At the same time, the others outside the hall seemed to be jolted awake by the closing of that door.

That’s right—what exactly were they doing?

Why were they blindly following Feng Yilian’s group’s attitude toward her?

It was true that the Long family’s glory as the head of the Four Great Families belonged to centuries past. But that didn’t mean a dragon atavist had become as weak as the present-day Long family.

A dragon was still a dragon.

One of the Four Symbols was still one of the Four Symbols.

She wasn’t inferior to Feng Yilian in the slightest!

And what benefit was there in refusing to befriend Long Jin? What qualifications did they have to ignore her? Even the true elites had invited her inside to sit with them and discuss the future.

As for them?

…

Beyond that door was a vast conference hall. Around an enormous round table sat the atavist heads of the major families.

Jing Pei was the last to enter.

As a result, countless powerful figures’ gazes landed on her, examining this dragon of the Long family—the first to appear in two hundred years.

“Hey. I heard your atavist purity is as high as ninety-five percent.”

A man suddenly spoke up, immediately drawing everyone’s attention in the silent conference hall.

Jing Pei stopped and looked toward him.

White suit. Red sunglasses. Hair slicked back so heavily with gel it gleamed.

He looked young—probably hadn’t become family head very long ago. That was why he still carried that arrogant attitude of someone who hadn’t yet been beaten down by reality.

“That’s correct.”

“I’ve never heard of someone awakening at such an old age,” the man continued. “Why don’t you prove your purity first? Since none of us have ever seen a dragon before, let everyone broaden their horizons a little.”

His tone was casual, and therefore deeply disrespectful.

Asking a stranger to perform on command for everyone’s entertainment—as though she were some kind of circus act.

Inside the conference hall, everyone watched him and Jing Pei.

No one spoke.

It seemed they also wanted to see how she would respond.

They had invited Jing Pei in because her dragon bloodline was extraordinary enough that she had the right to sit here.

But beyond that, there was nothing more.

After all, the Long family had gone two hundred years without producing a true atavist. Even the occasional awakenings two centuries ago had all been low-purity dragons.

Which meant—

No one present had ever personally witnessed the true majesty, terror, and allure of the dragon race.

Yet Jing Pei’s expression did not change in the slightest.

She remained perfectly calm and at ease as she asked:

“Everyone knows I grew up in the countryside. I’ve never seen an atavist transformation before either. Why don’t you perform yours first and let me take a look?”

The man was just about to speak when Jing Pei suddenly seemed to remember something.

“Oh, right. May I ask what kind of atavist you are, sir?”

The man immediately revealed a proud expression.

“Didn’t your elders tell you? The Chang family possesses Peacock Clan atavism.”

“Oh. Then forget it.”

In an instant, the man’s expression darkened.

Being asked to reveal his atavist form for her amusement had already annoyed him.

But her reaction afterward infuriated him even more.

He shot to his feet from his chair.

“What do you mean by that?!”

“It’s just that peacocks spreading their tails may be beautiful,” Jing Pei said gently, “but the exposed backside is really ugly.”

Someone burst out laughing.

The double meaning struck directly at the man’s sore spot. Combined with Jing Pei’s composed, effortless gentleness, it became even more infuriating.

The Chang family head’s expression twisted violently for a split second.

Then he vanished from his seat.

“Not good!”

The other family heads, who had been calmly watching the show until now, immediately changed expressions.

They hadn’t expected this young girl’s counterattack in such a setting to be so direct and vicious.

Sure, the Chang family head looked like some arrogant idiot who’d never suffered reality’s beatings—

But the very reason reality had never beaten him down was because he was genuinely strong.

Although the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise were collectively called the “Four Symbols,” no one could truly prove that the dragon race, white tiger race, phoenix race, and serpent‑tortoise race that appeared during the Great Convergence were literally the same divine beasts from ancient mythology.

However, they certainly looked alike.

And during the Great Convergence, they had indeed possessed overwhelming strength that crushed other races. Their various habits also perfectly matched humanity’s ancient imagination.

That was why people believed they were the Four Symbols—perhaps remnants of a universe their world had once encountered long ago, now returned through the Great Convergence.

But that didn’t mean every atavist carrying those bloodlines would automatically suppress all other families.

Besides, peacocks also held an important place in ancient myths—even if they weren’t as famous as the Four Symbols and didn’t belong to the same mythological system.

Setting all of that aside—

A fully grown, physically powerful man beating up a slender, beautiful underage girl would still obviously be a one-sided massacre.

They were hoping the dragon race would strengthen the atavist world in the future against their enemies.

How could they simply stand there and watch her get hurt?

Thus, everyone immediately rose to intervene—

But they were still one step too slow.

The Chang family head had already appeared before Jing Pei and swung a slap toward her face.

He looked down on her.

That slap wasn’t the attack of a combatant facing an equal opponent.

It was simply a man hitting a woman.

And underestimating one’s enemy was often the fastest route to death.

His slap struck nothing but empty air.

Jing Pei had vanished from directly in front of him, appearing at his side instead.

The instant he whipped around, a monstrous, terrifying dragon claw had already closed around his throat, lifting him clear off the ground.

“So practiced at slapping women,” Jing Pei asked gently. “I wonder how many times Family Head Chang has done this for it to feel so natural?”

Every single person who had rushed over to save Jing Pei stopped dead in their tracks.

They stared at the scene before them in complete shock.

Atavists were naturally far stronger than ordinary humans to begin with. Someone like Jing Pei, whose atavist purity reached ninety‑five percent, was practically no longer human at all—it was more like dragon blood mixed with a little human blood. By comparison, this Peacock Clan atavist’s sixty‑percent purity was considered quite high among ordinary atavists, but in front of Jing Pei, it was completely insignificant.

Even though her control over her atavist powers still wasn’t perfect, brute force alone would be enough to beat him to death.

Jing Pei’s dragon claw tightened slightly.

Family Head Chang’s face instantly flushed red from suffocation, then gradually began turning purple. He frantically clawed at Jing Pei’s hand, yet couldn’t move it even the slightest bit, nor injure her in the slightest.

After all, Mei Yanlan had said it herself—she possessed the most perfect defensive armor in the world.

“Young Master Long…” someone hurried over, trying to smooth things over.

Jing Pei ignored them completely and merely continued smiling at Family Head Chang.

By this point, Family Head Chang had stopped trying to pry her claw away and instead lightly patted her arm.

He was begging for mercy.

Only then did Jing Pei loosen her grip.

The moment his feet touched the floor, Family Head Chang slipped back toward his seat as quickly and smoothly as the grease in his hair, fleeing far away from Jing Pei with a visibly frightened expression.

Good lord.

So this was what he looked like after finally getting beaten down by reality.

To be fair, he adapted pretty quickly.

“What a remarkable young talent. We old folks are truly getting old. In the future, the atavist families will have to rely on young people like you.” One of the elders laughed warmly. “Young Master Long, please take your seat.”

Jing Pei had proven with raw strength exactly where she stood in the food chain.

The attitudes of the major figures present instantly shifted from cold scrutiny to the warmth of kindly elders.

Though at this moment, all of them shared the exact same thought:

As expected—atavists with purity this absurd really were monsters.

Everyone sat back down.

Jing Pei was guided toward her seat, positioned together with the only two other younger members present.

One was Feng Yilian, whose Feng family carried the bloodline of the Phoenix Clan.

The other was a tenth‑year senior from Twelve Zodiac Academy—the very girl who had been closest to Jing Pei moments ago and would have intervened if Jing Pei hadn’t grabbed Family Head Chang’s throat so quickly.

She looked heroic and sharp-eyed, her chin raised proudly. Her eyes shone with admiration.

“Hello, Long Jin. My name is Wu Ying.”

The Wu family possessed Serpent‑Tortoise atavism.

And the person who had laughed when Jing Pei mocked the peacock earlier had been her.

Jing Pei smiled back amicably.

“Hello, Senior. Thank you for trying to help me.”

Her seat was between Feng Yilian and Wu Ying.

Jing Pei subtly shifted her chair a little farther away from Feng Yilian.

Feng Yilian had originally been smiling, but upon noticing this, one eyebrow rose slightly.

…Was it because he hadn’t moved earlier?

But he had known she could handle it herself. After all, she was the sort of monster who spent every waking moment training.

Then he watched Jing Pei pull out a disinfectant wipe and wipe her hand clean.

The smile at the corner of his mouth stiffened briefly before curling into something more amused.

At that moment, one of the family heads looked toward the three young people and sighed as though reminiscing.

“We’re only missing the White Tiger. Then the Four Symbols would truly be complete once more. Back in the day, when the Four Great Families sat together… ah, that really was…”

But an older elder immediately frowned as though hearing something filthy pollute his ears.

“Hmph. Don’t mention that traitor. Unless it’s the day he dies. And if I’m already dead by then, you’d better come tell me at my grave!”

“Oh, come on, Elder Wang. Even if he dies, you’ll probably still be alive. Your Elephant Clan atavists all live beyond a hundred and fifty years. As for that butcher… serving as a government dog over there, who knows when he’ll suddenly drop dead.”

“That’s why we should never have spared him back then after he slaughtered his own kin, even if he was the White Tiger’s last bloodline!”

Wu Ying let out a faint snort of disdain.

Probably worried Jing Pei wouldn’t understand who they were talking about, she leaned slightly closer and quietly explained:

“They’re cursing the current Director of the Tribunal Division—Qiu Fa.”

Jing Pei nodded, looking enlightened.

She couldn’t say for certain what topics would be discussed during this gathering, but insulting and cursing Qiu Fa was guaranteed.

After all, that was practically routine for them.

Wu Ying’s eyes were filled with contempt, though she said nothing further. She knew arguing with these hypocritical old fossils was a waste of breath.

If her family hadn’t insisted she attend, she wouldn’t have bothered coming to such a gathering at all.

Fortunately, she hadn’t graduated yet and hadn’t officially inherited the family head position, so she could simply sit there without speaking.

Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder.

Jing Pei had secretly extended a clenched fist toward her.

When it opened—

A preserved plum lay in her palm.

Wu Ying looked up in surprise and saw Jing Pei quietly part her lips. A preserved plum rested inside her mouth, while those lively, beautiful catlike eyes sparkled mischievously.

W‑What kind of elementary school behavior was this?

Even back in her own student days, Wu Ying had never secretly eaten snacks during class. She was someone deeply proud of her identity—if she wanted to eat something, she’d do it openly and proudly, never sneak around.

Still—

She accepted the preserved plum, deliberately held it up for everyone to see, then tossed it into her mouth.

Even though absolutely no one had been paying attention.

By now, the conversation at the gathering had already shifted from cursing Qiu Fa to complaining about various policies in their respective prefectures, lamenting how little respect they felt they were receiving.

“Ever since they seized the opportunity to appoint Qiu Fa as Director of the Tribunal Division—putting him in charge of the institution monitoring and punishing us—it’s already been a declaration of war!”

“When they need us, we’re saviors. The moment they don’t, they start trying to strip away our authority. I’m telling you, the moment they find an opportunity, they’ll start revising the Atavist Management Regulations!”

Jing Pei listened while sucking quietly on her preserved plum.

The conflicts between ordinary humans and atavists were increasing day by day.

Naturally, the struggle between the government and the atavists had also grown increasingly intense.

In the past, the atavist families had stood proudly above the government, treating it with contempt.

But after the upheaval surrounding the Qiu family, the seeds of change had quietly been planted.

And once Qiu Fa assumed the position of Director of the Tribunal Division—

The atavist families had found themselves constrained at every turn ever since.

As they spoke, their gazes suddenly turned toward Jing Pei, and one of them said happily:

“Luckily, we have Ah Jin now! The two of them both have ninety‑five percent atavist purity. The Azure Dragon is no weaker than the White Tiger—and she’s even younger! She’ll definitely crush Qiu Fa!”

Jing Pei nearly spat out the preserved plum in her mouth before sucking it back in, speechless.

…Hello? Could you phrase that in a slightly more civilized way?

…

Bohai Prefecture.

The car crawled toward its destination through the congested streets. There had apparently been an accident ahead, causing a massive traffic jam. The driver looked extremely nervous, constantly glancing into the rearview mirror as though terrified this intimidating passenger might lose his temper.

Fortunately, Qiu Fa had his eyes closed and appeared to be asleep.

That sea of crimson returned to his dreams once again.

“Little tiger, wake up.”

A gentle voice roused him. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up to see his mother smiling warmly at him as she picked him up.

He immediately struggled.

“Don’t carry me! I’m five already!”

“Wow, five years old! But even at five, you still can’t escape Mommy’s hands.”

Then she kissed him until his face turned bright red, leaving him frowning and sulking.

That day had been his birthday.

The entire clan had gathered together in celebration. His older brother lifted him high into the air over and over in some ridiculous game that adults inexplicably loved, making him laugh helplessly because his brother looked so silly.

His mother placed a little white tiger-patterned hat on his head, complete with two round ears.

His father lifted him onto his shoulders.

Then the whole family took a photograph together.

And after that…

What happened?

The fluffy white tiger hat lay on the floor, soaked through with blood.

He stood there blankly staring at everything before him.

His mother’s body had been severed in half, her hollow eyes staring directly at him. His father and older brother lay collapsed on the ground. Every clan member who had come to celebrate his birthday was dead.

The floor.

The ceiling.

The walls.

Every flower.

Every leaf.

Everything was stained with blood.

At first, he thought it had to be a dream.

Something brushed lightly against his wrist. Looking down, he saw a green ribbon tied there, swaying gently in a wind that had somehow slipped in from outside.

Huh?

What was this?

Was it someone’s gift for him?

Had this ribbon already been tied around his wrist before?

His thoughts were hazy and confused.

Until the Tribunal Division burst in.

Until they judged him.

Until everyone insisted he had slaughtered his own family.

Only then did he realize there would be no waking up.

This wasn’t a nightmare.

It had truly happened.

“Still refusing to confess? Don’t think being a child lets you escape responsibility! The entire scene was saturated with White Tiger atavist power. You’re the only survivor—if you didn’t do it, then who did?”

“Ninety‑five percent purity? At that point, you can barely even be called human anymore! Slaughtering your own clan isn’t surprising at all!”

The enforcement batons struck him again and again across the head and body. He had no idea how many bones were broken. Curled into a ball, he covered his head desperately.

“I didn’t do it!”

“Then why don’t you remember anything? You were standing right there! One of the aftereffects of an atavist rampage is memory loss, because during that time, you’re nothing but a bloodthirsty beast!”

“I didn’t…”

“Then why was your parents’ flesh found beneath your fingernails?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Stop trying to argue! You inhuman monster!”

“Qiu Fa. For slaughtering his entire clan during an atavist rampage and committing unforgivable crimes, and in order to preserve public safety, the sentence is death. Due to the defendant’s young age, execution is suspended for ten years.”

Bang!

The iron prison door slammed shut.

The narrow cell was cold as an ice cave.

Like a puppet that had lost its soul, he sat there for countless days, forgetting hunger and thirst. The world lost all sound and color. Again and again, he questioned himself.

Did I kill them?

How could I do such a thing?

Why didn’t I just die too?

At some point, he noticed the green ribbon around his wrist again.

It was tied in a special knot, so it had never fallen off. No one cared enough to notice it, and so it remained there all this time.

For some reason, he suddenly felt that it resembled some kind of mark.

Like a collar and name tag on a pet.

Like the inspection stamp branded onto livestock.

The more he stared at it, the more it bothered him.

He kept replaying that day in his mind.

When had this ribbon appeared?

Who tied it around his wrist?

Who would give him something like this?

And how had they managed to tie it onto him?

Perhaps—

This ribbon was the key to discovering what had truly happened that day.

But he had never mentioned it to anyone.

To avoid alerting whoever was behind it, he had secretly investigated it all these years.

Which meant—

Anyone who knew about it was highly suspicious.

So how did that damned, lowlife information broker know?

Qiu Fa raised a hand and grabbed the one reaching toward him.

His eyes snapped open, completely clear, as though he had never been asleep at all.

The driver nearly wet himself in fright under those predator-like eyes. For a split second, he even hallucinated that the man before him wasn’t human at all, but a tiger.

“S-sir, I was just trying to tell you… we’ve arrived.”

Qiu Fa released him, paid the fare, glanced at the pitiful fifty cents remaining in his balance, and stepped out of the car with a dark expression.

The driver sped away instantly.

Qiu Fa looked up at the aging apartment blocks before him—a dense district of cramped old buildings packed tightly together.

He located the correct building, found the landlord, and had him unlock Apartment 602.

The landlord trembled nervously the entire way.

At first, it was because the man behind him actually made no sound when walking, which was terrifying.

Though thankfully, his heels pointed forward.

But afterward, the landlord kept glancing back for another reason entirely.

Tribunal Division?

Why would the Tribunal Division come looking for Yuan Qing—a perfectly ordinary middle-aged woman who worked as a street cleaner?

Did that mean Yuan Qing was actually an atavist?

It didn’t seem like it.

Besides, what kind of atavist would work sweeping streets? Finding work was easy for atavists, and the pay was always high. From birth, they were practically standing on the shoulders of ordinary people—life’s winners from the very beginning.

Qiu Fa also couldn’t understand why the intelligence broker considered information about this ordinary woman worth ten million.

Her background was incredibly simple.

Both her parents were farmers. She herself had been born in the countryside. Because her grades were poor, she left school after middle school and went out to work. She had spent some time in Yunjin Prefecture years ago, but her workplace had been far from the Qiu family. And the Qiu family estate itself lay deep within the forest under heavy guard—there was no way she could have wandered in and witnessed anything.

Yet among all the women named Yuan Qing, only this one had already been twenty years old when the Qiu family incident occurred. And during that exact period, she had happened to be in Yunjin Prefecture.

Then, immediately after the Qiu family tragedy, she abruptly quit her job and returned to her hometown.

Knock knock knock.

Qiu Fa curled his fingers and rapped lightly on the door.

“Who is it?” A middle‑aged woman opened the door—and nearly fainted in fright at the sight of him.

Why was half his body hiding behind the wall?!

“…Sorry.”

Qiu Fa stepped fully out.

Although his behavior was strange and unsettling, his appearance looked surprisingly upright and proper—sharp brows, bright eyes, sharply defined features.

But the instant she saw his eyes, she suddenly tightened her grip on the doorknob.

“You…”

Qiu Fa lowered his thick black lashes and stared at her expressionlessly.

“Hello, Ms. Yuan.”

He had expected he’d need to circle around carefully before obtaining the information he wanted.

Instead, after staring at him silently for several seconds, the woman stepped aside and sighed softly.

“You finally came.”

“I’ve been waiting for you for a very long time.”