Hu Liena and Xie Yue, Truly a Pair of Star-Crossed Siblings...

Chu Zisheng focused his gaze.

It was a squad of armored guards made up of Soul Grandmasters, charging straight through on horseback.

Pedestrians on both sides of the road were frightened into scattering. Those who failed to get out of the way in time were violently kicked aside and sent sprawling to the ground.

Even many of the stalls lining the street were overturned and trampled to pieces beneath the warhorses' hooves. Their owners only dared to seethe in silence; the slightest sign of displeasure was enough for the guards to draw their blades in warning.

As though another word from them would mean their heads rolling the next moment.

A few passersby who were also Soul Grandmasters were roughly shoved aside by the guards and turned around, ready to fly into a rage.

But once they saw the guards' attire, they were immediately horrified. They hurriedly bowed and smiled apologetically, standing respectfully at the sides of the street.

There were also those truly too oblivious to notice the commotion. They were lashed several times, then kicked to the ground, unable to get up for a long while.

The bustling market street fell deathly silent in an instant.

At the center of the armored guards—

Was a luxurious carriage pulled by two ferocious soul beasts. Inside sat a youth of sixteen or seventeen, dressed in brocade and fine robes. A dashing young gentleman on horseback, except he did nothing decent.

His face was pale without a trace of blood, his eye sockets sunken and cheekbones protruding. He looked like a starving ghost, as though something had hollowed him out from within.

Only his eyes gleamed with a chilling light, radiating an indescribable gloominess and madness.

Chu Zisheng gave him another look.

Is this guy... sick?

This arrogant?

To act so brazenly in the heavily guarded, strictly disciplined Abyssal City—

Chu Zisheng had already roughly guessed who he was.

Xue Ling.

The heir Long Ling had called "no good thing."

There really were not many people besides him who could be this arrogant.

At that moment—

Many passersby were stunned by the man's overbearing arrogance and began whispering among themselves, their voices so soft they were nearly inaudible.

Yet they still reached Chu Zisheng's ears clearly.

"Who is that guy?"

"You don't know? You must be new here. That's Young Lord Xue Ling!"

"Which Xue Ling?"

"You fucking... are you a pig? What other Xue Ling could there be? The Snow Prince's only son!"

"Hiss... so it's him! No wonder he's so... so valiant... A true man should be like this!"

"Hey, damn it, enough already. Shut up. You're making it sound like we're deliberately chatting to highlight Young Lord Xue Ling's prestige..."

"Do we need to do that deliberately? This young lord's cultivation... is kind of terrifying! How old is he?"

"..."

Hearing the passersby's conversation—

Chu Zisheng looked at Xue Ling with interest.

Hmm...

A level 46 Soul Ancestor!

At his age, with that level of cultivation, he was indeed rare. He could be considered a genius.

And his father was the lord of Abyssal City. No wonder he was so arrogant and tyrannical.

But his character truly was terrible.

That squad of armored guards rode straight past Chu Zisheng... to a tavern some thirty meters away.

"Surround it! Don't let a single one escape!!!"

Upon receiving the order, dozens of guards immediately swarmed forward like wolves and tigers, surrounding the tavern from all sides so tightly that not even water could pass through.

The people eating inside also clutched their heads and crouched on the ground, their eyes full of terror.

The tavern owner came stumbling out in panic, his body shaking like a sieve, his face white with fright.

"Y-Young Lord, what happened!?"

Standing atop the carriage, Xue Ling gave a sinister smile. His voice was not loud, yet it resounded through the entire street.

"Two little brats with a death wish stole something from this young lord and are now hiding in your tavern. Tell me... what happened?"

"Ah?! Them?! Young Lord, I've been wronged!"

The tavern owner's eyes were filled with terror. "I... I truly don't know what happened... Those two little beggars, they... they slipped in last night to shelter from the rain. I took pity on them and let them make do in the tavern for the night... I really didn't know they stole something from you, Young Lord..."

Young Lord Xue Ling could not be bothered to listen to his nonsense. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Drag those two little brats out for this young lord!"

As soon as he spoke—

A sudden series of crashing sounds came from behind the second floor of the tavern.

It sounded as though someone had jumped out from behind a door and begun fighting the guards there.

Very soon—

Two thin, frail figures were escorted by three guards from the back door into the tavern's front hall.

They were a pair of siblings.

The older one was a boy of around seven. His clothes were ragged, and his face and arms were covered in dense scars. His face was pale and bloodless.

The younger one was a girl, even smaller and thinner, around six years old. She was trembling all over, and her little dirty face was full of fury, but not the slightest fear.

Both pairs of eyes were dark and bright, filled with anger and stubbornness.

It was just a pity—

When the weak became angry, no matter how furious they were, they only looked cute in the eyes of others.

These two were none other than—

Xie Yue and Hu Liena, who had been fleeing all the way here.

Because a beast tide attack had occurred just a few days ago—

Abyssal City was under strict guard.

They had tried every possible method but had been unable to escape the city.

Then a heavy rain fell last night. Left with no choice, they hid in this tavern, never expecting to be discovered anyway.

Xie Yue stared fixedly at the wolfish soldiers, his chest heaving violently. His voice was hoarse as he spoke slowly, word by word, in a deep tone.

"If you... want to arrest someone... arrest me! Let... let my sister go!"

"Oh?"

Young Lord Xue Ling studied the two little ones with interest. Then he suddenly grinned, revealing a mouthful of ghastly white teeth.

"Oh, you've got some backbone. What a pity..."

He slowly jumped down from the carriage and walked over to them. Looking down at them from above, his voice carried a trace of sickly delight.

"Only children have to choose. You two... I want both."

As he spoke—

His gaze fell upon Hu Liena. A greedy glint flashed through his eyes, and with a crazed expression, he extended a finger and lightly stroked Hu Liena's cheek as though examining a priceless treasure.

Hu Liena's eyes were full of humiliation as she glared at Xue Ling.

But she had yet to awaken her martial soul and had no strength to resist.

"Bastard... don't bully my sister!!!"

Xie Yue let out a roar, gathering his Soul Power. Two translucent crescent blades appeared in his hands.

He was far too weak. The blades were faint and dull, mere phantoms of his martial soul with little offensive power. Yet he still gripped them and charged at Xue Ling without fear of death.

Unfortunately—

The rage of the weak was nothing but a joke before absolute strength.

Boom!

Xue Ling did not even move. A Soul Grandmaster guard simply threw a punch.

Xie Yue's small body was instantly sent flying. He slammed heavily into the wall, then slid down to the ground.

Pfft!

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xie Yue lay on the ground, struggling to rise, but his entire body trembled violently. No matter what he did, he could not get up.

"Brother—!"

Hu Liena finally could not hold back any longer. She screamed tearfully and lunged toward him.

"Stop her."

Young Lord Xue Ling waved a hand unhurriedly, his voice brimming with smug satisfaction. "Don't hurt her. She... still has great use for me."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Two tall guards stepped forward and seized tiny Hu Liena from either side.

"Let me go! Let me go! Brother! Brother—!"

Hu Liena struggled desperately, her short little legs kicking wildly in the air as she cried her heart out.

"Na... Nana..."

Xie Yue lay on the ground, watching his sister being held by them. His eyes nearly split with rage, but pain wracked his entire body, leaving him without the slightest strength.

"Let go... let her go..."

Like a wild beast driven into a corner, he let out a chilling roar and crawled inch by inch toward Hu Liena with great difficulty.

"Ha ha ha ha... truly a pair of star-crossed—"

Watching this scene, Young Lord Xue Ling laughed so hard he doubled over. He walked over and stomped heavily on Xie Yue's back. Xie Yue immediately spat out another great mouthful of blood, his pupils losing focus as he lay helplessly on the ground.

Many passersby had gathered around to watch.

Seeing this scene, many could not bear to look and turned their faces away. Some clenched their fists, some had reddened eyes, and some silently cursed Xue Ling... yet... not one person dared step forward.

The Snow Prince's Estate had long since covered this city's sky.

Who would dare stand out?

And who could afford to?

Just then—

"Stop!"

An angry female shout suddenly exploded from outside the crowd.