Four wind mages wore form-fitting, combat-optimized nanofiber uniforms designed for agility in battle, their bodies streamlined and sinuous, like agile underwater swimmers. These tight nanofiber uniforms were the wind mages' official attire, reputed to reduce air resistance and enhance speed—though the improvement was subtle. Leading the group was a handsome young man with curly hair and blue eyes, who strode directly toward Jumu, his voice steady as he asked, "What's happened? We saw this area enveloped in night. Did you come under attack by the Nightborne?" The other three wind mages followed closely behind, their gaze fixed on Jumu. At the same time, they noticed a shriveled body lying motionless on the ground, face obscured. "I was attacked by Hekate and Baxes," Zhang Yuanqing pointed to the body, "I defeated them. This is Baxes' body. Hekate was taken by my companion." "What?!" The young man with wavy blue eyes nearly suspected his hearing had failed. Startled and puzzled, he stepped closer, bent down, and flipped the mummified body over so that the face was upright. Then, his face fell—literally, he looked as if he had seen a ghost. It was Bacchus! Though the body was dry and its flesh sunken, the features were still clearly recognizable, and their repeated viewings of Bacchus’s portrait had made the identification certain. Bacchus was dead! This was no mere coincidence—Bacchus, the second-ranked saint on the A-list, one of the foremost saints of the Bacchus Club, a figure whose peers were few and far between under the Sovereign’s rule. How could such a powerful and dynamic figure have died—at the hands of a lesser-known beast king from the second district? The other three wind mages shared the same expression of astonishment. The young man with wavy hair glanced at Ju Meng with a complex expression, quickly producing a walkie-talkie, his voice trembling: "All units, gather at Dezen River Park—Bacx has attacked Ju Meng and has been... eliminated!" A moment of silence followed, then a flurry of noise—"Fuck!" and "What?" echoed continuously. As one of the three pillars of the Heaven's Punishment Division in the New Covenant County, the division's achievements also reflect his own. Within the evil faction, Bax has considerable prestige and recognition. Sending such a figure back to the Spirit Realm alone is sufficient to offset his past missteps. The headquarters board is likely to reconsider whether to send a special envoy to replace him. All of this has been brought about by this young man, so even though Sean Med didn't particularly like the man who had beaten up his son, he had to acknowledge his good grace. "Once you receive the salary from Heaven's Punishment, you should dedicate yourself to serving Heaven's Punishment," Zhang Yuanqing said, delivering a polished speech. Sean Med nodded and asked, "I've reviewed your task report—where is Hekate?" "She's been transported to the Second District," Zhang Yuanqing replied, "I've handed her over to Elder Fu." Sean Med frowned. Hecate's contribution was only slightly less impressive than Bax, a truly outstanding achievement—one he intended to confirm via email to the Five Elements Alliance and discuss Hecate's future assignment afterward. Of course, that would be a matter for later. Sean Med then asked, "You mentioned earlier that another Dreamweaver attacked you—where is he now?" "I suspect he's hidden within Hecate's dreams and has already escaped," Zhang Yuanqing replied. "No one can stop a Dreamweaver's dream traversal except a higher-ranked Dreamweaver." Sean Med nodded. "According to our Heaven's Judgment intelligence, Bax holds a master-level artifact." "It's now mine," Zhang Yuanqing smiled. Sean Med gazed at him intently. "You didn't provide a detailed account of the battle in your mission report." "Wouldn't the CEO himself include his most valuable assets in a mission report?" "Do you have items of master-tier quality?" "All thanks to Elder Fu!" Zhang Yuanqing spoke with both ease and confidence. "The Executive Department has no further issues. You go back and rest. The reward for your hunt of Baxes will be issued to you within three days. As for Hekate, unless you can return him to the Divine Judgment, you'll receive nothing." Zhang Yuanqing automatically ignored the second part of the statement, rose, and exited the conference room. After Bacchus was slain, most of the executive team, having barely brushed their teeth or washed, simply dressed and drove back to the bank building, then rushed to the mortuary to watch over Bacchus’s body. Only upon seeing the lifeless, shriveled form lying on the gurney did they finally realize that Bacchus had truly returned to the realm of the spirit—like a dream come true. That evening, Sean Mede had the public relations department announce on the Divine Judgment Forum the news of Bacchus and Hecate’s deaths. The CEO, under mounting external pressure over the past two days, had been eager to silence the criticism and reverse the negative perception. … In a once-empty house in Queens, where windows and doors had been braced with wooden planks, Princess Yin Yao sat on the coffin lid, silently awaiting her lord’s arrival. The house had remained vacant for a long time, its chairs and sofas covered in dust cloths. There are many such vacant homes in Xinyue County. According to the Free Federation's laws, if a homeless person occupies an unoccupied house and pays utility bills for a certain period, the house automatically becomes their property. Therefore, landlords often seal off windows and doors with wooden boards to prevent the homeless from claiming them. Radiant starlight rises from within the house, and Lady Yin Yao slightly turns her head, watching a graceful young puppy emerge from the light. Upon seeing Zhang Yuanqing approach, Lady Yin Yao immediately raises her small horn, "I've seen this kind of profession in the Western Church." "The Western Church?" Zhang Yuanqing asks in bewilderment. Lady Yin Yao taps the small horn. "During my travels, I encountered the Western Church. They use their missionary work as a pretext to defraud people of both wealth and affection. Among their clergy, there are practitioners—some I've killed. A few, however, remain unkillable. After suffering mortal wounds, they transform into this very state." "When you encountered the Western sect, they were probably just recovering from the Black Death—Europe was in ruins, struggling to survive, so they came to the Ming Dynasty seeking a better life," Zhang Yuanqing casually replied. That's exactly what he lacked. Of course, right now he was thinking about how to handle Hekate—about which Zhang Yuanqing already had a plan. He pulled out his phone and dialed the president's number. The call connected after a few seconds. Zhang Yuanqing got straight to the point: "I killed Baxes and Hekate. Hekate was put into passive by me. You come and handle it." The president sighed: "Though right now I should give you a commendation, I'm starting to feel like you're calling me too often. I'm your financial backer, not your caregiver." "Your financial backer, come and handle it." "...?" A few minutes later, the president arrived. Standing by the coffin, he examined Hekate, whose body now existed in a state of illusion. Zhang Yuanqing explained: "I killed him in my dream, revealing my identity as the Supreme Master. Hekate must die." "The passive ability of the Night-Longer profession is indeed troublesome. Although it can be used only once during the Extraordinary Stage, twice during the Saint's Stage, and three times during the Sovereign Stage, as long as the passive remains active, it's extremely difficult to defeat the opponent." The president, dressed in a pale yellow nightgown, extended his palm and pressed firmly against Hecate's neck. His palm, like Hecate's body, appeared ethereal. In terms of spatial abilities, the president was truly an expert in this domain. "Crack!" With a slight increase in pressure, the president crushed Hecate's neck, separating her head from her body. The Saint-level peak "Deep-Sea Apostle" dissolved into the void and became a warm, lifeless corpse. Zhang Yuanqing then activated his Spirit-Devouring technique to absorb Hecate's soul. A few minutes later, the dark, viscous force in his eyes gradually receded, and he gained access to information from the Night God Church, the Night-Longer profession, and the Hunter's Guild. The Night God Church is a relatively loose organization. The popes and elders rarely appear, spending years in prolonged slumber. As a result, there is little discipline or management within the church. Elders issue occasional directives to members through various props. You may choose to follow their orders—or simply ignore them—since the elders never awaken to confront you. It's not that they don't want to; it's simply that they cannot. The high-ranking Nightriders spend most of their lives in sleep, which is their very mode of existence. According to Hecate's understanding, the ultimate destiny of the Nightrider profession is to shed their carbon-based form and transform into the Abyss. The Abyss consumes everything, including light. To date, no Nightrider has reached that level, not even the Pope of the Night God Church. As for the Hunters' Guild, Hecate's connection is one of the three vice-presidents, who calls herself "Thor" and is a master-level Thunder Mage. "Thor…" the chairman exhaled. "This is the spiritual realm ID of the Chief Prosecutor of Heaven's Judgment. Of course, a chief prosecutor of half-divine status wouldn't be merely the vice president of the Hunter's Guild. The vice president using this name clearly indicates his ambition to surpass and replace the Chief Prosecutor. The chairman continued, "Next, you need to give Catherine a satisfactory response—she must accept the failure of the mission, yet without questioning your judgment. The Hunter's Guild has lost both Buxus and Hecate, and the cocktail has taken refuge within the spiritual realm realm. With only a few peak-level saints available to the Guild, they will surely place great trust in you. This will give you access to higher-level information and opportunities to achieve several significant accomplishments." Then, rise to become a major figure within the opposing faction? Zhang Yuan thought to himself, Chairman, please don't make me endure this for another three years—I know I'll eventually be tempted. "As for Catherine, I'll handle it with just enough courtesy to keep her content." Zhang Yuanqing added mentally: At worst, he’d have to sacrifice his good looks. Should the mission fail with such high confidence, Catherine would inevitably doubt him—hence his patient responses to Sean Mede’s questions tonight. ——There’s a spy from the Free Alliance within the Executive Department! The spy would surely investigate this matter and uncover the reasons. Then, the report on Qu Meng’s mission would serve as irrefutable evidence that the Master of the Celestial School had cleared his name. Zhang Yuanqing set aside the coffin and Lady Yingyao, said farewell to the chairman, and vanished into the stars. The next day! He opened his backup phone and saw Catherine’s message and missed calls. [Catherine: See me immediately at the wellness center upon receiving this message.] …… Songhai, Beijing time, 6:30 p.m. Fu Qingyang had finished handling his official duties and was about to change into his martial arts attire to practice sword techniques at the training hall. A notification sound chimed in his email. He opened the inbox and found a new message from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Five Elements Alliance. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Master Miao, has invited him to join the online meeting fifteen minutes from now.