Earth Dragon Gate, a quiet courtyard.
The night was thick, wrapping the entire courtyard tight. Only a few dim, yellow candle flames shone from the ancestral hall.
"Smack! Smack!"
Crisp sounds rang out, mixed with a few stifled whimpers, echoing through the night.
"Mom, I said I'm sorry, okay?"
Nan Qiuqiu knelt on the ground, pouting as she spoke, clearly unwilling.
Standing before her was a middle-aged beauty who bore some resemblance to her. She held a bamboo switch and looked stern.
The woman seemed to be in her early thirties. An air of authority, born of long years in a position of power, hung between her brows, softened somewhat by the faint lines at the corners of her eyes.
They were traces of hard work. Far from detracting from her beauty, they added the unique charm of a mature woman.
Nan Shuishui, the current sect master of Earth Dragon Gate.
"How many times have I told you? Your father just passed away, and Earth Dragon Gate needs time to stabilize... How dare you go out and cause trouble?"
Nan Shuishui gazed at her kneeling daughter, her eyes cold and her face utterly unforgiving.
Although she had taken a son-in-law into the family, without her husband's support, elders within Earth Dragon Gate had already begun to stir.
For the past two years, she had been cultivating desperately, hoping to break through to Soul Douluo as soon as possible and stabilize the situation.
"But those people were gossiping about Earth Dragon Gate... I couldn't hold back."
Nan Qiuqiu argued, feeling wronged.
Hold back, hold back, hold back! She'd been holding back all this time! People outside already looked down on Earth Dragon Gate.
"If only Dad were here~"
Nan Qiuqiu lifted her head and looked through tear-blurred eyes at the altar table.
A black-and-white portrait rested on it. The man in the picture had a gentle face, a smile at the corners of his mouth, and seemed as lifelike as ever.
Dad had always spoiled her most... With him around, hardly anyone in all of Dragon City dared even raise their voice at her.
"Ah, Qiuqiu."
Seeing her daughter's bloodshot eyes, Nan Shuishui finally softened.
She dropped the bamboo switch, crouched down, and pulled her daughter into her arms. Her voice carried a hint of self-reproach.
"It's all because Mom isn't capable..."
Gradually, her own eyes reddened too.
Thinking of all the grievances she had been unable to confide in anyone these days, Nan Shuishui silently shed two streams of tears.
How could a widowed mother and her orphaned daughter possibly shoulder the burden of Earth Dragon Gate so easily?
"Mom..."
Seeing her mother cry, Nan Qiuqiu couldn't hold back either and burst into tears.
"Please don't cry. It's all Qiuqiu's fault... Sob!"
Mother and daughter clung to each other. The ancestral hall was filled only with their sobs, swallowed by the heavy night, unnoticed by anyone.
But just then, Nan Qiuqiu, who was crying in Nan Shuishui's arms, suddenly widened her eyes.
The man's portrait, which had been resting quietly on the altar table, blurred for a moment. Then he smiled at her.
"Hm?"
Nan Qiuqiu froze.
She hurriedly rubbed her eyes and looked again. The portrait of her father was still smiling at her.
It wasn't an illusion??
"Mom, Mom—!"
Nan Qiuqiu cried out in fright, frantically patting Nan Shuishui's back with her little hands.
"What's wrong?"
Nan Shuishui wiped away her tears and looked down at her daughter in her arms. Why had the girl suddenly started shaking like that?
"Dad smiled at me!"
Nan Qiuqiu looked up in disbelief and pointed at the altar table.
Nan Shuishui: ???
"You silly girl, what nonsense are you talking about?"
Nan Shuishui chided her affectionately. The affection that had risen in her heart vanished at once. She picked Nan Qiuqiu up, preparing to continue administering the family punishment.
She even dared to joke about her dead father. How utterly disrespectful...
"No, Mom! Look for yourself!"
Nan Qiuqiu clung to Nan Shuishui's arm, her whole body suspended in the air, both legs hooked around her mother's waist.
She stared at the portrait in terror. Her father wasn't just smiling at her—he'd even winked!
"Hm?"
Nan Shuishui furrowed her brows. Seeing how panicked her daughter was, she suddenly felt a flicker of alarm.
She whipped around and looked above the altar table—
In the next instant, an extreme chill rose from behind her, cold enough to freeze the marrow of even a Soul Sage like Nan Shuishui.
"Who!!!"
Nan Shuishui was horrified. Seven Soul Rings abruptly rose around her.
But before she could fully summon her Martial Soul, five icy fingers had already closed around her throat.
"You—!"
Nan Shuishui's pupils contracted sharply. Somehow, a figure shrouded from head to toe in a black robe had appeared right in front of her.
Crack, crack, crack—
An icy chill spread from that hand, creeping along her neck and invading her meridians.
Her Soul Power froze in an instant. Even the Soul Rings around her lost their luster and fell silent without a sound.
"Mom!"
Seeing the black-robed figure appear out of nowhere, Nan Qiuqiu didn't hesitate. She opened her mouth and lunged to bite them.
"Qiuqiu, don't!"
Nan Shuishui shouted, but the black-robed figure had already acted. With a flick of a finger, Nan Qiuqiu went flying.
Bang!
Nan Qiuqiu crashed into the altar table and fell to the floor. Her arms happened to catch her late father's memorial tablet, and she slipped peacefully into unconsciousness.
"Qiuqiu!"
Nan Shuishui's heart clenched, and her eyes reddened. But with her Soul Power sealed, all she could do was look up at the black-robed figure.
"I didn't know we'd have the honor of receiving you, senior. What do you want? If there's anything this humble woman can do, I'll certainly help you with it..."
She looked at the figure standing within arm's reach, her body taut as she struggled to keep her voice steady.
They were only inches apart. She could feel the other person's breath, yet she still couldn't make out their face.
That meant their strength far surpassed hers. They were at least a Titled Douluo, perhaps even stronger...
"Heh heh heh, you're a clever woman!"
The black-robed figure let out a strange laugh, then reached out and seized the unconscious Nan Qiuqiu from the ground as well.
"Sect Master, you wouldn't want anything to happen to your daughter, would you?"
The words were spoken lightly, yet they were like a knife at Nan Shuishui's throat.
"Please, senior. Tell me what you need."
Nan Shuishui took a deep breath. There was even a hint of deference in her voice.
The other person hadn't killed her outright, which meant they needed her for something. That left room to negotiate.
"Tell me where the switch is beneath the well in the back courtyard."
The black-robed figure asked coldly.
"The well?"
Nan Shuishui paused, then understood.
This person had come for the treasure beneath the well. It was an extremely frigid treasure site discovered when Earth Dragon Gate was first founded.
So that was it...
The black-robed figure's attacks carried an extreme chill. They were clearly an ice-attribute Soul Master, so it made sense.
"Senior, the mechanism beneath the water..."
Nan Shuishui told them how to activate it without hesitation.
Both her and her daughter's lives were in the other person's hands. Naturally, she wouldn't dare play any tricks. If she could avoid disaster by giving up a little wealth, so much the better.
Besides, Earth Dragon Gate had spent a thousand years failing to make sense of that treasure site.
"Very good."
The black-robed figure smiled with satisfaction.
In the next instant, a streak of purple light shot out from beneath the black robe and struck Nan Shuishui right between the brows.
Nan Shuishui's eyes instantly lost focus. Her body went limp, and she toppled toward the ground.
The black-robed figure reached out and caught her, gently laying her on the ground beside Nan Qiuqiu.
"Done!"
After settling the mother and daughter, the black-robed figure reached up and took off their hood, revealing a youthful, handsome face.
That had been easier than expected...
Jiang Yi looked at the unconscious mother and daughter, a faint smile on his face.
With Ice Empress, a being comparable to a Super Douluo, at his side, he could now pull off many things he hadn't dared attempt before.
Then Jiang Yi crouched down, stretched out both hands, and began searching Nan Shuishui's unconscious body from head to toe.
"What are you doing?"
Tian Meng, perched on his shoulder, widened his eyes and tugged hard at his hair. His voice brimmed with scorn.
So this was the real Jiang Yi!
He usually touched her, and she'd let it slide, but now he was groping every woman he came across?
"Quit it. I'm finding some spending money for you all."
Jiang Yi rolled his eyes, his hands never stopping for even a moment.
Looting the defeated was a good habit.
Soon, he had searched every place Nan Shuishui could hide anything and finally found a Storage Soul Tool.
Inside were some well-worn clothes, thirty thousand Gold Soul Coins, and several bank certificates stamped with the Earth Dragon Gate emblem.
Before you continue