Du Qianjue: Don't falsely accuse me! "I'm fine," Meng shook her head, her tone cool, showing no signs of distress. To others, she still appeared as that untouchable beauty, a genius and a goddess.
"Are you really okay?" Xiao was still worried.
"Really, I'm just a bit frustrated about losing the match," Meng smiled sweetly.
"Okay then." Xiao sighed in resignation, his hostility towards Du Qianjue fading as he turned to console Meng. "It's just a match, no blame on you. We're just Soul Kings; it's normal not to beat that freak Soul Sage. Don't take it to heart."
"Yeah, I understand," Meng nodded obediently.
Ma Long, who had been hesitant to speak, finally found his voice. "Meng Hongchen, did Du Qianjue get poisoned during the match?" he asked. He had to ask. This question was crucial for their tactical planning.
"No, there wasn't enough time," Meng shook her head. "Even if he was poisoned, the toxins formed in that short time wouldn't affect someone of his Soul Sage level."
Poison... Poison!!! Even if all I get is you, I'll keep you by my side forever! Ma Long was suddenly speechless again because Meng's expression was becoming odd again. On the surface, she still seemed that cool and detached figure, but Ma Long felt a terrifying aura from her.
"Then there's nothing more to say. It's my turn to go on stage," Ma Long said, rushing out of the waiting area. He didn't want to stay a second longer next to the current Meng Hongchen!
Huang Jin Xu, seeing that a man from the Royal Moon Soul Guidance Academy was next up, also breathed a sigh of relief, finally no longer having to witness romance on the stage.
For him, a soul master born under a cursed star, what cruelty it was!
"The second individual match, begin!" Huang Jin Xu didn't want to say another word. After announcing the start, he disappeared from the stage.
Meng sat in the waiting area, watching Du Qianjue thrash Ma Long. Though her teammate was being pummeled, every move of Du Qianjue seemed like the most beautiful scene in the world to her. "I want to possess him, to be with him forever..."
"Huh? Meng, what did you say?" Watching Ma Long get thrashed, Xiao, under a lot of pressure, looked bewildered at Meng. Her murmuring was too soft; focused on the match, Xiao hadn't heard it clearly.
"Ma's situation doesn't look good," Meng casually changed the subject.
"Yeah, it looks like we can only make it to the top four," Xiao sighed upon hearing her words. "This might be the first time in a thousand years that we haven't made it to the finals."
Why is the Royal Moon Soul Guidance Academy always the runner-up? Because in every edition of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament, they consistently finish second, always losing to Shrek Academy!
"But it seems like Shrek won't make it to the champion this time either. They can't beat Du Qianjue," Xiao couldn't help but feel a bit schadenfreude.
Missing the runner-up spot didn't matter much if they weren't going to be champions. The difference between second place and the top four wasn't significant. But for Shrek, who had always been number one, losing their champion title and breaking their winning streak made Xiao, a citizen of the Royal Moon Empire, almost laugh out loud.
The other members of the waiting area, already somewhat overwhelmed by Du Qianjue's power, now filled the air with relieved laughter, echoing Xiao's sentiment.
Seeing that she had successfully diverted Xiao's attention, Meng breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of monopolizing Du Qianjue was something she didn't want to share with anyone. She knew her current state was a bit off, but Meng couldn't suppress her pathological obsession with keeping Du Qianjue to herself, frantically wanting to keep him by her side.
"I want to marry him; he can only be mine, even if all I get is him," Meng thought fiercely.
Meanwhile, Du Qianjue, who was busy trouncing Ma Long, suddenly felt a tickle in his nose and nearly sneezed. Glancing at the impressive-looking Ma Long, Du Qianjue flashed a bright smile.
"Brother Ma, are you satisfied with my instruction?"
"Yeesh... satisfied, my foot!" Ma Long grimaced in pain. He regretted it.
Before the match started, Ma Long had told Du Qianjue to bring out his true strength and ask for his guidance. Now, he wished he could travel back in time to slap some sense into his past self.
"Hmm, it seems very satisfying," Du Qianjue was also pleased, knocking Ma Long unconscious with a punch.
"Young people are great, just fall asleep, and it's a zero-complaint situation, right?" After tossing Ma Long back to the Royal Moon team, it was time for the third person from Royal Moon to step up.
Mi Jia! Du Qianjue had high hopes for this spirited young man, so he didn't go as hard on him, playing around for a bit before throwing him off the stage.
The fourth, the fifth... After the sixth person was thrown off, only one competitor was left for the Royal Moon team, and clearly, it was going to be Xiao Hongchen.
As Xiao walked onto the stage, Du Qianjue's unfriendly gaze fell on him. Oh, so you're Meng Hongchen's brother, right? The scare she gave me in the match, I'm going to make you, her brother, pay it all back!
Thus began an inhumane torture session. Du Qianjue didn't use any other abilities, just covered the entire stage with Thunder Prison, letting lightning chase after Xiao. If Xiao didn't run, he'd be seared inside out; if he ran, he'd still get struck by lightning.
Xiao, feeling incredibly aggrieved, endured five minutes of being zapped before he realized Du Qianjue was just toying with him, anger turning his eyes red.
"I give up!" Xiao declared with the toughest tone he could muster, conceding the match. He really couldn't win.
(End of Chapter)