Chapter 404: A Ruthless Woman
If she had never seen the future video, Juzi would never have known that the small shard in her hands was actually a fragment of an incredibly powerful divine artifact. She wouldn't have cared about it at all she might have tossed it aside like a useless piece of junk, or worse, unknowingly discarded it as garbage.
She would have missed out on an opportunity of immense value.
But now, after watching the future video, Juzi understood what she held in her hands. There was no way she would let this treasure slip away.
Even though retrieving the shard meant wasting valuable escape time, and it might raise suspicion, the risk was nothing compared to the potential reward.
This artifact fragment was worth any risk!
If she could study its properties or unlock a portion of its power, this single fragment could change her fate forever.
Just imagine
In the video, Huo Yuhao, with nothing but the hilt of this divine weapon, was able to unleash terrifying power capable of reshaping reality itself!
Even if the shard she held was far smaller than the hilt, it was still part of the same weapon.
There was no doubt that it contained immense power.
Wouldn't killing a god with it be possible?
If she could figure out how to activate even a fraction of its energy, she might not become invincible, nor could she challenge the God Realm, but she could definitely march into battle, slay White Tiger Duke, and avenge her family!
And for the sake of revenge, Juzi would do anything.
A New Path No More Scheming
People assumed she relied on deception and political maneuvering because that was who she was.
But the truth was, she had no choice.
Her innate talent wasn't great, so she had to rely on others, using alliances and soul tools to achieve her goals.
But if she had been born with great talent and possessed overwhelming power, why would she bother with these political games?
She would simply march into battle herself, peel off Dai Hao's skin, grind his bones to dust, and parade his corpse through the streets!
That would be far more satisfying than playing these long, exhausting mind games.
Now, with this artifact fragment, she had a chance.
Hiding the Shard A Bold Decision
Of course, studying the fragment's power would take time.
And she wasn't worried about that.
Her only concern was what would happen if she got caught before she could use it.
If they searched her, they would definitely take it away.
And she couldn't allow that.
She needed a hiding place for the shard.
Somewhere no one would ever think to check.
Juzi paused, then made a ruthless decision.
She lifted her left wrist.
Then, with her right hand, she pulled a dagger from her soul tool.
Without hesitation
She slashed open her own wrist!
Blood splattered.
Pain shot through her arm, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably.
But she gritted her teeth and endured it.
With her other hand, she forced the divine shard into the bleeding wound!
Her entire arm convulsed in pain.
Her face turned pale, sweat dripping down her forehead.
But she did not stop.
"Hah…"
She took a deep breath.
Luckily, the shard was small.
Once embedded in her flesh, it didn't cause too much damage.
Still, this level of self inflicted pain wasn't something an ordinary person could endure.
Sealing the Wound
Now, she had to heal quickly.
Summoning her martial soul, a bright orange fruit appeared in her palm.
Yes her martial soul was a tangerine.
It was unknown whether her parents had named her after it, or if she had chosen the name herself after their deaths.
But since her martial soul was food based, her first soul skill had a simple healing effect.
It wasn't as powerful as top tier healing martial souls, but it was enough to close the wound.
She quickly ate the fruit, and almost instantly, the gash on her wrist began to close up.
Soon, the wound completely vanished.
Not even a scar remained.
And no one would ever suspect that inside her arm, buried within her flesh and blood, was a divine artifact fragment.
Now, even if she were caught, they wouldn't find it.
The safest place… was within herself.
Unexpected Changes
What Juzi didn't realize was that
As soon as the shard entered her body, something strange began to happen.
It was now soaked in her blood, constantly being nourished by her life force.
Slowly, a tiny trace of energy so faint it was almost undetectable began to spread through her body.
It moved through her veins, circulating silently.
And without her knowledge, her very physique was starting to change.
Not even Ye Lao himself, the original owner of the artifact, could have predicted this.
No one would have thought of embedding a divine shard into their own flesh.
It was never meant to be used this way.
But by sheer accident, Juzi had triggered something.
A transformation had already begun.
Escaping the Empire
After concealing the shard, Juzi cleaned up all evidence of her actions.
Then, without hesitation, she left the lab.
She took a long, indirect route, making sure to avoid crowded areas.
At last, she arrived at her escape route the secret underground passage.
Time was running out.
She knew that soon, they would realize she was gone.
And when they investigated her last known location, they would find out she had stopped at the laboratory before escaping.
That would raise suspicion.
They would search for clues.
And they might eventually discover why she had gone there.
She didn't know how much time she had before they realized she had fled.
But as long as she could get out of Sun Moon City, she could disappear.
From there, it would be far easier to escape their reach.
Into the Depths of the Underground
Before her stood a massive tree.
Taking a deep breath, she grabbed a branch and climbed.
At the very top, hidden among the leaves, was something unexpected
The tree was completely hollow.
Only the outer bark remained, yet somehow, it still grew normally.
Without hesitation, Juzi leapt into the hollow trunk
And plummeted downwards.
Deeper… deeper…
The tunnel wound its way underground.
Finally, after falling hundreds of meters, she landed at the exit.
Beyond this point
She would be free.
For now.
(End of Chapter)
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