"Zhu Rong? There really was an audio recording of her..." Hearing the Demon Lord's voice, Zhang Yuanqing's lips twitched.
Back when he had heard the Demon Lord mention capturing the Zhu family head's younger sister—Chi Yue'an's ex-wife—he had suspected an audio clip like this would turn up sooner or later.
Sure enough, here it was.
*I really ought to record all these audio clips and publish something like 'The Women the Demon Lord Slept With Back in the Day' or 'The Complete Collection of the Demon Lord's Lovers' in the future. Dump it onto the black market, and it'd probably sell like hotcakes.*
After all, the women involved with the Demon Lord back then were all noble madams and pampered daughters of heaven holding significant standing today.
*I could probably make a fortune. It's just too wicked a thing to do, ruining those women's reputations. Though, none of the women who hooked up with the Demon Lord are good eggs anyway. Still, there are some like Yin Ji whose feelings were played with... Well, let's tentatively count her as having been played with...*
Faced with the Demon Lord's sarcastic taunts, Zhu Rong either refused to respond out of humiliation or was engaged in exercise too intense to spare any breath for words.
Listening to the densely rhythmic groans and whimpers coming from her nose, Zhang Yuanqing suspected it was the latter.
"Why aren't you speaking?" the Demon Lord sneered.
"You... you bastard... you'll die a horrible death..." Zhu Rong panted softly while gritting her teeth.
"That's what you said when you brought people to besiege me, too. And now? Aren't you still dripping wet beneath me? If those dead companions of yours knew you sold yourself out just to stay alive, I wonder what they'd think."
"I'm clinging to life only to kill a scumbag like you and uphold justice for the heavens!"
"Oh? Your mouth is quite stubborn. It tasted pretty soft just a moment ago, though."
As they spoke, Zhang Yuanqing heard the mattress creak. According to his experience, that was the sound of someone lying in bed getting up.
Next came the scuffling sounds of bare feet stepping onto the floor, messy and frantic. Zhu Rong had likely been hauled out of bed by the Demon Lord; unwilling, she was being dragged along by force.
Following that was the clattering of miscellaneous items crashing to the floor, another loud bang, and then the thud of a table being slammed into.
A new round of exercise commenced. The Demon Lord chuckled darkly:
"Uphold justice for the heavens? You people from the Spirit Realm families do plenty of shady, despicable deeds behind closed doors. How thick does your skin have to be to shout about upholding justice for the heavens? I've never killed a single ordinary person. Heh, you people only hunted me to gain fame. Since you wanted to step on me to make a name for yourselves, you should have been prepared to get slaughtered in turn. There's no reason anyone should stretch out their neck and wait for you to kill them.
"I gave you a choice back then: die alongside your companions, or become my captive. You chose the latter.
"What did you say when you were cornering me earlier? That as long as I knelt, kowtowed, and crawled between your companion's legs, you'd let me live a few minutes longer. Now, I'll give you another choice. Starting today, please me once every day. If I'm satisfied, I'll let you live another day. Otherwise, I will kill you on the spot.
"If you agree, the contract takes effect immediately. If you refuse, I will send you back to the Spirit Realm right now."
Hearing up to this point, Zhang Yuanqing frowned. The Demon Lord at this period should still have been in the Transcendent stage, but compared to the previous recordings, his personality had clearly grown more extreme, carrying a touch of both good and evil.
*The corruption of the Fallen Holy Grail is terrifying. The speed at which the Demon Lord's mentality twisted was faster than I imagined. At this point, he still had some semblance of a baseline, making excuses to give himself a justifiable cause. By the later stages, he must have completely descended into evil...*
After a long silence, Zhu Rong whimpered and stammered, "W-Why should I trust you?"
"I never deceive women!"
"...Fine."
"Huh? What was that? Speak louder."
Zhu Rong cried out with a tearful sob, "I agree!!"
By the time the two finished their physical communion, Zhang Yuanqing could no longer remember how many times he had entered Night Roam. He only felt utterly exhausted, drained of stamina, longing for nothing more than to drop his head and fall asleep.
*Good grief, listening to the Demon Lord's bedroom scenes is so exhausting every time. For a hot-blooded youth like me, this kind of audio is way more stimulating than adult videos. I really should listen to less of it in the future...* Zhang Yuanqing thought wearily.
In the recording, the Demon Lord and Zhu Rong panted softly, remaining quiet for a long time.
After a while, the Demon Lord scoffed:
"Limp like that already? Seems your husband hasn't been satisfying you. Maybe after a month, you won't be able to live without me.
"Now, time to talk business. I heard your Zhu family's old ancestor was among the very first batch of spirit realm shiftees? What era was he from?"
Zhu Rong said nothing.
*Smack!*
A crisp, loud sound echoed, followed by Zhu Rong's sharp cry of pain, though it was impossible to tell where she had been slapped.
Having taken the blow, she instantly behaved, murmuring in a low voice:
"The late Qing dynasty and early Republic of China."
"Heh, modern times as expected!" the Demon Lord said. "Then do you know why evil professions and orthodox professions are as incompatible as fire and water?"
Listening to the dialogue in the recording, Zhang Yuanqing's spirits lifted. He thought to himself that there really was some solid substance here, not purely erotic indulgence.
He had actually harbored doubts about this as well. He felt the conflict between orthodox and evil lacked internal motivation; if it were merely factional opposition, it would be difficult for shiftees of the two camps to regard each other as mortal enemies.
After all, reality was not a video game where a mere lore setting could drive people to shed blood and sacrifice their lives. In games, one could respawn, but in reality, death was final.
Without tangible benefits, who would willingly stake their lives?
"W-What do you mean?" Zhu Rong seemed not quite to understand.
"What a brainless scion of a prominent clan. I belong to an orthodox profession, right? But since becoming a spirit realm shiftee, I've never done anything orthodox. In other words, I could completely ignore evil professions. In that case, isn't the incompatible, fire-and-water enmity between the orthodox and evil factions rather strange?" the Demon Lord said.
"Furthermore, when opposing factions fight, the only reward is prestige. While prestige is nice, it isn't enough to make people risk their lives in death matches against enemies, because the cost and return are disproportionate.
"Meaning the animosity between the two factions isn't actually that severe. Yet in reality, the official organizations maintain an attitude of kill on sight toward evil professions, and evil organizations do the same. Don't you find that strange?"
Zhu Rong replied, "The family elders taught us from childhood that evil professions are rats crossing the street, everyone shouting to beat them, and must be eliminated on sight."
The Demon Lord said, "Oh, then I take back what I said. It's not that you're brainless, but that you developed entrenched thinking. What I'm asking is: did your family elders ever mention *why* evil professions must be killed?"
Zhu Rong said:
"I don't know; the family elders never mentioned it. But I do recall some things. The Dominator-level elders go out every year to hunt down evil professions—every single one of them. The importance they attach to hunting evil professions is even on par with Spirit Realm instances. Yet they aren't people who loathe evil like a personal enemy either. Thinking about it now, it really is strange."
The Demon Lord fell into deep thought for a long while before scoffing, "Then I've roughly guessed the reason."
The audio ended there.
Zhang Yuanqing nearly smashed the speaker in his hands. *Where's the rest of the conversation? What is the reason? Spit it out!*
*This Demon Lord, though morally twisted and insatiably lustful, is undeniably clever...* Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the back of his chair, pondering the conversation.
He suddenly remembered Yinyang Sanren's cultivation record, which mentioned that in ancient times, evil professions and orthodox professions could coexist.
While they had hunted each other then as well, it had been based on conflicting values and upholding justice for the heavens, not an innate opposition.
"Before the Spirit Realm appeared, good and evil were judged by one's own conscience. After the Spirit Realm appeared, the evil faction and orthodox faction came into being. Therefore, it's the Spirit Realm that orchestrates the factional conflict.
"Yet the Spirit Realm's guidance isn't obvious, offering only the prestige mechanism. No, maybe it's not unapparent—maybe my level just isn't high enough yet. According to Zhu Rong, hunting evil professions is crucial to Dominators, and this importance definitely stems from the Spirit Realm, perhaps through Spirit Realm quests or some other function.
"Also, hunting evil professions most likely benefits guilds as well, which is why the official faction offers bounties, and evil professions do the same. Why would the Spirit Realm steer the factions into opposition?"
*Sigh, Zhu Rong really did become psychologically twisted after being broken in by the Demon Lord, which is why she started keeping gigolos and abusing them. It's all the Demon Lord's fault...*
Zhang Yuanqing put away the Cat King Speaker, returned to Little Doubi's side, and picked up the controller.
Soon, the paused screen sprang to life, and the game character went on a rampage once again.
Little Doubi instantly beamed with joy, immediately forgetting his minor bewilderment from earlier.
The next morning at seven o'clock, Zhang Yuanqing finished breakfast and freshened up. He returned to his bedroom intending to catch up on some sleep, having stayed up playing video games until four in the morning.
Of course, for a Night Rover, this hardly counted as staying up late. It was just that without resting at night, he became prone to drowsiness during the day—an occupational hazard of being a Night Rover.
"I'll sleep for two hours and set an alarm for eight-fifty. There are matches today after all. Although I most likely won't be called up two days in a row, other star contenders will be stepping into the ring. Watching their fights is very necessary."
Zhang Yuanqing lay back down on the bed and silently logged onto the forum.
*I'll enjoy some flattery before sleeping...* Suddenly, his gaze focused. On the front page, he spotted a rather conspicuous post. It wasn't highlighted in red or pinned, but due to an astounding volume of comments, it had been bumped up to a prominent position right at the top.
*#Five Elements Alliance Shields Yuanshi Tianzun#*
The post was forwarded from the Taiyi Sect's official forum. Its content was simple, accusing the Five Elements Alliance of shielding Yuanshi Tianzun. As for what they were shielding him over, the post claimed: *Restricted by the covenant, we cannot disclose specifics, but those in the know understand!*
"Yuanshi Tianzun committing such an act is utterly devoid of conscience. If the Five Elements Alliance does not provide an explanation, we in the Taiyi Sect will refuse to participate in the arena tournament. Furthermore, regarding Night Rovers who violate the convention, the Taiyi Sect, as an official organization, also holds the authority to discipline them."
Obviously, the Taiyi Sect Night Rovers were referring to the spirit servant matter.
Other professions might not have been able to see it, but Night Rovers could clearly perceive Little Doubi's existence.
Refining an infant into a spirit servant not only violated regulations, but was also heinous in nature.
*Tsk. The Maoshan Daoist's defeat left the Taiyi Sect Night Rovers sore, didn't it? Wanting to use the spirit servant angle to suppress me? Well, this really is a fault on my part, so I can't blame them for attacking it...*
Zhang Yuanqing wasn't the least bit panicked, because Little Doubi's origins were completely legitimate. It had come into being due to an accident, not through private refining. The matter had been reported and filed back then, and the case's detailed proceedings were recorded crystal-clear in the archives, with Guan Ya also involved throughout.
At most, he was guilty of privately keeping an infant spirit, which was infinitely less severe—hardly even an offense.
Zhang Yuanqing scrolled down to scan the comments. Among the Five Elements Alliance spirit realm shiftees, some asked what had happened, some spoke evasively and beat around the bush, while others remarked that Yuanshi Tianzun had indeed done wrong.
The majority of official shiftees still favored reason; hence, even when defending him, their arguments lacked conviction.
To spirit realm shiftees who knew the insider rules, privately refining a spirit servant was indeed a major violation, especially when it was an infant spirit.
Right then, a slightly shrill ringtone sounded. The caller was Fu Qingyang.
"Centurion!"
Zhang Yuanqing answered the call.
Fu Qingyang's deep voice came through: "The Taiyi Sect reported you to the Songhai branch for privately refining a spirit servant—an infant spirit at that. Elder Gou called me personally and told me to get an explanation from you."
*Those bastards actually went and reported me?* Zhang Yuanqing immediately said:
"Centurion, I didn't privately refine a spirit servant. The infant spirit was acquired during an accident..."
He promptly recounted the entire affair from start to finish.
Finally, he added, "Guan Ya was involved in this as well and can vouch for me. Moreover, when the case was handled, I officially filed a report. The proceedings of the matter and Wang Qian's statement are all documented in the archives; you can look them up."
Fu Qingyang's tone eased slightly. "Then there is no problem. I will report back to the elder. The forum administrators will put up an announcement to clarify things for you; I'll try to have them publish it before nine o'clock."
Zhang Yuanqing grunted in acknowledgment.
Fu Qingyang continued, "Elder Gou has some intelligence that needs to be relayed through you to the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter."
"What is it?"
"Prior to the extermination of the Chu family, the Dark Night Rose had no leader," Fu Qingyang said. "Elder Gou wants to know her thoughts on this."
"Understood."
Roughly half an hour later, an administrator of the Five Elements Alliance forum published a post, highlighted in red and pinned at the top.
The post's contents were simple: an assignment report on handling the infant spirit incident. The confidentiality rating on this report was very low, falling under ordinary spirit realm shiftee cases, so making it public posed no issue.
However, because of this, certain official shiftees who hadn't yet known Yuanshi Tianzun possessed a spirit servant could deduce a great deal from the report.
After reading the report, the spirit realm shiftees of the Five Elements Alliance immediately perked right up.
"So that's how it was! Why didn't you say so earlier? Forward it to the Taiyi Sect forum!"
"Phew, that was close. I almost thought Yuanshi Tianzun's image was ruined."
"Already forwarded it. Those fools went silent, except for a few stubborn loudmouths arguing, 'Setting the facts aside, is Yuanshi Tianzun completely blameless?'"
Naturally, the Five Elements Alliance also meted out a fair punishment to Yuanshi Tianzun for privately keeping a spirit servant: a demerit on his record and one month's salary docked.
At nine o'clock in the morning, figures materialized one after another in the vintage arena.
Today had no opening address, nor did anyone need to establish covenants. After entering the venue, the official shiftees tacitly sought out friends and family, creating a bustling, chaotic scene.
Wearing his Silencer Mask, Zhang Yuanqing successfully found the veteran driver Guan Ya. Queen and Little Green Tea made their own way over. Jiang Jingwei didn't come looking for Yuanshi Tianzun today, mingling instead with her elder brother, the Fire Prince.
"If no star contenders take the stage today, I'm going back to sleep," Zhang Yuanqing said, letting out a yawn.
Little Green Tea asked curiously, "What did you do last night, Big Brother?"
*Nothing much, just listened to the Demon Lord and Zhu Rong play poker for over half an hour...* Zhang Yuanqing replied, "Played video games."
Little Green Tea nodded, satisfied with the answer.
"People from the Taiyi Sect are watching you," Guan Ya whispered suddenly.
Their seats today weren't far from the Taiyi Sect's section, close enough to clearly see each other's faces.
As a Scout, Guan Ya was the first to detect the gazes directed by the Night Rovers.
Zhang Yuanqing looked over in that direction, met by a barrage of hostile glares.
However, renowned figures at the Saint stage like Yin Ji and the Ghost King of Fengdu paid him no attention.
The Night Rovers glaring at him in the arena were basically all in the Transcendent stage.
"Huh..."
Zhang Yuanqing spotted Sun Miaomiao surrounded by her sectmates. Just as he was about to marvel at her beauty, he noticed that the way the girl was looking at him was rather off.
Her gaze was complicated. If he had to describe it, it was roughly like Tom looking at Jerry—excitement mingled with covetous longing, and covetous longing laced with sheer predatory aggression.
"..." Even Zhang Yuanqing, adept as he was at socializing, couldn't help averting his gaze, not daring to meet her eyes.
*What's up with this girl?*
At this moment, the Armored Swordsman stepped onto the field and announced the tournament rules as usual. Immediately afterward, the matchup list popped up in the vision of the spirit realm shiftees present:
"Zhou Bapi vs. Arrogant Youth"
"Too Tired to Love vs. Only Drink Sweet Soy Milk"
"Long Qianyun vs. Young Housewife Next Door"
"Earth God vs. Zhurong"
"Crossing-River Pawn vs. Likes Handsome Boys"
It was still forty groups, eighty contestants in total. Two star contenders were matched up today: Earth God, ranked second in the Transcendent stage, and Crossing-River Pawn, ranked tenth.
Zhang Yuanqing's interest was piqued at once. The top three were frontrunners to win the championship. Earth God, ranked second, was reputed to possess invincible defense, having nearly worn last year's champion down to exhaustion and surrender.
To Zhang Yuanqing, he was undeniably a formidable rival on the road to the championship.
He couldn't wait to see just how durable Earth God truly was.
As for Crossing-River Pawn, Zhang Yuanqing was equally curious. This was a Scout! As everyone knew, a Scout in the Transcendent stage was essentially a walking ward; what combat power could a ward possibly have?
Yet Crossing-River Pawn managed to squeeze into the top ten among a crowd of powerhouses. This guy was definitely extraordinary.
After several reasonably exciting matches, it was finally Earth God's turn to take the stage.
"Match Four: Earth God versus Zhurong!"
The Armored Swordsman stood in the center of the arena and shouted loudly.
The moment his voice fell, a fireball shot through the air from the stands, dropping onto the field. Immediately following that, the flames billowed outward, solidifying into a tall young man with resolute features.
The entrance was remarkably handsome, drawing a wave of cheers.
Zhang Yuanqing's gaze swept quickly around before settling on an elderly gentleman wearing a leather jacket and leather pants, sporting black sunglasses, and dangling a cigar from his lips.
This old man looked like a senior rock singer, radiating unruliness and trendy swagger from head to toe.
The moment he stepped into the ring, the cheers erupted—the signature effect of a high-popularity contender.
*This is completely different from the white-bearded, kindly-looking Earth God I had in mind...* Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally.
Once both sides entered the ring, the youth with the ID Zhurong couldn't wait to speak:
"Earth God, this time last year, I was only a Level 2 Fire Specialist. Watching you ride the wind and stir the clouds in the arena tournament made me so envious. Things are different now—I'm Level 3 too. I believe I can defeat you!"
His pronunciation was bizarre; one could tell from his accent that he came from a region famous for eating Fujianese.
With his cigar dangling, Earth God grumbled, "Bro, can you speak proper Mandarin?"
"I *am* speaking Mandawin."
Earth God waved a hand. "Whatever. Cut the crap and make your move."
A Fire Specialist truly lived up to his profession. Hearing that, he didn't waste a word. Flames detonated beneath his feet, the immense kinetic force propelling him forward like a shot arrow.
"Not bad! Your flame control has reached mastery," Earth God praised lavishly.
"There's even better!" Zhurong growled. High-temperature flames ignited across his fist, and he hurled a punch straight at Earth God's face.
Yet when the fist reached three inches from the trendy old man, it was blocked by a hazy yellow halo.
*Bang, bang, bang!* Wrapped in blazing fire, Zhurong unleashed punches and kicks, pouring all his might into assaulting the barrier. Clusters of flames burst apart like grenades, producing concussive explosions.
Earth God stood motionless, his sunglasses not even shifting.
Seeing this, Zhurong's expression shifted slightly. Trying to save face, he declared:
"I still have other tricks! Hmph, in the Five Elements, Wood overcomes Earth! You won't hold out this time!"
With that, he summoned a vibrant green wooden saber.
*Bang, bang, bang...* Brandishing the wooden saber, Zhurong circled Earth God, slashing and hacking with supreme confidence.
Several minutes later, Earth God remained standing like a rock.
"Can't counter you?" Zhurong gritted his teeth. "I still have one more move—"
Before he could finish, dizziness washed over him in waves, and his limbs went limp.
Earth God lazily exhaled a puff of blue smoke and mocked him in his own accent:
"You think me dangling a cigar is just copying you youngsters to act cool? You've been poisoned, man~ Young buck, I was already Level 3 before you even became a spirit realm shiftee. How can you beat me, huh, *pokkai*!"
With a resounding slap, he knocked the poisoned Zhurong unconscious.
The Armored Swordsman announced loudly: "Earth God wins!"
Thunderous cheers shook the entire arena, roaring in applause for the old man.
*So strong... A defense like this has already been honed to rival a Saint, hasn't it?* Zhang Yuanqing couldn't feel happy at all.
In truth, that Fire Specialist was not weak; his attacks were ferocious and swift. A Fire Specialist's hand-to-hand combat prowess ranked near the top among orthodox professions, yet facing Earth God, he seemed utterly amateurish.
Guan Ya turned her head toward him, leaning close to whisper:
"Got an idea of his defense now? Well? Any confidence?"
Zhang Yuanqing shook his head gently. "I can't break through."
The Bloodthirsty Blade couldn't pierce a defense of this level, nor could the Yinyang Robe counter the trendy old man. Thinking it over, the only tactic Zhang Yuanqing could devise was—playing dirty!
Using the pursuing property of the Red Dancing Shoes to grind him down like a dull knife slicing meat.
Meanwhile, as its owner, he would use skills like Night Roam and Flame Jump to harass him.
However, defense was only one facet of Earth God's repertoire. As a veteran Earth Monster, he surely had other tricks up his sleeve.
If second place was already this formidable, first place would only be stronger, and third place wouldn't lag far behind either.
Zhang Yuanqing felt unprecedented pressure.
Chapter 186