In the office area, Wang Tai sat alone, his attention fixed on his computer screen, paying no heed to the noble Yuanshi Tianzun coming upstairs.
*Hey there, Brother Wang Tai...* Zhang Yuanqing greeted him inwardly, turning toward the Decurion's office.
The frosted glass door stood open. Li Dongze, leaning one hand on his cane with his shoulders broadened, sat on the edge of the reception sofa, having an amicable conversation with Teng Yuan.
On the other side, the fiery-red-haired girl was sprawled over a desk, diligently working on her homework. Guan Ya sat beside her supervising, though her expression looked rather grim.
"Oh, our great hero has arrived." Li Dongze looked toward the doorway, his eyes lighting up.
"Decurion," Zhang Yuanqing greeted Teng Yuan first, then turned to Li Dongze. "A guest today, I see. Hello, Comrade Li."
Li Dongze's expression froze. His gaze darted between Teng Yuan and Yuanshi before he forced a smile. "It seems during my absence, you've successfully won over the respect and recognition of our team members. Very good, Teng Yuan. I was worried you'd be like before, unable to get along with colleagues."
In a tone utterly devoid of passion for life, Teng Yuan said, "Not really. I merely did what I was supposed to do."
"Hm?" Li Dongze hummed in confusion.
"I just revised some rules and regulations, increased the meal allowances, issued the high-temperature subsidies two months early, and waived salary deductions for tardiness..."
As Teng Yuan listed these off listlessly, Li Dongze's face grew progressively blank.
"Here, Decurion, have some Coke." Zhang Yuanqing handed Teng Yuan a cup of the happy water, pouring fuel on the fire.
"Oh, good heavens! That's sheer heresy! That is not how you lead a team!" Li Dongze protested loudly. "There is nothing elegant about this at all!"
Listening to the two bicker, Zhang Yuanqing sat down next to Jiang Jingwei. The girl was working on multiple-choice questions, her little brow furrowed and her face solemn, as if the problems on the paper were insurmountable enemies.
The questions tested middle school material: triangles, square roots, equations, the Pythagorean theorem, and so forth.
"You came just in time. Help her with her homework." Guan Ya wore an expression that screamed, *I'm exhausted; just let the world burn.*
Since he had walked right into it, there was no escaping. Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the earlier questions and saw an accuracy rate of a hundred percent. He immediately smiled. "Not bad! Pretty impressive."
Guan Ya gritted her teeth. "Those were all done by me..."
Seeing the seasoned flirt gnashing her teeth, Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "All right, let me teach her. What can I do? I'm a Scorpio. Even facing a pig, my heart softens."
As he spoke, he studied Guan Ya's exquisite face, and an improper thought flashed through his mind: *Such a dainty, high-bridged nose... wouldn't it be funny if it were replaced by a pig snout?*
Guan Ya shot him a suspicious look, pulling a compact mirror from her handbag. "Is there something wrong with my face?"
"Nope!"
"Then why did you look so disgusted just now?"
"I didn't! Sister Guan Ya is the prettiest," Zhang Yuanqing denied flatly. "To prove my sincerity, I can give you a kiss."
"Piss off!"
Taking advantage of the shift, Zhang Yuanqing steered the topic back to Jingwei, saying amiably, "Jingwei, when it comes to middle school math, what are you relatively good at, and what haven't you fully grasped?"
Jiang Jingwei tilted her head, pondering. "What I'm good at... addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division?"
"Middle school math!" Zhang Yuanqing emphasized.
Jiang Jingwei shook her head.
"Not a single thing? That's impossible." Zhang Yuanqing refused to believe there could be a child this obtuse.
Jiang Jingwei looked at the multiple-choice questions and had a flash of inspiration. "I did learn a few tricks! 'Three long and one short, pick the shortest; three short and one long, pick the longest; two long and two short, choose B; if they're all uneven, go with C.' That's how I survive multiple choice!"
Zhang Yuanqing's blood pressure soared. "Besides that?"
Jiang Jingwei's little face turned solemn. "There's one more crucial thing... learning when to give up!"
Guan Ya's blood pressure spiked alongside his.
Zhang Yuanqing fell silent for a few seconds. "How about this? Give me five hundred yuan, and I'll do your homework for you."
Jiang Jingwei was stunned. Could there really be such a kind person in this world?
"No way!" Guan Ya snapped in exasperation. "You're ruining her! She's already dumb enough as it is..."
Zhang Yuanqing replied, "Then you teach her."
Guan Ya immediately fell silent.
"The ancients said: teach students in accordance with their aptitudes," Zhang Yuanqing said. "Everyone has different talents. Forcing everyone into a rigid educational mold is fundamentally flawed. This girl clearly isn't cut out for academics—her gifts lie elsewhere. What's the point of wasting so much time on this?"
Jiang Jingwei slapped the table in admiration. "Makes sense! I love fighting! Yuanshi, let's head to the combat training room! I'll teach you how to brawl!"
Zhang Yuanqing: "Oh, so now I'm the student?"
By this time, Li Dongze had stopped his lecturing and looked at Zhang Yuanqing, his demeanor turning serious.
"I came over today for two things. The first: Team Two is having a dinner tonight to celebrate your Class A merit and everyone earning another collective merit. The second... I need to give you a warning."
A warning? Zhang Yuanqing sobered up as well.
Li Dongze said solemnly, "It's early May now. In another month, it'll be time for the semi-annual large-scale killing dungeon. Every year around this time, certain Level 3 Transcendents and Level 6 Saints seek the opportunity to advance to the next profession tier.
"For Spirit Realm walkers, this is a major event. We in the Five Elements Alliance, along with the Taiyi Sect and the Spirit Realm clans, co-host an arena tournament to select the standout candidates.
"The purpose of this is twofold: to gauge the potential of our members and to select the finest among them for dedicated cultivation."
Jiang Jingwei chimed in, "I get it! A mock exam! Our school has mock exams every month!"
Li Dongze nodded and continued, "Evil organizations have their own 'mock exams' too, but theirs are far bloodier and more ruthless. Their method is to dispatch promising geniuses to infiltrate major cities and hunt down the official factions' seeded contestants.
"Theoretically, a Level 3 Scout like me could be a target as well, since I qualify for the mid-year killing dungeon.
"However, you two—Jiang Jingwei and Yuanshi—rank much higher on their priority list. Especially you, Yuanshi. You cleared two S-rank dungeons back-to-back and were just awarded a Class A merit. You shine far too brightly.
"Walkers from evil organizations will definitely set their sights on you, looking to hunt you down to make a name for themselves and claim rewards."
Zhang Yuanqing's heart sank, remembering that veteran walkers had discussed this very topic while he was browsing the official forum yesterday.
He promptly said, "Decurion, I'd like a bounty list of evil organization members in the Transcendent stage."
Li Dongze replied, "Go look for it in the database yourself. Your clearance level is already higher than mine. Over the next few days, keep as low a profile as possible. Wear a mask and a hat on your commute. And Teng Yuan, don't even think about slacking off at home. With you holding the fort in Team Two, plus the rest of us, people from evil professions won't dare barge in."
Teng Yuan gave a slight nod and added, "Yuanshi, I'll look into applying for an 'anxiety allowance' for you."
For a moment, Zhang Yuanqing didn't know whether to be grateful or annoyed.
"Right, if they're hunting geniuses, is Centurion Fu in danger too?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
Fu Qingyang was still young, only in his twenties, yet he was already at the peak of the Saint stage. Set on entering the Council of Elders, he would definitely participate in this killing dungeon to ascend to the Dominator Realm.
That meant he, too, would become a target for evil professions.
"Of course. Plenty of evil-profession walkers at the Saint stage want him dead," Guan Ya said. "Back when he was in the capital, countless evil-profession walkers tried to assassinate him, though none succeeded. Still... his level wasn't that high back then. The ones hunting him now are likely at the peak of the Saint stage."
Worry filled the seasoned flirt's eyes.
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at her. When Li Dongze said someone was targeting him, she hadn't shown an ounce of concern. But bring up her cousin, and suddenly she was full of worry.
*Hah, women!*
*All my affection, wasted.*
Jiang Jingwei said, "Yuanshi is only Level 2. He probably won't make it in time for this advancement, yet he still has to shoulder the risk of being hunted. What a ripoff!"
Li Dongze mused, "Yuanshi still has an unopened multi-person Spirit Realm coming up. Even if you clear it successfully, you might not reach Level 3. And even if you do, you'd be the weakest of Level 3s. Entering the killing dungeon would indeed be a stretch..."
***
The outskirts of Songhai, a sprawling villa.
Clad in a black tank top and camouflage pants, Li Xianzong walked up to the villa with both hands stuffed in his pockets.
He inspected the three-story building, sank his knees, and leaped three to four meters into the air, clearing the perimeter wall and landing inside the compound.
With one hand in his pocket and the other flicking open a butterfly knife, Li Xianzong casually pushed open the villa's double wooden doors.
The first floor was completely empty, decorated with considerable opulence. Smart home appliances and costly handcrafted furniture proclaimed the owner's lavish wealth at every turn.
Li Xianzong's ear twitched as he caught the faint, muffled screams of a woman coming from the second floor.
The corner of his mouth curved up. Twirling the butterfly knife through dazzling arcs, he ascended the spiral staircase.
Li Xianzong had come to meet a Guardian of the Nihility Sect—a terrifying figure at the peak of the Saint stage.
According to the intelligence gathered by Tian Lingling, this Guardian's target was Fu Qingyang.
Upon reaching the second floor, Li Xianzong pushed open the master bedroom door. It was an expansive suite of over a hundred square meters. To the left of the doorway stood a soft bed large enough for six or seven people.
To the right hung bizarre implements—or rather, torture instruments that covered the entire wall.
On the soft bed, seven or eight burly men were tormenting a good-looking woman. When someone entered, they merely glanced back before going right back to tormenting the wretched woman.
This went on for half an hour. Li Xianzong leaned against the doorframe, watching expressionlessly.
Once everyone had had their fill, a muscular brute dragged the half-dead woman off the bed over to the wall of torture implements.
He threw her to the floor, took down a leather whip, and lashed her with force.
*Crack!*
It tore open a deep bloody welt.
*Crack, crack, crack...* The whip fell relentlessly across her body, splitting tender skin and leaving trails of blood, making the woman shiver uncontrollably as shrill screams tore from her throat.
After dozens of lashes, Li Xianzong tapped his butterfly knife against the doorframe and grinned. "Done playing yet? My patience has limits."
One of the brutes watching the woman's agony strode over aggressively, snarling, "Get the fuck out—"
Li Xianzong plunged his blade straight into the man's chest, then ripped it out, bringing with it a thick spurt of blood.
Clutching his chest, the man stumbled to his knees.
The other men acted as if nothing had happened; one kept whipping the woman while the others looked on.
A few minutes later, the woman ceased her screams. Shifting instantly from pitiful victim to cold elegance, she said flatly, "Dismissed."
Only then did the men dare to stop. Bowing respectfully, they dragged the corpse out of the master bedroom.
The woman sat on the floor with her knees drawn up, covered in wounds, yet her expression was as haughty as an empress. Curving her lips, she said, "I detest people touching my toys. You must stay here and play with me for three days. Otherwise, I won't do the Soldier Master Sect any favors."
Not in the least intimidated by her threat, Li Xianzong grinned. "If it were me, I'd slice off your head, carve your body piece by piece into mincemeat, and flush it down the sewer."
The woman's slender frame trembled. Her thighs rubbed together involuntarily as a seductive flush crept onto her cheeks. She giggled, "Wonderful idea. Bewitching Demons truly are my favorite toys. I love your savagery. Come, then—play with me."
Li Xianzong appraised the woman's attractive features and seductive figure, sneering, "I came here to collaborate with you. Furthermore, the only thing that interests me is killing."
According to intelligence, this woman was a pervert who relished being battered, humiliated, and ruined. She was deeply addicted, and one or two men could never satisfy her.
Every day, she engaged in group activities with numerous men, and whenever they failed to satisfy her, she killed them.
The woman glanced at Li Xianzong's completely unresponsive crotch and scoffed, "Turns out you're impotent. Get lost. I hate people interrupting my amusement."
Li Xianzong didn't budge. He smiled and said, "Are you interested in Yuanshi Tianzun? How about Fu Qingyang?"
The woman's eyes lit up, her tongue flicking across her red lips. "You have three minutes."
Chapter 113