Taking the elevator down to the hotel lobby, Zhang Yuanqing immediately spotted Kou Beiyue standing behind the front desk, covering for Xiao Yuan. Seeing him arrive, Kou Beiyue's face lit up with joy, but he quickly turned bashful, his lips twitching as an apology caught in his throat, utterly unable to come out.
*Pretentious brat...* Zhang Yuanqing thought for a second, then strode over and delivered a resounding slap across his face.
"Ungrateful wretch! You ungrateful little wretch!"
He hurled curses while swinging his open hand.
Kou Beiyue covered his head and shielded his face, taking every blow and insult without resisting.
Zhang Yuanqing pummeled him for quite a while, only letting go when Xiao Yuan stepped out of the elevator. He cursed under his breath, "I have to go get my revenge right now. I'll come back and beat your ass again when I have time!"
With that, he walked out wearing his ill-fitting clothes.
Watching him leave, Kou Beiyue let out a silent breath. Oddly enough, after taking a beating, the heavy weight in his heart suddenly felt much lighter.
Suddenly, noticing Xiao Yuan standing to the side watching him, he instantly struck an irritated pose and grumbled, "Shit, if I wasn't in the wrong, I'd already have Yuanshi Tianzun pinned to the ground and beaten to a pulp."
A teenager had to save face!
***
The ten o'clock morning sunlight was bright yet not scorching. The greenery across the villa grounds basked in the gentle warmth, showing off its lush vitality.
Though soon enough, the climbing midday heat would curl their leaves.
In the spacious, opulent study, Fu Qingyang sat with his fingers interlocked on the desk, his gaze fixed on the computer monitor in front of him.
The screen displayed an online conference room where five elders each had distinct avatars.
Surging river waves represented the Water God Palace elder, Luo Shen; a Chinese pastoral dog represented the Baihui elder, Old Man and Dog; a suit of armor represented the White Tiger Guards elder, Huangsha Baizhan; roaring flames represented the Scarlet Fire Gang elder, World-Destroying Skyfire; and an earth-mother statue of Lady Houtu represented the Central Court elder, Living Soil.
The meeting was called to discuss how to hunt down Lust.
Elder Gou said in a heavy voice, "The news about the Chaomen District Spirit Realm team's sacrifice has spread all over the forum, creating a terrible impression. I received an email from headquarters this morning, urging us to deal with Lust Divine General as soon as possible, or at least drive him out of Songhai.
"What do you all think?"
The news that the Songhai Chaomen District Spirit Realm Walker team had been brutally slaughtered by Lust Divine General had been posted to the forum the previous evening. Lust Divine General lurking in Songhai had already been a trending topic, so the announcement stirred up a major uproar.
The low-level Walkers of the Songhai branch were panicking, terrified that their team would be the next to be wiped out. Colleagues from other branches were generally more rational, but some female colleagues who abhorred Lust Divine General voiced fierce criticism.
"With so many experts in Songhai, they can't even catch Lust Divine General?" "Can't even handle a single divine general—what is the Songhai branch even good for?" "What a total embarrassment." "Aren't Yuanshi Tianzun and Fu Qingyang supposed to be geniuses? Are they only good at internal squabbling?"
Comments like these flooded the boards.
Fu Qingyang was the first to offer his thoughts: "We can petition headquarters to borrow the Chart of the Universal Stars for divination to obtain revelation. Lacking a medium, the deduction won't be exceptionally accurate, but as long as it narrows him down to a general area, Elder Baizhan and I can use our Insight to conduct a carpet search.
"Lust will most likely lie low for the near future, giving us enough time to wait for the item's delivery."
The core of stargazing deduction was predicting the shifts of heaven and earth—controlling the broad direction of things.
In ancient times, Starlords often served in the Directorate of Astronomy. In times of peace, they observed the solar terms to establish calendars; in times of turmoil, they forecasted the trends of the era.
Using it to locate a specific person yielded limited results.
Elder Luoshen's voice came through the speaker: "What if Lust has already left Songhai?"
Elder Skyfire snapped angrily, "He slaughters our Songhai branch's people and thinks he can just walk away? That's letting him off far too easy! Where would our branch's dignity be!"
Fu Qingyang replied impassively, "If the divination shows that Lust has left Songhai, we can release an official announcement stating that Lust was severely wounded by the Songhai branch's encirclement and forced to flee the city. That will salvage the branch's dignity."
Elder Baizhan said in a measured tone, "That is indeed an option. Lust's situation is different from Demonic Eye's. Demonic Eye was arrogant, reckless, strutting through the streets with clear, unyielding intent, which allowed us to use the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter to lure him into a trap.
"If Lust truly has left Songhai, we can only drop the matter."
Elder Luoshen detested Lust Divine General to the core. She said coldly, "Drop it? This meeting is about capturing Lust Divine General, not protecting our branch's face. Fu Qingyang, spare us your political maneuvers."
Fu Qingyang's tone remained calm. "I am merely offering different solutions for different scenarios. It is far better than throwing a helpless tantrum here, Elder Luoshen."
Elder Luoshen scoffed softly. "Even if he flees Songhai, as long as he remains in the southeast, I will drag him out. Old Dog, isn't Demonic Eye locked up in the Zoo? He ought to know some intelligence on the Soldier Master sect."
Before Elder Gou could speak, Elder Skyfire countered, "Why on earth would Demonic Eye tell you? Harsh torture doesn't work on Heavenly Kings. Besides, the Soldier Master sect isn't stupid; why wouldn't they take precautions? The moment Demonic Eye was captured, the Soldier Master sect likely relocated every single stronghold in the southeast."
As they spoke, Fu Qingyang saw the brown double doors violently thrown open with a loud bang.
Just as his brow furrowed, he saw his cousin run in frantically, her face pale with distress as she gasped, "Yuanshi is missing!"
Fu Qingyang's expression darkened. He pushed the meeting aside entirely and stared at Guan Ya. "Missing?"
Guan Ya dashed to the edge of the desk, her eyes brimming with panic, speaking in a rapid rush: "He and I were assigned a patrol mission today. After eight o'clock, I waited and waited, but he never showed up, and his phone is turned off. I just went to his house to check—he... he's gone!"
Fu Qingyang had rarely seen his cousin this distraught, completely losing her composure. Though she could be exasperating, she was still raised in a prominent clan and normally possessed remarkable calm.
Over Fu Qingyang's microphone, the five elders heard Guan Ya's report, and their expressions shifted.
Elder Skyfire's voice sounded from the speaker: "Could he have simply gone somewhere else?"
"No!" Elder Gou said solemnly. "Yuanshi is very measured in his actions. He wouldn't drop out of contact without reason."
His words plunged the conference room into sudden silence. At a juncture like this, Yuanshi Tianzun vanishing inevitably brought Lust Divine General to mind.
Elder Baizhan immediately said, "Check the surveillance footage near Yuanshi Tianzun's residence at once. Qingyang, have people call his phone nonstop. Everyone, notify your deacons and the public security bureaus in each district to conduct a citywide search..."
If the meeting had been serious before, it had now turned downright grave.
In the elders' eyes, losing Yuanshi Tianzun was a far more catastrophic blow than the destruction of an ordinary low-level team.
"Fu Qingyang, Yuanshi Tianzun is your subordinate. Did you install a tracking device on him?" Elder Living Soil of the Central Court asked.
Seemingly in a foul mood, Fu Qingyang retorted coldly, "Elder Living Soil, would you like your location monitored in real time by headquarters?"
Elder Living Soil fell silent at once.
With this sudden development, continuing the meeting was impossible. In a low, urgent voice, Fu Qingyang said, "Let's waste no more time. Elder Baizhan, let us combine our efforts to scour Songhai. That will be all for today's meeting—"
Compared to hunting Lust Divine General, finding and confirming that Yuanshi Tianzun was alive was far more critical.
Right then, Fu Qingyang froze, staring blankly at the open doorway of the study.
Noticing his reaction, the Scout Guan Ya's heart leapt. She whipped her head around and indeed saw Yuanshi Tianzun standing in the doorway. He wore a snug T-shirt and cropped pants, looking slightly pale and thoroughly travel-worn.
"Where did you go?!"
Guan Ya was furious, overjoyed, anxious, and resentful all at once.
The urgency in Fu Qingyang's eyes quietly vanished. He let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, resuming his aloof and cool demeanor.
"What happened?" Hearing Guan Ya's scolding question, Elder Gou asked, "Yuanshi is back?"
"Elder Gou, you're here too?" Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the speaker mounted in the corner of the room.
At that moment, several sighs of relief echoed through the speaker.
Elder Skyfire's fiery temper flared instantly, and he barked, "You little brat, pulling a disappearing act at a time like this! Completely reckless! This old man thought you'd been slaughtered by Lust Divine General!"
"It's good that you're safe. Let us continue the meeting. Non-essential personnel, please step out," Elder Luoshen's melodious, mature, and magnetic voice sounded.
She didn't blame Zhang Yuanqing.
Unexpectedly, Yuanshi Tianzun's next words caught the elders completely off guard: "I actually was ambushed by Lust Divine General."
"What?!"
"You were ambushed by Lust?"
"What happened?"
The elders' voices erupted simultaneously through the speaker.
Guan Ya and Fu Qingyang, having already deduced part of the truth from Yuanshi's complexion and clothing, were not overly shocked.
In Guan Ya's eyes, there was only lingering dread and worry.
Zhang Yuanqing promptly gave the elders a brief account of the previous night's events.
"Insolent bastard!" Elder Skyfire slammed the desk and roared, "I'll tear that dog of a man apart!"
The loud crash of his hand hitting the table echoed through Fu Qingyang's study via the speaker.
"Scold whoever you want, but leave dogs out of it," Elder Gou sighed, his tone turning grave. "After this failure, Lust will likely flee far from Songhai. We've lost our chance."
Having failed to assassinate an official prodigy, Lust Divine General knew all too well the ferocious retaliation he would face. He would almost certainly pull out of the southeast, perhaps even fleeing back to the north.
"We're just going to let him walk away?" Elder Skyfire ground his teeth.
He could never keep his fiery temper in check.
Fu Qingyang pondered for a few seconds, then shook his head. "I've analyzed Lust's personality: lustful, arrogant, and extremely vengeful. We didn't hurt him severely. He'll lie low to dodge the heat, but there's a strong possibility he remains in the vicinity of Songhai."
At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing spoke up: "Elders, I have an idea that might help us locate Lust Divine General."
Elder Gou's voice came through the speaker: "Speak!"
The other elders held their tongues, waiting for Yuanshi Tianzun to explain.
Zhang Yuanqing said, "I know a secret. Wrath Divine General's wife used to be a sex slave kept by Lust Divine General."
Elder Gou cut him off: "You want to use Wrath against Lust? Unlikely. Wrath already knows about this."
*Huh? Wrath knows? Elder, how do you know that Wrath knows?* Zhang Yuanqing was startled.
Elder Gou's voice traveled through the speaker, clearing up his confusion: "When you told Yuan Ting about this, Wrath Divine General was outside the killing trial. Heh, the killing trial ended nearly a week ago, yet Lust is still gallivanting happily in Songhai. That fact alone says everything. Do you think the higher-ups of the Soldier Master sect would let two divine generals brawl, or even fight to the death, over a woman?
"Besides, you have no way to contact Wrath. Yuanshi, your plan won't work."
*So Wrath was actually on the scene back then...* Zhang Yuanqing had only known that major figures from both factions were observing outside the killing trial, but he had no idea of the exact numbers or identities.
After all, whether evil organization leaders or Dominators, they were far too distant from a minor figure like him. Elder Gou wouldn't go out of his way to tell him, *Did you know so-and-so was outside watching the show?*
The elders could hardly hide their disappointment.
Zhang Yuanqing pondered for a moment, then said, "I think it's worth a try, Elder. The Soldier Master sect's higher-ups forbidding pointless internal conflict doesn't mean Wrath Divine General is willing to swallow this humiliation. Why don't we give him a push? He might not dare disobey the organization's top brass, but we don't need him to fight—can't we simply exchange intelligence?"
Elder Living Soil of the Central Court cautioned, "You cannot simply contact high-ranking figures of an evil organization whenever you please. If it were that easy, the officials would have eradicated them long ago."
Zhang Yuanqing replied, "I know. That's why I want to visit the Zoo and pry the information out of Demonic Eye."
The speaker went silent for a few seconds before Elder Luoshen sighed helplessly. "While I dearly want Lust captured, are you certain Demonic Eye will tell you? Even if he views you differently, he won't unconditionally help you eliminate a divine general from his own organization."
This time, before Zhang Yuanqing could reply, Elder Gou spoke: "There is no harm in trying... Yuanshi, come to the Zoo immediately."
***
During the day, the Zoo showed nothing out of the ordinary—no bizarre staff members, no nonsensical rules.
Visitors came and went naturally, mostly parents bringing their children to play.
Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the Zoo in Fu Qingyang's luxury car and handed his work badge to the young man in the ticket booth.
"Please wait a moment!"
The ticket clerk's expression turned solemn and his tone respectful.
He picked up the walkie-talkie on the desk and spoke into it: "Yuanshi Tianzun has arrived."
A few minutes later, a middle-aged man in a dark suit walked out of the Zoo, bowing slightly. "Please follow me!"
Zhang Yuanqing nodded and followed the man inside, walking along the main avenue lined with tall plane trees before turning down a small path. Before long, they arrived at the lion enclosure.
Inside the enclosure, which featured a pool and artificial rocks, a majestic male lion lounged lazily while several lionesses circled around it, teasing it from time to time.
The white lion he had seen last time was nowhere to be found.
Entering the Zoo again, Zhang Yuanqing felt conflicted. He both wanted to come and didn't. The rule-based item's spirit seemed to have known his long-deceased father, and its resentful, abandoned-wife whispers had left him uneasy.
Yet he was curious about the past grievances between the Zoo's item spirit and his late father, unable to resist the urge to investigate.
Along the way, he kept his guard up, but unlike last time, he didn't sense any prying gaze.
*Is it because it's daytime, so everything here is normal while the spirit of this rule-based item sleeps?* Zhang Yuanqing mused privately.
Soon, they arrived at the cell where Demonic Eye was imprisoned.
Beneath a thick camphor tree with draping, curtain-like vines, he saw Demonic Eye once more. The Heavenly King's body was sealed inside the tree trunk, leaving only his head and chest exposed.
After many days, his complexion had worsened; his face was pale, his brow etched with fatigue.
The handsome young man with an athletic headband around his forehead showed a flicker of surprise, clearly not expecting a visit from him.
"Long time no see!" Demonic Eye examined him with a smiling gaze, nodding approvingly. "Your talent is indeed exceptional. Congratulations on advancing to Starlord."
He scrutinized Yuanshi Tianzun closely, seemingly noticing something, and the smile on his lips widened with a hint of eerie intrigue.
"Long time no see, Heavenly King Demonic Eye. You don't look to be in great shape," Zhang Yuanqing greeted with a nod.
At that, Heavenly King Demonic Eye let out a heavy sigh: "Every day I dream of butchering corrupt officials and unscrupulous merchants who prey on the weak. I'm practically on the verge of a nervous breakdown. If they don't let me out soon, I'll lose my mind. Yuanshi Tianzun, for the sake of our shared ideals, why don't you catch a few scumbags and throw them in here for me to deal with?"
*You sound more desperate than an addict going through withdrawal...* Zhang Yuanqing pitied him for a second, then followed the lead: "Well, an opportunity has just presented itself. Heavenly King, I've kept your teachings in mind—cleansing this world of scum and standing as an ally of justice. Lately, I've been hunting a vile predator who rapes, kidnaps women, and slaughters the innocent."
He was no longer as intimidated by Demonic Eye as before, capable of bantering with a straight face.
Heavenly King Demonic Eye came to an abrupt realization. "Lust has come to Songhai?"
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "He has abducted numerous innocent women in Songhai, tormenting those poor victims day and night. The officials have rescued them, but they've lost any ability to live a normal life.
"Heavenly King, I need your help to track down Lust."
He deliberately exaggerated the severity to stoke Demonic Eye's hatred toward Lust.
"You want to take down Lust..." Demonic Eye's eyes lit up, flashing with unmistakable joy, as if thoroughly delighted. "Fascinating! You truly are someone I regard highly. This suits my taste completely. Why not come back to the Soldier Master sect with me? Wouldn't it be glorious if we cleansed the mortal realm together?"
Pausing, he smiled warmly. "How do you want me to help?"
Zhang Yuanqing tested the waters: "I want Wrath Divine General's contact information."
"Wrath's contact info?" Demonic Eye raised an eyebrow. "What does he have to do with this?"
"His wife used to be Lust's slave," Zhang Yuanqing revealed without hiding anything.
Demonic Eye froze for a second, then burst into roaring laughter: "Fascinating! Truly fascinating! That brute Wrath actually treasures a slut like her as his precious darling, hahahaha!"
After gloating for a long while, he reined in his laughter. "I see what you mean. You want to use Wrath to get Lust's hiding spot."
*As expected of a Heavenly King...* Zhang Yuanqing said, "Then, Heavenly King, do you agree?"
Demonic Eye chuckled, "Why wouldn't I? Scum like Lust who pollute this world should have been wiped out long ago."
*This...* Zhang Yuanqing found the rest of his prepared persuasion speech completely unnecessary.
He knew Demonic Eye's hatred of evil bordered on paranoia, but Lust was still a divine general from his own organization. Getting Demonic Eye to sell out Lust ought to have been exceedingly difficult, which was why he had prepared so many arguments.
Who would have guessed this radical Heavenly King would agree so readily? He truly was the craziest of them all.
Demonic Eye said, "I know Wrath's private number, assuming he hasn't changed it. Lean in..."
Zhang Yuanqing stepped up to the camphor tree and listened intently.
A few seconds later, after memorizing the phone number, he suddenly asked, "Does Wrath have 'Do Not Disturb' turned on for unknown callers?"
Heavenly King Demonic Eye stared at him in silence, apparently stumped by the question.
After a few seconds of awkward silence, Zhang Yuanqing hurried to say with a smile, "Thank you, Heavenly King. Rest well here; leave the heavy burden of punishing evil to me."
Demonic Eye curled his lips into a smirk. "Don't worry, I will leave this place sooner or later. That day won't be long in coming. When it does, I'll come to Songhai to find you."
Zhang Yuanqing's smile froze completely. "..."
*No, please, there are plenty of fish in the sea, spare me!*
Leaving the cell, Zhang Yuanqing saw Elder Gou squatting beside the lush green shrubs. The elder sighed with emotion: "Demonic Eye's obsession is even more severe than I imagined.
"Go ahead and try contacting Wrath!
"Our tech personnel will attempt to trace Wrath's location. Once Lust is taken care of, we'll arrange people to eliminate Wrath. Heh, it might not work, but it's worth trying."
*Elder Gou is pretty cute; I really want to rub his head...* The thought popped into Zhang Yuanqing's mind for no reason.
The second penalty of the Mountain God Staff—a fond affection for dogs.
Similar to the penalty of the straw doll, it subtly altered one's preferences, though it wasn't as twisted. Liking dogs was a normal affection, much like how ordinary people enjoyed keeping pets.
He swiftly dismissed the suicidal impulse, retrieved the new phone Fu Qingyang had bought him, entered the number Demonic Eye had provided, and dialed.
The ringtone played for a long time, but no one answered.
Zhang Yuanqing looked toward Elder Gou, who pondered for a moment before saying, "Send a text, then wait."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. After a moment's thought, he drafted a message: *Wrath Divine General, is your wife doing well? Perhaps she's reminiscing about Lust Divine General's thrusts.*
Thinking it over for a few seconds, he realized the second half might infuriate Wrath Divine General to the point of ruining the plan, so he quietly deleted it.
Less than a minute after the text was sent, Zhang Yuanqing's phone rang. The caller ID displayed the exact number belonging to Wrath Divine General.
He answered the call, and an ear-splitting roar immediately erupted from the other end: "You suicidal piece of shit! Who the hell are you?! I'm going to slaughter your entire family—"
Zhang Yuanqing quietly held the phone away from his ear. Once the roaring stopped, he brought the receiver back and said with a smile, "Looks like I don't need to remind you. Wrath Divine General, you want Lust dead too, don't you?"
The other end fell completely silent for a dozen seconds before a deep, irritable voice sounded: "Who are you? How did you get my number?"
Very few people knew this private number, and every one of them was already saved in his contacts.
"You don't need to worry about who I am. I need Lust Divine General's location. If you can provide that intel, I promise that from now on, the Soldier Master sect will only have seven divine generals," Zhang Yuanqing said, adopting a profound tone.
"You're from the Five Elements Alliance!" Wrath Divine General said with certainty.
"Yes!" Zhang Yuanqing didn't deny it. Instead, he frankly laid out what Lust had done in Songhai and the current situation.
Only by sharing intelligence with an "ally" could the other party formulate a better plan.
Wrath Divine General sneered, "Why on earth would I cooperate with you? Over some mere woman, you think I'd defy Fear's orders? Do you take me for a fool?"
*He really is constrained by the Soldier Master sect's top brass, unable to go after Lust directly...* Zhang Yuanqing said, "If you're unwilling to cooperate, Divine General, you can hang up right now."
The other end went silent, but the call was not disconnected.
After a long while, Wrath Divine General's sinister voice sounded: "That lustful piece of shit has a fatal weakness: he can't keep his filthy dick in his pants. He has to sleep with at least one woman a day, so his Morality Points are never enough.
"To replenish Morality Points, he has to donate a sum of money to charity every so often. That means he cannot remain completely secluded; he will definitely contact the outside world.
"I will use the Soldier Master sect's channels to covertly dig up Lust's hiding place, but it will take time. Wait for my word. Also, don't bother trying to trace my location—I won't be using this number again."
"No problem. Just contact me at this number when the time comes," Zhang Yuanqing said with a chuckle. "Pleasure doing business with you!"
Wrath Divine General snorted coldly and hung up.
***
Returning to his lounge at the Zoo, Elder Gou opened his computer and sent a meeting invite to the other five elders.
The elders had been waiting for an update, so they promptly accepted the invite and entered the conference room.
"How did it go?" Unable to hold back, Elder Skyfire was the first to ask.
"Yuanshi obtained Wrath's contact info from Demonic Eye and has successfully made contact with Wrath. Next, we wait for news on his end," Elder Gou said slowly.
*It actually worked...* The conference room fell silent for several seconds before Elder Living Soil asked in shock, "Demonic Eye actually cooperated with him? What about Yuanshi Tianzun makes Demonic Eye favor him so much?"
"Who cares about that? As long as the job gets done! Fantastic, the kid is really something. This old man is growing more and more fond of him," Elder Skyfire roared with hearty laughter in the conference room.
"If this succeeds, Yuanshi Tianzun takes the top credit," Elder Luoshen said with a smile in her voice.
She was in high spirits.
"If there is nothing else, meeting adjourned," Fu Qingyang said, then exited the conference room.
Leaning back against his chair, Fu Qingyang considered the matter for a moment, then tapped the call bell.
A few minutes later, a bunny girl pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Young Master, what are your orders?"
"Prepare an extra portion for dinner tonight. Have Yuanshi stay to eat."
***
Three days later.
Wearing a face mask and a baseball cap, Lust Divine General stepped out of a moss-covered, rundown alley. Across from the alley stood a tiny logistics company.
He cast a casual glance at a passing pedestrian.
The pedestrian's mind went blank for an instant. Immediately after, he pulled a phone from his pocket, unlocked the screen, and dropped it onto the ground.
Lust Divine General bent down, picked it up, and stood at the entrance of the alley, dialing a number.
A few seconds later, the call connected, and a respectful voice answered: "What are your orders, sir?"
"Any movement on your end lately?" Lust Divine General asked.
"The heat is very intense. Everyone is keeping a low profile. Those bastards mean business this time," the subordinate replied.
Neither mentioned any sensitive keywords.
Lust Divine General gave an affirmative grunt. "Keep gathering intelligence. I'll contact you periodically. Also, take five million from my vault and donate it."
"Understood!" the subordinate said.
Just then, Lust Divine General spotted a slender, young woman dressed in light summer clothes passing by under an umbrella.
He licked his lips, hung up the phone, and followed after her.
***
Inside a shabby rented apartment somewhere in Songhai.
A youth wearing a baseball cap silently set down his phone. He looked at the two burly men in tank tops standing beside him, swallowed hard, and stammered, "The... the Divine General already called me. We're all in the same organization—you have to keep your word..."
Roughly two days ago, he had been captured by these two fellow members of the Soldier Master sect. They did nothing to him other than keep him confined in the room, forcing him to wait for Lust Divine General to reach out, feeding him takeout every day and forbidding him from stepping outside.
After two days of waiting, Lust Divine General's call had finally come. One of the burly men immediately jotted down the phone number and forwarded it to someone unknown.
Having been in the underworld for so long, the capped youth naturally understood their purpose—tracing Lust Divine General's location.
He just couldn't comprehend why fellow Soldier Master sect members would want to locate Lust Divine General.
The burly man who had copied the number gave a chuckle. "Of course. We keep our word..."
As the words fell, two twisted runic curses surfaced in his pupils.
Under the weight of level suppression, the youth's face froze, falling into a stupor.
The other burly man drew a combat knife from his waist, pressed it against the youth's throat, and yanked hard.
A head tumbled to the floor, eyes wide, lips still trembling.
From the severed neck, crimson blood jetted to the ceiling, splashing it a tragic, vivid red.
"We're freelancers—when have we ever kept our word?" The burly man licked the blood from the blade's edge with a sinister laugh.
"Let's go. The officials have likely traced this place too. We need to leave immediately." The man who had sent the message crushed the phone in his hand, grinding its internal components to dust.
***
Fujia Bay, the study.
Fu Qingyang, Elder Gou, and Elder Skyfire—three elders gathered together. Beside them stood Zhang Yuanqing, Guan Ya, and three deacons.
Sitting on a soft sofa with a laptop resting on his knees, Wang Tai looked up at the room full of big shots. The reclusive fellow's voice was as unhurried as ever:
"Target acquired. Lust is in Jiangxin Town, near Xunda Logistics!"
Chapter 311