In the wrecked bedroom, Wings of the Wind God slumped by the window, receiving medicinal spray and bandages from the Wood Monster, Sacred Hand of Medicine, while other members stood on standby outside and downstairs.
"The heart was the fatal wound, but treatment came just in time, so it's already healed. The other wounds are deep but not lethal. With my spray, they'll close up within three days. Of course, Deacon, if you have a Saint-quality healing prop, pretend I said nothing." Even facing a Level 6 deacon, the arrogant Siren spoke in an infuriating tone. "For the next few days, you'll be weak from excessive blood loss. Healing props can't fix that. I'll write you a tonic prescription—twenty percent off, not a penny more."
"Thanks!" Wings of the Wind God nodded, then shifted his gaze to Zhang Yuanqing. "You are..."
"He—he's Team 6's new member..." Sacred Hand of Medicine stammered, looking at Zhang Yuanqing with conflicted eyes.
*This guy is an expert!*
Judge Cao had actually picked up a Saint-stage Scout! Judging by the sheer offensive power he used to casually slash open the barrier, he was clearly stronger than Deacon Yellow Wind Monster.
"Team 6's new member?" Wings of the Wind God froze. "The Scout who deduced that the Night Walker was hunting a target and obscuring vision? No wonder..."
A look of realization dawned on his face. "No wonder you could analyze the truth at a glance—you're a Swordsman."
Zhang Yuanqing kept a cold face, maintaining the gravity and seriousness expected of a Scout. "Don't ever think about ambushing a Starlord. It's an utterly foolish move. You know nothing about them, but they know you inside and out."
With that, under the watchful eyes of Sacred Hand of Medicine, Wings of the Wind God, and Yellow Wind Monster, he leapt out the window, kicked off a series of outdoor AC units, and landed firmly on the ground.
Then, under the curious gazes of the gathered members and the complex looks of Cao Qianxiu, Snow White, and the rest of Team 6, he strode down the long street, fading into the distance.
Once he had vanished completely from sight, Snow White tugged on Cao Qianxiu's hem, thrilled and excited, though instinctively lowering her voice: "Where—where on earth did you find such a master? Wow, he's so cool! The way he swung that sword was incredible! He's a Swordsman, isn't he—the kind who kills a man every ten paces? Judge, you struck absolute gold!"
"He claimed to be a Level 2 Scout... Well, who would tell a stranger their real level?" Cao Qianxiu had the most conflicted feelings of all.
She had thought she was taking in a little lackey, but he turned out to be an expert from the Second District.
From now on, she would have to walk on eggshells just talking to him.
Rushing back to the red-brick building, Zhang Yuanqing waved off Annie's offer of a midnight snack and headed straight for the bedroom.
"I've been thinking: if those two Starlords were members of Dark Night Rose, how would Ling Tuo be tangled up with the Holy See? He's barely in his forties—a toddler by historical standards—so he shouldn't know about the Pope's relic unless he's colluding with foreign factions," the clone said, sitting by the desk with legs crossed. "If those two Starlords weren't Dark Night Rose members, they must have been groomed by foreign factions plotting after the Pope's relic. The Covenant of Freedom is naturally the prime suspect, but the major orthodox organizations are also possible. Odd... Main body, why don't you sort through the logic?"
Zhang Yuanqing glanced at him and sneered. "Sort through my ass. We share one soul. If you can't figure it out, how could I? If the two of us just sit here racking our brains, that old crone Zhao Youqing will have figured it out before we do. Let's wait for Mr. President to drop by tonight before discussing it. I'm getting hungry anyway, perfect timing to have Annie whip up a late-night snack."
With that, he brought out the Yata no Kagami and recalled the clone.
Just as he was about to head back to the living room for food, a familiar voice drifted from behind him: "No need for a midnight snack. I just ate—my wife made it for me."
Zhang Yuanqing turned around. Sitting by the previously empty desk was a man in poop-yellow pajamas, wearing a silver mask. He had his legs crossed, lounging with his usual slovenly lack of airs.
*So what if your wife made it? Why brag so loudly, as if no one else has a wife?* Zhang Yuanqing walked back to the bed, sat down, and chuckled. "You got here pretty fast. Seems the Pope's relic is no ordinary thing."
Mr. President crossed his legs, scrutinizing the young man by the bed. "Your tone is getting more and more casual. I'm both a demigod and your sugar daddy. Please show me some respect."
"I don't think that's necessary. You're already tied to me, and you can't pull out your investment. Whether I'm respectful or not, you can't switch investees, so I choose to please myself."
"..." Mr. President pondered for a few seconds, found himself at a loss for words, and changed the subject: "Let's get down to business. What the hell is this Pope's relic? Are you sure it's the Pope's relic?"
Zhang Yuanqing, who had been gearing up to listen to ancient secrets, blinked in surprise. "You don't know about the Pope's relic?"
Mr. President shrugged. "First of all, the Holy See fell over a century ago, back when my grandfather was still an unweaned toddler. Second, I was born and raised in China, which you've probably heard. Finally, my connection to the Merchant Guild isn't that deep. I didn't establish the guild; they acknowledge me as President simply because the Merchant Guild needed a demigod. Therefore, there are many secrets in the First District that I know nothing about."
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but furrow his brows. "Does this mean I've expanded our line of business? How about we put the spy work on hold for now? The Pope's relic is more important."
He then recounted everything that had transpired today to Mr. President in full detail.
The poop-yellow-clad President analyzed: "I am, after all, a demigod of the Void class belonging to the First District, and the President of the Merchant Guild. If even I've never heard of it, how could Ling Tuo know? Unless his ties to the First District run deeper than mine. Ling Tuo is a fallen Night Walker, so the only ones who could associate with him are from the evil faction. The fall of the Holy See was orchestrated single-handedly by the Covenant of Freedom. No one understands the Holy See better than the Covenant of Freedom; they must know about the Pope's relic. If those two Starlords were members of Dark Night Rose, Ling Tuo and the Covenant of Freedom are definitely colluding."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded along, agreeing.
Apart from the Covenant of Freedom, the most likely people to know that the Pope left a relic were the orthodox powerhouses who had taken part in the crusade against the Holy See.
However, there was no way they would tell Ling Tuo about it. They could easily search for it themselves—why take off their pants to fart and pointlessly inform Ling Tuo?
Moreover, Ling Tuo was a fallen Night Walker.
Factions dictated allegiances. The furthest an orthodox powerhouse could go was something like Elder Cai—briefly cooperating for a shared goal—but they would never hand over such a massive prize to the evil faction.
Therefore, Ling Tuo could only have learned of it from the Covenant of Freedom.
The President continued, "If the two Starlords weren't Dark Night Rose members, then there are two possibilities. One: this operation to seize the Pope's relic was planned by an orthodox organization. Two: it was planned by the Covenant of Freedom, with no connection to Dark Night Rose."
"Either way, it's either an orthodox organization or the evil faction; it doesn't matter who," Zhang Yuanqing said. "President, that's not the point. The point is that the Pope's relic has been coveted by the forces behind this for over a century. It must be something extraordinary. We're going to strike it rich!"
The President scoffed. "No, who's pulling the strings behind those two Starlords is very important."
Zhang Yuanqing's interest was piqued. "How so?"
"The two Starlords have already been killed by you. Now, you need to settle the bounty on the Hunter app, then head to Meisheng Bank to retrieve what Jia Feizhang left in the safe-deposit box. Go as Jia Feizhang to retrieve it, and show everyone that the man was killed by you and the item is in your hands," Mr. President chuckled. "Then, just wait. If you run into harassment or arrest from Heaven's Punishment, then Heaven's Punishment was the mastermind behind this operation. Conversely, if the Hunter Guild tries to contact you to inquire about the contents of Jia Feizhang's deposit box, then the Covenant of Freedom planned it."
*No need, no need, there's really no need to be that radical...* Understanding his plan, Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "You want me to seize this opportunity to infiltrate the Covenant of Freedom ahead of schedule? But the risk is too high. I'm not familiar with how they operate. I'm afraid they'll just kill me and loot the treasure."
Mr. President's tone was confident and calm: "A powerful evil class, a talented evil class—as long as you display those two traits, the Covenant of Freedom will certainly tolerate you and try to cooperate rather than taking it by force. As for Heaven's Punishment, don't they normally ignore Chinatown cases? If they suddenly break character, it means they panicked after discovering the two Starlords went dark, confirming Heaven's Punishment orchestrated it. Well, we can ignore Heaven's Punishment; our subsequent focus will be on the Pope's relic."
*A dull and boring life has suddenly gotten so colorful...* Zhang Yuanqing bared his teeth. Whether targeted by Heaven's Punishment or the Covenant of Freedom, it was extremely dangerous.
The moment he took whatever Jia Feizhang had stored in the bank's safe-deposit box, he would effectively be walking a tightrope.
"I plan to see what's inside the box first before deciding. If the Pope's relic is powerful enough, I can just run off with it and change my identity." Zhang Yuanqing rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I just wonder what on earth this Pope's relic is, to keep Heaven's Punishment or the Covenant of Freedom obsessed for a century."
***
"Uncle Jing, what on earth is going on? Jia Feizhang is dead and the enemies have fled. Can you tell us now?"
In an underground chamber in Manhattan, Deng Jingguo, who had just celebrated his fiftieth birthday, spoke in a deep voice.
He looked weary, his eyelids drooping as though he had only just awoken from slumber, still weighed down by heavy drowsiness.
Deng Jingguo was a Level 7 Lightning Mage with a square face, thick, dark brows, and a burly, towering build of a hundred and ninety centimeters. He was none other than the leader of the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance.
Besides him, there were two others in the chamber. One was the Level 7 Siren Lu Jing, an emaciated old man with a head of silver hair, dressed in a Chinese gown and cloth shoes.
The other was a Level 7 Wind Mage named Tao Siming, a middle-aged man carrying a subtle scholarly air.
All three looked as if they had barely awakened.
Not long ago, they had come under enemy attack. The method of attack was simple: the opponent locked onto their approximate location and then went to sleep.
That was right—the attacker was a Dominator of the Eternal Night class.
There was no more effective stalling tactic than dragging a Dominator into deep sleep along with oneself.
For orthodox classes, the thorniest aspect of the Eternal Night class was the Slumber Domain. All living beings within its range were forced into sleep, including the Eternal Night user themselves. Energy-based attacks entering the domain would also dissipate as they were put to "sleep."
Physical attacks—bullets, arrows, and the like—would also lose kinetic energy.
Even humanity's ultimate technological trump card, nuclear bombs, was rendered useless.
Decades ago, the Free Confederation had located the slumbering place of the Night God Church's Night Chief. The Confederation authorities had acted decisively and dropped a nuclear bomb on it, but it failed to detonate.
Tao Siming also looked toward the gaunt old man in the gown and cloth shoes. "Uncle Jing, what exactly did Jia Feizhang have that could draw in two Starlords? And which organization is backing them?"
After Team 6 submitted their analysis of the serial murders, Lu Jing had hastily convened a three-man meeting. The agenda had been simple, with two core points: first, Jia Feizhang was the former Alliance leader's illegitimate son; second, the former leader had left something crucial with Jia Feizhang, something that could not be lost under any circumstances.
Lu Jing was a sworn brother of the former Alliance leader. They had known each other since childhood and later co-founded the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance, fighting back-to-back their entire lives with a bond closer than blood brothers.
Naturally, Deng Jingguo believed his words. For a gang kingpin and a Dominator-stage spirit realm walker, keeping mistresses on the side was par for the course. For his old man to have only one illegitimate child practically made him a paragon of virtue among gang bosses.
Deng Jingguo didn't mind his father having a bastard son, and even felt like mocking his late old man—fathering a kid with a club hostess, where was his class?
What he couldn't fathom was why his father had entrusted such an important item to an illegitimate son who was just an ordinary human.
It made no sense at all.
The silver-haired Lu Jing let out a sigh. "In the end, we still failed to protect the Alliance leader's legacy... Ah, well. Things have come to this, so there's nothing left to hide. That object is the Pope's relic."
"The Pope's relic?" Tao Siming didn't grasp the reference. "The kind of Pope who likes cute little boys?"
Lu Jing shook his head. "Of course not that kind of Pope. That's the Pope of the ordinary world. The Pope's relic I'm referring to belongs to the Pope of the spirit realm walker world. What you don't know is that a century ago, before the Second District was even opened, the First District had already birthed a mighty organization formed by orthodox classes—the Holy See."
Deng Jingguo's thick brows furrowed tightly. "What does a Pope from a hundred years ago have to do with my dad?"
"It has nothing to do with your dad, but it has everything to do with your grandfather. That item was inherited by your dad from your grandfather. He was also your grandfather's illegitimate son," Lu Jing said.
"What kind of bloody bastard legacy is this!" Deng Jingguo slammed the table in fury.
Tao Siming hurriedly pressed his hand down, motioning for Deng Jingguo to calm down, then looked at Lu Jing. "Uncle Jing, please continue. Are you saying the Pope was related to Jingguo's grandfather?"
Chapter 667