"The Free Covenant? The powerhouse behind the bounty hunters is actually the Free Covenant..." Zhang Yuanqing recalled information about the organization and suddenly drew in a sharp breath. "The bounty hunters are a neutral organization, well established across Europe and North America, with membership numbers so vast they're hard to imagine. Though they appear to have cooperative relationships with various guilds, the bounty hunter guilds can fully manipulate the spiritual realm travelers stationed throughout the countries through task assignments. As long as the compensation is high enough, even members from lawful or evil guilds will pursue their own interests and be controlled by the bounty hunter guild. That's why even the chief prosecutor of Heaven's Judgment nearly died under the bounty hunters' attacks from the Free Covenant. Such an organization is truly dangerous." His expression grew increasingly serious. "President, is your intention to promote me to a Golden Hunter to enable me to operate within the bounty hunter guild, gain access to its senior leadership, and thus penetrate deep into the Free Covenant's internal structure?" "Brilliant!" the president, dressed in a pure black suit, gave a gentle clap. With applause, he spoke in a low, resonant tone, as if reciting a magnificent poem: "O wandering lamb, I shall guide you to the holy and victorious land. You are one of the most promising Night Wandering Deities in the world—your future lies in the stars and the vast ocean, not in the gentle comforts of the Tang people's neighborhood. The war has already begun. Beneath this tranquil surface, the currents surge with power, the sea creatures hunt and devour their chosen prey, and great whirlpools swallow everything whole. Follow the great President, and together, advance toward victory—you shall be redeemed through song and applause." "Mr. Chairman gently holds his tall glass, sips a mouthful of red wine, and says, 'Do you really think the war between the Wine God Club and the Merchant Guild is merely about competing interests? How naive of you—this market rivalry between the two organizations has already been settled decades ago.' 'Then...' Zhang Yuanqing humbly seeks clarification, 'what is the true cause of this current conflict between the two organizations?' 'An alliance war! A war among the realm administrators!' The Chairman speaks with rare understatement, his tone low and serious. 'The Wine God Club and the Merchant Guild are merely the vanguard forces in this conflict—first moves to test each other, the very beginning of a global catastrophe.' Seeing Zhang Yuanqing frowning and seeming confused, the Chairman continues, 'Your true combat strength now rivals that of a Sovereign, and your standing is sufficient. I can therefore share with you certain information. There are countless realm travelers across the globe, yet fundamentally, they belong to only two factions—the Orderly and the Chaotic!' “Which faction do you think the Free Covenant belongs to?” Zhang Yuanqing spoke with a somewhat subdued tone: “Evil!” The chairman nodded and gave a sharp clap. “Indeed! All the spiritual travelers across the world believe this realm is governed by the lawful. The powerful divine judgments, the strong Five Elements Alliance, and various lawful organizations have divided the world and maintained order. The evil factions are merely mice living in the shadows—mere whispers from the margins, far less significant than the lawful forces.” Zhang Yuanqing asked, “Isn’t that right?” “No!” the chairman shook his head, delivering a startling revelation. “In fact, the lawful and the evil factions have already faced off in a decisive confrontation—this battle took place exactly a century ago.” Zhang Yuanqing exclaimed immediately: “The Fall of the Church!” The chairman gave a slight nod. “The Fall of the Church, the birth of the Free Covenant—the lawful faction had already lost its first major confrontation.” The overall strength of the chaotic forces surpasses that of the lawful. If, before the second clash of alignments, this situation cannot be reversed, then the lawful will surely suffer defeat. "So, after the high-level officials of Heaven's Judgment received information from the King of the Underworld—knowing that the head of the Bounty Hunter's Guild is the Free Covenant—they chose to support the merchant guild?" Zhang Yuanqing suddenly understood, then furrowed his brows again. "Since the chaotic forces were the victors a century ago, why hasn't the Free Covenant preserved and consolidated that victory? Although they can still grow and develop by remaining hidden, their progress ultimately falls short of the major lawful organizations that control official resources." The chairman explained: "Because the timing hasn't come yet. The inherent nature of the chaotic professions makes it impossible for them to take the stage and lead the world—nature thrives toward the light, and this is a law. If the Free Covenant truly leads the world, they would continuously face resistance from the populace and the lawful professions, gradually weakening themselves over and over again throughout the past century." So they have remained hidden, quietly developing while steering the course of the world. Zhang Yuanqing had a hunch, yet still asked: "What are they waiting for?" The chairman then replied: "They are waiting for the alignment of the sun, moon, and stars! The 'game' of the Spiritual Realm currently has no administrator. For over a hundred years, it has been running according to a fixed program, unaffected by any individual. The ultimate achievement of the Night-Wanderer occupation is the highest administrative authority. Regardless of which side holds this authority, it poses a devastating blow to the other. Therefore, the turning point of the second major conflict coincides precisely with the alignment of the sun, moon, and stars. Now you understand why the fallen Night-Wanderer must die, and why the Military Commander of the Church has been supporting Lingtuo, don't you? Zhang Yuanqing suddenly realized: "So, when the Free Alliance first introduced the Luminary Compass, it was aiming to actively drive the global semi-divine war forward—specifically to make all high-tier Lingjing practitioners recognize the uniqueness of the Night-Wanderer God and cultivate a supreme administrator with ultimate authority." The Chairman nodded: "Now that the Star Sovereign and the Moon Sovereign have both returned, all that remains is for the Sun Sovereign to appear—once that happens, the war will begin. And the Sun Sovereign's emergence is drawing near." He looked intently at Zhang Yuanqing, his gaze beneath the mask carrying deep significance. "I feel I'm bearing a pressure that doesn't belong to someone of my age..." Zhang Yuanqing chuckled self-consciously. The Chairman continued: "Of course, my personal reasons have led the Merchant Guild to step forward as the vanguard of this war. First and foremost, I personally seized the Phantasm Divine artifacts and claimed a semi-divine slot in the Evil faction." Moreover, I am the only one in the world currently empowered with the 'Universal Marketplace' privileges. From the perspective of the evil faction, there's no more unpleasant or troublesome lawful occupation than me—indeed, even the Star Sovereign ranks with me in that regard. "Then, the evil faction suspects that the core fragments of the Light Compass are held by me, and they wish to reclaim them in order to establish a Solar Sovereign." It seems that no matter where one is or which group one belongs to, premium players are always destined to be eliminated... Is the Compass core fragment truly the key to becoming a Solar Sovereign? That's a substantial amount of information! Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself: "So you've been staying in the second-largest region, refusing to return to the Merchant Guild, all out of necessity, fearing that the Free Alliance would send you back to the Spirit Realm?" ...The Chairman murmured, "I can always go to the Spirit Realm whenever I wish!" He held his wine glass, leaning against the desk, and spoke in a steady tone: "The Free Covenant is different from the Chaotic faction—it is composed of both Chaotic and Lawful professions. It was precisely because of the united efforts of various civilian organizations and independent practitioners, working together to strike the Church from all sides that they succeeded in overthrowing it. "Most of the Lawful professions who helped topple the Church were simply unable to endure the Church's autocratic rule; a smaller number were fallen ones—those who had themselves fallen from grace—now integrated into the major Lawful organizations, quietly enduring and even holding positions of influence. "I don't trust the Merchant's Guild; I'm certain there are members of the Free Covenant among them. Naturally, I cannot return to the Church." Zhang Yuanqing nodded: "So you founded the Ji Shi Society—your true allies. Indeed, no wonder you're a half-god; you can even get Chen Shu, so proud and stubborn, to work for you." The chairman also murmured: "I can clearly hear the resentment in your voice." "I promised Chen Shu that I would find a way to revive Zhang Zizhen, and also that I would support you in becoming the Sovereign of the Sun. She trusts me, which is why she has devoted so much effort to helping me." "To become the Sovereign of the Sun... Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing fell silent, and much of his resentment dissipated. He asked, "Mr. Chairman, can becoming a Golden Hunter grant access to the Free Covenant?" The Chairman nodded. "One of the Hunter's Guild's key responsibilities is to identify promising evil professions and those prone to falling into disorder, and to send them to the Free Covenant to bring fresh vitality. As long as you demonstrate sufficient potential and become a Golden Hunter within a short period, they will come to assess you." "Rest assured, I've already arranged for Fu Qingyang to create a fabricated identity for you. With his current status and influence, he is entirely capable of inventing a person from nothing. Your identity and documentation will be sent to you shortly." "The Free Covenant has embedded spies within the lawful organizations—we could do the same, this is a werewolf game among the Spirit Realm wanderers..." "Ah, this move was originally undecided. I'd rather invest in an outstanding Night Wanderer, supporting him to become the Sovereign of the Sun, wielding the most dominant and resolute strength, so that the evils hiding in the shadows may be utterly eradicated. "But there's been a disagreement between me and the Past-Remembering. He knows that once he attempts to ascend to a half-divine status, it will be a certain death. Yet, the role of a Tier-9 peak Sovereign is actually limited—while a peak Sovereign may offer solid combat power, they are unlikely to be the decisive factor in a great crisis. "So he has decided to sacrifice himself and seize the Phantasmic Divine artifacts." Hearing this, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly understood: "The versatility of a Master of Illusions is the most suitable for the role of a spy." The President nodded gently: "Yuan-Shi, you are the only one capable of penetrating deep into the Free Covenant's inner circles, because you possess the relics of the Past-Remembering." Well, having divine-item relics isn't enough—you must know when and how to use perfect human skins wisely. So I'm essentially a spy and intelligence gatherer in large-scale wars. Zhang Yuanqing had finally pinned down his exact role. He then gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "You've been planning this all along? Delivering the perfect human skin to me was just a setup for today?" The chairman chuckled. "I've said this move is conditional, but the pawns must be placed in advance." "One day, when I become a half-divine being, I'll myself become a chess player and outmaneuver you all," Zhang Yuanqing said calmly. "I'll make every effort to advance to a Golden Hunter," he added. "But what if the Hunter's Guild assigns me to eliminate senior executives from the Heaven's Judgment or the Merchant's Guild? What then?" The chairman looked at him intently. "This is a choice between the greater good and personal sentiment. You shouldn't be asking me—ask yourself." In short, it's up to you—decide and bear the consequences yourself. Zhang Yuanqing's嘴角 twitched slightly, his gaze settling on the tall glass cup in the chairman's hand, and asked, "Mr. Landlord is a void-class profession, right? Are you one of his people?"