Bastian's Worry

Samao turned off the live feed and began to ponder in his heart.

"This Luoluobai Muye, despite being a slave, possesses such astonishing combat talent, and now he has even stepped across the threshold of the laws..."

He had already reviewed Luoluobai Muye's file previously, so he was naturally very clear about his growth history and background.

"With his current strength, obtaining the title of Giant Axe Warrior will be effortless... Hmm, when he reaches his one-thousandth match, I happen to be going to the scene to present him with the Giant Axe Warrior medal and witness the slave traders removing his control chip..."

As a supervisor of the Giant Axe Arena, he had seen countless fighters participate in life-and-death battles, but those with such talent and aptitude were still as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. Especially given his background as a slave, it made his achievements all the more precious, stirring a sense of appreciation for talent within him.

"Once he regains his freedom, I will invite him to join the Giant Axe Arena..."

In his exchange with Xia, Luoluobai Muye had sustained some minor injuries, but these wounds would heal on their own before long, so Bastian naturally didn't bother arranging for him to soak in a nutrient pod.

The journey back also took several months before they finally returned to the planet where Bastian was stationed.

After Luoluobai Muye went to his training room, Bastian communicated via telepathy with his younger brother, Baspencer.

"You watched his match, didn't you?"

"I did." Baspencer's voice carried a hint of excitement. "Brother, are you planning to find a way to keep him?"

"What are you thinking?" Bastian gave him an annoyed glare. "Do you think the agreement with the Giant Axe Arena is just a piece of paper? Don't think that just because we are like gods in the eyes of slaves, the Giant Axe Arena is anything less than the heavens themselves to us..."

"Then what do you mean, big brother?" Baspencer asked, somewhat confused. "Isn't it a good thing for us that he won? Why do you look so unhappy..."

"If he wins, he continues to earn appearance fees, so naturally, I am happy." Bastian chuckled softly at first, then his voice turned grave. "I am considering what comes after..."

"What comes after?" Baspencer looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Bastian looked at the younger brother who had followed him around since childhood with a sense of exasperation. Although he was good for nothing, he was at least obedient and did whatever he was told, so he sighed and patiently explained.

"Luoluobai Muye has now won 924 consecutive matches. Originally, I wasn't too worried. With my connections in the Giant Axe Arena, as long as I arranged an opponent he couldn't possibly defeat at the final moment, we would both make money and leave no future hidden dangers..."

"What hidden dangers?" Baspencer still didn't understand.

"You don't think you've been treating Luoluobai Muye well, do you?" Bastian said coldly. "If you were him, after regaining your freedom, wouldn't you think about revenge?"

"I would." Baspencer nodded honestly. Seeing his brother about to lose his temper, he quickly added with a smile, "But he should go after that Domain Lord who sold him to us, right? It wasn't us who caused him to become a slave..."

"If he had that kind of strength, do you think he wouldn't go?" Bastian shook his head. "Based on my understanding of him, once his strength is sufficient, he will definitely go after that Domain Lord. But before that, we are the ones who should be worried..."

"Big brother, you mean..." Baspencer finally understood. "Once we remove his chip, he will take revenge on us?"

"So it took you all this time to figure that out?" Bastian felt like giving him a kick.

"But big brother, we have Domain Lord rank big shots backing us too..."

"If we offend a certain Domain Lord, that big shot can help mediate," Bastian looked at him and sighed. "But he would never act as our bodyguard. You can guard against a thief for a thousand days, but you can't prevent a thief for a thousand days. We can't stay by that big shot's side forever..."

Having figured it out, Baspencer became nervous. "Big brother, you're right. Although we are at the seventh and eighth stages of the Universe Rank, to be honest, we have zero chance of winning against Luoluobai Muye, not to mention if he were to launch a sneak attack..."

"Do you think I don't know that?" Bastian frowned. "That's why I originally wanted to arrange an unbeatable opponent for him near his thousandth win, so we could eliminate the threat..."

He sighed. "But that won't work now. In this battle, he clearly stepped across the threshold of the laws. Although we don't know how much this has boosted his strength, it is said that anyone who crosses the threshold of the laws finds obtaining the Giant Axe Warrior title to be a simple matter. I'm afraid we won't even be able to find anyone who can threaten him in the upcoming life-and-death battles..."

He sighed again and continued, "I'm not worried about him right now. Even if he has crossed the threshold of the laws, we still have plenty of eighth and ninth-stage Universe Rank bodyguards under our command. What I fear is the future, if he breaks through to the Domain Lord rank..."

"Then what should we do?" Baspencer's expression turned ruthless, and he gestured across his throat. "Why don't we just get rid of him ahead of time..."

"I've considered that plan," Bastian sighed. "But it won't work. Not to mention how much we would lose in appearance fees..."

He looked at Baspencer and said helplessly, "If he can't participate in the next life-and-death battle, do you know how much we would have to pay the Giant Axe Arena in damages? Do you think those appearance fees were easy to collect? By then, it wouldn't just be about paying back what we've taken; I'm afraid I would be dragged down with him..."

"Is it that serious?" Baspencer was incredulous. "Luoluobai Muye is our slave. Isn't it up to us how to handle our own slave? Why does the Giant Axe Arena have the right to interfere?"

"If no agreement had been signed, the Giant Axe Arena naturally wouldn't have the right to interfere," Bastian said in a deep voice. "But since the agreement was signed, some things are no longer entirely under our control..."

He seemed to recall something and said to his brother, "Do you remember that guy Granta from a few hundred years ago?"

"I remember. They say he offended the higher-ups of the Giant Axe Arena and was wiped out..."

"Actually, he didn't offend anyone," Bastian shook his head. "He violated the rules of the Giant Axe Arena..."

He looked at Baspencer and said word by word, "Just like your suggestion earlier, he killed a slave who had signed an agreement... Although he later made up an excuse that the slave was rebelling and he had no choice but to act, the Giant Axe Arena doesn't care about that. If you kill someone who is supposed to fight, then you have to fight in their place..."

"You know what kind of state Granta was in. Him going to participate in a life-and-death battle was basically suicide, so he ran..."

"He didn't make it?" Baspencer asked curiously.

"His spaceship hadn't even cleared the planet's defensive perimeter before it was hit by a laser cannon, and both he and the ship were reduced to dust..."

Baspencer shuddered at the thought of that outcome. "Then big brother, what do we do now?"

"It will take at least several decades to arrange the remaining dozens of life-and-death battles," Bastian mused. "We need to prepare for two possibilities. During this time, we should treat him better. There are some people who have suffered a lot in their lives, but once someone shows them a little kindness, they become deeply grateful. I hope he is that kind of person..."

"In private, I will pull some strings to see if it's possible to arrange even stronger opponents for him," he sneered coldly. "This is an open scheme; even if the Giant Axe Arena knows, they won't be able to say anything..."

"And what if we can't find a stronger opponent?" A look of worry appeared on Baspencer's face. Even he knew how low the probability was of finding someone stronger.

"...Then there is only one last resort!"

"Big brother, what is it?"

"If we can't get rid of him, then we send him so far away that he can never find his way back!"

Bastian's eyes were sinister as he spoke slowly.

Luoluobai Muye was naturally unaware that the two brothers were plotting how to deal with him. After returning to the training room, he began to browse through Xia's memories.