【Ping! Congratulations on completing the solo realm quest—The Terrifying Cruise—rated S. Reward settlement in progress...】 【Reward settlement in progress... Obtained items: Unyielding Will, Thunder Armguards, The Whisper of the Smoker】 【Experience points awarded: 35%】 【Settlement complete! The realm will exit in 30 seconds.】 A countdown interface appears, rapidly ticking down. Zhang Yuanqing feels a powerful and malevolent spiritual force descending from the depths, flowing into his body and converging toward his heart, where it is finally absorbed by the dark heart within his chest. The seal on his heart loosens slightly further, and the contamination from the illusionist continues to erode his resolve—yet it is instantly crushed and eliminated by the power of the Sun God. "The experience points from this quest aren't meant for me," Zhang Yuanqing remarks, not disappointed, but relieved. It was exactly as he had expected—the experience points (spirit energy) gained from the副本 rewards had always been poured directly into the character card, with their final destination being this heart within his chest, unrelated to him personally. As a night-wanderer deity, what would be the consequences if other professions' spirit energies—especially those of evil professions—were infused into him? The Grand Master of the Pure Yang Fist was a prime example. Zhang Yuanqing opened his inventory to examine the three items awarded from the副本. The Unyielding Will was a black-purple pill, shaped like a quail's egg, appearing as though made by kneading impure substances together. Zhang Yuanqing held the egg in his hand, waiting for a few seconds, and then the item information appeared: 【Name: Unyielding Will】 【Type: Consumable】 【Function: Buff】 【Description: A pill formed by the collision and blending of the spirit energy of the Sun God with the world's most extreme pollution. When consumed, it grants immunity to petrification, distortion, and toxic smoke effects during the Saint phase. It also provides 50% immunity to such effects during the Sovereign phase. 】 【Note 1: To畸变ers, it seems rather like a mere side dish.】 【Note 2: Since it's a consumable, there's no cost involved.】 Zhang Yuanqing's eyes suddenly lit up. The reversed meaning of these notes is: if you're not a畸变er, then it becomes a premium medicinal pill. The "Unyielding Will" pill becomes a nightmare for畸变ers—immune to the skills of those at the Saint level, and immune to 50% of the skills at the Sovereign level. This means Zhang Yuanqing now defeats畸变ers as easily as slaughtering dogs. When he ascends to Sovereign rank, he will defeat Sovereign-level畸变ers just as effortlessly. He retrieves the "Unyielding Will" pill from his inventory and proceeds to examine the "Thunder Guardian Arm" and "The Whisper of the Smoldering One." 【Name: Thunder Guardian Arm】 【Type: Weapon】 【Function: Controls lightning】 【Description: Crafted from the core of an entity of indescribable origin, this item boasts solid defensive and offensive capabilities. Special abilities: Electromagnetic Shield, Thunder Burst.】 】 【Note 1: It is one of the components of the Thor's Armor. The remaining four components are the chest plate, boots, helmet, and spear. Collecting all five pieces forms the complete set and grants the power of Thor.】 【Note 2: The greater the charge injected, the stronger the lightning blast.】 【Note 3: Use the lightning blast with care—otherwise, you might end up as ash.】 The Lightning Arm is a bright blue arm piece, internally pulsing with vivid lightning and radiating intense heat. One of the set components, and a top-tier item at the Saint's Stage when considered individually! Zhang Yuanqing swallowed his saliva, feeling a surge of strong excitement, even though he was known as the "Master of Equipment" and possessed countless premium items that delighted fellow spiritual realm travelers. Yet, upon reviewing the attributes of the "Lightning Arm," he still felt a sense of genuine discovery and delight. In the spiritual realm, set items are rarer than rule-based equipment, and each piece of the set possesses powers that are as mysterious as those of gods and spirits. "Power of Thor? A title associated with deities—will gathering the complete set grant him power For the November copy, I chose the Lightning Mage. Also, this is a Distortion-themed raid, yet the reward is the "Armored Gauntlets of Lightning," which presumably comes from the Church's Luminous Pilgrims. The Armored Gauntlets are likely items used by the Cardinal during his lifetime. So, might the Church's treasure vault contain other components? Zhang Yuanqing imagined this beautifully. Time was limited, so he quickly examined the third item—a egg about the size of a fist, densely pored with pores and veined with blood vessels, identical in appearance to the magical seed found at the base of the chamber, just on a smaller scale. [Name: Whispers of the Smoking One] [Type: Consumable] [Function: Contamination] [Description: It emits a dreadful whisper, contaminating all living beings within a 50-meter radius, causing mental confusion, intelligence decline, and physical distortion.] [Note: Remember, it affects all living beings.] The description and note were brief, yet Zhang Yuanqing felt a growing sense of unease—especially since the note repeated the point about "all living beings" already stated in the description. This means the murmurs of the smoldering ones are consumable rules! "The nature of the magical lineage truly seems odd—it doesn't conform to the Saint stage at all..." Zhang Yuanqing murmured softly. At that moment, with just five seconds left until his return to the spiritual realm, he remained calm, retrieving Little Red Cap, collecting three spectral corpses, and bowing to the Cardinal: "Goodbye!" The very next instant, the scenery at the base of the chamber began to warp and blur, as though ripples had spread across a still pond. ... In an unoccupied house in Kings County, darkness enveloped the space. Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the realm and returned to reality. He turned around, scanning the room—neither the Yashiki Mirror nor his duplicate was visible. His expression changed, and he rushed to the cabinet, opened it, only to find the intangible blade, the chaotic oil painting, and several materials of Sovereign quality—all gone. Hmm... Zhang Yuanqing's forehead broke into a cold sweat, his blood pressure rising steadily. Gone? All my precious items gone? Who took my Sovereign artifacts and materials? He couldn't possibly be tracked—being a nocturnal deity and a magician, the two most cautious professions in the second district, there simply weren't anyone in the world capable of tracking him. Even a half-divine void-being of the elder rank could only locate him through his mark. I had clearly assigned a duplicate to guard the items and materials, yet both the duplicate and the eight-armed mirror are gone, and no battle has taken place here... Zhang Yuanqing observed the room, gradually regaining his composure. He likely already deduced what had happened. He picked up his phone, which had fallen during his entry into the spiritual realm. It had been in standby mode for five days and still held 15% charge. Opening the chat logs, he found a message from Guan Ya: "The situation in Xin Yue County has grown increasingly tense in recent days. He has had to get involved. If those items aren't properly guarded, they might be claimed by void-beings. That's why he's placed them with me." Upon reading this, Zhang Yuanqing felt a great sense of relief. The conflict between the Lawful and the Chaotic factions in Xinjie County has intensified, forcing the envoy to accept missions from the Hunter's Guild. Since he has no inventory space to store items, he must entrust them to Guanyá for safekeeping. Zhang Yuanqing sent Guanyá a message: "I'm back! How's the situation in Xinjie County?" Within ten minutes, Guanyá sent over two tables—one detailing casualties among the Lawful organizations, and the other listing the names of Chaotic professionals killed. Over the course of five days, a total of 180 Lawful and Chaotic realm travelers died, with 240 injured, including 46 Sages and 3 Six-Star Sages. Quemeng consecutively defeated the beasts Hase, Hecate, and Bacchus, directly escalating the faction rivalry into a heated phase. The Chaotic faction could no longer bear this, launching a furious counteroffensive, while the Lawful faction sought to capitalize on its momentum, aiming to shatter the Chaotic faction's resolve. As a result, both sides engaged in intelligence gathering, skirmishes, and covert assassinations. Within just five days, battles erupting across New Covenant County have sparked significant social unrest and drawn international attention. The New Covenant County government attributes all this to "terrorist attacks orchestrated by foreign armed factions." Currently, Tianfa, the Merchant Guild, and the Sea God Church are all drawing their most elite personnel from various branches to support the county. The forces of evil are likewise dispatching their top operatives to infiltrate New Covenant County. This international metropolis has now become the primary battlefield between the two opposing factions. "The Master hasn't stepped in yet—these old fellows, they're more cautious than anyone!" Zhang Yuanqing murmured. At the Master's level, both powerful and cautious, he rarely appears in public, and direct clashes of strength are uncommon. To bring the Master into action, one needs a compelling catalyst. Zhang Yuanqing dissolved into a streak of starlight, vanishing into an empty, uninhabited apartment. … Half an hour later, the headquarters of the New Covenant County Bank. In Guan Ya's bedroom, the stars rose, and Zhang Yuanqing stepped out from among them, seeing his mixed-race girlfriend dressed in a purple off-shoulder nightgown, holding a scorpion plush toy, gazing at the computer. A popular TV series from the Free Federation was playing on the screen—telling the story of a love between a vampire and a werewolf. "Back at last?" Guan Ya happily rose and wrapped her arms around his neck. Zhang Yuanqing lowered his head, kissing the warm lips gently, and after a while, they parted. He glanced at the computer screen. "Are you bored?" "I told Wenyi you'd entered the realm. The entire team from the Five Elements Alliance is on standby now. She thinks it's a good move—otherwise, the evil faction might outmaneuver them and wipe them out entirely." Guan Ya explained. She then pulled out props and materials, including the Yajim mirror and the Spirit-Annihilating Sword. "Your sword's been a real pain—every day it needs blood and spiritual essence. I've nearly eliminated all the stray dogs around here." "Did you feed it today?" "Yes!" Guan brewed a pot of coffee and invited Zhang Yuanqing to sit on the sofa by the window, sipping the coffee as he recounted his experiences in the副本. As a scout, Guan frequently furrowed her brows in concern. "You also feel something's off about the magical beings, don't you?" Zhang Yuanqing said. "Tomorrow I'll ask Winny to look into it—was there actually a ship named 'Sea Swallow' that disappeared from the United Nations of Ireland in 1900?" Although the headquarters of the various official organizations in the First Region were all located in the Free Federation, they maintained branches across European countries. With Winny's help, it would only take a simple email. As for the Heavenly Judgment Database, it didn't exist back in 1900. Guan offered her suggestion: "This will draw Winny's attention. I don't think we need to go through the Spirit Realm Travelers' network. It would be more discreet and secure to directly contact the headquarters of the Irish United Nations Navy. The Fu family has established channels for this—let me handle it." The current United Nations of Ireland is quite different from the past. As long as one can afford the fees, even Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, "Then let's do it that way." Guan Ya nodded. "I'll tell you about the recent developments." "Let's talk about it on the bed," Zhang Yuanqing chuckled, lifting his girlfriend gently and heading toward the large bed. ... The next day, having just returned to reality, Zhang Yuanqing was summoned to the office by Minister Viny. With her wavy, chestnut hair flowing over her shoulders, the poised and mature female minister smiled gently: "What level of quest are we talking about?" "A-level!" Viny nodded. "Have you been considering joining the Killing Quest by year-end?" "I'd like to join it as soon as possible—by December, I'd say." Zhang Yuanqing spoke the truth. Viny leaned back against the chair, relaxed and casual, and smiled: "Each Killing Quest offers only three spots for Dominators. While the Primordial Sovereign has returned to the Spiritual Realm, there are still quite a few peak Sovereigns in the second region. How confident are you in securing one of those spots?" "Before Zhang Yuanqing could reply, she added, "The established sages haven't mentioned it, but in the recent past, a Level Six Dream-Master has emerged in the New Covenant Prefecture. I believe he will be your strongest rival. If you eliminate him before the Killing Campaign begins, your chances of ascending to Master status will significantly improve." ...Zhang Yuanqing inquired cautiously, "A Level Six Dream-Master?" Viny said firmly, "His spiritual realm ID is 'The Heavenly Teacher'—you should be familiar with him, as he was one of the ones who participated in your hunt that day. During the past few days since you entered the spiritual realm, he has been exceptionally active—killing two saints from the Sea God Church, two from the Divine Judgment, one from the Merchant Guild, and one from the Beauty Goddess Association. He has now been promoted to Third Place on the A-Class Wanted List, replacing Baxus. Compared to Baxus, this Dream-Master is more elusive—his assassinations are hard to anticipate, and his movements are difficult to track." Six saints killed in just five days? A commendable performance by his duplicates! Zhang Yuanqing silently praised himself. Thus, he will become a pivotal Saint of the Hunter's Guild, highly trusted and frequently entrusted with important duties. "Should the opportunity arise, I'll send him back to the Spirit Realm," Zhang Yuanqing said with great confidence. Viny was satisfied with his demeanor and immediately added, "We received word yesterday that the Night Rose, the Commander of the Second District, and the Void Sect (Southern Branch) will dispatch a Saint to support the evil faction in the New Covenant County. The Headquarters has taken this matter very seriously and has ordered us to counter the Saintly forces of the three major powers."