Chapter 1 The Beginning

Zhai Cai's pupils constricted as if struck by a bright light. "How did you know?" His expression turned serious.

"Elder Fu told me. As for how he knew, you can ask him?" Zhang Yuanqing lightly tossed the blame to Fu Qingyang.

Zhai Cai stared at him sharply for over a dozen seconds before reverting to his cynical demeanor. "Tsk, as expected of the youngest person in power in the Five Elements Alliance's history, your methods are unpredictable. That's right, I do have a treasure map. One of the great Knight legacies is guarding a treasure map. I can't possibly betray my ancestors and share the Church's treasure with outsiders."

Zhang Yuanqing ignored his words and said to himself, "You have a shard of the Holy Plate, Elder Fu has one, and the other two are in the old Berent Maze and on the Hunter Guild's Saint, Tongtian Jiaozhu."

"If you agree to cooperate and share the treasure... I will help you obtain the shard from the maze. You should know that even a Ruler would find it difficult to break into the maze alone. The Five Elements Alliance will take care of Tongtian Jiaozhu."

That Zhai Cai was cooperating with Winnie, and that the old Berent Maze held a Holy Plate fragment, had already been mentioned in a text message from the Palace Master of Zhisha. He had also paid You Xin, from the Merchant Guild's profit faction, for information about old Berent on the way here.

Zhai Cai was silent. Zhang Yuanqing pressed on while the iron was hot, "The Church's treasure contains a demi-god-level item for the Knight profession. That item will be yours, and you will become the only Knight demi-god in the world. Then, even if you wear mink in the summer, no one will think you're an idiot."

Zhai Cai finally felt tempted. "Deal."

Then, he realized, "Wait, no, you think I look like an idiot wearing mink?"

"Not at all. I even think it's very handsome," Zhang Yuanqing replied cheerfully.

Having settled the Single Lineage Knight, he looked at the Palace Master of Zhisha. "Palace Master, it's your turn."

The Palace Master of Zhisha pointed to her earpiece. Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "There's no need. Sharing information appropriately will deepen our cooperation."

The implication was that he wanted to share information with Single Lineage Knight Winnie. Zhai Cai and Winnie immediately looked over. The Palace Master of Zhisha pondered for a few seconds before sitting up and saying, "Minister Winnie, when did you find out about the Freedom Alliance?"

"After the Pluto incident!" Winnie replied.

In other words, the Freedom Alliance was well-hidden before Pluto's biological father was killed. Even a chief prosecutor like Minister Winnie had never heard of it. They had been lurking for a century. Although she didn't know why he brought this up, Winnie nodded in cooperation.

"It's just a casual discussion, no need to be so serious," said the Palace Master of Zhisha. "Qian Ninglu told me that the reason he could lurk in the Heavenly Punishment without being discovered was because he had received Ling Tuo's secret blessing. This made me realize that the Freedom Alliance didn't have large-scale placement of spies, nor did it have methods that could avoid detection. Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to seek help from Ling Tuo."

"Who is Ling Tuo?" the Single Lineage Knight interjected.

"The leader of the Dark Night Rose, a demi-god-level Night Wanderer, the son of the Taiyi Sect Master?" Zhang Yuanqing replied casually, then saw Winnie and Zhai Cai with expressions as if their jaws had dropped.

"Although sharing information is beneficial to strengthening cooperation, shouldn't I be paid for such important information?" Zhai Cai took out a few coins from his pocket, using this to divert attention and calm his inner shock.

A businessman with tens of billions of assets only giving this much. Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand. "Keep it to buy burgers and fried chicken. Palace Master, please continue."

The Palace Master of Zhisha nodded. "You should know that the Light Compass more than twenty years ago was deliberately thrown out by the Freedom Alliance. In the end, the core of the compass was obtained by the Xiaoyao Organization. Then, Ling Tuo, as a member of the Xiaoyao Organization, became a Fallen and advanced to demi-god. Since then, the Taiyin Freedom Alliance has had a means to hide spies. Isn't all of this too coincidental?"

Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. "Are you saying... that the Xiaoyao Organization's acquisition of the Compass Shards was manipulated by the Freedom Alliance? Even Ling Tuo becoming a Fallen was within the Freedom Alliance's calculations?"

"That's impossible!" Zhang Yuanqing felt that the Palace Master's imagination was too wild. The Xiaoyao Organization had four peak Rulers and a Guild Master who was a demi-god as allies. How could such a group be schemed against? Moreover, Ling Tuo fell because he came into contact with the core secrets of the Spirit Realm and suffered a mysterious curse.

All four members of the Xiaoyao Organization had been corrupted. The Palace Master of Zhisha crossed her arms and said solemnly, "Have you ever thought about why Ling Tuo was the only one who fell when all four were cursed? Shouldn't the one who sat in the ancient temple for twenty years be more prone to falling?"

Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. He opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't say anything.

Winnie looked blank. What had she just heard?

The Freedom Alliance orchestrated the battle for the Light Compass, and even dominated the Compass's ownership in a battle with demi-gods emerging, successfully creating a Taiyin Lord. From then on, the Freedom Alliance had the means to hide spies.

Zhai Cai silently put a coin on the coffee table, pushed one to the Palace Master of Zhisha, and one to Zhang Yuanqing, and thought for a few seconds, deciding that the possibility was too low.

The Palace Master's guess was mostly based on imagination. Of course, even if it were true, at most they would only know some inside information about past events, which would not benefit the present situation.

What kind of planning ability was this?

The Single Lineage Knight and the Palace Master finished their conversation. He finally looked at Winnie, "Minister Winnie, Elder Fu also wants to make a deal with you."

"Is your Elder Fu a merchant or a scout?" Zhai Cai perked up his ears.

Winnie stared blankly ahead and nodded. "What deal?"

"Did the Demon Lord give you a piece of the treasure map?" Zhang Yuanqing finally asked the question he had been concerned about for a long time.

Winnie was silent, not answering.

Zhang Yuanqing thought, "It's really on her." Based on Winnie's personality... if the treasure fragment wasn't in her hands, she would have told him directly.

Her silence now meant that she was unwilling to make the deal.

Zhang Yuanqing said, "We will be responsible for collecting the keys to the Demon Lord's treasure. You will get one-sixth of the treasure. Minister Winnie, you don't want the Demon Lord's things to be sealed in the Spirit Realm forever, do you?"

Winnie thought for a moment and said indifferently, "I can agree to this deal, but there is one condition. I want the Cat King speaker."

"Cat King speaker?" Zhang Yuanqing pretended not to know anything. "What Cat King speaker?"

The Palace Master of Zhisha hypocritically explained, "The Cat King speaker is a prop of the Demon Lord. Its last owner was Yuan Shi Tianzun, but unfortunately, Yuan Shi Tianzun did not leave the Cat King speaker behind. That prop returned to the Spirit Realm with him."

Winnie had already received this answer from Asano Ryo. Now, hearing the Palace Master of Zhisha mention it again, a huge disappointment welled up in her heart.

She frowned. "How do you know?"

The Palace Master said, "My Spirit Realm ID is Palace Master of Zhisha. As long as you've heard of me, you should know my relationship with Yuan Shi Tianzun."

Winnie obviously knew the character ID of the Palace Master of Zhisha and fell silent immediately.

Zhang Yuanqing quickly asked, "Minister Winnie, why are you so obsessed with that speaker?"

"The Demon Lord had a habit of recording audio. He would record his dungeon guides, action plans, and life details into audio messages." Winnie's voice was filled with sadness. "He couldn't have not recorded audio before the battle where he returned to the Spirit Realm. I want to know if he really left behind a backup plan, and if he really returned to the Spirit Realm." Winnie didn't say anything more.

Zhai Cai shrugged. "Didn't Yuan Shi Tianzun inherit the Demon Lord's character card? Since the birth of the Spirit Realm, no Spirit Realm walker has been able to strip a character card. Once stripped, it means death."

Of course Winnie knew such a simple truth. Her obsession with the Cat King speaker was essentially that she couldn't let go of that unfaithful man.

"That's too much. Don't say such hurtful things, you'll get beaten..." Zhang Yuanqing thought. Winnie's words made sense. Given the Demon Lord's character, he must have recorded audio before the final battle with the Cunning-Eyed Judge. Although the Cat King speaker was very stubborn and might not be willing to play it for him, as long as he controlled this prop, he would be able to hear it one day.

"So, Elder Fu's deal?" Zhang Yuanqing asked tentatively.

"I'll think about it." Winnie didn't agree or refuse.

Before dawn, Sean. Mead hurriedly returned and discussed with Winnie behind closed doors for a while. Before leaving, Winnie handed Qian Ning's body over to Sean, and then left the Heavenly Punishment branch under the escort of the Single Lineage Knight to her grandfather, old Berent's, villa.

Today, the number of props of the teammates is increasing, and the combat power is getting stronger and stronger. It is already a force that cannot be ignored. As assistants, they are fully qualified.

Zhang Yuanqing also shared the harvest and achievements of each other with the teammates.

If the Saints of the aid team joined forces, killing a peak Saint would not be a problem.

At 9:00 a.m., the New Covenant County branch released an announcement about the port battle at the Heavenly Punishment forum, claiming that the New Covenant County orderly organization, under the wise leadership of Chief Executive Officer Sean Mead and Chief Prosecutor Winnie Berent, had a world-shaking battle involving many Rulers with the evil camp in the New Covenant Port. In this battle, the two chiefs identified Qian Ninglu, an evil camp spy hidden within the organization, and thwarted the Freedom Alliance's conspiracy.

In this battle, Saint Juman of the Second District killed Tiforos, killed the Jealousy God General and the Dream Tapir of the Second District, and led the Saints of the New Covenant County to fight a beautiful Holy War.

This announcement shocked the entire Heavenly Punishment, and the entire western world of Spirit Realm walkers.

The announcement was lengthy, with more than two thousand words. Qian Ninglu, an eighth-level Ruler, was an evil camp spy, and Tiforos, a legendary Saint who had dominated the West for tens of years, returned to the Spirit Realm.

Overnight, nearly ten peak Saints fell, and the camp conflict escalated, which might usher in a Ruler war.

Although the Spirit Realm walkers of the Heavenly Punishment branches were unable to participate in the camp conflict in New Covenant County due to work, they paid attention to this battle every day.

Every single incident was a major event that could make headlines and trend on the internet. Most orderly walkers had a strong sense of camp belonging and honor. Juman, who repeatedly made military exploits in New Covenant County, became a hero in the eyes of the Heavenly Punishment walkers.

At this moment, the hero in everyone's eyes was sitting at the table in the conference room, accepting Sean's award.

"You performed very well in the port. I have verified the battle report you submitted with Shazoo and others. There is no problem!" Sean Mead's tone was rarely gentle. He picked up the tablet computer at hand and pushed it to Zhang Yuanqing and said, "The headquarters plans to reward you with three Saint-quality props, 10 million federal coins, and spiritual materials worth 30 million. This is the list, you can choose from it."

Zhang Yuanqing secretly rubbed his hands, took the computer and glanced at it, and then quickly pushed the tablet computer back.

"Executive Officer Sean...

I am not satisfied with the Heavenly Punishment's reward."

Although the things on the list were precious, there was nothing that moved him. Saint-quality props were no longer meaningful to him, unless they were of top quality.

He clearly saw in the stargazing that he was about to receive a "treasure." Sean Mead, who was in a great mood, nodded and said, "What kind of reward do you want to get?"

"At least a top-quality prop at the Saint stage, or a Ruler-level prop! If the merit is not enough... I can make up for it myself." Zhang Yuanqing said.

Juman made enough contributions to be worth a top-quality prop, but the Heavenly Punishment would not take out the precious top-quality props on its own initiative. If it could be solved with money, it would definitely not use props. If it could be perfunctory with ordinary props, it would never give top-quality props.

Sean Mead nodded and said, "I will convey your demands to the headquarters, but I cannot guarantee that the headquarters will accept it."

Zhang Yuanqing expressed his gratitude and got up and left the conference room. He believed that the Heavenly Punishment headquarters would definitely satisfy him in order to show the clear distinction between rewards and punishments of the world's number one orderly force.

Of course, if they didn't agree, he would post on the Heavenly Punishment forum to accuse them of using public opinion to force the Heavenly Punishment high-level officials to compromise.

After leaving the conference room, Zhang Yuanqing quietly left the bank building, took the subway to Queens, and turned on his spare mobile phone. As expected, he received a text message from Catherine.

The mission failed. As a subordinate who failed to do things properly, he had to give an explanation to his superior, write a report, and accept the other party's reprimand.

But the content of the text message made him feel wrong. Catherine asked him to meet at 2:00 p.m. The reason why Cocktails could successfully escape was deliberate on his part. Otherwise, if the main body pursued the Star Official and Tongtian Jiaozhu pursued Cocktails, none of the peak Saints of the evil camp would be able to escape.

But in this case, the teammates were wiped out and Tongtian Jiaozhu survived alone, which didn't make sense. It would be better for Tongtian Jiaozhu to live for Cocktails. This disorderly person would tell the evil camp killers how powerful Juman was.

Defeat was due to the difference in strength and had nothing to do with Tongtian Jiaozhu.

Now that the battle was over, and the responsibility was not on him, if the superior had a high emotional intelligence, making a phone call to comfort him would be a good way to win people's hearts. If the emotional intelligence was low, a reprimand would be enough. In short, there was no need to meet, there was no reason.

Unless Catherine was in an extremely bad mood and wanted to use his little black stick to vent her anger, poor Tongtian Jiaozhu, Zhang Yuanqing licked his lips.

At 1:00 p.m. at noon, just after the lunch break, he received a message from the Execution Department that Sean wanted to see him.

Zhang Yuanqing knocked on the chief executive officer's door and saw Sean, whose cheeks were thin and who was slightly pale.

"The headquarters has agreed to your demands!" Sean Mead smiled slightly and pointed to the tablet computer at the corner of the table.

"Choose for yourself!"

The Heavenly Punishment was really rich... Zhang Yuanqing was refreshed. He opened the tablet computer, which contained the item attributes of six props.

Zhang Yuanqing was immediately attracted by the item attributes of one of the props.

[Introduction: It is a prop forged by a certain indescribable existence collecting the core of lightning, and has good defensive power.]