"We won? We won! Yuanshi took down Li Xianzong! We won!"
Hearing the chime of the prompt in her ears, Queen sprang to her feet, wild joy blooming across her radiant face.
Overcome with excitement, she stood up fast and hard.
Li Chunfeng clenched his fists, pumping them vigorously several times in jubilation. Then he let out a loud "Fuck!" to vent all the emotions pent up inside him before finally speaking:
"This is the most perilous trial I have ever encountered. To turn the tables in such a desperate situation—I couldn't have pulled it off. As expected of a genius who cleared two S-rank trials in a row. As expected of Yuanshi Tianzun..."
*Incredible.* The joy spreading across Lili Yuanshangcao's face suppressed his usual melancholy. "The gap between the teammates I've had in the past and him is just too vast."
Yinyang Town was by far the hardest trial he had ever experienced—completely different from his previous trials, with completely different teammates.
The calm, sagacious Li Chunfeng; the unfathomable marksman Guan Ya; the formidable Queen and Huode Xingjun—the caliber of these teammates was vastly superior to any Spirit Realm walkers he had encountered before.
Not to mention a star figure like Yuanshi.
The enemies on the evil faction's side were equally terrifying.
These guys were all genuine top-tier players—top players of the Transcendent stage.
*We survived. It feels so good... Li Xianzong was killed by him in this trial. Who knows how many people will be shocked once we return to reality... Really, he always causes such big news. His bounty ranking is going to jump again.* Guan Ya leaned back against the wall with a sigh of relief, an unconscious smile curling the corner of her lips.
The scrawny Chi'ou felt like he was in a dream. *Just like that, we won? A trial this difficult, and I actually cleared it just like that?*
Honest and simple by nature, he felt a wave of shame. He felt as though he hadn't contributed anything—he had even had his fun with Widow Xu—and didn't deserve to clear the trial.
Right then, Queen's breathing turned rapid. "What—what massive rewards! Ahhh, I'm head over heels for Yuanshi Tianzun!"
Hearing this, the others quickly focused their attention on checking their quest settlements.
Guan Ya threw the woman an extra glance.
[Rewards being calculated... Item/Prop acquired: Faction Token]
[EXP rewarded: 28%]
[Main storyline settlement complete. Ding! Congratulations on completing the hidden quest. Calculating rewards...]
[Item/Prop acquired: Yinyang Robe]
[EXP rewarded: 30%]
[Hidden quest settlement complete. Ding! Congratulations on advancing to Level 3 Night Wanderer.]
[Ding! Character card reward activated. Prop rewarded: Endurance Spray.]
[Settlement complete! Exiting Spirit Realm in ten minutes...]
"The faction token actually dropped! Now I can build my own little squad," Zhang Yuanqing rejoiced.
The drop rate for a faction token was very low, requiring a certain threshold of hidden points to trigger. Clearly, the intense battle between the two teams, the successive reversals of the situation, and his leadership and clutch turnaround had earned the trial's full recognition.
The reward from the Demon Lord's character card arrived as expected—still a prop, but judging by its name, something seemed rather off.
Zhang Yuanqing had no time to inspect the prop as a scorching heat flared between his brows, and the black full moon mark surfaced prominently.
A potent surge of Taiyin power burst from the mark, barreling into his body with an almost tyrannical force. It brought a scorching, agonizing pain that felt as though it was modifying his genes and restructuring his very life.
He convulsed involuntarily. Instinctively looking down, he was startled to see his own body still standing right where it was.
*An out-of-body experience again?*
The last time his soul had left his body was when he had just cleared Sheling Tunnel and become a Level 1 Night Wanderer.
About three minutes later, his spirit body returned to his flesh, and the violent, overbearing Taiyin power subsided. Savoring the changes throughout his body, Zhang Yuanqing opened his status panel:
[Name: Yuanshi Tianzun]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Night Wanderer]
[Level: 3]
[Skills: Night Walk, Spirit Devouring, Taiyin Spirit, Howl to the Moon, Charm Art, Spirit Talismans, Astral Travel]
[EXP: 8%]
[Morality Points: 140]
[Reputation: 40]
[Spirit Talismans (Active): Spiritual script exclusive to Night Wanderers, used to draw talismans and formations. Note: Now complete; can draw formations for refining Yin corpses.]
[Astral Travel: Primordial spirit departs from the physical body. Duration: Twenty minutes.]
*Night Wanderers really do have an out-of-body ability. After all, this is our area of expertise. I just didn't expect it would take reaching Level 3 to learn it. I've finally learned all the skills of a Night Wanderer...*
Done with his musings, Zhang Yuanqing was about to inspect his items when he suddenly heard a clacking sound. The dim red dancing shoes came staggering over, veering east one moment and west the next, like a drunken man, looking none too bright.
*You're already in this state, and you still want to dance with me?* Taking advantage of the lingering curse effect before it dissipated, Zhang Yuanqing exploited the loophole and recalled them into his inventory.
Next, he recalled the Eye of the Insightful and his other items one by one into his inventory. Finally, he could examine his newly acquired items without distraction.
[Name: Faction Token (Pending Activation)]
[Type: Token]
[Function: Found a Faction (Upgradable)]
[Description: Level 1 Faction Token. Allows the creation of a six-person squad; allows the creation of trials exclusive to the squad; grants bonus EXP rewards (the squad leader's reward is double that of regular members); allows inviting teammates of the same level to participate in trials; unlocks the faction warehouse...]
[Note 1: Squad-exclusive trials can be initiated once the squad reaches six members.]
[Note 2: Faction Warehouse (Locked)]
[Note 3: The Faction Token ignores factions and can recruit members from opposing factions into the squad.]
[Note 4: Squad members may not betray or kill one another.]
*Holy shit, this thing is far more precious than props! Given enough time, anyone with ability and ambition who gets a faction token could definitely become a powerhouse in their own right. Someone like me, for instance...*
*I'll use it to form my own squad—preferably one independent of the official faction, mainly composed of unaffiliated walkers. That way, it'll help open up new avenues and avoid overlapping connections. So people from the Five Elements Alliance are out...*
Zhang Yuanqing summoned the faction token. It was a triangular plaque cast in bronze, carved on the front with the characters "Faction."
Upon grasping the faction token, a pale blue interface popped up automatically. Using his finger as a pen on the interface, Zhang Yuanqing typed in a name he had thought of on the fly:
[Chan Sect]
[Ding! Name already taken. Please choose another name.]
[Return of the King]
[Ding! Name already taken. Please choose another name.]
[Return of the Dead]
[Ding! Name successfully set. The Faction Token is now activated, and the Faction Warehouse is unlocked. Note: The Faction Warehouse is not part of the inventory; it is bound to the Faction Token. Every member can open the Faction Warehouse to view items, but items can only be withdrawn with the leader's consent.]
Zhang Yuanqing promptly checked his status panel and saw an additional line:
[Faction: Return of the Dead (Leader)]
Then, with a thought, he opened the faction warehouse. It had a full twenty storage slots—more than his inventory.
"The faction warehouse is bound to the token, not the character card. In that case, I can totally chuck the straw doll into the warehouse! That way, it won't be counted as my prop anymore, resolving the cost of a twisted fetish. It can stay in the warehouse as a perk for faction members, and I can still use it whenever I want. Isn't this way better than handing it over to the organization?"
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up with delight.
The straw doll was a powerful cursed item. In combat, using it to counter an opponent's props yielded miraculous results.
The drawback, however, was that one's aesthetic tastes would gradually skew toward female pigs. At first glance, it didn't seem particularly lethal or hazardous, but over time, one's sexual orientation would become irreversibly distorted, and even the cleansing effect of the Demon-Subduing Pestle was useless against it.
The meaning of life would be reduced to caressing a sow's rear end.
*Utterly terrifying.*
Finally, Zhang Yuanqing took out the "Endurance Spray" rewarded by the character card. Its appearance was quite similar to pepper spray. A few seconds later, the item information materialized:
[Name: Endurance Spray]
[Type: Health Supplement]
[Function: Extends Duration]
[Description: The creation of an alchemist. In his youth, eager to make quick money, this alchemist specialized in selling aphrodisiacs to wealthy squires and bureaucrats. It was acclaimed far and wide, with seekers wearing down his threshold and demand vastly exceeding supply. Struck by a flash of inspiration, the alchemist produced a convenient spray. A single use extends stamina by two hours. According to confirmed user reports, long-term use of this spray will also yield size gains.]
[Note: You know how hard it is to abstain from lust, don't you? You know it, right? So please be a decent person and use it with caution.]
*Oh, my god, what am I looking at? Such a wondrous treasure actually exists in this world...* Zhang Yuanqing was left speechless for a long time after reading the item info, with only a single thought echoing in his mind: *Fuck, I struck it rich again!*
A godsend for middle-aged men! Charging ten thousand yuan per spray wouldn't be excessive, right?
"As for the drawback, using it too long probably leads to addiction."
As Zhang Yuanqing was thinking, he heard hurried footsteps approaching. Looking back, he saw Guan Ya and the others.
At this point, about three minutes remained until their return.
Once everyone drew close, Zhang Yuanqing swept his gaze across their joyful faces and smiled. "Looks like you all made out pretty well."
"It's all thanks to you!" Li Chunfeng couldn't hide his grin. "My EXP hit 90%. I might even be able to take part in the mid-year slaughter trial to push for Saint. Besides that, I got a fairly decent prop that makes up for my lack of offensive output."
Queen beamed. "I got a prop too, and my EXP reached 87%. Even among Level 3s, I'm well above average. I want to enter the mid-year slaughter trial too. By the way, Yuanshi, you must be close to Level 3, right?"
Guan Ya glanced over immediately.
"I'm already Level 3 and can join the mid-year slaughter trial. What about you, Sister Guan Ya?" Zhang Yuanqing replied with a smile.
"...I'm Level 3 as well." Guan Ya looked dumbfounded.
*What on earth is this guy doing? Three trials, three consecutive level-ups? What kind of absurd leveling speed is this?*
For ordinary Spirit Realm walkers, going up a single level took three or four trials, sometimes even more.
A leveling speed like this rivaled that little witch back in her clan.
"Didn't you become a Spirit Realm walker only a month or so ago? This should be your third or fourth trial, right?" Queen's mouth fell slightly agape.
Zhang Yuanqing turned toward the Fire Master. "Why hasn't he woken up yet?"
Lili Yuanshangcao explained, "He should have regained consciousness, but the toxin paralyzed his nerves. His mind is awake, but his body isn't. Once we return, a few days of sleep should clear it up."
Zhang Yuanqing then asked, "Sister Guan Ya, how are your injuries?"
Leveling up didn't heal wounds; at most, it enhanced the constitution and mitigated injuries to a degree. Much like himself right now, he felt weak and longed for a long, deep sleep.
*Only now do you remember to ask about my injuries...* Guan Ya gave a soft inward huff and ignored him.
*Huh?* Zhang Yuanqing gave her a puzzled look.
Queen checked the panel countdown and hurriedly said, "Let's exchange contact info, everyone. Going through thick and thin together is fate."
For official walkers, the main way to develop informants was by meeting teammates inside trials.
Generally speaking, in confrontational trials like this one, clearing it inevitably fostered a degree of camaraderie and trust, making offline contact highly likely.
There were even Spirit Realm walkers who formed romantic bonds this way, becoming lovers or spouses.
Just as the group finished exchanging contact details, the countdown hit zero, and the scenery instantly warped.
The vision shifted from blurred to sharp, revealing Zhang Yuanqing's familiar bedroom and messy bed.
The digital alarm clock on the nightstand showed the time: 05:20.
In May, dawn had already broken. Outside the window came the crisp, melodious chirping of birds and the faint murmurs of the neighborhood's early-rising elders.
Peaceful and serene.
Standing by the window, Zhang Yuanqing breathed in the cool, moist morning air. Every time he returned from the Spirit Realm, he felt as if an entire lifetime had passed.
"It's dawn... I'm so exhausted, so sleepy..."
Zhang Yuanqing's eyelids grew heavy. Every cell in his body released a weary sigh, craving nothing more than to drop onto the bed and sleep to restore his physical strength and energy.
He returned to his desk, tore off a sheet of paper, and scribbled:
"No classes today. Stayed up late gaming. Skipping breakfast. Do not disturb. (＾w＾)"
He taped the note to the door, closed it firmly, and sent a message to Li Dongze informing him that he had exited the trial before collapsing into bed and falling straight to sleep.
The next morning, in an upscale residential compound near the Public Security Bureau, Li Dongze woke right on time to his alarm clock.
His first reaction was to pick up his phone to check for missed calls or messages.
Sure enough, there were!
Two unread messages—one from Yuanshi Tianzun and one from Guan Ya.
He first tapped open the message Yuanshi Tianzun had sent at 5:30 a.m.:
"Decurion, I'm out of the trial. A bit tired, going to rest first."
*He's finally out! Sigh, honestly, every time he enters a trial it puts my heart in my throat, far more nerve-wracking than going into a trial myself...* Li Dongze sighed with emotion, the weight on his mind finally lifted.
Compared to the first two trials, his mindset had been somewhat steadier for Yinyang Town.
Sure enough, Yuanshi hadn't let him down.
Li Dongze habitually began to analyze:
"Yuanshi's tone is pretty nonchalant. Guan Ya made it out too. This trial took around five hours—standard duration. Among A-rank trials, Yinyang Town's difficulty is above average, mainly because of the faction confrontation. Yuanshi and Guan Ya are both Level 2, so their opponents shouldn't have been exceptionally strong."
Pondering this, he exited Yuanshi Tianzun's chat window and checked Guan Ya's message, which had arrived just a few minutes earlier:
"Decurion, Yuanshi and I made it out. The enemy we encountered in the trial was Li Xianzong. I took minor injuries and feel exhausted, going to sleep first."
The moment he read that the enemy was Li Xianzong, Li Dongze felt an instinctive chill. A subconscious thought flared: *Damn it, Yuanshi and Guan Ya are dead!*
Then he snapped back to reality. This was after the fact; they had already exited the trial, which meant the one who had met his demise was Li Xianzong!
*What the hell happened?* Li Dongze stared at the phone screen, dumbfounded like a wooden chicken.
*What kind of teammates did they run into in that trial to actually butcher Li Xianzong? Powerhouses in the Transcendent stage can be counted on one hand. Was it those people from the Taiyi Sect, someone from the official ranks, or some hidden expert among unaffiliated walkers?*
*Why are you sleeping at a time like this?! Get up and write your reports!!*
All drowsiness evaporated completely from Li Dongze. A frantic, scratching itch consumed him, desperate to see their reports.
***
Meanwhile, at Fujia Bay Villa.
At a spacious solid wood dining table, Fu Qingyang and Ling Jun were enjoying breakfast, attended by bunny girls.
A bunny girl walked in from outside the dining room, holding an old-fashioned mobile phone in both hands.
"Young Master, a call from Miss Guan Ya."
"Oho, they're out?" Ling Jun chuckled, taking a sip of milk.
He hadn't been particularly worried about Guan Ya and Yuanshi. One was a combat freak, the other quick-witted with a plethora of props; a trial like Yinyang Town was unlikely to stump them.
Fu Qingyang's expression relaxed slightly. Setting down his knife and fork, he took the phone.
"You made it out?" His tone was calm, as if this were a matter of little consequence.
Guan Ya gave an "Mm" and said, "I've written a report. Take a look and decide for yourself whether to submit it to the database. I'm exhausted—don't call me whether there's news or not."
In her view, the contents of this report were not suitable to be handed directly to Li Dongze.
Furthermore, it contained some of her evaluations of Yuanshi Tianzun—the sort meant strictly for family eyes.
"Understood."
Fu Qingyang nodded slightly. After hanging up, he handed the phone back to the bunny girl and instructed:
"Bring me my laptop."
Ling Jun set down his cutlery, casting aside his casual demeanor. "What does Guan Ya mean by that?"
Fu Qingyang said calmly, "We'll know once we read the report."
Chapter 139