New Circumstances

[Foreword: This is about the issue of the protagonist having a child with his wife in the fifth year after arriving in Douluo Continent in Chapter 1. Well... before reaching a hundred thousand years of cultivation, she couldn't take human form, but surely you've seen animal documentaries? The way male and female lions mated in those was how Rus Wang and Thalassa did it.]

"The Star Luo Emperor has arrived on Star Luo Continent?"

Rus Wang set down the urgent report Ulides had sent him and stared in surprise, as though he'd just realized he'd missed something major. But then he thought about how far Dragon Valley Forest was from Douluo Continent and decided it didn't matter much. They didn't even have fifty agents undercover over there, so there was little they could do from so far away.

Besides, Di Tian would have to help the Grey Feather Division agents there return.

"What's the response from Star Dou Forest?"

"Um... there hasn't been any response. However, the Grey Feather Division branch stationed in Star Dou Forest sent word that the secret technique Lord Zi JI brought back is already being taught to the Ferocious Beasts there who are over two hundred thousand years old. Also, Zi JI has submitted a request to return to Light Dragon King to continue her studies. She hopes you'll put in a good word for her with Light Dragon King."

Good grief. It had only been eight years since that guy up there messed with you and went after my granddaughter, and you're already trying to come back? I'm still traumatized. In your dreams!

"Fine. I understand, Ulides. Keep monitoring what's happening on Star Luo Continent where Dragon Valley Forest is, and report any news of war immediately. For now, you may leave. I'll send Zi JI a message in the Communication Book."

"Yes."

As Ulides left the Throne Hall, Rus Wang immediately wrote in his book to Zi JI: "Once my son Barus has examined you and decided you're qualified, I'll put in a good word for you with Light Dragon King."

Then he left it at that and went to check on how his son was getting on with developing the Two-Horned Imprint.

This was a valuable breakthrough. Although every Elf possessed Soul Power, giving them an overwhelming advantage over humans in their ability to use Soul Tools, humans would become even stronger once they had Battle Armor. That made it crucial for the Elves to find a way to gain additional Soul Skills while forming Mental Contracts with the Dragon Race and Soul Beasts.

A scream from Zi JI rang out in the core region of Star Dou Forest, thousands of miles away.

"Wait, your son told me you'd agreed, and that he'd ask his teacher to put in a good word for me. Now you're telling me your son agreed, and you'll ask his teacher? Are you two putting on a double act? I know I'm a bit slow, but is this really necessary?"

Why hadn't Zi JI simply asked Light Dragon King herself? As a disciple, she did have Light Dragon King's Communication Book, but...

[Not until you've mastered the basics.]

Well... that little incident of Zi JI's had left an all-too-deep impression on both Rus Wang and Light Dragon King.

"So, son, how's the Imprint coming along?"

Rus Wang entered the section of the Nanshan Rainforest set aside for testing and looked toward Barus, who was running tests in the trial area with Elena.

"Ah, Father, you're here. So far, it looks like the Imprint is fully compatible with Elves who have a Mental Contract. It works on our Dragon kin and even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, too."

After Soul Beasts and Elves formed Mental Contracts based on their mental levels, the Soul Beasts' bodies could reside inside the Elves' Mental Worlds. If humans ever went to war with the Elves and caught one alone, without any Soul Tools prepared, that Elf could do more than just use the Soul Skills corresponding to the Soul Beasts' attributes. They could bring as many as four Soul Beasts out of their Mental World.

And with the Imprint Barus had invented, the Elves effectively gained another set of self-created Soul Skills.

"Still, there are some things I can't explain."

"Such as?"

"I have two test groups. In the first, one subject is a Spirit Domain Realm Soul Douluo from the Grey Feather Division, and the other is Elena, also at the Spirit Domain Realm. Both made Mental Contracts with four Soul Beasts, but the former could only add two Imprints. When he put in a third, he suffered severe physical discomfort. In the second group, Aunt Yanjin could use three Imprints, while Aunt Ximing could only use two."

Oh... Rus Wang didn't need to think hard to figure out why. It reminded him of that system from his previous life where you had to spend 250 diamonds to unlock the third slot for an Elf Imprint.

"Not a pleasant memory."

"If that's the case, then it probably has to do with cultivation level, physical capacity, and Soul Cores. We should focus on developing more uses for the Imprints."

Rus Wang suggested that his son focus on expanding the Imprints' capabilities.

"Okay."

Thirty-year-old Toriya was strolling down the commercial street in the royal capital, Ravenna, with her classmate Venicia. She was also getting a direct look at how ordinary Elves lived.

"The government covers tuition and provides free Class D meals for students like me who get good grades, so I can focus on my studies without burdening my family. But in every other respect, they really turn a blind eye."

(A high school Class D meal plan: a glass of milk and two plain steamed buns for breakfast; two corn cakes, a wrap with curried potatoes and chicken, and water spinach soup for lunch; and egg-and-chicken fried rice with a glass of orange juice for dinner. It was better than what Elf workers ate on non-holidays.)

Sitting on the second floor of a curry shop, Venicia explained the situation to Toriya. The kingdom might appear to be thriving, but stability among the lower classes was already on the verge of collapse.

The steam engines had been roaring for fifty-eight years. Although Elf ranch owners had benefited, Elf farmers hadn't been affected. Zheer Continent was vast, and despite the land-enclosure movement, government intervention had maintained the kingdom's total food self-sufficiency. But Elves in the cities were under tremendous pressure.

The Elf Kingdom lacked the capital to build up its economy, so the government imposed hefty taxes on factories, the greatest engines of wealth creation. In turn, factory owners—who had sixty out of every hundred silver coins taken in taxes—squeezed their Elf workers.

"The government says eleven hours. Why can't I make my workers do more than twelve and still pay them for eleven?" Then everything blew up. Elf workers began demanding that the government ease the pressure on them and protect their rights.

The Elf civil servants were bewildered. What had they done? The kingdom's finances were already on the verge of collapse. The prime minister had to ask King Rus Wang for money every year, and the treasury was so empty that even a mouse would waste away to skin and bones.

The government was now stuck between a rock and a hard place, blocked by public opinion. A few years ago, they'd arrested some factory owners, but it hadn't helped. Making examples of them hadn't worked. Meeting the people's demands would mean asking the king for even more money. How could that make sense?

So the whole thing had simply dragged on.

"So, Toriya, this isn't just a request from me. The workers asked me to speak on their behalf. They're asking you—the only member of the royal family in the public eye—to appeal to your grandfather, His Majesty Rus Wang. They want working hours strictly limited to ten a day and hourly wages raised as much as possible."

Toriya looked at her classmate Venicia's anxious face, then at the cheapest item on the curry shop's menu: plain potato and carrot curry rice, which Venicia had ordered for twenty copper coins.

An Elf man's hourly wage was two copper coins. This meal had cost almost a day's wages. (Note: The government controlled food prices to prevent speculation, buying crops from farmers at a price that kept the market balanced and ensuring farmers were paid fairly. A hundred-jin sack of rice, enough to feed a family of six for a month and a half, cost fifty copper coins, while a Soul Tool desk lamp cost two hundred and forty.)

She sighed and glanced toward the server standing by the curry shop manager. The manager was beside himself with excitement at having a royal family member dine in his establishment.

"Excuse me! Cancel the plain potato curry. I'll still pay for it. And I'd also like an order of baked snails, onion soup, and a medium-well steak with chicken curry rice."

"Toriya..."

"I'll take it on. I'll speak to Grandfather myself. And, Venicia, I'm taking you out for a proper meal while we're at it. You've been eating Class D meals all this time—your stomach must have been complaining for ages, right?"

Toriya looked at the nervous Venicia as if to say, "Why are you so tense? Do I look like some kind of bad person?"