Cultivation Kill

Ninety-nine cities.

As soon as Shen Zige appeared at the teleportation array, he heard someone calling his name.

He looked in the direction of the sound and saw Meng Bao, a boy about his age.

Ninety-Nine Arena City has four teleportation arrays in the east, west, south, and north. He appeared twice at the south teleportation array, which may be related to the direction he was teleported from.

"What do you want?" Shen Zige walked towards Meng Bao.

The two Star Realm Company employees in charge of the teleportation array glanced at it curiously, wondering about the relationship between Shen Zige and the sallow-faced, thin boy.

"Please help me, save my sister!" Meng Bao knelt down before Shen Zige.

"Aren't you an orphan?" Shen Zige asked. "Where did this little sister come from?"

“I never said I was an orphan,” Meng Bao explained. “I only said that my father died when I was young, and my mother was abandoned and sent to work as a servant in a wealthy family.”

"Could it be..." Shen Zige seemed to understand.

“That’s right, my mother gave birth to my sister in the wealthy family where she worked,” Meng Bao said. “That year, she abandoned me and went to work as a servant in that wealthy family. Just a few days later, she was defiled by the servants there and secretly gave birth to my sister. After that, she and the servants were kicked out, and now the three of them are begging in the north of the city.”

“I’ve been to this bustling metropolis once before,” Shen Zige recalled. “There were many homeless people and beggars on the streets. Is it hard to find work here?”

“The good jobs in this city are monopolized by large families, and outsiders can’t find good jobs,” Meng Bao said. “The day I took you to Zhenqi Pavilion, two people came to me and asked how I knew you. They were members of the three major gangs in this city and had many ruthless people under their command. I didn’t dare not tell them. After I told them everything, they asked me to go and find you again, because they were afraid that I would run away from this city and not work. They even kidnapped my sister.”

"Why did you arrest me?" Shen Zige asked.

"I don't know, how could I dare to ask?"

Shen Zige pondered for a moment and then understood—it was probably about the matter of the ring.

He could have simply left. He had no connection with Meng Bao, and Meng Bao couldn't have stopped him if he wanted to.

but……

Shen Zige couldn't move his feet. His rational choice was to ignore Meng Bao, but his body was acting against his reason!

“Take me there,” Shen Zige said to Meng Bao.

Every cause has its effect. Not helping in this matter could create inner demons and hinder spiritual practice.

In the southwest dock area of ​​the city, countless shirtless men were shouting slogans as they carried heavy objects.

The prosperity of the great city of Zhuguo is irrelevant to them. All they want to do is finish their work for the day, earn their meager wages, buy some steamed buns to take home, and have the whole family sit in the drafty house to eat them together with sauce. Then they wash their feet with hot water and finally have a good night's sleep.

A gloomy man dressed in leather and holding a long whip was supervising the dockworkers, cracking the whip from time to time to urge those who were slacking off.

"Supervisor Chen, that brat Meng Bao has brought his men here," a short, shifty-eyed man reported to the gloomy man holding a long whip.

“Very good, your brother-in-law can come to work at the docks tomorrow.” Supervisor Chen tied the whip around his waist. “Lead the way.”

Shen Zige and Meng Bao stood on a five-story observation deck by the river, gazing out at the distant view—

Rows of large three-masted sailing ships were moored at the dock, and thousands of dockworkers were moving goods like ants. Merchants wearing round hats and brocade clothes were talking with the dock manager, while several overseers stood behind the manager like lackeys.

“I’m too thin, and the docks don’t want me. I heard that you have to bribe people to get in,” Meng Bao said, standing behind Shen Zige.

Meng Bao's sister was arrested and taken to this dock area, but he didn't know exactly where she was being held.

“You can learn a foreign language and become a translator,” Shen Zige said.

"I'm not even qualified to farm, let alone translate!" Meng Bao said with a bitter face. "Several families in the city run translation training classes. Anyone who isn't a student in their class is not allowed to study foreign languages ​​in private. Otherwise, if they are discovered, they will be beaten to death by the three major factions!"

"Are the three major factions just the thugs of the city's nobles?" Shen Zige asked. "You can also join the training program; if you can't beat them, you can join."

“No, the training courses cost a lot of money, and after completing the course they will issue a translation qualification certificate,” Meng Bao said. “The translation qualification certificate is only valid for three months, and you have to spend money to renew it when it expires.”

The nobles of the Bamboo Kingdom have monopolized all the resources, so how can ordinary people have any chance of success? Shen Zige thought to herself, no wonder so many people want to participate in the Star Realm Company's battle royale game. Even though the mortality rate is extremely high, with only one in a hundred being selected, at least it gives them hope!

As the two were talking, footsteps came from the stairs.

A cool breeze swept across the rooftop, and Meng Bao couldn't help but shiver. His clothes were tattered, and he relied entirely on shivering to keep warm.

Supervisor Chen walked up in a spotless leather jacket, followed by two henchmen. One had a shifty face and was carrying a tray with a teapot and two teacups on it. The other was a burly man with sharp eyes who looked menacing; he was a professional thug in the dock area.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Shen?"

Supervisor Chen only heard the dock manager say that he was looking for someone, but the manager did not tell him any other information. He did not know the background or strength of the person he was looking for, so he did not dare to be too negligent in his words. He also did not understand why the manager did not meet the person he was looking for in person.

"Serve tea!" Supervisor Chen said to his shifty-eyed subordinate.

The subordinate hurriedly poured hot tea, presented it with both hands, and bowed to offer it to Shen Zige.

"No need, I don't want tea." Shen Zige refused, he wouldn't easily drink anything from a stranger. "If you want to see me, release Meng Bao's sister right now, don't involve others."

“I can’t make that decision; I’m only responsible for taking Boss Shen to a place,” Supervisor Chen said.

"Then find someone who can make the decisions," Shen Zige said. "If you're setting up an ambush or trap somewhere, am I supposed to follow you? Do you think I'm stupid?"

Even if Shen Zige felt sorry for Meng Bao, he wouldn't go with her. His condition for helping was that it wouldn't harm him. He had already done his best to get to the riverside dock.

He thinks those characters in TV dramas who obediently lay down their weapons and surrender to save others are fools. They risk one life for another, with their fate entirely dependent on the other party's mood and the protagonist's halo. Reality isn't a TV drama; there's no protagonist's halo protecting you. If you foolishly send yourself over there, you'll only cause both the rescuer and the rescued to die, and the enemy will laugh and kill them both.

The dock area is still within the city and is considered a safe zone. Shen Zige is no ordinary person. Even if there are people with higher cultivation levels than Shen Zige, they would not dare to openly attack him. The Star Realm Company is not a small sect that can be bullied at will. The rules set by the Star Realm Company are like imperial edicts in the Bamboo Kingdom.

"You have to go today, whether you like it or not!"

The burly man behind Supervisor Chen snorted and strode forward.

"I'd like to see how you're going to get me to go." After learning how to conceal his breath, Shen Zige had no spiritual energy fluctuations and looked like an ordinary person.

The burly man usually swaggered around the dock area, beating up anyone he didn't like. Upon hearing this, he reached out and grabbed Shen Zige, using his family's martial art—the grappling technique *Eagle Pounce!

The thug was as nimble as the wind, and in the blink of an eye he was in front of Shen Zige.

Shen Zige smiled, took a half step forward with her left leg, raised her right knee, and lightly nudged her opponent's abdomen—

Everyone around felt that Shen Zige's movements were not fast, but the thug was unable to lie down and avoid it. He was knocked away by the knee. Then, Shen Zige touched the ground with her right foot, spun around and swept her left foot horizontally!

"Peng!"

The thug was kicked in both legs, and his whole body spun twice in the air like a windmill before crashing to the ground.

The force was so great that the wooden floor cracked, and Meng Bao saw that the thug's legs were bent unnaturally, clearly indicating that his legs were broken.

Shen Zige straightened up and said coldly, "I will defend myself without hesitation against anyone who attacks me."

Shi Yuan's ultimate fighting technique was indeed powerful. Shen Zige didn't even use a trace of spiritual power, yet he was able to easily defeat this dock thug.

Of course, it is also related to his powerful divine sense. In his eyes, the movements of ordinary people are all slow motion and flaws. This person's family martial arts are laughable!

For a moment, the top floor was completely silent; you could almost hear a pin drop.