Human rights? Remember, the world of the Douluo Continent was an imperial nation—one with nobles and slaves, with clearly defined classes.
Forget slaves—even an ordinary, law-abiding commoner could be killed by a noble, because nobles had the legal right to kill.
That was also why Spirit Hall had such a good reputation.
Who didn't like a philanthropist who went around doing good deeds?
"I really don't want to read this. It just makes me want to kill someone. Old man, you can keep working on it!" Qian Xunji put the report down and looked at Qian Daoliu.
"..." Qian Daoliu didn't answer him.
Qian Xunji gave up trying to get a reaction. "Then leave it to Bibi Dong! She seems to like those little girls."
Qian Xunji pulled one report from the stack. The kidnapped children were being moved around again and again, but they were always headed in the same direction—straight for the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect was famous for its womanizing. Its male members kept plenty of concubines, maids, and servants, who came either as offerings from subordinate sects and families or were bought from human traffickers.
"You're still holding a grudge and getting revenge."
"She nearly ended up among them back then, so she should know the place well. What's wrong with putting her in charge?" Qian Xunji denied it, then continued making things difficult for Bibi Dong. Well... he'd keep at it until the shoe fit.
Making Use of Trash
Over the years, Qian Xunji had handed all his more difficult assignments to Bibi Dong. She was one tough woman; she actually went and did them.
She'd nearly died several times and suffered serious injuries more than a dozen times. Her minor injuries were too numerous to count.
That was also why Qian Xunji had never killed her. Before she turned dark, Bibi Dong truly was a good person—so innocent and kind that she couldn't bear to see any of the world's darker side.
Some things weren't even assignments from Qian Xunji. Bibi Dong had volunteered to handle them herself.
Having someone as strong and unyielding as her around had greatly reduced Spirit Hall's casualties over the years.
You could call it making use of trash!
Qian Xunji rested his chin on his hand and thought as much.
When Bibi Dong saw the new assignment she'd received, her face darkened.
It wasn't because Qian Xunji had given her a difficult task. It was because the target this time was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
It was the family of her former lover, Yu Xiaogang.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect had once tried to capture her, so Bibi Dong despised them. It was no exaggeration to say she loathed them with every fiber of her being.
She had always been like that: when she loved someone, she wanted them to live; when she hated someone, she wanted them dead.
Obsessive and crazy!
If she'd been an Uchiha, she probably could have awakened a Mangekyo.
Over the years, she'd hunted down plenty of scum from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect. By now, she and the sect were enemies to the death.
If Bibi Dong had been any stronger, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect would probably have been wiped out already.
This also left Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong's ex-boyfriend, in an awkward position within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
The sect had tried to capture Bibi Dong and been retaliated against, but that didn't stop them from taking their anger out on Yu Xiaogang.
Fortunately, Yu Xiaogang had a good father, Thunder Douluo. He'd spent a fortune to advance in rank back then, to the dismay of the clan, but that hadn't stopped Yu Xiaogang from benefiting from those resources.
Yu Xiaogang already had a bad reputation within the clan, so this incident barely made a difference.
What had happened back then left Bibi Dong with complicated feelings about Yu Xiaogang and the other two.
When the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect came to capture Bibi Dong, Yu Xiaogang had hidden in his room instead of coming out. Meanwhile, Liu Erlong, who was supposedly his rival in love, had stepped forward to help Bibi Dong.
How ironic and absurd!
After Bibi Dong escaped, Liu Erlong and Yu Xiaogang were spared because of their Yu Clan bloodline. However, their Martial Soul Fusion Skill had been forcibly broken, leaving them gravely injured, and Flender had nearly been killed by the furious Thunder Douluo.
The Golden Iron Triangle fell apart after that.
Because of Yu Xiaogang's cowardice, Liu Erlong began to doubt the man she'd admired and secretly loved for years. In the end, she could no longer deceive herself and left.
Flender also grew resentful of Yu Xiaogang after Liu Erlong left, and followed her away.
Yu Xiaogang was actually an arrogant man. He could abandon others, but he couldn't accept being abandoned. After his teammates left him behind, he grew somewhat twisted, devoting himself to proving his theories right so he could regain his confidence and reputation.
But to Liu Erlong, who was straightforward, hot-tempered, and valued feelings, his behavior made even less sense.
Bibi Dong, his girlfriend, was still being hunted by his own family—including his own father—yet Yu Xiaogang could calmly keep researching his damn theories.
Liu Erlong's mother had been deceived by a scumbag. Liu Erlong had hated her own worthless father ever since she was little, so seeing Yu Xiaogang's behavior left her utterly disappointed.
He didn't have to help Bibi Dong escape—he was only a Soul Grandmaster, after all, and had no way to do that. But as her boyfriend, couldn't he at least show some concern? Find out what was happening?
Ignoring everything around him and focusing only on his research?
That was just self-deception—pretending he didn't have a girlfriend.
After reading through the detailed intelligence, Bibi Dong said nothing. She summoned her direct subordinates and immediately left Spirit City. She was so murderous along the way that everyone who saw her instinctively got out of her way.
The Zhu Family and A Ke
Star Luo Empire
An affiliated junior academy of Star Luo Royal Academy.
A Ke had enrolled alongside Zhu Zhuqing. Ever since hearing A Ke's words last time, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to have had a revelation. She no longer spent every day worrying about one thing or another.
She trained like her life depended on it. Aside from the time she needed to sleep, eat, and take care of other necessities, she devoted every moment to cultivation.
Although she'd initially thought A Ke's suggestion was impossible,
Zhu Zhuqing studied it carefully and found that it might actually be possible.
The current Star Luo Emperor was White Tiger Douluo, Dai Yutian.
Zhu Zhuqing came from a noble family and naturally knew far more than commoners. According to her family's records, Titled Douluo lived far longer than ordinary people. One of her family's ancestors, a Titled Douluo, had lived to the age of 256—and had died young only because he'd suffered numerous hidden injuries.
The current Star Luo Emperor was only in his fifties. That was relatively young for a Titled Douluo, so he wouldn't be confirming his successor too soon.
According to the records so far, the youngest Titled Douluo had been that... man, Tang Hao.
Though he was a Titled Douluo, no one acknowledged his title because of what he'd done.
He'd become a Titled Douluo at forty-four.
That gave Zhu Zhuqing hope. Of course, she didn't intend to surpass Tang Hao. As long as she could reach Soul Douluo before the final showdown, she could at least stay alive.
Titled Douluo were incredibly rare. Soul Douluo were also top-tier experts, and Zhu Zhuqing believed that reaching that rank should be enough to keep her alive.
With her innate seventh-rank Soul Power, becoming a Soul Douluo would be difficult, but still possible.
What she lacked now was time. She had to become a Soul Douluo before the Star Luo Emperor grew old and decided to confirm his successor.
So Zhu Zhuqing trained as if her life depended on it.
Children on the Douluo Continent married young, had children young, and matured early.
Even in junior Soul Master academies, plenty of students were already pursuing their female classmates and dating them.
But neither Zhu Zhuqing nor A Ke had any suitors. It wasn't that they weren't pretty; it was that both were already spoken for.
Zhu Zhuqing had Dai Mubai as her fiancé. Although Dai Mubai was currently being crushed by his older brother, he still had the authority befitting a prince in front of everyone else. It would be easy for him to kill some minor noble who pursued his fiancée.
As for A Ke, she'd decided to team up with Pei Qinhu.
There was no other way. Beautiful, exceptionally talented female Soul Masters were scarce in men's eyes, and their children would inherit their mothers' talent. Quite a few nobles had approached the Duke of Spirit Cat to propose a political marriage.
A Ke's Martial Soul wasn't the Hell Spirit Cat, which could perform a Martial Soul Fusion Skill with the royal family's Evil Eye White Tiger. That meant a marriage alliance wouldn't risk offending the royal family.
Everyone among the Star Luo nobles knew that the Hell Spirit Cat Martial Soul belonged to a Soul Master family kept by the royal family for its Martial Soul Fusion Skill.
At that moment, the teammate Qian Xunji had found for A Ke came in handy.
As a descendant of the royal family with Innate Full Soul Power, Pei Qinhu encountered little resistance when he asked to make A Ke his fiancée.
The two soon became engaged.
The Duke of Spirit Cat was a little disappointed. Pei Qinhu was a genius with Innate Full Soul Power, but it would take a long time for him to grow up and turn his potential into real strength.
Too many things could go wrong in the meantime; the risks were too high.
Rather than invest in him, the Duke of Spirit Cat would have preferred to marry A Ke directly to a powerful Soul Master who had already come into his own.
But deep down, he still wanted to keep A Ke in the Zhu Family and raise a Titled Douluo of their own.
Unfortunately, the Zhu Family was too weak to protect her right now, so they had no choice but to compromise...
Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun
Unlike Zhu Zhuqing, who was being oppressed by her elder sister Zhu Zhuyun,
Zhu Zhuyun had chosen to court A Ke, her "younger sister," who had exceptional talent of her own and a gifted fiancé.
When they ran into each other at the academy, she greeted the two of them politely and warmly. They seemed to get along quite well.
Although A Ke was friends with Zhu Zhuqing, she didn't feel any particular dislike for Zhu Zhuyun.
Both sisters were being swept along against their will, victims of the royal struggle.
The fight was between two princes, yet the two women had been saddled with fiancés and would have to die alongside the loser.
Or they might become part of the winner's harem. At most, they'd receive some special treatment because of their Martial Soul Fusion Skill, but they'd still be confined to the palace and used by the emperor as tools for performing it.
The current Star Luo Empress was the perfect example. As a Soul Douluo, she was a formidable expert, but once she became empress, she lost the rights that other powerful experts enjoyed.
Before you continue