Could it be…
could it be my foot!
In the darkness, Cheng Xiao moved swiftly, recalling his conversation with Zhu Zhuqing. A cold smile appeared on his lips. He didn't think he had any spirit connection with Zhu Zhuqing.
Cheng Xiao knew his spirit very well.
What spirit dared to be on the same level as him?
The Shadow King and Destruction King were unprecedented, but definitely god-level spirits.
To have a spirit connection with him, it would have to be at least at the level of the Silver Dragon King, right? A mere Netherworld Cat, having a spirit connection with her would be a miracle.
Sensing the inexplicable meaning in Zhu Zhuqing's gaze, Cheng Xiao vaguely guessed that something might have gone wrong, causing a misunderstanding.
Therefore, after Zhu Zhuqing mentioned spirit connection, Cheng Xiao subtly probed: "How do you know about spirit connection? Have you felt it before?"
"I learned about it from the family's inherited books, but I've never felt it." Zhu Zhuqing shook her head, her eyes somewhat confused.
She awakened her Martial Soul at the age of six, but less than two years later, Dai Mubai left the Star Luo Empire. Due to royal rules, she met Dai Mubai only a handful of times and never had the chance to try out a Martial Soul Fusion Technique.
Therefore, her understanding of Martial Soul Fusion Techniques and Martial Soul Sensing remained purely theoretical.
"According to records, Martial Soul Sensing requires two people with extremely high compatibility to touch. When their minds synchronize at a certain moment, they will feel a pulsation from their Martial Souls."
Zhu Zhuqing stopped there, thinking Cheng Xiao would understand what she meant. There were two servants beside them, so she couldn't continue.
Cheng Xiao suddenly understood; he realized what Zhu Zhuqing was implying.
However, he remained unmoved because he hadn't felt a single pulsation from his Martial Soul the moment he touched Zhu Zhuqing.
He was merely surprised that this cold-hearted girl had kindly saved him, but he hadn't expected her to misunderstand.
As for Zhu Zhuqing's feelings, Cheng Xiao thought it was very likely that at the moment of contact, his own martial soul, Shadow Monarch or Destruction Monarch, had given the Netherworld Cat some kind of shock, causing a strange tremor in its martial soul.
Because Zhu Zhuqing had never experienced true martial soul sensing before, she mistook it for martial soul sensing.
However, all of this was Cheng Xiao's speculation. He didn't care about the truth; on the contrary, he could use this to achieve his own goals.
Therefore, in the subsequent conversation, Cheng Xiao intentionally or unintentionally steered the topic towards "family" and "loyalty."
Zhu Zhuqing rarely spoke so much; she was usually very quiet. But encountering someone who seemed to have a martial soul connection with her, she felt she shouldn't give up, and became more talkative.
No matter how mature Zhu Zhuqing was, she was only ten years old. Therefore, under Cheng Xiao's intentional or unintentional guidance, she finally bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and a rare blush appeared on her pale cheeks as she offered to recruit Cheng Xiao.
"Since you have no one at home, why not come back to the Star Luo Empire with me and pledge allegiance to Zhu... to me?"
Dai Mubai's sudden departure had left her in despair for a long time. Without a Martial Soul Fusion Technique, she had no chance against Zhu Zhuyun on her own. Now, a replacement had appeared. If she could truly use the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, it might become her trump card for survival in the future.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't say she would pledge allegiance to the Zhu family, but rather to herself, so that the young man before her would belong to her alone.
Otherwise, if he only pledged allegiance to the Zhu family, it would be hard to say what side he would take when she fought Zhu Zhuyun.
"..." Cheng Xiao's lips twitched. He really wasn't subtle.
He pretended to hesitate, and only nodded after Zhu Zhuqing mentioned the Zhu family's treatment: "Alright..."
In an instant, a surprised smile appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's icy face, like sunlight piercing through the clouds and melting the ice and snow.
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The two servants were momentarily stunned, seemingly mesmerized by her beauty, but they quickly regained their senses, a look of disbelief on their faces. They had actually seen a smile on the Second Miss's face?
It was just a brat's pledge of allegiance! What was going on with this kid?
The two servants exchanged a glance, realizing they would have to report this to the clan leader later.
After Cheng Xiao agreed to pledge her allegiance, the servants' wariness and distance lessened. Under Cheng Xiao's deliberate attempts to be friendly, the two servants also developed a slight liking for her.
As night fell, Cheng Xiao volunteered to take on the night watch. Seeing how considerate she was, the two servants felt slightly embarrassed, hesitating whether they should tell the clan leader.
They patted Cheng Xiao on the shoulder, indicating that they would protect her within the Zhu household, and anyone who dared to misbehave could come to them for support. Then, the two men slipped into their tent.
After the two fell asleep, Cheng Xiao probed them and, finding none of them moving, quietly retreated. Once far from the camp, he sprinted towards the Terrorclaw Bear.
Loyalty was completely forgotten. Deceiving young girls was no big deal to him; in his past life, he'd been tricking girls into giving him their first kiss since he was three—this was nothing!
"Hopefully, I'm not too late!"
Cheng Xiao released fourteen soul beasts to clear the way and rushed towards his target. When he arrived, however, he didn't see the Terrorclaw Bear's corpse.
"No way? Too late?" Cheng Xiao's
heart skipped a beat. Searching the ground, he saw heavy drag marks. Following the marks, he soon smelled a strong stench of blood. After walking several dozen steps, he parted the bushes, and suddenly, the scene opened up to reveal the mangled corpses of soul beasts!
"Hiss, so many?!"
His gaze swept over the numerous corpses, revealing the Terrorclaw Bear lying on the ground, barely alive. Besides the injuries inflicted by Zhu Mo, its body bore numerous bite marks from soul beasts, clearly attracted by the scent of blood.
Unfortunately, none of these soul beasts were any match for it; they couldn't even subdue the heavily wounded Terrorclaw Bear, and were ultimately all killed in its own counterattack.
"Tsk tsk..." Cheng Xiao was astonished by the Terrorclaw Bear's ferocity.
Seemingly hearing a commotion, the Terrorclaw Bear's ears twitched, its nose snorted, and the seemingly dying bear suddenly rose to its feet, as if in a final burst of energy. It roared, its fierce eyes blazing towards Cheng Xiao.
"Roar!"
The Terrorclaw Bear stood up but collapsed again due to weakness in its hind legs. Still roaring, it crawled towards Cheng Xiao on its three legs, its grotesque appearance suggesting it wanted to devour him alive.
"What's going on? It was the same before, and it's the same this time, is it just targeting me?" Cheng Xiao was completely bewildered by the Devilclaw Bear's eyes fixed on him.
When the Devilclaw Bear stood up, revealing the Crystal Bear corpse hidden in its lair behind it, Cheng Xiao suddenly understood.
"These two are a couple?!"
Seeing the Devilclaw Bear hopping and leaping towards him, Cheng Xiao grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth. He waved his hand, and fourteen soul beasts, like demons crawling out of hell, surrounded him.
And at the very front was the Crystal Bear!
This was Cheng Xiao's wicked sense of humor: "Since we're family, we should all be together!"
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