The night grew deeper as time ticked away. Xiao Tiance was consumed with worry—how terrified his daughter, whom he had never met, must be to cry so desperately.

An hour passed quickly. It was now 11 p.m. In the spacious courtyard of a villa on the outskirts of Qianjiang City, several thugs were mercilessly beating a woman lying on the ground. She was covered in blood and screaming in agony. Not far away, a little girl, no taller than one meter, knelt on the ground, pleading with a man dressed in black beside her.

“Uncle, please, I beg you, please stop hitting Sister Xiaohong. It wasn’t her who gave me the phone; I stole it myself. It was me, Uncle, please stop hitting her. Please!” The little girl, her eyes red from crying, begged the leader desperately. Her face was severely swollen on one side, her clothes, washed to the point of being threadbare, were tattered and covered in dirt, and her complexion was deathly pale.

“Heh, daring to bring a phone in here, she deserves to be beaten to death. Don’t you know the rules? Huh?” The man in black beside the girl remained unmoved, showing no intention of ordering his men to stop.

The man in black looked at the girl being beaten, named Xiaohong, and sneered, “You think you’re being kind? Don’t forget our deal! We’ve already paid for your college tuition, but you still had the nerve to give that phone to this little brat? If you want to die, I’ll gladly oblige!”

Xiaohong, a 20-year-old college student, had been hired by these people to watch over the little girl. But after a few days, seeing the girl forced to live in a pigsty and eat slop, Xiaohong couldn’t bear it any longer. She knew the girl’s mother had offended some powerful people, and those people had captured the girl to force her mother into submission.

Over the past few days, Xiaohong learned about the girl’s tragic life. Even before being captured, she lived like a beggar. Her mother, a restaurant waitress, didn’t make much money, and after paying rent, there was barely enough left to feed them. The girl’s clothes were all hand-me-downs.

The girl told Xiaohong that her name was Gao Xiaoxiao, and her mother was the best mom in the world. Xiaoxiao said she was very obedient and often helped her mother wash dishes and collect bottles to sell. Sometimes her mother would buy her meat, and though it was rare, it made her very, very happy.

At night, when the girl was staying in the pigsty, she would look up at the stars. Curious, Xiaohong asked her, “What are you looking at?”

The little girl smiled and said, “I’m looking at my dad.”

Puzzled, Xiaohong asked, “Your dad? Oh right, where did your dad go? Why isn’t he with you?”

The girl replied, “Mom says Dad went to a faraway place to earn money. Mom says Dad works very hard and is very tired, but when he earns enough, he’ll come back to find me.” That night, the little girl smiled as she said this from the pigsty.

Xiaohong’s tears fell involuntarily as she whispered, “Your dad is probably already dead.”

The little girl quickly grew anxious and protested, “No way! Mom says Dad is a peerless hero. He’ll come back for me on a colorful cloud someday! My dad will definitely come back; I’m such a good girl, he must like me.”

Seeing the hope in the little girl’s eyes, so bright like the stars, Xiaohong could no longer hold back her sorrow. Risking a beating from the thugs, she secretly gave the girl a few steamed buns, telling her to eat them and hide the rest.

They had been talking for a few days when, tonight, the little girl fell silent. Staring at the dark, gloomy sky, she said, “Sister, look, the stars are gone.” As she spoke, tears began to fall. After a moment, she added, “Sister, if the stars are gone, does that mean my dad won’t come back?”

Hearing this, Xiaohong’s heart clenched with pain. So, the little girl knew everything—she understood everything.

After a brief silence, Xiaohong quickly wiped her tears, forcing a smile as she said, “Xiaoxiao, don’t overthink it. Your dad will definitely come back, he definitely will.”

The little girl gave a bitter smile, hugging her muddy knees, and shook her head, saying, “Sister, don’t lie to me. I’ve known for a long time. I’ve known that Mom was lying to me. Otherwise, now that bad people are bullying me and have taken Mom away, why hasn’t Dad come back?” As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Xiaohong looked up at the dark, oppressive sky. Was this really a prosperous world? She took a deep breath, suppressing the pain in her heart, and smiled at the little girl, “Xiaoxiao, I’m not lying to you. Think about it, your dad is a peerless hero. He’ll definitely come back to find you. You’re such a good girl; your dad must love you very much. Oh, do you know your dad’s phone number? Do you want to call him?”

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Xiaohong had said it offhandedly, but to her surprise, the little girl suddenly looked up, thought hard for a moment, and then nodded, “I remember. Mom once told me. Mom bought Dad’s phone too, but she always said Dad was very tired and busy, so we couldn’t call him. But now that bad people are bullying Mom, Sister Xiaohong, can you help me call my dad?” The little girl hesitated for a long time before finally giving out a phone number.

That was the scene from over an hour ago when the little girl finally managed to reach Xiao Tiance, who was far away. She was very happy, but before she could say much, the thugs in the courtyard noticed, smashed the phone, and started beating Xiaohong.

In the courtyard, Xiaohong was beaten so badly she was nearly unconscious. The little girl continued kneeling, pleading, “Uncle, please stop, it’s all Xiaoxiao’s fault. I won’t do it again, I won’t do it again.”

The black-clad leader walked over to Xiaohong, and hearing the little girl’s words, his eyes gleamed as he pointed to the pig’s trough filled with foul slop and said, “I can stop beating her, but you have to eat all of that slop. Will you do it? Don’t think I don’t know this bitch has been sneaking you food!”

The little girl paled at the sight of the trough’s contents, instinctively stepping back. But the next moment, she gritted her teeth, walked over, and began eating the foul-smelling slop.

Xiaohong, being beaten, couldn’t bear to watch and closed her eyes. This was hell on earth!

The little girl, tears streaming down her face as she ate, kept murmuring, “My dad is a peerless hero. He’ll come to protect me. My dad is a peerless hero. He’ll come to save me.”

The leader in black walked over to the pigsty, crouched down, and looked at the little girl inside. Listening to her murmurs, he sneered and said, "Heh, your father has been dead for a long time. He won't be coming to save you. If your mother doesn't submit to Young Master Zhou, you're going to die too. Actually, it's better if you die. That way, you won't have to suffer. Isn't that right? And besides, you can go down and find your father."

The little girl shook her head, crying as she said, "No, no, my daddy isn't dead, he's not dead. He will definitely come to save Xiaoxiao, he definitely will."

"Heh, you'd better..." Just as the man in black was about to continue tormenting the little girl, a thunderous explosion suddenly erupted from the villa's gate. The next moment, an armored vehicle forcefully crashed through, and the loud noise frightened the little girl's face white. She instinctively looked up at the vehicle. The next moment, Xiao Tiance, clad in military uniform and radiating an overwhelming aura, jumped out of the vehicle. Behind him, Tianyi and Tianqi, the top two ranked warriors of the Heavenly Temple, also followed closely behind.

At that moment, for some unknown reason, the little girl felt an intense surge of warmth and longing as soon as she saw Xiao Tiance. She subconsciously smiled and called out, "Daddy!"

Just as he got out of the vehicle, Xiao Tiance was about to look for someone when his body suddenly trembled violently. He stared blankly at the tiny figure inside the pigsty. She looked so much like him—her eyes, eyebrows, nose...

"Xiaoxiao?" When Xiao Tiance saw the condition of his daughter, it was as if he had been struck by lightning. A line of bloody tears instantly streamed down from his eyes.

"Heehee, Daddy, you came to save Xiaoxiao. Xiaoxiao is so happy, so happy. Daddy, Xiaoxiao missed you so much, missed you so much..." The little girl in the pigsty smiled innocently as she spoke, but her body couldn’t help but fall backward.

"Ah!" Xiao Tiance let out a cry of immense pain. His aura erupted entirely, and with a single punch, he pulverized the man next to the pigsty. Then he jumped into the pigsty, tightly embracing the little girl. Standing straight in the pigsty, with tears streaming down his face, he softly said to the little girl, "Xiaoxiao, don't be afraid. Daddy is here, Daddy is here."

The little girl looked at Xiao Tiance, slowly closed her eyes, and lost consciousness. Yet, even in that state, she still murmured softly, "My daddy is a peerless hero. My daddy is a peerless hero. One day, he will come to find Xiaoxiao on a colorful cloud... My daddy is a peerless hero, a peerless hero..."

"Ah!" Xiao Tiance raised his head toward the sky and let out a helpless, heart-wrenching roar. Blood tears continued to flow from his eyes. The next moment, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood. His consciousness then sank into darkness. Under the dark, gloomy sky, even though Xiao Tiance had completely lost consciousness, he still clung tightly to his daughter, protecting her.

"Kill!!!" When Tianyi and Tianqi saw Xiao Tiance and the young mistress in this state, they could no longer hold back and charged toward the people in the courtyard. Meanwhile, Xiao Hong, who had been beaten and was lying on the ground, smiled and fainted after seeing that Xiaoxiao’s father had indeed arrived.

"You were right, Xiaoxiao. Your daddy is a peerless hero... Be happy, Xiaoxiao..." These were Xiao Hong's last words before she passed out.

At that moment, after slaughtering everyone, Tianyi and Tianqi, along with a dozen iron-blooded soldiers, looked on in extreme sorrow at the unconscious Xiao Tiance and the young mistress standing in the pigsty. Seeing Xiao Tiance, who even in a state of unconsciousness still stood straight, fiercely protecting the young mistress, Tianyi, Tianqi, and all the other soldiers’ eyes turned completely red.

"Ah!" Tianyi couldn't help but let out a heart-rending scream. He took out his phone, opened the internal channel of the Heavenly Temple, and aimed the camera at Xiao Tiance. With murderous intent that soared to the heavens, he roared, "The Lord has suffered severe mental trauma! The young mistress is gravely injured and unconscious! Life and death unknown! All members of the Heavenly Temple, get your asses here immediately! Drop everything! Everything! At all costs! Right now! Immediately! Everyone! Everyone!! All of you, come here! Everyone! Everyone! Everyone!!!!!!"

As Tianyi's words echoed in the secret channel of the Heavenly Temple, the entire world was instantly thrown into turmoil. At that moment, all the strongmen affiliated with the Heavenly Temple across the globe unleashed a sky-piercing killing intent.