Standing Up to Injustice, Part One

The waiter quickly set out the food. Niu Dagui sat down nervously, while the old beggar plopped down and immediately poured himself a drink. He eagerly picked up some food and began eating with gusto.

"Dagui, eat too. There's plenty of food, and we can order more if it isn't enough." Hu Haoran was speechless at the old beggar's ravenous eating, so he reminded Niu Dagui. He himself began eating and drinking without holding back.

Seeing the two of them eat and drink like that, Niu Dagui gradually relaxed and began picking up food as well. In the entire Drunken Green Tower, their table was especially peculiar: a beggar, a guide, and a young master from a wealthy family sharing a meal. Even on the Douluo Continent, it was a spectacle rarely seen in a century.

"Young man, don't just focus on eating. The Blue Flower Wine here is what they're famous for. Let me toast you, my host. It's been a long, long time since anyone treated this old beggar to food and drink. I've been hungry for four or five days. Come, drink." The old beggar poured Hu Haoran a cup of wine and raised his own in a toast.

"Alright, alright, alright! I'll see how good this fine wine is too." Hu Haoran raised his cup in return and drained it in one gulp.

The moment the Blue Flower Wine entered his mouth, Hu Haoran felt as though a clear spring had flowed into his stomach. It then turned into a warm current that flowed through his meridians and limbs. The Soul Power in his dantian had actually increased by a trace.

"This..." Hu Haoran stared in astonishment, deeply surprised.

"Surprised?! This is the famous Blue Flower Wine invented by the Soul Eater Master Wine Douluo. Very few people know who invented it, but the recipe has been passed down." The old beggar savored the Blue Flower Wine, swaying his head as he spoke. "It is said to be made by grinding the bones of century-old soul beasts into powder and combining them with Blue Rock Willowheart Flower. The weaker one's strength, the more obvious the increase in Soul Power after drinking it. Long-term drinking can even replace cultivation, though this wine is only effective up to the level of a rank-thirty Soul Elder. Using wine to increase Soul Power is perfect for a drunkard like me. Hahaha..."

"Old sir, you seem to know quite a lot. Could it be that you know this Wine Douluo?" Hu Haoran's eyes shifted as he probed the old beggar. He always felt that the beggar before him was certainly no ordinary man. Though he wore tattered clothes and looked like a beggar, one's bearing could not deceive others. Hu Haoran trusted his instincts.

"Bullshit! He's the Wine Douluo, a Title Douluo! What am I? Just a beggar. Even if he were willing to know me, I wouldn't dare try to associate myself with such a great figure." The old beggar continued speaking as he swayed his head.

After hearing that, Hu Haoran shook his head and continued eating and drinking.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the old beggar patted his backside and laughed. "I'm truly satisfied today. Thank you, little brother, for such a generous feast. If there's a chance in the future, I'll repay you for this meal."

Hu Haoran merely smiled and did not take his words to heart.

After leaving the tavern, Hu Haoran followed Niu Dagui toward the Mercenary Gathering Market. There were usually many mercenaries setting up stalls there, and those with a keen eye loved finding overlooked treasures there. Hu Haoran did not understand many things, but he possessed the heaven-defying cheat device known as the Douluo System.

The Mercenary Gathering Market was crowded with people, and many mercenaries were hawking their wares. Of course, most of the mercenaries here were around rank thirty, with only a few rank-forty Soul Ancestors. They generally formed teams to hunt soul beasts, so high-quality goods were rarely found here. Hu Haoran had only come to browse around.

"Move aside! Move aside!" Two little brats desperately shoved their way through the crowd. An old man followed behind them, seemingly protecting the two children.

"If Yama wants you dead by the third watch, how could he let you live until the fifth? Hand over your lives!" Three Soul Ancestors chased after the old man and two youths, the twelve soul rings floating behind them displaying their strength.

The mercenaries were already used to scenes like this and quickly moved aside to clear a path. This world still revered strength above all. Even if they wanted to play the hero, they had to consider whether they had the ability to do so.

In the blink of an eye, the old man and two youths had been chased toward the outskirts of the city by the three Soul Ancestors.

"There's some excitement over there! Dagui, wait for me by the city gate. I'll go take a look and come back for you afterward." Hu Haoran knew his own strength well. Even if he could not defeat them, he could still escape.

"Young Master Hu, they're Soul Ancestors! You mustn't..." Before Niu Dagui could finish, Hu Haoran turned and vanished from sight.

In no time, Hu Haoran had also arrived outside the city. He saw the old man and two youths intercepted by the three Soul Ancestors.

"Mu Dagen, we're all members of the Mu Family. Why must you exterminate us completely?" With nowhere left to run, the old man begged bitterly.

"Hahaha... Mu Guiren, have you gone senile? I am from the Mu Family's main branch, while you are merely a collateral household slave granted the Mu surname. What right do you have to negotiate with me? Besides, your collateral branch now knows the secret of our main branch. The three of us will never allow you to live!" said Mu Dagen, a tall, lean man dressed in a black robe patterned with silver.

"Big Brother is right. Your collateral branch learned something it shouldn't have known, so you have only yourselves to blame. You can't blame anyone else. Hahaha..." shouted a burly man in a black robe patterned with red. He was Mu Dagen's second brother, Mu Dajing.

"Is there truly no room for negotiation? I promise you, we will never spread this in the future. What concerns the main branch also concerns our collateral branch." Mu Jiaren made one final desperate struggle.

"You promise us you won't spread it?! Not even fools would believe that, yet you dare say it to our faces! Our main branch has slaughtered nearly all of your collateral branch. Only you three little vermin remain. Do you expect us to believe that you three won't seek revenge or reveal the secret? In this world, only the dead can keep secrets. The three of you can die without worry!" said Mu Daye, Mu Dagen's third brother, a short, fat man wearing a black robe patterned with yellow.

"Make your move quickly! We don't want complications. Finish the job and get home to drink and visit the brothels!" Mu Dagen said viciously. "Third Soul Skill, Coiling Serpent Entanglement."

Mu Dagen summoned a thigh-thick serpent with interwoven red and yellow scales into his hand. The great serpent burrowed into the ground and instantly disappeared.

"Big Brother is really impatient! Third Soul Skill, Spirit Serpent Possession." Mu Dajing immediately used his own soul skill as well. His lower body transformed into a serpent's tail covered in red and yellow scales, while his face became covered in the same scales, leaving only a pair of green-glowing eyes exposed. His entire body became dark and terrifying.

"Hmph! Since you refuse to let us go, then I won't hold back either. Even if I have to risk this old life, I can still drag one of you down to hell with me." Mu Jiaren's eyes turned bloodshot. He had been forced into a dead end. "Young Masters, flee while there's chaos! This old man can only accompany you this far! Third Soul Skill, Spirit Serpent Possession!"

Mu Jiaren's martial soul was the same as Mu Dagen's, Mu Dajing's, and Mu Daye's: the Evil Desire Brilliant Serpent. Therefore, his soul skills were also somewhat similar to theirs. Mu Guiren likewise transformed into a serpent-man monster like Mu Dajing, but his eyes were not green. They were a horrifying blood red.

"Flee in the chaos?! I'm still here! Second Soul Skill, Serpent Dance Shadow." Mu Daye activated his soul skill and instantly cut off the escape route of Mu Jiaren and the other two.

Mu Jiaren and his two young masters were trapped where they stood, toyed with as though they were mice caught by a cat.