"It seems we've uncovered quite a few things lately," Katherine smiled, increasingly impressed by the Tian Tian Master's precise grasp of the hunters' guild's intentions. Zhang Yuanqing pulled out a chair and sat down, surveying the spacious and luxurious dining room and noticing surveillance cameras installed in each of the four corners of the ceiling. He shifted his gaze to Katherine's graceful, snow-white silhouette and said calmly, "I originally thought the hunters' guild operated purely on financial incentives. But your tone when you called, and your current demeanor, tell me clearly that it's you—your faction—who intend to assassinate Julian and spark internal conflict within the Tianfa Council. The hunters' guild, then, are the forces of evil." "Want to know why?" Katherine turned to him, lifting a corner of her mouth. "Undress and come down!" Zhang Yuanqing glanced once again at the surveillance cameras in the four corners of the ceiling, and said coldly, "I don't have a preference for being bare-chested under someone's watchful eyes." Katharine's eyes sparkled with charm as she glanced around the surveillance cameras, smiling warmly. "The people behind the cameras are the President of the Hunter's Guild and two Vice-Presidents. We have a very rigorous review process for new members, and tonight marks your final trial before joining the Guild—these three will be conducting the evaluation." One president, three vice-presidents... Zhang Yuanqing felt a certain resistance, yet the Supreme Master of the Celestial Path, known for his reserved and brooding nature as a master of illusion magic, would never waver in the face of such formalities. So, he remained composed, removing his white short-sleeved shirt and black casual pants, then unbuttoned his plain trousers and casually tossed them aside, stepping bare-chested toward the bath with a steady gaze. As his body submerged into the warm water, Zhang Yuanqing felt a sudden jolt, and all the emotions swirling in his mind swiftly dispersed, leaving behind clear, resolute thoughts—like himself now transformed into the impartial and dignified Chancellor of Justice. "This is..." he murmured, looking down at the bath. Katherine smiled, "This is the Holy Pool, one of the three sacred relics of the Church. It is a special item for knights, originally managed by the Church's knightly order. Its function is to cleanse inner malice and negative energies. Whenever the knightly order purifies heretics and returns to the Church, they immerse themselves in the pool for one hour." What a wonderful item! If we could seize it and bring it back to our country, and have those corrupt officials soak in it for one hour every day, the world would surely become better. Zhang Yuanqing's first thought was: The Mage's Eye must really love this item. At the same time, he understood the reason behind Katherine's invitation for a shared bath—this was the final test. In the blink of an eye, as he soaked in the holy pool, he saw the item's attributes: 【Name: Saint Knight's Bath Pool】 【Type: Bathtub】 【Function: Cleansing, Covenant, Vow】 【Description: One of the Three Holy Treasures of the Papal Court. During the turbulent Middle Ages, the curses of witches and the contamination from vampires posed the greatest threats to the clergy. To save fallen knights and prevent their contamination, the Third Generation of Saint Knights created this holy artifact.】 【Note: A true man should be comfortable with his vulnerabilities.】 Unfortunately, the item could not be stored in the inventory, leaving Zhang Yuanqing uncertain about the specific effects of "cleansing." If it merely removed "impurities" from emotions, he felt its potency was too modest to match the prestige of the "Three Sacred Treasures." Katharine gently stirred the ripples, her porcelain-faced beauty now glistening with droplets of water. Seeing the deep, composed gaze of the Supreme Master, she pouted, expressing her discontent: "Am I not beautiful?" Zhang Yuanqing gave a light smile: "I think Tanja is more beautiful than you." Katharine's face flushed, setting aside her graceful demeanor and speaking coldly: "Master Tengtian, I represent the Hunter's Guild in conducting my final assessment of you. Now, please make a solemn vow: to answer my questions honestly. Should you lie after making this vow, you will instantly return to the spiritual realm—remember that. That's all. You have ten seconds to prepare." With that, she raised her snowy, lotus-like arm and swept it across the surface of the water. A pure, radiant golden light surged from the pool's depths, transforming the entire spring water into a golden broth Katherine's fair form grew ever more alluring, like a celestial maiden bathing in the pool of the Jade Palace. Frustrated? Indeed, she harbored a strong sense of jealousy toward Tanna—this is a clue. Zhang Yuanqing maintained his composure and solemnly pledged, "You need not wait ten seconds; ask your questions now." Katherine remained silent, strictly adhering to the protocol. Exactly ten seconds later, she said: "Tell me your age, place of origin, spiritual realm ID, and profession." "26 years old, born in Songhai, Huaguo; spiritual realm ID: Master of the Celestial Path; profession: Illusionist!" Zhang Yuanqing responded with calm assurance. Zhang Yuanqing’s duplicate held the Yashimishin mirror in one hand and picked up the human skin with the other, “Mission accomplished! I hope the main body makes it through unscathed.” He folded the flawless human skin neatly and placed it by the bedside. Then, he took up the small red hat on the desk, stored the damaged shade of the corpse within its space, and turned to face Lady Yin Yao, who was seated by the desk, watching an overseas indie film. “Your Grace, are you experiencing a springtime bloom—or are you going through a romantic phase?” “Not exactly!” Lady Yin Yao raised her small microphone and, with her other hand, tapped the cat king speaker tucked inside her satchel, explaining, “I need to record audio conversations with my enemies. I don’t speak foreign languages.” From the computer speaker, came the couple’s enthusiastic, unguarded exclamations of delight: “Oh, fuck! Oh, fuck!” "... Katharine studied him, seeing the Celestial Sovereign unharmed, a smile playing at her lips, and asked, 'We've investigated you. You've remained very low-key in the Second District. The Five Elements Alliance has only three criminal records against you—each involving officials.' 'I've killed many people—powerholders, corrupt officials, greedy merchants, and wealthy heirs who exploit their family's influence to commit wrongdoing. There are simply too many.' Zhang Yuanqing spoke calmly. 'How could the official bureaucracy possibly detect murders committed by a stage magician?' Katharine nodded slightly. 'You clearly harbor strong animosity toward these groups!' 'Our family home was forcibly demolished, and my parents died as a result.' 'Why the Free Federation?' 'I wish to participate in the annual killing quest at year-end, hunting for artifacts from the First District to increase my chances of ascending to Sovereign rank.' 'What is your assessment of the Five Elements Alliance?' 'Garbage!' 'And the Celestial Judgment?' 'Garbage among garbage.' 'And the Hunters' Guild?' "Still garbage," Katherine paused, surprised to gaze at the young man three meters away. The tone, gaze, and subtle expressions as he uttered the words carried the weight of a sovereign, a ruler of supreme grace and authority. Katherine had encountered many men throughout her life, but never one so arrogantly self-assured. Setting aside her distractions, she continued, "If someone in the Hunter's Guild transgresses your taboos, what would you do?" "I have no companions. In this world, no one is beyond my reach—not even myself." Katherine smiled—this was the typical trait of a deeply committed evil-class practitioner, one who yearned to destroy the world, including herself. To them, companionship meant nothing! They were merely temporary allies, bound only by mutual convenience, capable of betrayal or abandonment at any moment—even within their own evil organizations. At that moment, her phone on the poolside chimed softly. Katherine turned around, picked up her phone, read the message, and smiled warmly. "Your response has been well received by the reviewers. Next comes the purification process—the washing away of negative intentions. Master Tian, if you truly have endured tragic and unjust experiences as you've described, then the pool will cleanse the evil thoughts within you, purify your spirit, and release the spiritual bonds that have been holding you. Of course, this is only temporary. No skill exists that can entirely eliminate the negative intentions inherent to evil professions." The soul of an evil profession is itself a source of contamination. The purification process can only remove the impurities that seep out from the source; over time, negative thoughts will gradually re-emerge, eventually returning to their original state. Before Zhang Yuanqing could respond, she continued, "But the premise is that you are, in fact, an evil profession!" Zhang Yuanqing's brow furrowed immediately. "Skills can be disguised through proper equipment. With sufficient preparation, you can convincingly present yourself as any profession. However, evil professions share one common trait—higher levels always correlate with stronger negative intentions." "Evil intentions at the soul level are difficult to conceal." With that, Catherine offered a thoughtful smile. "Of course, if a soul is filled with such malice, even a lawful profession would be warmly welcomed by us." While she spoke, Zhang Yuanqing was actively brainstorming, now fully grasping the concept of "purification"—the method the Hunter's Guild uses to identify evil-aligned individuals. The Free Covenant indeed demonstrates great caution, being so meticulous in recruiting a single member of the Saint's rank, not even within its core management. It is no wonder, then, that over the past century, no lawful organizations have uncovered hidden enemies within their ranks. Malice—this I should have plenty of... Though Zhang Yuanqing was unwilling to admit it, his deep understanding of his own internal struggles, gained through the teachings of Master Wuhen, made it clear. Within this very body, there lies a soul that even evil-aligned professions would find compassionate and astonishing. He glanced at the camera above, and asked, "How is the purification carried out?" "The water in the pool will dilute the negative thoughts within your soul, making it seem like a thick ink—the deeper the negative thoughts, the darker the pool becomes," Katharine smiled. "At the Saintly Realm, I've seen the most deeply rooted evil practitioners transform the water into a creamy latte color." She smoothed her smile and gazed deeply into Zhang Yuanqing's eyes, "This is the final step—don't let me down." As she spoke, her lips gently parted, as though beginning a spell. Instantly, a brilliant golden light erupted from the pool's bottom, then contracted and coalesced into a flowing beam that traveled up Zhang Yuanqing's ankles, entering his body, flowing through his calves, thighs, waist, chest, and finally gathering at the center of his forehead. Zhang Yuanqing arched his head, his face twisted with a mixture of pain and relief. Then, a moment that left Katharine stunned unfolded—darkness swiftly spread across the figure beside the Celestial Master, spreading rapidly, spreading... In a matter of seconds, half the pool had been "contaminated" by the ink-like substance. Katherine's face paled as she leapt swiftly from the pool, as if the ink were some dreadful thing. "This...?" She stood barefoot by the edge of the pool, her eyes wide with astonishment. How could a Master-level illusionist at the peak of the Saint Realm harbor such terrifying and profound malice? According to the established principle that higher ranks correspond to deeper malice, such intense malice could not belong to the Heavenly Master—she would at least have to be a Sovereign. Previously, she had been indifferent, confident in her Sovereign status and unbothered by mere contamination. But now, the malice of the Heavenly Master surpassed even that of evil-oriented Sovereigns. Should she be tainted by these impurities, as a lawful, orderly practitioner, she might very well suffer a mental breakdown. "Ding-ding-ding..." The phone on the edge of the bath pool rang. The caller was the Grand Master of the Hunter's Guild. Katherine collected herself, answered the phone, listened for a few seconds, then set the phone down and looked at Zhang Yuanqing with a complex expression. "You've passed the assessment. The Chairman has asked me to remind you to come here once a month to cleanse your negative intentions. We're looking for rational, communicative companions." Were the evil-aligned professionals all worried I'd go mad? Zhang Yuanqing gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. ... Fifteen minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing was sitting cross-legged by the coffee table, wearing a towel, with a cup of coffee in front of him. Across from him sat Katherine, also in a towel, her smooth, sun-kissed skin revealing the deep lines of age. "Congratulations on joining the Hunter's Guild. From today on, you're an internal member. Let me go over the benefits with you." Katherine sipped her coffee and said, "A salary of 500,000 Federal Credits per month, one free bounty opportunity each month, starting now. All rewards you earn from your assignments will be yours—no commission from the Guild." "The guild regularly assigns tasks to you that you cannot refuse. Upon completion, you'll receive rewards such as cash, materials,副本 guides, and equipment—varying according to the task's difficulty..." Zhang Yuanqing listened quietly and said, "No problem!" He took a sip of coffee and then asked, "I'd like to know the guild's true background, as well as information about the Church and the relics of the Pope." Katharine smiled and said, "Have you heard of the Free Covenant?" Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "The oldest organization of spiritual travelers in the world is the Church and the Free Covenant. The Free Covenant belongs to the Free faction, composed of freelance professionals and a group of orderly professionals who value freedom. The fall of the Church is due to the efforts of its predecessors." "I see. In the language of the Order faction, you're a fallen member of the orderly profession." "Fallen?" Katharine chuckled. "I'm not fallen. I've merely uncovered the essence of the universe. The ultimate state of order is the absence of order." The ultimate chaos is destruction, and it is destruction that constitutes eternal, unchanging order—this, is the divine revelation! "Divine revelation?" Zhang Yuanqing raised an eyebrow, "You mean, the god?" These words of Katharine's had been spoken previously by the senior abbot of Taiyuan, Shanhe Yongcheng, and the Grand Guardian of the Night Rose.