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**
The ropes binding her body were sliced apart, allowing the young girl's tense mind to finally relax a fraction.
Just moments ago, her greatest fear was that this newly arrived person would harbor the same vile intentions as the last—desiring to take advantage of her and humiliate her.
Given the strength he had displayed, if he truly held such thoughts, she would have been utterly powerless to resist, leaving her secretly sick with worry.
Although his previous words and actions suggested he wasn't that type of person, and despite the fact that he had stepped forward to save her, meaning she shouldn't think of him so maliciously, what if it was merely a case of a hungry tiger driving away a filthy wolf?
Besides, traveling completely alone in the world forced her to remain hyper-vigilant. During the time she had spent away from her clan, the lecherous degenerates she encountered weren't limited to scum like Bu Le, who used brute strength to force their desires.
There was also no shortage of extraordinary noble scions and Soul Masters who feigned sincerity just to get close to her, all to win her trust so they could possess her.
Having been exposed to the dark realities of the world since childhood, she knew these people were nothing but hypocrites—beasts in human clothing. Once they grew bored of playing with a woman's feelings, they would discard her like a piece of worthless trash.
Thus, she had never shown any of them a pleasant expression.
Seeing that Ling Xiao showed no signs of misconduct and had instead directly broken her restraints, she felt a slight sense of relief. However, without truly knowing his character, she did not completely lower her guard.
"Thank you. I'm fine."
At first listen, the girl's voice sounded rather cold.
Even though Ling Xiao had saved her, she didn't show any overtly obvious signs of gratitude, appearing somewhat distant and aloof.
Yet, beneath that surface, a trace of burning sincerity lingered. The girl was cold by nature; though she possessed a gentle and passionate side, she rarely showed it.
Having worn an icy facade to face the world for so long on her journey, it was difficult to change overnight. Peering at him closely, the girl noticed that Ling Xiao's gaze was crystal clear, entirely devoid of that repulsive, lust-filled light.
An inkling of goodwill blossomed in her heart, and her vigilance relaxed a bit more. After all, since she had left home, he was one of the very few people who didn't harbor wicked thoughts upon laying eyes on her for the first time.
Along the way, she had seen far too many people look at her with eyes brimming with desire.
Although most wouldn't completely cast off the guise of morality to drag her away for their amusement like Bu Le did—instead choosing to hide their depravity beneath a polite veneer—they could never escape her sharp eyes.
She knew exactly what vile thoughts ran through their minds. It disgusted her to the core, but she was powerless to change it. She could only protect herself more carefully, deterring them by keeping a thoroughly frozen expression.
"Miss, I can tell your martial soul is quite excellent. Moreover, your utilization of your martial soul is highly proficient and exceedingly clever."
"You must come from an extraordinary background, or perhaps you've had guidance from a teacher or clan elders. However, with your cultivation level being so weak, why are you traveling out here all by yourself?"
Ling Xiao asked, deliberately playing dumb.
Although he couldn't accurately identify her specific martial soul because she hadn't been able to fully manifest it during her martial soul possession earlier, the timing was highly specific.
Not long ago, Tang San had left Nuoding City to head toward Suotuo City.
Now, a young girl clearly hailing from a great clan had appeared in a province neighboring the Balak Kingdom. She possessed the cultivation of a two-ring Soul Grandmaster, an agility attack system martial soul with a dark attribute, and an incredibly hot, voluptuous figure.
These clues pointed directly to her identity.
She was the second young lady of the Zhu Clan—one of the four great clans of the Star Luo Empire—the House of the Hell Spirit Cat, Zhu Zhuqing. However, despite guessing the girl's identity, Ling Xiao did not expose it.
On one hand, he couldn't explain how he knew; on the other hand, if he happened to guess wrong, it would be incredibly awkward. Hearing Ling Xiao's words, the girl's expression shifted several times, but she didn't offer a lengthy explanation.
She merely squeezed out two words.
"Finding someone."
"Finding someone?" Ling Xiao couldn't help but chuckle softly upon hearing this.
It seemed his guess was entirely correct.
However, he didn't harbor any designs toward Zhu Zhuqing.
After all, it was impossible for her to join Spirit Hall.
By the same token, even if she wanted to join Spirit Hall and use its immense power to help her break off her engagement, sever her ties with the Star Luo Imperial Family, and escape her predetermined fate, Spirit Hall would never accept her.
This remained true even if her innate talent were stronger, even if she had possessed Innate Full Soul Power. After all, the Hell Spirit Cat Clan was not only one of the four great clans of the Star Luo Empire, but also the most steadfast supporter of the Star Luo Imperial Family.
Most importantly, Zhu Zhuqing was the direct daughter of the clan head. She had been betrothed to an imperial prince since childhood, a union deeply intertwined with the Star Luo Imperial Family's system of succession.
If Spirit Hall were to accept Zhu Zhuqing into its ranks, it would be tantamount to openly declaring hostility against the Star Luo Imperial Family. On the surface, accepting a single Zhu Zhuqing might seem inconsequential.
However, if the Star Luo Imperial Family tacitly consented to this without taking action, it would set a precedent. Wouldn't that provide a fallback route for future Star Luo princes and daughters of the Zhu Clan to follow suit?
If they all learned from her example, the succession system of the Star Luo Imperial Family—traditionally renowned for being iron-blooded and ruthless—would become an absolute joke. Therefore, the Star Luo Imperial Family would never agree to this.
On this matter, they would absolutely go toe-to-toe with Spirit Hall. Although it appeared on the surface that the Star Luo Empire was far from capable of competing against Spirit Hall in terms of top-tier powerhouses, that was not actually the case.
If the Star Luo Empire truly only possessed the strength it displayed on the surface, why would Spirit Hall choose the Heaven Dou Empire instead of the Star Luo Empire when initiating their undercover infiltration plan to prepare for the future unification of the continent?
It was simply because the Star Luo Empire was far superior to Heaven Dou. If they chose to strike at Star Luo, the probability of failure would be extremely high. As the faction with the longest inheritance on the Douluo Continent, Spirit Hall naturally possessed a vast treasury of secrets.
For a long time, Spirit Hall had actually been quite wary of a certain guardian force hidden behind the Star Luo Empire. For Spirit Hall, now was definitely not a good time to trigger a conflict with Star Luo.
Once the guardian force behind Star Luo was drawn out, it would only allow others to reap the benefits of their conflict. Of course, regarding Spirit Hall's wariness toward the Star Luo Empire, Ling Xiao had previously assumed it was due to Star Luo's increasingly prosperous national might.
It was his teacher, Mu Chen, who had informed him about the hidden guardian force behind it. Furthermore, because his cultivation level was too low, making it inappropriate for him to know too much or get involved in these affairs, his teacher had not gone into extensive detail.
However, just because Ling Xiao did not yet fully comprehend this secret did not mean he couldn't use it to deduce the situation regarding Zhu Zhuqing.
His train of thought and deductions just now had actually only taken the strength of the Star Luo Empire alone into consideration. In reality, this matter was far more complex than his previous assumptions, because if this were to happen, it would inevitably trigger a domino effect.
If such an event occurred, the other sects in the Soul Master world would view it as Spirit Hall using its sheer might to interfere with the succession of the Star Luo Imperial Family. If Spirit Hall targeted Star Luo today, they might target them tomorrow.
Consequently, they would absolutely aid Star Luo. This would only damage Spirit Hall's own prestige, drastically increase the pressure on them, and even cause Spirit Hall to fall into a state of utter isolation.
Therefore, even if Zhu Zhuqing's talent was enhanced to the level of Innate Full Soul Power and she was willing to join Spirit Hall, Spirit Hall would never choose to offend Star Luo for her sake.
After all, although an individual with Innate Full Soul Power represented a future Titled Douluo, it could not compare to the staggering price they would have to pay for openly offending the Star Luo Empire.
**
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