On the villa's rooftop, Zhang Yuanqing took out the Daluo astrolabe and infused it with pure astral power. Flowing starlight washed over the astrolabe, lighting up the stars engraved upon its surface one by one and projecting the celestial chart of the heavens into his mind. He opened his Star Eyes, peering through the heavy clouds and mist to gaze upon the black velvet night sky. It was strewn with brilliant stars—eternal and unchanging, yet in constant flux.
They symbolized the solar terms, the four seasons, and the course of all evolution in the cosmos.
To see through them was to fathom every secret of the world.
"The harbor battle's impact on me..." he murmured under his breath, repeating the words like a mantra.
Before long, the constellations in his mind and the river of stars in the night sky began to flicker in unison. The stars shifted, demonstrating astrological divination.
About fifteen minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes and sucked in a breath of cold air through his teeth. He didn't know whether he should be delighted or vexed, or whether he should continue using the Jumang persona or hurriedly switch to an alternate account to develop discreetly.
The astrology revealed that he would reap massive gains in both "reputation" and "wealth." Wealth, in particular, was not mere money; according to the reading, it signified a treasure of immense importance to him.
As for reputation, over the coming period, he would become a prominent figure in the orthodox organizations, reaping benefits like romantic luck, financial fortune, and wide-ranging connections.
Especially regarding romantic luck, the Red Phoenix Star shone brilliantly—to the extent of a harem of three thousand beauties concentrated on one person—yet its light was astray, indicating scandalous romantic encounters rather than true predestined love.
A scandalous encounter wasn't a proper bond of affection, so close female confidantes like Sun Miaomiao and the Palace Master could be ruled out.
With the Red Phoenix Star shining so brightly, it meant the partners would either be numerous or of exceptionally high caliber.
As an exceptional Stargazer, Zhang Yuanqing's interpretation was that in the near future, some pay-per-view content would occur between him and either Winnie or Donna.
Aside from those two, he couldn't think of anyone else. Surely it couldn't be Fu Xue, right?
Those were the delightful advantages. But as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune come hand in hand. The astrological omen revealed that if he continued using the Jumang persona, he would constantly be in mortal peril during the future faction war.
The evil faction would never let him go and would most likely dispatch Dominators to hunt him down.
With Zhang Yuanqing's current strength, he had the capability to contend with early-to-mid Level 7 Dominators. But if he ran into a late Level 7 enemy equipped with one or two Dominator items, he would most likely suffer a bitter defeat.
"Let's first see what kind of reward Heaven's Punishment will give me. According to the divination, it's something that can truly be called a treasure even to me."
Besides, he still had the Tongtian Jiaozhu persona to monitor the Covenant of Freedom's movements. At worst, he could just sleep with Catherine a few more times. Since he had already slept with her once, there was no difference between once and countless times anyway.
Right then, his phone chimed twice with incoming messages.
One message was from Guan Ya, informing him that the pursuit had ended. Among the evil faction's peak Saints, only Cocktail and Tongtian Jiaozhu had escaped; the rest were completely annihilated.
Not a single ordinary Saint had managed to flee, though all of those ordinary Saints were from the Second District.
In other words, the Second District's reinforcement team had suffered a total wipeout.
The orthodox faction's Saints had already withdrawn from the Port of New York and returned to Heaven's Punishment on standby.
The second message was from the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter. In a sweeping message of several dozen words, she recounted the Covenant of Freedom's assassination attempt on Winnie. Furthermore, the Palace Master had pried some intelligence out of Channing Lu, forming new views and speculations about certain matters. She wanted to discuss them with him, but since text messaging was inconvenient, she hoped to talk in person.
*So that's how it was. The Covenant of Freedom pulled this stunt tonight as a feint, and their real target was Winnie. Then my guess was spot on; good thing I had the Palace Master ambush them at the bank building in advance.*
*Still, Winnie was prepared herself and brought in a helper. Tsk, tsk, you really can't underestimate any Dominator. And the Sole-Heir Knight is also at the Heaven's Punishment branch, which saves me a trip to Winnie's grandfather's place.*
He immediately transformed into a streak of starlight and vanished from the suburban villa.
Half an hour later, wearing the Gale Gloves and entering Night Wandering, he returned to the New York County Bank Building and found that yellow police tape had already cordoned it off.
Shattered glass and chunks of concrete were scattered across the plaza below, where maintenance crews were actively cleaning up.
He circled the bank building from a distance. A fierce battle seemed to have taken place on the top floor; more than half of the glass wall was destroyed, and the internal structure was heavily damaged.
Under the circumstances, this was actually very good. A battle between Dominators could reduce not just a single building, but an entire city block to rubble.
Such minimal collateral damage meant that before Channing Lu could unleash a Dominator's full destructive might, he had already been subdued by the Palace Master and the Sole-Heir Knight.
He touched down not far from the bank building, slipped into a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, revealed his figure, and sprinted into the building, heading straight for Winnie's office with clear purpose.
The office lights were bright; the circuits previously destroyed by the electromagnetic pulse from the thunderstorm had already been repaired.
Zhang Yuanqing knocked and pushed open the Chief Prosecutor's office door. His gaze swept rapidly across the room, seeing Winnie sitting by her desk with hollow, unfocused eyes.
The Sole-Heir Knight, dressed in a black mink coat, stood before the French windows with his hands clasped behind his back.
Sister Palace Master lay lazily on her side on the long sofa in the reception area, propping up her chin with one elbow in a completely relaxed, slacking posture.
Hearing the door open, Winnie turned her head slightly.
"Is that Jumang? How did the battle at the port go? What are the casualties?"
"The evil faction was virtually wiped out; only Cocktail and Tongtian Jiaozhu escaped. I killed Typhoeus. As for the battles between the Dominators, I'm not too clear," Zhang Yuanqing said.
*Killed Typhoeus...* Winnie froze for several seconds, a rare look of admiration washing over her face.
Typhoeus was dead!
The legendary Saint of New York County had actually met his end just like that.
When Winnie was at the Saint stage, she had clashed with Typhoeus. As a top genius in the orthodox organizations, she held a steady upper hand over him.
Yet she had never been able to kill him.
Jumang had achieved what she couldn't during her Saint stage.
Jumang hadn't gone into much detail, but she knew that the evil faction's targets had been herself and Jumang. In that case, they must have prepared Dominator-stage items or consumables.
Even under such circumstances, Jumang had still managed to kill Typhoeus. He was surprisingly powerful.
"What about the orthodox faction's casualties?" Winnie pressed.
"Only a few ordinary Saints died," Zhang Yuanqing answered.
Winnie fell silent. She suddenly realized that the Saints' battle at the harbor likely wasn't a bitter struggle, but a one-sided crushing of the evil faction by the orthodox faction.
And the one with the strength and capability to dominate the battlefield was undoubtedly the Jumang before her.
This guy was even more formidable than she had imagined.
Winnie exhaled softly, a smile blossoming on her cold, glamorous face. "You did very well! After tonight, the battle of the Saints is completely over. The faction conflict in New York County has officially entered the stage of slaughter among Dominators."
Typhoeus, Hecate, and Bacchus had returned to the Spirit Realm one after another, sharply reducing the evil faction's peak Saints. Although there were still many peak Saints in Europe and other states of the Free Confederation, the evil faction would not send any more Saints here to die.
With the faction war already sparked, even if the evil faction wanted a ceasefire, the orthodox faction wouldn't agree. The Dominators entering the fray was now a foregone conclusion.
"Minister Winnie, what are your plans next?" Zhang Yuanqing asked promptly.
"I've already emailed headquarters to report Channing Lu's treason. This afternoon, commissioners from headquarters will arrive in New York County to fill the gap in Dominator combat strength. Once Sean Meade returns and I hand Channing Lu over to him, I'll hide at my grandfather's house for five days until the cost of my blindness passes," Winnie said.
*So urgent?* Zhang Yuanqing said, "Why not wait until the commissioners arrive before heading home?"
He was worried Sean Meade would snatch Winnie's credit.
The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter, lying sideways on the sofa, suddenly scoffed. "Because the commissioner Heaven's Punishment headquarters sent is Chris Gustave."
The Sole-Heir Knight added, "Winnie's romantic rival."
Zhang Yuanqing let out a meaningful "Oh." "So you don't want to see her."
Behind the desk, veins bulged on Winnie's smooth forehead, and her pretty face seemed coated in a layer of frost.
The Sole-Heir Knight stepped away from the French windows, walked over, and extended a hand. "I've heard much about you! My name is Xiaoyao Sword Immortal."
Zhang Yuanqing reached out and shook it. "My name is Zhai Cai."
For a moment, he suspected Zhai Cai had seen through his disguise and recognized that Jumang was Xiaoyao Sword Immortal, but sensing the other's emotions, he realized the guy was purely messing around.
"Winnie said you wanted to see me?" Zhai Cai got straight to the point.
Zhang Yuanqing didn't beat around the bush either. "On behalf of Elder Fu Qingyang, I'd like to discuss a piece of business with you."
*Fu Qingyang...* Zhai Cai narrowed his eyes, a premonition dawning on him. "The Holy See treasure vault?"
"Correct." Zhang Yuanqing had just nodded when Zhai Cai interrupted: "Hold on. For a business deal this important, is it really wise to talk in front of an outsider?"
He jutted his chin toward Winnie, hinting at the presence of an outsider, then said loudly, "Minister Winnie, I'm referring to this Musician in the red dress."
*If Winnie could see, she definitely wouldn't be able to resist beating him up!* Zhang Yuanqing retrieved two pairs of black earphones from his inventory. "Put these on to communicate."
Curious, Zhai Cai took a pair and slipped them on. Soon, he heard Jumang's voice: "The earphones can convert thoughts into speech. Whatever is on your mind, I can hear it."
"An interesting item!" Zhai Cai's thoughts stirred. "Go on, then. How does Fu Qingyang want to cooperate? I'm all ears."
"Mr. Zhai Cai, before we cooperate, I want to confirm one thing with you." Zhang Yuanqing stared at him intently. "Do you have the treasure map to the Holy See treasure in your hands?"
Chapter 727