"This..."
Hearing Zhu Zhuyun's words, Zhu Zhuqing hesitated.
Her sister's request this time wasn't unreasonable.
But Zhu Zhuqing knew herself well.
Compared to Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling, who held Ye Yu's "original shares," or Ning Rongrong with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan behind her, and even Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, and Shui Yue'er, each with the backing of their own clans, Zhu Zhuqing was different.
She was a discarded child, expelled from her family.
She offered Ye Yu nothing in terms of power or resources.
Thus, all this time, she had preserved her place by Ye Yu's side in another way.
In private, Zhu Zhuqing always presented herself to Ye Yu with utmost gentleness and devotion, hoping to win his affection.
On other matters, she almost never voiced her own opinions—at most, she echoed Ning Rongrong's words as a younger sister would.
So even when it came to her family, Zhu Zhuqing hesitated, unsure whether she should speak.
Zhu Zhuyun saw her wavering and pressed harder, her tone full of stern urgency.
"Zhuqing, what are you hesitating for? This is a good thing for Lord Ye Yu as well!
If you help the clan preserve its strength, then in the future, as the only pillow-side confidante of the family by Lord Ye Yu's side, the clan will throw its full support behind you.
Look around you—there are so many women at Lord Ye Yu's side. Of course he cares for all of them. But his time and attention are limited. The more important you are, the more of that time and attention you will receive.
Don't you want to be counted among the most important women in his life?
If not for yourself, then at least for the sake of the children you and Lord Ye Yu will one day have."
"Most important… woman."
"Children…"
Zhu Zhuqing stayed silent, but in her heart, the scales began to tip.
Though she had long accepted the role of being a quiet presence by Ye Yu's side…
Did she truly want to remain invisible forever? To simply trail behind Ning Rongrong like a follower?
That was no choice at all.
Now, for the first time, she saw another path.
In the end, Zhu Zhuqing agreed to Zhu Zhuyun's proposal.
Because the matter was too important, she decided that the fewer who knew, the better.
So she had Zhu Zhuyun stay hidden in her room until Ye Yu returned at night. Then she would bring her sister to him.
That evening, after Ye Yu came back with Dugu Yan and Hu Liena, Zhu Zhuqing brought Zhu Zhuyun to him.
There, Zhu Zhuyun respectfully and earnestly laid out the offer on behalf of the Hell Spirit Cat Clan: they wished to submit to Ye Yu.
Naturally, Ye Yu did not refuse.
After all, this was Zhu Zhuqing's clan. No matter what, it included her parents, her sister, and other blood relatives.
Since they had chosen to surrender, there was no reason to reject them.
As for their willingness to serve as an inside agent within the Star Luo Empire?
Ye Yu barely cared.
With his own power—and that of his Mirror Clone—even an army of thousands was something he could destroy with one hand.
But unifying the Douluo Continent was only the beginning.
Afterward, he would need to fully assimilate the Star Luo Empire and the various kingdoms and principalities, economically, politically, and culturally.
Only then would true unification be achieved, and only then could the continent flourish.
Otherwise, it would be no different from when Qin Shi Huang united the Six Kingdoms—merely unifying the land, without integrating its systems. That had led only to new chaos.
For this reason, when it came to assimilating Star Luo and its vassal states, the Hell Spirit Cat Clan—true "local dragons" in Star Luo—could indeed prove useful.
Meanwhile, in the Divine Realm.
Ever since discovering that Spirit Hall intended to unify the Douluo Continent, the Asura God and the Sea God had been watching events unfold.
At first, things seemed acceptable.
Even when the Heaven Dou Empire allied with Spirit Hall to jointly pursue unification, they did not panic.
After all, they understood that Douluo was a world where the strong reigned supreme.
As long as Tang Chen and Tang San, training on Sea God Island, successfully advanced to the half-god realm—or even completed their respective Nine Trials to inherit the positions of Sea God and Asura God—Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou would never be allowed to fully unify the continent.
Two gods would not permit it.
But then they saw Ye Yu in action.
When the allied Heaven Dou and Spirit Hall armies clashed with the forces of the Balak Kingdom, Ye Yu raised his hand—and an endless forest of colossal blue crystal trees erupted, towering into the clouds, instantly ensnaring tens of thousands of elite soldiers.
With a single strike, he subdued an army.
The Asura God and the Sea God were left utterly dumbfounded, waves of shock crashing in their hearts.
Wait—was this still just a Spirit Master?!
Yes, Ye Yu had already stepped onto the path of godhood, even beginning to gather faith. But how could a half-god possess power surpassing that of high gods—or even a God King?
What kind of monster was this? A freak of heaven and earth?
For the first time, the Asura God and Sea God Poseidon grew genuinely anxious.
Ye Yu was already terrifyingly strong.
If he helped the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall unify the continent—and spread faith in the process—then even if Tang Chen and Tang San inherited their divine thrones, they might stop unification, but they could not stop the spread of faith.
And once Ye Yu gathered enough faith to condense a true godhood, the successors of their positions, Tang Chen and Tang San, would no longer be his match.
They had to act early.
If the two of them joined forces, perhaps they still had a chance to defeat—or even kill—Ye Yu.
Ye Yu's Eighth Spirit Ability, Advent of a World of Flowering Trees, summoned an endless forest of towering Blue Silver Spirit Jade Trees. Yet so far, he had only used them against ordinary soldiers.
Because of this, neither the Asura God nor the Sea God could clearly gauge the full power of his creation.
Still, the sheer scale of the forest was enough to convince them that Ye Yu was far from ordinary.
Even so, they believed that once Tang Chen and Tang San inherited their divine positions, they might still stand a fighting chance.
They would have to stake everything on it.
On Sea God Island.
Tang Chen had already completed eight of the Asura God's Nine Trials.
Though the eighth trial had been disrupted by the Blood Bat King and not truly passed, the Asura God had turned a blind eye and allowed him through.
But for the ninth trial, there would be no leniency.
Tang Chen had to refine the killing intent of his Killing God Domain further—transforming it into true Asura power.
As for Tang San, his Sea God Nine Trials remained largely the same as in the original story.
At this moment, he was still undertaking the very first: passing through the Sea God's Light.