The Dragonheart City during the Lin family's dominance, while still experiencing exploitation, was far more lenient compared to the present.
However, four years ago, after the unexpected deaths of the Lin family's patriarch and his wife, the families within Dragonheart City plunged into a new round of chaos.
Amidst the families' struggles for power, the populace became the most basic consumable, with every family doing their utmost to extract value from them.
Of course, compared to the ordinary people who yielded little profit, these wolf-like families first set their sights on the Lin family, which had lost its head.
But at that time, Lin Qing, only sixteen years old, displayed the power of a Soulheart Master. Ultimately, these wolves could only give up on complete annexation with resentment, after tearing apart most of the family's assets.
After all, Soulheart Masters were the true foundation of a family, and Soulheart Masters equipped with battle armor possessed an absolute crushing power over mortals.
However, Lin Qing at that time had only awakened after hearing the news of her parents' deaths.
Back then, she could barely protect her two younger sisters, and was utterly powerless to intervene in the city's problems.
Chen Luo, looking at this information stored within the Lin family's internal network, his gaze gradually sharpened:
"Lin Qing, you are truly intelligent..."
"It seems things are not over yet. How could the protagonist's trials only be a single wave?"
Chen Luo's sudden intervention had, in fact, already altered the Lin family's fate.
And Lin Qing, through this contact, had utilized Chen Luo.
The reasoning behind it was simple.
Since the various families had spared the Lin family four years ago, there was no need for them to suddenly unite and deal with the Lin family after four years of peace.
Moreover, ever since Dragonheart City lost its ruler four years ago, the major families had been constantly forming alliances and rivalries, never deciding on a true dominant family.
Among them, the Lu family was merely one of the largest families in Dragonheart City, and the families behind the disciples he had allied with tonight were only slightly inferior to the Lu family.
"The Lu family might just be a front, with other entities behind them plotting against the Lin family."
"And the means employed by just the Lu family's front have almost pushed the three Lin sisters to the brink..."
"Lin Qing saw this clearly, but she still returned, not only because her third sister is here, but also because she has a new reliance!"
The woman who was willing to stand against the world with him flashed through his mind.
Chen Luo shook his head helplessly:
"What a clever woman, so adorable, pitiable, and tragic."
The three sisters were all stunning beauties, and coupled with their sisterly bond, their combined charm was naturally even more potent.
But beauty without the ability to protect was itself a sin.
In this city, there were likely many who desired to possess all three of them.
Without the protection of their parents, the three sisters had relied entirely on their sixteen-year-old eldest sister to hold on for four years, truly deserving the label of pitiable.
But in Chen Luo's eyes, all of this seemed so tragic.
The apocalypse game had not destroyed civilization, but this civilization, under the manipulation of the Nine Dragons, had gradually become a place where the fittest survived.
A twenty-year-old woman, having just escaped a life-or-death crisis, was already calculating every factor she could.
Even a powerful being whom she perceived as an embodiment of natural disaster.
This was the sorrow of the weak.
"Hmm, I knew why Lin Yue's transmitted joy was so unrestrained. But Lin Qing, though she seemed to fall in love at first sight, I never felt any excitement from her."
"Lin Yue, under her sister's protection, might truly be innocent. But you, you have ulterior motives."
"Am I right, Lin Qing!"
Chen Luo's gaze suddenly shifted to an empty space in the room.
Under his gaze, the air slowly rippled, and a slender, long-haired woman in black suddenly appeared in the room.
The woman's face was pale, and she stood there trembling.
In that instant, Chen Luo's gaze, like a sharp sword, had severed her control over the sky.
The concealment of her spatial ability was directly torn apart, and she was exposed:
"Space is king, I hid behind space, how could you possibly find me..."
The woman was Lin Qing, who had claimed to be handling family affairs after her return.
Chen Luo shook his head. Compared to explaining the power of a strong individual to Lin Qing, he was more interested in the woman who was acting:
"You want to use me to counter the enemies who might attack next?"
Under Chen Luo's gaze, Lin Qing felt as if she had been stripped bare, with no secrets left.
Lin Qing trembled. In her acute perception, even the former embodiment of natural disaster was insufficient to describe the Chen Luo before her.
In a daze, Lin Qing felt as if she could see the world itself.
*Thump...*
Lin Qing directly knelt on the ground:
"Please forgive my presumption! I truly had no other choice! The Lu family alone is incapable of uniting so many families; only one place could make them act together!"
"The Nine Dragons! It was the Nine Dragons who discovered our Lin family's battle armor! But the Nine Dragons want not only the battle armor, but also our bloodline that nurtures the titled battle armor!"
"I can die, but Yueyue and Xin'er are still just children! And the Nine Dragons will not let them go!!"
Chen Luo looked at Lin Qing, who was no longer cold, nor feigning affection, and a look of understanding flashed in his eyes.
The highest the Nine Dragons could truly manufacture was customized battle armor.
But titled battle armor, which surpassed customized battle armor, required special means to nurture.
The path to transcendence in this world was the path of Soulheart Battle Armor.
The power of battle armor was sufficient to crush modern weaponry, but Soulheart was the prerequisite.
Or rather, the birth of any titled battle armor was closely related to Soulheart Masters.
Chen Luo could not yet grasp the mysteries involved, but as it stood, the Nine Dragons were truly targeting not only the titled battle armor capable of manipulating space, but likely also the remaining bloodlines of the Lin family.
Lin Qing knelt on the ground in panic. Her beautifully raised buttocks made her look quite alluring.
But Chen Luo merely glanced at her calmly.
The minds of Soulheart Masters could naturally shield them from external mental probing.
However, in Lin Qing's panicked state, her mental fluctuations were now perfectly clear in Chen Luo's eyes:
"Alright, no need to try and seduce me with your beauty. I have a fiancée, though that girl is no longer in this world."
Lin Qing, her intentions seen through, was startled. Just as she was about to stand up and explain, an irresistible force lifted her:
"I don't like being used. Although I understand that as a woman, you have to use all means to protect your sisters, I must still give you some punishment."
As he spoke, Lin Qing felt a warm, large hand press onto her buttocks.
After a moment of panic, Lin Qing felt a flicker of joy mixed with a touch of sorrow.
In the end, she still had to give herself to him...
Fine, as long as Yueyue and Xin'er could be saved, she could endure anything...
But,
*Slap!!!*
Under the palm's strike, a ripple bloomed at the hem of her black skirt.
Lin Qing, lost in her thoughts, couldn't help but cry out:
"It hurts!!"
"Hmph! What good thoughts are you having? Bite down hard! And take your punishment obediently!!"