"Xingluo Empire, the second young lady of the Zhu family, Zhu Zhuqing?"
Ning Liu walked closer and spoke.
The girl was shocked, turned around suddenly, and looked directly at Ning Liu with a pair of cold eyes full of vigilance and murderous intent.
"Who are you?"
Her voice was like quenched ice, in stark contrast to her hot figure.
Ning Liu smiled slightly, not caring about her hostility.
"Someone who can help you."
He paused, his tone a bit playful.
"In other words, a person who can make you stronger."
Zhu Zhuqing's pupils shrank imperceptibly.
「I don’t understand what you mean.」
“Don’t understand?”
Ning Liu chuckled.
"Dai Mubai, the prince of the Star Luo Empire. You, his fiancée. A cruel royal marriage, a life-and-death struggle for inheritance."
"And, he doesn't seem to take you to heart."
Ning Liu's words were like sharp knives, accurately piercing the most painful part of Zhu Zhuqing's heart.
The "Rose Secret Handkerchief" incident was like a poisonous thorn, piercing deeply into her heart.
“This has nothing to do with you.”
Zhu Zhuqing said calmly.
But her slightly trembling eyelashes betrayed her inner unrest.
"Oh? Is it really irrelevant?"
Ning Liu took a step forward and lowered his voice.
"Do you think that you can get rid of your fate by coming to the Tiandou Empire?"
"Dai Mubai is living happily here, but has he ever thought about you at all?"
"If he was really responsible, would he leave you alone, before he was alone in the Star Luo Empire, and now he is here, confused about the future?"
Zhu Zhuqing's breathing quickened slightly.
There is no doubt that every word Ning Liu said was hitting her tense nerves.
"You know the cruelty of the Xingluo royal family better than I do. If Dai Mubai loses, what will happen to you as his fiancée?"
"Besides, even if he wins, what do you think you can get based on his attitude towards you today?"
Zhu Zhuqing's face turned pale little by little.
It's not that she hasn't thought about these problems, she just doesn't want to face them.
"Dai Mubai, he...he just..."
She wanted to defend Dai Mubai, but found that there was nothing she could say!
Ning Liu naturally caught the trace of wavering in her eyes.
"Zhu Zhuqing, are you willing?"
"Are you willing to place your destiny on someone who doesn't cherish you?"
"Are you willing to become a victim of the royal family's struggle one day in the future?"
"Don't you want to take your destiny into your own hands?"
"Become stronger, strong enough to defy all rules, so strong that no one dares to despise you anymore!"
Zhu Zhuqing's heart is in chaos now.
Disappointment towards Dai Mubai, fear for the future, and desire for power were all intertwined at this moment.
She opened her mouth, but she didn’t know what to say.
"Join my force."
Ning Liu directly extended an olive branch.
"I can give you resources and a platform that can really make you stronger."
"As for Dai Mubai, as for the Xingluo Empire, when you have enough power, what do they mean?"
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly raised his head and looked at Ning Liu.
"Your power?"
"That's right, it's this auction house."
Ning Liu's smile was confident and calm.
"You don't need to answer me now. Come with me, I will give you a meeting gift first."
Ning Liu turned around and walked towards the owner's secret room.
Zhu Zhuqing stood there, her chest wrapped in black leather clothes rising and falling, showing her inner uneasiness.
After a moment, she gritted her teeth and followed Ning Liu's footsteps.
…
In the owner's secret room.
Ning Liu turned his hand over, and a crystal-white flower that looked like it was carved from jade appeared in his hand.
A refreshing fragrance instantly filled the entire secret room.
Zhu Zhuqing's pupils suddenly shrank, and his face showed disbelief.
"This...is this...narcissus jade muscle and bone?"
"It's the same as the one at the auction, both dated 100,000 years ago?"
Her voice was trembling.
"How could you...how do you still have this thing?"
Ning Liu smiled lightly.
"It's just a small chance."
Then, he handed the narcissus jade muscle and bone to Zhu Zhuqing.
"Although a treasure is good, it depends on who it is used for."
"Zhu Zhuqing, you deserve this one."
Zhu Zhuqing looked at the fairy grass in front of him, and then at Ning Liu, with complicated eyes.
"Why...give it to me?"
"I said, this is a meeting gift."
Ning Liu pointed at the fairy grass.
"Take it. Eat the petals one by one, then suck the essence in the stamens, and use your soul power to absorb it."
"It can cut your hair and cleanse your marrow, consolidate your foundation, and greatly increase your soul power."
Zhu Zhuqing took the narcissus jade muscle and bone, and started to feel warm and fragrant.
She took a deep breath and no longer hesitated.
According to what Ning Liu said, she carefully picked off a petal and put it into the sandalwood mouth.
The petals melt in the mouth and turn into a gentle and pure energy, flowing down the throat and into the limbs and bones.
Zhu Zhuqing's body trembled slightly, and a faint blush appeared on his face.
She ate the petals one by one, and finally took the stamens in her mouth and sucked them gently.
Suddenly, an even more majestic torrent of energy surged from her mouth into her body.
Zhu Zhuqing immediately sat down cross-legged, using his soul power to guide this energy.
The surface of her body began to seep out traces of black impurities, and a strange fragrance emanated from her body.
Time passed little by little.
When Zhu Zhuqing opened her eyes again, her temperament had changed significantly.
The original coldness was a little less cold, and it became a little more ethereal and charming. Her skin was as white as jade, as if it could squeeze out water.
She felt the surging soul power in her body, and her face showed a look of surprise.
「Level 30!」
"I actually... broke through to level 30!"
She was originally only at level 27, but this fairy grass actually allowed her to upgrade to three levels in a row!
Zhu Zhuqing looked at Ning Liu, his eyes less wary and more grateful.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Ning Liu waved his hand.
"The improvement of soul power is more than that. Once you have absorbed the third soul ring, you will understand that the benefits it brings to you are far more than the improvement of soul power level."
"You should adjust your breath here for a moment, stabilize your realm, and adapt to the changes in yourself and your martial soul."
Zhu Zhuqing nodded, closed his eyes, and entered the cultivation state again.
Ning Liu looked at her, the corner of his mouth curved.
Zhu Zhuqing, he won this chess piece.
……
At the same time, in the treasure exchange of Qibao Auction.
Dai Mubai stood in front of a slightly remote stall, his brows furrowed and his face full of hesitation.
On the stall, there were four soul bones, emitting soul power fluctuations of different intensities.
A piece of left leg bone of a thousand-year-old wind tiger, with green light flowing and the faint sound of wind howling.
A piece of the right arm bone of a thousand-year-old golden tiger. The golden light is so sharp that it seems to be able to tear everything apart.
A thousand-year-old armored tiger trunk bone, thick with earthy yellow light, indestructible.
There is another piece, which is what attracts Dai Mubai's eyes the most. It is the skull of a ten-thousand-year-old Sky-shaking Tiger. The dark golden brilliance is restrained, but it exudes a soul-shattering pressure.
These four soul bones, whether in terms of attributes or parts, are perfectly consistent with his White Tiger Spirit.
The stall owner is an old man with a haggard face, his eyes are cloudy, and his tone is a little impatient.
"I say, young master, do you want to buy it or not?"
"Don't waste my time here."
"If it weren't for my dilapidated sect that couldn't survive anymore and needed money to dismiss its disciples, how would I sell a soul bone of this quality?"
"And let me tell you, these four pieces must be packed and taken away together, not sold alone!"
Dai Mubai took a deep breath and suppressed the irritation in his heart.
He has already negotiated the price with the stall owner. Twenty-five million gold soul coins are exactly all his savings.
But if he bought these four soul bones, he would no longer have any money left to buy cultivation resources for Zhu Zhuqing.
However, when he thought of Zhu Zhuqing's cold eyes, an unknown fire surged in Dai Mubai's heart.
"Humph, woman!"
"It's just a woman. Without her, wouldn't I, Dai Mubai, be able to find a better one?"
"Rose Secret Handkerchief... So what if I embarrass her?"
"Strength! Only your own strength is the most important!"
"When I absorb these four soul bones, my strength will be greatly increased, what should I be afraid of?"
"Women are like clothes, you can change them again! But if you miss the opportunity to improve your strength, it will be gone!"
Thinking of this, the hesitation in Dai Mubai's eyes disappeared instantly, replaced by fierceness.
He raised his head suddenly and said to the stall owner.
"I want all of these four soul bones!"
"Twenty-five million gold soul coins, trade now!"
A hint of joy flashed in the stall owner's cloudy eyes.
「Okay! Enjoy it!」