Strategy

A look of unmistakable astonishment flashed across Fu Qingyang's stern face, as if he hadn't heard clearly. "What did you say?" "I was matched with Yuanshi Tianzun," Huang Taiji repeated concisely. Only then was Fu Qingyang sure he hadn't misheard, and for a moment he found it hard to believe. Matching across levels wasn't unheard of in itself. Money Prince, whose skills verged on the supernatural, had experienced it himself, and his Trash Sister experienced it even more frequently. Yet a Level 4 Stargazer matched with a peak Level 6 like Huang Taiji—bridging two full levels—was utterly sensational. Just how high was Yuanshi Tianzun's hidden score? Huang Taiji said in a grave tone, "Something happened!" Something happened... Fu Qingyang's pupils contracted slightly. Huang Taiji was at peak Level 6, which meant the evil faction must have had peak Level 6 powerhouses as well. For a Level 6 to slaughter a Level 4 was as simple as butchering a dog. And Huang Taiji would never call him out of nowhere. Money Prince's heart sank abruptly, and urgency crept into his voice: "Yuanshi... is he..." "He's fine. He has already exited the dungeon." Hearing Fu Qingyang's tone, Huang Taiji knew Yuanshi Tianzun hadn't contacted his direct superior after leaving the dungeon. He was probably repairing his corpse puppet. At these words, Fu Qingyang's expression relaxed slightly, his heart settling back into his chest. Then he heard Huang Taiji say: "Not only is he fine, he reached Level 6." Fu Qingyang once again doubted his ears. He asked in a questioning tone: "Are you sure you just said he reached Level 6?" "He reached Level 6." Huang Taiji was not one to waste words either and repeated it firmly. Money Prince, who wouldn't flinch even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, froze beside his desk. He cleared the killing trial in June, barely advancing to Saint. It had been only two months, and he was already Level 6. That was far faster than trash like Fu Qingxuan... He'll be able to enter the killing trial at the end of the year and advance to Dominator. Should I go temper myself in the White Tiger Guards' faction dungeon? Fu Qingyang couldn't help pressing his brow. He actually felt a tinge of urgency. "What did he do in the dungeon?" Fu Qingyang asked in a deep voice. Even participating in a Level 6 dungeon shouldn't have allowed him to leap two levels at once. "He devoured the boss's soul, stole the boss's power, and then killed Greed Divine General, Snake Woman, Yi Chuanmei, and a Mist Lord named Bai Ren Zhan," Huang Taiji said. When he finished, he heard a sharp intake of breath over the receiver. A full dozen seconds later, Money Prince's crisp, cool, and articulate tone came through: "I understand. To be frank, if it weren't you, I wouldn't have believed a single word of what you just said. "Thank you for informing me. I'm still in a meeting..." He needed a moment to calm down. Huang Taiji cut in, "I didn't call to report good news." Fu Qingyang froze. "There's something else?" Whether reaching Level 6 or slaying Greed Divine General and the others, those were major events. Yet they weren't the main point? "None of the above are the real issue. The truly big matter is," Huang Taiji said solemnly, "Cai Longshen was also in the dungeon, and Yuanshi Tianzun killed him." "..." Fu Qingyang's stern expression shifted violently. He instinctively glanced at his computer screen, relaxing only after confirming the microphone mute icon was still on. "Your report is like a roller coaster—full of twists and turns, gripping at every turn." He leaned forward slightly, his gaze profound. "Yuanshi wouldn't kill someone without cause. Tell me everything that happened." Huang Taiji briefly recounted the events of the dungeon. Fu Qingyang offered no opinions and made no appraisals. "Understood. I'll call you back later." He set the receiver back on the cradle, unmuted his microphone, and interrupted Elder Dog's eloquent speech. "Let's pause the meeting for a moment. There's something I need to convey to everyone." "What is it?" Elder Dog asked. "Yuanshi Tianzun was matched into a Level 6 dungeon. Inside, he rose two levels consecutively and is now Level 6. While in the dungeon, he killed Greed Divine General, Snake Woman, and Yi Chuanmei," Fu Qingyang said bluntly. The online meeting room fell dead silent. *** Wuhen Hotel. Inside the simple bedroom, a figure flashed into reality. Xiao Yuan, bearing antennae on her forehead and compound eyes black as gems, returned. The lights were bright, and the curtains were drawn tight. After glancing around, Xiao Yuan walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and took out a clean receptionist uniform. By the time she shut the wardrobe door, she had dispelled her venomous body. The embedded full-length mirror reflected a tall, curvaceous, porcelain-white figure of perfect proportions. The curves of her slender waist and rounded hips fully displayed her lush feminine charm. Her legs were plump yet toned and fair, her chest full and upright, and her features radiant and commanding. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she reached down to touch her waist, lightly curling her lip. Twenty minutes later, Xiao Yuan finished washing up, blow-dried her hair, put on the receptionist uniform, and left the room for the first-floor lobby. In the bright, tidy lobby, Kou Beiyue sat behind the marble counter playing computer games with a mouse in hand. Little Fatty was diligently mopping the floor. "Xiao Yuan, you're back?" Seeing her come downstairs, Kou Beiyue dropped the mouse and stood up, his face brimming with delight. Little Fatty straightened up and looked over. Xiao Yuan nodded coolly and gave an acknowledging hum. "Did you reach Level 6?" Kou Beiyue asked eagerly. Xiao Yuan shook her head slightly. "I ran into Yuanshi Tianzun in the dungeon." "What?!" Before Kou Beiyue could react, Little Fatty cried out in shock, staring at Xiao Yuan in astonishment. He tested the waters: "Did... did you kill him?" Given Xiao Yuan and Yuanshi Tianzun's strength—especially the latter's—a "non-death penalty" dungeon was basically out of the question. Belatedly catching on, Kou Beiyue's eyes widened, completely losing control over his expression. "Xiao Yuan, you..." His face was a mixture of anger, panic, and anxiety. Xiao Yuan said calmly, "I used a teleportation jade talisman he gave me to forcefully exit the dungeon. I dropped a level. Now I only have seventy percent more experience points than you." Kou Beiyue didn't know what a teleportation jade talisman was, but hearing that Xiao Yuan and Yuanshi Tianzun hadn't turned on each other, he breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then he grew annoyed: "Why didn't he teleport out himself? He levels up so fast anyway, so slowing down a bit wouldn't hurt. Dammit, how is anyone supposed to catch up like this... Xiao Yuan, he couldn't even bear to drop a level for you! Yuanshi Tianzun isn't sincere toward you at all." Xiao Yuan frowned. "If you don't know how to speak, keep your mouth shut." Expressionless, she walked behind the marble counter, paused in thought, and explained: "He compensated me with three Saint-tier props, all superior grade." "Three Saint-tier props?" Little Fatty's face filled with envy, but he immediately caught onto something and blurted out, "Wait, why would you encounter Yuanshi Tianzun during your advancement trial to Level 6?" "Yeah, why did you run into Yuanshi Tianzun!" Kou Beiyue parroted like a broken record. Yuanshi Tianzun had advanced to Saint alongside them, whereas Xiao Yuan was advancing from Level 5 to 6, matching with Level 6 walkers. "His hidden score was too high, and he has too many treasures in his inventory," Xiao Yuan said. Little Fatty considered this and grudgingly accepted the explanation, asking curiously: "Who were your teammates, and who were the enemies?" There weren't many Level 6 Spirit Walkers, and senior Saints from the three major free organizations likely made up the majority. Since Xiao Yuan had used Yuanshi Tianzun's teleportation prop to leave the dungeon, it meant the free faction had lost. The Level 6 walkers in their faction had probably returned to the Spirit Realm. "Greed Divine General, Snake Woman," Xiao Yuan glanced at him, "and Yi Chuanmei from your Southern Sect. All dead. Killed by Yuanshi Tianzun." "!!!" Little Fatty froze in place, dumbstruck. Kou Beiyue's jaw dropped. "I... I have to report this to the Grand Elder!" Little Fatty sprinted toward the inner quarters of the hotel. *** Commandery Princess Yinyao covered her snow-white, ample chest with one hand while clutching the bedsheet wrapped around her waist with the other. She walked over to the wardrobe and retrieved a goose-yellow long-sleeved top, a light-colored gauze skirt, and a set of black lace lingerie. She tiptoed back to the bedside, glanced at Yuanshi Tianzun—who showed no intention of turning away—and kept a taut expression. "If you want to watch a woman dress, you can go watch Guan Ya." Zhang Yuanqing smiled. "I just want to see how your spirit talismans were restored. Your movements are fluid; looks like there's no problem." "Sophistry." Commandery Princess Yinyao's eerie red pupils bored into him. "Your occasional glimpses of lust can't fool me. It's not strange for men to be lustful, but I am merely a corpse puppet. Feeling lust toward a corpse puppet is very strange." No, in my eyes, you're just a top-tier collector's figure... Refusing to admit defeat, Zhang Yuanqing argued, "Appreciating a beautiful woman's body has nothing to do with lust. Fine, fine, I'll go take refuge in Guan Ya's room." He picked up his phone from the table, dissipated into starlight, and reappeared in Guan Ya's boudoir, which was filled with constellation plushies and figures. Guan Ya wasn't in the room, nor was she anywhere in the villa. Li Chunfeng, Queen, and Xie Lingxi were also absent; they were probably out on a mission again. Zhang Yuanqing turned on Guan Ya's computer and was about to log into the forum when his phone rang. Caller: Fu Qingyang. "Boss, I'm back," Zhang Yuanqing said, picking up the call. "Huang Taiji called me." Fu Qingyang's tone was grave. "Come over." "Alright." Zhang Yuanqing hung up, snapped his fingers, turned into a streak of starlight once more, and left the room. In the spacious study, Fu Qingyang watched a beam of starlight rise as his trusted subordinate's figure materialized amidst the dreamy shimmer. Before he could speak, Zhang Yuanqing beat him to it: "Boss, I'm Level 6." Fu Qingyang looked at him coldly. "You don't need to write 'showing off' all over your face." It's a bit of an eyesore! he added inwardly. "Huang Taiji already told me about the situation inside the dungeon. Only you and he know about you killing Cai Longshen, so coordinating your dungeon reports will be easy. But Jiang Ju is a flaw," Fu Qingyang said. "Through his dungeon report, headquarters can deduce that Cai Longshen shirked combat, and Elder Cai knows his grandson possessed a teleportation prop. Thus, it will be hard to pass off Cai Longshen's death as simply falling in battle." Since he shirked combat, he couldn't have been fighting. How could Cai Longshen die when he held a teleportation prop in his hand? Elder Cai would surely investigate the cause of his grandson's death. As one of the Ten Elders, wielding monstrous authority, applying for the Tiger Tally wouldn't be difficult at all. "That's easy. We just need to convince Jiang Ju to give false testimony," Zhang Yuanqing suggested. Fu Qingyang shook his head. "Jiang Ju will not lie. Not only do you merely know Jingwei, even if you were his biological brother, he wouldn't lie for you." This guy has such an unyielding personality? Zhang Yuanqing frowned, instinctively relying on his superior. "Then what do we do?" Let professionals handle professional matters. With Money Prince, a master of political maneuvering, present, there was no need to waste his own brain cells. Fu Qingyang clearly already had a contingency plan and said directly: "What method did you use to devour the boss's soul?" "A life-saving prop left to me by Lady Sandao. Well, a consumable." "I feel like I've heard this excuse before..." Fu Qingyang muttered a dry complaint before continuing: "But it is indeed very effective. Huang Taiji told me Cai Longshen coveted your Heaven Worship Set, and Jiang Ju witnessed it. Therefore, the truth of the matter should look like this." He laid out the narrative smoothly: "The dungeon boss possessed your body, but locked you in a tug-of-war and failed to succeed. Huang Taiji and Bee Woman seized the opportunity to mount a desperate counterattack, resulting in a stalemate. Cai Longshen tried to reap the benefits like the fisherman in the fable, aiming to snatch your set before leaving the dungeon. Little did he expect that you would lose ground in the struggle against the boss. The boss briefly took control of your body, instantly killing Cai Longshen and nearly killing Huang Taiji. In the end, you turned the tide, suppressed the boss, and ended the battle." Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up. "Right, that's exactly it! And the reason I suppressed the boss was that, at the critical moment, I leveled up." That part was true. Taking a slight risk to seize the set was entirely plausible; Elder Cai surely knew what kind of personality his grandson had. This story had virtually no flaws. Fu Qingyang glanced at him. "A lie is still a lie, however. No matter how seamlessly it's woven, if Elder Cai is determined to get to the bottom of it and applies for the Tiger Tally, the lie will be exposed. That's why we need a second plan." "Boss, your intellect is unmatched. I'll follow your lead." Zhang Yuanqing struck an attentive pose. "I have already informed the elders of the Songhai Branch about your advancement to Level 6, including your feat of slaying three Level 6 combatants in succession. We plan to build momentum for you on the forum and shape you into a role model," Fu Qingyang said. "The officials love setting up benchmarks, building personas, and creating role models. Every time a persona collapses, it casts doubt on official credibility. Even if this matter comes to light, headquarters will have to consider the damage to its credibility. That will be your protective umbrella. "When the time comes, if Elder Cai wants to move against you, the other elders at headquarters will become his obstacles. Furthermore, Cai Longshen tried to seize your prop first, and you truly were suffering from mental corruption at the time. Killing him is justifiable, giving us plenty of room to argue. "The nature of this is different from when you killed Wei Yuanzhou." Zhang Yuanqing bowed deferentially. "In the jianghu, nothing matters more than following the right boss!" Fu Qingyang nodded in satisfaction. *** "Sister Guan Ya, I'm back." Zhang Yuanqing made the call as he walked toward the villa. Guan Ya said with a laugh, "It took quite a while this time—a whole week. Do Level 4 dungeons really take that long?" Her mood brightened instantly. Yuanshi had mentioned the tortoise-shell divination reading to her, so over the past week, Guan Ya had constantly worried about her man. "Yeah, a whole week," Zhang Yuanqing chuckled roguishly. "Female Bodhisattva, when are you coming back to give my wayward member some guidance?" Guan Ya spat playfully. "A Scorpio starved for seven days... just the thought is terrifying. Did you level up?" Zhang Yuanqing hummed in affirmation. "Level 5 already? I'm only at forty-six percent experience points. It'll take at least two Grade A dungeons for me to level up," Guan Ya sighed. "No, Level 6." "???" Guan Ya was stunned for a few seconds before chiding, "Don't joke around. I'm helping colleagues from the Hang City branch track down a wanted criminal. Talk to you later." Ending the call, Zhang Yuanqing opened his bedroom door and saw Commandery Princess Yinyao sitting upright at the desk, gripping an oil-based marker like a calligraphy brush and writing something on a blank sheet of paper. Stepping closer to take a look, he saw she was listing the materials needed to advance to Level 6. The princess is really taking her advancement to heart... Zhang Yuanqing picked up his laptop, sat on the edge of the bed, opened a document, and clattered away on the keyboard, drafting his report. Half an hour later, he finished the dungeon walkthrough. After checking it several times, he sent it to Fu Qingyang. If there are no issues with the report, I'll request materials for corpse refinement from Boss, and then use Stargazing to see whether I should save Heavenly King Demonic Eye... Once Guan Ya returns, I'll send Little Green Tea and Queen to develop the faction dungeon for the extraordinary tier, letting them gain a surge of experience so they can tackle the killing trial at the end of the year... Right, the antiques Xiahou Aotian handled should have been auctioned by now. Zhang Yuanqing logged into the chat software, opened the "Protagonist Squad Progress Group," and typed a message: "I just got out of the dungeon. Word of advice to everyone: whatever you do, never bring Dominator-tier items into a dungeon." [Sun Miaomiao: You entered a high-difficulty dungeon?] [Yuanshi Tianzun: I got matched with Level 6 Spirit Walkers.] [Zhao Chenghuang: For real?] [Tianxia Guihuo: ...] [Xiahou Aotian: I don't believe it. If you got matched with Level 6s, you would've returned to the Spirit Realm long ago.] A single line exploded the entire group.