Courtyard House: My Time Travel is a Bit Too Strong

In this zombie-infested land, it's not uncommon for people to be betrothed at the age of twelve; but in the world he grew up in, it was a red line that shouldn't even be considered.

Watching Lin Quan's hasty departure, Zhu Zhuqing quietly breathed a sigh of relief, her fingertips pressed against her chest, her heart still pounding like a drum.

Qiao Jingjing stood beside her, her eyes flashing slightly, the smile on her lips disappearing in an instant, as quick as an illusion.

Lin Quan plunged into the courtyard, sat down at the stone table, and tremblingly poured hot water into the teapot, added tea leaves, and poured water. In the steaming heat, he drank two cups of strong tea to calm his restlessness.

About ten minutes later, Zhu Zhuqing and Qiao Jingjing stepped out of the room side by side.

The two were similar in build and dressed identically: matte black leather jackets accentuated their slender waists, matching leather pants highlighted their long legs, and knee-high high-heeled boots with the boot shafts tightly encasing their calves, each step creating a cool and crisp arc.

That aloofness, that keeps strangers at bay, emanates from the very core of him, like two solitary peaks covered in a thin layer of frost.

Lin Quan glanced at the two of them, his throat bobbed, but the words caught in his throat—he had too many questions to ask, and couldn't utter a single word.

After several breaths, seeing that Zhu Zhuqing's ears were so red they were almost bleeding, he blinked sharply, looked away, and raised his hand to indicate, "If there's anything you don't understand, sit down and we'll talk slowly."

Qiao Jingjing didn't stand on ceremony and pulled Zhu Zhuqing to sit down.

Lin Quan's gaze sharpened, settling steadily on Zhu Zhuqing's face: "Zhuqing, are you still feeling weak? Have you... noticed anything different?"

"After consuming the crystal core, have any new abilities emerged?"

Swah——

Before she finished speaking, even Qiao Jingjing leaned forward slightly, her gaze fixed intently on Zhu Zhuqing.

Although crystal cores can awaken potential, out of a hundred people who ingest them, only seven or eight will survive, and those who truly awaken their superpowers can often be counted on one hand.

Zhu Zhuqing neither dodged nor hid, meeting their gazes with a slight nod, then her mind focused—

In an instant, a wisp of dark mist emanated from her body, silent yet swift as ink staining rice paper.

In the blink of an eye, the black mist had spread out to a radius of ten meters, pressing heavily on the air, even freezing the wind chimes hanging from the eaves.

Before Lin Quan could speak, Qiao Jingjing's fingertips curled slightly, her expression changed subtly, and she whispered first:

"Is this Zhu Qing's awakened ability?"

"Where the fog reached... my mental power seemed to be veiled by a layer of gauze."

Qiao Jingjing's mental power remained unimpeded, and her object manipulation technique was as stable as a rock, without the slightest deviation.

But once she stepped into the area shrouded in black mist, her usually sharp and keen mental perception was completely shattered—almost reduced to zero.

In other words, wherever the black mist reached, her eyes were not blind, but worse than if she were blind!

Before Lin Quan's eyes, all that remained was a thick, inky chaos, his vision completely swallowed up, unable to extract even an inch of outline or a trace of light.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

In the blink of an eye—

Lin Quan's mind trembled slightly, and in an instant, lightning exploded, with streaks of silver-white electric arcs shooting out from his body, crackling loudly!

As lightning flashed, the black mist convulsed, churned, and roared violently, as if it were being burned, torn apart, and forcibly stirred!

After several attempts, Lin Quan realized that while the lightning could cause the black mist to become restless, it only caused a "disturbance"—

The black fog churned more and more violently, yet it did not dissipate in the slightest; the fog waves surged and rushed, yet they did not recede even a fraction!

At present, he is not able to burn it completely, disperse it, or crush it!

"This cloud of black mist... it's somewhat similar to your 'domain'."

"Besides blocking vision and suppressing perception, are there any other methods?"

Before he finished speaking, Lin Quan's bright, piercing eyes were already fixed on Zhu Zhuqing, full of eager curiosity.

Zhu Zhuqing met the two gazes with a calm expression and nodded in reply: "As long as the fog exists, I can teleport with a thought."

Swish!Swish!Swish!

The figure suddenly blurred, leaving behind layers of afterimages, like an ink butterfly flitting through the fog, flashing and disappearing in the thick darkness, leaving only a cold trail.

Immediately afterward, she vanished, transforming into a wisp of dark light, silently disappearing into the shadow at Qiao Jingjing's feet—

As the shadows rippled slightly, Zhu Zhuqing's voice rose from the darkness: "The last skill is to blend into the shadows and move stealthily."

"I don't make the first move; any physical attack passes right through me and can't hurt me in the slightest."

"But energy bombardment, mental probing... I can't stop those."

Qiao Jingjing focused intently, her mental energy spreading out like a spider web, carefully scanning every inch of her shadow.

A moment later, she raised an eyebrow, a genuine look of surprise flashing in her eyes: "Even I, if I'm not careful, would have a hard time finding out where you're hiding."

"Among those of the same rank, you remain unmoved and inconspicuous, almost unnoticed by anyone."

"Even if someone is a level above you, they would have to be a master of mental strength to be able to detect that tiny anomaly."

Swah——

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhu Zhuqing's figure slowly spread out like ink dripping into clear water, and she calmly stepped out from the shadow.

Lin Quan and Qiao Jingjing's eyes met, and they understood each other without saying a word.

No one expected that Zhu Zhuqing would awaken such a strange and unpredictable ability!

Qiao Jingjing struggled in the apocalypse for over a year, encountering hundreds of awakened beings: spatial teleporters, gravity manipulators, flamethrowers...

But no one has ever transformed darkness itself into a sharp blade and a shield like Zhu Zhuqing, and refined shadows into a realm as natural as breathing!

The black mist alone was like an invisible cage, tightly restricting the flow of various forces.

Not to mention the Shadow Fusion Technique—if it were a true stealth assassination, who could defend against it? Who would dare to defend against it?

Lin Quan's eyes suddenly flashed, and he turned to Zhu Zhuqing: "Your ability is probably inseparable from your martial spirit."

"Martial Soul?" Qiao Jingjing frowned slightly.

Lin Quan smiled frankly and said directly, "That is something unique to Zhu Qing's world."

He paused, his eyes brightening slightly, and pressed on, "By the way, your martial spirit... is it still effective here?"

Meow--

A clear, melodious meow broke the silence.

With a slight thought, Zhu Zhuqing saw a nimble and agile black shadow leap into the air, its fur glossy and its eyes gleaming.

Looking up in the direction of the sound, a black cat, as large as a cheetah, was crouching before me—its fur was thick and dark, as if it could absorb all the light around it…

It was surrounded by wisps of dark mist, its pair of bright, clear purple eyes sparkling with intelligence. Before the words were even finished, the cat had already silently appeared beside Zhu Zhuqing.

Qiao Jingjing's pupils contracted sharply, and she blurted out, "This...is this a Martial Soul?"

Not to mention it was the first time she had ever encountered such a strange object!

Even Lin Quan, looking at the martial spirit rising beside Zhu Zhuqing, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly, his eyes flashing with surprise and shock.

Even Zhu Zhuqing herself was stunned, her small mouth slightly open, unable to close it for a long time—

"This, this, this..."

Her fingertips trembled slightly, and for a moment she didn't know where to begin.