Black Alliance

On the mountain road, a group of people moved forward slowly. At the front were two women.

The woman on the left had an oval face, phoenix eyes, and lightly drawn brows. Her bright eyes remained fixed on the woman beside her. A tight blue dress wrapped snugly around her graceful figure, lending her an intangible trace of charm.

The woman on the right wore a long white dress. Though her figure was not as perfectly developed as the former woman's, it was still enough to draw the eye. However, her face was somewhat pale. At that moment, she held a chicken leg in her hand and took a fierce bite out of it, without the slightest semblance of ladylike grace.

These two beauties were naturally Xiao Wanqing and Xiao Yuting. Behind them followed Xiao Yan, his face full of gloom.

When Xiao Yan and Xiao Yuting opened their eyes, they saw Xiao Wanqing and the members of the Dragon-Phoenix Army.

The moment Xiao Yuting saw Xiao Wanqing, she naturally ran into her arms and vented properly. Xiao Wanqing also let out a sigh of relief. She had asked what had happened to the two of them, but they both kept their mouths shut. With no other choice, Xiao Wanqing set off with them for the Xiao Clan's branch.

"Yuting, what is wrong with you? Why did you throw away all the food I gave Xiao Yan?" Xiao Wanqing reproached her.

"Threw it away? It is fine. Xiao Yan is a Dou Emperor, so he can go without food for a long time. He will not starve," Xiao Yuting said.

"This is World-Creation Continent, not the Lower Plane. Did that fall turn you stupid?" Xiao Wanqing said.

"Fine, I admit it. I did it on purpose," Xiao Yuting whispered into Xiao Wanqing's ear. On the surface, she was trying to keep Xiao Yan from hearing, but she controlled her voice perfectly so that he could hear every word.

"Xiao Yan is weak, unlucky, and small-built. I am helping him. Even though he is stingy with me, I am still generously teaching him what life in the branch is like," Xiao Yuting said to Wanqing.

"Xiao Yan, tell me yourself. Are you stingy or not?" Xiao Yuting turned back and asked Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's cheek twitched uncontrollably. If anyone else had said that to him, he would have sent them flying with a slap without another word. But against Xiao Yuting, there was nothing he could do. He repeatedly wondered whether the Xiao Yuting he had once seen sitting quietly to the side had merely been an illusion. Helpless, he could only turn his face away and choose to ignore her.

"Fine, you have tacitly admitted it, right? I will explain it for you," Xiao Yuting said.

"I planned to borrow just a tiny little thing from Xiao Yan, then compensate him a hundredfold, a thousandfold, even ten-thousandfold. But Xiao Yan actually refused to lend it to me and even gave me a harsh scolding." Xiao Yuting put on the look of someone who had suffered the greatest grievance beneath the heavens.

"Ah, no way." Xiao Wanqing turned back and looked at Xiao Yan suspiciously. It should not be so. Xiao Yan had left her with a good impression, and she knew clearly that without him, Xiao Yuting might have died long ago.

"What did you want to borrow?" Xiao Wanqing looked at Xiao Yuting and asked.

"Sister, I am not full yet. I will go on ahead." After saying that, Xiao Yuting did not wait for Xiao Wanqing's consent and simply left first.

"If Yuting has offended you in any way, please forgive her. But I am rather curious—what did she want to borrow from Young Master Xiao Yan?" Seeing Xiao Yuting leave, Xiao Wanqing could only turn her gaze toward Xiao Yan.

"She wanted a piece of flesh from my body, then planned to repay me with pork." Xiao Yan practically ground out the sentence through clenched teeth. After saying it, he could no longer endure it and flew ahead.

"Pfft." Even with Xiao Wanqing's refinement as a noble young lady, she could not help laughing aloud. No wonder Xiao Yan's expression had been so ugly. Xiao Wanqing took a full half hour before finally stopping and catching up to Xiao Yan.

"I am sorry. I did not mean to. It was just..." Xiao Wanqing said to Xiao Yan, her face flushed red.

"It is fine. Treat it as a joke." As a Dou Emperor, Xiao Yan's mentality was strong as well. It might seem funny the first time, but after seeing it often enough, one simply chose to ignore it.

Black Alliance

"Thank you. It has been more than a year, and this is actually the first time I have seen her like this. That clever, mischievous girl is Yuting's true nature," Xiao Wanqing said.

"What exactly happened between you two? Was the poison in your body inflicted by the Xue Clan?" Xiao Yan guessed.

"Now is not the time to tell you. If one day you truly reach the level of an Emperor Sovereign, then I will tell you," Xiao Wanqing said lightly.

"Also, the Elder Hall of the Xiao Clan has already made its decision. Huang Lin and the other three have been specially permitted to enter the Xiao Clan's nobility directly in ten years, without undergoing any test. As for you, I am sorry..." Xiao Wanqing said apologetically.

"Under Xiao Ming's interference, the Elder Hall decided that if you win ten years from now and agree to join Heavenly Spirit Continent, you may become a candidate for elder. Otherwise, you will be directly erased. If you lose, then you will be expelled from the Xiao Clan," Xiao Wanqing said.

"Then can I not simply admit defeat? I cannot muster the slightest sense of belonging toward such a Lineage," Xiao Yan said lightly. In his heart, the current Xiao Clan was just like the Xiao Clan of old. It valued only strength and had not a shred of familial affection, especially with its noble system.

"No, do not..." Xiao Wanqing hurriedly said.

"If you are expelled from the Xiao Clan, you will have to bear much more. You will face pursuit from forces hostile to the Xiao Clan, and you must also constantly guard against the Black Alliance, the darkest force on World-Creation Continent, hunting you down," Xiao Wanqing said.

"The Black Alliance?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.

"The Black Alliance is an extremely special existence on World-Creation Continent. Its reach is vast. It gathers intelligence, accepts assassination missions, runs gambling houses, and handles all kinds of underground activities. Yet such a force steeped entirely in darkness has won the recognition of nearly every superpower on World-Creation Continent," Xiao Wanqing explained.

"The Black Alliance is the foremost organization controlling human trafficking and slave training on World-Creation Continent. Those trained by the Black Alliance are exceedingly obedient. They only work, like machines. Meanwhile, Immortal Emperors and above generally only erase a person's memories. Such people will not work," Xiao Wanqing said.

"Open and aboveboard human trafficking." Xiao Yan was thoroughly disappointed in this continent.

"You need not feel it is so unfair. This is also one way to keep World-Creation Continent running. Those who arrive on World-Creation Continent are generally outstanding figures from their former planes. But if every one of them were so proud and unruly, who would farm, serve as maids, and handle all the other tasks? The best method is to have specialized organizations train them," Xiao Wanqing said.

"Within the Black Alliance, there is a group that specializes in seeking out lone people with no Lineage to prey upon, training them into slaves, and selling them. There is also the fact that a Lineage can trade people for slaves—two people in exchange for one slave," Xiao Wanqing said.

"No way. Slaves are worth more than people?" Xiao Yan's entire worldview completely collapsed.

"Yes. World-Creation Continent has people from the Lower Planes constantly replenishing it, so it never lacks Dou Emperors. But it is always short of obedient slaves and maids. If you leave the Xiao Clan, you might be directly captured by the Black Alliance, or someone might use you to exchange for a slave."

"What if the Black Alliance catches the wrong person and captures someone who has a Lineage?"

"If your Lineage values you greatly, it will come forward to propose an exchange. But if it misses the chance, or if your Lineage does not care about you, then you will be left to fend for yourself."

"World-Creation Continent is too inhumane."

"This is the world of the strong. Everyone longs for others to serve them. If you do not believe it, you may leave. Perhaps I can buy you back and make you Yuting's slave."