Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Young Gilas, Sandstorm King!

Chapter 135 From this moment on, you are the fiancée of the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire, His Highness Dai Mubai.
The Zhu family's top-tier martial spirit makes them an indispensable marriage partner for the Dai family, the royal family of the Star Luo Empire!
"Innate soul power... Level seven!"

Zhu Zhan's voice trembled slightly, yet it clearly resonated throughout the entire hall through his soul power.

The crystal ball in his hand, which he used to test his soul power, emitted a bright but not dazzling light, and was fixed at level seven.

This result, while not top-tier for the direct descendants of the Zhu family, is certainly excellent and sufficient to pave the way for their future rise to power.

However, this announcement was like a death knell tolling!

"Ah……"

Davis's lips curled into a playful smile, as if watching a wonderful drama finally unfold.

He paused for a moment while rubbing the ring, a cruel glint of interest flashing in his eyes.

Dai Mubai was struck dumb!
His last shred of hope was shattered. His face instantly turned from pale to ashen, and his body swayed violently. If the guard hadn't reacted quickly and caught him from behind, he would have collapsed to the ground.

The fear in his heterochromatic eyes turned into an abyss of despair. His lips moved, but no sound came out. He just stared intently at Zhu Zhuqing and the illusory martial spirit behind her, as if it were some indescribable and terrifying existence.

Zhu Zhuyun closed her eyes in anguish, two lines of tears silently sliding down her cheeks. She turned her face away, unable to bear to look any longer.

The Star Luo Emperor remained expressionless, his gaze deep, and he lightly tapped his fingers on the armrest.

Zhu Yu frowned slightly, her eyes quickly sweeping between Lin Xia and Zhu Zhuqing, carrying a hint of regret and a deeper level of contemplation.

The noble ministers had various expressions: some sighed, some were indifferent, and some were calculating. Their complex gazes were fixed on little Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing stood in the center of the magic array. After the light faded, the dim light in the hall made her squint uncomfortably.

She first stared blankly at her outstretched little hands, as if trying to confirm something, then slowly raised her head and glanced around.

The gazes cast upon her were filled with pity, indifference, calculation, and scrutiny as if examining a sacrificial offering… Finally, her gaze settled on her father, Zhu Zhan’s, face.

Her small body began to tremble uncontrollably and slightly.

It wasn't because of the cold, but a kind of bone-chilling cold and despair.

She looked at the complex, heavy, unspeakable pain in her father's eyes, and at everything around her that felt like a suffocating cage.

Suddenly, she forced a smile, a stiff, fragile smile that carried a heartbreaking sense of brokenness.

"dad……"

Her voice was soft, with a childlike clarity, yet unusually dry, echoing clearly in the silent hall and striking the hearts of everyone present.

"My martial spirit... is the same as yours, the Netherworld Cat!"

These words were like a dull knife, cutting deeply into Zhu Zhan's heart.

Looking at his daughter's forced smile, and at the fear and vulnerability that she tried to suppress but still revealed in her eyes, the Zhu family patriarch, who was known for his iron-fisted methods, felt as if something was blocking his throat, and his eyes instantly reddened.

Zhu Zhan took a deep breath, his chest heaving as if he were using all his strength to suppress the emotions that were about to burst forth. He forced his expression back to seriousness, even with an undeniable air of authority. He knew that as the head of the family, as a father, he had to personally place this shackle around his daughter's tender neck. This was the cold rule passed down for thousands of years in the Star Luo Empire, a destiny that the Zhu and Dai families could not escape!
He took a step forward, his voice low and powerful, carrying an undeniable decisiveness; each word was like an icicle piercing Zhu Zhuqing:
"Zhu Qing, now that you have awakened your martial spirit and successfully inherited the glory of my Zhu family's Netherworld Cat, then..."

Zhu Zhan's voice carried a heavy declaration, each word like a cold iron hammer, striking the frail figure in the center of the magic circle:
"From this moment on, you are the fiancée of the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire, His Highness Dai Mubai!"

"you……"

"Father!"

Zhu Zhuqing's voice suddenly rang out, crisp and resolute, with an almost shattered calm, abruptly interrupting Zhu Zhan's inevitable cruel words: "You will shoulder the responsibility of a marriage alliance, and in the future you will have to compete with His Highness Dai Mubai. The winner lives, the loser dies..."
This sudden interruption was like a thunderbolt dropped into the stagnant air! The entire Star Soul Hall instantly fell into a deathly silence.

The expressions on the faces of all the noble ministers froze, some showing astonishment, some amusement, and some a subtle scrutiny.

Emperor Xingluo's fingers, which were tapping the armrest, paused in mid-air. Davis's playful smile deepened, while Dai Mubai suddenly raised his head, his heterochromatic pupils flashing with disbelief. It wasn't just fear, but also a mixture of shame, indignation, and bewilderment at being interrupted in public.

Zhu Zhan's words caught in his throat. For the first time, a clear look of astonishment and surprise appeared on his stern face, as if his carefully prepared judgment had been abruptly interrupted by the defendant.
Zhu Zhuyun, standing behind her, was so shocked that she covered her mouth, tears still streaming down her face, her eyes filled with immense shock and a sense of foreboding.

Zhu Zhuqing did not look at Dai Mubai, nor did she look at those high-ranking figures.

She just stared intently at her father, and in the depths of her clear eyes, the last faint trace of struggle and expectation, like a candle flickering in the wind, was completely extinguished the moment Zhu Zhan was forced to stop, turning into a bottomless, cold, and deathly despair.

Her small body still stood straight, even appearing somewhat stiff.

But Lin Xia could clearly see that the fingers gripping the hem of her skirt had dug their nails deep into her palms from the excessive force, and a streak of bright red blood was slowly seeping out from her pale fingers, dripping onto the dark obsidian ground beneath her feet, blooming into a small, unnoticed, and tragically beautiful flower.

"I know it all."

Zhu Zhuqing's voice rang out again, even calmer than before, so calm it was unsettling, as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.

"No more words."

"what do you know?"

Zhu Zhan's voice trembled slightly, though he tried to maintain his dignity as the head of the family, but the turmoil in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

Zhu Zhuqing's gaze slowly swept over her father, finally landing on her older sister, Zhu Zhuyun, whose face was deathly pale and whose eyes held a complex expression. Her voice was not loud, but it clearly pierced through the frozen air in the hall:
"Actually, I already knew that."

"Dad, sister... I... I wasn't asleep when you talked in the study last time."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhuyun's body trembled violently, and her face instantly turned even paler than Zhu Zhuqing's. She subconsciously took a small step back, her lips trembling, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Zhu Zhan was struck as if by a heavy blow. His tall body swayed, and his imposing mask shattered completely, leaving only indescribable shock and pain.

Zhu Zhuqing's gaze was fixed on them. Her eyes, which should have been full of childlike innocence, were now filled with emptiness and a final plea for confirmation after being betrayed by her closest loved ones.

With an almost desperate, sliver of hope, she asked softly, in a tone bordering on pleading:
"You're telling me... this isn't true, is it?"

"None of this...is real, is it?"

(End of this chapter)