A large and bustling group. At 8 a.m., someone posted a message: "Breakthrough news! I heard from a colleague of the Five Elements Alliance that the heir of the Demon King has appeared!" In such a group filled with elders and officials, conversations are usually sparse—most days, only during major assignments do elders issue a directive, prompting officials and captains to reply with a simple, formal "Received!" The lower-level night-wanderers rarely dare to send a message, let alone add a bit of humor or casual banter. Such lively, spontaneous exchanges are typically reserved for smaller, more intimate groups. But today, the matter was truly significant, so the person risked everything and posted it in the main group—hoping to see the reaction of the officials and elders and verify whether the news was genuine. Indeed, as soon as the message appeared, captains of night-wanderers began popping up with discussions, followed by the star-officials. The usually solemn and formal group transformed into a lively, chaotic scene. "Finally, the heir of the Demon King has arrived! Where is he? Where is he? Hurry and go capture him—don't miss this chance for promotion and salary increase!" "How come I didn't hear from my colleagues at the Five Elements Alliance about this rumor?" Messages flooded in rapidly, and no one believed it until a senior figure stepped in. [King of Fengdu: @Black Moon Noble, where did you hear this?] The group fell silent immediately; no one else sent messages. [Black Moon Noble: Elder, I heard this from a friend at the Five Elements Alliance. He was at the evening banquet hosted by Master Fu Qingyang last night at Songhai, and he mentioned that the Heir of the Demon King appeared at the banquet—details are still unclear.] [Yin Ji: Is this information reliable?] As soon as she joined, the atmosphere in the group became subtly charged—Fengdu King, a former rival of the Demon King, and Yin Ji, his current lover. Now that the Heir of the Demon King has appeared, both of them must be feeling complex emotions. The Black Moon Noble hesitated, typing carefully: [Me? I really don't know...] At that moment, someone in the group sent a message: [For something like this, just ask Yuan Ting—and you'll find out.] @Yuan Ting: Everyone quickly realized—yes, Taiyuan Sect has Yuan Ting, a capable spiritual communicator. As long as the information isn't an absolute secret requiring a peak-level Sovereign to access, Yuan Ting can always gather it. In fact, he even knows that the young gentleman, Qian, privately derided the Marshal as a piece of trash! His information-gathering abilities are truly extraordinary. [Yuan Ting: Hmm, you all must have very swift channels—right now I'm having a private conversation with the Yuan-Shi Tian-Zun. I've already fully grasped the situation.] The night-wandering deities of Taiyuan Sect were energized. [Yin Ji: @Yuan Ting, has the heir of the Demon King truly arrived?] [Yuan Ting: Last night, Elder Fu Qingyang hosted a banquet to raise funds. During the event, Miss Miao Teng'er, the granddaughter of Elder Miao, suddenly disappeared. Fortunately, they had a special artifact for locating missing persons, and they managed to recover her that very evening. ] [Yuan Ting: According to Miss Teng'er’s account, the person who abducted her introduced himself as the heir of the Demon King. The identity is 】 【The Noble of the Night: Remember, you also mentioned that her mother was a lover of the Magi King.】 The Noble of the Night retracts a message 【The Noble of the Night: Please continue.】 【Yuan Ting: According to the Magi King's heir, he came to claim the legacy of the Magi King. Mei Teng'er holds a relic from the Magi King, yet Yuan Shǐ Tian Zun stated that the heir has already taken the relic.】 【Yuan Ting: @Yin Ji, Yin Ji, as the steward, you must be cautious—this Magi King's heir may have his eyes on you.】 【Feng Du Ghost King: Hmph! Unaware of death, come then!】 As Yuan Ting elaborated at length, the night-wandering deities of Taimei gradually clarified the situation. It turned out that the Magi King's heir had been quietly building his strength, possibly aligning with a mysterious organization that includes several high-ranking night-wandering deities. This organization has been quietly plotting to secure the Magi King's legacy and has extended its influence toward the granddaughter of the Grand Elder of the Hundred Blossoms Festival. 【Yuan Ting: I'm currently 【Yin Ji: Do you have any evidence?】 【Yuan Ting: Not really. But if they're not joining the Night Rose, then they can only be joining our Taimei Sect.】 How blunt he is—does he not fear being suspended by the elders?... The group fell silent, no one daring to speak up. The powerful daytime deity sighed, "The Taiyuan Sect also longs to capture the heir of the Demon King, but their celestial divination can only foretell the future—it cannot trace back to the past. In the future, Miao Teng'er will never face an assault by the heir of the Demon King again." "Yet, given the extraordinary nature of celestial divination, and with Miss Miao Teng'er as the medium, shouldn't there be some revelation or insight?" The hunter-mage clearly understood the power of celestial divination. The Red-Sun Official shook his head, "The heir of the Demon King is protected by a hidden grace; the celestial patterns offer no guidance at all." The hunter-mage then added, "Could the Sect's master perhaps—" But before he could finish, the Red-Sun Official gently declined, "The master surveys the world and foresees the future; his abode is a sanctuary, and I cannot approach it unless summoned. I can only wait to be called." The hunter-mage rose with a sense of regret, "I hope I haven't disturbed you." As he stepped out of the hall's threshold, passed through the courtyard, and joined his three subordinates waiting at the gate, they As the vehicle departed from this old district, the hunter-mage finally spoke: "The Taiyuan Sect failed to receive any omens or revelations regarding the heir of the Magus King—none at all." "So it appears the Magus King's heir has indeed joined a secret organization," said the sea-creature Osmon, with a cold smile. "Executive Officer, do you remember what Master Miao said?" The hunter-mage nodded. "He was hinting that the heir might have aligned with the Taiyuan Sect." Osmon remarked, "The old man wants to use us to investigate the Taiyuan Sect—Executive Officer, shall we fall for it?" Though the Five-Element Alliance and the Taiyuan Sect were closely allied, there were still factions within each organization, let alone between two separate bodies. In Osmon's view, it was entirely plausible—and quite reasonable—that the Taiyuan Sect had taken Master Miao Teng'er hostage to secure the Magus King's legacy. After all, if they followed formal procedures, the Five-Element Alliance would surely demand a share of the legacy. The hunter-mage mused, "Of course we must investigate—and we must do so openly and formally, inviting the Five- But these can be postponed—we should first seek out the King of Pluto. "Osmon suddenly said. "It will take several days to activate the fragments of the Light Compass, won't it?" "No—it's the Prophecy Mirror we need to activate," the warrior-mage replied, turning to his subordinate. "What would you like to say?" Osmon, with a proud smile, chuckled. "The Five-Element Alliance sent us laundry powder as a joke—our own Tai-Ming Sect treats us like fools. I'm fed up. I'm going to have a scene. For instance—I'm going to kill Jiang Ju and the King of Fengdu." Huo, lounging lazily, scoffed. "A fool! The King of Fengdu has already ascended to the rank of Sovereign. How could you possibly have overlooked the latest news from the Five-Element Alliance?" Osmon shrugged. "Then let's go after Yin Ji. Oh, and also, Yuan Shi Tian Zun. I hear about Yuan Shi Tian Zun all the time from the Level-One Executive Officers—my ears are practically numb. It's rare that I get to visit Huaguo. Without giving him a good beating, this visit would be truly a Osmon hadn't spoken yet, and Hoover, lounging comfortably, chuckled. "Why not? Haven't we always done just that? Well, the established sixth-tier of the Five-Element Alliance isn't our target. Among peers, the standout is the official fourth prince—Fu Qingyang has already ascended to the status of Sovereign. Jiang Ju is yours. So I'll give Ling Jun a try. Huang Taiji, though—he's just too taxing to beat." He glanced toward the quiet young man seated behind him. "Xia Zuo, you could go play with him. Your knights have boundless endurance, no worse than earth monsters." "Earth monsters have the top endurance among all classes," Xia Zuo shook his head, matter-of-fact. "Besides, knights avoid unnecessary battles." He then turned to Osmon, his tone serious and composed. "That laundry delivery clerk—you weren't planning to quietly drown him this morning, were you?" "I'm a lawful class, not some ruthless evil one." Osmon laughed carelessly. "He's probably in the hospital now." Xia Zhao nodded, took a scroll of vellum from the inventory, and with his finger as a quill, wrote swiftly: "Osmon Hale, you have violated the Concord of All Lawful and Orderly Organizations. One offense recorded. Upon accumulation of three, I shall strike you down with a sword." "Oh my goodness," Osmon scoffed, "your knights are as rigid as medieval beef jerky. You'll never rise to high positions within the organization, because your superiors, your subordinates, even your own family members fear being killed by you with a single sword—sometimes for merely stepping on an ant accidentally in the morning." "That's a person, not an ant." "In my eyes, he's just an ant." "Osmon, if you continue to think this way, you'll eventually become the ant trampled underfoot." "Good heavens, lay off your lofty principles—you're a tiresome, stiff knight." The Hunter of Monsters waved his hand, interrupting the two's debate, and said, "Houfu, contact Yang Secretary from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and inform him that we'd like to organize a seminar. Ask whether Yuan-Shi Tian, Jiang Ju, Ling Jun, and Yin Ji might visit the realm in the near future." Houfu complained, "I should have brought the assistant team along from the start." He pulled out his phone, dialed Yang's number, briefly conveyed the demands of Tianfa, then hung up. After fifteen minutes of driving, Yang returned a call. Houfu listened silently and thanked him, then hung up, saying, "The seminar is confirmed. The Five Elements Alliance and Tai-Men are prepared, but Yuan-Shi Tian is unable to participate. From Song Hai, it seems he's been on a journey." "On a journey?" Osmon was momentarily surprised. "Do official, lawful professions have this much freedom?" "I've told you before—keep a close eye on the Five Elements Alliance's intelligence." "Huo explained: "The Prime Celestial Sovereign and the headquarters of the Five Elements Alliance have a strained relationship. Right now, he's the lowest-ranking employee, earning the meagerst salary—how could he possibly care about his work?" ... The sky was clear and bright, the sunlight warm. A straight highway stretched out to the horizon, flanked by vast fields of rice fields, their golden stalks swaying gently in the wind. Zhang Yuanqing sat in the passenger seat, chewing on a meat dumpling he had bought at a highway service station, watching the ever-increasing number of green hills appearing outside the window, and said: "Hucheng's meat dumplings are simply delicious, Queen. When we exit the highway, buy a few boxes and bring them along—we can enjoy them slowly on the road." They had now left Songhai and entered the territory of Hucheng, a prefecture-level city in Jiangnan Province. Jiangnan's terrain is hilly, and these extensive mountain ranges are something Songhai couldn't see. This trip had two objectives for Zhang Yuanqing: first, to capture the King of the Underworld and fulfill the mission of the Beauty Goddess Association, while also avoiding public scrutiny; second, to hunt After the Sage stage, the power infused into the character card transformed into stellar energy. Since he did not specialize in the Yin energy, he could only enhance his Yin energy by continuously consuming high-quality spiritual bodies. For the Night-Wanderer and the Star Officials, this was a path leading to their demise. Yet Zhang Yuanqing, endowed with the power of the Sun Deity, had long since become immune to the spiritual pollution caused by such consumption. The Queen behind the wheel murmured an "oh," then glanced apprehensively at the rearview mirror, where a stunning golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty was reflected. She pursed her lips and remarked in the dialect of Cangzha, "Lingxi, why does he keep bringing this fox-maiden along?" "He's just taking advantage of the time when Guan Ya isn't around, flirting and making passes. Once Guan Ya returns, I'll have to file a formal complaint against him," Lingxi replied with a sniff from the backseat. This trip, Zhang Yuanqing had also brought Anne along, which added significant pressure to both Lingxi and the Queen. Though they prided themselves on their beauty, they felt utterly insecure even in the presence of Guan Ya—let alone when Perhaps only female musicians could truly compete with the realm of passion. The queen exclaimed with indignation, "I never knew he had such a fondness for horses! Hmph, that explains why he fell for Guan Ya. Now he's after this Anne too—her chest is truly enormous!" "You two pay attention!" Zhang Yuanqing interrupted their aimless chatter. "I'm from Songhai. Though I understand your crab city dialect well enough." "Ah!" Xie Lingxi gasped, her voice soft and delicate, "Brother, we were only joking!" Zhang Yuanqing chuckled, "You two just take advantage of the fact that Anne doesn't understand the local dialect." After finishing his rice dumplings, he pushed the trash bag into the slot of the car door and pulled out his phone, sending a message to the King of the Magical Eyes: [Master Yuan Shi: Your Majesty, I am currently on a journey from Songhai toward the southwest Yunnan and Guizhou regions. Along the way, I intend to uphold justice. Do you have any information on evil professions?] [King of the Magical Eyes: Just a moment!] A few minutes later, the King of the Magical Eyes sent over a long list of names. Zhang Yuan quickly opened it and then noticed something was off—since the names listed were plain, unadorned surnames, not Lingjing IDs. [Magical Eye Emperor: This is the list of corrupt officials from Jiangnan, Fuzhou, and Yunnan-Guizhou provinces. There aren't many. You'll have to make do with it. My moral credits are limited, and I'm genuinely worried about how to clean them up—so I'm handing it over to you.] Handed over to me? I can't possibly manage that… Zhang Yuan was completely baffled, typing out: "Corrupt officials are handled by the legal system…" Then, after thinking again, she deleted the message and rewrote: "But I'd rather pursue evil professionals." Soon, the Magical Eye Emperor sent over a fresh document. [Magical Eye Emperor: The Military Commander's influence is strong in the north, while our intelligence network in the southwest is still underdeveloped—this is all we have.] [Original Heavenly Sovereign: Thank you, Emperor. I'll be glad to join you in tackling the corrupt officials as well.] Zhang Yuan opened the document, read it carefully, and then Zhang Yuanqing leaned back against the chair, eyes closed, mentally mapping out the course of action based on the available information. He originally had three intelligence sources—one from official channels, one from Yuchuan Mei, one from Liang Chen's decision to eliminate his rivals—and now he had added the intelligence from the Mage-Eyed Emperor. Combined, these four sources could eliminate a significant number of evil professionals. And if fighting on the ground, they would become easy targets, subjected to relentless wind-blade attacks like a storm. "Annie said with evident apprehension. "Secondly, from an elevated vantage point, any movement on the ground is easily observed—those with an overhead view possess this advantage. A seventh-level observer can detect activities within a ten-mile radius." Zhang Yuanqing exclaimed, "I just realized—having been warned beforehand, if we accidentally encounter an observer, our only option will be to retreat." "Understood," Annie nodded gently and continued, "The association headquarters has issued a warning. Our diplomats have gathered intelligence suggesting that the hunters may be carrying the 'Mirror of Prophecy.' What is the Mirror of Prophecy?" Zhang Yuanqing felt a sense of unease upon hearing the name.