Balak Kingdom, border town, Rose Hotel.
Because it was close to the Star Dou Great Forest, although the town could not compare to the kingdom's major cities, its economy was still among the kingdom's more prosperous.
In the town, pedestrians streamed endlessly and mercenaries were everywhere. Everyone carried a faint reek of blood, and the streets were lined with vendors trading spirit beast pelts, claws, and fangs.
Even soul masters, who were usually hard to spot, were extremely common here.
The town had a large transient population, so there were many inns. The Rose Hotel, however, was a hotel reserved exclusively for those Lord Soul Masters.
"Something huge happened today!"
"What happened?"
"Heh, you all saw those two carriages entering the city today, didn't you? Tsk, tsk, those three women were truly beautiful. Rouge Red, the top courtesan in the town brothel, wouldn't even be worthy of carrying their shoes compared to them!"
"Watch your mouth, brat. Those two carriages headed for the Rose Hotel, and that's a place only soul masters can stay. Those three women are probably soul masters. If you run your filthy mouth and they find out, you won't even know how you died!"
A man warned him.
"But what does what you're saying have to do with that huge incident?"
The man who had spoken first glanced around guiltily, then continued explaining to the people nearby:
"Heh heh, you don't know this, but after those three women entered the Rose Hotel, that old lecher Mao Li immediately took a fancy to them."
"Ah, what a waste!"
Someone said regretfully.
In the town, Mao Li was greedy and lustful, bullying men and dominating women. But he was fairly strong, a Soul Ancestor, so no one could do anything to him.
Once Mao Li set his sights