Of course, Guan Ya took the talk of the evil organizations preparing a feast to celebrate Yuanshi Tianzun's demise in the Spirit Realm as a joke. Even so, the evil organizations were certainly awaiting the outcome, harboring immense hopes that Yuanshi would perish within the Spirit Realm.
After all, as the champion of the arena tournament, Yuanshi had become, to a certain extent, a leading figure of the Transcendent stage among the law-abiding professions.
Once a contender like him matured, there was no telling if he might become another Fu Qingyang.
Li Dongze said in a deep voice, "Guan Ya, keep trying to reach him. If you still can't get in touch with Yuanshi by twelve-thirty, I will notify the Centurion immediately. We may need to convene a meeting then."
The agenda of the meeting, naturally, would be discussing how to handle "Yuanshi Tianzun's successful return" and "arranging for someone to impersonate Yuanshi Tianzun."
Given Yuanshi's current fame and status, if he truly died in the Spirit Realm, it was not something that could simply be brushed aside with an announcement.
It would be a full-blown public relations crisis.
Although Li Dongze had great faith in Yuanshi, as a mature leader, he had to be thoroughly prepared for any potential mishaps—and that included psychological preparation.
Just then, Wang Tai spoke up:
"This is ridiculous!
"A crisis where the Demon Lord nearly died doesn't mean Yuanshi is doomed. Setting aside factors like combat prowess and props, the Demon Lord wasn't an all-around genius. A crisis that left him helpless might have simply been an area outside his expertise, whereas for someone else, it could be as simple as common sense.
"Your worry is warranted, but turning into startled birds is unnecessary. Claiming that a dungeon the Demon Lord considered certain death is one Yuanshi Tianzun absolutely cannot clear is just preposterous and utterly moronic."
Guan Ya and Li Dongze froze, thinking how rare it was for Wang Tai to voluntarily say so much.
"Well, maybe, but... Wang Tai, what you said makes a lot of sense," Guan Ya said blankly. "Except neither of us said that last part."
Wang Tai, his hair disheveled and eyes slightly dull, gave an "Oh."
"A few braindead keyboard warriors on the forum said that. I couldn't out-argue them, so I took it out on the two of you."
*Who gave you the courage to do that—those keyboard warriors?* Guan Ya and Li Dongze stared at him expressionlessly.
***
Zhang Yuanqing saw his familiar bedroom once again, still cradling the small jade box in his hands.
*I'm back...* He instinctively looked toward the bedroom door. The door was open, yet Zhang Yuanqing clearly remembered closing it tight before entering the Spirit Realm.
*Even the deadbolt was unlocked. Missing for twenty-four hours... the family must have been worried sick.*
Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, unable to find a suitable excuse to gloss over it.
Though he was an adult, he was still a student after all. What kind of nonsense would keep a student away from home for twenty-four hours?
*Probably only getting a hotel room with a girlfriend... but I don't even have a girlfriend,* Zhang Yuanqing complained inwardly while grabbing his phone, only to find it had shut off from low battery.
Plugging his phone in to charge, he shifted his attention back to this prop. Opening the jade box, he found three small jade talismans lying inside.
"Three... Hmm, that matches the time of the Demon Lord's death."
Zhang Yuanqing had acquired his character card in April this year, a little over two months ago, so the Demon Lord's death had to have occurred earlier than that.
The jade box produced one jade talisman per month, and there were three in the box—the count lined up with the timing of the Demon Lord's demise.
"I'll find time to use one talisman to test the effect. No need to test it in reality; I should try returning to a Spirit Realm dungeon. Hmm, of the ones I've visited, there's no reason to go back to Yinyang Town. It's between Jinshui Amusement Park and the Mountain God Temple.
"Speaking of which, can this thing really teleport to places I've been before? If I want to return to my mother's womb, what would it do?"
Zhang Yuanqing was just idly musing and had no intention of putting it into practice. After all, he had been born twenty-one years ago and was no four-to-five-jin infant. If he really went back into her womb, his mom would probably die on the spot.
He put away the Teleportation Jade Box, stripped off his filthy, tattered shirt and pants, and walked into the living room in his boxer briefs before heading into the bathroom.
Amidst the rushing sound of water, Zhang Yuanqing's thoughts drifted.
*At this hour, Grandma isn't home, so she must have gone grocery shopping. At her age, with her precious grandson missing for twenty-four hours, how could she have the appetite to eat...?*
After showering and changing into a clean short-sleeved shirt and sweatpants, Zhang Yuanqing unplugged his phone, crossed the living room, and opened the security door. With a clear destination in mind, he headed to an upscale eatery outside the residential compound to enjoy its signature dish: braised chicken with rice.
Having not eaten for twenty-four hours, he was starving half to death.
Just as he stepped through the security door, he saw the security door across the hall open as well. Out walked a middle-aged man in beach shorts and a beach shirt, radiating sheer flamboyance.
"Yo, silly Yuanzi, lookin' like you just awoke, draggin' around a drained-dry folk!"
Spotting the heir to his legacy, his uncle launched straight into a piece of clumsy rap.
Then he chuckled slyly. "You've finally seen the light, eh? Knowing enough to get a hotel room with a girlfriend—your uncle is deeply gratified."
Zhang Yuanqing looked at his flamboyance-oozing uncle and snapped, "Uncle, with that outfit, are you going on vacation in the Land of Exile?... Wait, what did you just say? Get a hotel room for what?"
"With this hellish summer weather, even the Land of Exile could pass for a summer retreat. I figured beach shorts fit the weather nicely," his uncle explained, before winking and nudging him. "Yu'er said you got yourself a girlfriend and spent the night outside with her yesterday. Your grandma was thrilled, saying Yuanzi turned out to be the most promising after all."
*Auntie? She actually lied to cover for me with Grandpa and Grandma?* Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Yuanqing replied:
"When I have a kid in the future, I'll have them learn rap from you, Uncle."
Hearing this, his uncle beamed with delight and shoved a crisp red hundred-yuan bill into his disciple's hand.
***
"Isn't this a bit excessive? Thirty missed calls?!"
Inside the restaurant where the air conditioning blasted chilly air, Zhang Yuanqing held his phone—now at just nine percent battery—his face full of shock.
Among those missed calls, five were from Grandma; the rest were all from Guan Ya.
*Even though checking in is mandatory protocol, calling over twenty times in one go is way too much...* Zhang Yuanqing suspected his phone had died entirely because of her calls.
The Mute Village dungeon was indeed perilous, but to outsiders, Yuanshi Tianzun had merely entered an A-grade dungeon, nothing more.
*Could it be that Guan Ya's feelings for me run that deep already?* he thought to himself.
Just as he was thinking this, the phone rang. The caller was Guan Ya.
Zhang Yuanqing curled his lips into a smile, answered the call, cleared his throat, and teased, "Sister Guan Ya, I had no idea you were so worried about me. Tsk, tsk, such deep affection from a beauty can only be repaid with eighteen centimeters."
However, Guan Ya did not say what he expected: *Is it eight centimeters or eighteen? I'll have to verify it with my own hands.*
Nor did she say: *Is your repayment going to be like a clearance clothing store and get cut in half?*
Instead, Guan Ya's voice was filled with joy, excitement, and the exhausted relief of a heavy burden lifted: "Yuanshi, you made it out? That's wonderful! That's so great..."
"Huh?" Zhang Yuanqing froze for a second. "What's wrong?"
Without answering him over the phone, Guan Ya shouted, "Decurion, Yuanshi is out!!"
Over ten seconds later, Zhang Yuanqing heard Li Dongze's thoroughly inelegant voice:
"Oh heavens, Yuanshi! When it comes to dungeon clearing, you never disappoint! You're a genius, a top-tier genius!"
"Decurion, you're shouting in my ear. I have no idea what's going on. Please explain gracefully."
Soon enough, Zhang Yuanqing learned from Li Dongze about the rumors stirred up by Yin Ji's remarks, as well as the deep worries Guan Ya and the others had harbored.
*When the Demon Lord talked about missing the main point, he probably did what I did—mistakenly believing clearing the dungeon meant defeating the boss of the village. By the time he realized the truth, half his life was already gone...*
*In the end, escaping the princess's grasp relied entirely on luck. I suppose the Demon Lord was the same back then.*
***
Fujia Bay.
Inside the training room, drenched in sweat, Fu Qingyang held his sword with both hands, slashing continuously.
The blade sheared through the air, producing a series of heavy, sharp whooshes.
Swinging his sword ten thousand times a day was a personal goal he had set for himself. Aside from entering dungeons, nothing could stop him from swinging his sword.
Fu Qingyang had many assistants. From the minutiae of daily life, taken care of by a bevy of bunny girls, to the grand scale of managing companies under his name and maintaining the operations of the White Tiger Guards, handled by professional management teams and think tanks who poured their hearts and souls into the work.
Fu Qingyang devoted his energy to only two things: the affairs of the Five Elements Alliance, and cultivation.
He dared not squander excessive energy elsewhere. He knew his talent did not match that of top geniuses; only by exerting tenfold or a hundredfold the effort could he keep those self-proclaimed prodigies under his thumb.
To this day, the only prodigy Fu Qingyang had failed to suppress was the female Grand Marshal. Everyone else—even Jiang Ju, the scion of the contemporary Flame Emperor—had to bow their heads before him.
Today, however, after two thousand strikes, he had been unable to enter his groove, an undercurrent of restlessness lingering in his heart.
Just then, the door to the training room was pushed open. Wearing oversized shorts and flip-flops, his hair a tousled mess, Ling Jun leaned against the doorframe holding his phone.
"You'd better have a very good reason for interrupting my practice."
Fu Qingyang did not look at him and continued swinging his sword, but his brow furrowed slightly and his expression was cold, seemingly intensely displeased by Ling Jun's intrusion.
Ling Jun chuckled and said with a smile, "Your bootlicker is out of the dungeon."
Fu Qingyang's sword swing froze. He paused for several seconds before resuming his previous rhythm, saying flatly, "Understood."
His tone was calm, as if this were an inconsequential matter, yet the annoyance on his face had completely vanished.
His sword movements became fluid and natural, his mind completely focused.
Ling Jun leaned lazily against the doorframe without the slightest intention of leaving. Instead, he opened up the topic and chatted enthusiastically:
"How should I put it? It's kind of surprising, yet feels entirely expected. Remember I told you once that Yuanshi Tianzun is bizarre? After interacting with him in person, I admit he's very talented, but my gut tells me he shouldn't be on par with peerless freaks like the Demon Lord or the female Grand Marshal. And yet, time and again, he pulls off achievements that rival theirs."
Fu Qingyang said calmly, "I always assumed your intuition was reserved for things like: *I'm definitely going to meet a woman after my own heart when I step outside today.*"
"Ah, so you're mocking this Young Master for not knowing genius when he sees it? For an aloof poker face, you sure love acting cool and running your sharp mouth."
"I'd like beating you up even more."
At that, Ling Jun's expression straightened. "I still have to report this to Elder Gou on your behalf and deal with the rumors on the forum while I'm at it. Keep practicing your sword—I'm off."
***
#Even the Demon Lord and the Taiyi Sect Master Shook Their Heads: How Will Yuanshi Tianzun Survive This Crisis?#
#Songhai Branch Claims Yuanshi Tianzun Entered an A-Grade Dungeon: Is It Credible?#
#If Yuanshi Tianzun Dies in the Dungeon, It'll Probably Be a PR Crisis for the Officials#
#Debunking Rumors: Taiyi Sect Issues Statement That the Sect Master Never Said Such a Thing#
#Some People in the Taiyi Sect Are Disgusting, Gloating on Their Forum#
#To Warrant Such Appraisals from the Demon Lord and the Taiyi Sect Master, What Kind of Dungeon Is Mute Village?#
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his bedroom, lay down on his bed, and scrolled through posts on the forum.
In half an hour, he scrolled through a dozen posts discussing "Yuanshi Tianzun and the Dungeon," with official walkers from various branches debating the matter fiercely.
Apart from a petty minority whose twisted minds made them whisper gloating remarks, most people were genuinely concerned for Yuanshi Tianzun's safety. These people were divided into two camps.
One camp believed that a dungeon warranting such remarks from both the Demon Lord and the Taiyi Sect Master had an unimaginable danger rating, meaning Yuanshi Tianzun was in grave peril, a lamentable prospect.
The other camp argued that Yuanshi Tianzun had cleared S-grade dungeons, so this one would be no problem, and that when it came to dungeon clearing, the Demon Lord might not even hold a candle to Yuanshi Tianzun.
Both sides then began pulling out data, arguing passionately with evidence and reason.
*I never expected this much hype...* Zhang Yuanqing gained a deeper realization of his current fame.
Times had changed. Now, his every move drew attention—colleagues watched him, and evil organizations watched him, just like a trending celebrity.
Fame brought status, but it also invited trouble.
The most immediate consequence was jealousy. Quite a few within the Five Elements Alliance envied and resented him, and within the Taiyi Sect, there were even more.
Especially after he won the arena tournament, his reputation among ordinary members of the Taiyi Sect had taken a nosedive.
For instance, in this post bashing the gloating Night Wanderers of the Taiyi Sect, the original poster had screenshotted remarks from the Taiyi Sect's official forum and attached them to the thread:
"Our Sect Master never said that dungeon was certain death. If the Sect Master really said that, could Yuanshi Tianzun still survive? The Five Elements Alliance might as well start prepping for a funeral feast."
"Still, even the Demon Lord said he nearly died in there and survived purely on luck. Yuanshi Tianzun is probably a goner. Luck isn't something you can make up for with brains."
"Watch your mouths, you guys—the stench of sour grapes is reaching outer space. It's best if Yuanshi Tianzun comes back alive. The Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect are allies, and the biggest beneficiary of a Spirit Realm guide for Mute Village would actually be our Taiyi Sect."
"We might not encounter an A-grade dungeon in our entire lives. Besides, there are nine thousand nine hundred Spirit Realm dungeons in the Transcendent stage; we won't miss Mute Village."
"Of course we'd miss it—who complains about having too many dungeon guides? But who says we have to rely on Yuanshi Tianzun?"
"The Five Elements Alliance spends all day hyping Yuanshi Tianzun as a dungeon-clearing genius to build up his persona. Now that persona's crashing down, isn't it?"
Comments below the post:
[Guaren Youji: Those Taiyi Sect bastards are just jealous of Yuanshi Tianzun in the end.]
[Lairifangzhang: Probably hate born of unrequited love too. After all, Yuanshi Tianzun is the man they can never have.]
By contrast, the female members were far more fierce in their remarks.
[Please Call Me Queen: These absolute dogs! I didn't sleep well all night, and I wake up to their passive-aggressive snark!]
[Wangfei: Dying for Yuanshi Tianzun to drop dead in the dungeon? This lady is going to register an account on the Taiyi Sect forum and tear them to shreds!]
[Affectionate Jenny: Remember when the guides for Jinshui Amusement Park and Sheling Tunnel came out, and the Taiyi Sect shamelessly begged for them? Now they have the nerve to say they don't need Yuanshi Tianzun's dungeon guides?]
Having read this far, Zhang Yuanqing exited the post.
He gave serious thought to whether he should submit a walkthrough for Mute Village.
Based on the quest settlement rewards, clearing Mute Village guaranteed replicas of the three items, and completing the hidden quest added three uses to each item.
With a walkthrough, the clearance difficulty of Mute Village would drop to B-grade or even C-grade, yet the rewards were shockingly generous.
In other words, if this walkthrough were given to the Taiyi Sect, any Night Wanderer who entered Mute Village in the future would instantly leap to the top tier of Transcendent walkers, even if that peak was only temporary.
Zhang Yuanqing asked himself: if he were to face an enemy wielding all three items from Mute Village, he could very well capsize in a gutter.
If whoever obtained those three items harbored hostility toward him, or was an outright enemy, it would be aiding and abetting the enemy.
He would never forget that while there were good people among the officials, there were also villains like Chi Yue'an.
*Mute Village is a Spirit Realm exclusive to Night Wanderers; walkers of the Five Elements Alliance can't enter it. Handing over the guide won't show much difference in the short term, but accumulated over a few years, more and more Night Wanderers will enter Mute Village, and more replicas of the three items will pile up. The Transcendent walkers of the Five Elements Alliance will be completely outclassed by the Taiyi Sect...*
With that realization, Zhang Yuanqing made up his mind.
*Not giving it!*
He refreshed the forum, and a stickied, red-tagged thread pulled his wandering thoughts back.
#Good News: Just In from Songhai Branch, Yuanshi Tianzun Has Cleared Mute Village#
Then, he watched the view count and replies on this post explode at a visible rate.
Right now, an endless crowd of people was camping on the forum waiting for news.
[Quri Kuduo: Hahaha, I knew Yuanshi Tianzun wouldn't GG so easily! He's a genius who cleared two S-grades!]
[Jiang Yang: When it comes to dungeon clearing, Yuanshi Tianzun never disappoints. Exactly—looking at his plays in the tournament, you knew this guy wouldn't die so easily in a dungeon.]
[Please Call Me Queen: AAAAAAHHH~]
[Betel Nut and Smoke Bring Boundless Power: That said, what kind of dungeon made even the Demon Lord lament that he survived purely on luck? I'm really curious. Too bad there's no guide in the database.]
[Nan Aiding: Uh, it's probably not written yet. Just wait a bit.]
A few minutes later, Queen posted another comment:
[Please Call Me Queen: The Taiyi Sect bunch is already asking about the guide on their forum. Bah, shameless! But it feels so vindicating, hahaha (laughing with hands on hips).]
[Wangfei: Don't give it to them (angry).]
[Guaren Youji: The guide will still have to be handed over. After all, they're allies, nothing we can do about it.]
Whatever the low-level members said could never influence high-level policy.
The same was true of those Night Wanderers' remarks.
***
"Old Dog, my assistant tells me Yuanshi Tianzun is out?"
Inside the pet shop, Elder Gou crouched on a table, his black button eyes fixed on his phone screen. The caller ID showed: *Muddle-Headed Old Sun!*
"Isn't that only natural?" Elder Gou said. "Yuanshi wouldn't fall in a trivial A-grade dungeon. Only S-grades can truly hone him."
His tone sounded just like a parent boasting that their primary school son scored a hundred percent on a test.
Elder Sun scoffed, "That's not what you said yesterday. Your dog face went pale with fright."
"You might as well say my dog fur turned white with fright—that'd be more convincing than my face going pale." Elder Gou was in high spirits and forgave Old Sun's envious sarcasm.
Elder Sun snapped, "Cut the crap. Hand over the walkthrough. Name your price."
The Taiyi Sect's dungeon guides were managed by Elder Sun, which was the very reason Fu Qingyang had approached him directly in the past.
"Hold on!"
Elder Gou remembered he hadn't checked the guide yet.
Yet when he booted up the computer and searched for "Mute Village," the pop-up read: *No relevant content found.*
"Yuanshi probably hasn't finished writing the walkthrough. I'll have Qingyang ask," Elder Gou said.
Chapter 234