**'Abyssal Sovereign: The Demon's Dominion'**

Chapter 532: Chapter 531: A future

"Fifty taels for one strong, capable young man!"

"Ninety taels for six beautiful maidens!"

"Three hundred taels for this cute girl. She was once a princess!"

Keith heard loud voices ringing in his ears as he slowly woke up to a rather bizarre scene.

The surroundings were dim. Not so dark that one couldn’t see around, but not bright enough to resemble the daylight outside.

Around him, he could see many stalls, and in each of them were giant cages with silhouettes of people and creatures inside. People moved back and forth everywhere.

It was exactly like a market.

"Do you want this one?"

Suddenly, someone stopped in front of Keith, blocking his vision as a voice came from behind him while Keith struggled to remain conscious.

"Hmm..."

A soft feminine voice sounded as Keith saw the face of an ordinary woman appear before him.

"Why does he look so thin and weak?" she couldn’t help but ask.

The man behind Keith chuckled awkwardly.

"Ah... that... well..."

The man struggled to explain.

"He does look good, but..."

The woman cut him off with a sigh.

"He isn’t suitable for the job I want. If he were stronger, maybe I would have been interested," she said as she stood up.

"But, ma’am, you can buy him now for fifteen taels and feed him. I’m sure he’ll grow up strong," the man hurriedly tried to persuade her.

"I’m sorry, but I don’t have that kind of time. Besides, I could buy a much better slave for that money."

With that, she turned around and walked away.

Bang!

A loud metallic sound rang out as the man hit the cage.

Keith felt his heart skip a beat.

As the woman’s footsteps faded away, he felt that something terrible was happening.

He simply hadn’t fully realized it yet.

"Why would they even give me this worthless slave?"

Keith heard the man’s annoyed voice.

A scarred face suddenly appeared before him, startling Keith so much that he hurriedly stood up.

Bang!

His head slammed against the metal bars, sending him stumbling backward as the man stood up and left.

Just then, something pulled on him, stopping him from falling.

Looking behind him, Keith finally realized what had happened.

He was inside a cage.

Not only that...

His hands and legs were bound by heavy chains.

His eyes widened.

The slave traders...

Everything he had seen so far...

Didn’t that mean...

He was now a slave?

Keith felt his breathing become ragged.

"Eat."

The man returned and dropped what could only be compared to animal manure in front of Keith.

"Now, I don’t want you to—"

The man’s words came to an abrupt stop as he watched Keith devour the food with his bare hands, shocking him.

"Are you some kind of beast, kid?" the man thought in disbelief.

At first, he had planned to convince Keith to eat.

After all, even he knew how horrible the food was.

Some of these slaves had once lived much better lives than he ever had, so they often resisted at first.

He had even prepared to starve Keith for a few days as punishment so the boy would quickly accept that his old life was gone.

But who knew this kid would devour it so eagerly?

Well...

A win for him.

The man gave Keith one last glance.

"I hope you get a buyer soon... or else..."

His eyes turned cold before he walked away.

Meanwhile, Keith continued eating as a smile spread across his face.

When had he last eaten something this delicious?

The food he used to eat back in the town was far worse than this.

To Keith...

This was a delicacy.

In fact, he wanted more.

He even licked the plate clean.

After finishing, he looked around the dim market as people came and went, examining and pricing slaves one after another.

The day came to an end.

Yet buyers continued arriving.

This went on for days.

Keith ate every day, and many people came to inspect him.

Most of them were women.

But just like the first buyer, they all complained about how thin he looked.

The food he was given wasn’t helping either.

It lacked the nutrients needed for proper growth, so Keith barely changed.

With every failed sale, his owner grew more irritated.

Before long...

Keith’s food portions began to shrink.

Eventually, people stopped coming to look at him altogether.

---

It had been three months since then.

Keith had slowly grown accustomed to his new life.

If he had one regret...

It was worrying about his parents’ and Father Yen’s graves.

But there was nothing he could do.

At one point, Keith even wished someone would buy him.

The slaves who had been sold three months earlier occasionally returned alongside their new masters.

They wore clean, comfortable clothes.

Their faces looked healthy.

They had even gained weight.

The sight made the remaining slaves envious.

Some even began calling out to potential buyers.

The young women exposed parts of their bodies to seduce male buyers.

The children tried to look as cute and capable as possible to prove they were worth buying.

Even Keith couldn’t help but push his face forward.

He had often heard people compliment his appearance.

So whenever they were allowed to bathe once a week, he did his best to take care of his face.

Seeing this, the slave traders couldn’t help but smile.

They knew sales would be good today.

Over these past months, Keith had also watched them "restock" their slaves many times.

He had seen stubborn ones.

Those who refused to obey were taken into the back room.

Some returned obedient.

Others...

Never came back.

"I want... to be sold too..."

Watching the relaxed slaves laughing beside their new masters, Keith couldn’t help but wish for the same.

But...

It seemed his luck wasn’t very good.

**********

Clack...

Keith’s cage was finally opened today.

The moment it was unlocked, Keith instantly put on a smile and tried to act cute.

"Kid... it’s over," he heard the seller’s voice say.

Keith’s smile froze.

"It has been three years, and I don’t know if you’re just cursed, but no one came to buy you."

"I’m sorry, kid, but you have to be sent to the arena."

Looking at the fifteen-year-old Keith, the seller couldn’t help but feel a trace of pity.

At first, he had reduced Keith’s meals.

After all, he couldn’t keep making a loss.

He had been annoyed and had even wanted to beat Keith to vent his frustration over not being able to sell him.

But this kid was just...

Obedient.

Not to mention, he noticed how hard Keith tried to copy the behavior of the other slaves.

Keith finished every meal without wasting a single bite, no matter how terrible the food was.

Because of Keith, many of the newly restocked slaves over the years had copied him.

As a result, they sold quickly.

Of course, the seller was happy.

His anger and growing resentment toward Keith gradually faded away.

Alas...

This kid had reached his limit.

Now he had to be sent to the slave arena to fight.

And judging by how thin and weak Keith was...

The seller couldn’t help but sigh.

Dragging Keith outside, the two walked toward the back room.

Or rather...

The so-called Death Room.

For the first time...

Keith disobeyed.

He pulled desperately against the chains, trying to drag the seller back toward the cage as tears filled his eyes.

"Ple...ase..."

Keith struggled to say.

The seller stopped.

His expression hardened for a moment before he looked at Keith and sighed.

"Look, kid... there’s nothing I can do about it."

"It’s the rule here."

"But, kid..."

"No matter what happens..."

"No matter how badly you’re injured..."

"Always make sure you stand back up and prove you can still fight."

"Only those who are useful get to live."

"Once you’re useless..."

"You’ll be discarded."

"You might not even survive your first match."

"But..."

"I can see the determination in your eyes."

"So, kid..."

"Never stay down."

"Never show weakness."

"No matter what."

"And lastly..."

"The treatment over there is leagues better than what you’ve had here."

"If you can endure it..."

"Start training."

"Learn from every life-and-death encounter."

"You might still have a future."

The seller finished speaking and resumed dragging Keith forward.

This time...

Keith didn’t resist.

He obediently followed behind as he left the market that had been his prison for the past three years.