So, in the face of Lina’s continued disdain, Jiang Qin said calmly, "Miss Lina is right. I’m indeed not worthy of entering your circle.

After all, if all the females in your circle are as unhinged as you, it would be very difficult for me to reach that standard."

"You’re calling me an unhinged female???"

"No, I’m saying there’s something wrong with you."

"You’re the one with something wrong with you!! You sick female, you short-lived beast!!!"

Hearing this, Yun Xie, Long Hao, and the others all glared at her fiercely.

If she weren’t a female, they probably would have attacked her already.

The one thing they couldn’t stand hearing most was someone cursing their partner to a short life.

It wasn’t just Yun Xie and his group; even the others present felt she had gone too far.

’A High-level female is so rare. How could anyone curse her to an early death?’

Long Hao suddenly shot out a hand, grabbing Yuan Ling’s wrist. He threw an arm over his shoulder and forcibly led him out of the office.

Once outside, he asked in a cold voice, "What do you think you’re doing?"

He released Yuan Ling’s wrist, revealing a small device resting in his palm.

The corners of Yuan Ling’s lips curled up slightly. "To shorten her life," he said, his tone light and airy.

"Have you lost your mind? You’re going to kill a female right in front of the Female Protection Association? Do you have a death wish?"

"I don’t care. As long as it makes Qinqin happy."

’Wasn’t his worthless, disposable life a small price to pay for a single smile from her?’

Long Hao cursed under his breath, "Lunatic."

"I’m warning you, don’t pull any more stunts. If you want to get even, there are plenty of ways to do it. You don’t need to throw your life away."

"Think about it. Qinqin is still pregnant. If something happens to her because she’s overwhelmed with grief, I won’t spare you even if you’re dead!"

Yuan Ling froze.

After a long moment, he said slowly, "Sorry. My thinking was too simple."

"Forget it. I get how you feel. I wanted to do the same thing."

’What kind of trash was that, daring to curse *my* female master to an early death.’

"We’ll get our revenge later, discreetly. If you make a move now in front of all these people, we’ll all be implicated."

Yuan Ling frowned. "How? By crippling her partners? I don’t agree with that."

"This has very little to do with that female’s males. Even if we beat them to death, what would that accomplish?"

"Wouldn’t she just go and find eight or ten more?"

"Besides, I don’t agree with this idea of the female causing trouble and the males taking the punishment."

"That female doesn’t give a damn about her partners, so how would that be revenge at all?"

Long Hao sneered. "This is why you’re so dense. Just watch."

After he spoke, he tapped his Light Computer a few times. A red-haired girl in a gown glittering with diamonds appeared on the light screen.

"Well, well, if it isn’t my dear third brother who gave it all up to become a commoner for love.

Not busy sucking up to my third sister-in-law today? What gives you the time to call your stranger of a little sister?"

Long Hao paid her prickly words no mind. "Long Yue, are you on Ye Lai Star yet?"

"A tourist star like that?" Long Yue rolled her eyes. "I’ve been there countless times growing up. I got sick of it ages ago. Why would I go so early?"

"Get over here. Now. Leave immediately. I need you to do me a favor."

"Oh? And what favor could possibly make the Third Prince of the Empire humble himself enough to ask for it?"

Long Hao was silent for a moment. "...I told you to focus on your studies, but no, you had to go chasing after young males. Now look at you—completely uncultured. You can’t even use words correctly."

"Long Hao!!! Is that any way to ask for a favor?"

"Oh, I’m not asking. I’m threatening.

If you don’t do me this favor, I’ll send that video of you as a kid—the one where you kissed five little males at once—to Wen Qing."

"You wouldn’t dare!!!" Long Yue roared.

"Hurry up and get here. If you’re not here by noon tomorrow, I’m sending it."

Then, before Long Yue could start cussing him out, Long Hao quickly hung up.

"Hmph. They think they can bully our Qinqin just because she’s good-natured? I’ll call in my own backup to deal with her."

The people of the Empire often said that his temper and Long Yue’s were in the same league.

He had a venomous tongue that could put anyone in an awkward position right to their face.

Long Yue, on the other hand, had a short fuse. If she couldn’t win an argument with words, she’d immediately let her fists do the talking.

Who knew how many fights she had gotten into with other females growing up? That made her the perfect person to put Lina in her place.

Besides, that Lina person was only the daughter of a clan leader. Long Yue was an Imperial Princess. There was a clear hierarchy between them.

If they came to blows, the most likely outcome was that their respective factions would just try to smooth things over.

But Yuan Ling’s brow remained furrowed, his face devoid of any smile.

"I know you feel stifled, but you were born in this era. Don’t you understand its rules by now?"

At the end of the day, they still had a moral line they wouldn’t cross. They would never stoop to colluding with Star Thieves to have Lina murdered.

***

Inside, the mediation had reached a stalemate.

Neither side was willing to budge, so the mediator had no choice but to persuade them both to return to their hotels for the time being. They would be given a resolution once the Association came up with a solution that satisfied both parties.

"Then you’d better hurry. If there’s no resolution by tomorrow, I’ll be having a chat with your superior."

Before leaving, Lina shot Jiang Qin one last glare, then stormed off with a cold huff.

Jiang Qin was in an equally bad mood. "I expect an apology as soon as possible. I will not yield a single inch on this matter."

The beleaguered mediator could only offer an awkward smile.

But Jiang Qin wasn’t trying to make things difficult for the mediator on purpose. ’It’s just that with things like this, if you give an inch, they’ll take a mile.’

’When dealing with outsiders, the Female Protection Association naturally prioritizes the protection of females.’

’But in an internal conflict between females, they have to weigh the pros and cons.’

’If she gave them any reason to think she was a pushover now, they would try to persuade her to let things slide every single time this happened in the future.’

’Only by being difficult would she force them to think twice before trying to placate her.’

’Just like the current situation.’

’Had she been the least bit more agreeable, they would have already persuaded her to back down.’

...

As she walked out of the Female Protection Association’s branch office, Jiang Qin saw Lina and her entourage waiting.

Lina walked right up to her, her own partners in tow.

"You don’t really think being an S-level female makes you all that special, do you?" she sneered.

"Are you talking about yourself, Miss Lina?"

"Hah. I’m nothing like a feral female from the wilds with no clan to her name. You think you’re even qualified to be compared to me?

S-level females are rare, it’s true, but not unheard of. You are not irreplaceable to the Federation. But I... I am the irreplaceable Young Master of the Angry Snake Clan."

’If she hadn’t still been enjoying herself, she would have taken over as clan leader the moment she came of age.’

’It was only because her father was the current leader, and she had no interest in managing all the tedious details, that she hadn’t taken on the role yet.’

’So how could some replaceable female possibly compare to her in importance?’