Rules restrain the strong, but the most laughable thing is that the strong break the rules, and the stronger define them

Seeing someone ruin his plans, the leading thug opened his mouth to curse, "Who the fuck are you? Stop sticking your nos—"

The rest of his words caught in his throat.

A crushing presence washed over him. It was not Soul Power pressure, merely the aura of authority Qian Renxue carried from holding a high position for so long. To these thugs, it felt as though a knife had been pressed to their necks.

The leader took half a step back, then another. His face turned several shades paler.

Qian Renxue stood where she was without even releasing a Soul Ring. She merely watched them, her gaze as cold as ice.

"Honestly, why waste words on them?"

Yin Hongye's voice came from behind them, carrying a trace of impatience.

A cold gust swept past.

The thugs' bodies remained standing, but the light in their eyes went out in an instant.

They did not even collapse. They simply stood there, transformed into several empty shells.

Yin Hongye walked between them, withdrawing the faint killing intent around him. From beginning to end, he had used only a sliver of killing intent to deal with them.

"Human traffickers like these should just be killed. There's nothing worth pitying."

Qian Renxue opened her mouth. "People like this still exist in this era? Isn't the rule of law very strict?"

"There will always be places beyond the reach of the law." Mu Hongchen did not care about whether these people lived or died.

Any ordinary person who entered the black market was clearly no good person. They might even have blood on their hands.

He understood the black market's inner workings better than these people did.

"A market established by feudal remnants from ten thousand years ago. Things like catgirls and beast girls—the place is filthy..."

Qian Renxue vaguely understood. So it was an auction house from twenty thousand years ago, only shifted from the open into the shadows.

"Can't it be wiped out?"

"Don't define this world through idealism. Nothing in this world is perfect."

Yin Hongye gave a cold laugh. "I can wipe it out, but it will rise from the ashes soon enough. Unless there are no intelligent lives left in this world."

Mu Hongchen nodded. "Rules restrain the strong, but the most laughable thing is that the strong break the rules, and the stronger define them."

Qian Renxue fell silent. She looked at Yin Hongye, then at Mu Hongchen. The two of them seemed to perfectly embody those words.

Beyond the Heavenly Screen, in the deepest reaches of Star Dou Forest.

The Silver Dragon King lay coiled on the shore of Lake of Life, her enormous dragon body glinting with cold silver radiance beneath the sunlight.

She raised her head, her dragon eyes fixed tightly upon the silver-haired, purple-eyed little girl on the Heavenly Screen. Unnamable emotions churned in her gaze.

That was herself.

Her self twenty thousand years later.

"Why... would I take human form?"

Her voice was quiet, as though she were asking the Heavenly Screen, yet also asking herself.

Di Tian raised his head and carefully glanced at his lord, not daring to say a word.

Why would his lord of twenty thousand years later take human form?

For his lord to do something like that, she must have some serious illness.

The Silver Dragon King was silent for a long while. She watched the girl surrounded by petty thugs on the Heavenly Screen and watched her bewildered expression.

That fear and helplessness were things the current her could not understand at all.

Why should she take this form? Why should she make herself so weak?

The Silver Dragon King slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"What was I thinking twenty thousand years later?"

She swore to herself.

Once she recovered from her injuries, she absolutely must not take human form.

Within the Heavenly Screen, after those thugs fell, Qian Renxue crouched down and met the little girl's gaze at eye level. She tried to make her voice as gentle as possible.

"What's your name? Where is your home?"

The little girl remained timid and meek, Qian Renxue's face reflected in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, then stopped.

"Little one, where are your father and mother? What are their names?"

"I don't know."

"Then what is your name?"

"Na... Na'er."

Yuanen Yehui stood to one side and asked softly, "Do you remember where you came from? Do you remember anything?"

Na'er shook her head again. Her little hands still clutched the hem of her clothes, but upon seeing someone her own age, there was a little less fear in her eyes than before.

She tried hard to recall something, but in the end, she could only clutch her head and lower it.

"How about two punches? I know a little about brains too." Yin Hongye cracked his knuckles, excitement gleaming in his eyes.

As everyone knew, he liked dragons the most.

Seeing his eager expression, Na'er's body would not stop trembling. Instinctively, she shrank farther behind Qian Renxue.

Those violet-like eyes were filled with terror, like a little dragon being watched by a ferocious beast.

Mu Hongchen patted Yin Hongye's shoulder. "Save that idea for an adult first. With those two punches of yours, she'd probably die!"

"I could tell at a glance that she's not human. If she can endure it, she'll regain her memories. Watch me—my Mighty Heavenly Dragon!"

"I'm a Titled Douluo too, and I couldn't tell she was a Soul Beast that had taken human form."

"That's because your level is too low!"

Yin Hongye clicked his tongue, but did not insist. He had only been joking; he had even wanted to try leading the Silver Dragon King astray. Looking to the side, he asked, "Hong Chen, did you find anything?"

Mu Hongchen glanced at the Soul Guidance display he carried with him. "I checked the police network. There were no missing-person reports that matched her."

Qian Renxue lowered her head to look at Na'er, who was hiding behind her. The little girl was still watching her timidly.

"Then what should we do with her? We can't just leave her here. If she's alone, she'll get abducted again before long."

Mu Hongchen put away the Soul Guidance screen, looked at Na'er, then at Yin Hongye.

"Take her to Mingdu. There will be people there to care for her."

Yin Hongye shrugged. "I have no objections."

Of course, he knew this was the Silver Dragon King. She had merely lost her memories because of some unknown power. Did they really think an amnesiac could casually walk out of Star Dou Forest while Di Tian remained unable to find her?

Mu Hongchen spoke bluntly. "Then we'll take her to Mingdu and settle her there."

Just then, Mu Hongchen's Soul Guidance communicator rang.

He glanced down and answered it. The voice on the other end was frantic, speaking as fast as if racing toward death.

As Mu Hongchen listened, his brow gradually furrowed. When the call ended, he looked up at Yin Hongye.

"It's from the Eastsea Legion. A Sea Soul Beast appeared, and the legion commander went to handle it personally. But that beast is cunning—it ran after the fight, dove straight into the deep sea, and refuses to come out. They have no way to deal with it."

"If I remember correctly, the Eastsea Legion's commander isn't a Sea Soul Master."

"Right. If they had a Sea Soul Master Titled Douluo, they could just enter the sea and deal with it."

Yin Hongye nodded. "No wonder they came to us. Many things in the water are completely different from those on land."

"If you're going to make a move, I won't create lightning." Mu Hongchen said.

Yin Hongye considered it, then nodded. He looked down at the belt around his waist. "Perfect. I'll make a new belt."

Beyond the Heavenly Screen, on Sea God Island, Bo Saixi stood before the sacred pillar, her long hair lifting slightly in the sea breeze. Watching the Eastsea Legion's helplessness on the Heavenly Screen, her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

The seven Titled Douluo of the Seven Sacred Pillars wore equally grave expressions.

"A bunch of landlubbers." Sea Dragon Douluo was the first to speak. "This is clearly when us Sea Soul Masters should shine, yet they have to call on land Soul Masters to bail them out. Where are the Sea Soul Masters?"

Sea Witch Douluo kept her gaze on the Heavenly Screen. "How could Sea Soul Masters become so scarce in this future?"

Sea Horse Douluo said in a deep voice, "Who knows! How could Sea Soul Masters decline to this extent? With the resources of that era, training a few Titled Douluo would not be a problem at all. And with those armors that can increase strength, a mere Sea Soul Beast could be dealt with easily."

Sea God Douluo Bo Saixi ultimately said nothing, but her heart was bleeding. Did this new Sea God truly deserve to be the Sea God?

Meanwhile, in the depths of Star Dou Forest, the Silver Dragon King stared at the trembling little girl on the Heavenly Screen, purple light blazing in her eyes.

She would never allow herself to fall to such a state. The dignified ruler of Soul Beasts had nearly been beaten to death by two punches from a human.

"I will never take human form!"

The Ferocious Beasts beside her did not dare breathe. Lake of Life rippled, splashing up great waves.