Seeing the glass doors that opened and closed on their own, Xiao Yuan arched her brows slightly, raised her hand, and gently swept a slender bamboo tube through the air, then blew softly. A sweet, colorless aroma quickly spread throughout the hotel lobby. "Pfft—!" A figure tumbled out, landing three meters from the front desk. The person, wearing a baseball cap and a mask, struggled weakly with soft, lifeless limbs, trying to rise but unable to do so. Xiao Yuan chuckled coldly, "All secretive and shy!" She then furrowed her brows, expressing her displeasure, "I've told you repeatedly not to come here lately—have you been listening to me at all?" Even without seeing his face, Xiao Yuan could instantly recognize Yuan Shǐ Tian Zūn by his height and posture. She was annoyed—annoyed at his self-willed actions, annoyed at his lack of thought and unwillingness to listen. Zhang Yuanqing struggled a bit, then, when he realized he couldn't rise, simply lay down flat and answered her questions. With a serious, solemn tone, he said, "I'm not at ease with you. Though, with my rank and capabilities, if a truly formidable opponent were to arise and threaten you, I'd only have a chance to die—I still want to see for myself, otherwise I couldn't sleep or eat." Xiao Yuan's expression clearly paused. Zhang Yuanqing continued, "You've even told me not to come, and yet you didn't inform me of what had happened. I know your nature well—when something is not meant to be shared, asking won't help. So I came quietly." He spoke with a look of genuine concern, "And yet, you, without even seeing me, have already made me ill." He was worried about me, knowing that even if there truly was danger, he couldn't do much—yet he still came secretly... Xiao Yuan's gaze suddenly lowered, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and she coldly remarked, "What could possibly have happened? Master Wuhen is stationed at the hotel, and the official elders dare not act lightly. Though he himself is not suited to engage in combat and cannot kill, if there truly is a threat, he can still ensure my safe departure." Her tone was haughty, yet her cold, composed expression quickly softened. She changed her demeanor so swiftly that Ling Jun’s assessment was spot on—Xiao Yuan was outwardly aloof and proud, yet deeply tender at heart, yearning for care and attention. Zhang Yuanqing knew instantly that her strategy had succeeded. Ling Jun had mentioned that such types were exceptionally skilled at emotional expression management—they rarely allowed themselves to appear genuinely moved. Therefore, further probing was needed. Zhang Yuanqing exclaimed, “What kind of poison is this, Aunt Xiao Yuan? It’s so strong—I feel completely drained!” With a calm gaze, Aunt Xiao Yuan looked down and said softly, “A paralyzing toxin. Just wait—it will dissolve in ten minutes!” Zhang Yuanqing was startled, “Wait—just a paralyzing toxin? That doesn’t make sense…” Aunt Xiao Yuan furrowed her brows, “What doesn’t make sense?” Zhang Yuanqing replied, “I feel an intense warmth spreading through my body, as though my passion is being ignited. Aunt Xiao Yuan, did you perhaps administer a tonic to stimulate my vitality? We should move to the bedroom right away—before it’s too late.” "...Xiao Yuan"hmm'd", paying no attention. Not even a hint of displeasure? She doesn't mind me dropping some rather bold, suggestive remarks in her presence! Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of joy. According to Ling Jun's observation, when a woman doesn't react negatively to your playful, flirtatious comments, it means she has a high level of tolerance—enough to allow verbal banter and even light teasing. That's the kind of closeness only true friends share. Ten minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing regained his strength, rose from the cool floor tiles, brushed off his pants, and walked past the front desk, then lay down gracefully on the soft chair where Xiao Yuan usually rested. Throughout the entire process, Xiao Yuan said nothing, simply allowing his actions to unfold. Zhang Yuanqing didn't add any further banter. He looked at her back, serious and composed, and said: "Do you know who's been following you? Have you had any recent interactions with anyone? Have you managed to catch the person responsible?" Xiao Yuan didn't turn around, still gazing toward the hotel entrance, and replied: "In the past few weeks, I've only done two things—first, I helped you eliminate the spirit The tracker became extremely cautious and immediately abandoned his pursuit upon realizing I had discovered him. Either he was a Lingjing Xingzhe from the Jinshan City branch or a member of the Bingzhusheng Church. Zhang Yuanqing mused. "By the way," Xiao Yuan added, "after the Magi-Eye King was captured, a new manager arrived at the black market and has restarted his investigation into you. However, based on my observations, he doesn't seem particularly enthusiastic about your case or that of the Zhengsha Palace Master—his interest appears to be solely focused on tracking the Magi-Eye King's whereabouts." Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "That doesn't matter. As long as it's not a master-level strength seeking me out, others can simply be ignored." With the current fame and status of the Yuanshizhen, it's unlikely that many evil practitioners would quietly harbor ambitions toward him—habit will suffice. He then continued, "I'll go and investigate the Jinshan City branch. As for the Bingzhusheng Church, you should avoid going to the black market lately. Though the person behind the scenes has only sent someone to track us and hasn't taken any further actions, we still need to remain "Keeping this up isn't really practical. Eventually, if you start feeling followed, we'll have to take action." Xiao Yuan still faced away from him: "Hmm." "Not playing today?" Zhang Yuanqing: "I don't know—doesn't matter. After all, Xiao Yuan Aunt is more important than any match." "Hah!" Xiao Yuan chuckled: "With your current level, reaching the quarterfinals is already a stretch. Beyond that, it's tough. That's perfectly fine." "Hmph. A clumsy tactic to push me—watch me bring you a championship." "That's not a tactic at all. You should know your own limits." "Xiao Yuan Aunt, you're not at all graceful. You should know how a good wife and mother would encourage and boost her husband at this moment. Ah well, I can't stay here any longer—I'm leaving." "Why aren't you already gone?" "Just be kind and stay a little longer." ... The street of wine bars. At a corner bar, the door was closed tight. The interior of the lounge is exceptionally spacious, with walls seamlessly opened to create a setting comparable to the grand hall. At the heart of the hall stands a clear water pool, beside which lies a circular water bed with a diameter of four meters. Women in revealing attire either curl up on the bed, sleeping soundly, or play and splash joyfully in the pool. Long tables along the pool's edge are laden with an abundance of dishes and fresh fruit, which are replaced every two hours regardless of whether they have been consumed. A lean, dark-skinned deity of desire lounges comfortably in a soft chair, with two beautiful women massaging his shoulders on either side, and two others gently kneading his thighs at his feet. Another woman attends to him, peeling grapes and serving fruit. This deity is deeply inspired by King Zhou of Shang, always arranging his living spaces to meet the standard of a setting rich with wine and abundant food. He particularly cherishes Songhai, where the ultra-large cities gather women from all over the country, representing diverse professions and body types—slender as well as plump—each embodying the unique charm of their regional origins. When they first arrived, each of them was resolute and unwilling to yield. But under the persuasive influence of the Lord of Desire, they quickly accepted their roles as "consorts," "concubines," or "slaves," and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to serving him. Yet the Lord of Desire did not particularly cherish these women; his mind was constantly occupied by the image of the mature lady. As a spirit of persuasion, the Lord of Desire was not inclined to kill; his strong passion lay solely in the pursuit of beautiful women. Later, due to a divergence of ideals, she withdrew from the Spiritual Energy Association. "The Spiritual Energy Association originally intended to eliminate her, but Blood Swallow saved her." The Lord of Lust closed his eyes and meditated. "A divergence of ideals?" The bearded man maintained his lowered gaze, saying, "It's said that the woman possesses an exceptionally strong sense of morality, believing that goodness and evil stem from one's inner nature rather than one's profession. She refuses to commit acts of wrongdoing and frequently clashes with members of the Association." The Lord of Lust opened his eyes, his gaze shining with delight. "An exceptionally strong sense of morality? Interesting, interesting! This woman is truly fascinating. She has been the most surprising and exhilarating prey I've encountered in recent years." A villainous profession, yet with such strong moral principles? Simply this trait alone could spark the destructive instincts of most villainous characters—after all, we're all crows, so why should she aspire to be a swan? Moreover, she's a strikingly beautiful, mature woman. The subordinate of the bearded man immediately added, "She is now an independent practitioner. Lord, shall we dispatch our forces to capture her now?" The Color-Thirsty General gently caressed the woman at his side, speaking calmly: "We don't need to rush. To defeat a Level 5 Wu-Gu master, patience is essential. Arrange a meeting with the Blood Swallow, and tell her I wish to see her." This woman was a regular at the Black Market under the Commandant's patronage. According to the records left by Tian Ling, she was no ordinary guest—she herself held the rank of Level 5 Saint. The Color-Thirsty General was not impetuous; he preferred to lay out a careful strategy, then swiftly close the net, ensuring a smooth capture of this beautiful woman. If everything goes smoothly, the headquarters will issue an announcement today, and the final match will take place either today or tomorrow. The running shoes were bought by the aunt yesterday after work, while she was shopping. This woman has recently been on some strange medication—she's especially tender-hearted toward her nephew, even dividing the yolk of the salted duck eggs she eats for breakfast with him. It's as if the sun rose from the west. As time passed, by nine o'clock, Zhang Yuanqing, constantly refreshing the forum, noticed a newly highlighted, pinned post on the homepage. #ANNOUNCEMENT ON EVENT CHANGES# ["The official purpose of hosting the ladder tournament is to identify talent and allow young players to gain early exposure and experience in combat scenarios. Based on this principle, after discussions among the senior executives of the headquarters yesterday, a decision was made to adjust the ladder tournament at the Superb level."] ["We will now place the eight finalists into high-difficulty combat scenarios, allowing them to compete freely and determine their rankings in a single decisive round. This approach offers the highest value and is the most fair."] 】 【"To ensure fairness and impartiality, the replica will be jointly established by the five Grand Marshals and the Master of Taifan at 9 a.m. tomorrow. Currently available information— the replica's difficulty level is S-grade."】 Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. What surprised him most wasn't the S-grade difficulty of the replica—after all, the eight finalists were among the outstanding talents of the official transcendental stage, truly elite among elites. It was understandable that they could handle an S-grade replica. What he hadn't expected was that the five Grand Marshals and the Master of Taifan themselves could establish one. Wasn't that something typically reserved for the spiritual realm? Zhang Yuanqing quickly exited the forum and sent a message to Fu Qingyang in the Baihui Guard group. 【Primordial Sovereign: @Fu Qingyang, Captain, what does it mean when the five Grand Marshals and the Master of Taifan jointly establish a new replica? Are they really capable of doing this? Is this not something only the spiritual realm could achieve?】 #Primordial Sovereign retracts a message# 【Primordial Sovereign: @Fu Qingyang, Captain, what does it mean when the five Grand 】 【Nanami: It's too late—I've already taken a screenshot.】 【Fu Qingyang: Two months ago, a high-level boss of the Night-Wanderer profession, who was searching for a specific character, caused disturbances that affected the transcendent-phase dungeons. How do you think the five Grand Masters and the head of Taimei couldn't have managed that?】 【Fu Qingyang: Of course, what we call "establishing a new dungeon," as I understand it, means leveraging one's own authority to integrate previously conquered dungeons from the guild into a new, unexplored one—not the completely original spiritual realm dungeon you might imagine.】 Integrating dungeons through the Grand Master's authority—that's actually quite reasonable, but it still surprised me. I thought that Grand Masters-level travelers could create entirely new spiritual realm dungeons from scratch... Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized. 【Ling Jun: For you, competing for the championship within a dungeon is highly advantageous, but remember—never face the top three too early, or you'll be directly eliminated.】 】 【Little Axe: Yuan Shi, strive hard to secure a top-three finish. If you don't make it, there's no difference between finishing fourth and eighth. In a match-up format, I'm not so confident in you, but in a raid setting, you've got a real chance.】 【Sweeping the World: If you make it to the top three, I'll stream my match against my wife.】 Among the regularly active members of the White Tiger Guard group, several stepped up to offer encouragement to Yuan Shi Tianzun. It was quite touching—though you all treat me so well, what if I fail to reach the top three and look like a disappointment? Zhang Yuanqing quickly sent a red envelope to silence their enthusiasm. As he turned back to the forum, he noticed a group of official stewards discussing him. 【Call me Queen: Ha! S-tier, S-tier—how many of these folks have ever reached S-tier? Yuan Shi Tianzun has made it twice.】 【Princess: Honestly, I've suddenly become really excited about Yuan Shi Tianzun's performance in raids, even more so than in the match-up format. 】 【Longer days lie ahead: If we get the chance to watch the match in person, I'm truly looking forward to Yuan-Shi Tianzun's performance. Previously, it sounded like a far-fetched tale that he managed to clear two S-tier challenges—something I simply couldn't wrap my head around.】 【Minister of Literature and Culture Wen Yuan: We plan to revise the rankings entirely, placing greater emphasis on the contestants' past performance in dungeon runs. The updated list will be posted at 8 p.m. every evening. We kindly ask for your continued support.】 【Snow, with a milky complexion: Will we be able to watch Tianzun tackle an S-tier dungeon live? Wow, I'm suddenly excited—this isn't half as exciting as a stage match!】 【Jenny, the affectionate one: Hmm, I didn't hear that viewing access was guaranteed, but neither was it explicitly ruled out. We'll check the notice tomorrow. I hope it's not a closed-door dungeon event.】 【The more the days go by, the more we suffer: The dungeons were established by the leaders themselves, who hold significant authority—so they should definitely consider audience access.】 It He kept sliding down the leaderboard, with comments full of anticipation for his S-tier run—while naturally excited about the other players' performances and the match itself, Yuan Shishen's star power was undeniable. He'd truly made his name through S-tier runs. While Xie Lingxi was focused on reading the comments, the female assistant pushed open the door to the study, holding the speaker and speaking softly, "Madam, Mrs. Xie is on the phone." "Mom?" Xie Lingxi took the phone, cleared her throat, and said with a sweet voice, "Mom, what's up?" On the other end, a woman's voice came through, soft and tender—so youthful, not at all like a mother who had given birth, but more like a young girl. "Mom," Xie Lingxi replied warmly, "I miss you too." Mrs. Xie was delighted and began to talk nonstop about her longing for her daughter—how she couldn't eat or sleep well, constantly calling her "sweet baby" and "good daughter." After several minutes of chatting, Mrs. Xie coughed and said, "Lingxi, Dad has entered the realm. You know that, right?" "Of course!" Xie Lingxi replied. "Well, actually," Mrs. Xie continued, "could you please have someone send him his invitation back? I'd like to see the match tomorrow." Xie Lingxi was taken aback: "What match are you watching? You just need to go home and host a tea gathering with the ladies, that's all." "Oh, all the ladies are watching the match. They heard the schedule has been adjusted—officially, the top eight players will now compete inside an S-tier dungeon. The Primordial Heavenly Sovereign reportedly cleared it twice, so everyone wants to see it." "Since the official announcement, there's already a demand for invitation tickets—each one costs 100,000 yuan. My mother has been trying to secure one, but she just can't catch up. If she doesn't attend such a prestigious event, the other ladies would surely mock her." "My little darling has been staying at Songhai for so long—I've grown so bored. Now I'm eager to see the match. Will you satisfy me, darling?" Mother's voice was soft and delicate, like that of a simple, sincere wealthy lady. "Alright, then—I'll have someone send it over to you." "Good. That settles it." Mother spoke firmly. "I still need to have my tea. I'll hang up now. Sweetie, be good!" Xie Lingxi listened to the steady beeping sound in her ears, returned the phone to her female assistant, and remained calm, saying, "Send an empty package to my mother!" The assistant hesitated, "This... well..." Xie Lingxi huffed, "This heartless witch has been pretending to be a pure lotus blossom—her tactic worked perfectly on my father, but here, her beauty does nothing for me! Pfft!" She didn't even look at whom she'd learned tea ceremony from.