"He heard the spiritual realm ID is 'Sanqing Daozhu,' with an unknown profession." The lady in a qipao unfolded the A4 paper in her hands. "This is the portrait drawn by staff from the Public Security Bureau." The spiritual energy network maintains eyes within the Public Security Bureau—this is standard practice. The Five Elements Alliance often sets its operational offices within the Public Security Bureau, so by cultivating ordinary security officers or clerks into informants, they can effectively monitor the movements of official envoys. This is a well-established strategy. The Five Elements Alliance can conduct comprehensive health check-ups for official envoys, but they have no authority to perform such evaluations on Public Security Bureau or court officials. Official envoys are limited in number, while public officials are in abundance and prone to corruption—making it impossible to keep them fully protected. The Alliance is well aware of this, hence they rarely share confidential intelligence or operational plans with security staff. Even when they involve security personnel in missions, they do not disclose the details. Master Dou studied the portrait carefully before shifting his gaze. "Among the Five Elements Alliance's six-level sages, there is no record of this person." He paused for a few seconds, then said, "Temporarily keep the casino staff indoors and observe the situation. After all, the regional outpost in Nancheng hasn't arrived yet. That senior steward is unwilling to come—should he continue to stir up trouble, he'll inevitably shift his base, and someone will naturally take care of him." With only six outposts across Nancheng city, involving cash, assets, and items totaling just a few hundred million, it's not worth the senior steward's significant effort to pursue a high-ranking steward. This would inevitably draw in elite members of the Qinghe Clan. The Qinghe Clan's spiritual travelers are hands-off, taking little interest in daily affairs—thus, the spiritual energy community will greatly appreciate their discretion. Over the years, everyone has been able to coexist peacefully, enjoying a comfortable and stable life. No one wants to disrupt this harmony. ... Three days passed, and Zhang Yuanqing, accompanied by three female team members, explored the entire city of Nancheng. Though a border town, Nancheng boasts outstanding natural scenery. Under the guise of sightseeing, Zhang Yuanqing visited all the scenic spots throughout the region. Biluo Village, low hills connected to low hills, clear streams flowing through the valleys, winding into the endless fields. The rice stalks sway like waves, and villagers in straw hats bend low to harvest. Two water globes, each as large as a basin, detached from the stream and hovered mid-air under the queen's control. She extended her hand into the globes, and after a few seconds, said, "It's purified. Would either of you like to drink?" She pushed the globes toward Anne and Xie Lingxi. Anne leaned forward, lightly touched the surface of one with her red lips, sipped a little, then shook her head in disappointment: "Not sweet—you've removed all the minerals." She cupped some water to wash her face, then, after wiping away the moisture, looked at Zhang Yuanqing. "Master Yuanqing, this mountain range borders farmland. I just saw villagers entering the mountains. The king of the Underworld wouldn't choose a place like this for his slumber." Zhang Yuanqing nodded in agreement: "With just three days of sleep, if one villager goes missing, the police department would have noticed. This mountain range isn't thick enough to rule out. We can eliminate it. We'll continue in the afternoon. There are still two and a half days until the king's slumber." Over the course of these three days, they had thoroughly surveyed the mountainous areas near Nanning City, According to information transmitted from the headquarters of the Divine Goddess Association, Seiya's personality flaw is jealousy. He is jealous of anyone who is stronger, more handsome, wealthier, or possesses any advantage that surpasses him—anyone who excels in any aspect he finds lacking. As a result, Seiya often destroys such individuals. Currently, however, this personality shortcoming offers no immediate opportunities for leverage. As a spiritual traveler of exceptional life caliber, Seiya is rarely matched by ordinary people, so the number of those who can trigger his jealousy is limited. This issue can be easily circumvented by simply staying in less populated areas. Therefore, the most prudent approach remains the original plan proposed by Zhang Yuanqing: first conduct reconnaissance, then wait for the target to fall into a deep sleep, use the art of stargazing for initial positioning, and finally assemble a team to search. "By the way, the military achievements have already been submitted—why hasn't there been an official announcement yet?" Zhang Yuanqing led the three of them down the mountain. "I'm still waiting for the moral credit bonus." "Isn't it normal for official procedures to be slow? There are always one process after another, and the staff tend to slack off, "The queen pursed her lips," "I used to think I'd be a clerk, you know—living a comfortable life, just going through the motions, with a secure job, after all." As she was speaking, the phone in Zhang Yuanqing's pocket rang. It was a caller from the Pursuer of the Poison. While descending the mountain, he answered the call: "Anything urgent?" The caller spoke seriously: "Where are you? You'd better come back right away." Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow slightly: "What's happened?" "The audit staff from Qinghe Branch, together with investigators from the Investigation Department, have arrived—they want to see you!" said the Pursuer firmly. "It's about the stolen funds." For official practitioners, embezzlement of funds is a serious offense, especially when the amount approaches one hundred million. In the case of public servants, even a minor offense could mean twenty years in prison, and a severe one could result in death. Zhang Yuanqing gave a casual, dismissive "hmm": "Just tell them I've gone—no longer at the Nanning Branch. Don't mention my payment to the branch staff." For most practitioners in the spiritual realm, this indeed constitutes a serious But his relationship with the headquarters now is such that a promotion is out of the question. He's already at the very bottom of the organizational hierarchy. What remains is imprisonment—but headquarters won't imprison him for this matter, because the Primordial Sovereign at this point is already barefoot. If they press further, it would mean he would have to break away from the Five Elements Alliance. Before any fundamental issues arise, headquarters won't punish him for this. In their eyes, is this amount of money a matter of principle? Clearly not. The official administration of the Eighth Noble Province centers on the Qinghe Clan—though this is merely nominal. The Qinghe Clan actually plays no active role; the true administrative hub is the Xini Branch. Much like Hangzhou's Branch in Jiangnan Province, where two senior elders are stationed, the Qinghe Branch, as the highest-level administrative body, is inherently respected. When they choose to take action, they simply grow lazy and inactive. Once they decide to intervene, every major branch across the entire province must follow their lead—this is a mark of respect for an organization whose leaders rival half-divine beings. "So why are they now stepping in?" asked Zhang Yuanqing. "The Qinghe Branch holds the reins of financial authority," the pursuer pointed out directly. "All seized funds are required to be submitted according to established procedures to the Qinghe Clan. If you withhold those funds, you're effectively stealing their money—stealing a full hundred million. Should you fail to submit the funds, the Qinghe Clan will not recognize this campaign, and your colleagues will go home with no merit at all." "The outposts I've painstakingly established, the enemies I've single-handedly eliminated, the hard-earned funds—I've yet to see them become theirs. Zhang Yuqing sneered, "Let them clean their necks and wait." After hanging up, Xie Lingxi immediately asked, "Brother, what's wrong?" "Back to the Nanming branch office—some ungrateful junior staff members need to be dealt with," Zhang Yuqing said flatly. ... Nanming Branch Office, Office Area. The matte-finish main gate remained closed, and all members of the branch sat quietly at their desks, heads bowed, expressions subdued, the atmosphere heavy. An hour earlier, their salary cards and all bank accounts had been frozen. The leadership of Qinghe Branch demanded that they deliver the stolen funds within three days and announced an official reprimand for the Nanming branch, deducting their annual performance bonuses. Six hundred and sixty thousand yuan—still fresh—had already been snatched away, and their year-end bonuses were gone too. It now depended entirely on whether the Third Clear Dao Patriarch would cooperate. If he remained cooperative and submitted the funds, Qinghe Branch might just show leniency. "I thought I'd make a decent profit—today I even went house hunting..." Wang Xiao'er sighed. "I just placed an order for a new car at the 4S store and paid the deposit. My old vehicle has been running for several years now; I've always wanted to upgrade!" A female employee furrowed her brows, her face looking weary. Others either smiled wryly or sighed, their expressions clouded with concern. "The Daoist steward isn't from our Qinghe branch—let's not create any conflict," a female employee whispered. "No conflict will arise unless it's the senior monks. Otherwise, a simple email from Qinghe to Songhai will suffice. If it escalates to headquarters, this level of leadership won't face severe penalties, but an internal warning would be enough to set him back for a while." Liangshan's Daoist said. At that moment, the frosted glass door opened, and the plain-looking Daoist Master of the Sanqing Sect led three attractive female team members back in. The office staff immediately rose, their expressions shifting from concern to relief. "Where are the Qinghe clan members?" asked Zhang Yuanqing. Wang Xiao'er immediately rose to greet, speaking in a low tone: "She's in the adjacent office. The leader is currently scolding the Toxic Pursuit Officer. You, you should be especially careful." The others looked at him with pleading eyes—now that the 660,000 dividend was out of reach, they only hoped the Qinghe branch could avoid disciplinary action and retain the bonus, which would be considered a smooth landing. Wang Xiao'er understood their thoughts and, with a cautious tone, reminded: "The leader from the Investigation Department has a sharp temper—she's known to be strict in enforcing Qinghe clan regulations. Please don't escalate the situation." He then waited patiently for the pressure from the Dazheng Dao Master. To his surprise, the fire master from Songhai nodded and asked, "The Elder?" Wang Xiao'er shook his head repeatedly: "How could the Elder possibly handle such routine matters?" With the Elder out of the picture, he thought—below the Elder, I'm invincible; above the Elder, a mere change of personnel and everything shifts. Zhang Yuanqing muttered these thoughts to himself, then glanced past Wang Xiao'er and headed toward the conference room. Halfway through, he suddenly turned back and gave Wang Xia'er a sharp slap across the head: "You're telling me not to escalate conflicts? You're teaching me how to do my job!" Wang Xia'er held his head, stunned: "????" Zhang Yuanqing ignored him, walked through the office area, and pushed open the door of the conference room at the far end. "The leader of the Qinghe clan was reprimanding the pursuers when the door to the conference room opened. Without knowing whether it was intentional or not, he deliberately amplified his tone: 'As a steward, if you lack discipline and rules—does that mean you no longer regard the Five Elements Alliance at all?' The employees outside heard this and exchanged worried glances. 'Oh!' the middle-aged man in a white shirt stood up, looking at Zhang Yuanqing, then at the stern pursuer. 'This must be Master Zheng, the steward from the Sanqing Dao Sect. Come, sit down!' He indicated the empty seat beside the pursuer. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the Qinghe clan leader and sat down beside the pursuer. 'Allow me to introduce myself,' the man in the white shirt seemed particularly skilled at creating a warm atmosphere. 'I'm the head of Group Six of the Investigation Department at the Xini Branch. My spiritual realm ID is 'Divine Presence.' This is the Deputy Director of the Qinghe Branch, whose spiritual realm ID is 'Papaver.' The Deputy Director of Qinghe, Papaver, looked straight ahead, giving Zhang Yuanqing not even a glance." He finally introduced the young man: "Like me, he's the head of Group Three at the Xinyi Investigation Division." The young man in the white shirt introduced himself: "Lingjing ID Luosifan." A good name—now you've actually made me hungry... Zhang Yuanqing murmured to himself. A deity materialized and sat down, saying, "Indeed, the purpose of our visit, you must know—we came to collect this embezzled sum. After all, it's a matter of discipline." "The funds will be submitted," Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "To the Songhai Branch." The deity blinked, and with that, he truly couldn't find fault. "Submitted to the Songhai Branch?" Coldly, the Papaver Minister of Qinghe Clan remarked, "When did the Songhai Branch gain enforcement authority over us? The Songliang Association's base was cleared by the Qinghe Branch. Their military achievements and embezzled funds should rightfully belong to us." "The funds I'm submitting have nothing to do with you," Zhang Yuanqing shook his head, firmly refusing. "The Three Pure Celestial Masters are in charge—then call me the Three Pure Celestial Masters. We've verified your records, and the Five Elements Alliance has no such spiritual realm ID." The Deputy Minister spoke coldly and firmly: "You've embezzled funds seized from the Nanming Branch, a serious violation of the Five Elements Alliance's discipline. If you don't return them, the Qinghe Branch is fully authorized to temporarily detain you and report the matter to headquarters." This Deputy Minister did not waver in the face of the other's rank, maintaining his lofty demeanor—indeed, it was expected of the Qinghe clan. "I'll say it once more—my money has nothing to do with you," Zhang Yuanqing remained resolute. "No one can take my money from me. Even Fu Qingyang will have to hand over funds when he sees me." The Deputy Minister pointed to the camera behind him and said coldly, "You'll be accountable for what you say." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him and then extended both hands. "Then, arrest me!" The atmosphere in the office instantly grew stiff.