Chapter 195: An Eunuch Still Wants to Become the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire?
The six dim soul rings surrounding Tang San starkly contrasted with Lin Qingmo's nine soul rings on the high platform.
The surrounding whispers drifted into his ears with the wind, all filled with contempt and ridicule.
"So this is Tang San? Wasn't he supposed to be a genius with twin martial souls? Why does he only have six rings?"
"Compared to the Blue Silver Douluo, it's like heaven and earth. He even has the same Blue Silver Grass martial soul as the Blue Silver Douluo; what an embarrassment."
Lin Qingmo's figure descended from the high platform and stopped in front of him, a casual mocking smile lingering at the corner of his lips.
"What a pity, Tang San."
"You had top-tier twin martial souls, yet you chose to believe Yu Xiaogang's misleading theory and completely exhausted your own talent and potential."
"You're talking nonsense! Teacher's theory is correct! My Blue Silver Grass is not a useless martial soul!"
Tang San roared with reddened eyes.
He tried to raise his hand and activate his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
But not even a trace of soul power could be mobilized at his fingertips. He could only stand there trembling like a trapped beast.
The theory he had always treated as absolute truth, the Yu Xiaogang he had always revered as a teacher, and the Blue Silver Grass martial soul he had always been proud of had, at this moment, become a joke in others' mouths.
"With the same Blue Silver Grass martial soul, I can become a Titled Douluo and stand at the peak of the continent."
"And you, despite having twin martial souls and greater potential, are stuck at the sixth ring level, unable to move forward."
Lin Qingmo's voice was not loud, yet every word pierced the deepest part of Tang San's pain.
"So tell me, why is that?"
"!!!"
Tang San stood there, his mind in complete chaos.
His past persistence and beliefs collapsed like a sandcastle swept away by a storm.
Confusion and despair engulfed him, making it hard for him to even stand.
It felt as if all his strength had been drained. He slid down along the wall behind him.
…
Not far away, Dai Mubai's breathing had already become disordered.
His brows were tightly knitted.
His entire body sank into soft bedding.
What met his eyes was a vast expanse of white, a sacred wedding hall. A red carpet stretched from beneath his feet all the way to the high platform.
And at the end of that platform stood a figure engraved into his very bones.
Zhu Zhuqing wore a black gauze wedding dress adorned with diamonds, outlining her graceful figure.
Her usually cold eyes were now softened with warmth, breathtakingly beautiful.
"Zhuqing?!"
Dai Mubai's steps moved forward uncontrollably, his fingertips trembling slightly as he reached out to hold the hand resting at her side.
In his life, the one he could never let go of was Zhu Zhuqing.
He had always believed that as long as he became strong enough, he could keep her, could have her.
But before his step could land—
Zhu Zhuqing turned around and naturally hooked her arm with the person beside her.
That person wore a neat white suit, a smile in his eyes. It was Lin Qingmo.
The two stood side by side before the priest, a perfect match, like a carefully painted masterpiece.
"!!!"
Dai Mubai froze in place.
The air in his chest was instantly sucked dry, and the trembling in his fingertips spread through his entire arm.
"Dai Mubai, look at yourself now. You're like a stray dog."
Zhu Zhuqing's voice fell. It no longer carried its usual coldness but was filled with thick, unmelting mockery.
Like an ice-coated blade, it stabbed straight into his weakest point.
"Zhuqing, I…"
Dai Mubai's Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to speak.
But his throat felt as if it were blocked by a massive stone.
He recalled his days in the Star Luo Empire, when he was suppressed by his elder brother, Dai Weisi, to the point that he couldn't even lift his head or maintain his own fief.
In the end, he could only flee the Star Luo Empire in disgrace, like a rat that dared not show itself.
That was the humiliation he least wanted to mention in his life.
Now, Zhu Zhuqing tore it open piece by piece and laid it bare before everyone, leaving him utterly ashamed.
"When you chose to run away like useless trash, you should have known that it was already over between us."
Zhu Zhuqing's second sentence fell.
Dai Mubai's nails dug deeply into his palm, the taste of blood spreading in his mouth.
He had always thought Zhu Zhuqing came to Shrek to find him because she still had feelings for him, because she was willing to stand by his side and resist Dai Weisi's oppression.
So in her eyes, he had been an unpresentable coward from beginning to end?
All his years of hard cultivation at Shrek were worthless in her eyes?
"You don't deserve me at all. Only Lin Qingmo is the man I truly want."
This sentence was the final straw that crushed all his pride.
Dai Mubai's White Tiger martial soul and his years of cultivated soul power became a joke at this moment.
He couldn't even keep the woman he loved.
He could only watch helplessly as she leaned into another man's arms, denying everything about him in the most contemptuous tone.
The fury in his chest surged, nearly breaking through his sanity.
Lin Qingmo wrapped an arm around Zhu Zhuqing's waist and laughed freely, his tone brimming with disdain.
"Zhuqing, don't bother with him. He's not even a man anymore."
"Damn it!!!"
All the blood in Dai Mubai's body rushed to his head. His teeth ground together, his jawline taut like a fully drawn bowstring.
What he cared about most in his life was his dignity.
What he could least tolerate was others questioning his manhood.
Lin Qingmo's words stomped his pride into the mud and crushed it further.
He wanted nothing more than to rush forward and tear the couple before him into pieces, to grind their bones to dust.
But the moment he took a step forward, the scene before him spun violently.
When he regained his senses, he was already standing in the imperial hall of the Star Luo Empire.
Distant memories flooded his mind.
In the magnificent golden hall, civil and military officials stood in rows on both sides. All the royal family members were present.
Countless gazes fell upon him at once, filled with undisguised ridicule and contempt.
On the dragon throne, his father's expression was as cold as still water.
Beside him, Dai Weisi wore a confident smile, looking at him like a clown.
"Look, this is that Third Prince who ran away; couldn't even keep his own woman!"
An old minister with a white beard and hair spoke first, his disdain stabbing into Dai Mubai's ears like needles.
His gaze swept across the hall.
All the officials were pointing at him.
The murmurs surged like a tide, suffocating him.
"Shut up! All of you, shut up! Aaaahhh!"
He wanted to refute them, to roar.
But his voice was drowned in the endless noise, insignificant like a speck of dust.
"He even dares to come back to the Star Luo Empire? Why didn't he think of today when he ran away back then?"
"I heard he's already been castrated?"
"Hahahaha!!!"
As soon as those words were spoken, the entire hall erupted in laughter.
The laughter struck his heart like heavy hammers.
"Hahaha, how ridiculous. An eunuch still wants to compete for the throne?"
"Our Star Luo Empire can't afford such disgrace!"
Dai Weisi looked down at him from above, his tone filled with undisguised mockery.
"My dear brother, why did you come back? You've already lost all face for the Star Luo Empire."
"You couldn't even keep your own fiancée. What right do you have to stand here?"
"Hmph. I don't have a son like you. Get out of the Star Luo Empire and never come back."
The emperor on the dragon throne finally spoke, his voice as cold as ice.
"Aaaahhh!"
A beast-like growl rolled out of Dai Mubai's throat, his muscles tensing to the extreme.
He desperately tried to mobilize the soul power within his body, wanting to tear these foul-mouthed people into pieces.
But the soul power that usually flowed smoothly was now like a frozen river. No matter how he urged it, it would not move at all.
He could only stand there.
Letting those mocking words strike him, letting them trample his last shred of dignity.
Bloodshot veins filled his eyes, and even breathing carried heart-wrenching pain.
In the end, he had become a laughingstock to the entire world, abandoned by all, surrounded on all sides.
This bone-deep sense of powerlessness and humiliation was a hundred times worse than death.
End of Chapter