The one who spoke was Jiang Yunnuan.

The man with the lump on his head flew into a rage, clenching his fists as he glared at them with fiery eyes. The rest of the men erupted in laughter.

"Well now, speak of the devil. We were just talking about the ugly girl, and here she is."

"Hahaha, exactly! And she still has the nerve to ask who we’re calling ugly. Who else could it be but you? Have you no self-awareness at all?"

"That’s right. Oh, and I almost forgot—you’re the ugly freak who never awakened any abilities, right? What are you doing here? On vacation? Trash will always be trash, wasting your days on frivolous nonsense instead of doing anything useful."

"..."

The taunts came one after another. Before Jiang Yunnuan could get angry, Si Xie erupted in fury.

His face was as black as soot. He strode forward, pointing a finger at the men who’d insulted Jiang Yunnuan, and fired back with a vicious retort.

"Just look at you, with your pancake face, garlic-bulb nose, and a cratered complexion like you were just fished out of a septic tank. Calling you a toad would be an insult to toads. Don’t have a mirror? You can still piss, can’t you? Go take a look at your own damn reflection. And you have the audacity to laugh at my Nuannuan? With a face that could make someone vomit on sight, how do you have the nerve to even be alive?"

"And you," he continued, turning to another. "You’re what, in your late thirties? And you only have the Cultivation of a Sixth Rank Beast Transformation Stage? You’re less than useless. An utter disgrace to all Beastmen. No woman will ever have you. Even if you get matched, you’ll just end up with a forced Contract Termination. My advice? Find a rope and go hang yourself."

"Now it’s your turn. Under five-foot-seven and over 220 pounds? What factory churned out a defective cement barrel like you? A pig is more streamlined and well-proportioned. And *you* have the nerve to mock someone else’s looks? With a stunning specimen like me standing before you, shouldn’t you be so ashamed you go crawl into a septic tank?"

"..."

He fired off the insults like a machine gun, never pausing for breath as he strafed everyone with indiscriminate attacks. The crowd could only listen, completely dumbfounded.

Even Jiang Yunnuan was stunned. In her heart, she was bowing down in absolute admiration. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

’Whoa, he’s incredible! So damn good! I’m impressed, with a capital I!’

’I always knew he had a venomous tongue, but I never imagined it was *this* venomous.’

’Looks like he was really holding back when he argued with me before.’

’Hmm, I have to admit, the way he’s defending me... it’s ridiculously hot. So handsome! I love to see it!’

Hearing her inner voice, Si Xie froze for a second before a smirk tugged at his lips as he glanced at her.

"You’re courting death?"

The humiliated thugs snapped out of their stupor, their eyes burning with rage as they glared at Si Xie. The air between them crackled with tension.

Si Xie chuckled, his voice lazy.

"I was merely telling the truth. Why are a few toads like you getting so worked up?"

Hearing this, the brutes became even more furious. They exchanged a look, then moved to surround Si Xie and Jiang Yunnuan.

As they shifted their positions, two figures that had been blocked from view appeared before Jiang Yunnuan’s eyes.

On the ground not far away, a young girl in a pink dress cradled a boy covered in blood, biting her lip as she watched them worriedly.

"Brother, wait for me. I’m going to help Big Sister."

With that, she placed the boy in her arms on the ground and walked toward them.

"Y-you can’t do this! My sister is Yun Aochen’s daughter! Uncle Yun was the Empire’s War God, and he died to protect the Empire! Without his sacrifice, there would be no peaceful Empire today! All of you, and your families, have benefited from his protection! You can’t treat his daughter this way..."

The girl was clearly terrified, so scared her whole body trembled, and her voice was tinged with tears, yet she still mustered the courage to warn the brutes.

The brutes just spat, sneering at her as they cursed.

"Cut the fucking crap. Yun Aochen obviously died fighting for his woman’s throne. What’s that got to do with us? Besides, he’s been dead for years. You think you can use his name to intimidate us, little girl? You really think we’re some kind of good guys??"

"Yeah, let’s take care of this pretty boy first. After we’re done with him, you, little chick, and that ugly freak can come and play with us~"

The Protection Law for women was completely ineffective outside of Imperial territory.

Among the tens of billions of Beastmen, there were plenty of desperate outlaws who didn’t fear death.

"This ugly freak might have a hideous face, but her skin and body are damn fine. She’d probably be a lot of fun to play with. And you, little chick, don’t even get me started. So tender you could squeeze water out of her~"

"I’ve lived this long and never heard of anyone lucky enough to enjoy a pair of sisters. Today’s my lucky day..."

SLAP SLAP SLAP...

Before he could finish his sentence, over a dozen vicious slaps landed squarely on his filthy mouth.

The bewitching, silver-haired, fox-eared man had appeared in a flash, grabbing the brute’s shoulder and swinging his arm for a series of powerful slaps.

In an instant, the man’s mouth was beaten to a bloody pulp, and he even lost several teeth. A muffled wail escaped his throat.

"De-Deformation Stage..."

"This pretty boy, he’s actually in the Deformation Stage!"

Sensing that powerful pressure, the remaining brutes snapped to their senses, their expressions filled with terror. Their legs began to go weak, and they unconsciously backed away.

This frail-looking pretty boy was actually a Deformation Stage expert.

Even Jiang Tang’s eyes flashed with a hint of astonishment.

’Since when did Big Sister have a Deformation Stage expert by her side?’

"Well, you’re more knowledgeable than you look. For that, I’ll reward you with a beating. So, are you coming one by one, or all at once?"

Si Xie turned and looked at the others, a wide smile spreading across his face.

He gripped the brute with the mangled mouth by the shoulder and, with a powerful shove, tossed him away like a rag doll. The man landed in a heap on the ground a short distance away.

The expressions of the others changed instantly. They trembled and retreated again, their faces a mixture of vigilance and fear.

’So cool!’

’The way he crushes these weaklings is so hot!’

’I guess the reason he can’t beat Jun Yao and the main male characters isn’t that he’s weak, but that they’re just on a whole other level.’

Si Xie: "..."

’He’d admit he couldn’t beat Jun Yao, but what the hell was this "main male characters" group?’

’Could she mean Bai Luo?’

’He’d only ever lost to Jun Yao and Bai Luo. That was it.’

"Go over there so you don’t get caught in the crossfire. I’ll finish this up quickly."

He turned his head and leaned in close to her ear, murmuring the instruction.

"Oh, okay."

Jiang Yunnuan walked in the direction he had pointed.

The moment she moved away, his figure blurred into motion, and he charged at the men with clenched, iron fists.

The man who had been helplessly crushed by Jun Yao was now like a War God descended to earth. He fought the group of men, who were much more muscular than him, as if they were spinning tops, dominating them with just one hand.

"Big Sister... thank you."

A voice as small and soft as a mosquito’s buzz reached her ears.

Jiang Yunnuan’s gaze shifted to her. She saw the pure and lovely girl with her eyes lowered, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt, looking flustered and incredibly nervous.

This was Jiang Tang, the original owner of this body’s younger, paternal half-sister. She was only sixteen.

To solidify her throne, Jiang Huan had contracted more than thirty husbands in total. Nineteen had died in battle, and seventeen remained.

Using a high-tech artificial womb, she had produced over forty children.

Among so many children, there were only two girls: Jiang Yunnuan and Jiang Tang. Even technological means couldn’t increase the birth rate of girls.

The original owner had hated all her siblings and treated them horribly. As a result, Jiang Tang had always been afraid of her.

But it was this same timid, gentle girl who had always taken care of the original owner back at the fostering center.

After being sent to the fostering center, the original owner was constantly bullied by the other girls because of her appearance and lack of awakened abilities.

The Energy Liquid rations allocated to her were often maliciously stolen.

Whenever that happened, Jiang Tang would step forward, get bullied alongside the original owner, and secretly share her own Energy Liquid with her.

If it weren’t for Jiang Tang, the original owner would never have survived long enough to leave the fostering center.

"Thank me for what?"

Jiang Yunnuan chuckled and reached out to pinch her soft, adorable cheek.

’The original owner didn’t want this little sister, but I do!’

This intimate gesture made Jiang Tang freeze. She looked up at her blankly, her beautiful, watery peach-blossom eyes stunning to behold.

’Big Sister seems... different...’

’The old Big Sister would never have smiled at me!’

"Zoned out? Are you and Jiang Wang also here for a mission? Where’s your team? Why is it just the two of you?"

Jiang Tang was finally certain. Her sister had changed. She was completely different from before.

She snapped back to her senses and said in a small voice, "My brother and I were tricked. The team never intended to do the mission with us. We were kicked out of the team right before entering the Mist Forest..."

At this point, she suddenly remembered Jiang Wang. After a moment of hesitation, she pleaded cautiously.

"Oh, right, Big Sister! My brother is badly injured, and we don’t have enough mission contribution points to rent a Flying Device to return to Central City. When you go back, could you take us with you?"

Jiang Yunnuan’s brow twitched as the image of the blood-soaked boy flashed in her mind.

’Oh, right. That kid looked like he was seriously hurt.’

"Yes, but we’re here on a mission, so it’ll probably be a few more days. Come on, let’s go check on Jiang Wang first."

Their Flying Device just happened to have two empty seats. What a coincidence.

Hearing the footsteps, the blood-soaked boy weakly lifted his head, his dark eyes calmly watching her.

The boy had black hair and wolf ears. His face was as cold and remote as snow, exuding a composure that didn’t belong to a seventeen-year-old.

Jiang Yunnuan crouched down, seriously sizing up this new, conveniently acquired little brother.

"Call me ’Big Sister,’ and I’ll save you!"

She reached out and gave the pair of fluffy wolf ears on the boy’s head a little tug.

’The fur on his wolf ears is stiff. A little prickly to the touch.’

"Hey, Jiang Yunnuan, how can you touch his ears?"