Abuse (35K)

"Claymore… In that world, for you to end up in this state, did you encounter some top-tier Awakened One?"

"Teresa, or Priscilla?"

Li Qingzi closed her eyes, feeling that large hand slowly slide down from the back of her head and stroke her cheek. An inexplicable layer of fear suddenly rose in her heart.

It was something Mercenary Tao had never displayed before.

Previously, even when Mercenary Tao touched her body, all she felt was bone-chilling killing intent and that uncomfortable sense of invasion.

But at this moment, she clearly detected an unusual threat in the way that hand caressed her skin.

While Bai Cangshu questioned her about the mission world, his right hand had already continued downward from the woman’s smooth, delicate face. Her slender, tender neck had presumably never been touched like this before, and countless fine bumps instantly rose on her skin.

The smile at the corner of Bai Cangshu’s mouth became obvious. He suddenly discovered a new kind of pleasure.

His right hand spread out beneath the woman’s neck, his thumb lightly brushing her exquisite collarbone. In his ears, this powerful Reincarnator’s heartbeat lost control and began accelerating continuously.

"It… it was Teresa, along with other Reincarnators… And my weapon wasn’t strong enough, so I was injured. But I killed two of them. Their losses weren’t small…"

Li Qingzi spoke faster and faster, and her breathing began to turn ragged.

Terrifying images began surfacing in her mind. As one of the former Four Demons, she had once nearly teamed up with people like Flame Demon under a Supreme Expert. Of course, she understood better than anyone what the best way was for most Reincarnators to relieve their stress…

Sex and slaughter.

With Infinite Dimensional Space’s method of assigning missions, nearly every Reincarnator was pressured to the point of suffocation. So-called ethics and morality simply could not restrain biological instincts.

Slave Shackles, a powerful item originally meant for capturing valuable Plot Characters, had been abused as a tool for capturing sex slaves. It was entirely a "market-driven" choice.

She knew full well that most slaves captured by other Reincarnators, so long as their appearance was passable, whether male, female, young, or old, could not escape the fate of abuse.

It was merely that Mercenary Tao’s previous posture as a complete predator had made her overlook this point. Now, the warmth of that large hand made her recall that the misery of being a slave involved far more than simply having her resources plundered.

Her strength, her body, her soul—none of them would belong to her anymore…

Bai Cangshu’s right hand continued downward. The skin below her collarbone was even more tender, and the curves of her body began to emerge. The sound of the woman’s heartbeat grew clearer, and her breaths became rushed. Bai Cangshu suddenly lowered his head and looked down at the changes in the woman’s lovely face from behind.

That expression where terror and humiliation intertwined finally gave him a trace of unusual pleasure.

Interesting. Truly interesting. This woman, who had not shown such a wonderful expression even when he had nearly killed her, now gave Bai Cangshu a different kind of satisfaction.

He had to thank the Space’s enhancement system. It allowed a woman strong enough to throw a car a hundred meters and fast enough to exceed the limits of ordinary human vision to retain skin as delicate and soft as ever, not even her muscles stiffening.

Of course, it also helped that the woman named Li Qingzi had been born into wealth and possessed tremendous influence, allowing her to rise smoothly and rapidly all the way until… it seemed she had never suffered this sort of harm at all.

Sin Karma Sequence synchronization rate updated. Sin of Lust synchronization rate: 18%

Bai Cangshu’s hand reached halfway into the woman’s collar, but just as Li Qingzi’s expression was about to fall into despair, it stopped. He discovered that in this brief moment of "teasing," his Sin of Lust synchronization rate had risen by 9 percentage points. More importantly, he discovered something else.

"Your Haki has weakened?"

Just as his hand touched the woman’s chest, he noticed that Li Qingzi instinctively tried to activate Armament Haki. Yet that Haki was astonishingly feeble. It rose only a short distance from her intact hand before falling silent.

His gaze shifted, and his expression cooled somewhat.

"So your injuries in the Claymore World weren’t because the enemy was too strong. You’re growing weaker."

Li Qingzi felt that large hand stop moving and opened her eyes. Her mind was still far from calm, but she had no intention of resisting and directly said,

"…Yes… My Haki has been affected."

Li Qingzi’s aura had never matched Hawkeye’s. That was one reason why, despite her extremely high swordsmanship specialization and possession of Hawkeye’s swordsmanship, her combat power was still far inferior to Hawkeye’s.

Haki was an exceptionally special kind of power. It was not merely related to physical strength and cultivation, but also to one’s own aura.

The strong grew stronger, while the weak grew weaker.

Hawkeye had fought his way to become the world’s greatest swordsman one strike at a time. His blade, Yoru, had naturally become one of the supreme great blades under the nourishment of that unparalleled aura.

Li Qingzi’s Fierce Reputation spread throughout the Reincarnators. She had risen the latest, yet her capacity for slaughter surpassed the other Four Demons. It was precisely because of this aura that she grew stronger with every battle.

But in the battle in the One Piece World, Bai Cangshu had completely broken her pride. She had been fitted with a collar and turned into a slave. Though her attributes, ability levels, and specializations had not changed in any way, she could clearly feel herself growing weaker.

Now, Bai Cangshu had noticed this fact as well.

Li Qingzi instantly sensed horrifying malice, as if the desire from moments ago had never existed at all.

Looking at the chill in Mercenary Tao’s eyes, Li Qingzi felt cold in her heart.

This was someone who utterly despised the weak. Even if she was a slave, if she lost her value, he would likely discard her immediately.

What kind of mentality did this man have? She knew that people indeed had all kinds of fetishes, but what was this supposed to be…

"I’m seeking a bloodline. I’ve never enhanced a bloodline before. Once I obtain one, I should have a chance to break through my current limits!"

Li Qingzi felt disgusted by her current "fawning and ingratiating" manner, but the suffering she had endured these past days because of that contract, along with the fear from just now, had begun to affect her.

Bai Cangshu withdrew his hand and looked indifferently at this slave.

"Because your recovery ability isn’t enough, you chase after recovery ability… Li Qingzi, that’s why you’ve become weak."

With a thought, Bai Cangshu approved the request Li Qingzi had just submitted through the Space. She could use Dimensional Points from her own resources to repair herself.

A great mass of green light instantly lit up in the Private Space, and Li Qingzi’s mutilated body was restored in an instant.

Bai Cangshu did not pay her any attention. Instead, he accepted another invitation and brought his female slave along.

Before Li Qingzi could breathe a sigh of relief, she felt space begin to twist. It seemed a Teleportation Gate had opened. Before they departed, she saw the man who had once again abused her dignity turn around.

"If you grow weak, you’ll have no value."

Cold and cruel, Li Qingzi’s mind shook. In this man’s eyes, if she became weak, she likely would not even qualify to be a slave.

She forcibly steadied herself and nodded to show that she understood.

The next moment, space twisted, and the two instantly appeared in another space.

This was a space of roughly four to five hundred square meters. It was not particularly huge, but the entire floor had been transformed into grassland, creating an atmosphere like the wilderness.

In one corner stood an Erdtree, which was now almost pressing against the ceiling of this Private Space and beginning to extend toward other areas.

An exquisite small building enclosed by wooden fencing stood beneath the Erdtree. At this moment, a blonde woman with loose hair opened the small gate in the fence and gestured for the two to enter.

A flash of light passed over Li Qingzi’s face, and she had already put on a mask. Moon Demon’s Avatar was no longer in use. She did not want others to know that the dignified Moon Demon had fallen into slavery. This was her small selfish desire. She would rather others believe Moon Demon had died.

Bai Cangshu entered the refined wooden house. The interior felt quite lived-in, with simple solid-wood furniture, sofas, carpets, and everything else one might need.

Tea had even been prepared on the table.

The frail Wuxin and the ponytailed man he had met once before were both inside. The scar on the latter’s face was highly distinctive. The ponytailed man was leaning against the wall with a teacup in hand, thoughtfully studying Li Qingzi.

Wushang frowned slightly. The woman following behind Mercenary Tao radiated a sharp, biting edge. It was evidence that her swordsmanship specialization had at least surpassed Level 9.

Once a skill entered the realm of perfection, it began to touch upon even more miraculous levels. He was still somewhat short of that point.

For a specialization at this level, one either needed to spend immense amounts of time cultivating it while being exceptionally gifted in that field, or pile up a massive number of Singularities. Either way, it proved that this woman was no simple person.

Yet such a person was currently following behind Mercenary Tao with lowered brows and obedient eyes, astonishingly docile.

Wushang became certain that Wuxin and Heaven’s Will’s judgment had been completely correct. Mercenary Tao was an abnormal individual. He could not be judged using the mindset reserved for Reincarnators of their own generation. It was best to treat him as a Title-level Reincarnator.

"Mr. Mercenary Tao, I sensed the vigorous growth of that Erdtree in the Naruto World. Thank you very much for your help."

Heaven’s Will spoke in a melodious tone. Even though she was deliberately flattering him, she did not sound humble.

"Help?"

Bai Cangshu raised his tone. He met the gazes of the three members of this special team one by one. Although the special item known as Avatar could completely block all detection within the Space, making it impossible to gauge their physical strength,

many times, one could tell a person’s condition just by looking into their eyes.

These three had clearly been doing quite well lately. Even Wuxin, who had once been the weakest among them, now had a much firmer gaze.

"I was completely used by you, Miss Heaven’s Will. That Hiranaka Minoru fellow was deliberately drawn into the Golden Order by you, wasn’t he? Truly an excellent tactic."

Bai Cangshu sounded as though he were praising her, but Wuxin frowned. He had heard Heaven’s Will say that she had already ceded most of the Naruto World’s gains to Mercenary Tao. She had even acted despite the risk of being killed herself, locking the World Will’s hatred onto herself. Forced to use an item to withdraw from the mission, she had suffered tremendous losses.

Yet Mercenary Tao’s current attitude clearly showed that he had no intention of appreciating it. Was he still going to hold a grudge against Heaven’s Will?

"Mr. Mercenary Tao, Heaven’s Will, she…"

Buzz!

A fierce sword cry rang out. Even knowing that no one could harm one another within the Space by any means, the terrifying sharpness pressed before him still cut off Wuxin’s words, leaving him unable to continue.

He turned and saw the woman following behind Mercenary Tao holding her fingers together like a blade, pointing at him.

Seeing this, Heaven’s Will reached out to stop Wuxin. She rose, picked up a teacup, walked to Mercenary Tao’s side, and offered it to him with both hands.

"Mr. Mercenary Tao, have you heard of the Tarnished?"

Bai Cangshu looked at the woman’s still-calm face. In the face of his provocation, she did not become angry in the slightest. Instead, she smoothly brought out benefits to continue making amends.

This woman gave him a strange feeling.

She was not normal either. She was an anomaly.

"Tarnished… Is this the bait you cast? Speaking of which, what was the codename of that Reincarnator who used two Chakra Blades? Was he working so desperately for you because he wanted to become Tarnished?"

Bai Cangshu’s smile was cruel, but Heaven’s Will remained calm.

The two looked at each other. One was filled with malice, while the other was unmoved by the death of someone who adored her. At this moment, both confirmed the other’s difference.

In the end, both smiled.

"Then it seems Mr. Mercenary Tao is willing to have a conversation with me."