Chapter 49: Zhu Ming's Past

Chapter 49: Zhu Ming's Past

In the training grounds behind the mansion, Tang Yuehua extended her arms, manipulating two seven-string ring blades that whirled around her.

One large and one small, the ring blades were controlled by Tang Yuehua's left and right hands respectively.

The larger ring blade was attacking a distant, agile, black-clad figure.

The smaller one circled around Tang Yuehua, ready to defend against any sudden ambush.

Currently, Wang Si was away, imparting his second Soul Skill to the other Title Douluos and Ultimate Douluos.

Cizhutuo and Shemao Douluo had also followed, citing the need to maintain order at the venue.

In the blink of an eye, the vast mansion was left with only the servants, Tang Yuehua, and Zhu Ming.

With Shemao Douluo and Cizhutuo present, there was no need for Zhu Ming, a mere Soul Douluo, to worry about Wang Si's safety.

Under Qian Renxue's pressure, Zhu Ming had taken on the task of training Tang Yuehua while also being responsible for protecting her life.

As an experienced assassin, Zhu Ming was naturally adept at this task.

Moreover, Zhu Ming wasn't too keen on joining the others. She had heard that there were Title Douluos and Soul Douluos from the Star Luo Empire present, and she didn't want to risk being discovered. After returning from the Falling Sun Forest, Zhu Ming had even replaced all her Soul Rings! She had swapped out the unsuitable ones for those that better suited her, and now she needed to familiarize herself with her newly acquired Soul Skills.

In addition to the Soul Rings, Zhu Ming had also acquired two Soul Bones.

One Soul Bone granted her the ability to replicate skills, while the other provided a fire-based long-range offensive skill.

Wang Si had absorbed the abilities from both Soul Bones once, retaining the fire-based skill for himself and giving the skill replication Soul Bone to Tang Yuehua.

And so, Tang Yuehua had also become one of the "enslaved."

However, she didn't mind her new identity. After giving up her position as a disciple of Haotian Sect, she had little concern for such things. But she was keenly aware of her current capabilities. Increasing the compatibility with her Soul Rings and Soul Bones, as well as the ability to freely detach Soul Rings? These were abilities that any Soul Master would covet.

Yet, she wasn't foolish enough to consider enslaving Qian Renxue. After all, if it was truly "enslavement," how could it possibly be a good thing?

All she could do now was to quickly enhance her own strength so that she could protect herself and, in the future, her goddaughter as well!

After a satisfying training session, Tang Yuehua had exhausted her soul power. She retracted her martial soul and domain, sitting on the ground and panting heavily.

"Senior, was my performance terrible?"

Breathing heavily, Tang Yuehua turned to Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming stopped her rapid movements and looked at Tang Yuehua with a sigh.

"You know, you can turn off your domain. Keeping it active during combat consumes a lot of energy. Typically, Soul Masters use their domain skills as a trump card. Who uses their domain right at the start like you did?"

Hearing the guidance from Zhu Ming, a Soul Douluo adept at assassination, Tang Yuehua turned off her domain and offered an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, I'm just used to keeping it active all the time. So, I subconsciously activated it during the fight."

With her domain retracted, Tang Yuehua attempted to manipulate her martial soul again, and as expected, she found it even more challenging.

She wanted to control the ring blade to attack, but adjusting its direction proved to be incredibly difficult.

If she wasn't careful, her martial soul would end up embedded in the large tree next to the training ground.

Witnessing Tang Yuehua's less-than-stellar control, Zhu Ming couldn't help but shake her head.

"You need to improve. You're too unfamiliar with your martial soul. If this were a real battle, you'd be nothing but a sitting duck."

The "Zhu Ming" that had been over twenty meters away from Tang Yuehua suddenly transformed into a wisp of smoke, vanishing into the air.

Tang Yuehua felt a chill at the back of her neck and subconsciously activated her domain again, simultaneously controlling the small ring blade beside her to slash at the Zhu Ming who had sneaked up behind her.

Facing the small ring blade, Zhu Ming casually kicked it from the side, disrupting its balance.

Without its equilibrium, the ring blade lost its formidable cutting attribute, and Zhu Ming casually grabbed it in her hand.

Playing with the weighty ring blade, Zhu Ming smiled and placed it on Tang Yuehua's neck.

"You're too unfamiliar with your martial soul. You're also very unskilled. Take a break for now."

Tang Yuehua swallowed nervously.

Hearing Zhu Ming's words, she realized how tired her body felt, so she stopped struggling.

Zhu Ming took the opportunity to lay Tang Yuehua down and then rested her head on Tang Yuehua's arm, turning to face her.

"Your martial soul is quite powerful, but it's also extreme. It's all offense and no defense, which makes it easy to counter."

Tang Yuehua took Zhu Ming's evaluation to heart. When the time came to choose her Soul Rings, she could select some defensive Soul Skills to balance her abilities.

Zhu Ming continued to appraise Tang Yuehua, her eyes trailing over Tang Yuehua's sweat-drenched form, causing her to purse her lips. Then, she reached out and placed her hand on Tang Yuehua's full bosom.

Tang Yuehua was startled by Zhu Ming's action, her body trembling slightly. But upon realizing that Zhu Ming was merely teasing her, she stopped struggling.

She truly couldn't comprehend Tang Yuehua's mindset. Why would she exhaust herself like this for a little girl with no blood relation?

Zhu Ming's question only elicited a gentle laugh from Tang Yuehua. She knew that Zhu Ming couldn't empathize with her, for her past was rather tragic...

.................

Zhu Ming was born into the Zhu family, her mother being a servant. As for her father's identity, even her mother didn't know.

If it weren't for her innate soul power of rank eight and the awakening of her Ghost Shadow Dark Fox, which had some connection to the Zhu family's Dark Mystery Spirit Cat, she might have ended up like her mother, living her life as a lowly servant in the depths of the Zhu family.

And one day, she might have unwittingly conceived a child with another servant or young master, only to continue the cycle of drudgery... until sickness or an accident took her life.

But Zhu Ming's life took a different turn. Thanks to her soul power, she received cultivation from the Zhu family.

Although she didn't receive the utmost support because her martial soul wasn't a Dark Mystery Spirit Cat, she at least escaped the life of a bottom-rung slave.

With her natural talent, she soon became close to a young lady from the Zhu family who possessed the Dark Mystery Spirit Cat martial soul. This young lady also had a fiance with the martial soul of the Sinister-Eyed White Tiger.

However, the competition for the imperial throne of the Star Luo Empire was fierce, and defeat meant ruin.

Zhu Ming's companion and her fiance lost in this power struggle for the throne.

Zhu Ming was implicated as well, but she didn't want to die. She just wanted to live.

So, she betrayed the young lady and developed feelings for the new emperor, and the two of them conceived a child together.

Naturally, the empress was displeased, as Zhu Ming had not only caused the death of her sister but also seduced her husband.

Behind the empress stood the formidable Zhu family. As one of the top clans in the Star Luo Empire, they quickly suppressed Zhu Ming, who was only a Soul Emperor at the time, making it difficult for her to hold her head high. Her child was also taken away.

But the emperor was infatuated with Zhu Ming, and he began to secretly assist her. He wanted to help her take revenge, and Zhu Ming proved herself worthy, secretly developing a powerful assassin organization.

When her organization reached a certain level of strength, she assassinated the empress. However, before she could rescue her son, the emperor was overthrown.

The Star Luo Empire was largely controlled by the Dai and Zhu families, who held the imperial power in their grasp.

If an emperor didn't obey, they would simply replace him. After all, the two families decided who wore the crown.

Zhu Ming had not anticipated the swift downfall of the emperor, but she still managed to gain some benefits during his reign. In the meantime, her assassin organization grew increasingly powerful.

After her beloved's downfall, the competition shifted to a pair of siblings from the two families. After all, the Dai and Zhu families had no shortage of potential candidates.

This time, the younger candidates approached Zhu Ming, asking her to assassinate their older sibling.

Zhu Ming obliged and helped the younger pair ascend to power. They were grateful and didn't abandon her afterward.

Zhu Ming finally achieved her goal of becoming the new emperor's concubine with an official status. A year later, she gave birth to another child.

However, some people resented her leisurely life, as she had risen from being the daughter of a servant to where she was now by betraying her master.

Rumors spread, but Zhu Ming didn't care. She had already lost one child and only wanted to live a quiet life as a mother.

But the two families used her son to lure her out and captured her while she was still weak from childbirth.

At that time, she was a Soul Saint, her physical strength far surpassing that of ordinary people. It was then that she witnessed the darkest and most inhumane side of the nobility! To enhance the purity of their bloodline, the nobles of Star Luo would do anything. She was even forced to...

It was only when Zhu Ming became a Soul Douluo that she finally broke free from their control.

To appease the fury of a Soul Douluo, the two families could only offer the throne to her son, the one with the Sinister-Eyed White Tiger martial soul...

.................

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. We're from different worlds, and I don't expect you to understand my thoughts.

If you want to raise a child, I can give you mine. Why don't you take care of him for me?" Zhu Ming suggested, raising an eyebrow at Tang Yuehua.

The child Zhu Ming referred to was the one she had with the second emperor of Star Luo.

According to their generations, he was the current emperor's younger sister. However, because his martial soul wasn't the Dark Mystery Spirit Cat, he wasn't given priority in the family.

The Spirit Hall had also rescued her daughter, and Qian Renxue had promised to send her daughter to Tang Yuehua to fulfill her role as a godmother.

Though Zhu Ming had never met her daughter, she didn't feel any particular attachment to her. Nonetheless, she wasn't opposed to the idea.

After all, serving that little master alongside her daughter seemed like an interesting prospect...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end