Zhai Cai's pupils constricted like they'd been hit by a sudden burst of light. "How do you know this!" His expression grew serious. "It was Fu Elder who told me. As for how he found out, you can ask him yourself." Zhang Yuanqing casually tossed the pot to Fu Qingyang. Zhai Cai stared at him with sharp intensity for over ten seconds, then resumed his carefree demeanor. "Hmph. No surprise—Fu Qingyang is undoubtedly the most capable leader in the Five Elements Alliance's history to hold such a young position. Indeed, I do possess the treasure map. One of the primary purposes of the Knight's lineage is to safeguard it. I couldn't possibly betray my teachers and share the Church's treasures with outsiders." Zhang Yuanqing ignored him completely and continued speaking: "Four fragments in total—one is in your hands, one with Fu Elder, and the other two are currently held by Elder Brunet in his maze and by the Saint, Tongtian, of the Hunter's Guild." "If you agree to collaborate and share the treasure, I'll help you retrieve the fragments from the maze. You should know that even a sovereign finds it extremely difficult to navigate the maze alone—our Five Elements Alliance has already secured the piece on Tian Tian's body for you." The collaboration between Zhai Cai and Viny and the fact that Elder Brent's maze holds a fragment of the Sacred Disk have already been communicated to the Master of Zhishik Palace via text message. Additionally, on his way back, he had already paid the interests faction of the Merchant Guild, Rayli Eugene, for the intelligence regarding Elder Brent's maze. Zhang Yuanqing responded with a cheerful expression. Having secured the single-charge knight, he turned to the Master of Zhishi Palace and said, "Master, it's your turn now." The Master gestured toward her headset. Zhang shook his head: "No, appropriate sharing of information will deepen our collaboration." Implied was that he intended to share information with both the single-charge knight and the Minister Wei Ni. Si Cai and the blind Minister Wei Ni turned to look at them. After a moment of thoughtful silence, the Master of Zhishi Palace sat up and said, "Minister Wei Ni, when did you first learn of the Free Alliance?" "After the event involving the King of the Underworld," Wei Ni replied. "That means, even before the King of the Underworld's father was defeated, the Free Alliance had remained well-hidden—so well that even a chief prosecutor of your stature, like yourself, had never heard of them. For a century, they had been operating in the shadows." Though she hadn't explained why she brought this up, Wei Ni nodded in agreement. "What would you like to say?" "Just a casual discussion, no need to be overly formal," said the Master of Zheng Sha: "Qian Ning Lu told me that he was able to remain undetected within Tianfa thanks to the hidden protection granted by Lingtuo. This has made me realize that the Free Alliance doesn't have a large-scale network of undetectable spies—otherwise, they wouldn't need to turn to Lingtuo." "Who is Lingtuo?" interjected Sun Chuan, the Knight of Single Transmission. "The leader of the Night Rose, a half-divine Night Wanderer, son of the Master of Taiyuan," replied Zhang Yuanqing casually, and then he noticed that Wei Ni and Zhai Cai were looking as if their fish-shaped snacks had fallen out of their hands. "Although sharing information strengthens cooperation, isn't it a bit unreasonable that I should charge you for such an important piece of intelligence?" Zhai Cai pulled out a few coins from her pocket, using the change of subject to calm her sense of astonishment. A merchant with a net worth of billions—would he settle for this? Zhang Yuanqing waved his hand. "Keep the coins for your burgers and fries, Master. You continue." "Master Zheng, the one who has been in charge of the Elimination Palace, nodded. "You should know that the luminous compass twenty years ago was deliberately introduced by the Free Covenant. In the end, the core fragments of the central compass were secured by the Xiao Yao Organization. Subsequently, Ling Tu, as a member of the Xiao Yao Organization, became a fallen one and ascended to the rank of half-divine, taking charge of the Moon. Thus, the Free Covenant gained the capability of maintaining hidden spies. Isn't this rather coincidental?" Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. "You're saying— the Xiao Yao Organization's acquisition of the compass fragments was orchestrated by the Free Covenant, including Ling Tu's transformation into a fallen one, all part of their calculated strategy?" Master Zheng nodded. "This is impossible!" Zhang Yuanqing found the Master's imagination quite extraordinary. With four peak rulers and a half-divine president from the Xiao Yao Organization as allies, such a powerful group could hardly be manipulated. Moreover, Ling Tu's fall was due to his exposure to the core secrets of the Spiritual Realm, which brought upon a mysterious curse. All four members of the Xiao Yao Organization had been affected by this contamination. The Lady of the Still-Death Palace folded her arms and said seriously, "Have you ever thought about this—four people have been cursed, yet only Ling Tu has fallen? Shouldn't the one who has sat in quiet contemplation in the ancient temple for twenty years have been more likely to fall?" Zhang Yuanqing froze, opened his mouth to object, but couldn't find the words. Winni stared, as if she had just heard something extraordinary. The Free Alliance has not only shaped the struggles of the Light Compass, but even guided its outcome during battles with half-gods emerging—successfully forging a Lady of the Moon, thus establishing the Free Alliance as a hidden spy network. What kind of strategic foresight is this? Zhai Cai silently placed two coins on the table, one for the Lady of the Still-Death Palace and one for Geng Mang. Zhang Yuanqing pondered for several seconds, concluding that the likelihood was quite low—the Lady's observation seemed more imaginative than grounded. Of course, even if it were true, it would only reveal some long-buried details of the past, offering little benefit to the current situation. After the conversation between the single-charge knight and the palace mistress, he finally turned to Winny Burent and said, "Winny Director, Brother Fu also wishes to make a deal with you." "Are Brother Fu's people merchants or scouts?" Zhai Cai perked up attentively. Winny nodded with a vacant expression, "What kind of deal?" "Has the Archmage given you a fragment of the treasure map?" Zhang Yuanqing finally asked the question he had long been concerned about. Winny remained silent, offering no reply. Zhang Yuanqing thought: Indeed, it's about her. Given Winny's nature, if the treasure fragment weren't in her possession, she would have directly mentioned it. Her current silence indicated reluctance to enter into this deal. Zhang Yuanqing continued, "We will be responsible for gathering the keys to the Archmage's treasure. When that is done, one-sixth of the treasure will belong to you, Director Winny. Surely, you don't want the Archmage's treasures to remain forever sealed within the Spirit Realm, do you?" After a moment's reflection, Winny replied calmly, "I can accept this deal, but with one condition—I would "The Cat King speaker?" Zhang Yuanqing pretended he didn't know what he was talking about. "What's the Cat King speaker?" "The Mage King has the habit of recording audio—he records his strategy guides, action plans, and daily details into audio files." Winny's voice carried a sense of sorrow. "During the battle when he returned to the Spiritual Realm, he certainly couldn't have failed to record anything. I wonder if he actually made a backup plan. Did he truly return to the Spiritual Realm, or…?" Winny didn't finish her sentence. Zhai Cai shrugged. "The Primordial Celestial Sovereign has inherited the Mage King's role card, hasn't he? Since the Spiritual Realm came into being, no Spiritual Realm traveler has ever been able to detach from their role card. Once detached, that means death." Winny certainly knew this simple truth—her lingering attachment to the Cat King Speaker was, in essence, her inability to let go of the unfaithful man. Honestly, Master, you're going too far—don't say things that touch the heart, or you'll be beaten up. Zhang Yuanqing felt a spark of insight. Winny's words made perfect sense. Given the Mage King's nature, he must have recorded an audio file before facing off against the Judge of Mysteries. Though the King Cat speaker is rather inflexible and may not always play for him, as long as one controls this artifact, eventually he will hear. "So, Elder Fu's deal?" Zhang Yuanqing asked tentatively. "I'll think about it," Viny said, neither accepting nor declining. Shortly before dawn, Shawn Med hurried back and discussed matters at length with Viny in private. When the first rays of sunlight broke through, Viny handed over Channing Lu to Shawn and then, under the escort of a single-charge knight, departed from the Penitence Division toward her grandfather, Berent's, villa. Zhang Yuanqing also reunited with his teammates, sharing their respective gains and achievements. By now, the number of artifacts held by the teammates has grown steadily, their combat strength has intensified, and they have become a force that can no longer be overlooked—fully qualified as assistants. Should the saints of the aid team unite, they would have no difficulty defeating a peak-level saint. At 9 a.m., the New Covenant County branch issued an official announcement at the Heaven's Judgment Forum, claiming that under the brilliant leadership of CEO Sean Mede and Chief Prosecutor Winny Burnt, the New Covenant County's governing body had launched a historic battle against the evil faction in the port city of New Covenant. In this grand conflict, both chief officers uncovered Channing Lu, an undercover spy from the evil faction operating within the organization, thus thwarting the Free Covenant's conspiracy. The second district's Saint, Gusu, defeated Tipheros, the jealous divine general and dream lemur, among the peak Saints of the second district, leading the New Covenant County Saints to a resounding victory in the sacred campaign. The announcement ran over two thousand words in length. This news sent shockwaves throughout Heaven's Judgment and the entire Western spiritual realm. Chenning Lu, an Eighth-Rank Sovereign of the Evil faction, is a spy; the legendary Saint Tiphoros, who has long wielded influence across the West, returns to the Spiritual Realm; nearly ten peak Sovereigns have perished within a single night; faction tensions have escalated, and a Sovereign War may soon unfold. Each of these events is a major headline-worthy story, poised to dominate news and trending topics. Sean Med spoke with an unusually gentle tone, picked up the tablet beside him, and pushed it toward Zhang Yuanqing, saying, "The headquarters plans to reward you with three artifacts of Sage quality, one million federal credits, and materials worth three million credits—rich in spiritual essence. Here's the list; you can choose from it." Zhang Yuanqing quietly rubbed his hands, took the tablet, glanced at it quickly, then swiftly pushed it back. "Executive Sean, I'm not entirely satisfied with the rewards from the Divine Judgment." Though the items on the list were valuable, none of them stirred his enthusiasm. To him, artifacts of Sage quality had lost their significance—unless they were of the very highest caliber. He had clearly seen, during his stargazing, that he was about to receive something truly special. With a pleased nod, Sean Med replied, "What kind of rewards would you like to receive?" "At least artifacts of exceptional quality at the Sage level, or artifacts of Master-tier quality. If my merits fall short, I'm willing to cover the difference myself," Zhang Yuanqing said. Quemang’s contributions were more than sufficient to match a single premium item, yet Tianfa would never proactively offer its precious premium items—unless they could be paid for. If ordinary items could suffice, premium ones would never be provided. If ordinary items could be used as a mere substitute, premium items would never be offered. Shawn Med颔首: “I will relay your request to headquarters, but I cannot guarantee they will accept it.” Zhang Yuanqing expressed his gratitude and rose to leave the conference room. He believed Tianfa Headquarters would surely meet his expectations, in order to demonstrate the world’s foremost orderly force’s clear rewards and punishments. Of course, if Tianfa failed to recognize his efforts, he would post a complaint on the Tianfa Forum, leveraging public opinion to compel the senior leadership to yield. After stepping out of the conference room, Zhang Yuanqing quietly departed the bank building, took the subway to Queens District, and opened his backup smartphone. Indeed, he received a message from Catherine. The task had failed. As an underperforming subordinate, he would have to submit a report, face criticism from his superior, and make an official explanation. But the message felt off—Katherine had scheduled a meeting for two o'clock in the afternoon. The cocktail had deliberately managed to escape, otherwise both the original entity and the Celestial Master would have been pursued by the forces of the Evil Camp, and no peak Saint of the Evil faction would have survived. Yet if that were the case, with all his teammates eliminated and only the Celestial Master remaining, it simply didn't make sense. In fact, the cocktail's survival actually benefited the Celestial Master, who could then inform the rulers of the Evil Camp just how formidable Qingmang truly was. The defeat was a matter of hard power disparity, unrelated to the Celestial Master. Now that the battle was over and the responsibility no longer lay with him, as a superior, a well-adjusted leader could simply call to offer comfort and thus strengthen morale; a less composed one could merely scold him. In short, there seemed to be no compelling reason to meet. Unless Katherine was in an exceptionally bad mood and wanted to vent her frustration through his little staff. Poor Celestial Master! Zhang Yuanqing licked his lips. At exactly one o'clock, right after lunch break, he received a message from the Executive Department informing him that Mr. Shawn would like to see him. Zhang Yuanqing knocked on the CEO's door and met Mr. Shawn, who appeared lean-faced with slightly grayed hair. "The headquarters has agreed to your request!" Mr. Shawn smiled gently, pointing to a tablet computer on the desk. "Choose yourself." Indeed, Tianfa is well-resourced... Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of energy. He opened the tablet and saw a document listing the attributes of six items. Immediately, he was drawn to one of the items: 【Name: Armor of Thunder】 【Type: Armor】 【Function: Lightning】 【Description: Crafted from the core of a being of indescribable origin, this armor offers solid defensive capabilities.】 【Note 1: It is one of the components of the Thunder God's armor. The remaining four pieces are: arm guards, boots, helmet, and spear. When all five pieces of the set are collected, the power of the Thunder God can be unlocked.】 Note 2: Charge it promptly before each use. Note 3: Lightning will paralyze your body.