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The Xue Family Dungeons. 

 It was typical for troops to patrol the perimeter of a dungeon to prevent others from breaking in and freeing prisoners, as well as to prevent prisoners from escaping on their own. 

But neither problem had ever arisen within the Xue Family estate.

Back when Xue Beibei first led him here, Ye Zichen had wondered why there were no guards or soldiers. Even when Xue clansmen did show up, there were only a few of them, and they left after making a few quick perfunctory circles around the place. 

At the time, he’d been more concerned about punishing Bai Yulong, so he’d paid little attention to these questions.

It was only when he recalled the dungeons later that he couldn’t help but wonder. Now, the Ocean Emperor’s avatar had finally given him an explanation.

The Xue Family’s prisoners were, as a rule, not sentenced to death. Invaders were simply imprisoned for a time. During their confinement, the Xue Family wouldn’t treat them unfairly, nor did they seal their divine power or prevent them from cultivating. When their sentence was up, they were simply released. 

This was easy for the captives to accept, and as would-be thieves or spies, they were in the wrong in the first place. The people who sent them were just glad their subordinates weren’t executed, and naturally wouldn’t send anyone to break into the dungeons.

The Xue Family’s methods made Ye Zichen see the light. Executing spies and informants really wasn’t always the best countermeasure. Killing them would only intensify the conflicts between factions and create even more problems. Locking them up for a few decades or centuries, treating them well, then letting them go would both soothe the Xue clansmen’s grievances and render the informants temporarily useless to their employers. Upon their release, they would remember the Xue Family’s mercy.

In the future, given the choice, released informants wouldn’t choose jobs targeting the Xue Family, and they might even discourage their fellows from targeting them. 

The Xue Family was even less concerned about people escaping prison on their own. Although the dungeons looked ordinary, they were the product of the former emperor’s blood and sweat; not even the former Demon Emperor could escape, never mind the various Divine General-level captives.

“Great Sage, please wait for us outside.” Ye Zichen’s group had just reached the entrance of the dungeons. The Ocean Emperor’s avatar didn’t accompany them. Instead, he gave Ye Zichen a command medallion capable of unsealing the restriction on the door.

“That… Well, okay.” The Great Sage hesitated, but after thinking it over, he nodded.

After their discussion with the Ocean Emperor’s Avatar, they already had some understanding of the prisoner on the third floor. Among other things, they’d learned that the former Demon Emperor felt an intense enmity with the entire yao race.

They were descending to the third layer to make contact with him.   

If it was possible to avoid offending him, they would. Better to prevent trouble before it happened.

“I’ll just wait here for you, but if anything happens, I’ll come looking for you right away.”

Ye Zichen nodded in response. He, Yang Jian, and Pu Jingwan looked at each other, took at the command medallion, and went inside. 

As soon as they stepped inside, the prisoners of the first layer looked toward the doorway.

The first floor housed the most ordinary of prisoners, as well as those with the shortest sentences. Their cultivations were relatively low; all of them had yet to become rulers. 

Although Ye Zichen and his group didn’t deliberately unleash their aura, the prisoners could still sense that they were extraordinary. When Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan glanced at them, the prisoners instinctively looked away, not daring to meet their gaze.

Clang!

At that moment, the sound of rattling changes emanated from a corner of the dungeons. 

The sound was violent, and a hoarse, top-of-the-lungs shriek soon followed. “Ye Zichen, I’ll kill you….!”

Ye Zichen had been just about to head to the second floor, but when he heard this, he came to a sudden stop. Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan looked toward the source of the voice as well, and saw a prisoner unlike any of the others.

His body was covered in open wounds, and his unbelievably filthy, matted long hair covered his face. Peering through it, you could just barely see his eyes, but they were undoubtedly bloodshot.

The other prisoners glanced over, but when they saw it was him, they averted their gazes and pretended not to see anything. 

He was the only prisoner to suffer in the Xue Family dungeons.

He received ‘special care’ from the Xue Family almost every day, and they’d occasionally even lock him up with other prisoners with a taste for men. His hoarse, desperate cries resounded throughout the first layer of the dungeons both day and night. 

The other prisoners all wondered just what he’d done for his jailers to treat him like this. 

They’d always had a decent impression of the Xue Family. It was only after this pitiful wretch joined their ranks that the prisoners understood: the Xue Family didn’t treat just everyone with compassion.

“It looks like they’re the ones who brought that guy here.” The other prisoners looked at Ye Zichen, their voices quivering. 

The other prisoners looked over as well, then hurriedly averted their gaze for fear of drawing Ye Zichen’s attention and having their accommodations changed to match Bai Yulong’s. 

“Ye Zichen, if you’ve got the balls, just kill me!” The shackled prisoner let out a hoarse, furious roar.

Yang Jian squinted and looked him over. “Ye-zi, it seems this kid is the one we brought over from the Bai Family?”

“That’s right.” Ye Zichen smiled indifferently, then slowly walked towards the cell.

The Xue Family dungeon’s cells were separate structures, each a distinct light barrier. The other prisoners’ light barrier cells restricted their range of activity, but they were otherwise free to do as they pleased, and they had enough to eat and drink, as well as a place to wash themselves. 

But this cell was different. Its pungent stench assailed the nostrils as they drew near, and the prisoner inside had iron manacles on his arms and legs, each with iron balls at the end. With his divine power sealed, he didn’t have the strength to raise his limbs, so he had no choice but to crawl on the ground like a frenzied dog. 

“Hey, Bai Yulong, it seems you’re living well.” When he looked at this particular prisoner, Ye Zichen’s compassion and pity evaporated completely. He would never forget what Bai Yulong had done to Xue Mo, or the sight of her lying comatose in her sickbed. 

If not for the fact that he wanted to wait for Xue Mo to wake up and take revenge herself, he would have killed Bai Yulong one thousand times over. No, ten thousand times over!

“Ye Zichen, if you’ve got the balls, just kill me!” 

It was only then that Ye Zichen realized that Bai Yulong’s teeth had been shattered. That most likely wasn’t Xue Beibei’s handiwork; Bai Yulong probably had the Anti-Upheaval Student Society to thank for this. 

The ground Bai Yulong crawled on was covered in soft furs; it seemed they did this to prevent Bai Yulong from dying or killing himself. 

Ye Zichen snorted and watched Bai Yulong crawl on the ground, metal balls chained to his limbs. A rare, cruel and cold grin spread across Ye Zichen’s face. “Want to die? Don’t even think about it! Just enjoy yourself!”

“Kill me! Otherwise, if my dad finds out about this, he’s sure to avenge me!” Bai Yulong roared.

Ye Zichen’s smirk froze mid-laugh. He instinctively glanced over at Yang Jian.

Bai Yulong was Bai Haoyu’s son, but back when they clashed with the Xaio Family, Yang Jian said that Bai Haoyu was actually on their side. More importantly, Bai Haoyu was currently inside the Upheaval Alliance’s headquarters!