"I hate this country." Su Ling's voice was soft, more like he was stating a cold, hard fact. "It's rotten to the core..."
Every word dripped with bone-deep scorn and detachment.
At his words, Qian Renxue shuddered.
Memories of her Previous Life came surging back like a tide.
After ascending the throne, he had purged the court with an iron fist, investigated the auction houses, and slaughtered every noble, member of the Imperial Family, Spirit Hall, and the Upper Three Sects involved. Heaven Dou City had been stained with blood...
He had once said, "I would gladly turn my body into dry bones to pave the way for generations to come. I only wish for a spark to become a prairie fire, to bring peace to the world and give ordinary people a glimmer of light..."
At the time, she had found it laughable. She thought him foolish, naïve, and out of touch.
He would actually make enemies of the whole world for those lowly commoners no one cared about.
But if she had chosen to stand by his side back then... would things have turned out differently?
She remembered the boy's relieved smile as the Asura Demon Sword pierced his chest.
Qian Renxue was in so much pain she could hardly breathe. Tears poured down her face.
If... if only she hadn't left him back then, hadn't stood against him...
"Don't worry. Even if you make an enemy of the whole world, I'll stand by your side."
Qian Renxue's voice trembled slightly, but she sounded more resolute than ever.
Su Ling stared at her, speechless, and thought, Why would I make an enemy of the whole world?
Yet Qian Renxue seemed to have heard his thoughts.
"I'll help you," the girl said earnestly.
"Help me make an enemy of the whole world? Should I thank you for that?"
Su Ling's mind was full of question marks. He tried to pull free, but still couldn't escape her hold.
He sighed helplessly and turned his gaze back to the auction stage.
The Cat-eared Maiden was being roughly dragged to the front of the stage for display. The bids ringing out below cut like knives.
"Three thousand Gold Soul Coins!" shouted a fat, greasy-faced nobleman, raising his paddle. His face was full of greed.
"Three thousand five hundred Gold Soul Coins!" someone else immediately called from the other side.
Qian Renxue followed his gaze and immediately understood.
"Five thousand Gold Soul Coins." Using Xue Qinghe's voice, she coldly named her price. Her voice wasn't loud, but carried clearly throughout the hall.
The entire auction house fell silent for a moment. Everyone turned in surprise toward that box.
Though no one could see inside, everyone knew that box belonged to the Imperial Family alone.
"The Crown Prince, so pure and aloof, never interested in women? He's into this sort of thing?"
Whispers immediately rose from the crowd below, and many wore amused smiles.
But out of respect for the Imperial Family, no one dared to raise the price.
Su Ling turned to her in surprise and met her gentle, resolute gaze. "You want to save her, don't you?"
He opened his mouth, then suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
What was this woman thinking?
One moment, she had been full of murderous intent toward him. The next, she had suddenly become so considerate.
But then he recalled that Qian Renxue had strayed from the story in his First Life, too. Even after becoming a god, a single remark from him about her living in the Cold Palace had kept her in check for years.
Su Ling decided that this woman's thoughts were even harder to read than the depths of the sea.
Just then—
The auctioneer's voice rose sharply, filled with unprecedented excitement.
"Coming up next! The true treasure of the evening!"
"Her beauty is enough to dim the moonlight! And her bloodline is one in ten thousand!"
A huge Cage covered in black cloth was slowly pushed to the center of the stage.
"I'm sure you're all wondering why we're so certain of the information about the Soul Enlightenment Pill."
"Because the Mysterious Person who first provided the pills had us verify their effects on this very subject!"
The auctioneer pointed toward the Cage, keeping the crowd in suspense.
"Now, let us reveal this treasure, one capable of stirring even the gods—behold!"
The black cloth was yanked away!
Beneath the dazzling lights, a silver-haired girl, her hair cascading like a waterfall, was curled up in the corner of the enormous Cage.
She wore nothing but a thin, tattered white dress. Her exposed skin was covered in bruises, some old and some fresh.
Heavy Soul Guiding Shackles locked around her slender ankles and wrists, digging deep into her flesh.
Her head was buried between her knees, and silver strands obscured most of her face.
Her body trembled violently from the cold and fear.
Even in such a wretched state, the glimpse of her delicate profile and her pure, snow-white hair radiated a heart-stopping, fragile beauty.
She looked young, but the outline of a future Stunningly Beautiful woman was already apparent.
"Wow—!"
"She's so cute!"
"She's a little young, but... a few years of raising her and she'll be ready."
"Heh... why bother raising her? The younger, the better. Name the price! I'm taking her!"
The crowd's noise and greed instantly reached a fever pitch.
A sudden outburst in the Royal Box
BOOM—!!!
An indescribably terrifying aura suddenly erupted!
It wasn't Soul Power, but a Destructive Intent born from the very depths of the soul!
Su Ling's body tensed like a bow drawn to its limit.
Beneath his hood, his eyes had become a frigid purple abyss, devouring all in their path.
He stared fixedly at the trembling silver-haired figure in the Cage!
Qian Renxue was startled by the savage, despairing aura of destruction, charged with fury to its utmost.
That level of Soul Pressure was close to the Divine Origin Realm.
But what concerned her more was the look in the boy's eyes as he stared at the silver-haired girl below.
It was a pain carved into his bones, mixed with regret, guilt, and tenderness...
Just like the way she had looked at him when the Asura Demon Sword pierced him.
"Do you know her?" Qian Renxue asked, her voice tight.
At last, she understood why Su Ling had come to this auction despite his injuries, despite the Divine Power Erosion—even if it meant his death.
Following Su Ling's gaze, she fixed her eyes on Gu Yuena in the Cage below.
On the surface, she looked like nothing more than a fragile, filthy little dumpling, no threat at all.
But Qian Renxue had ascended to the God King Realm in her Previous Life. How keen was her Mental Power!
She clearly sensed the faint trace of Ancient Majesty lying dormant within the silver-haired girl—an aura that made even her soul tremble.
It was the aura of the Silver Dragon King, the Lord of Soul Beasts!
It was the same aura she had sensed deep in the Star Dou Great Forest while searching the world for the boy's Fragments after becoming a god in her Previous Life.
Jealousy! An uncontrollable, bone-deep jealousy instantly became a Prairie Fire Poisonous Flame, spreading madly through Qian Renxue's heart!
Why? Why did this wretched girl get to receive such an unforgettable gaze from him?
Why could he disregard everything for her, dragging his broken body here just to reach her?
And me... I chased after him for two lifetimes, only to watch his cold back and feel his merciless rejection?
Qian Renxue was in so much pain she could hardly breathe.
Murderous intent—a killing urge more intense than any she had ever felt—gathered and surged in her eyes, threatening to take physical form.
It pierced through the crystal window, ready to tear the silver-haired figure below to shreds!
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