This Empire Needed to Change

In the VIP room, the brother and sister were brought over.

The moment he saw Mu Yuan, the brother, who could no longer speak, dropped straight to his knees. The sister stared blankly at Mu Yuan for several seconds before a tear streamed down her face.

Afterward, Mu Yuan learned the full story.

After Mu Yuan had helped the siblings obtain their spirit rings, their return to their hometown had immediately drawn the envy of many people.

A hundred-year spirit ring was still a rare sight in the countryside.

This drew the attention of slave catchers. Once they learned that the siblings had not joined any faction, they quickly set a trap, captured them, and sold them to the auction house.

Because the sister's appearance was not particularly outstanding, the auction house used all kinds of secret medicines and cruel methods to forcibly alter her face and figure in order to sell her at a high price. In the end, she became what she was now.

The brother had also suffered inhuman torture, but his voice had been damaged, leaving him unable to describe exactly what had been done to him.

After hearing it all, Mu Yuan could not help sighing at the darkness the siblings had endured.

He asked Xue Qinghe to help settle them down.

Xue Qinghe readily agreed. Such a trivial matter was nothing to him.

Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside.

"No, Old Marshal Ge, you cannot go in!" Xue Qinghe's attendant tried to stop him outside.

An aged voice roared:

"I know you. You're one of the Crown Prince's officials. Is Xue Qinghe in there? I never thought he was the one opposing me! As the Crown Prince, he is so debauched! Get him out here to apologize to me, then send that pair of siblings to my residence. Otherwise, I will report this matter to His Majesty and teach that Crown Prince of yours some manners!"

Upon hearing this, the sister inside immediately panicked, while the brother's face filled with despair.

Xue Qinghe silently rose and opened the door, coming face-to-face with Old Marshal Ge.

Xue Qinghe said, "I have already bought these siblings. There is no reason to hand them over. Old Marshal Ge, if you wish to seek out His Majesty, then go ahead. Stop making trouble here!"

The old man's face flushed crimson with rage.

He had always been the one others fawned over. This was not his first time meeting Xue Qinghe, and Xue Qinghe had always treated him with great respect in the past. He had never expected Xue Qinghe to humiliate him so openly today.

"Fine, Xue Qinghe! Your wings have grown hard! You think that just because your position as Crown Prince is secure, you can speak to me like this?"

Xue Qinghe said coldly, "There is no point saying more. Please leave!"

The old man roared, "I insist on taking these siblings today! Let me see just how hard the wings of this Crown Prince of yours have grown!"

With that, the old man instantly summoned his martial soul. Two yellow, two purple, and four black spirit rings appeared behind him.

As the Empire's former marshal, the old man had every reason to be arrogant. He was a powerful Spirit Douluo himself, while his son, Ge Long, was the current imperial marshal and also a Spirit Douluo. His son's talent was even greater than his own, and he had a strong chance of advancing to become a Titled Douluo in the future.

Even the current Xue Ye treated him with a measure of respect. Yet Xue Qinghe, a Crown Prince who had not even ascended the throne, dared speak to him this way!

The old man's erupting Soul Power forced Xue Qinghe back several steps. Then he barged into the room and reached directly for the siblings.

Mu Yuan frowned and stepped forward, condensing Soul Power around his fist before throwing a punch at the old man.

This was a method of Soul Power application created by Mu Yuan himself: compressing and condensing Soul Power into his fist at high intensity, then unleashing strength far beyond what his body could normally produce.

This move could barely be considered a Self-Created Soul Skill.

The old man knew nothing of it. He assumed Mu Yuan had thrown an ordinary punch and did not defend himself at all, continuing to viciously reach for the siblings.

Then, with a boom, Mu Yuan's punch sent the old man flying backward. He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Although the old man was a Spirit Douluo, he was already frail with age, and his strength was far inferior to what it had once been. Mu Yuan's strength had already surpassed that of ordinary Titled Douluo. Though he was not skilled in hand-to-hand combat, someone of the old man's caliber was not comparable to him.

A Self-Created Soul Skill had struck the old man squarely. The fact that he had not been beaten to death already showed how sturdy his body was.

The VIP rooms were on the upper levels of the auction house. The bidders below only heard a boom from upstairs and had no idea what had happened.

The auction staff hurried to maintain order and prevent unrest.

The auction house supervisor had known trouble would start the moment Old Marshal Ge went upstairs. But one was the Empire's former marshal, and the other was the Crown Prince. He could not afford to offend either of them, so he could only watch things unfold.

Now, Old Marshal Ge had been beaten half to death by Mu Yuan's punch. He could only curl up on the floor, grimacing in pain as he threatened Mu Yuan.

"You're finished. You dared hit me! My son commands an army of a million men. Just wait..."

Mu Yuan stepped forward, raised his foot, and stomped on Old Marshal Ge.

Old Marshal Ge immediately spat out blood.

"You... you!"

Mu Yuan stomped down again.

Old Marshal Ge spat out another mouthful of blood.

After several stomps, the auction house supervisor hurried over and knelt at Mu Yuan's feet, pleading, "Please stop stomping! If this continues, the old marshal will die. If he dies here, I won't survive either. Please spare this lowly one. If you really must vent your anger, stomp on me a few times instead."

Mu Yuan stopped and did not implicate the supervisor.

The man was only an employee. What right or wrong was there for him? This damned Empire.

The auction house staff hurriedly carried Old Marshal Ge away for treatment.

Mu Yuan continued participating in the auction as though nothing had happened.

This so-called Old Marshal Ge was nothing in Mu Yuan's eyes. He was merely part of a Spirit Douluo family. If Mu Yuan wished, he could make that family disappear at any time.

However, after experiencing all this, the lawlessness of the nobility left an exceptionally deep impression on Mu Yuan.

He could beat the other man to vent his anger because he was stronger than him.

But what if someone weaker than the other side had been in this situation today?

The siblings would probably have been obediently sent to Old Marshal Ge's residence.

In the end, Mu Yuan bought the blue crystal, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, for three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins.

Since Mu Yuan did not yet wish to accept the Sea God's inheritance, he did not activate it and merely put it away.

This item was equivalent to an inheritance of divine status. As long as one's talent was sufficient, one could inherit the Sea God's divine position through it. Even if Mu Yuan did not use it himself, it would still be good to give it to someone close to him.

After thanking Xue Qinghe, Mu Yuan returned to Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Not long afterward, news indeed arrived that Old Marshal Ge had lodged a complaint against him before Xue Ye.

Xue Ye did not dare do anything to Mu Yuan. He merely issued an edict ordering Mu Yuan to come to the palace and explain the situation. From the meaning of the edict, it seemed he intended to discipline both sides: Old Marshal Ge had acted improperly, but Mu Yuan had also been at fault for resorting to violence.

Mu Yuan was quite dissatisfied with this. This old emperor was always using these muddling, balancing tactics.

It had been the same when he released Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang, and it was the same again this time.