Is morality really that unimportant? Diana was momentarily stunned, stepped closer, wrapped her arms around the president's waist, sipping tofu while asking in her office tone, "Why?" Morality was a crucial function that bound the Wayfarers of the Spiritual Realm and served as a stabilizing anchor for order. The president sighed, "The morality mechanism works by publicly revealing the location of targets and offering substantial rewards for their capture. What if the target is a half-god, though?" Diana replied, "Then the Wind and Thunder Dual Gods incident will be repeated." "No, you're mistaken," the president reached into the void to bring a glass of red wine, gently swirling it. "The Wind and Thunder Dual Gods were an unexpected event—an unforeseen blow to the Orderly half-gods. Neither the Orderly nor the Chaotic factions had any intention of making a final stand at the time. They simply wanted to hunt down the Wind and Thunder Dual Gods and secure a large reward." "But now it's different. If a malevolent, half-divine being is currently being pursued by the Spiritual Realm, would you think the half-divines of the malevolent faction would choose to protect or to hunt him?" Diana paused and replied, "In the past, the half-divines of the malevolent faction would have chosen to hunt him. Now, I believe they would choose the latter." The Chairman sighed, "So morality has become irrelevant. The half-divines from both factions are now launching a direct battle in the real world, threatening the very existence of the world—how could anyone care about morality anymore? The current peace is simply a result of both sides waiting for the right moment, building up strength, thus maintaining a delicate balance." In truth, this has always been the case. Even in the past, both factions were waiting for the return of the Moon and the Stars, not yet ready to break their alliance, which is why morality had served as a constraint. Diana thought for a few seconds, still puzzled, "Then, why has the Lord of the Moon, of the Night Rose, persistently been making progress on the Merit Scroll?" "The President chuckled, 'The hidden merits merely cause disruption in the real world—they're incidental. What Lingtuo truly desires is the Merit Scroll. It is a causal-type artifact held by the Sovereign of the Sun. Only by securing it can Lingtuo compete with the Master of Tai Men, who holds a fragment of the Compass of Light, for the throne of the Sun.' Diana gazed at him, curious, 'Lingtuo seeks moral merit, while the Master of Tai Men holds the Compass of Light. Then what do we, the ones supporting the Sovereign of the Sun, have?' The President stirred his red wine, gazed out the floor-to-ceiling window at the city, and remained silent. It seems that the Southern Garden of Shu Mountain and the quest of the fallen sovereign have built up a solid foundation for him, coupled with the swordmaster's cloak—something even she had long coveted. While the A-tier quest remains challenging, it is certainly surmountable for Fu Qingyang at this stage. "His current experience level is around 50%. To reach level 9 within the next half-month, he must enter an S-tier quest." Fu Qingxuan scrolled through the quest names, and the interface stabilized on the S-tier quest: 【Fighting Alone】 This was the final quest Fu Qingyang had planned for himself before entering the quest. It wasn't due to the money-son's arrogance, but rather a well-calculated decision. First, 【Fighting Alone】 is a large-scale war-themed quest, where battlefield strategy and troop deployment are precisely the strengths of the Yanshi. It offers ample time for confrontation, negotiation, and strategic planning. Unlike the gate-breaking type of quests such as the Southern Garden of Shu Mountain, where difficulty is concentrated in just two or three stages. Secondly, after acquiring the Divine Blade of Cutting Immortals (a consumable), the Seven-Star Lamp Array (a consumable), and the Golden Dragon Sword, Fu Qingyang, equipped with the Swordsman's Cloak, possesses combat power sufficient to defeat a nine-tier initial-level opponent. Compared to the overwhelmingly challenging scenario of a fallen sovereign, the S-tier dungeon increases the number of nine-tier initial-level bosses by at most nine, and never features a nine-tier mid-level boss. Therefore, if Fu Qingyang skillfully employs strategy to divide and weaken the enemies within the dungeon, defeating the bosses one by one, there is a reasonable chance of successfully completing the S-tier dungeon. However, despite his growing accomplishments, Fu Qingxuan shows no joy at all. She chews on chocolate beans, murmuring, "Rising to nine-tier status means only being a sacrificial asset—once involved in the final battle, the mortality rate skyrockets. It's better to remain a spectator, waiting for the outcome, at least ensuring a higher chance of survival." She sighs internally, yet her strong-willed brother, who never backs down, will certainly not retreat. His life had only two possible endings: either as a triumphant, illustrious victor, or as a hero who died gloriously, wrapped in armor. At that moment, a spiritual realm notification reached her ears: 【The Ten-Thousand-Sword Pavilion applying to enter the study!】 The Ten-Thousand-Sword Pavilion was the spiritual realm ID of the Grand Elder of the White Tiger military contingent—the only elder among the Ten Elders who held a deep appreciation for the Primordial Sovereign. Fu Qingxuan furrowed her spirited brows, quickly grabbed a bottled milk tea, took large sips, rinsed the chocolate from her mouth, and then waved her hand. The snacks, desserts, milk tea, and novels and comics on the table swiftly flew toward the bookshelf. The bookshelf accepted them and then "cracked" around, transforming the scattered books into more refined readings—humanities, sciences, physics, politics, and military strategy. Fu Qingxuan sat up straight and successfully passed the application of the Ten-Thousand-Sword Pavilion Elder. The very next instant, a venerable elder with snow-white hair—radiating both the gentle grace of an elder and the dignified, serious bearing of a Fu Qingxuan asked smoothly, "What's the matter?" Most of her time was spent in the copy of the study, entertaining herself with high-calorie sweets, and when she grew tired of novels and manga, she practiced and refined her sword techniques. When there were major internal decisions or significant external events, the Sword Pavilion elders would come to the study to report. Now that the elders had arrived, it meant that something substantial had occurred outside requiring the Grand Marshal's judgment and involvement. "Dad~" Xie Lingxi, like a young swallow diving into the forest, wrapped her arms around Xie Su's arm and cooed, "Your mother tiger has been bullying me again—she's taken my charm perfume away." Xie Su gazed at his own handwriting. "Is it a career in music, or one in passion?" "Passion career," Xie Lingxi replied. Earlier, she had proudly shown off the charm perfume to her mother—gifted by her elder brother Yuan Shi. When sprayed, it would make surrounding men feel strongly attracted to her. It was a treasure every woman dreamed of. Upon hearing this, Xie Mom exclaimed, "Indeed, a wonderful treasure—go ahead and bring it over." "You're still young," Xie Su said calmly, "so avoid touching things related to passion." "What happens if I do touch it?" "You'll grow spoiled." "Hehe, I'll go find Yuan Shi brother to learn how to spoil myself." "Hm," Xie Su remarked, "my ancestor recently told me that among all the Xie family daughters, you're the one who's the least useful. Just by giving a little gesture, how many men don't fall in "Hmph. If I were a half-god, I'd just wave my finger and Brother Yuan Shi would be right there on the hook," Xie Lingxi sniffed, gracefully changing the subject and asking, "How far has Princess Gong progressed in her quest?" He had come to see his father mainly to find out about Princess Gong's recent status. His father, Xie Su, was the head of the Xie family and deputy leader of the family's guild, with the authority to access detailed information on quest progress. "Just one more A-level quest to go, and she'll reach level eight. For the next fifteen days, we'll accumulate experience as much as possible—this will boost her chances of successfully housing the Wawa Emperor's form," Xie Su said calmly. "Princess Gong has chosen her quests very wisely, and the risks are manageable." Princess Gong herself wasn't even at level seven early on, and after completing the Shu Mountain Nan Yuan and the Fallen Kingdom of the Sovereign quests, her experience had steadily grown. Her smooth advancement to level eight was therefore no surprise. However, a promotion to level nine would now be unlikely. On one hand, time was limited; on the other, her foundational strength was still insufficient. Her presence still couldn't fully unleash the true power of the Immortal Pot—she could at best be used as a resurrection tool, and in high-difficulty raids, resurrection was merely another death. "Eight levels now~" Xie Lingxi admired with longing. If only she were a Sovereign, how wonderful it would be—her elder brother Yuan Shi would surely rely on her, trust her, and bestow upon her the title of Imperial Consort, perhaps. ...Western Northern Gobi Desert! Inside a modest flat built of earth bricks, the King of Fear sat at the table, propping his head with his hands, closing his eyes to rest. He suddenly appeared in a dream, seeing the sky reflecting a towering figure in a black robe, gazing down upon him from above. The figure, occupying half the sky, spoke with a resonant, ethereal voice: "Three days from now, the Master of Taiyuan will convene the half-divine leaders of the Order of Order to discuss matters." The dream shattered. The King of Fear opened his eyes, murmuring softly, "Is that old man finally moving?" His expression and demeanor immediately grew serious. Among the Lawful and Free factions, two half-gods have been quietly dubbed "invisible" by their peers—one is the Night Emperor of the Eternal Night Church, the other is the Grand Master of Tai Mo. The former has been asleep for several decades. The latter only recently, twenty years ago, when the War God was disturbed by nuclear explosions and came to the capital to hold official talks with governmental bodies, teamed up with the Fire God to block him. Since then, he has remained in long-term seclusion, rarely appearing—though the gods of the Evil faction all know that this Master of the Stars is always active, merely that few can truly perceive his strategic moves. Now, the Master of the Stars is making his move. His current experience level is 64%, and there's still a long way to go before reaching the ninth rank. The King of Fear smiled, "I just received a message: the Lord of Stars will convene the Ceremony of the Lawful Half-Deities in three days. After six decades of playing the game, he's finally unable to contain his excitement." The King of Magic Eyes examined him, "Why are you telling me this? Returning to the Army Commander's Academy is just to entertain you, I have more noble aspirations and organizational ambitions—I simply can't stand for the old, rustic folks from the northwest." The King of Fear lifted a corner of his mouth, "My point is simply that you're progressing too slowly. What can an Eighth-Rank Sovereign do? Just a disposable asset. Your so-called lofty ideals hold no value in our eyes, because the aspirations of the weak can be overturned with a mere gesture by the strong." "So?" the King of Magic Eyes grew irritated. "So, are you interested in joining the S-Rank instance?" "The King of Fear said: 'You know I was once a swordsman, but in a particularly challenging group raid, I was influenced by a Great Being, which transformed me into a spirit of persuasion. 'That Great Being's influence on the spiritual realm is limited, manifesting only in a few specific raids. Once a free-standing professional comes into contact with its power, they gain boundless benefits.' "The King of Magic Eyes nodded thoughtfully: 'What would you like to say?' "In the S-tier raid 'The Battle of Zhuolu' at the School of the Commander of the Army, there remains a trace of that Being's power. By gaining its recognition, you will become a true spirit of persuasion," the King of Fear enticed. "Are you interested in joining?" The King of Magic Eyes remained silent for a few seconds, then exhaled sharply: "You want to trick me into entering an S-tier raid, only to have me perish there." Before the King of Fear could respond, he broke into a smile: "But what reason do I have to refuse—when you've already offered me the sword of battle?"