"You... Sigh! Forget it, Little Ling. Stay out of this."
"Take this card and go get yourself something nice to eat. Mom won't ever force you to marry Lingling again."
His mother pulled a gold card from her bosom, tears and snot streaming down her face, and shoved it into Su Ling's hand. Then she pushed him toward the door.
She even remembered to peel Xiao Wu off him and comfort her.
Su Ling: "Emm..."
Su Ling stared blankly at the card in his hand. Before he could even process what was happening, he was shoved out the door.
"Has my life... already been ruined...?"
Standing outside, Su Ling looked up at the sky. He couldn't shake the feeling that his life had fallen to pieces.
He'd only wanted to make an impression on the protagonist group. How had things ended up like this?
Suddenly, he heard sobbing behind him. Su Ling turned around.
Ye Lingling was leaning against the wall by the door, sniffling miserably.
It wasn't quite a flood of tears; more like a steady drizzle. She looked just like a child who'd been wronged.
Su Ling had always been cold toward her, but he'd been hugging Xiao Wu, whom he'd just met, and had even threatened to make her his woman.
Ye Lingling felt a pang of heartache, and the tears wouldn't stop falling.
"Su Ling... You've gone too far!" Ye Lingling looked up at him through tear-filled eyes. "I hate you!"
She furiously wiped her cheeks, but the more she rubbed, the more she cried.
Su Ling was silent for a moment. Then he turned to leave.
Ye Lingling panicked and instinctively reached out to grab his sleeve.
"Wait!" Her voice trembled with sobs, but she stubbornly refused to let go. "You... don't you have anything to explain?"
Su Ling stopped but didn't turn around.
In the sunlight, his profile looked especially stern.
"Explain what?" he asked calmly. "Didn't you see it for yourself?"
"B-but..." Ye Lingling bit her lip, tears welling up again. "I don't believe you're that kind of person..."
Su Ling slowly turned around and met Ye Lingling's red-rimmed eyes. He sighed inwardly.
In his First Life, she'd stubbornly followed him around just like this. Even when he spoke coldly to her, she'd never given up.
But in the end, she'd died because of him.
"Does it matter whether you believe me?" He tugged at the corner of his mouth and deliberately looked away, feigning indifference. "Besides, I'm busy. Please stop bothering me."
With that, he turned and walked away. He didn't know when Gu Yuena might come for him, and the closer Ye Lingling got to him, the more danger she'd be in.
"Hey! Su Ling, explain yourself! How am I supposed to understand if you don't?"
Seeing that Su Ling still wouldn't turn around, Ye Lingling stamped her foot in a panic and hurried after him, lifting her skirt as she ran.
She grabbed Su Ling's arm, her voice full of heart-wrenching grievance.
"I don't understand! I really don't! Why are you deliberately distancing yourself from me? Why are you doing these things?"
"This is so strange! Did I do something to make you hate me? If I did... tell me! I'll change!"
"But if you don't tell me, I really don't understand!"
Ye Lingling's cries echoed through the empty corridor, drawing curious glances from everyone nearby.
Even Ye Wanqing, the Shrek group, and the others upstairs turned to look.
"Lingling, get up here and heal this fatty! Su Ling! Have you got a death wish? Get lost! If you bully Lingling again, I'll have your dad break your legs!"
Ye Wanqing's voice rang down from the second floor, edged with anger.
Ye Lingling finally let go, looking a little dejected. Tears rolled down her cheeks like pearls from a broken string.
Looking at Su Ling's cold, indifferent expression, she felt as if her heart were being torn apart.
"Fine... I'll go." She turned away with a choked sob and stumbled toward the stairs.
Su Ling: "Emm..."
When he felt his mother's murderous glare,
he suddenly realized he couldn't stay in this house anymore.
The auction house in Heaven Dou City was the most famous in the entire Heaven Dou Empire.
It was backed by the Imperial Family and the major sects.
You could buy anything you wanted there.
From Soul Bones and Soul Tools to slaves, they had everything.
Su Ling stood at the auction house entrance, gazing at its resplendent golden doors, but his heart was ice-cold.
In his First Life, after he became emperor, he'd wanted to send people to investigate this auction house.
But everyone he sent was killed.
Some had even dared to send him threatening letters.
If he kept investigating, they'd even dare to kill him, the emperor.
That showed just how much wealth and power was involved.
Su Ling wore a loose black robe, his face hidden in the shadow of its hood. The hem fluttered despite the lack of wind, and strange black mist swirled around him.
The mist brimmed with death, destruction, and darkness, warping the light around him.
At first glance, he looked like a villainous Big Boss making an entrance, radiating an overwhelming sense of menace.
Seeing the crowds at the auction house entrance scatter like startled birds and beasts at the sight of him, Su Ling nodded with satisfaction.
It was a good thing he'd taken the trouble to wear the Destruction God Armor he'd forged in his Previous Life, when he'd been a God King. The effect was perfect.
Su Ling had mainly come to sell the pills he had on hand.
After all, the second time you took a Soul Enlightenment Pill, it could only replenish Soul Power and heal injuries. Using one for that was a bit of a waste.
He might as well sell them and get some Gold Soul Coins instead.
As Su Ling entered the auction hall, the noisy lobby fell silent at once.
"Sir, how may I help you?"
After a long while, a young woman was practically shoved forward to serve him.
She fought back her fear. Her voice quavered slightly, but she still managed a professional smile.
"I'm here to sell something. Bring me someone in charge," Su Ling said indifferently.
"Y-yes, sir. Please come with me."
The young woman hurriedly gestured for him to follow, then turned and walked away at a brisk pace.
After leading him down a corridor carpeted in crimson, the young woman brought him to a luxurious room decorated with jewels and gold.
"Please wait here, sir. I'll go fetch the manager." She bowed and hurried out of the room as if fleeing.
Before long, a graceful, elegant woman descended the stairs.
She wore a silver palace-style gown, and every movement displayed her poise and refinement.
"Esteemed guest, what treasures would you like to sell?"
Tang Yuehua bowed elegantly. Her voice was as pleasant as a clear spring, but beads of cold sweat were already gathering on her forehead.
Tang Yuehua possessed a special domain that could soothe every negative emotion in the world.
But the moment her domain came into contact with the aura of death around Su Ling,
she felt as if her very existence was about to be swallowed up.
She could sense that the destructive aura around Su Ling was hundreds, even thousands of times more terrifying than that of any Titled Douluo.
This was power no human could possess. It felt more like God's Pressure.
Before you continue