"You… what are you doing?! Dog man, get down! Get down!"
Ellie found herself pinned beneath Qiling, her face burning with shame and fury. She was a noble princess—how could she be subdued like this by a mere man?
Qiling looked down at her indifferently and said, "I told you, one day, I would be the one above you. Whatever you did to me, I will return it in kind."
"You bastard!" Ellie roared, struggling fiercely. "If you dare ride me like this, I swear I'll have your entire family executed! There will be people hunting you down in every corner of the world! You won't die a peaceful death!"
Her threats meant nothing. Qiling was far stronger. He slapped her plump backside hard, his voice sharp with command. "You wretched woman! You think you can dominate me? Get on top of me instead!"
"Aah!" Ellie gasped, both outraged and humiliated. How could this be happening? How could she—one of the proudest nobles—be overpowered by this man?
Yet, despite her anger, something within her stirred.
Half an hour later, Ellie was no longer resisting.
"Brother, you're incredible!" she purred, clinging to Qiling's thigh, her eyes glimmering. "Do you want to slap me a few more times? Those strikes just now felt… strangely satisfying. Come on, do it again! No one has ever treated me this way before… You're so… manly!"
Qiling was speechless. He had come for revenge, not for whatever this twisted turn of events was! This woman… was she actually enjoying it?
"Enough! Let go of me! I'm done playing your ridiculous games." He tried shaking her off, but Ellie latched on tighter, refusing to release him.
"Damn it…" Qiling muttered under his breath. If she weren't in such good shape, he might have simply flung her away.
Boom, boom, boom!
A sudden knock on the door interrupted them.
"Brother! There are a lot of people outside! Are they here to arrest us?" Hancock's anxious voice came from the other side.
Qiling's expression darkened. "Come inside. Quickly."
The door opened, and Hancock entered with two other girls. Ellie's gaze immediately sharpened, her expression turning jealous.
"Darling, who are these little wenches? I won't allow you to have other women! You belong to me alone!" she declared, tightening her grip on Qiling.
"Shut up! They're my sisters!" Qiling snapped, exasperated. If he took Ellie with him, she would drive Hancock and the others insane.
"Ohhh, so they're my sisters?" Ellie's face brightened instantly. "Hello, sisters!" she greeted with a grin.
Hancock and the others frowned. "Brother, who is she?"
"Just a tool I'm using to deal with the Celestial Dragons," Qiling said dismissively. "She's also completely unhinged."
"Oh… so that's how it is." The three girls exchanged knowing glances, nodding in understanding.Ellie's erratic behavior made Qiling's explanation easy to believe.
Boom, boom, boom!
Another knock came from the dressing room door.
"Princess Ellie! The slave appreciation ceremony is about to begin! His Majesty requests your presence immediately! Have you changed into your attire?"
"What ridiculous appreciation ceremony? I don't care! I just want to stay with my darling!" Ellie pouted, clinging even tighter to Qiling's leg.
"Just go along with it," Qiling ordered coldly.
At his command, Ellie's attitude changed instantly. "Understood! Tell my father I'll be there shortly. Let them start without me."
"Yes, Princess. We will proceed as instructed," the guard outside replied but hesitated. "Princess, is everything all right? We saw a few unfamiliar people enter earlier…"
"Get lost! Do you dare question my affairs, you lowly scum? Leave at once!" Ellie snapped impatiently.
The guards flinched at her rage and hurried away.
"There, darling, I did as you asked." Ellie batted her lashes at Qiling, eager for his approval.
"Good." Qiling nodded. "Now, tell me more about this slave appreciation ceremony."
"Oh, it's nothing special," Ellie said nonchalantly. "The Celestial Dragons hold it when we're bored. We gather high-quality slaves, put them on display, and auction them off to the highest bidder. Of course, if a slave's owner refuses to sell, they can decline."
Qiling's eyes darkened. "Where are these slaves being kept?"
Ellie tilted her head, then smirked. "You want to see? I can take you there."
"Then get dressed and lead the way," Qiling ordered. His patience was already wearing thin—she was still barely clothed.
Soon, Ellie dressed and led Qiling, Hancock, and the other two girls toward the slave quarters. With her status, no one dared to question her, allowing them to pass through without trouble.
"This is it," Ellie finally said, stopping before a heavily guarded building.
Qiling took a deep breath. Now, it was time to act.
The dungeon was dimly lit, lined with countless cages. Inside, slaves sat in silence, chains binding their bodies. Their eyes were dull, lifeless, and their names were branded onto their skin, signifying ownership.
Above the dungeon, the slave appreciation ceremony continued. When a slave was chosen to be displayed, guards would descend, unshackle them, and drag them upstairs for the audience.
Qiling surveyed the room, his voice rising above the murmurs. "Do you want to be free?"
Silence.
The slaves didn't even lift their heads. To them, Qiling was just another Celestial Dragon, another master to fear.
"I am not a Celestial Dragon," Qiling said, his tone calm yet firm. "I'm here to free you. If you wish for freedom, I can unlock your cages right now. But I need you to stand with me—to fight against the Celestial Dragons! What do you say?"
Still, no response. The slaves remained motionless, their hope long extinguished. To them, the Celestial Dragons were an insurmountable force, an unbreakable wall.
"What my brother says is true!" Hancock suddenly called out, stepping forward. "We were once slaves, too! But our brother saved us!"
She turned, revealing the mark on her back—a symbol of her past servitude. Some of the slaves glanced at her, a flicker of recognition in their hollow eyes, but the weight of their fear kept them silent.
Qiling sighed. "They're too afraid to resist," he muttered, shaking his head. "Their spirits are broken."
"Then what do we do, brother?" Hancock asked anxiously. She understood that Qiling's goal wasn't just to save these people—it was to rally them, to build an army against the Celestial Dragons. If they refused to fight, they would be alone in this battle.
"It's fine," Qiling said, unshaken. "I'll free them first. Once they see results, they'll come around."
With a wave of his hand, he activated the All-Seeing Sky. One by one, the cages creaked open, shackles fell away, and the prisoners were unbound. The slaves stared at their freed limbs in shock, but even then, they hesitated. They looked at one another, uncertainty clouding their faces. No one made a move.
Qiling wasn't discouraged. Instead, he turned to Ellie , his expression unreadable. Then, in a cold, commanding voice, he pointed to an empty cage and said, "Get in. From now on, you will be my slave."