Katherine said, "The cocktail has just eliminated two squads from the Executive Department. The Heaven's Judgment Council will pursue you relentlessly and arrest you without hesitation. Starting today, you must cease all operations and temporarily withdraw from New Covenant County—or seek refuge within the faction's副本 for a period of time." The cocktail hesitated, then nodded. "Perfect—just a good long drink, a few days of rest." After all, Heaven's Judgment is an official body, the preeminent lawful and orderly organization of the age. Should they act decisively, the cocktail still feels uneasy. This successful counteroffensive was made possible only because of advance intelligence—knowledge of their personnel numbers, levels, and precise deployment—enabling him to defeat them in numbers. However, if the seed saints from New Covenant County themselves come into action, especially if they bring several top-tier artifacts, the cocktail would have little confidence in his ability to mount a counterattack and would likely choose to simply stay out of the way. Bax, Hera, and the Master of the Celestial Path—your three will be responsible for this mission. "The other three raised their brows, especially the masked member believed to be a sea nymph, who scoffed, 'Katharine, though you're Vice President, you can't treat your own so favorably.' In his view, such a task—low risk, high return—was nothing short of a benefit the organization offered its members. How could such a benefit be snatched away by a foreigner? Katharine lounged lazily against the back of her chair, calmly responding, 'Heraite can force the target into a deep sleep, and the Master of the Celestial Path can kill in dreams. Together, they ensure near-certain failure at the dominant stage. So, what makes you think I should hand this task over to you, Hydra!' 'Of course,' she added, 'if we can arrange for the members of the Five Elements Alliance to enjoy a seaside vacation, then this task could very well be yours.' Hydra? That sounds like a name from mythology. Clearly, this person is from the Sea God's Church—though perhaps also a free-standing practitioner. Zhang Yuan thought to himself. The very name 'Hydra' almost explicitly indicated the masked man's profession. But Zhang Yuanqing believed that Hydra should not be his spiritual realm ID; otherwise, he'd be rather foolish—everyone would lock onto his identity within minutes. Moreover, names drawn from mythological tales like "Hydra" are typically in high demand and not something ordinary players, even the premium-tier ones, can afford. "Stop trying to use that line on me!" Hydra scoffed, "Hydrids on land possess just as strong combat power as their aquatic counterparts. I must participate in this mission. If we can't expand the quota, then this Dream-Weaver shall be withdrawn." "What if I refuse?" Zhang Yuanqing stared at him with a cold gaze. Hydra gave a cold smile. "The Hunter's Guild has a rule: disputes among members must be settled on the arena—there's no compromise, only life or death. This is also standard practice at most black-market arenas." He stood up, gazing down at Zhang Yuanqing through the cocktail, his posture commanding. "Are you willing to step onto the arena?" As he finished speaking, he noticed the Dream-Weaver from the second-largest region suddenly rising, pointing at him with a finger, as if holding up a gun. Almost simultaneously, the cocktail, Baxes, Heraete, and the other figure wearing the cloak and mask also rose, pointing fingers like guns at Hydra. In an instant, Hydra was besieged by the apex saints of the room. He froze, standing there bewildered and astonished. Zhang Yuanqing spoke with cold composure: "A stage? Every time you mention the stage, you've already shown your hesitation—because, as a sea nymph, you've only dared to fight me on the stage, while the true battlefield has always been beyond it. If this place can decide life and death, you've already been dead." This time, Hydra dared not utter a single boast, standing motionless, stunned. He was genuinely frightened. At that moment, Baxes and the others had caught up, gazing at their outstretched "guns," then turning to Zhang Yuanqing with eyes no longer filled with contempt, but with growing apprehension. In that very instant, they completely regarded Heidra as their mortal enemy, filled with resentment and hostility, instinctively following the actions of the Master of Heaven's Path. That's the power of a master illusionist—ability to make people fall under emotional sway without realizing it, simply through a guiding gesture or a timely opportunity. Katharina paused, originally believing her own counsel had made the difference. She hadn't expected the Master of Heaven's Path to remain silent, deliberately building up to this moment. Heidra was directly startled, and the other saints were now subdued. Katharina glanced at the stunned Heidra standing there, a subtle smile forming on her lips. "I've recruited individuals who will perform just as well, if not better, than yourselves. The three participating in the mission will remain here; the rest may step out of the spiritual realm." With a simple gesture, the cocktails and two members dressed in cloaks, each wearing masks, vanished from the conference room. Who is the other one? So well concealed—certainly a lawful, orderly profession. But which organization does he belong to? Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. These two were likely fallen individuals concealed within the lawful, organized structures—far beyond the capabilities of Emma’s kind of minor spies. Originally, Yuan Qing had intended to plant emotional seeds within their inner consciousnesses so that, once detached from the physical realm, he could use those seeds to track their movements. But here, in the spiritual realm, he was concerned that his subtle maneuvers might be detected by the Grand Chancellor of the Hunted Guild. He would not endure situations where the returns did not match the effort. "Go ahead and discuss!" Catherine's gaze, warm and inviting, swept over the three of them. Hecate spoke first: "Catherine, you should know that my ability to induce sleep is independent of state or form—any conscious entity, whether solid or fluid, will be compelled to enter sleep, even within dreams." "Never mind that!" Yuan Qing maintained his composed demeanor. "I am the sovereign of dreams. Your sleep spell may only weaken my current condition. If you wish to make me sleep, wait until you reach the level of sovereign." The Master of the Dream is the Sovereign of Dreams. Baxes ran a hand over his broad nose. "Lads, what we need to decide is how to lure out the Five Elements Alliance's forces. After successfully hunting down the beast Hase, they'll surely retreat into the Heaven's Judgment Building, afraid of the Bio-Alchemy Guild's retaliation—after all, no evil profession can quietly breach a bank building without a sound." Zhang Yuanqing immediately asked, "Why?" He'd heard Catherine mention this before, and had even intended to investigate within the Heaven's Judgment, but had forgotten. Baxes glanced at him. "Give me one million federal credits, and I'll sell you the information." Hecate scoffed. "No, Baxes. For such crucial intelligence, you should charge two million federal credits." Zhang Yuanqing frowned, sensing the slight disregard and lack of respect from both of them. Catherine added, "Within the Heaven's Judgment Building there's a rule-based item known as the Sky's Eye. It remains dormant most of the time, but once awakened, it can monitor the entire New Covenant County." "Its observations are terrifying—it can directly see the character cards of the spiritual realm practitioners, thus identifying their true professions. The Heavens' Judgment Building is always under its watchful gaze; should any evil-occupation practitioner infiltrate it, the entity will issue an alert." Zhang Yuanqing listened intently, his scalp tingling, having never heard of a device capable of directly viewing character cards before. Was the Sky's Eye already aware that I am, in fact, a Night-Wanderer? By heaven, I'm more dangerous than even evil practitioners. Internally, he was panic-stricken, yet on the surface, he maintained composure and asked, "Since it can monitor the entire New Covenant County, why isn't it being used?" "So that's what happened. Good thing I didn't use my heart's ability to replace the character card; otherwise, I'd have been caught right on the spot by the Sky's Eye..." Zhang Yuanqing felt a bit shaken. "So, how are we going to bring the members of the Five Elements Alliance out?" he amplified his companions' self-importance while asking. Hecate yawned lazily and said, "It's simple—send disturbances in the areas under the Sky's Judgment's jurisdiction. The more, the better. The Sky's Judgment staff will be stretched thin, and naturally, the Five Elements Alliance will send their teams. "As soon as the Five Elements Alliance members show up, I'll create a sealed zone. Within ten minutes, I should be able to wipe them out completely." "It's a straightforward plan—whether it works remains to be seen!" Zhang Yuanqing turned to Catharine and said, "Does the Sky's Judgment have any of our people on staff? Can they help us create opportunities?" After a few seconds of thought, Catharine nodded. "Yes, I'll coordinate with them." Another spy uncovered... Zhang Yuanqing nodded in agreement. Then, Baks and Hecate discussed in detail the plan for ambushing the Five-Element Alliance team, completely ignoring Zhang Yuanqing. Once the conversation had settled, Hecate turned to him and said, "You just follow orders—don't worry about the rest. Katherine, I'm heading back to bed now." Baks also rubbed his nose and urged, "I'd like to have a drink." Katherine looked at Zhang Yuanqing, who replied calmly, "I'm good." Katherine raised her hand and gave a gentle wave. Zhang Yuanqing blinked, and the scene rippled before settling into clarity—he found himself back in the luxurious private room of the Japanese-style spa and wellness center. Katherine remained curled on the single sofa, lifting her skirt to reveal the smooth, fair thighs, smiling warmly, "The moonlight tonight is absolutely beautiful, isn't it?" "Absolutely!" Zhang Yuanqing nodded, then, under Katherine's suddenly bright gaze, activated his dream-traveling skill and said, "So, I'm off to enjoy the moonlight." "Having said that, he leapt into the dream and vanished, leaving behind the stunning beauty with a stunned expression. ... After leaving the wellness center, Zhang Yuanqing swiftly moved and jumped through the dream, arriving at a deluxe room in a five-star hotel in King's County. On the soft bed, a couple who had just undergone a series of puncture treatments embraced and fell asleep. Zhang Yuanqing picked up the phone by the bedside, grasped the man's thumb, unlocked the screen, entered the chairman's phone number, and selected to call. The phone rang for a long time before finally connecting, and the chairman's voice came through: "Who is this?" "It's the Sun Master you invested in!" Zhang Yuanqing said. "Have you changed phones?" "No, I'm a duplicate—my phone is with the original body. I've requested a meeting, and there's important information to share." As Zhang Yuanqing finished speaking, he noticed a new figure appearing in the room—the man wearing a pale yellow nightgown and a silver mask, none other than the chairman himself. The president glanced at the couple sleeping soundly on the bed, shrugged, "It's now time to sleep with your wife. Get your point across quickly—by the way, fix your habit of calling me at three in the morning. Zhang Yuanqing also shrugged, "For a night wanderer, a new day only just begins. President, I've slain the monster Hase. I heard that," the president replied, shrugging again. Zhang Yuanqing shrugged once more, "I've secured several key pieces of intelligence." He detailed to the president the evil faction's strategy of waiting for an opportune moment to eliminate the sea god's church. After listening carefully, the president remained silent for a long time before slowly saying, "So, their performance of wanting to destroy the merchant guild is purely theatrical? They aim to weaken the strength of the new treaty governor's faction and then wait for the right moment to send all the high-ranking sea spirit professionals back to the spiritual realm... "Hm. The divine punishment is too strong, the merchant guild too shrewd—beautiful goddess association is unwilling to lose them, so they've chosen the sea god's church?" "So what are the evil faction's waiting for?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. The Chairman shook his head. "I don't know. I'm a half-god, not a true god, so I can't possibly know everything. Given the evil faction's current steady and unhurried pace of warfare, their opportunity won't come that quickly." Zhang Yuanqing then shared with him the news of having uncovered a spy within his own ranks, and expressed his regret: "The Free Covenant's spy network is highly mature. Even when we uncover one, it's difficult to bring out a chain of others. From Emma's case, it appears that each dominant figure of the evil faction controls several spies. We'll have to target the evil leaders themselves." "The smaller fish and shrimp aren't our primary focus," the Chairman said. "Yuanshǐ, you need to look for senior figures within the Free Covenant—people like Catherine. They are the backbone of the alliance. These individuals are embedded within the lawful organizations, though they may not necessarily be at the level of elders. Within those organizations, they might simply appear as ordinary members." Zhang Yuanqing pondered, "Then my next objective is to find Catherine's 'true self'?" The chairman said, "Have you ever slept with Catherine?" "Why ask this?" Zhang Yuanqing found himself slightly falling behind the chairman's line of thought. "Upon joining the Hunter's Guild, she was your superior. If she perished, you would likely be discarded or marginalized by the guild. Therefore, she cannot die yet—she must remain alive until you have earned sufficient merit. Even if you eventually step away from her, the guild will still value and rely on you. Only then can she truly pass away." The chairman added, "Find an opportunity to spend a night with her—ideally, make her deeply enamored of you and fully trust you." Zhang Yuanqing's expression immediately grew serious. "Chairman, though I am someone with a strong sense of vision and strategy, I cannot compromise my principles for the sake of the greater good." "I'll arrange for you to be exempted from the accommodation charges." "Chairman, for the sake of the greater good, I am willing to set aside my principles." "Mr. President nodded satisfactorily, "Seize this opportunity to eliminate Baxes and Hecate, uncover their backers—then we'll spare Catharine and instead target the other master-level leaders." Zhang Yuanqing's brow furrowed. "You're aiming to escalate the war to the master level?" "Absolutely!" the President chuckled, "We can't let the evil faction set the pace. They intend to gradually erode the strength of the lawful side, waiting to wipe out the Sea God Church at a convenient moment. I'm determined to escalate the conflict and draw the masters into the fray." Unfortunately, I'll still have to wait until the end of the year to be promoted to master... Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. After half an hour of close consultation, the President finally snapped his fingers and left the hotel room. Zhang Yuanqing deleted the call log and placed his phone back on the bedside table, listening to the couple's breathing and snoring, reflecting on the Hunter's Guild's mission. This would present the evil faction with another opportunity to lose two of its peak saints. The New Covenant Province is an international metropolis, boasting a higher quantity and quality of spiritual travelers compared to other regions. Nevertheless, even with this advantage, the number of peak saints remains extremely limited. Despite the continuous conflicts between the two major factions, with skilled practitioners from across the region gathering to participate, and both official and evil organizations drawing personnel to join the efforts, Zhang Yuanqing estimates that combined, the two factions will have no more than thirty peak saints (with experience levels exceeding 90%). Among these, standout peak saints like Baxus will number no more than ten. If Baxus and Hecate can be defeated, it might even force the Sovereign to step into the fray. This matter must not be reported to Viny, nor should official forces be mobilized for a counter-surprise—otherwise, the Hunter's Guild will become aware of an internal spy, and the newly appointed master, Tianjiao, will undoubtedly be their first suspect. "To counter both Baxus and Hekate while still avoiding any flaws—well, that means we have to reveal some of our strength. We can draw upon a portion of the Yuanshen Tianzun's assets. After all, there's Yuanshen Tianzun's widow in the team, and the direct supervisor of the Wuxing Alliance's support unit is Fu Qingyang—widely known to be Yuanshen Tianzun's close friend, who has inherited part of his friend's legacy. It makes perfect sense for Qu Mang to use Yuanshen Tianzun's assets!" With this decision settled, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers once—clearly audible—and the gesture dissolved into starlight, fading away in the hotel room. He bypassed the front desk and entered the office area of the Five-Row Alliance, where Yuan Ting approached with a serious expression. "Has the atmosphere felt off all along?" Yuan Zhi deliberately held back his information. Zhang Yuanqing looked at him evenly and said, "Two teams from the Operations Department have been lost—totaling eighteen people, seven of them at the level of Saint, including two six-level Wind Mages!" Yuan Ting instantly felt as though he had swallowed a fly—unable to swallow it down, and now experiencing discomfort, his face contorted. He gritted his teeth, silently passed by Qu Meng, and stood at the entrance of the office area, ready to ask each colleague one by one, in case someone didn’t know. Zhang Yuanqing poured a cup of water, opened his computer, logged into the Heaven’s Judgment Forum, and saw the new announcement from the Jun Department.