Bounty List Update

The scenery of the colosseum rippled like water. Once the ripples settled, Zhang Yuanqing found himself back in his bedroom. *Drip, drop. Drip, drop.* Blood trickled from his chest, and his shredded T-shirt was stiff with a thick crust of dried plasma. Because his lunar energy was completely depleted, the piercing wound through his chest had not fully healed and continued to seep blood slowly. Zhang Yuanqing felt no pain—most likely, he was simply numb. He walked over to the full-length mirror by the window and caught sight of his pale reflection. His clothes were torn to shreds. Beyond the shocking puncture wound on his chest, his arms, cheeks, thighs, abdomen, and waist were covered in claw marks and bruises. Right now, he looked like a death row convict fresh off the torture rack. *So tired... so miserable...* Zhang Yuanqing drew the curtains shut, slowly sank to the floor, and lay down spread-eagled. *A good sleep will fix it. Sleep is the best medicine... That fellow Zhao Chenghuang is definitely getting treated with Life Liquid right now. Being a second-generation Spirit Walker must be nice. Not something us grassroots nobodies can compare to...* *I won. I'm the champion. The Houtu Boots are mine... My head was too fuzzy when I slipped away, so I forgot to bring the yin corpse back, but it doesn't matter. Fu Qingyang will retrieve it for me...* A wave of exhaustion from the grueling battle washed over him, accompanied by a gnawing hunger, but at this point, he didn't even have the strength to crawl up and eat. *** Noon, Wuhen Hotel. Xiao Yuan was unusually restless, constantly glancing at her phone to check for messages and look at the time. When the clock finally reached 11:40, she could no longer hold back. Opening her messaging app, she sent Yuanshi Tianzun a text: *“Is the tournament over?”* The message sank like a stone into the ocean, yielding no response. Xiao Yuan took a deep breath, her chest rising high beneath her white dress shirt, and waited patiently. By 12:30, after texting Kou Beiyue to pick up lunch, she dialed Yuanshi Tianzun's number. "Sorry, the number you have dialed is switched off..." Listening to the automated voice prompt, Xiao Yuan knitted her delicate brows. *The tournament still isn't over?* According to Yuanshi, today's final battle was a duel for the championship, featuring only him and Zhao Chenghuang. How long could an arena match possibly last? An entire morning had passed. Why hadn't it concluded? To be honest, Xiao Yuan was curious about the outcome and harbored a sliver of hope, yet felt it was pointless to expect anything. As a newcomer among Spirit Walkers, Yuanshi Tianzun breaking into the top three was already a pleasant surprise. The chances of him taking the crown were slim. If he actually managed to win, it would only make the official faction look utterly devoid of talent. Just then, the hotel doors opened, and a food delivery courier wearing a blue safety helmet entered. He had handsome features with thick eyebrows and sharp eyes, resembling a fierce young wolfdog. Kou Beiyue had returned, carrying an insulated delivery backpack. He had brought back a sumptuous lunch for both Xiao Yuan and himself. Lately, Xiao Yuan had found reliable ways to earn money. She had sold information on Yuanshi Tianzun a few times and earned two hundred thousand by helping him hunt down a yin corpse. With plenty of spare cash on hand, their meals had drastically improved. After a period of working as a delivery courier, Kou Beiyue's pale complexion had been replaced by a healthy, sun-kissed tan. Dripping with sweat, Kou Beiyue stood directly under the air conditioner's vent by the entrance, enjoying the blast of frigid air before hurrying over with excitement. "Xiao Yuan! Xiao Yuan! When I was delivering food just now, I ran into Human Blood Bun!" Xiao Yuan frowned slightly at the name. "You're still in contact with him?" Human Blood Bun was a cadre working under Gu King, Vice President of the Spirit Society. Having performed meritorious service during the Black Impermanence incident, Human Blood Bun had been assigned by Gu King as a cadre in Jinshan City, where he established the Jinshan City branch office dedicated to roping in and recruiting evil classes. The man had a bizarre obsession with delivering food. In the scorching heat, he rode an electric scooter, doggedly making door-to-door deliveries, which was how he had crossed paths with Kou Beiyue. Human Blood Bun believed Kou Beiyue, who also seemed to enjoy food delivery, was a promising talent, so they had exchanged contact details. Even though Kou Beiyue had adamantly insisted that he didn't enjoy delivering food and was only doing it out of financial necessity, Human Blood Bun had refused to believe him. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Kou Beiyue shouted back. "That guy isn't a good person. He's moody and kills without batting an eye, but he isn't bloodthirsty either. He's just an ordinary scoundrel. Are there really any fewer of those within the official ranks?" Seeing Xiao Yuan's face darken, he hastily explained, "I only wanted to pry some intel out of him. It's better than you having to run to the black market every day, right? In fact, I just got wind of some extraordinary news!" "Extraordinary news?" Xiao Yuan sneered. Ever since becoming a Bewitching Demon, this kid had lived under her protection and trained under Master Wuhen. To say he was naive and inexperienced in worldly affairs was an understatement. How could he know which information was important and which wasn't? He had probably been duped by Human Blood Bun tossing him some run-of-the-mill gossip. Kou Beiyue set down his delivery box, pulled out his phone, and said with high spirits, "Human Blood Bun just forwarded me a message. It's an internal update regarding the bounty list of the Spirit Society Eastern District Branch! Well, technically it's just their branch's list for now, but I bet the other major evil organizations will sync their updates within the next day or two." *The bounty list has been updated?* Xiao Yuan nodded slightly. That truly did count as significant intelligence; evil organizations did not alter their bounty lists on a whim. She took the phone from Kou Beiyue and looked closely: *“Transcendent Stage Bounty List Update:* *“Yuanshi Tianzun: Bounty: 20 million, one Saint stage item, two Transcendent stage fine items.* *“Zhao Chenghuang: Bounty: 15 million, one Saint stage item.* *“Only I Am Supreme: Bounty: 15 million, two Transcendent stage fine items.* *“Sun Miaomiao: Bounty: 10 million, two Transcendent stage fine items.* *“Earth God: Bounty: 15 million, one Transcendent stage fine item.* *“...”* Zhao Chenghuang, who had previously occupied the top spot on the Transcendent stage bounty list, had dropped to second place. Standing proudly at the summit was none other than Yuanshi Tianzun. Xiao Yuan's pupils constricted slightly, and her radiant face froze. At this moment, as she digested the intel, only a single thought occupied her mind: The arena tournament had concluded. Yuanshi Tianzun had won! *He beat Zhao Chenghuang... He actually beat Zhao Chenghuang...* Xiao Yuan set down the phone and stared blankly out the hotel entrance, lost in thought. After a long pause, she put the phone aside and whispered, "I'm going to see Master Wuhen." *** Fujia Bay. Inside the study, Ling Jun circled the yin corpse, inspecting it from head to toe. "A Level 3 Bewitching Demon's corpse, carrying the aura of an Earth Monster... Tsk, tsk. Where on earth did Yuanshi Tianzun get this yin corpse? I don't recall him asking you for help, and you didn't mention anything either." Bound tightly by thick vines, Corpse No. 1 growled low in its throat, writhing and thrashing violently in an attempt to break free and slaughter every living being in sight. The command it had received was to kill the enemy, which defaulted to slaughtering all living people. After its master provoked public outrage and fled, he hadn't managed to issue a command to stand down. Seated behind his desk, Fu Qingyang replied impassively, "You aren't a member of the Five Elements Alliance. I have no obligation to tell you everything." Changing the subject, he instructed, "Go notify Bunny Girl No. 2 to prepare the payouts. Issue a bonus of one million to every member of the White Tiger Guards." "Alright!" Ling Jun departed happily. Watching the scoundrel leave, Fu Qingyang picked up his phone and opened the messaging app. Five Elements Alliance, Elders Group Chat. **[Elder Dog: Not bad, not bad at all. Now both the Transcendent and Saint stage champions belong to our Five Elements Alliance.]** **[Military God of the Great Tang: We haven't held our heads this high in many years. Back in the day, before the female Grand Marshal rose to prominence, even she had to take the Transcendent and Saint championships in two separate tournaments.]** **[Luo Shen: Yuanshi Tianzun's talent is truly astonishing. His future accomplishments will be limitless. Elder Sun will never wash off his reputation for being utterly muddleheaded.]** **[Sea of Fire God of War: Quite interesting! I really like this kid, Yuanshi Tianzun. How about you White Tiger Guards hand him over to my Scarlet Fire Gang? Ahahaha!]** Normally, the elders rarely spoke in this chat. They only chimed in when there was official business to discuss; during quiet times, the group remained dead silent. Yet several hours after the tournament ended, the elders were still offering commentary now and then, keeping the atmosphere relaxed and lively. From their perspective, the Five Elements Alliance had completely crushed the Taiyi Sect in this year's tournament, earning them immense face. At the realm of Dominators, ordinary material gains held little appeal; face, however, was paramount. Fu Qingyang sneered. These "old fossils" hadn't hesitated to place millions in bets on Zhao Chenghuang without batting an eye, yet when backing Yuanshi Tianzun, they had stingily bet a mere few tens or hundreds of thousands. Now that Yuanshi Tianzun had defeated Zhao Chenghuang, each and every one of them was beaming with delight. Then again, a few million was pocket change to elders. Face was far more important. Fu Qingyang typed a message: **[Fu Qingyang: My sincere thanks to the elders for your generous contributions!]** A simple sentence, yet it landed like a resounding slap across their faces. The group chat, which had been brimming with cheer, instantly plunged into dead silence. Not a single person spoke. Ten-odd seconds later, a system notification popped up on Fu Qingyang's screen: **[You have been removed from the group chat.]** *** When Zhang Yuanqing woke up, dusk had already fallen. Propping up his exhausted body, he sat up and glanced down at his chest. The puncture wound had long since fully healed, leaving behind no scar. The wounds and bruises across the rest of his body had likewise vanished. *My condition has recovered by thirty to forty percent... I'm starving...* Dizzily, he got to his feet, stripped off his shredded garments, and gathered a clean T-shirt, shorts, and a bath towel. He cautiously crept to the bedroom door and unlocked it. Cracking the door open a sliver, he listened for movement in the living room. It was quiet outside; both his grandfather and grandmother were out. At this hour, his idle grandfather was usually out taking a stroll and chatting with acquaintances in the neighborhood, while his grandmother would have gone to the wet market to buy ingredients for dinner. Zhang Yuanqing swiftly slipped into the bathroom, washed away the blood and grime, and returned to his bedroom with a mop. He thoroughly cleaned the bloodstains and the outline of blood and sweat left on the floor. Next, he stuffed his ruined clothes into a garbage bag, headed downstairs, and tossed it into the building's waste disposal bin. Having finished all of this, clean and refreshed, Zhang Yuanqing turned around and walked straight to the braised chicken shop outside the residential complex. He ordered three portions of braised chicken and caught an unmistakable look of envy in the shopkeeper's eyes. While waiting for the food to be served, he eagerly pulled out his phone, disabled airplane mode, and discovered a missed call from Fu Qingyang. As usual, he first sent Auntie Xiao Yuan a message announcing his victory, then scrolled through his congratulatory texts one by one. From Xie Lingxi's *“Brother, you're amazing!”* to Big Muscle Tyrant's *“Holy crap, kid, you're completely unhinged!”* From Li Dongze's *“Oh, my God!”* to Guan Ya's *“Congrats, congrats! From now on, every hungry eel gets its abalone.”* *This woman's dirty jokes are getting more and more out of hand...* As a proper model student, Zhang Yuanqing sent back a blushing emoji: *“I'm still a kid, I don't know what you're talking about. Um, is Master Bao free tonight? I'm feeling hungry.”* Next, he opened the White Tiger Guards group chat and saw a message where Fu Qingyang had mentioned him: **[Fu Qingyang: When you wake up, remember to come to Fujia Bay to retrieve your yin corpse.]** **[Youfeng Laiyi: Long live the Sect Master!]** **[Seven-Timer: Long live the boss!]** **[Little Tiger: Thank you, Sect Master!]** **[Sweeping the World: Thank you, Sect Master!]** Even members who usually lurked silently had posted "Thank you, Sect Master." *Huh? Why is nobody talking about me? Aren't I the star of the show today?* Mildly dissatisfied, Zhang Yuanqing scrolled up to check the chat history. **[Fu Qingyang: A bonus of one million per person, independent of mid-year and year-end bonuses.]** *“!!!”* Zhang Yuanqing opened his SMS inbox and sure enough, found a bank notification for a one-million-yuan deposit. **[Yuanshi Tianzun: May the Centurion reign for countless ages and unite the world! Bearing Heaven's mandate, may you live long and prosper!]** He then flooded the chat with kowtowing "Thank you, Boss!" sticker memes. **[Seven-Timer: It's over. I can't out-suck-up this guy.]** **[Little Tiger: ...]** **[Youfeng Laiyi: Yuanshi Tianzun, don't you have any of the pride of a genius?]** **[Yuanshi Tianzun: Beneath the Centurion's glorious, radiant light, my firefly glimmer isn't even worth mentioning.]** Just as he sent that, Zhang Yuanqing saw Fu Qingyang send him an exclusive red packet. **[Fu Qingyang: Do not misunderstand. This is a reward for the champion. I do not encourage bootlicking, so nobody copy him.]** **[Youfeng Laiyi: ...]** **[Seven-Timer: ...]** **[Little Tiger: ...]** Exiting the group chat, Zhang Yuanqing eagerly opened the official forum, eager to see what official Walkers were saying about him. This was the main event. *** Inside a dimly lit bedroom, Zhu Rong lounged back into a single-seater armchair, wearing a long gown with her slender, jade-like legs crossed. Looking at the young man in the room, she smiled faintly and said, "Give me his blood."