Morality Points Settlement

Whether it was "Dark Night Rose" or "Yuanshi Tianzun," both were extremely eye-catching tags. Once the post went up, the view count surged by hundreds per second, and comments climbed steadily. In less than ten minutes, there were already three to four hundred replies. By nine-thirty, as the morning rush hour ended and most people either settled into their desks or got out of bed, the post's comments had already hit 999+. [Guaren Youji: Front row! Why is it about Yuanshi Tianzun again? I'm already sick of news about him. Dropping a pin first, I'll read it when I get to work.] [George the Pig: There's definitely been too much news on Yuanshi Tianzun lately. Feels like he's constantly stirring up trouble without a moment's peace.] Ever since Yuanshi Tianzun became an official walker, incidents involving him cropped up every few days, and each one was a major event. Many people on the forum felt he attracted far too much drama—one incident after another, never-ending. Fortunately, with the ongoing evil profession trials, hunting and counter-hunting incidents took place across various regions every day, generating high discussion online and diverting some of the attention. Had this been a calm, quiet period, a horde of people would certainly have complained: "I'm sick to death of this!" The post was very long. It explained that following the grand health check, the Songhai Branch leadership intended to conduct a thorough screening of mid- and low-level personnel to ensure no fish slipped through the net. Thus, they appointed Yuanshi Tianzun, who had an untainted background and outstanding abilities, to investigate secretly. Through Yuanshi Tianzun's diligent efforts and his spirit of voluntary 24/7 hustle, he finally zeroed in on a target—Shakou District Deacon Chi Yue'an. The crimes were laid out one by one, including testimonies from female victims. It made readers' scalps tingle and their hearts shudder. [Lairifangzhang: Is this something an orthodox profession could do? How did he climb to the rank of Deacon? Don't the supervising Elders need to investigate? Oh, right, officials are orthodox too, yet they still do whatever they please, their bloated bellies stuffed with the people's blood and sweat.] [Quri Kuduo: Brother, watch your words. Still, this Chi Yue'an is truly inhuman. Execute him! Put him to death immediately! My blood pressure is through the roof. There's a grand health check every year, yet every year there are still so many scumbags holding onto their posts while doing nothing good. Is the grand health check just for show? I have reason to suspect high-ranking members of the organization might be involved.] #Lairifangzhang has been muted for ten minutes by an administrator# #Quri Kuduo has been muted for thirty minutes by an administrator# To the two sharpest voices, the forum moderators handed out ten-minute and thirty-minute mute packages respectively. [Guaren Youji: The two brothers above are getting too extreme. Orthodox doesn't mean saintly mother. As long as you're human, you have evil thoughts; the only difference is that some people never get the chance. Scum is impossible to eradicate completely, which is why we need a grand health check every year and must sweep away unhealthy trends annually. That persistence is what matters most. Besides, Chi Yue'an was a member of Dark Night Rose. All I can say is Dark Night Rose is utterly revolting. From now on, kill them on sight. By the way, I take back what I said earlier—well done, Yuanshi Tianzun! The more stuff like this, the better. I'll never get tired of reading it.] [George the Pig: Dark Night Rose's infiltration of our Five Elements Alliance is terrifying. Another Deacon... I read the post multiple times and felt my blood boil in sheer vindication. It's just a pity they didn't write down the details. Did you guys notice? Chi Yue'an was captured alive on the spot! That scum was a Saint—how did Yuanshi Tianzun pull that off?] [Jiang Yang: The post says gathering evidence was done solo, but it didn't say capturing Chi Yue'an alive was solo. *Sigh*, if I had a teammate like that, I wouldn't be slacking off.] [Affectionate Jenny: Wow, my opinion of Yuanshi Tianzun has completely changed. Before, I only thought he was a genius and looked decent, but I didn't expect his character to be so outstanding—such an upright kid. There can be many geniuses, but those who uphold order are the most respectable. Songhai Branch's higher-ups actually know how to get things done after all. So satisfying.] [Please Call Me Queen: Just finished reading. It's hard to imagine a Deacon could be so utterly depraved. Yuanshi truly is the man I have my eye on—simply amazing. He's bound to become a Deacon in the future. I want to transfer to Songhai.] [Wangfei: Hmph, though Chi Yue'an's actions are infuriating, Songhai Branch's attitude in rooting out chronic rot deserves recognition. Much better than our branch—ours is full of corrupt elements. I suspect they're all members of Dark Night Rose. I suggest headquarters transfer Yuanshi Tianzun over here to investigate.] Yuanshi Tianzun's public reputation instantly turned golden, bathed in waves of praise. This differed from the cheers when he killed Li Xianzong to vent anger for the official organization. That acclaim centered on concepts like "powerful" and "genius"—commanding awe rather than genuine respect. Rooting out deep-seated evils and punishing villainy to promote justice, however, was an endorsement of character and integrity. While such a persona brought tremendous backlash should it ever collapse, so long as one maintained moral integrity, it became a golden reputation. Accumulated over time, it would build an unshakeable status. Aside from praising Yuanshi Tianzun, the Songhai Branch also earned immense acclaim. Just look at their attitude: investigate black sheep and arrest villains. That was how higher-ups should act. As long as the roots hadn't rotted, a few pests would sooner or later be brought to justice. [Please Call Me Queen: I just went and dug up some intel. Do you know the background of Chi Yue'an from the Songhai Branch? He used to be a matrilocal son-in-law of the Zhu family, divorced later, and joined the Five Elements Alliance. Rumor has it he remained very close to the Zhu family.] [Guaren Youji: Oh, a Zhu family matrilocal son-in-law. No wonder he was so lawless. A Deacon without backing wouldn't dare act like that.] [Wangfei: Divorced? Which Zhu family daughter was he married to?] [Please Call Me Queen: The sister of the Zhu family patriarch. Her reputation in high society isn't great. Reportedly, she likes keeping pretty-boy lovers, and her lifestyle is deeply questionable. On top of that, she's also a pervert who enjoys abusing her male concubines. I just found out that last year she crippled a toy boy so badly he couldn't perform as a man anymore—exceedingly cruel. Do you think Chi Yue'an divorced because he couldn't stand her? And the post mentioned Chi Yue'an liked abusing women... I can't say any more here. If anyone wants to know more, DM me.] *** In a dim study. An amber-yellow desk lamp illuminated the computer screen. Cloaked in a cape, the Great Protector sat at the desk, reading an email. The contents were none other than the forum post about Chi Yue'an, complete with replies from official walkers furiously cursing Dark Night Rose. As he read, the lips beneath the hood pressed tightly together, his cheek twitching faintly. "Those shameless Elders of Songhai Branch... they've gone too far..." The Great Protector let out a low, suppressed growl of rage. Dumping every bucket of filth onto Dark Night Rose, huh? Bullying Dark Night Rose just because they didn't control public opinion, were they? *Hoo...* The Great Protector slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He thought to himself that this worked out fine—with the official internal arena tournament just around the corner, it was high time to give them a surprise. *Ring, ring, ring!* The ring of a phone broke the silence. The Great Protector grabbed the communication device beside him, glanced at the caller ID, and answered. "Great Protector, I heard! The Songhai Branch has crossed the line, costing our Dark Night Rose another Saint! This grievance must be avenged!" His direct subordinate's furious voice echoed through the receiver. "..." The Great Protector's mouth twitched violently. Dark Night Rose was a clandestine organization where members did not interact with one another, communicating solely with their direct superiors. Aside from the Leader, only the Three Great Protectors had access to dossiers of mid- and low-level members. Thus, even members at the Saint stage had no idea how many people were in the organization or which factions and posts they occupied. "Though come to think of it, that Chi Yue'an was truly a sick bastard. Out of countless ways to amass wealth, he just had to pick the foulest of them all. Why would our Dark Night Rose recruit such scum?" "..." Taking a deep breath, the Great Protector replied in a low, raspy voice, "Do you have too much free time? Have you killed Fu Qingyang? Have you killed Yuanshi Tianzun?" "This..." The subordinate faltered, assuming the Great Protector was in a foul mood because a pawn he had nurtured had been eliminated. The Great Protector didn't care to say more. Having scolded his subordinate, he hung up cleanly. *** Kangyang District, Huitong Road. Wearing an athletic headband and labor work clothes, the young man swept the street with a broom, thoroughly and meticulously clearing away the dust and trash. When it came to cleaning up trash, Heavenly King Demonic Eye was always enthusiastic—whether it was physical trash or human trash. As long as it helped cleanse the world, he would spare no effort. Of course, the act of sweeping city streets was in itself a good deed that earned Morality Points. Though modest and time-consuming, Demonic Eye had come to Songhai on a needle-in-a-haystack mission in the first place. Searching all of Songhai and sweeping the streets while doing so were not mutually exclusive. Along the way, he could help elderly folks cross the street. If he encountered seniors who lacked basic decency, he could treat them to a few tight slaps, or mark them so that once he saved up enough Morality Points, he could pay them a visit and harvest their heads. At that moment, the phone in his pocket rang. Demonic Eye straightened up, leaned on his broom, and pulled out his phone to answer. "Heavenly King, we've gathered intelligence on Yuanshi Tianzun and Zhisha Palace. According to an unaffiliated cultivator from the orthodox faction, members of Zhisha Palace recently appeared at an underground black market in Kangyang District, purchasing a large quantity of materials at once. It seems they intend to leave Songhai." "Oh? Preparing to withdraw?" Heavenly King Demonic Eye smiled and asked, "What about Yuanshi Tianzun?" "The intel on Yuanshi Tianzun is rather complicated and difficult to explain verbally. I've sent it to your email." Without replying, Demonic Eye hung up directly, opened his inbox, and downloaded the attached file. *Dark Night Rose, Yuanshi Tianzun...* Demonic Eye skimmed the title, skipped past it, and read the contents. The document contained the post from the Five Elements Alliance's official forum detailing the crimes of Shakou District Deacon Chi Yue'an. Initially impassive, Demonic Eye's expression grew darker and darker as he reached the censored words and heinous details, until the murderous intent in his eyes nearly spilled over. Beneath the headband on his forehead, the demonic eye squirmed frantically, seemingly trying to break its seal to unleash its wrath upon the world and purge the evil. Demonic Eye pressed one hand against his forehead and continued reading. Soon, he reached the brief account of Yuanshi Tianzun infiltrating the den alone to gather evidence, going on a slaughter spree inside, and capturing Deacon Chi Yue'an alive. As he read, the vertical eye on his forehead gradually settled, and the murderous intent in his gaze subsided. Demonic Eye clicked his tongue. "Well done. He really is a saintly mother." This matched the intelligence he had gathered on Yuanshi Tianzun: the man had no past misdeeds and a spotless record. Lately, Demonic Eye had been distressed over finding no justification to strike Yuanshi Tianzun down. "Perhaps I should bring him back to the Soldier Master sect. A grand endeavor to cleanse the world ought to have fellow travelers..." Demonic Eye pondered for a moment, then dialed his subordinate's number. "Three tasks for you. One, find out Yuanshi Tianzun's identity and background. Two, gather intelligence on Dark Night Rose; execute any Dark Night Rose members on sight. Three, I want the information on the corrupt elites and dignitaries implicated in Chi Yue'an's case." "Yes, sir!" *** Fujia Bay Villa. Zhang Yuanqing sat in the study, sipping fine black tea and enjoying summer desserts served by bunny girls. Beside him was Guan Ya, while Ling Jun and Li Dongze sat opposite them. Ling Jun clicked his tongue. "Fu Qingyang really was born for officialdom. Shameless—utterly shameless. What he did reminds me of a joke." "What joke?" Zhang Yuanqing asked obligingly, scooping up a spoonful of ice cream. "Oh, the flood joke. I forgot the details." Ling Jun smacked his lips. "How is that Bewitching Demon going to be handled? Did Fu Qingyang give a proposal?" "No, he wants to wait for me to take the initiative and talk to him," Zhang Yuanqing said. Just then, a Spirit Realm prompt chimed in his mind: [Morality Points +2,000] *My Morality Points really went up, and by two thousand points at that...* A wave of delight washed over Zhang Yuanqing. His prediction had been spot-on: doing good deeds wasn't just about charity donations, public service, or helping old ladies cross the street. Punishing evil and upholding justice was also doing good. It seemed major cases like this had to be conclusively settled before Morality Points were awarded all at once. While the case was ongoing, Morality Points wouldn't be calculated. *Wait, does killing evil people reward Morality Points directly, or does the case have to be formally concluded and publicized?* *If it's the former, the Decurion's estimate of Heavenly King Demonic Eye's Morality Points might be off.* "Huh, I was actually awarded three hundred Morality Points! Not bad. The loss from severely injuring those police officers was made up, with profit to spare." Ling Jun had also received the Spirit Realm prompt, his face beaming with joy. Li Dongze was full of envy. "I only got thirty Morality Points. After all, I didn't do anything." Guan Ya smiled brightly. "Decurion, I got sixty points." The veteran flirt took a sip of juice and turned her head toward Zhang Yuanqing beside her. "Yuanshi, you must have received a lot, right? How many Morality Points did the Spirit Realm give you?" Opposite them, Ling Jun and Li Dongze looked over, their faces filled with curiosity.