Qian Renhan and the People's Suffering

"Alright, brother." Qian Renxue said seriously, "Dad, I want a Nine Hundred-Year Spirit Ring!"

Qian Xunji sighed. "Alright."

Another round began. Qian Renxue sat cross-legged and absorbed a top-tier Light Attribute Spirit Ring that was just over nine hundred years old.

Qian Xunji kept his gaze fixed on Qian Renxue and spared a small portion of his mental focus to ask, "Xiaohan, how many years are you planning for your second Spirit Ring?"

Qian Renhan replied, "I don't even know how strong I am right now. I'll need to fight someone before I can determine my next Spirit Ring. I imagine Father didn't bring Xiaoxue and me out just to observe how the common people live, did he?"

"You're as smart as ever." Qian Xunji nodded slightly. How could training rely solely on looking? Without fighting to show off the Spirit Hall Qian Clan's new generation of geniuses and bolster Spirit Hall's prestige, what would be the point?

A sharp gleam flashed through Qian Xunji's eyes. By his calculations, it should be about time.

At that moment, in the sect master's hall of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a white-haired, decrepit old man sat upon the throne. He was Yu Longchen, the current sect master of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Yu Yuanzhen's father.

"Seven days from now, the younger generation will compete. Father, should we accept Qian Xunji's challenge letter?" Yu Yuanzhen asked from the side. He was currently forty-nine years old. He would die in battle at seventy-five, and he had yet to break through to Title Douluo.

Yu Longchen snorted coldly, his aged voice brimming with boundless dominance. "Qian Xunji wants to use the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan as a stepping stone to make Spirit Hall famous. That is nothing but wishful thinking!"

"Accept it. Of course we must accept it. We are dragons, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragons. Dragons do not know the word surrender!"

"I understand, Father!" Hearing those words, Yu Yuanzhen felt his Martial Soul, the pride of a dragon, and his bloodline boil within him.

"Yuanzhen, Father cannot hold on much longer. You must break through to Title Douluo quickly. Otherwise, our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's position among the Upper Three Sects will be in grave danger." Yu Longchen sighed and placed his withered hand on Yu Yuanzhen's shoulder.

"I will, Father. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the name Thunder Douluo—I will inherit them." Looking at Yu Longchen, who was no longer young, frail with age, and faintly emanating the aura of death, Yu Yuanzhen's eyes could not help but moisten.

The next day, Suotuo City, Faxino Province, Baroque Kingdom.

At dawn, before the blazing sun had risen, simply dressed farmers carrying shoulder poles laden with fresh vegetables and fruits came into the streets and alleys of Suotuo City from outside the city. They reached unoccupied stalls and began setting up. Every one of them was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath, utterly exhausted.

There was no such thing as buying a stall in Suotuo City. Farmers could only claim them by arriving early. The more foot traffic a stall received, the more likely it was to earn money. Thus, these farmers rose earlier than chickens. They had to get up before daylight and rush here. Even if walking in the dark was dangerous, they had to come—for the sake of survival.

On top of a tall building, Qian Xunji stood with Qian Renhan to his left and Qian Renxue to his right. The three silently watched the farmers bustle about, while Snake Lance and Pufferfish remained hidden nearby as guards.

Pity filled Qian Renxue's eyes. After obtaining her Spirit Ring yesterday, Qian Xunji had taken the two of them to visit small villages in the countryside. Most people lived in thatched huts; the better-off ones had houses made of wood and earth. Their main food was Blue Silver Grass roots, while meat was practically nonexistent.

Having lived in the splendid Worship Hall and eaten delicacies from land and sea every day, Qian Renxue had never seen anything like this. She had even asked Snake Lance Douluo to secretly exchange one Gold Soul Coin for a cooked Blue Silver Grass stalk and put it in her mouth. The moment she bit down, she had nearly spat it out.

Qian Renxue tugged on Qian Xunji's sleeve and asked, "Dad, these people work so hard just to live. Why are their lives still so difficult?"

Qian Xunji said indifferently, "Keep watching, and you'll understand."

Half an hour later, the sun slowly rose, its light blanketing the earth. Outside Suotuo City, two squads of soldiers clad in armor and holding spears marched over. At the center ahead of them walked a tall, rather handsome young man who looked to be in his twenties, dressed in a luxurious gold-trimmed robe. Another squad of armored soldiers followed behind him.

In only a moment, the robed young man led the soldiers to the center of the street vendors' area. He examined the fresh vegetables and fruits, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Prince Luo Deli." When the farmers saw the handsome young man, their bodies began trembling involuntarily, and fear filled their eyes.

Luo Deli clapped his hands, a perfect aristocratic smile appearing at the corners of his lips. "Soldiers, heed my command. Buy all these vegetables and fruits."

At the order, all the soldiers sprang into action and went to the various stalls. They called it buying, but it was actually robbery. Some reluctantly tossed down a few Copper Soul Coins to keep up appearances, while others simply kicked the stall owners aside and took everything away.

For a time, cries of anguish and pleading rang out continuously throughout the streets and alleys.

Watching the scene, Qian Renhan muttered inwardly, This is exactly like the conduct of Baroque Kingdom nobles Zhao Wuji described at Shrek.

"Dad, Dad, can't we help them? They're so pitiful." Qian Renxue clutched Qian Xunji's sleeve, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes. Those vegetables and fruits were earned through the farmers' hard labor. If the Baroque Kingdom took them away like this, it was easy to imagine how difficult their lives would become. Some might even starve to death.

Qian Xunji sighed and shook his head. "No, Xiaoxue. Spirit Hall's purpose is to bring peace to the continent. If we intervene, the relationship between Spirit Hall and the Baroque Kingdom will deteriorate. Once fighting starts, it could become the spark that ignites a continental war. We worked hard to make Heaven Dou and Star Luo cease hostilities. If the two great empires go to war again, how many people will die?"

A warm reminder: The one who wanted to start a war and unify the continent was Bibi Dong. Qian Daoliu had no such intention and was dragged onto the war chariot later. Qian Xunji had too little description in the original work, so it is unclear.

At that moment, Qian Xunji turned and saw Qian Renhan's eyes, devoid of the slightest emotion and as calm as ever. He could not help asking, "Xiaohan, what do you think?"

"Cheap bones. They deserve to be enslaved and are not worth pitying," Qian Renhan replied coldly. He continued, "Father, Xiaoxue, perhaps what you see is these common people being exploited, helpless, and pitiful. But I see something else."

"The eyes of these exploited people reveal pain, sorrow, and despair, but there is no anger or hatred." A mocking smile appeared on Qian Renhan's lips as he said indifferently, "That means they have grown used to being exploited. They have basically accepted it as normal and believe that nobles exploiting them is only natural. Since that is the case, why should I pity them?"

"Xiaohan, how can you think like that?!"

Qian Xunji demanded angrily. In the six years since Qian Renhan's birth, Qian Renhan had always been neither warm nor cold toward him as his father and showed little respect. Even after he awakened the Fallen Angel Martial Soul, Qian Xunji could endure it and treat him as he treated Qian Renxue. But if Qian Renhan viewed suffering common people with such a mindset, he could no longer tolerate it. Not only did his Martial Soul run contrary to the Angel Clan, but his beliefs did as well. This son of his was, in both Martial Soul and ideology, a complete anomaly within the Angel Clan.

"This is my most honest view. A group of lowly commoners who have knelt for so long that they do not know how to resist, do not know how to stand, and do not even possess the thought of resistance are unworthy. They deserve to be exploited, deserve to starve to death, and deserve to be called lowborn—just like those slaves of the Strength Clan who are born believing they are Tang Hao's dogs."

Qian Renhan responded the same way, voicing his most genuine thoughts.

PS: I think I have made it clear enough. The common people in Douluo are like people who have a knife inexplicably held to their necks by nobles, yet still believe it is only natural for nobles to kill them. They believe resistance is utterly unforgivable and only hope the nobles will show mercy. It is genuine servility ingrained in their bones; they are born believing themselves lowly.