Chapter 142: with translation of chapter title

Despite being mocked and insulted by Qian Renxue, Count Gengxin felt no anger—only overwhelming fear.

Translation: "Being mocked and insulted by Qian Renxue like this, Count Gengxin felt no anger at all; his heart was filled with unparalleled fear."

Count Gengxin

fine.

Translation: "This crazy woman, she is simply a lunatic with a problematic mind."

Better: "This madwoman, she is simply a lunatic with a problematic mind." Keep meaning.

fine.

fine.

contains brackets and English.

Translation: "【Just thinking about being on the same evil side as you all, I feel sad from the bottom of my heart.】"

We keep brackets? The Chinese includes 【】. We'll keep as is? Probably translate content but keep brackets? The instruction: translate faithfully, never skip. So we should keep the brackets as part of translation? Usually we translate the content, but brackets are punctuation; we can keep them as they are. We'll output: "【Just thinking about being on the same evil side as you all, I feel sad from the bottom of my heart.】"

fine.

Translation: "\"Farewell, Count. \" As Qian Renxue whispered softly, Count Gengxin felt his consciousness sink into a chaos, and the next moment his head exploded entirely."

Better: "\"Farewell, Count. \" As Qian Renxue whispered softly, Count Gengxin felt his consciousness sink into a chaos, and the next moment his head blew apart."

burst

A loud bang rang out, like a watermelon bursting, echoing through the banquet, and a vivid scarlet flower blossomed in the hall.

Translation: "With a bang, like a watermelon shattering, a crisp sound rang through the entire banquet; in the hall bloomed a scarlet flower, gorgeous and extraordinary."

fine.

Translation: "\"Ah——\""

fine.

Translation: "Screams erupted, the nobles' bodies all trembled, losing their former elegance; in their frantic, darting eyes tears streamed uncontrollably, their mouths uttering meaningless short syllables, filled with the taste of fear."

fine.

Translation: "\"Silence. \" Qian Renxue said softly."

fine.

Translation: "Her voice was soft, yet it carried enough deterrent power to make them like piglets with their necks choked; the high-pitched screams immediately ceased."

fine.

Translation: "Qian Renxue glanced around and said gently: \"Our Count drank to excess, stumbled drunk, and unfortunately hit his head and died at the banquet—what a tragic accident. \""

fine.

Translation: "\"You all should know what to do, right? \""

fine.

Translation: "\"After all, I've been restraining myself, otherwise I would have killed you all; don't disappoint me, honored guests. \""

fine.

Translation: "She did not intend to kill everyone, for otherwise Gengxin City would fall into dispute over the nobles' inheritance rights; desire sometimes cannot be sated by killing, which would be of no help to her in controlling the Blacksmith Association."

fine.

line: we have "Note: There's a typo; the intended word is 'center'. The translation is: 'Qian Renxue looked indifferently at the headless corpse before her; in the depths of her mysterious, deep purple eyes burned a scarlet glow.'" No Chinese.

fine.

Translation: "When Qian Renxue hung Count Gengxin's corpse on the rack opposite the Spirit Hall's main palace, the blacksmiths' cheers echoed throughout Gengxin City; everywhere were young blacksmiths running to spread the news, vigorous and high-spirited, they freely mocked the stubborn old blacksmiths, like victorious brave soldiers."

fine.

Translation: "This time, even those old stubborn fellows were moved; perhaps that girl truly differs from others, she is a genuine noble."

fine.

Translation: "Hearing his foolish disciple Si Long's proud voice, the clanging of hammering ceased; Divine Craftsman Lou Gao also put down his forging hammer, he wiped sweat from his brow, his eyes showing an unusual hue."

fine.

Translation: "\"That woman of the Spirit Hall, what on earth is she thinking? Is the Dujia system really not just a joke? Otherwise why would she value blacksmiths so much? \""

line: "Note: The term likely means 'Battle Armor'; we'll translate the phrase as 'Battle Armor system'." No Chinese.

Thus: "\"That woman of the Spirit Hall, what on earth is she thinking? Is the Battle Armor system really not just a joke? Otherwise why would she value blacksmiths so much? \""

fine.

Translation: "\"Regardless of truth or falsehood, we must indeed make contact with her; if it can raise the blacksmiths' status, even with a one percent chance, the Blacksmith Association cannot give up. \""

fine.

Translation: "Moreover, this Battle Armor thing he'd never heard of before genuinely interests him; previously he merely looked down on this little girl, thinking she didn't understand forging and was just talking nonsense, so he never bothered to see her."

fine.

Translation: "Now she has caused such a stir for the Blacksmith Association, even killing the city lord; it seems there is indeed substance to it."

fine.

Translation: "As for the Blacksmith Association, Lou Gao actually doesn't care that much; he just wants to see something he hasn't seen before. Whether it gets absorbed by the Spirit Hall is irrelevant to him; if it weren't for the fact that the vice-chairman Titan has some grudge with the Spirit Hall, he wouldn't deliberately give them the cold shoulder."

fine.

Translation: "Lou Gao pondered a moment, then shouted: \"Si Long! Go invite Qian Ling'er to come as a guest to the Blacksmith Association; perhaps I was narrow-minded before, I want to talk with her about the Battle Armor. \""

fine.

Translation: "Si Long's eyes lit up: \"Master! You've finally changed your mind! I'll go invite the princess right away! Actually, if you still refuse, I'll just take Si Yu and go work for them myself. \""

fine.

Translation: "Lou Gao snorted coldly and yelled: \"You little brat, I don't even know you! Going to work for them is pure nonsense, you're just bewitched by that woman; how old is she anyway? You don't even look at your own burly demeanor—who would look up to you?! \""

fine.

line: "Note: The translation is: "Si Long's face flushed crimson: "Master, how can you spout nonsense? I never said I had that thought; I simply admire you, do you understand? It's pure admiration!". The original contains a stray period after the word for 'thought', which we retain." No Chinese.

fine.

Translation: "\"Nonsense about purity, get lost! Just seeing you annoys me! \" Lou Gao continued swinging his forging hammer, too lazy to listen to Si Long's excuses; he only likes forging, and the clanking sounds resumed in the forging room."

fine.

Translation: "In the guest hall of the side palace of the Spirit Hall's main palace."

fine.

Translation: "At this moment, Qian Renxue was lazily sinking herself into the sofa."

fine.

Translation: "The blacksmiths' cheers at the door still echoed; the name Qian Ling'er resounded throughout the city today, and Qian Renxue impatiently let out a sigh."

fine.

Translation: "\"Really noisy to death. \""

fine.

Translation: "The Porcupine Douluo released a soul power barrier at the guest hall door, blocking the cheers, and chuckled softly: \"I thought you'd like this scene. \""

fine.

Translation: "Qian Renxue crossed her legs, gave a light hum, and said: \"I'm not interested; have you looked into the information on that sister-brother pair? \""

fine.

Translation: "The Serpent Spear Douluo handed the letter to Qian Renxue, somewhat doubtful, saying: \"Your Highness, the sister named A Ke appeared once at the Spirit Hall a month ago; she claimed her parents were dead, her martial soul is a previously unseen variant, the Jade Swan, with innate full soul power, she even enrolled at the Spirit Hall Academy, but for unknown reasons she suddenly left alone and came to Gengxin City, her behavior pattern extremely strange. \""

fine.

Translation: "\"As for that brother, we have no information at all; he hasn't awakened a martial soul, and the Spirit Hall couldn't possibly check his background; likely he's someone she brought along on the way to Gengxin City. \""

fine.

Translation: "Qian Renxue looked at the letter, narrowed her eyes, and said: \"You mean that six-year-old A Ke, instead of attending the Spirit Hall Academy she's enrolled in, crossed the the Heaven Dou Empire, detoured around the Star Dou Great Forest, and came to Gengxin City in the Star Luo Empire? And then, while I was deceiving those young blacksmiths, she just happened to faint in front of me. \""

"This forces me to maintain my benevolent persona by bringing them back to the Spirit Hall?"

Translation: "\"This forces me to, in order to maintain my benevolent persona, bring them back to the Spirit Hall. \""

"I recall that in recent years there have been no awakened individuals with innate full soul power, right?"

Translation: "\"I recall that in recent years there have been no awakened individuals with innate full soul power, right? \""

The Spiny Porcupine Douluo lowered his head and said: "Yes, my lord; you had us monitor yearly soul‑weapon awakening records, and indeed there are none with innate full soul power."

Translation: "The Porcupine Douluo lowered his head and said: \"Yes, Your Highness; you had us specially monitor each year's martial soul awakening records, and indeed there are no awakened martial souls with innate full soul power. \""

Moreover, A Ke is the Jade Swan that never appeared in the original work—isn't that the fierce beast from Douluo II? A transmigrator? But she doesn't cultivate, spending so much time traveling so far to Gengxin City—what is she doing? Buying ore? "Heh, no records, then that shows she isn't a soul weapon awakened by the Spirit Hall; this girl isn't a commoner, interesting. Speaking of which, the Tian Dou royal family's inherited soul weapon is the Jade Swan, right?"

Note: This line contains embedded quotation marks; we must translate it carefully, preserving the quoted speech.

We'll translate: "Moreover, A Ke is the Jade Swan that never appeared in the original work—isn't that a ferocious beast from Douluo II? A transmigrator? But she doesn't cultivate; why would she spend so long coming all the way to Gengxin City just to buy ore? \"Hah, no records—this shows she isn't a martial soul awakened by the Spirit Hall; this girl isn't a commoner, interesting. Speaking of which, the inherited martial soul of the Tian Dou royal family is the swan, right? \""

We need to keep the quoted speech inside quotes. We'll keep the inner quotes as is.

"A Ke? Xue Ke?"

Translation: "\"A Ke? Xue Ke? \""

"Isn't that the little princess of the the Heaven Dou Empire, the one who likes Tang San?"

Translation: "\"Isn't that the little princess of the the Heaven Dou Empire, the one who likes Tang San? \""

I'm probably overthinking; surely no one would be that abstract? Going out without a pseudonym, you'd think this is a female‑frequency channel—just put a piece of cloth on your face and nobody would recognize you? The name A Ke might deliberately evoke Xue Ke.

Translation: "\"I'm probably overthinking; surely no one would be that abstract? Going out without an alt account, you'd think this is a female-oriented forum? Just put a cloth on your face and you wouldn't be recognized? The name A Ke might deliberately make people think of Xue Ke. \""

And that brother, Ato Lis—what a ridiculous name to actually bear.

Translation: "\"And that brother, A Tuolisi—what the heck, he's actually called that. \""

A Ke's taste in bad jokes is strong—are they role‑playing? Does her boyfriend need to be raised from childhood?

Translation: "\"A Ke's taste is quite twisted, huh? Are they playing role-play? They want to raise a boyfriend from childhood? \""

Qian Renxue pondered: "Could A Ke think she's a transmigrator and thus want to meet me? But that shouldn't be—Qian Ling'er's name is merely well‑known in Gengxin City, while A Ke clearly came straight from the Spirit Hall Academy without hesitation, and when she left the academy I was just on my way to Gengxin City myself."

Translation: "Qian Renxue pondered for a moment; could A Ke not think she's a transmigrator and thus want to meet me? But that shouldn't be; the name Qian Ling'er is just well-known in Gengxin City, while A Ke clearly came straight from the Spirit Hall Academy without hesitation, and when she left the academy I was merely on my way to Gengxin City."

It's not that she's naturally suspicious; rather, there are too many transmigrators around her, forcing her to doubt—how could innate full soul power appear so easily?

Translation: "It's not that she's naturally suspicious, but there are too many transmigrators around her, forcing her to doubt—how could innate full soul power appear so easily?"

Qian Renxue smiled; she likes interesting things, saying: "Bring them to me, I'll meet them personally."

Translation: "Qian Renxue smiled; she just likes interesting things: \"Bring them to me, I'll personally make contact. \""

The Serpent Spear Douluo bowed and left, while the Spiny Porcupine Douluo's eyes flashed with seven‑colored light as he suddenly said: "My lord, Si Long of the blacksmith association is waiting outside; it seems he has something to discuss."

Translation: "The Serpent Spear Douluo bowed and left, while the Porcupine Douluo's eyes flashed with seven-colored light; he suddenly said: \"Your Highness, Si Long of the Blacksmith Association is waiting outside, seemingly wanting to discuss something. \""

"Let him go back for today; my current affairs are more important."

Translation: "\"Let him go back for today; my current affairs are more important. \""

Whether A Ke is relevant to her cultivation—whether she's a fresh batch of 'leeches' to exploit—remains to be tested.

Translation: "\"This A Ke concerns her cultivation; whether she's a fresh batch of 'leeches' still needs to be probed to know. \""

The Spiny Porcupine Douluo didn't even step outside; a surge of mental power appeared directly in Si Long's mind, giving him a start—there are masters inside, and if they truly harbored ill intent, he would have no power to resist.

Translation: "The Porcupine Douluo didn't go out either; a wave of mental power directly appeared in Si Long's mind, making the Si Long at the Spirit Hall's main door feel a jolt of alarm—there are experts here; if they truly harbor ill intent, he would have no power to resist."

Qian Renxue stared blankly at the porcelain before her; she had already sent Spirit Hall personnel to the Star Dou Great Forest, the Extreme North, and the oceans to search for her seventh soul ring—ideally they'd find the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm, but if not she must prepare a backup, lest she pin all her hopes on that single tree. Though a million‑year soul ring is desirable, she must actually find it; charging straight into the core zone might not work, as it would too easily alert the beasts. After all, she bears several divine powers, and those ferocious creatures would likely sense her aura and flee instantly; the Silver Dragon King possesses spatial attributes, which Qian Renxue lacks, making it hard to capture them—if they truly fled elsewhere to hide, she would never find them again.

Translation: "Qian Renxue stared blankly at the porcelain before her; she has already sent Spirit Hall personnel to the Star Dou Great Forest, the extreme north, and the oceans to search for her seventh soul ring, hoping to find the Tian Meng Ice Silkworm—if not, she must also prepare a backup plan, lest she hang herself on that single Tian Meng Ice Silkworm. Although a million-year soul ring is good, she must be able to find it; charging straight into the core area might not work either, as it would too easily alert the snakes—after all, she possesses several divine powers on her body; those ferocious beasts would likely sense her aura and flee instantly; the Silver Dragon King has spatial attributes, but Qian Renxue lacks spatial power, making it hard to catch them; if they truly run elsewhere to hide, she would never find them."

Perhaps she must wait until she gains spatial ability before she can capture ferocious beasts for soul rings.

Translation: "Perhaps only when she possesses spatial power will Qian Renxue be able to capture ferocious beasts for soul rings."

"Your Highness, the people have been brought."

Translation: "\"Your Highness, the people have been brought. \""

At that moment, a Spirit Hall soul master's voice sounded from outside; as it did, the Spiny Porcupine Douluo gave Qian Renxue a slight bow and vanished into the room.

Translation: "Just then, a voice of a Spirit Hall main palace soul master sounded outside; following that voice, the Porcupine Douluo also slightly bowed to Qian Renxue and vanished into the room."

"Come in."

Translation: "\"Come in. \""

A young female soul master entered with a pair of siblings—the sister had short silver‑white hair, the brother black long hair; at a glance they were clearly not biological siblings.

Translation: "A young female soul master brought in a pair of siblings; the sister had silver-white short hair, while the brother had black long hair—at a glance they were not biological siblings."

A Tuo Li Si stood somewhat nervously behind Xue Ke, secretly gazing at Qian Renxue, yet a hint of obsession flickered in his eyes.

It's no surprise he's unsettled; the lovely woman before him is simply breathtakingly beautiful.

Her radiant golden hair was braided into three strands, gently placed to one side, falling onto her collarbone; from top to bottom, one can see her tall, graceful figure and exquisite features.

The waist-cinching long dress trimmed her figure like a tailor's knife; her full hips were slightly pressed by the sofa, bridging her slender shoulders and narrow back, forming a subtle inward curve, a graceful, alluring arc.

What truly set off all this was her pair of dim, dusky, gorgeous eyes, like gathered mist and waves, as if mourning the departed; she hardly seemed a sheltered, unworldly noble lady, but rather a melancholy, solitary lilac, lonely and fragrant.

Adding that rather dangerous hairstyle, Atolises instantly turned neon; madam, you wouldn't want this—she's a melancholy beauty, a frail and helpless lilac, superb, even more top-notch than his stepmother.

Snow Ke was far calmer than Atolises; forget about noble ladies—this woman is wicked. Snow Ke shielded Atolises' foolish son behind her. Atolises has great potential, but he hasn't awakened his martial soul yet, so an unlikable persona needed her to come personally; after all, she herself possesses innate full soul power, considerable potential, and the Spirit Hall treats geniuses well—Qian Renxue won't do anything to her.

If Atolises were to throw a tantrum, he'd likely be chopped up and tossed out to feed the fish; better let him act as he is—he's naturally dense.

Moreover, in this life she wants to change her pattern! She refuses to be a simp! Snow Ke wants Qian Renxue to coax her! She's an orphan with innate full soul power—if you don't want her, plenty will! She must be given face! You like acting, don't you? I'll join you! If you're gentle, I'll be domineering—I want to see how long you can keep up the act! Qian Renxue's consistent tactic as a wicked woman is to show weakness to the enemy; in my past life I was fooled by her gentle, frail guise! No, now it should be Qian Ling'er! Watch me slap your face hard!

"Miss Ake and Mr. Atolises, right?"

Qian Renxue, seated on the sofa, gazed at the two wanderers she had picked up and brought home with a gentle, courteous look, devoid of any contempt or disdain.

"May I ask if you're resting well?"

Atolises stared unblinkingly at Qian Renxue, she's truly gentle—I'm about to cry! Is this the sister my stepmother spoke of?

He replied carefully, fearful of offending the girl before him: "We're resting well."

But before he could finish, Snow Ke cut him off on the spot.

"Hmph! Cut the hypocrisy! You brought us back just to eye my talent, didn't you? I won't be fooled by you! Do nobles like you even care about the lives of us commoners?"

Atolises was terrified out of his wits, oh dear, what are you doing? You said you'd bring me to recognize kin, but you're bringing me to my death! I have an 8 a. m. class!! I took you as my stepmother, and you treat me like a clown! I'm done for this round—I didn't expect that after just a few good days he'd have to be reborn.

Qian Renxue muttered to herself, "Commoners? Are there any commoners who awaken a martial soul without the Spirit Hall? And you're still acting with me—you've had your secrets exposed, haven't you?"

"Your Highness." No one was visible, yet an elderly voice suddenly sounded in the room, as if reminding of something.

The frail, helpless lilac let out a sorrowful sigh, then spoke softly.

"Slap her."

"Smack!"

A crisp, loud slap echoed in the living room.

Snow Ke stood there dazed, the burning pain on her face making her realize what had just happened—she—she had been slapped, slapped by a Titled Douluo.

She stared at Qian Renxue with a face full of grievance—this shouldn't be! Why isn't she pretending? Clearly she wasn't like this before! She should be pretending to be frail so I could bully her to my heart's content!

"."

Exactly! Right now the only person beside me is Atolises! Before, it was a group of transmigrators fighting together! She wants to exploit me, so she pretended to be gentle—never mind that Atolises hasn't awakened his martial soul and has no use to her; Qian Renxue doesn't bother pretending in front of trash.

It's over, I'm done for.

"Are you awake, Miss Ake?"

Qian Renxue softly uttered Snow Ke's name, rose, walked to Snow Ke's side, gently lifted her chin, and gazed down with interest at her right‑swollen cheek, saying softly: "You say I harbor ill intent toward you, but what has my ill intent brought you? I gave you a room filled with incense, two warm beds, ample clean water, plentiful tasty food, maids to serve your baths, and even two brand‑new outfits—though they aren't costly, I believe I've afforded you the respect you deserve."

Qian Renxue lovingly caressed Snow Ke's swollen cheek; hearing the silver‑haired girl's intake of breath from pain, a sadistic pleasure welled up in her heart.

"Why, exactly? What have I done wrong to earn such disrespect from you?"

Several terrifying auras swept in from the darkness around the hall, and the atmosphere instantly grew heavy.

Atolises immediately grabbed Snow Ke's sleeve, muttering, "Let her shut up, she's just too unreliable," and said carefully: "Sorry, Your Highness, my stepmother is just overly sensitive—we've encountered many dangers on our escape route, so she's traumatized, yes, traumatized! We mean no disrespect to you."

"I apologize to you."

Qian Renxue stared, oddly sizing up Snow Ke—was she following the white‑bearded's path to dominance, picking up sons everywhere?

"Mr. Atolises, unlike your stepmother, you are a well‑mannered good child, but you cannot speak for Ake."

Snow Ke's face flushed, her left cheek instantly turning crimson—what is this guy saying?! Her earlier anger instantly turned to embarrassment.

Snow Ke stammered, "Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean it."

Qian Renxue gently stroked the uninjured side of Snow Ke's face, restoring her former soft demeanor.

She pressed her lips together, silent; even after hearing Snow Ke's apology, Qian Renxue gave no reply, merely gazing at her quietly—her eyes' corners faintly brimming with pity, a flush rising, her posture remaining elegant as she slightly lifted her chin, half‑revealing her snow‑white neck, her breath catching as her lashes trembled, her frail body weakly mustering a hint of stubbornness, delicate and pitiable.

It seemed the one who had just been struck wasn't Snow Ke, but her.

Snow Ke stared blankly for a moment, then whispered her explanation: "I—I didn't mean that either; I'm just… a little worried you're someone who harbors ill intent."

【Damn it! Host, what are you doing?! You're a reincarnator, aren't you?! The woman before you is someone who harbors ill intent! Wake up, you damn lecher!】

Hearing the system voice in her mind, Snow Ke jerked awake—holy cow, she almost fell for her! This woman is terrifying; one must not look at her, lest she be sexually tempted.

Too bad— in my past life I simped so long I developed a muscle memory for it; whenever I see her sad, I want to simp.