Chapter 1 The Study

In the study, Fu Qingyang sat at his large solid wood desk. Before him was a massive 30-inch screen, and from the speakers mounted on the wall came a restrained but sharp debate.

He was in the middle of a conference call with six participants. Besides him, there was one elder each from the Hundred Flowers Association, Water God Palace, Central Court, White Tiger Army, and Red Fire Gang.

Who would have thought that an S-class spirit realm strategy for the transcendent realm would warrant a meeting specifically for elders to discuss?

Keep in mind that elder-level spirit realm walkers were high-level individuals capable of easily destroying a city.

They generally didn't interfere in matters, rarely showed their faces, and most things in the mundane world no longer piqued their interest. Only major events or particularly troublesome and difficult-to-decide issues would warrant their attention.

Like this Golden Water Amusement Park strategy.

"If Spirit Realm No. 6203 isn't handled properly, it could become a second 'She Ling Tunnel' for the Night Watchers. But the latter is, after all, a trial spirit realm, and at most will reduce the number of Night Watcher births. No. 6203, however, will significantly reduce the number of Night Watchers in the transcendent realm. The Taiyi School is allied with us; we should transfer the strategy to them. This is for the sake of the Five Elements Alliance."

This was the elder of the Hundred Flowers Association speaking.

Within the Five Elements Alliance, the Hundred Flowers Association was closest to the Taiyi School. The two factions had marital ties; the eldest elder's daughter was the Taiyi School leader's sixth wife. Their child, Ling Jun, was a wood demon (Beast King) in the Saint realm, studying under the Hundred Flowers Association leader.

"The strategy can be given to the Taiyi School, but the terms of the trade must change. We not only want money, but also Night Watcher strategy data and items. We can discuss the level of detail and quantity of items later," said the elder of the Central Court.

The Hundred Flowers Association elder's tone sharpened slightly. "This would make us look like we're taking advantage of a crisis, which would damage relations between the two sides."

"I think with the difficulty of Spirit Realm No. 6203, asking for a higher price isn't a problem. Heh, even for us, if we had encountered a spirit realm like this back then, we would have had a headache."

The "conference room" fell silent. No one could deny the value of this strategy.

After a few seconds, the Water God Palace elder said in a gloomy tone:

"According to a water ghost from Yan Province who cleared the Golden Water Amusement Park, there were three survivors in this spirit realm. One of them is a little girl named 'Xie Lingxi.' It is said that she followed that Night Watcher all the way to the end.

"I've already inquired. She's a direct descendant of the Xie family of San Zhuang Province, so it's not just us who have control of the strategy."

The White Tiger Army elder disagreed, his voice strong and forceful:

"The Xie family will definitely ask for more than we will. Besides, the true key to clearing the haunted house section lies in the strategy we have in our hands. I don't think we need to discuss the value aspect any further.

"What I'm more concerned about is that the author of the strategy has explicitly warned us that Spirit Realm No. 6203 will cause the walkers to kill each other. This is true for the hidden mission, and it's also true for the Night Watcher's death loop.

"If there happens to be someone from our organization in the team, they may be killed by the Taiyi School's Night Watcher in the ghost bride section."

In this kind of spirit realm where they kill each other, information asymmetry can change the outcome, change fate.

The conference room fell silent again.

At this time, Fu Qingyang said calmly: "Esteemed elders, I have a question."

"Speak!"

"Yuanshi made a guess in the strategy: he believes that the allocation of roles is based on people's hearts. We can choose not to give it to the Taiyi School, and only allow members of the Five Elements Alliance to exclusively enjoy the strategy. But what if the person who gets the strategy is assigned to the evil faction?" Fu Qingyang's tone was neither servile nor overbearing.

"We all know that an orderly profession doesn't necessarily mean goodness."

The Water God Palace elder said in a gloomy tone:

"You're right. Anything else?"

Fu Qingyang said calmly: "The Taiyi School is, after all, allied with the Five Elements Alliance. This strategy must be given, but the content must be modified. Conceal the author's speculation and add a random role allocation mechanism to mislead the reader.

"Then, strictly investigate the clearance reports. Once we find anyone in the organization, including the Taiyi School, who has been assigned to the evil faction, arrest them immediately. From another perspective, this is actually a useful tool for us to ferret out the black sheep."

Mutual killing was the spirit realm's mode, which could not be changed. The strategy had to be given, as they were allies. If the "captain" won in the end, that would naturally be for the best. If the evil faction won, then the official organization would avenge them and nip the scourge in the bud.

"But this is just a guess."

"Therefore, we're only arresting them."

Seeing that the other elders did not object and were deep in thought, Fu Qingyang continued:

"After this incident, the Taiyi School will definitely try to poach people. The Taiyi School has a wealth of Night Watcher spirit realm strategies and knowledge of the profession, which we cannot compare to. I think we need to work hard to win people's hearts. I want to convince people with virtue."

The elders didn't care about poaching, but this new Night Watcher was indeed special.

The Central Court elder pondered:

"This boy is quite capable, having cleared two S-class spirit realms in a row. In the future, he'll be at least a Saint. Convince people with virtue? What do you plan to do?"

Fu Qingyang said his idea in a calm tone: "Hurry up and approve the bonuses and merits."

The conference room fell silent for the third time.

The Hundred Flowers Association elder coughed and pretended that the "convince people with virtue" just now hadn't happened. He said:

"I have a piece of information about that young man. The Taiyi School has compiled the recent changes in the spirit realms and found that the spirits in the dungeons have all been entrusted with the same task by the Lady of Three Dao Mountain: to find a young man.

"That young man's name has four characters. Combining this with the details of the She Ling Tunnel strategy, it's not hard to guess that the Lady of Three Dao Mountain is looking for Yuanshi Tianzun."

"The Lady of Three Dao Mountain is looking for him?" Fu Qingyang's stern face showed astonishment.

The elders were also shocked.

The Hundred Flowers Association elder smiled and said, "That young lad concealed something in the She Ling Tunnel report. The Taiyi School is investigating this matter and may contact him soon. Pay attention to it."

"Okay!"

........

"Elder Sun is confused!"

In a secret captain's group, Yuan Ting sent this message with grief.

The group consisted of Night Watchers who would be entering spirit realms soon. Because of their fear of the changes to the spirit realms, they had come together and temporarily created a small group to discuss how to deal with the terrifying S-class and A-class spirit realms.

"It's not that bad..."

The captains in the group replied:

"The Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi School are allied. At most, it will cost a little to get a copy of the Golden Water Amusement Park mission. It's not difficult."

Although the person called Yuanshi Tianzun was indeed a genius with a promising future, the Taiyi School was also full of talented people. They had no shortage of geniuses in the transcendent stage or geniuses in the Saint stage.

Besides, the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi School were allies, so Yuanshi Tianzun could barely be considered a member of the Taiyi School.

Yuan Ting: "You don't know. I heard Li Dongze say that the Golden Water Amusement Park is certain death for Night Watchers."

"What?!" The captains in the group were shocked.

Although they wouldn't necessarily enter the Golden Water Amusement Park, as long as they were still in the transcendent realm, if they didn't encounter it this time, what about next time?

"If it's certain death, then that guy is also a Night Watcher. How did he survive?"

"That's right. As long as we have the strategy, we'll be fine."

Yuan Ting: "I heard Li Dongze say that the Five Elements Alliance's Elders Council is holding a meeting and doesn't seem willing to give us the strategy to the Taiyi School. As you know, elders' meetings usually take ten days to half a month to produce results, but many people in the group can't wait that long, right?"

"Ah, this... Elder Sun is confused!"

"Elder Sun is indeed confused!"

The captains were filled with righteous indignation.

........

Serious disagreement arose... Zhang Yuanqing pondered slightly and understood where the conflict lay. He smiled and said:

"Who cares? Anyway, this is something for the leaders to worry about. Just don't skimp on my merits and bonuses. Squad leader, I've been short on money lately."

He had joined the Five Elements Alliance for half a month, and it wasn't payday yet. He was still a poor student.

"Squad leader, I cleared an S-class spirit realm. How about we get together tonight? It's on me, but you have to spot me first. I'll pay you back when I get my bonus." As Zhang Yuanqing spoke, he looked at Wang Tai, whose face was wooden, and said:

"Brother Wang Tai, you should come too."

"No, thanks." Wang Tai shook his head.

"That's not right. You have to chat with everyone, have dinner together, increase friendship, and develop connections. After dinner, I can take you to the seafood merchant to relax."

"I have social anxiety."

"Social anxiety? Oh my god, there's actually social anxiety in the world? What's there to be afraid of? What are you afraid of?"

"I'm afraid of people like you."

"........"

At this time, Li Dongze next to him smiled and said:

"We can have dinner, but you don't have to treat us. Our team is going to receive a distinguished guest tonight. That distinguished guest specifically asked Wang Tai to host, but you know Wang Tai's personality. He can't handle that kind of scene at all, so Guan Ya and I decided to accompany him after discussing it.

"Since you're here, you might as well attend together."

"Distinguished guest?" Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.

Guan Ya found a chance to interject and said with a smile, "It's the daughter of a spirit realm walker family."

The daughter of a rich family? Zhang Yuanqing immediately grinned and poked Wang Tai's waist. "You thick-browed and big-eyed guy, I didn't see that you had a big nose. You actually hooked up with a rich family's young lady."

Wang Tai said expressionlessly, "You don't have to repeat what the squad leader and Guan Ya said."

He let out a tired breath. "I have no contact with the Xie family of San Zhuang Province. I can't figure out why the Xie family's young lady wants to see me."

Guan Ya then mocked, "With your memory, you've probably forgotten even if you did have contact with her. Anyway, this is a good thing, Wang Tai. Work hard and try to become a son-in-law of the Xie family."

"Oh, my god, what an enviable profession," Li Dongze teased with a smile.

Xie family? Zhang Yuanqing's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He quickly asked, "What's the background of this Xie family?"

Li Dongze never lagged behind when it came to educating his employees. He explained:

"The Xie family is like the Fu family. They are a spirit realm walker family. The family produces many musicians every year, and they are very strong. The Xie family is not an official organization, but it is an orderly profession and has always had contact with the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi School."

So they're a Jianghu sect that was recruited by the imperial court... Zhang Yuanqing understood. He thought to himself, could the Xie family's young lady you're talking about be a green tea bitch who likes to pretend to be weak and pitiful?

The Xie family's young lady, a semi-official organization, specifically asked to see Wang Tai. The conditions matched. It was probably Xie Lingxi.

This girl actually came to his door?

Zhang Yuanqing frowned, pondered for a moment, and decided to meet the little green tea.

With the other party's family background, if she was determined to investigate him, she would definitely find out about Yuanshi Tianzun. No, she might not even need to investigate. She could just post a thread on the Five Elements Alliance official forum and find out that Wang Tai was Yuanshi Tianzun's alias.

Since he couldn't avoid it, he might as well meet her openly. First, the Xie family was considered a semi-official organization, which was more reliable than wild walkers and folk organizations.

Second, with his current status and reputation in the organization, he didn't need to hide too much. Xie Lingxi might not want to harm him.

It would be good to test the little green tea's intentions... Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

He stayed at the unit until the evening. The setting sun was like blood. Zhang Yuanqing sent a text message to his aunt, asking her to tell his grandparents that their dear grandson wouldn't be home for dinner.

Then, he took Li Dongze's business car to the destination—Huayu Hotel.

"What did you do today to make my mom so angry?" His aunt sent a message, questioning him.

"I didn't do anything," Zhang Yuanqing replied.

"Bullshit, she even called you a disgrace to the family. That's clearly my brother's honorary title."

He really didn't do anything. He just played the sound effects of a pornographic film out loud... Zhang Yuanqing casually perfunctorily replied: "I'm my uncle's successor. Sooner or later, this honorary title will be passed down from uncle to nephew. I'm not going to talk anymore. I'm going to meet a pretty little girl."

"Little girl?" His aunt sent a series of bloody knife emojis.

Huayu Hotel was a five-star hotel with ordinary rooms starting at 1,500 yuan and suites at 3,000 or more. It had a gym, bar, health club, buffet, and other functions.

Among the guests entering and exiting the revolving door, besides workplace elites, there were also big sisters in tight-fitting dresses with heavy makeup.

The revolving restaurant on the top floor of the hotel had been reserved for the night. Zhang Yuanqing and others took the elevator and were led by the service staff to the entrance of the restaurant.

The waiter opened the door for them. In the spacious and luxurious restaurant, the lights were soft and the carpet was thick and soft. Four beautiful female attendants stood on either side of the entrance.

By the huge floor-to-ceiling window, a girl stood gracefully, admiring Songhai City shrouded in the night.

She was wearing a well-behaved sailor uniform, a black knee-length skirt, a white shirt with a black bow at the collar, and her black, long, and straight hair was draped smoothly over her shoulders. The soft light from the ceiling shone on her face, making it as warm as jade, pure and refined.

Pure, well-behaved, and pretty, she embodied all the beauty of a blossoming girl.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, the girl turned her head and looked over. Her eyes lit up and a bright smile bloomed on her face.

She ran over happily and shouted, "Brother Wang Tai~"

Li Dongze raised an eyebrow and looked at Wang Tai next to him, his face full of surprise.

He had to re-evaluate the relationship between Wang Tai and the Xie family's daughter. He didn't expect that his subordinate was a deeply hidden pick-up artist.

Guan Ya "wow"-ed and glanced at Wang Tai with a teasing smile, lowering her voice:

"I underestimated you, Xie family's son-in-law."

Wang Tai was dumbfounded. He didn't understand the situation at all.

At this time, they saw that the Xie family's young lady ignored Wang Tai, stopped in front of Zhang Yuanqing, took hold of the corner of his clothes, and said sweetly:

"I found you, Brother Wang Tai."