Chapter Fifteen: The Slave Master

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Morning light poured down, bright and clear.

“Young master, it’s time to get up!”

Steward Zhou strode into the inner courtyard, shooed away the maids who were cleaning, and knocked on the door.

Usually, the young master would have risen by now. What was different today?

“I’ll be up in a moment,” Ye Han called out loudly from inside.

Gazing at the person in the room who looked exactly like himself—or, to be precise, who had disguised himself to be indistinguishable from him—Ye Han once again marveled at the profound resources of the Panhuman Faction.

According to the man before him, he had been recruited by the faction a year ago to assume Ye Han’s identity and manage his power base here.

Just like Ye Han, every examinee who entered the Hope Domain Star had such a substitute behind them.

“A year ago—that would have been at the beginning of senior year, during the information collection for the university entrance exams!”

Watching as the man who looked just like him vanished into thin air, Ye Han could not help but exclaim in awe.

From the power transferred by his predecessor, Ye Han learned that he now held the identity of a slave owner in the Eastern Departure Dynasty.

He ran a slave trading business that spanned the entirety of the dynasty.

Currently, he commanded roughly a hundred thousand slaves, a figure placing him among the upper echelons of the slave trade in the Eastern Departure Dynasty.

There were nine other powers of comparable strength to his own.

“If my guess is correct, the heads of those nine slave factions are, like me, also examinees!”

Standing in the room, Ye Han swiftly reviewed the information his predecessor had relayed.

Once he had composed his expression, Ye Han changed his clothes and finally stepped out of his room. “Steward, organize the transaction accounts from yesterday. I’ll need them shortly.”

“Yes, young master!” Steward Zhou replied respectfully, half-bowing and gesturing invitingly. “Breakfast is prepared, young master, please come this way.”

“Very well.” Ye Han nodded coolly.

He followed the steward to the dining table.

Looking at the many unfamiliar dishes laid out on the table, Ye Han lifted his chopsticks with indifference and pointed at six dishes at random. “Feed these to the dogs.”

“Yes, young master.”

The waiting maid, long accustomed to such orders, swiftly removed the six dishes Ye Han had indicated.

This was one of the detailed routines his predecessor had instructed him to follow.

To prevent the subordinates from growing suspicious due to any lapse in his performance, the previous substitute had set up certain daily and private details.

As long as Ye Han executed these details perfectly, even if anyone had doubts, they would be concealed.

After he grew accustomed to his new identity, he could always change these habits if he wished.

Once breakfast was done, a lovely maid pressed a silk handkerchief to Ye Han’s lips.

“Young master, please rinse your mouth.”

Another maid then lifted a fragrant cup of tea to his lips.

Inside the cup was morning dew gathered by the maids from flower petals.

Ye Han took a sip as expected.

Yet another maid knelt with a gilded porcelain bottle raised above her head.

Ye Han tilted his neck slightly and spat the morning dew into the porcelain vessel.

“Young master, these are yesterday’s accounts.”

Once Ye Han’s lips had been wiped clean, the steward finally handed him the account books.

Ye Han flipped through them carelessly.

At that moment, the steward spoke. “Yesterday, we sold forty-seven fifth-rank slaves and purchased thirty-one. We sold a hundred and twenty-four fourth-rank slaves and acquired two hundred and twelve. For third-rank slaves, we sold one thousand one hundred forty-one and bought eight hundred nineteen. As for first and second ranks, nine thousand four hundred ten were sold, and eleven thousand two hundred ten purchased. After rounding, yesterday’s net profit was a hundred and thirteen high-grade spirit stones.”

The civilization of Hope Domain Star centered on the arcane and mystical; currency here took the form of spirit stones.

They came in supreme, high, mid, and low grades, with exchange rates set at 1:100:10,000:1,000,000.

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An ordinary person could live comfortably for a month on just three hundred low-grade spirit stones.

It occurred to Ye Han that, as a slave owner, he was truly earning millions daily.

“No wonder it’s so extravagant here!” Ye Han rose with a composed expression.

As he stood, the steward hurriedly collected the account books and inquired, “Young master, among the slaves acquired yesterday, there’s a group of women from the Prince Yue’s residence of the Xuanyang Dynasty. Would you like to inspect them personally?”

“Women?”

Ye Han’s brow arched, his heart skipping a beat.

How was he supposed to inspect these women? There had been no guidance from his predecessor on this matter!

But judging by the steward’s demeanor, it seemed... routine?

Whether on Earth or in Liyang, Ye Han had never experienced such matters.

The mention of it set him on edge.

But now, more than ever, he had to remain calm and resolute.

After all, he was a man with assets on two planets. Such matters were trivial!

He lifted his eyelids slightly and asked in an even tone, “Where are they now?”

According to the exam rules, among the ten native lives summoned from each bonded planet, one would follow the examinee, while the other nine would infiltrate the ranks of fellow examinees.

Now, with over a hundred thousand slaves under his command, finding his own follower via the chest marking would be easy—but those nine spies hidden among his subordinates would be another matter.

“They’re waiting in the rear courtyard.”

With that, the steward thoughtfully led the way ahead.

However, just as Ye Han followed the steward toward the rear, a dazzling beam of white light streaked across the sky.

Trailing it was a massive, mushroom-shaped sonic boom cloud.

“Damn, already?!”

Even Ye Han, with his formidable composure, could not help but curse.

From the moment he arrived on Hope Domain Star and completed the handover with his predecessor, little more than an hour had passed.

And in the time it took for him to have breakfast, someone’s intercontinental missile had already flown overhead?

That had to be a pay-to-win move!

Ye Han would bet anything that warhead soaring above was carrying the so-called banner of peace.

He watched grimly as the warhead vanished from sight.

“That’s the direction of the capital!”

The steward paused, looking skyward in the same direction. “I wonder which mighty figure wields such a weapon—its power is astonishing!”

“Young master, we’d best carry on,” the steward said, tugging Ye Han’s sleeve with a sigh. “Anyone capable of controlling such divine arms must be at least eighth rank. They’re not people we can afford to provoke.”

“Indeed, we can’t afford to,” Ye Han replied with a self-deprecating shake of his head.

The top combatants of the Eastern Departure Dynasty were only eighth rank.

If that warhead hit directly, even if the target survived, they would be crippled.

And, here on Hope Domain Star, aside from his own innate talent, Ye Han’s true strength did not even reach the first rank.

Had that warhead struck his city, he’d have been eliminated already.

“No, where there is one, there will be others!”

Ye Han halted, staring blankly at the rear courtyard gates.

With ten million examinees on Hope Domain Star, how could he be the only one to think of this?

He had to evacuate the city immediately, just to be safe!

A steely glint flashed in Ye Han’s eyes.

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If his judgment was correct, the capitals of all major powers would be prime targets—Eastern Departure’s capital would not survive.

To these bonded examinees, the lives of an entire city’s inhabitants were worth less than ants.

Truly ruthless!

“What’s wrong, young master?” the steward asked, seeing Ye Han lost in thought and unable to stop himself from asking with some irritation.

He had served in this mansion for decades, the most senior in the household.

He was the only one with the nerve to interrupt Ye Han.

“Oh, it’s nothing.” Ye Han frowned and waved it off. “Let’s go inside.”

He strode toward where the women were held, then, midway there, added, “Gather the valuable belongings from the estate. By noon, take everyone and leave the city.”

“What?” The steward was momentarily stunned by the seemingly capricious order. “Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”

Though servant and master were not equals, the steward did not directly challenge Ye Han’s decision.

He offered a gentle reminder instead, suggesting further consideration.

“No need, just do as I say.”

Ye Han pushed open the door to the women’s quarters, issuing the command without looking back.

“Yes, young master, I’ll see to it at once!”

The old steward, wearing a pained expression, stepped before Ye Han and drew two rune-etched parchment scrolls from his robe. “These are the slave contracts for the women inside.”

“Very well.” Ye Han accepted the scrolls.

Once the scrolls were handed over, the steward bowed and backed away. After three steps, he turned and hurried out.

There was much to pack up in the estate, and with a midday deadline for departure, time was tight.

Once the steward was gone, Ye Han finally turned to look inside the room.

There he saw a young woman in red, her body bound and limp with chains, sprawled on the floor. Her large, bright eyes brimmed with pleading.

Beside her lay a boy of seven or eight, unconscious.

Unlike the girl, the boy had not been so fortunate; the chain pierced straight through his shoulder blade.

Ye Han glanced at the contract in his hand, then at the girl, and finally pointed at the boy. “Who is he to you?”

The contract in Ye Han’s hand contained a drop of each one’s blood.

Through the contract, Ye Han could control their lives and deaths with ease.

“Please... please... spare my... brother,” the girl pleaded weakly, pressed to the floor, sweat-matted hair clinging to her brow, the chains outlining every curve, an air of fragile helplessness about her.

Ye Han stared at her in silence for a long time, then turned to look outside. “If you want to live, take your brother and leave this city with me.”

With that, he walked away without looking back.

The girl saw that he hadn’t even bothered to loosen the contract, nor did he glance back, and she furrowed her brows.

After a long moment, confirming that no one was watching them, she reluctantly struggled to her feet.

She cast a glance at the unconscious boy, a flash of disgust in her eyes.

“Utter deadweight!”

She raised her foot, poised it over the boy’s neck, hesitated for a long while, but ultimately did not press down.

“If he were to die just like this, I’d have trouble explaining it,” she muttered, swallowing her revulsion as she hoisted the boy onto her back.

Stumbling and limping, she trailed after Ye Han, her face once again shrouded in feigned weakness.

Yet, she did not notice that as she lifted the boy, his eyelids fluttered slightly.

A hint of resentment flickered in his gaze.