The large bed room was well-lit. The official staff accompanying them had been quietly moved to the corridor, leaving only four people and a tree in the room. Zhang Yuanqing and Fu Qingyang stood by the window, while Ling Jun and Miao Long stood at either side of the bed. Miao Teng'er, her eyes slightly red, sat by the edge of the bed, holding a tissue in her hand, her nose also flushed. After confirming her safety, she had wept deeply, and now her emotions were finally stabilized. Seeing her granddaughter had regained composure, Miao Long spoke calmly, "Do you know who kidnapped you?" Miao Teng'er's newly stabilized emotions nearly collapsed again as she clenched her lips, "It was the heir of the Magician King..." "What?" Ling Jun exclaimed, "Are you certain it was the heir of the Magician King?" Zhang Yuanqing and Fu Qingyang simultaneously expressed their astonishment. Miao Long's eyes narrowed. Miao Teng'er gritted her teeth, "I am absolutely certain!" "He has the tools of the Mage King, and not just one—besides, he knows some more private matters, things that only I and the Mage King know." Ling Jun's face fell. "Since only you and the Mage King know these, how did he find out?" Miao Teng'er hesitated. "The Mage King has a tool that records information, which he often carries with him. Only those who inherit the Mage King's relics would have access to those details." She didn't mention that the tool could record audio, as there are various ways to record information—mentioning audio might naturally lead people to think of certain aspects. "No, it's still impossible!" Ling Jun remained unconvinced. "The Mage King has only returned to the Spiritual Realm for barely one year. Even if the heir to the Mage King is exceptionally talented, he still couldn't have reached the level of a Saint." "Exactly!" Fu Qingyang nodded. "The Killing Quests open only twice a year. Last year and this year, only a few ascended to the rank of Saint, and none of them match." "There are indeed those who match." "Master Miao turned to Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun and said, 'Far away yet near at hand.' Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback, then coldly remarked, 'Master Miao has already laid plans for retaliation? Indeed, the greater the office, the smaller the heart. Ling Jun, you've seen your maternal grandfather's character yourself—should any further disagreements arise, don't hold me responsible. I've already saved Teng'er twice; that's as generous as I can be.' Upon hearing this, Ling Jun glanced at Master Miao, his expression somewhat embarrassed: 'Grandfather, Yuan Shǐ has been with us from the very beginning. He cannot possibly be a descendant of the Magistrate King. The Tiger Seal has confirmed this.' 'The Night-Wanderer deity can command the spirits of the阴.' Master Miao said calmly. 'That's not right!' Teng'er shook her head. 'When that descendant of the Magistrate King departed, he performed the Star-Flight technique—not only that, but he also mastered illusions and spiritual scrolls. Yet the spirits of the阴do not possess active abilities. I've personally interacted with him and can confirm he is a living person.' Master Miao fell silent immediately. At this point, Fu Qingyang said calmly, "To understand this matter, one must first grasp the logic—or the motivation—behind the magus heir's actions. Excuse my ignorance, but if Yuan Shi is indeed the magus heir, I simply cannot fathom his motivation for kidnapping Ting'er." Miao Long said coldly, "Last night, the delegation from Tianfa just arrived in the capital to meet with me. Tianfa accused Yuan Shi, the Celestial Sovereign, of being the magus heir, and I was about to commit to joining forces with them to investigate. Yet tonight, a magus heir appears—no less than a sage who could easily seize Ting'er right under your very eyes. Isn't that too coincidental?" Ling Jun and Miao Ting'er turned to Zhang Yuanqing, surprised. Fu Qingyang nodded, "Tianfa just accused Yuan Shi, and at the same time, he received word—then he orchestrated this entire scene himself. I never realized he was so capable of having spies embedded within Tianfa's high command, capable of obtaining such high-level intelligence in advance." "If Master Miao really insists on pinning down Yuan-Shi Tianzun, then let her present solid evidence," Qian Gongzi was becoming increasingly assertive—daring to speak to one of the Ten Elders like this... Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. Of course, it was also possible that the one before him was merely a duplicate. Upon hearing this, Ling Jun immediately shook her head: "Yuan-Shi couldn't have received advance notice. Even if he had, it would only be if Tianfa had secured concrete proof that he was the heir of the Magician King, thus orchestrating a staged narrative to clear his own嫌疑. So, where is Tianfa's evidence, Grandfather? Even if Tianfa truly has such proof, Yuan-Shi has been with us the entire time. As mentioned by Ting'er just now, he even had a face-to-face encounter with that heir. How could he possibly have split himself into multiple forms? The heir's rank does indeed raise questions, but there are so many plausible explanations. To simply conclude that Yuan-Shi is the heir based solely on this point is too hasty and decisive." Clearly, Zhang Yuanqing's earlier remarks had made an impact—Ling Jun now believed that her This made the Flower Prince angry and ashamed. The Elder Miao, in his tree-form, remained silent. Indeed, he had no evidence—the accusation of divine punishment seemed more like a charge invented out of whole cloth. He only felt that everything had unfolded with too much precision. He turned to Miao Teng'er and said, "What was the purpose behind capturing you? Tell me the full details—this is crucial." Miao Teng'er recounted the events broadly, omitting the part where the magus's heir had taken advantage of her, and emphasized her deep longing for the map fragments. Zhang Yuanqing shrugged, "I have no idea what map fragments you're referring to." Miao Teng'er nodded, "Miao Yuan-shi indeed knows nothing about them." She had hardly shared this story beyond the last time she visited the Mei Shen Association to consult Anne, when she had briefly mentioned it. But Yuan-shi, the Celestial Sovereign, could not possibly be aware of it. Fu Qingyang gave a slight nod. "So, the magus's heir captured Teng'er in order to obtain these so-called map fragments. Now that the motive is clear, what else does Elder Miao wish to add?" "If Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun is a descendant of the Magician King, he would naturally know about the map fragments—this cannot serve as proof of his innocence." Master Miao said calmly. Fu Qingyang's expression darkened. "Besides Yuan Shǐ being a descendant of the Magician King, I believe there's another possibility—the one who kidnapped Ting'er may not have been the Magician King himself, but rather one of his associates. The Magician King's identity and background remain unclear. Who can say he isn't simply a lone wolf? Perhaps he has already joined some organization—such as the Night Rose, or the Taiyuan Sect..." He fixed his gaze on Master Miao, continuing: "If the Magician King is a member of such an organization, then recovering all of his assets would inevitably become that organization's top priority. Thus, the kidnapping of Ting'er would no longer seem out of place. Compared to merely speculating that Yuan Shǐ is the Magician King, investigating these facts becomes far more crucial. 'Master Miao's persistent focus on Yuan Shǐ seems driven more by personal grudges than by objective evidence,' Fu Qingyang remarked. Ling Jun and Master Miao Ting'er carefully watched their grandfather, sharing the Master Miao's composure was deep and steady, neither agitated nor moved. Fu Qingyang took two steps forward, his gaze sharp and stern, meeting Master Miao's directly. "That's all I have to say. If Master Miao still insists that Yuan Shi Tian Zun is the descendant of the Magus King, then he may apply for the tiger seal to the Marshal or convene the meeting of the Ten Elders. Yuan Shi, let's go!" Zhang Yuanqing echoed with a cold laugh, yet dared not pass by Master Miao's side. With a crisp snap of his fingers, he vanished into the hotel room. Yes, I've confirmed that Lingxi is asleep and won't be listening to our conversation. Master Miao suspects me, but only with a cautious doubt—after all, I can't have a physical presence elsewhere, nor could I possibly know that Tianfa is investigating me. He probably doesn't fully believe it's me. Still, the information you uncovered about the Magistrate King is quite interesting. "The duplicate nodded, pointing to a pile of props on the table, 'Everything's here. Remarkably, Teng'er's footwork is quite excellent.' Zhang Yuanqing smiled slightly, 'I feel that too.' Then he produced the eight-armed mirror and returned the duplicate to it. Walking to the table, he collected a few props, sat down at the chair, and reviewed today's actions. There were still a few minor flaws—such as the element of coincidence, and the fact that the Magistrate's heir's rank was too high. As Fu Qingyang had pointed out, there was no perfect resolution to this situation. Yet these coincidences were not fatal. After all, even the celestial punishment merely suspected that Yuan-Shi Tianzun might be the heir—it hadn't yet secured decisive evidence. Once they heard that the heir had appeared, they would certainly reassess the entire matter. As for the reason behind the heir's high rank, Fu Qingyang had already provided a more plausible explanation. It was entirely logical that the Taiping Sect or the Night Rose wished to quietly reclaim the Magistrate's legacy." The first party chose this strategy to avoid sharing the Magistrate King's legacy with the Five Elements Alliance, which makes sense given that the latter is already an established, covert organization. Master Miao, as a senior figure, naturally tends to be skeptical—while he doubts himself, he is even more suspicious of the Taimei Sect and the Night Rose. In contrast, it seems more credible and logical that the Primordial Heavenly Sovereign, who has consistently maintained a solid alibi throughout the entire affair, unexpectedly received intelligence about the Heavenly Punishment and then orchestrated the entire drama himself—this appears less like a coincidence and more like a natural outcome of the Magistrate King's heir being supported by a mysterious organization. "Now, the next step is to retreat to the Linghai region to avoid scrutiny, then head southwest to capture the King of the Underworld, while simultaneously harvesting the spiritual essences of evil-aligned professions to strengthen the Yin energy and finally refine the last six-level Yin corpse." "We've done everything we can. If the Magistrate King's lineage is still uncovered, I'll simply head out to the southwest border and make it to another country." "If the identity hasn't been revealed in the short term, the Magus Heir will have to make appearances from time to time—just one appearance would seem too deliberate." "Let's stay cautious. Observe the stars and check for any recent misfortunes..." ... At Fenglinwan Hotel. The hunter-mage and the three saints, who had just fallen asleep, were invited to the boardroom on the top floor, where they met the senior monk, whose appearance was utterly unlike any ordinary person. "Senior Monk, have you found your granddaughter?" asked the hunter-mage, expressing genuine concern. The senior monk nodded slightly. "I've invited you all here precisely because of this matter." "What does this have to do with us?" the hunter-mage asked, showing signs of bewilderment. "It has nothing to do with you," the senior monk said, glancing over the group of those under the Heavenly Judgment, his tone solemn and serious, "but it is directly connected to the Magus Heir. The person who kidnapped my granddaughter claims to be the Magus Heir." The hunter-mage was stunned. The sea-elf Osmon, in turn, exchanged a look of astonishment with Master Miao spoke seriously, "Tell me truthfully—before our conversation last night, did any of you leak the claim that Yuan Shi Tian Zun is the descendant of the Magus King?" The Hunter of Monsters shook his head slightly. "This is confidential." Sea Sprite Osmon added, "We only mentioned it to the senior officers of the Chihaku Group, and they all made solemn vows not to disclose it, witnessed by Summerzo." The young knight named Summerzo said solemnly, "Any who leak the secret shall die. The Chihaku Group has no sovereign, so they cannot break their oath. And the power of the oath cannot be erased or purified by any force." A sovereign who violates the oath will suffer a reversal, though not necessarily fatal. "I understand," Master Miao said, shaking her head. "Then your accusation is destined to fail—Yuan Shi Tian Zun is not the descendant of the Magus King." The Hunter of Monsters frowned. "We cannot be so decisive, Master Miao. The Star Official possesses the ability to glimpse the future." "He is not a specialist in stellar power, so he cannot perceive events involving the Sovereigns." "Master Miao said: 'Moreover, at the time of the incident, he had a clear alibi—something I personally witnessed.' Immediately, he recounted the events of the banquet and how Miao Teng'er was bound to the chair to the group. 'That...,' the hunter-mage paused, 'perhaps our initial reports have been inaccurate.' Master Miao replied: 'Doesn't Heaven's Punishment already have further evidence against the Primordial Celestial Sovereign?' The hunter-mage offered a slightly embarrassed smile. 'Since the heir of the Demon King has appeared on his own, we may temporarily set aside the charges against the Primordial Celestial Sovereign. Our immediate priority should be to investigate the whereabouts of this newly appeared heir.' When there's no clear target, one must conduct a thorough search; once a target is identified, the first step is to locate the heir who appeared last night. Master Miao nodded. 'I have already dispatched messengers to the Taimei Sect. Their senior monks will use Teng'er as a medium to trace the heir's movements, and will inform you of their findings.' 'By the way,' Master Miao added with a thoughtful tone, 'if any of you wish to locate the heir of the The conversation ended. The Hunter returned with three subordinates to the room. Osmon, the sea nymph, spoke first: "So it seems the Primordial Sovereign has no connection with the Magus Heir. We've always suspected this—now it appears confirmed." "Agreed!" the Hunter nodded and added, "We'll keep watching to see if the Magus Heir takes any further action." "Then shall we still unveil the collection of props?" asked the laid-back Hoover York. "Since the Magus Heir has stepped forward, we'll hold onto this card for now and monitor the Five Alliances' pursuit efforts. In the meantime, we'll quietly gather information—ideally, we'd be able to bypass the Five Alliances' focus on the Heir." The Hunter explained. "Moreover, our primary objective is to capture the King of the Underworld. On this matter, everything else can be postponed." As he was speaking, the doorbell rang. Hoover, relaxed and unimpressed, and Shazo, serious and composed, remained still. Osmon, the sea nymph, sighed and walked to the entrance to open the door. A hotel attendant stands outside, pushing a cart with a respectful smile and speaking fluently in foreign language: "Dear guest, this is a gift from our lobby reception." Upon closer inspection, the distinguished guests notice four boxes of laundry detergent resting on the cart.