The Capital! A sense of helplessness and anxiety wrapped around the Lawful Half-Deity's heart—should he abandon the Capital or the Sea Emperor? If he chose to aid the Sea Emperor, the Capital would be utterly destroyed, its seat of power erased forever. Even with the involvement of the Taiyuan Sect and the Half-Deities of Life and Scholars, the Capital would remain a battlefield. The battlefield of the Half-Deities would still be one of widespread suffering. Yes, once the merit list is properly repositioned, this calamity will be resolved—no rescue of the Sea Emperor will even be needed, since the merit points will constrain all spiritual realm practitioners, including half-gods. The crisis in the New Covenant Prefecture will thus resolve itself. With this in mind, all five alliance chieftains simultaneously turned their attention toward the figure dressed in wine-red suit. Back then, it was this president, together with the former Marshal, who led the four peak masters of the Xiao Yao Organization like a strong, unexpected contender, seizing the most central fragments amidst the half-god-level combat. The president remained silent. "What are you waiting for?" the distant Jiang Chief urged, his voice slow and increasingly impatient: "Didn't you just seem urgent a moment ago?" The president sighed. "I can't give it—I can't give a single thing. The core fragment of the Light Compass was pledged to the Universal Marketplace, and since the due date hasn't arrived, I cannot redeem it." "Damn! At the most critical moment, you let the whole thing fall apart—besides being good at escaping, you're nothing else," Jiang Chief always spoke plainly. After a moment of silence, the voice of the Master of Taidan rose again: "Gather at least six compass fragments immediately. With my status as Lord of the Stars, I can communicate with the Sun and act swiftly." The Chairman furrowed his brow, his gaze beneath the mask flickering momentarily, before finally sighing and vanishing. He was the only half-god among them with such exceptional mobility, naturally taking on the role of the one who ran the errands. He seemed composed of light, with only a human silhouette visible—no facial features or clothing details discernible. "Who are you?" Zhang Yuanqing asked instinctively, his consciousness still foggy, as if just waking up from a long night of drinking, still half-dazed and not fully clear. "I'm here to help you level up," the golden figure smiled. "The sleeping Dragon Duke already knew the script and managed to gather artifacts without sustaining any damage. The NPCs in the quest were also bribed by the other side. Honestly, these days, how can you possibly play without some kind of advantage?" Zhang Yuanqing groaned, trying to sit up, but found no sense of his own body—like a paralytic patient, completely disconnected from his physical form. Silence surrounded him. No sounds at all. It made him question whether he had truly fallen into a hallucination. Perhaps in reality, he had already been slain by the sleeping Dragon Duke, and this entire scene was merely the lingering consciousness of a man after death. With that thought, his sense of survival plummeted. He lost interest in communication and conversation, and closed his eyes once more. "Never give up. The sleeping spell can both seal strength and imprison will. The longer you resist, the stronger the spell becomes. I can only awaken a sliver of your consciousness. If you fall asleep again, I’ll be powerless to save you." The pale golden figure spoke calmly and steadily. "True strength is eternal—much like myself." Zhang Yuanqing's eyelashes trembled, and he opened his eyes once more: "So you're not just a fantasy of mine? Who are you?" "We met not long ago, during the night when we hunted Black Immobile. Hm, you've already forgotten me so quickly?" He said. !!!! Zhang Yuanqing's languid, weary consciousness was pierced like by a steel needle, sending a start of shock through him—awake in a way that even the Night God couldn't make him sleep. "Who exactly are you?" Zhang Yuanqing stared, his voice now clearly trembling. The pale golden figure spoke one word at a time: "I am the Magus King!" Boom! It felt as if thunder had exploded right beside his ears. Zhang Yuanqing’s mind went completely blank, his ability to think vanished, and the surging emotions nearly overwhelmed him, destroying his sense of reason.不知 how long it had been, he spoke in a trembling voice, his tone excited: “It’s impossible, it’s impossible… You are the Demon King. Then what about me? If you haven’t died, why have my character cards been inherited by me?” Now he was no longer a newcomer—he knew a fundamental law: in the Spiritual Realm, only through death could a Spirit Traveler shed their character cards. A law that even semi-divine beings could not override or alter. If the Demon King hadn’t died, how could his character cards have been inherited by him? A pale golden figure sighed: “The Demon King’s body and spirit have been extinguished. Strictly speaking, I am not him. I am the lingering devotion that formed after his passing—anger, resentment, sorrow, hatred… the intense emotions of a high-ranking being carry powerful spiritual strength, and thus, I came into being.” Devotion? Zhang Yuanqing's mind was in a whirl, a thousand questions flashing through his thoughts, until at last, all of them condensed into one: "What do you want?" This question not only asked about his purpose in taking away the "Little Sun," but also about his reason for appearing here, and ultimately, what he wanted to do to the "Primordial Heavenly Sovereign." "Of course, revenge!" the pale golden figure smiled. "You should already realize that the demise of the Demon King was far from simple—it carried deep secrets. You can never imagine just how many people were involved in this battle. If that list were made public, it would shake the entire world to its core. At the time, the Demon King was only a half-step away from the Sovereign of the Sun—no, just a single half-step. Yet fate intervened, and he fell at the very finish line. That unyielding resentment, fury, and hatred lingered in the spiritual realm, eventually giving rise to me. My very existence is rooted in one purpose: to seek revenge—revenge against those who once were my enemies." Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Who is on that list?" A pale golden figure shook her head: "You don't need to know. Once the list is known, the course of future events will shift. Prophecies, divination, and celestial observations will all detect anomalies in the flow of destiny. 'Don't make yourself the center of attention—this will do you no good.' Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a while, hesitating: "So, your plan for retaliation is to elevate me as the sovereign of the Sun, thus sending me to the Killing Quest to rescue the situation?" As he spoke, he suddenly realized a deeply alarming truth. The Magistrate's devotion can enter the quest realm and also manifest in the real world—a capability neither Lingtuo nor the headmaster of Taimei can achieve. After all, even half-gods cannot break the rules of the Spiritual Realm to forcibly enter the Killing Quest; otherwise, during the mid-year quest, both he and Fu Qingyang would surely perish. Yet the Magistrate's devotion has accomplished this. To say he's like the old stage actor would be inaccurate, because the old stage actor never dared return to reality—once she stepped out of the spiritual realm, she lost her "NPC" aura. She could no longer freely appear in different realms or missions. But the magic king's determination allows him to move freely between reality and the spiritual realm—a feat surpassing all half-gods. A pale golden figure chuckled: "Overconfident! When I descend to the battlefield to save you, that's just one part. The most crucial point is that I need your body and your character card. Only then can I briefly regain my peak performance." Zhang Yuanqing looked puzzled, confused, and cautious. "Do I really need my character card and body?" He thought to himself: Is this guy planning to borrow my body to revive himself? Noticing his skepticism, the pale golden figure snapped, "You haven't heard what's happening outside, have you? The Lingtu has absorbed the Jade Sovereignty's authority and erased all spiritual realm travelers' merits. Now, the Eighteen Rebel Forces have encircled the capital." "The half-deities of the evil faction besieged the Sea Emperor, while the Robe of Justice personally journeyed to the capital to counterbalance the Five Elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. With the Sea Emperor's death, the lawful faction in the First Region completely collapsed, and then the Second Region followed." Zhang Yuanqing listened, his palms slick with cold sweat—more anxious than if he himself were in imminent peril. He didn't fear death, but he feared the collapse of order, the end of peace, and the destruction of the beautiful life he cherished. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask?" the Magus of Determination inquired. How many women have you actually slept with? Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then said, "Is the General still in the Five Elements Secret quest?" The Magus of Determination nodded. "In the depths of the Five Elements Secret, there exists a force that freezes everything—life, time itself. To seal oneself within is the best way to resist the contamination of the Holy Grail." "Originally, if I could become the Sovereign of the Sun, he would have been free from the Holy Grail's control. Unfortunately, that didn't The Magus of Determination sighed irritably, "Keep upgrading!" ... Zhang Yuanqing nodded slightly and asked, "Where have you hidden the little sun?" The Magus of Determination smiled, "This question comes at a price!" Implied: I won't tell you. Zhang Yuanqing thought for a moment, then took the initiative and said, "Do you have anything else you'd like to share with me?" He had many questions, but wasn't sure which ones were sensitive and which could be safely asked. "As previously mentioned, don't make yourself the center of attention—face the Yin. Ignorance is your best protection," the Magus of Determination said. "Then, hand over your body to me." Zhang Yuanqing remained silent. "For the sake of world peace," he added. "...Very well!" ... Moments later, the President appeared in the still-ongoing meeting room. He glanced around at the nine elders and Fu Qingyang, sighed deeply, and said, "We're in trouble. The Vajra has arrived right at our doorstep. Your marshal refuses to go rescue the newly established county—according to the Vajra, as long as they're willing to move, the city will be razed." The nine elders' faces immediately turned pale. The chairman then changed tone and said, "Connect immediately with the Heaven's Judgment headquarters. I'm holding a meeting—time is money. The faster, the better."