Chapter 69: Conflict
In the ranking system for Spirit Realm Walkers, those from Level 1 to Level 3 were considered Transcendent tier, those from Level 4 to Level 6 were at the Saint tier, and those from Level 7 to Level 9 belonged to the Sovereign tier.
Those who reached the Saint tier were considered to be stewards, while elders were those who had reached the Sovereign tier. As for what lay beyond Sovereign, Zhang Yuanqing wasn't entirely sure. He lacked the clearance to look it up, but he suspected the five Alliance Chiefs were at that level.
Furthermore, judging by the number of stewards deployed, Demon Lord and Ghost Eye Judge were almost certainly Sovereign tier. If they had merely been at the Saint tier, the Five Elements Alliance wouldn't have treated their cases with such importance.
It was worth noting that even within the same tier, the gap between individual levels was enormous. At the Transcendent tier, for instance, a Level 1 Walker would be crushed by a Walker at Level 2, who in turn would be thrashed by a Level 3 Walker with ease, not even accounting for item synergies or class counters.
The Illusionist was one of the pinnacle classes, stronger than the Fire Sage. Even among Sovereign-tier practitioners, Master Wuhen was no weakling. Zhang Yuanqing had always suspected the Illusionist was extraordinary, but he never imagined the man would be at that high a level.
Looking at it from another angle, having a Sovereign-tier figure owe him a single favor was essentially the same as carrying a get-out-of-death-free card.
Unfortunately, it couldn't be used inside the Spirit Realm.
That makes sense, though, he conceded. The Spirit Realm functions like an instanced dungeon. Even high level Spirit Realm Walkers can't barge in midway. Native bosses like the Three Paths Mountain Goddess are the exception.
Zhang Yuanqing closed the page and searched for information on the Spirit Realm mission system.
【After completing their trial mission, multiplayer Spirit Realms for Spirit Realm Walkers open once per month, while solo Spirit Realms open once every three months. During the month a solo Spirit Realm opens, no multiplayer Spirit Realm will activate.
【The minimum interval between missions is half a month. The pattern for Spirit Realm Walkers entering dungeons is as follows: multiplayer, multiplayer, solo, and so on in a repeating cycle.】
Hmm, so Spirit Realm Walkers face a life or death crisis once every three months. If one is lucky enough, they will be matchmade into a low-difficulty solo Spirit Realm, where the mortality rate isn't that high. If so, the worst case scenario would be a slower gain in experience. That's not too bad.
If there is a minimum gap of half a month between missions, and considering how I just cleared Jinshui Amusement Park, I won't need to worry about another mission for at least two weeks.
He continued reading.
【Upon reaching the peak level of any tier, advancing to the next tier requires participation in a Large-scale Slaughter Dungeon. Participation is optional. Large-scale Slaughter Dungeons open twice per year.】
【Note: The core objective of this type of dungeon is that Walkers of the Lawful and Evil factions must hunt each other, though the dungeon itself carries extreme danger and equally extreme rewards.】
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes widened with sudden understanding. Bro Bing had left him a message about this Slaughter Dungeon, telling him to clear at least one Slaughter Dungeon before going to find him, and he had previously assumed the "Large-scale Slaughter Dungeon" was just some high risk, high reward solo Spirit Realm.
He idled around the office until two in the afternoon, then took a cab to the hospital to try guiding departed souls to the afterlife and boost his experience. To his dismay, he discovered that the spiritual bodies of ordinary people yielded almost negligible experience.
Zhang Yuanqing guided ten souls in a row, yet the experience he gained amounted to less than 1% of the experience required to get to advance.
The small fry in the starter village couldn't satisfy him anymore. It seemed he would need to devour Spirit Realm Walkers.
He slipped into the restroom and used the Demon-subduing Awl once to purify the mental contamination that the spiritual bodies had left behind.
***
It was seven in the evening, and Zhang Yuanqing was seated at the dinner table. He summoned Little Goofball and let him wander around the living room.
Grandma cleared her throat and made an announcement. "Ahem. I have an old friend whose granddaughter is around Yuanzi's age, a sophomore in college. I'm planning to introduce her to Yuanzi."
Auntie's jaw dropped as she stared at her mother in disbelief, and Grandpa and his cousin both dug at their ears.
Zhang Yuanqing was secretly thrilled. Could there really be a deal this good?
Grandpa frowned. "He should be focusing on his studies right now. You can't just try to find balance through Yuanzi because Yu'er and Yuanjun have been so hopeless in that department."
Hopeless? Chen Yuanjun glanced at his grandfather. The old man had always seemed indifferent to the blind dates arranged for him and his aunt, but it turned out he'd been watching with silent anxiety all along.
Grandma waved her hand dismissively, overruling all objections. "I've already made up my mind. I'm doing this for Yuanzi's own good."
Grandpa's expression didn't change as he regarded his wife. "And I'm doing this for yours. That boy's heart isn't settled, and he'd have a hard time committing to one girlfriend. You and your old friend have been close for so many years. Don't sabotage that."
Zhang Yuanqing bristled with indignation. Grandpa, you're calling me a player, aren't you? You're definitely calling me a player!
He had never once had a girlfriend in his entire life. Boys as virtuous and self disciplined as him were a rare breed in this world.
However, he didn't dare talk back to Grandpa. Grandma had a fierce temper, but rarely resorted to physical force. Grandpa never raised his voice, but would catch you off guard with a solid smack on the head.
"I object!" cried Little Aunt as she joined Grandpa's camp. "Mom, mind your own business. If Big Sis finds out you're arranging a girlfriend for him, she'll call and chew you out for sure. She said she's taking Yuanzi abroad to study next year."
The moment Little Aunt mentioned his mother, Zhang Yuanqing's expression darkened.
Grandma thought it over, decided her husband and daughter had a point, and let the matter drop.
She shot Zhang Yuanqing a sideways glare and said venomously, "You useless thing. Those good looks are wasted on you."
Zhang Yuanqing guiltily lowered his head and focused on his food, while Little Aunt and his cousin exchanged suspicious glances.
After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing swept his gaze around the room and eventually spotted the infant spirit clinging to Little Aunt's calf like a koala. For some reason, the little thing was especially attached to Little Aunt. Perhaps it was because she resembled its mother more than anyone else in the household.
Now that it had received sufficient nourishment from the Power of the Dark Moon, the little creature could control its abilities and would no longer trigger aimless "exchanges."
***
It was already midnight. Zhang Yuanqing finished a round of gaming, turned off the console with a sense of deep satisfaction, burrowed under the covers, and tried to force himself to sleep by counting sheep.
A long time passed before drowsiness finally crept in. In that hazy state between waking and sleep, he jolted awake. Fear surged from the depths of his heart, sudden and overwhelming.
The sensation was similar to what he had felt that morning at Wuhen Inn when he'd encountered the female receptionist, but far more immense and far more distant.
What's going on? he wondered.
He threw off the covers and stumbled to the window, half dazed and half terrified. He pulled the curtains aside and gazed out at the glittering lights of the city skyline.
After about five minutes, the colossal wave of pressure vanished and everything returned to calm.
Lacking the experience to determine what had just happened, Zhang Yuanqing muttered something under his breath, crawled back into bed, and tried to coax himself back to sleep.
Seriously? Now he had to start counting sheep all over again.
***
At 7:30 AM the next morning, he got up and found Jiang Yu'er slumped listlessly at the table. Her complexion was awful, and she looked thoroughly unwell.
"What's wrong?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"It’s that time of the month," Auntie said, her voice full of grievance.
Zhang Yuanqing glanced around. Grandpa was absent and Grandma was in the kitchen.
He sidled closer and whispered, "Come on, let your nephew rub your tummy for you."
Jiang Yu'er smacked him on the head in exasperation. "Get lost!"
At that moment, Grandma emerged from the kitchen, and the two of them fell silent instantly.
After breakfast, Zhang Yuanqing pretended to head out as usual, then took a cab to the office.
The only person in the workspace was Wang Tai.
"Brother Wang Tai, where's that open-minded lady?"
"In the Squad Leader's office."
"Oh?"
Zhang Yuanqing settled into his seat, and a little over ten minutes later, Guan Ya walked out, her expression grave and her brow lightly furrowed.
"Yuanshi," she called out, "I was just about to call you."
She picked up her teacup and took a sip, then perched her round backside on the edge of Zhang Yuanqing's desk. "Did you notice anything strange last night?"
You mean the part where I nearly wet myself? Zhang Yuanqing replied, "Yes. I was jolted awake, but I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to."
The open-minded lady nodded. "Last night, an expert from the Xiahou family clashed with the Palace Master of Slaughter Cessation Palace. It happened at the industrial park in Kangyang District. Their battle caused an entire office building to collapse. Fortunately it was nighttime, so the building was mostly empty. But the security guards inside, along with a few employees working overtime, were killed."
She sighed deeply, then continued, "Honestly, these high level Spirit Realm Walkers lose all regard for civilian lives once bloodlust takes over."
But I didn't receive any wanted notification from the Spirit Realm, Zhang Yuanqing mused.
No notification probably meant neither party's Morality had dropped below sixty.
Zhang Yuanqing's expression grew serious. It seemed Morality had no upper or lower limit. There was no floor for villains, and no ceiling for saints.
High level Spirit Realm Walkers on the Lawful side would have accumulated Morality over many years, building up a substantial reserve. But causing destruction on such a scale went beyond a simple deduction of Morality Points. The official authorities wouldn't let it slide.
That industrial park wasn't far from his home, which explained why he had sensed that terrifying wave last night.
"What has the organization decided to do?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Guan Ya ran her fingers along her teacup. "The Xiahou family's man has been temporarily detained, but the punishment won't be severe. A fine and a warning, most likely. The Xiahou family is a behemoth within the Lawful faction, practically a semi-official organization on its own, with close ties to both the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect.
"As for the Palace Master of Slaughter Cessation Palace, the elders have issued an arrest order for her. Her real world identity hasn't been confirmed yet. They're currently in talks with the Xie family."
Zhang Yuanqing let out a small "oh," then fixed his gaze on the alluring oval face before him. "But what does any of this have to do with me?"
The open-minded lady sighed. "The Xiahou family borrowed the records of unaffiliated Spirit Realm Walkers from our branch and identified several members of Slaughter Cessation Palace. Wang Qian is among them. The Xiahou family might come looking for you soon. I was just discussing this with the Squad Leader."
Seeing Yuanshi's confused frown, she explained further, "The Xiahou family wants to flush out the Palace Master by arresting members of Slaughter Cessation Palace. It's an aggressive approach. The higher ups at Songhai Branch didn't explicitly agree to it, but they've tacitly allowed it. If it works, great. If not, the Xiahou family takes the blame."
"But they already have the information on Wang Qian's identity. Why come to me?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, then his mind clicked into place almost immediately. "Oh. The Xiahou family wants me to lure Wang Qian out for them?"
Guan Ya nodded.
Wang Qian wasn't an idiot. There was no way he'd take the bait that easily.
Zhang Yuanqing refused without hesitation. "Absolutely not. I won't sell out my informant."
Guan Ya considered this for a moment, then offered a warning. "The Xiahou family can be overbearing. Don't say anything when they arrive. The Squad Leader and I will shield you from the pressure."
