"Help! I want to go home! Daddy, Mommy, help!"
On a horse-drawn carriage, a group of very young-looking children, none even older than six, were locked in something like a cage.
"I miss Mommy. Why did they lock me up? Was I bad?"
"Mommy, save me!"
These children had all been abducted by slave traders. The Heaven Dou Empire was peaceful on the surface, but behind the scenes, child trafficking ran rampant.
Disguised as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, Qian Renxue had been pushing reforms, hoping to bring the Heaven Dou Empire entirely into Spirit Hall's hands through peaceful means.
But even Qian Renxue could not change the fate of those commoners in the Heaven Dou Empire who were seized by nobles and auctioned off as slaves.
Among these children was a little girl with black hair. She was very lovely, like a princess, and looked as though she came from a well-bred, prominent family.
The little girl said nothing and merely watched everything.
"Quiet, you brats, or don't blame us for getting rough!"
That was what the slave traders said, but the thing was, they were only saying it. They did not want to damage these slaves, their merchandise, since that would affect their earnings, so they told the children to quiet down.
In the end, they swung their long whips against the cage. To put it plainly, they were just frightening the children. The moment the children heard the sound, they no longer dared speak. They only dared talk about the traders in private, afraid they would really be beaten.
"Boss, these children should fetch plenty of money this time, right? Especially that little girl who looks like a little princess. She should earn us quite a bit."
"She certainly should fetch a good price. If we sell her to a good noble, she should bring in plenty. Though she hasn't awakened her Martial Soul yet, the thing is, she's so pretty that she should fetch quite a bit."
So said the slave traders.
Though the child who resembled a little princess heard them, she said nothing, as though she had quietly accepted her fate.
Soon afterward, these children were transported to one of that noble's residences. Or rather, nobles generally owned several grand residences, and this was merely one of them.
"These children look like they could fetch quite a bit. We'll keep them as slaves. First, see if we can find any outstanding Martial Souls among them. If they have outstanding Martial Souls, we'll have them bear children later and produce more slaves."
The old noble, who was also the leader of this band of slave traders, spoke.
After all, ninety-nine percent of the people on the Douluo Continent could not cultivate.
It could be said that an enormous number of people on the Douluo Continent were not Soul Masters.
This world was cruel, and Martial Souls that allowed cultivation were rare. Holy Soul Village, for instance, had many people who had awakened their Martial Souls but had no Soul Power. If they could not cultivate, they were merely ordinary people who could only become farmers and the like.
After nobles captured slaves, if those slaves awakened outstanding Martial Souls and could cultivate, they would train them, either raising them into deathsworn servants or using them to reproduce and give birth to more slaves.
Afterward, these children began awakening their Martial Souls one by one.
None of these children had awakened their Martial Souls yet.
"Behave yourselves! If you dare resist, don't blame me for being ruthless. Don't underestimate me. I belong to the Xue Family! I'm a descendant of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family!"
The man before them was a noble of the Heaven Dou Empire's Xue Family.
Xue was the surname of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family. Those who bore this surname were essentially either members of the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family or nobles related to it by blood. Only those with imperial blood ties were entitled to the surname Xue.
Of course, this restriction only applied within the Heaven Dou Empire. Plenty of people in the Star Luo Empire bore the surname Xue, but they had nothing to do with the Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family.
To put it plainly, there was no need to follow the Heaven Dou Empire's rules in the Star Luo Empire.
But in the Heaven Dou Empire, bearing this surname signified that one had status and connections.
The noble surnamed Xue before them was relatively closely related by blood to the current imperial family of the Heaven Dou Empire, so his noble domain was also relatively large, and he had a great deal of money and many slaves.
"Very good. Now, begin awakening your Martial Souls."
So said the slave trader. Then the first child began awakening his Martial Soul, which turned out to be a dagger.
"Soul Power Level test."
Then the child touched the crystal, and the Soul Power crystal ball revealed his Soul Power Level.
"His Soul Power Level is one. Train him a little, and we'll use him as an assassin later. He should have what it takes to become a Soul Grandmaster. Using him to kill people then would be quite good."
Then it was the next child's turn. This child began awakening his Martial Soul and ultimately awakened a very ordinary tree Martial Soul.
"Test the level."
"His Soul Power Level is only three. He should be quite useful for tending the estate's crops. We'll have him tend the estate's crops from now on."
Soon, every child underwent testing. Their levels were essentially all around one to three, making them quite ordinary. Though they could cultivate, their future ceiling was Soul Ancestor at most, with their progress ending somewhere from Soul Grandmaster through Soul Elder to Soul Ancestor.
It could be said that these children were simply destined to serve as slaves to the nobles, with little future to speak of.
Only the last child remained. That final child was the girl who looked like a little princess.
"This girl is so pretty. She should make quite a good concubine for my son later."
The Xue Family noble said this then. Upon hearing it, the little girl said nothing, as though she had resigned herself to her fate.
"What is your name?"
"Gu Luoyi," the little girl Gu Luoyi said.
"Very good. Now, begin awakening your Martial Soul."
Soon afterward, Gu Luoyi extended both hands and began awakening her Martial Soul.
Then, in an instant, light flooded the noble's entire room.
"This is-!"
In an instant, the entire room lit up, and a powerful Martial Soul appeared. This Martial Soul resembled a combination of a dragon and a butterfly.
"What is this Martial Soul? I've never seen it before, and it looks like a combination of a dragon and a butterfly?!"
The noble was stunned, and so were the slave traders. It seemed they had captured quite a treasure and brought her back.
"Quickly, test her Soul Power Level!"
Then the Soul Power Level test gave its answer: Innate Full Soul Power.
The entire crystal ball was filled with light.
"Though this is Innate Full Soul Power, this child looks very well suited to becoming my son's concubine. And when the time comes, the Martial Souls of the entire family can become very powerful! Heaven truly favors our family! Hahaha!"
Just as the noble was puffing himself up with arrogance, a voice suddenly rang out.
"That's not so certain! Dark Annihilation!"