"Where am I?" In the Shrek lounge, Zhu Zhuqing slowly opened her eyes under Ye Lingling's treatment.
The Nine Heart Begonia truly lives up to its reputation as the world's number one healing spirit. With Ye Lingling's help, injuries that would have taken months to heal were more than half recovered in less than an hour.
"Zhuqing, you're finally awake, that's great! This is the lounge. Our match is over now. Don't worry, we won!" Ning Rongrong breathed a sigh of relief seeing Zhu Zhuqing's improvement.
"We won? But… the team won, I lost." Zhu Zhuqing's stubborn character showed. She only remembered that she hadn't defeated a single opponent, and lost to the captain of the Exotic Beast Academy.
It's perfectly normal for a Soul Elder to lose to a Soul Ancestor. No one would blame her, but she still felt deeply responsible.
"Zhuqing, don't think too much about it. What you need most right now is to rest." Ning Rongrong comforted her softly.
"Did he… come by?" Zhu Zhuqing suddenly looked at Ning Rongrong with a hopeful gaze.
Of course, Ning Rongrong knew who she meant, and couldn't help but reply angrily, "He came by briefly, saw Lingling was treating you, and left immediately. That's just too much—you're his fiancée, after all!"
On hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes in disappointment. Actually, at the start, Dai Mubai had tried to win Zhu Zhuqing over, but she always treated him coldly.
Dai Mubai is not a patient or decisive person. He only does what he thinks is possible. In the original story, he changed because he got the immortal herb and had strong teammates, which gave him hope and made him turn over a new leaf.
But in the current situation, he sees no hope of defeating Dai Weisi. Since Zhu Zhuqing ignores him, he simply gives up and goes back to his carefree life.
Zhu Zhuqing doesn't truly have any feelings for him; otherwise, she wouldn't have risked her life traveling from Star Luo to Heaven Dou. She mostly feels resentment.
But Dai Mubai can't understand this at all, which only deepens the conflict between them. Now, they can't even use their Martial Soul Fusion technique.
"Leave him. That man isn't worthy of you," Ye Lingling's cool voice sounded. Even someone as indifferent as her was quite displeased with Dai Mubai's behavior.
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head. "But I… can only rely on him."
"Do you want to live?"
"I don't want to die!"
"Can I help you?"
"Thank you, but this is my fate."
Ning Rongrong watched their exchange. Even though she knew both of them were very aloof, their conversation was just too concise.
Zhu Zhuqing no longer spoke, her eyes brimming with tears.
After the treatment, Ning Rongrong stayed to care for her, while Ye Lingling left and returned to the Emperor Battle Team's area.
At that time, the match on stage was Oslo versus Botanics Academy's captain, Yao Zi, a level 44 Soul Ancestor with Red Flame Thorns martial soul.
Oslo would normally have no trouble defeating her, but he had already fought five matches in a row, and his Ghost Leopard martial soul didn't counter plant martial souls as absolutely as Ma Hongjun's Fire Phoenix. He could only rely on his agility and control skills.
Whether in soul power, stamina, or mental strength, Oslo had already expended over 70%. The situation was very unfavorable for him.
"Fourth soul skill, Thorn Rain!" Yao Zi's fourth soul skill was a large-area attack.
After scattering seeds on the ground, countless thorns shot skyward. Even when Oslo used the leaping technique from Dragon Leopard Transformation, he couldn't escape the thorn's attack range and was eventually defeated.
"Taking on five opponents, Oslo already did quite well. Yu Feng, finish the fight," Qin Ming ordered.
Yu Feng nodded without a word, spread his wings, and flew onto the stage. Although Yao Zi had defeated Oslo, she was not in good shape. Using Thorn Bind, Thorn City, and Thorn Rain in succession had severely depleted her soul power.
Yu Feng couldn't give her a chance to rest.
"Third soul skill, Dark Wind!" The ruthless and terse Yu Feng launched a soul-penetrating attack right away.
Like water, wind seeps everywhere if there's even the tiniest gap. Thorn City's defense couldn't block Dark Wind's assault.
Yao Zi's body wasn't harmed, but her mind suffered greatly, forcing her to concede.
The last student from Botanics Academy only had an ordinary plant martial soul, lacking Yao Zi's fire resistance. After taking the Wind and Fire Seven Leaf Flower, Yu Feng's scorching winds completely countered her, and she lost without suspense.
With just two agility-attack soul masters, the Emperor Battle Team swept the entire Botanics Academy. At least, unlike Balak Academy, they weren't utterly overwhelmed—this was their last shred of pride.
"All right, let's go back. That was a good match. The two seniors should be rewarded." Tianlin smiled.
At that moment, Ye Lingling returned and looked at Tianlin and Yu Tianheng, hesitant to speak.
"Sister Lingling, with our close relationship, what can't you say?" Tianlin asked directly. In his mind, Ye Lingling was one of their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, so there was nothing she couldn't say.
"Yeah, Lingling, did someone bully you? Tell me, I'll let them taste the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's power!" Yu Tianheng threatened. As the only support in the team without combat ability, Ye Lingling was always heavily protected, almost as much as Tianlin, the group favorite.
"No, no one bullied me. I just went to heal Zhu Zhuqing and felt she was pitiful. I've heard a bit about her family's situation. For a girl like her, it's just too cruel. Can you help her?" Ye Lingling pleaded, looking at the two of them.
With Nine Heart Begonia as her martial soul, Ye Lingling had saved countless people, making her excessively kind—a classic case of a cold face but a warm heart.
But the Star Luo Empire was powerful, its military strength far surpassing Heaven Dou's. Against such a giant, Ye Lingling was powerless. Only these two, from the second and third greatest clans, might be able to help Zhu Zhuqing.
Yu Tianheng hesitated. The moment he saw Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's martial souls, he recognized their identities—this was no small matter.
His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was strong, but couldn't compete with an entire empire. Not to mention, the current Star Luo Emperor, the White Tiger Douluo, was almost as strong as his grandfather, Yu Yuanzhen.
Offending Star Luo for Zhu Zhuqing would be unwise. Even if Ye Lingling asked, he couldn't agree.
Tianlin felt the same way. Unless he became a Titled Douluo, he didn't have the confidence to face everything alone—he was still too green.
"Sorry, I've made things difficult for you." Seeing their silence, Ye Lingling knew her request was too much. They weren't free soul masters—they had burdens and couldn't risk their clans for Zhu Zhuqing.
Tianlin suddenly felt a bit guilty. Since Dai Mubai had chosen to give up, he didn't deserve sympathy. But as for that girl who kept fighting to survive—by taking her immortal herb, Tianlin had also taken away her hope of living.
"Wait, senior, I promise you—I'll find a way to keep Zhu Zhuqing alive!" Tianlin suddenly called out to Ye Lingling.
This was his responsibility. He had no special interest in Zhu Zhuqing. Without the immortal herb, her talent was average. But he couldn't bear to see someone die because of his actions.
If Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing had both fought to the end, he wouldn't mind lending a hand within his ability. But for the current Dai Mubai, he had no desire to help. People who give up on themselves don't need others to care.
Author Notes: Zhu Zhuqing isn't the main heroine. To those readers who like the little cat girl, I can only say sorry—my writing ability is limited, and two main heroines are already my max. But without the immortal herb, Zhu Zhuqing is truly pitiful. From the original story, she always fought desperately to survive. So, let the author have a moment of soft-heartedness and save her. As for Dai Mubai, someone who abandoned his fiancée to enjoy himself in Suoto City—he's on his own.
PS: Nice! Qian Renxue is confirmed, right?