"An S-rank dungeon... unexpected, yet completely logical," Guan Ya sighed. "I already have to risk my life just to survive an A-rank dungeon. Who knows if I can come back alive from an S-rank one."
"Don't talk like that!" Zhang Yuanqing smacked her backside. "Didn't I tell you to hit up that cousin of yours—the one who loves 'persuading people with virtue'—for some treasures before entering the dungeon?"
"You go ask him, you go!" Guan Ya spat back. "Good stuff, he might not give to me, but he'd definitely give to you."
This man had gifted Fu Qingyang a top-grade Scout item, and Fu Qingyang always kept him in mind whenever he had good things.
Just who was the cousin, and who was the girlfriend?
Zhang Yuanqing gave a chuckle. "Who asked you to be such trash?"
"Zhang Yuanqing, do you have a death wish?!" Guan Ya flushed with faux outrage and chopped at him with the edge of her hand.
"Shh, don't use real names! Lingxi might overhear!"
"Come off it. The drawback of that item of hers is fifteen minutes of tinnitus after every use. She wouldn't use it on a whim."
"How do you know?"
"I borrowed it during a mission before."
Zhang Yuanqing let out an "Oh," opened his chat app, created a temporary group, and pulled in all the Saints from the faction, including Asano Ryo from the island nation.
—To make communicating with the organization easier, she had specifically downloaded the Chinese version of the chat app.
[Yuanshi Tianzun: Everyone, you've seen the faction dungeon information. Unfortunately, our first Saint-stage dungeon is an S-rank. Considering my level, the dungeon's danger level speaks for itself. If anyone wants to back out, you can say so now.]
An S-rank dungeon was one where not even he had any guarantee of survival.
Except for Xiahou Aotian, all the other Saints in the faction were Level 4. Entering this dungeon was simply too risky for them.
Spirit Realm dungeons gave no choice, but one could back out of a faction dungeon. Everyone in the group was a friend, girlfriend, crush, or potential crush.
Zhang Yuanqing felt obligated to give them a warning.
[Zhao Chenghuang: I've already reported to my great-grandfather. If I die in the dungeon, he won't give you trouble. This is my own choice.]
[Xiahou Aotian: I don't need to report to my clan. My EXP is at 89%. If I clear this S-rank dungeon, I can smoothly advance to Level 6.]
[Brother Red Chicken: @Xiahou Aotian You don't need to report because your family can't even be bothered with you. My EXP is at 77%. If I can clear an S-rank faction dungeon and do one more solo Spirit Realm dungeon this month, I'll be Level 5.]
[Xiahou Aotian: @Brother Red Chicken Shut up if you can't speak decently. Look at World Returns to Fire. You're both Fire Masters, so how is the difference between you two so vast?]
[Brother Red Chicken: Bullshit! He's the disgrace of Fire Masters, how could we be the same?]
[World Returns to Fire: If the alternative is throwing away my brain, I'd rather be a disgrace.]
[Brother Red Chicken: What's that supposed to mean? Are you implying I have no brain? You want to fight?!]
[Sun Miaomiao: He's not implying it. He said it outright.]
[Yuanshi Tianzun: All of you, shut the fuck up!]
*Honestly, the moment Brother Red Chicken joined, everything spiraled out of control...* Relying on his prestige as faction master, Zhang Yuanqing steadied the room.
[Yuanshi Tianzun: Nobody is backing out? Asano Ryo, can you read Chinese?]
[Asano Ryo: I can, Yuanshi-kun. I want to level up too, and I believe Yuanshi Tianzun can lead us to clear it smoothly. Please look after me! (bows)]
[Brother Red Chicken: You know, these islanders are amusing. Bowing at every turn.]
[Sun Miaomiao: The 'bowing artisan' spirit is still commendable, though. (smiles)]
[Xiahou Aotian: Did you make a typo?]
[Sun Miaomiao: No typo.]
[Xiahou Aotian: Oh, you're mocking islanders. Watch out, she might spray nuclear wastewater all over your face!]
Asano Ryo quietly lurked in the chat, feeling the deep malice from these foreign friends.
Yet she didn't dare quarrel with them in the group, only muttering silently in her heart: *Baka~*
After some discussion, no one backed out. Like Xiao Yuan, Xiahou Aotian was just one high-difficulty dungeon away from leveling up, while Brother Red Chicken hoped this S-rank dungeon would push his EXP to the peak of his current level.
The others would advance into the late phase of their levels.
An S-rank dungeon would save them at least two months of grinding.
As for Zhang Yuanqing himself, his EXP was currently at 7%, placing him at early Level 6. If he could boost it above 90%, his raw combat prowess would double.
Then he could finally refine the two Level 6 yin corpses sealed inside Little Red Riding Hood.
One person with five Level 6 yin corpses, not counting spirit servants.
Who among Level 6s could stand against him?
[Yuanshi Tianzun: Since no one is quitting, there are a few precautions I'll state in the group. For everyone's survival, please remove all Dominator-stage items and materials; do not keep them in your inventory. Don't think about exploiting bugs. The Spirit Realm won't give us any leeway. Carrying Dominator-stage items will bring utter disaster upon the team.]
This message was primarily aimed at the underground palace team.
[Brother Red Chicken: Where would we even get Dominator-stage stuff? You couldn't buy that even if you wanted to, alright?]
[Yuanshi Tianzun: Better if you don't have any. Get ready, we enter the faction dungeon at ten o'clock.]
It was nine-thirty now. He needed to give World Returns to Fire and the others some time to store their items.
It was worth mentioning that Zhang Yuanqing had already handed his Dominator-stage materials and the Five Elements Chaos trial card to Fu Qingyang for safekeeping.
His only Dominator-stage item at the moment was the Azure Emperor's Jade Belt, but that item had severe limitations—its beastification boost could not cross stages.
When Zhang Yuanqing advanced to the Dominator stage in the future, using this jade belt would still grant him an enhancement, but as he was currently in the Saint stage, beastification could only bring him to the peak of Level 6 at best.
"Did your application for the Yin-Yang Dial go through?" Guan Ya asked.
Before the dungeon generated, the two had discussed late into the night what they would do if matched with an S-rank dungeon. To maximize the team's survival rate, the first step was "de-Dominatorization."
The second was preparing more top-grade Saint-stage items, including the Yin-Yang Dial and the Holy Infant.
When Zhang Yuanqing previously returned the Yin-Yang Dial, he had made an agreement with the Jianghuai Branch allowing him to borrow it three times. The Jianghuai Branch had agreed, but added a condition: it required Fu Qingyang's permission.
Fu Qingyang naturally granted it and submitted an application for its use to headquarters.
Yet headquarters held up the application. They didn't outright reject it, but every time the Money Prince called headquarters, the reply was always the same: *It's going through the approval process, please wait patiently!*
It was purely meant to disgust him and tie his hands.
Going through the process could take days, months, or even years.
"It went through. Fu Qingyang eventually met with the head of the Jianghuai Branch and sent an eighty-million-yuan sponsorship fee to the branch under the Fu family's name. Heh, the application cleared that very day." Zhang Yuanqing sneered. "That money was probably split between the Jianghuai Branch and some people at headquarters."
Hearing this, Guan Ya knitted her brows. Certain individuals at headquarters and the Jianghuai Branch had effectively used the authority in their hands to fleece Fu Qingyang for a fortune.
Eighty million was enough to buy a top-grade item, even if there was rarely any supply on the open market.
"Neither you nor Fu Qingyang are the type to swallow a loss. Have you thought of how to get back at them?" Guan Ya asked.
Zhang Yuanqing wore a sinister grin. "Once this Yin-Yang Dial reached my hands, getting it back wouldn't be so easy. When I get out of the dungeon, I'll tell the Jianghuai Branch that the Yin-Yang Dial..."
He clapped his hands with a sharp *smack*. "Is gone!"
Guan Ya frowned. "What kind of terrible idea is that? Will the Jianghuai Branch accept that? Will headquarters accept that?"
"Relax. When we signed the agreement back then, it was spelled out clearly in black and white: if the Yin-Yang Dial is lost, the Jianghuai Branch will reclaim everything given to me, and headquarters will revoke one of my Class A merits." Zhang Yuanqing spoke with easy confidence.
"Fifty million in cash, a Saint-quality item, and a Class B merit. They can take whatever merits they want; merits don't mean much to me anymore anyway. I've already had a falling out with headquarters, so what do I need merits for?
"I don't lack Saint-quality items. As for the fifty million cash, heh, I've already transferred this house under the boss's name. My bank accounts don't have much left either—I already converted it to cash.
"If they want money, I don't have any. At worst, they can label me a deadbeat debtor and garnish a chunk of my salary every month to pay it off, but would I care about that? Compared to the Yin-Yang Dial, none of this matters."
"You really are treacherous." Guan Ya pinched her boyfriend's cheek.
"The treacherous one is your cousin; it was his idea. Evil takes evil to grind down evil." Zhang Yuanqing scoffed. "Since they aren't playing by the rules, they can't blame us for pulling tricks and ambushing them. Whatever they swallowed, they'll vomit every last bit back out."
While they spoke, ten o'clock in the morning arrived.
Zhang Yuanqing opened the faction interface and clicked on "Mohist Mechanist City."
The familiar chime of the Spirit Realm rang in his ears. Following a thirty-second countdown, the scenery before him rippled and blurred.
After a hazy flutter of shimmering light, the view settled into stillness. A blue sky, white clouds, green mountains, and clear waters unfolded before his eyes.
Zhang Yuanqing found himself standing on a winding dirt path. Ahead lay a dense forest, while in the distance rose an undulating, dragon-like mountain range. Behind him, green grasses rolled across the plains, dotted with patches of bright, colorful wildflowers.
Guan Ya was by his side. Further away stood Xiao Yuan, World Returns to Fire, Zhao Chenghuang, Sun Miaomiao, Xiahou Aotian, Brother Red Chicken, and Asano Ryo.
Nine people in total.
"Hey there, guys! Good to see you again!"
Brother Red Chicken took the lead in mingling enthusiastically, shaking hands one by one with Sun Miaomiao and the others.
—World Returns to Fire completely ignored him.
Brother Red Chicken then dashed over to shake Asano Ryo's hand warmly. "So it's such a pretty little sister! You look so sweet and well-mannered. Nice to meet you, I'm Brother Red Chicken. We folks from Du are fairly low-key. Little Sister Asano, do you have a boyfriend? Big bro can introduce you to someone."
World Returns to Fire remarked coolly, "With how loud and overly enthusiastic you are, you seem more like you're from the Northeast."
Brother Red Chicken paid him no mind at all and scampered in front of Xiao Yuan. Marveling at her icy, elegant beauty, he called out loudly:
"Yuanshi Tianzun, this must be Xiao Yuan, right? The Spirit Medium who betrayed her camp for you back in the Five Elements Chaos dungeon? Oh wow, gorgeous indeed! Is she your girlfriend?"
Xiao Yuan shot him a cold glare, then looked toward Guan Ya and said, "The official girlfriend is over there."
The atmosphere fell dead silent.
Everyone turned in unison to look at Guan Ya.
The hearty smile froze awkwardly on Brother Red Chicken's face.
Guan Ya offered a graceful, composed smile. "Hello, I'm Guan Ya, Yuanshi's girlfriend."
"Ah... this... Lei hou, lei hou, ahaha, hahaha..." Brother Red Chicken forced out a few awkward laughs.
*This wretched man... He already has a girlfriend, yet he's flirting with a Spirit Medium, and... and he teases me all the time...* Sun Miaomiao puffed her cheeks in annoyance, her face instantly darkening.
*Why drag both your girlfriend and your crush into the same dungeon? Utterly foolish...* World Returns to Fire frowned inwardly. Such a brainless blunder didn't seem like something Yuanshi Tianzun would pull; if it were Xiahou Aotian or Brother Red Chicken, it would make sense.
*Yuanshi Tianzun's taste in women is certainly good, but how could he let two women run into each other like this? Does he think he's the protagonist of a novel?* Xiahou Aotian felt this fellow was getting way ahead of himself—he had the protagonist's delusions without the protagonist's destiny.
He, the true protagonist, hadn't even found a female confidante yet—though he felt he didn't need troublesome creatures like women in the first place.
Right then, everyone received the Spirit Realm's chime simultaneously:
[Ding! Please reach the Mohist Sect before nightfall.]
"Ahem, cough, cough..." Seizing the chance to break the awkward silence, Zhang Yuanqing said without batting an eye:
"The side mission is out. Reaching the Mohist Sect before nightfall means it isn't too far, but not very close either. I'll scout the nearby peaks."
He cast his gaze toward the layered ridges of the mountain range. "Wait here."
With that, he brought out the azure Gale Gloves, pressed both palms downward, and with a howling rush of wind, floated across the forest toward the distant mountains.
Watching Yuanshi Tianzun fly off at top speed, the exact same thought flashed across everyone's minds in silent unison: *He ran away!*
The blue sky looked like a backdrop, its clouds frozen in place like cotton.
Zhang Yuanqing peered downward. The lush canopies spread out like a green carpet, concealing the terrain beneath.
He soon reached the nearest peak and flew around the overlapping mountain crests, landing several times along the way to wait out the flight skill's cooldown.
Half an hour later, having found nothing, he returned to the group.
"I didn't spot any ruins of buildings," Zhang Yuanqing said, shaking his head.
After speaking, he emptied his mind and waited for his teammates to analyze.
Everyone present was a talent. Even if they weren't as smooth-talking as he was, their brains worked well.
Sure enough, the disgrace of Fire Masters never disappointed. Pondering for a moment, he said:
"The Mohist Sect's Mechanist City won't be too far. If it were, we wouldn't be able to find it in a single day. But since they gave us a whole day, finding the entrance will probably take some effort. It should be somewhere in this mountain range."
The train of thought became clear at once.
"Then how do we find the entrance?" Brother Red Chicken asked, habitually emptying his brain whenever he didn't understand something.
Just as Guan Ya was about to speak, she suddenly spotted a farmer leading an ox across the plains behind them. Her eyes lit up instantly, and she beamed.
"Hasn't our NPC arrived right on cue?"
Zhang Yuanqing led the team dashing toward him.
Seeing a crowd dressed in strange attire running his way, the farmer was startled out of his wits, tugging the reins to flee back the way he came.
"Hold on, Uncle!"
Zhang Yuanqing cut off his retreat.
"W-Who are you people?" The farmer looked at them in terror.
"Have you heard of the Mohist Mechanist City?" Zhang Yuanqing asked directly.
At those words, the farmer's face drained of color. With a loud thud, he dropped to his knees, wailing piteously:
"D-Don't take me there! I beg you, masters, don't take me there..."
Chapter 530