番茄乐园

As for the people living in Ariodon City, they didn\'t care about Maria\'s parents or anyone who they killed in their battle. They just didn\'t want the Unorthodox Sects to return to the city and start wreaking havoc.

Nobody had thoughts of getting revenge, as they wanted to survive. However, everyone who witnessed this scene was wholly ignorant of the butterfly effect this incident would have on the Continent.

Maybe if they had known… they would\'ve done everything in their power to prevent Maria\'s parents from getting kidnapped.

***

Inside the Battle Maiden Sect, Mira and Maria sat inside their room, either cultivating or training.

Suddenly, without warning, Maria\'s eyes snapped open, and she grasped her left chest. Her breathing instantly became ragged, she lost all color in her face, and cold sweat covered her body.

"Haaa… Haaa… Haaa…"

Mira noticed her abnormality and stopped what she was doing to focus on her. She walked up to her girlfriend, wrapped a tail around her, and gave her a pat on the back.

The two stayed like this for a while. After panting for a few minutes, color returned to Maria\'s face, but she was still sickly pale.

"...What happened?" Mira asked, but part of her already knew the answer. Only a few things in this world could cause such a severe reaction from Maria, and out of those possibilities, only one was relevant.

\'They must\'ve gotten her parents.\'

Just the thought of this happening made Mira tremble in anger. She clenched her fists so hard that her nails dug into her skin, but she couldn\'t bother with that right now.

\'Those fuckers…! They\'re acting so quickly! I thought Aelina could\'ve done something to prevent this, but it seems like even with her strength and connections, she couldn\'t find two needles in a world-sized haystack so soon.\'

She couldn\'t blame Aelina for not being able to find them. If anything, she should blame herself as the god\'s subordinates wouldn\'t have gone after them if they weren\'t friends.

Sadness, grief, and sorrow shone deep in Mira\'s crimson eyes, but she quickly shook those thoughts away and turned her attention back to Maria.

"...I-I don\'t know. I was just cultivating like normal when suddenly, a pang of loss hit me as if I had just lost something important to me… Wait…" Maria\'s eyes widened in fear as her body shivered in anxiety. As if lightning struck her, she stood up and cried, "MY PARENTS!"

Maria was about to dash out the door, but before she could move, someone knocked on the door in a panic.

*Knock**Knock**Knock**Knock*

"There\'s an emergency, Leader Mira, Mistress Maria! Something terrible has happened!"

Maria\'s face immediately drained of all color, and she nearly fainted from shock, but somehow, she forced herself to stay conscious.

Maria\'s premonition had worsened, and she knew that if she stepped out of that door, she would be in a world of pain.

Her body shivered as if she had eaten a millennia-old block of ice. She tried to lift her legs to walk out the door, but they wouldn\'t budge. It was as if a mountain had appeared on her back, weighing her down and preventing her from moving.

\'Why?! Why won\'t my body move?!\' Maira screamed inwardly.

Her eyes became misty as she was 100% sure something had happened to her parents. Her instincts for these kinds of things have always been accurate. She wouldn\'t feel this way for no reason.

However, before she could do something drastic, Maria felt someone grasp her hand. She turned around and noticed that Mira had grasped her hand.

"...Let\'s go see what\'s going on together."

Mira tried to say in the gentlest and most loving voice she could offer. Although it sounded a bit awkward, it still calmed Maria down enough that she was no longer trembling as much.

"Mmhm."

She grasped Mira\'s hand tightly, and the two walked toward the door. However, right before they left, she turned to Dominique and said, "You stay here. We\'ll come back later."

Without waiting for her answer, the two left the room and walked outside.

However, what they saw made Maria\'s knees buckle.

"MOM!! DAD!!"

Maria\'s parents were blindfolded and strapped to a chair on a giant illusory screen in the sky above Snow Maiden City.

In fact, that wasn\'t the only illusory screen Mira could see. In the distance, she spotted multiple others broadcasting this scene to the world.

"What\'s going on? What is that thing floating in the sky?"

"Are those people? But why are they tied up?"

"This… This is creepy."

"What\'s going to happen to those people?"

People all over the Continent stopped what they were doing and looked into the sky as something like this had never happened before.

All of Mira\'s subordinates who lived in the valley also stopped what they were doing and stared at the screen, but unlike others, their expressions were livid!

"What the-?! Why are Mr. and Mrs. Zaria on the screen?! Is someone trying to mess with Mistress Maria?!"

That was the sentiment shared by all of them. They spent some time with Maria\'s parents while staying in Lunar Fox City. So, they knew just how nice and caring the two were. In this wretched world filled with death and corruption, those two did their best to bring life to those around them.

They weren\'t inherently selfish like so many cultivators were and just wanted to enjoy life. Even though they followed Mira to try and repay her for everything she\'s done for them, they respected Maria\'s parents.

Thus, seeing people they respected tied up and gagged on a screen made them tremble in agitation.

Due to all the commotion, Aelina and a few of the Elders appeared above the mountain and looked at the screen.

Aelina frowned as the two people looked familiar.

\'Wait. Aren\'t those Maria\'s parents?\' She wondered and felt like her conjecture was correct.

Not long ago, Maria showed her a picture of her parents, telling her they were in trouble. Aelina thought it was bullshit, but since she was pleased with Maria\'s actions in dealing with Izaria, she agreed to look for them.

However, although her information network is quite extensive, it wasn\'t meant to find people who could be anywhere on the Continent. Unless she mobilized the entire Sect, all the Branch Sects, and even asked some of her allies to help, she wouldn\'t be able to find them in the short term.

\'But, how did they end up like this so soon? It\'s barely been two days since Maria told me about her situation!\'

Aelina\'s frown deepened as she smelt something fishy. She began connecting the dots on what happened after Mira\'s group returned to the Sect.

\'Hmmm? That fox bitch told Mira that there were people after her. Then, not even a few hours later, Maria tells me her parents are in trouble. Is someone trying to target Mira through Maria? But why?\'

She didn\'t know what was happening, but this whole mess stank like rat shit. She glanced down, her eyes seemingly piercing through the void.

Mira stood there, unmoving, like usual, but there was something different about her. She wasn\'t releasing any aura or doing anything in particular, but for some reason, Aelina frowned.

Her intuition told her that Mira was like a volcano on the brink of exploding. Just a slight push would send her over the edge.

\'I\'ll have to keep an eye on Mira in the future.\'

Aelina had a headache just thinking about the potential trouble Mira might cause.

\'Geez… Why does that girl have to be in the middle of everything? Is there something special about her that I\'m missing?\'

Aelina thought, but suddenly, her attention turned to the screen as a third person, someone wearing all black with a murky aura, appeared.

\'The Unorthodox Faction!! What are they doing in this mess?!\'

Mira came to a similar conclusion as Aelina. Even if it was through a screen, she\'d never mistake the aura of someone from the Unorthodox Faction.

\'So, that\'s how they found Cole and Erika so quickly.\'

Things clicked in Mira\'s mind, but she didn\'t say anything as the person opened his mouth.

"Welcome, everyone, and thank you for tuning into the first episode of God\'s Network! We have two special guests on today\'s show!" The man stepped out of the way, motioning toward Maria\'s parents.

"These two people are Erika and Cole Zaria. They are the parents of Maria Zaria, who is a member of the Battle Maiden Sect. They used to live in Lunar Fox City, a backwater city in the middle of nowhere. Other than their daughter, Maria, they are the last of the Zaria bloodline."

"They are here today to pay for the crimes of their daughter. She dared to become close with a sinner named Mira, who is also a disciple of the Battle Maiden Sect. Although their blood can\'t cleanse the Zaria family of their wrongdoings, the least we can do is set an example to those who want to form any kind of relationship with Mira."

"Now, let\'s get on with the show!"

After announcing that, the man pulled out a thread-like needle and jammed it under Erika\'s fingernail until it reached her palm.

"AHHHHHHHH!!"

Erika screamed in pain as she thrashed around on the chair.

"MOTHER!!"

Maria\'s voice echoed throughout the silent Outer Court…