Chapter 21: Anomaly
Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak when two knocks came from the office door. All three inside turned to look. Wang Tai stood in the doorway, clutching his computer.
"Can I come in and listen?" he asked, then fell silent, waiting for a response.
Li Dongze pondered for a moment, then nodded.
"Come in," he invited. "While you're at it, help Yuanshi compile his strategy report."
Wang Tai breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't one to chase excitement, but the S-rank Sheling Tunnel, an anomalous Nocturnal Specter trial Spirit Realm, was an excellent research topic. He couldn't resist the temptation to glean whatever information he could.
Zhang Yuanqing considered Wang Tai for a moment. After the new arrival took his seat, Zhang Yuanqing began recounting his experiences in the mountain temple in detail.
He omitted the Demon-subduing Awl's functions, only saying it was an item that could restrain ghostly entities.
As for the Red Dancing Shoes, he was vague about the details surrounding that as well. He claimed that since childhood, his uncle had trained him in singing, dancing, and rapping. Add that to his naturally remarkable memory, and he barely managed to crack the Red Dancing Shoes' rules.
Of course, he also concealed the Character Card-exclusive reward, as this would expose that he'd permanently obtained the Red Dancing Shoes.
Hiding some key information was a tip he'd gotten from Guan Ya.
Rule-type items were extremely precious. The Five Elements Alliance might not actually trade items for five hundred yuan and a small toy flag, but one had to guard against it.
As for the apparent resurrection of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess, he planned to bring that up separately later for proper discussion.
While he was giving his account, Wang Tai listened and typed furiously to record everything.
Li Dongze listened patiently to the end, then fingered the handle of his cane. "That item for restraining ghostly entities had to be a completion reward, right? And it must be a fairly high level item."
Guan Ya smiled swiftly and chided him, "You little brat, it was an S-rank trial. How could it only reward you a little bit of experience?"
She was teaching Zhang Yuanqing the right way to conceal the truth: that it had to be nine parts truth to one part falsehood. He could not be too excessive.
Zhang Yuanqing's smile didn't waver as he corrected himself, saying, "Oh, I forgot to mention the item. That item was indeed a completion reward."
He showed no sign of guilt or nervousness.
Li Dongze did not seem to mind, and continued, "This means Sheling Tunnel's difficulty level will drop."
"Why do you say that?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, puzzled.
Li Dongze explained patiently, "We joke that Spirit Realms are like games, but jokes aside, in the Spirit Realm world, items are very scarce. Each one has unique properties and can't be replicated.
"Since you brought that item out, the section involving killing the tree demon might disappear in the future, which would naturally lower Sheling Tunnel's difficulty."
As the Squad Leader took a sip of his drink, Guan Ya added, "Let me explain some information about Spirit Realm instances. They do not remain static, and are constantly adjusting.
"For example, if you clear the mountain temple and take items from it, its difficulty will inevitably decrease. Or if you die in a Spirit Realm and your items are obtained by the strange entities inside, they become more powerful, raising the Spirit Realm's difficulty. The Red Dancing Shoes are the perfect example of this point.”
She paused to let that information sink in, then continued, "There's something else as well. Even in the same Spirit Realm instance, players of different levels can get different missions. I once went to a wilderness survival type Spirit Realm and read the strategy guide beforehand. In that instance, the predecessor was a hunter whose mission was to hunt nine criminals in the jungle.
"But when I entered that same Spirit Realm, I found I was one of the nine criminals, with a mission to survive thirty six hours. This was because my level was lower than that of the one who had gone in before me. Therefore, strategy guides only serve as a reference, helping us understand instances by providing some basic information about the instance and its possible dangers."
"It won't decrease," Wang Tai declared, "because the Red Dancing Shoes are still there."
Guan Ya and Li Dongze glanced at Zhang Yuanqing but remained silent.
Wang Tai, completely oblivious, continued. "It's a bit strange. This data, this harvest, this information... It doesn't match the S-rank difficulty. Are you hiding something?"
Zhang Yuanqing coughed. That's way too direct. You're making everyone uncomfortable.
"I'm not hiding anything," he insisted. "I was just about to mention that besides the tree demon in the cave, there was also a stone coffin."
Li Dongze leaned forward, his tone growing urgent. "Stone coffin? What was in the stone coffin?"
Wang Tai also stopped typing, and Guan Ya wore a look of utter curiosity.
S-rank Spirit Realms usually contained important information, and possibly earth-shattering secrets.
Half of the understanding of Spirit Realms was acquired through observation and pattern recognition, no matter which organization was involved—official organizations, civilian organizations, even evil organizations. The other half came from the information obtained within Spirit Realms.
Such knowledge gradually unlocked the secrets behind the Spirit Realm.
No Spirit Realm Walker could resist such temptation.
"The Three Paths Mountain Goddess lay in the stone coffin. After I opened the coffin, she... she awakened," Zhang Yuanqing recounted. He still felt frightened when he recalled the moment.
Li Dongze's pupils contracted as he exclaimed, "She awakened?"
He suddenly stood up, pacing around the office restlessly with his cane and frowning.
After a long while, Li Dongze said with a grave expression, "Perhaps we've all guessed wrong. Based on the information related to that goddess, she must be a high level Nocturnal Specter. Now that she's awakened, there are only two possibilities.
"First, the mountain temple will undergo earth-shaking changes, and will no longer serve as a trial Spirit Realm for Nocturnal Specters, but a high-level Spirit Realm instance. Second, the mountain temple instance will still be downgraded, but given that goddess's level, new high-level Spirit Realm instances will inevitably appear.
"For the Taiyi Sect's upper echelons, information about changes to the Spirit Realm concerning their own class is extremely important."
Guan Ya felt a wave of envy. "The more important the information, the more rewards the organization gives you."
More money? Zhang Yuanqing felt a burst of joy at the thought, then immediately grew worried.
"That old hag who's been dead for hundreds of years smiled at me," he said. "I keep feeling she'll come looking for me. I don't feel at ease."
If the banyan tree spirit hadn't lied, half of the goddess's yang soul was sealed within the Demon-subduing Awl. If that were the case, then she would certainly, definitely, most absolutely come looking for him.
However, Zhang Yuanqing didn't mention this to his colleagues.
"Don't be so confident," Wang Tai said sincerely as he tried to offer comfort. "Given your level, you couldn't possibly encounter such a big shot."
If you don't know how to speak properly, then just shut up...
Zhang Yuanqing nodded with a grateful expression, showing outwardly that those words had indeed comforted him.
Guan Ya smiled sweetly and asked, "Was that goddess beautiful?"
Zhang Yuanqing turned his head to look at her and said, "More beautiful than you."
"Her research value is also higher than yours," Wang Tai added earnestly.
The veteran flirt flew into a rage. "Get lost!"
***
Beijing. A courtyard house.
Brilliant sunlight bathed the great pagoda tree, its leaves glittering with prismatic radiance.
A breeze stirred the branches, eliciting children's giggling laughter.
Below the pagoda tree, Elder Sun waved his palm-leaf fan, swaying gently in his rocking chair. Beside him, a tea table held tea implements and a vintage radio.
A middle-aged man in black clothes hurried across the threshold into the courtyard and offered a report. He said quietly, "Elder Sun, news has come back from Songhai. Someone has cleared the Sheling Tunnel Spirit Realm."
The palm-leaf fan grew still. The white-haired elder's eyes snapped open, and two brilliant golden rays shot out of them. The children's voices in the pagoda tree grew startled, crying out before falling silent together.
The old man sat up in his rocking chair, staring at the middle-aged man.
"The Nocturnal Specter that Fu family boy recruited?" he asked.
The middle-aged man nodded.
The old man was stunned, then slapped his palm leaf fan against his thigh, crying out in anguish, "I misjudged the situation! I truly misjudged it!"
The middle-aged man hadn't seen Elder Sun this frustrated since his stock trading days.
The old man was silent for a moment, then said, "I remember the Kangyang District steward in Songhai City is called Yuan Ting. Send word down that news of this matter should not spread. Otherwise, where will I put my old face?"
"But..." the middle-aged man stammered.
"But what?"
The middle-aged man was about to answer when his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at it.
"Elder Heishan is calling."
"Answer it," ordered the old man.
The phone connected. The old man had just taken the phone when a roar came from the other end.
—Old Sun, what are you doing? Never mind privately giving away information on Sheling Tunnel. You actually agreed to Fu Qingyang's request not to recruit that Nocturnal Specter. Do you know how big a mistake you've made?
Elder Sun was stunned for a second.
"Why do you know about this too, you old fool?" he demanded.
—Never mind how I know. Do you realize how long it's been since the Taiyi Sect recruited a brilliant, gifted Nocturnal Specter? I'm going straight to the Sect Master to lodge a complaint.
Elder Heishan hung up, and the veins in Elder Sun's temples bulged.
Just then, the phone rang again, and the middle-aged man looked down at it.
"It's Elder Hongying."
"Answer it..."
—Uncle Sun, I heard Sheling Tunnel was cleared. That Nocturnal Specter, did you specifically say you didn't want him?
The old man was speechless.
—Uncle Sun, you'll need to make amends for this.
***
"Elder Sun, I heard you turned away a Nocturnal Specter genius."
"You bastard! Is it now a steward's turn to call me to take me to account?"
"Ah, Elder Sun, please don't misunderstand. I'm just curious."
***
—Elder Sun, I heard you—
"Get lost!"
In just a few minutes, he'd received five or six calls.
The middle-aged man in black silently watched Elder Sun. The last time he'd been this out of sorts was during his stock trading days.
Elder Sun took a deep breath then returned to the previous topic, asking, "What were you about to say earlier?"
The middle-aged man hesitated, then admitted, "If Yuan Ting knows, that means everyone knows."
Elder Sun's blood pressure immediately skyrocketed.
The phone rang again.
Elder Sun was about to cancel it when he saw the caller was Fu Qingyang. He slowly exhaled, calming his emotions, and answered the phone.
"You little brat, are you calling to mock this old man too?" he yelled.
A cool voice came through the phone, enunciating each word clearly.
—Mock you? I wouldn't do such a boring thing. I'm here to return a favor. The mountain temple strategy report is finished. I've sent it to your email. I believe this intelligence should be quite important to your Taiyi Sect.
There was hardly any emotion in Fu Qingyang's voice.
Elder Sun immediately grew intrigued. He hurriedly hung up, looked over at the middle-aged man, and asked, "How do I open an email?"
The middle-aged man silently took the phone, logged into the correct account, opened the file, then silently handed it back.
Elder Sun squinted as he read the contents word by word.
He read very calmly, his expression giving nothing away. For elder-level Spirit Realm Walkers, trial level Spirit Realms were pure child's play.
When he saw the information about the awakening of the Three Paths Mountain Goddess, though, his expression changed dramatically.
Creak! Elder Sun jumped up from his rocking chair, his expression grave.
"Elder?" the middle-aged man asked, looking bewildered.
"An ancient Diurnal Apparition has awakened."
The gravity in Elder Sun's voice was laced with worry. He transformed into a ray of golden light, shooting into the sky and vanishing.
The golden light was traveling in the direction of the Sect Master's residence.
***
Inside the two-storey building, Zhang Yuanqing sat at his own desk, skillfully operating the computer. Following Guan Ya's guidance, he opened the Five Elements Alliance's official internal forum and browsed through several pinned posts one by one.
They were all the most basic materials about the world of the Spirit Realm.
The first post he read was "Spirit Realm Types." As Li Dongze had said, Spirit Realms were divided into "solo type" and "multiplayer type." Solo types usually only featured Spirit Realms unique to that class, like how Transcendent-tier single-player Spirit Realms for Nocturnal Specters were supernatural-themed.
There were two kinds of multiplayer-type Spirit Realms. One was team versus team, the other was team adventure.
The former involved Spirit Realm Walkers fighting each other in special Spirit Realms, while the latter was about a group of Walkers facing dangers within the Spirit Realm. Some were death types, others non-death types.
As a punishment for failing non-death type realms, experience points would be deducted.
Additionally, multiplayer type Spirit Realm scenarios varied greatly, with different gameplay mechanics.
Next, he read the "Level Classification" post. That post was very simple.
【Transcendent stage: Levels 1-3.】
【Saint stage: Levels 4-6.】
【Note: For stages beyond Saint, click the link below.】
Zhang Yuanqing clicked the link, only to get a message that he did not have the necessary authorization.
I hate these gatekeepers the most, he grumbled inwardly. Helpless to get past the restrictions, he went on browsing other posts.
【 Spirit Realm Walker Class Compendium】
【Lawful classes: Nocturnal Specter, Scout, Wood Demon, Water Ghost, Fire Sage, Earth Wraith, Musician, Scholar.】
【Evil classes: Enchanting Demon, Hex Master, Illusionist.】
Many questions surfaced in Zhang Yuanqing's mind. If I remember correctly, Wang Tai is a Scholar. And what kind of class is a Musician? Why are there only three Evil classes? No wonder Guan Ya said official organizations are the hunters.
Zhang Yuanqing's gaze moved down and saw something that shocked him.
【Note: To query foreign classes, click the link below.】
Unsurprisingly, his credentials were insufficient to grant him access. Still...
There are Spirit Realm Walkers abroad too? With different classes from ours? This damn thing has domestic and foreign servers?
Zhang Yuanqing raised his head, his eyes focusing on the back of Guan Ya's head, who was seated in front of him, and asked her about it.
The veteran flirt turned her head with a smile and asked, "Why would you think that only our country is special?"
Well...
Zhang Yuanqing found himself speechless.
He had to revise his understanding of Spirit Realms again.
If Spirit Realms covered the entire globe, if there were other Spirit Realm Walkers and other classes abroad, then the Spirit Realm world's structure, whether in terms of instances or as a common reality, was far more complex than he'd imagined.
"Spirit Realm Walkers have strong territorial awareness. Official organizations of different countries rarely interact, except when fighting evil organizations. So you don't need to worry about foreign Spirit Realm Walkers for now. That's not something a Transcendent-tier Walker needs to consider," Guan Ya said.
Zhang Yuanqing hummed in acknowledgment and clicked on the "Nocturnal Specter" post to read the introduction to his own class.
This damn thing has domestic and foreign servers?
【Nocturnal Specters, favored by the Lunar Yin, are sprites of the night, skilled in assassination and commanding ghostly entities. Their class mark is a black crescent moon. Among Lawful classes, they're second to none, with extremely formidable combat power.】
【Every Nocturnal Specter is a natural assassin, and their ability to command ghostly entities makes them even more troublesome. Nocturnal Specter is the class name for the Transcendent stage. After level three, a class change is available.】
【Note: To view the classes available after a Nocturnal Specter changes class, click the link below.】
Zhang Yuanqing clicked frantically, only to be informed yet again that he did not have the necessary credentials.
Damn gatekeepers! he nearly cursed aloud. Wait, something feels wrong.
Zhang Yuanqing froze, then reread the introduction to find where the problem was.
The class mark is a black crescent moon? But I clearly saw the mark on my forehead that night. It was a black full moon.
What's going on? Is my Character Card different from others?
Zhang Yuanqing subconsciously raised his gaze toward the back of Guan Ya's head, the question lingering on the tip of his tongue.
