"Th-this..." Old Mai of the Dionysus Club stared blankly at that ancient emperor avatar, his expression gradually stiffening.
As a demigod, he keenly sensed the elements of this realm churning in violent upheaval. The foundational elements that held the world stable were disintegrating, rearranging, and recombining. Such a transformation was more terrifying than any natural disaster.
A disaster would only destroy life and reshape the land, but it would not alter the most fundamental building blocks of the world itself.
The mere manifestation of this sovereign avatar was enough to destabilize the very bedrock of the world. This had already surpassed the limits of a demigod's power—it was an authority belonging exclusively to a Spirit Realm Administrator.
Could uniting the five elements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth from the Second District rival an Administrator's authority?
Or rather, did the combined origin power of five demigods equate to an Administrator's authority?
Those shaken the hardest were the three demigods of the Second District. The Nihility Sect, the Witch Gu Sect, and the Soldier Master sect had been entangled in conflict with the Five Elements Alliance for a century.
With Asura remaining in seclusion, the Five Elements Alliance had joined forces with the Taiyi Sect to suppress the three organizations, holding the absolute upper hand.
Yet at the demigod level, the evil faction did not fear the Five Elements Alliance. The Taiyi Sect Master was in perpetual seclusion, and the five alliance chiefs were all Level 10; at best, the two sides were evenly matched.
But now, what were they seeing?
Without a whisper of warning, the Five Elements Alliance had developed such a terrifying fusion technique?
Not a single rumor had leaked.
Had it not been exposed today, when the alliance finally revealed its trump card in the future, one of them might well have been the one to die.
The Smoking One halted his advance, approaching no further.
The Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder, however, possessed no sanity. Seeing a powerful enemy appear nearby, they immediately raised the lightning spear in their hand, aiming it straight at that distinctly Eastern-style sovereign avatar.
Dazzling lightning surged from the tip of the spear. Electrical serpents hissed and crackled, causing even the sunlight to pale in comparison.
Waves of dense yellow light rose from the sovereign avatar, deflecting the destructive lightning strikes. It did not retaliate; instead, it was brewing something.
The surrounding spiritual energy continued to churn violently, fusing without pause.
Before long, a smear of primal chaos appeared beneath the emperor's feet. This chaotic halo expanded rapidly, assimilating and devouring everything in its path.
The air turned into chaos; the earth turned into chaos.
Mr. President let out a yelp. "Run!!"
The chaotic hue swept past his body, grazing an illusionary afterimage that instantly activated teleportation to escape.
Old Mai of the Dionysus Club followed immediately after, distorting rules and erasing distance to step thousands of li away in a single stride.
The three demigods from the Second District fled madly. The Gu Dragon's colossal body could not clear the area in time; as the light of chaos swept over its tail, that section instantly reverted to chaos, that portion of power lost permanently.
The light of chaos continued to expand, engulfing the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder and The Smoking One.
The domain fell entirely into chaos, hiding everything from the outside world.
"All things return to chaos, re-forging earth, wind, water, and fire..."
In an empty house in New York County, Zhang Yuanqing sat by the sofa, thoroughly absorbed in the combat scenes Mr. President was recounting. He murmured, "Is this the ultimate power of uniting the five elements?"
The demigod-level catastrophe had been peacefully resolved. Re-forging earth, wind, water, and fire, the chiefs of the Five Elements Alliance had fought one against two, shattering the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder's avatar and narrowly prevailing against The Smoking One.
Under the sovereign avatar's protection, Mr. President had opened a spatial passage and banished the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder into the slumbering domain of the Eternal Night Church's Night Head.
By then, battered repeatedly by grievous injuries and utterly weakened, the Dual Gods fell into eternal slumber with barely any struggle.
Seeing matters conclude this way, the evil faction could only withdraw, however grudgingly. That was simply how things went in the world: when plotting an endeavor, achieving fifty percent of the goal was already reason enough for contentment.
For everything to go according to plan would have been absurd.
At the very least, the orthodox faction had lost two demigods, and Heaven's Punishment was now bound to decline.
Mr. President stood by the window, gazing out over the night-shrouded streets as he swirled his wine glass. "Who would have thought the Five Elements Alliance had actually developed a spell to unite all five elements? Beyond expectations. Truly beyond expectations."
As the orthodox organization second only to Heaven's Punishment, the Five Elements Alliance had always given Spirit Realm walkers worldwide the impression of being a bloated behemoth cobbled together by sheer numbers, deep pockets, and the merger of five major groups.
It was akin to fusing the First District's Heaven's Punishment, Association of God of Beauty, and Sea God Church into one.
In terms of top-tier powerhouse quality, the Five Elements Alliance was considered mediocre. Ordinary Spirit Realm walkers might not know the exact rank divisions among demigods, but they knew that Heaven's Punishment's Chief Executive and Chief Inquisitor were stronger than ordinary demigods.
Yet in this turmoil, the Five Elements Alliance had played its trump card, revealing a foundation and strength worthy of its status.
"I remember that shortly after the Five Elements Alliance was founded, they immediately gathered the Scholar clans to study the power of the five elements," Zhang Yuanqing recalled suddenly, sighing with emotion. "I remember hearing that the project hit a bottleneck and fizzled out. Thinking back now, they must have succeeded long ago, but kept it under wraps so thoroughly that even Ling Tuo didn't know."
Spies from Dark Night Rose were everywhere within the Five Elements Alliance and the Spirit Realm clans.
If Ling Tuo had known that the Five Elements Alliance had perfected a secret art to unite the five elements, the evil faction wouldn't have been caught off guard today; they would have prepared a countermeasure.
Mr. President took a light sip of red wine and said thoughtfully, "Only the alliance chiefs knew, which is why it could remain a secret. Even the Ten Elders likely had no idea. Ah, I underestimated those alliance chiefs. But then, among those who stand at the pinnacle of the Spirit Realm, who could truly be a fool?
"I suppose I should step up my cooperation with the orthodox demigods. Today scared me half to death—I honestly thought all hope was lost."
The boss was right. Having operated for a century, the orthodox faction still possessed real foundation and depth... Zhang Yuanqing could finally let go of the heavy stone weighing on his heart, but in its place came worry for the current state of affairs.
"Heaven's Punishment has no demigods now. What will they do? Even though the evil faction didn't obtain the Dual Gods' Administrator authority, the orthodox faction losing two powerful demigods is an undeniable fact." Zhang Yuanqing wanted to hear the President's perspective.
"Do you know why we had to preserve the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder?" Mr. President rubbed the rim of his glass. "Going mad doesn't matter; think of it as giving the Thunder God and Boreas a vacation. As long as the two of them are still alive, the orthodox faction hasn't truly lost two demigods."
"Is there still a chance to save them?" Zhang Yuanqing caught the hidden meaning.
Mr. President turned around, his eyes burning into him. "The divine power of the Sun can purify everything, including mental derangement. But the only entity capable of purifying a demigod is the Lord of the Sun."
Another inexplicable responsibility piled onto his shoulders! Zhang Yuanqing let out a groan of despair.
Mr. President downed the wine in his glass. "Your mother has been in New York County recently. Once you clear the killing trial, she wants to meet with you."
Zhang Yuanqing scoffed at once. "What, if her son doesn't score a hundred percent, she won't see me? Do me a favor and ask her: has she bought that cane yet?"
Mr. President sighed helplessly. "Drop the sarcasm. Some matters, you simply have no right to know if your rank isn't high enough. That's the rule. Only when you advance to Dominator do you truly step across the threshold. Chen Shu isn't hiding things from you on purpose; you're just not strong enough yet."
He set down the glass and asked again, "The Illusion God's heart should have entered the second phase of revival by now, hasn't it?"
Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "If I don't advance to Day Wanderer within a month, it will completely corrupt me."
Over this period, the Illusion God item had revived once more, crossing fully into the second stage. Each flare-up brought Zhang Yuanqing unbearable agony.
The second stage corresponded to Dominator-level power, but because it had only just awakened and remained in its early phase, it had not caused him too much harm.
If he still failed to advance to Day Wanderer before the revival progressed to its middle and late phases, even gods wouldn't be able to save him.
"There are only ten days left until the killing trial opens. Do your best." With a sharp snap of his fingers, Mr. President vanished.
Mimicking him, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers and returned to the New York County Bank building. After spending an intimate night with Guan Ya, the two lay entangled in bed the next morning, each scrolling through their phones.
Guan Ya was browsing Heaven's Punishment's forum, while Zhang Yuanqing browsed the Five Elements Alliance's forum.
The news of an eighth-level Dominator dying in battle on the evil faction's side had only spread a few days earlier. Before the cheers of praise from orthodox classes across the world could die down, the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder triggered a demigod-level catastrophe.
Spirit Realm walkers across the globe had been subjected to a rollercoaster ride of emotional highs and lows.
The evil faction's walkers had been spitting in disgust at how pathetic the Biological Alchemy Society was just days ago, only to beat gongs and drums the very next day, howling under the moon with excitement, practically wishing they could slaughter themselves to add to the revelry and celebrate Heaven's Punishment's collapse.
By nightfall, the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder were alive and well; the Spirit Realm quest still persisted, but the battle was over.
The orthodox faction had successfully settled the storm.
And so the evil faction's walkers took to cursing once more, berating their leadership for incompetence and playing a winning hand straight into the ground.
The most innocent casualty in all this was the Night Head of the Eternal Night Church—now the entire world knew the location of his slumbering sanctuary.
—One only needed to open their interface and check the Spirit Realm quest; wherever the red dot pulsed was the place.
"People in Heaven's Punishment are in a total panic!" Guan Ya held an arm across her chest with her phone in the other hand, creamy fair curves spilling temptingly past her fingers in an alluring view, yet her expression was solemn and grave. "If the other official organizations seize this chance to poach talent, it will only accelerate Heaven's Punishment's unraveling."
With the Dual Gods of Wind and Thunder in deep sleep, the sole remaining demigod on the board of directors could hardly clap with one hand; he could not shoulder Heaven's Punishment—the strongest orthodox organization in the world—all by himself.
When a whale falls, all life thrives. This was indeed a golden opportunity to carve up Heaven's Punishment; the resources it controlled could feed the other orthodox organizations until grease dripped from their lips.
Yet the decline of a colossal organization inevitably brought chaos and disorder in its wake. Anyone wishing to take over Heaven's Punishment would also have to shoulder its heavy responsibilities.
With faction warfare raging in full swing, reassuring the populace and stabilizing Heaven's Punishment was the choice that best served the greater good.
Only politicians cared exclusively about profit.
As a bona fide orthodox practitioner, Guan Ya couldn't help but worry about the future of Heaven's Punishment, and the future of the orthodox faction.
"The higher-ups in orthodox organizations might harbor crooked thoughts, but demigods won't," Zhang Yuanqing said, stroking his girlfriend's flat, taut stomach. "Looking back now, it was the right call for demigods not to hold executive power. Once they hold worldly power, dividing the spoils of Heaven's Punishment becomes personal gain, and it's hard not to be swayed. Standing detached from the organization allows them to handle major crises with greater objectivity and calm."
Parroting what he had just heard, he added, "Among those who stand at the pinnacle of the Spirit Realm, who could truly be a fool? Just stick to eating your gutter oil and stop worrying about demigods."
Guan Ya glared at him playfully, bumping him with her round, bouncy, snow-white hip.
The bump sent the blood rushing straight to Zhang Yuanqing's head.
"Rest a bit longer. I'm going to Winnie's office to ask about Heaven's Punishment's situation." No longer the reckless, headstrong youth of his earlier days, Zhang Yuanqing quietly slipped out of bed, got dressed, washed up, and left the bedroom.
He went straight to Winnie's office. With slightly curled brown hair and an exquisitely cool, glamorous face, the Chief Inquisitor stood beside the massive floor-to-ceiling window, gazing blankly out at the metropolis's morning rush hour.
"More than half a district of Hua City has been destroyed. Casualties exceed a hundred thousand. Beyond the outskirts, a natural disaster beyond human comprehension erupted, turning dozens of kilometers around into scorched earth, completely warping the elements—a scar that won't heal for centuries. Yet what does that have to do with New York County? People still go to work just the same. At most, they scroll through the news and glance at the comments on their phones while riding the subway," Winnie spoke in a cool, detached tone without turning around.
Zhang Yuanqing closed the door and picked up the thread naturally, "You mean that Heaven's Punishment's headquarters is just like Hua City right now—even if it's reduced to ruins, it won't stop the branches from functioning normally. Winnie, what are the casualties at headquarters?"
"Six hundred Extraordinaries and Saints dead or wounded, one thousand and eight civilian staff members, and six Dominators lost. None of the Level 8 or Level 9 Dominators suffered casualties," Winnie answered without holding anything back.
Zhang Yuanqing nodded silently.
When disaster struck, the stronger one was, the easier it was to escape. So long as one was not specifically targeted or locked down, one's survival rate was bound to surpass ordinary people and common walkers.
Six whole Dominators had fallen, which was a heavy blow, but the heaviest loss lay in the Saints and Extraordinaries, numbering six hundred strong.
The Spirit Realm walkers at Heaven's Punishment's headquarters were undeniably world-class in quality. Their experience, knowledge, and administrative competence had all been cultivated over many long years.
For Heaven's Punishment's headquarters to regain its vitality would take ten years at the very least—no, twenty years minimum.
"What does the board intend to do?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.
"The board plans to draw elites from the branches to fill the vacancies. I was supposed to be on the promotion list, but New York County lost Channing Lu first, and then Sean Meade was transferred away. If I'm reassigned as well, New York County won't have any Dominators left," Winnie murmured. "The board also plans to invite the president of the Merchant Guild, the president of the Association of God of Beauty, and the pope of the Sea God Church to serve as honorary chiefs. They will hold the right to attend meetings and vote, but they cannot intervene in operational affairs."
This way, Heaven's Punishment can steady its people, and the three major official organizations won't find it easy to stage a takeover. The board of directors is still playing it steady! Zhang Yuanqing understood the plan.
He had only come to check on the situation. When it came to managing and operating an organization, he was an amateur and had no intention of meddling.
Unless the board of Heaven's Punishment did something completely absurd.
Zhang Yuanqing turned to leave when Winnie's voice called from behind him: "Jumang!"
He stopped and looked back to see Winnie staring at him with a peculiar gaze. "You don't even address me as 'Lord Inquisitor' anymore. Of course, I don't care about titles, but it feels as though, in your eyes, a Dominator isn't someone who requires special deference."
I'm the future Lord of the Sun! Even if I'm still just a fledgling cub! Zhang Yuanqing poked fun at himself inwardly and smiled. "People only ever truly defer to those they cannot overcome."
Winnie nodded in agreement, then looked at him with an even more complex expression. "Jumang, who on earth are you? I'm truly curious about your identity."
Mistress, I'm your husband's successor! Zhang Yuanqing offered no answer. He shrugged and slipped out of the office.
Back in the bedroom, he entered the dungeon directly, returning to Youqing's embrace.
Chapter 777