Gains

The official walkers filed in and naturally split into two teams. One team tended to the wounded, while the other inspected the scene, delivered finishing blows, and eliminated any remaining hazards. A female member from Baihui crouched down to examine the two poisoned Fire Masters, her tone tightening slightly: "Centurion, their vital signs are faint. They need diluted Life Essence immediately, or their lives will be in danger." Within the orthodox faction, both Musicians and Wood Demons possessed life-domain skills, but at the Transcendent stage, neither profession had the power to revive someone on the brink of death. Such formidable abilities could only be mastered by high-level walkers. Consequently, the Musician profession's "Life Essence" had always been a crucial strategic asset for the authorities, delivering immediate, miraculous results for mortally wounded individuals. The Five Elements Alliance purchased vast quantities of Life Essence from the Three Musician Clans every year at a steep price. Fu Qingyang said in a low voice, "Administer treatment immediately." The female Wood Demon unzipped her tactical backpack, retrieved two syringes, and administered intravenous injections to the two poisoned Fire Masters. The heavily injured and unconscious Da Jiba received the same treatment. Li Dongze was not so fortunate; the Baihui Wood Demon merely gave him basic first aid to stop the bleeding, draw out the poison, and bandage his wounds. Qingteng and the others were treated as well. Fu Qingyang walked over to Guan Ya, took off his suit jacket, draped it over her shoulders, and asked with a furrowed brow, "Are you all right?" Guan Ya gathered the lapels of the jacket and shook her head. At that moment, the captain-level walker sweeping the battlefield returned with his squad and reported, "Centurion, all enemies have been eliminated. No survivors." The captain remarked with sighing admiration, "All four gu beasts had bodies comparable to Level 3 Fire Masters. It is truly unbelievable that you took them down without a single casualty on our side. But there is one thing I don't understand—two of the gu beasts have no visible wounds, and their bodies are stiff and cold, as if they've been dead for hours. "How did you manage that?" Hearing this, Ling Jun raised an eyebrow and promptly strolled over to Unbridled's corpse, crouching down to inspect it. Fu Qingyang's interest was piqued. He looked toward Guan Ya and asked, "What happened?" "Yuanshi killed those two," Guan Ya replied succinctly. "No, not two," Bailong, leaning on his blade after receiving treatment, chimed in. "Three." "Yuanshi Tianzun? That newcomer who cleared the S-rank Jinshui Amusement Park? Where is he? I haven't even seen what he looks like yet," the young woman bandaging Da Jiba asked, looking up with an excited face. Her squad captain quelled her excitement with a stern glare. *Three...* Fu Qingyang looked at Qingteng and Tang Guoqiang. Seeing that neither disputed the claim, and that the injured Level 2 walkers showed expressions of mixed awe and dread as if recalling something terrifying, he believed it. "Indeed, the methods of a Night Wanderer..." Ling Jun clicked his tongue. "Just a Level 2 Night Wanderer, yet his combat prowess is already this terrifying? How long has this kid even been a Spirit Realm walker?" He added with regret, "Letting the Five Elements Alliance have him was truly a mistake." Fu Qingyang shot him a glance, then turned to Guan Ya. "Where is Yuanshi Tianzun?" "Upstairs," Guan Ya looked up. "Dealing with a few things." *** Compared to the wreckage and chaos of the ground-floor hall, the rooms on the second floor were relatively well preserved. Zhang Yuanqing found the item in the third room facing outward. It was an incense burner with a three-legged bronze base, topped by a toad carved from ebony, posed in a crouch with its mouth agape toward the sky. The toad censer rested quietly on the table. Zhang Yuanqing suppressed the itchy irritation in his throat and stumbled over to the window. He yanked open the curtains, threw open the sash, and took several deep gulps of fresh air. Once the faint dizziness subsided considerably, he returned to the table and picked up the toad censer. A string of information materialized in his vision: [Name: Heavenly Toad Censer] [Type: Tool] [Function: Toxin] [Description: In ancient times, a genius from a witch doctor tribe in Nanling set out to concoct a colorless, odorless poison that could kill without a trace. After years of tireless research, he succeeded in crafting this censer. However, he discovered that while its toxin was indeed colorless and odorless, it lacked potency and acted far too slowly, so he discarded it. Half a month later, the entire tribe was dead.] [Remarks: Have you stacked enough poison resistance?] Zhang Yuanqing immediately stored the item in his inventory, thinking to himself that this was quite a treacherous trick of a gadget. From the description and remarks, he understood the item's properties. First, the toxin made no distinction between friend and foe; even its owner could be poisoned. Unbridled had only endured it because Witch Doctors possessed high poison resistance. Second, the Heavenly Toad Censer was the kind of item whose toxicity grew deadlier the longer it sat. Its poison continuously evaporated into the air. If not stored properly, it would contaminate an entire region, capable of poisoning even members of a witch doctor tribe to death. "Huh?" Zhang Yuanqing reopened his inventory to reread the Heavenly Toad Censer's description. "Ancient times... a Nanling witch doctor tribe?" He extracted something unusual from that information. Judging by the "Description," a high-level Spirit Realm walker from some distant era must have created this item. Later, it either found its way into the Spirit Realm and was acquired by Unbridled, or it had been passed down in the real world all along. Of course, that was beside the point. The critical phrase was "ancient times." What era did ancient times refer to? How many years ago was that? Did Spirit Realm walkers already exist back then? But the concept of a status panel was distinctly modern. Well, whether it was strictly a modern concept could not be proven, but if people in ancient times also had character stat panels, that would be utterly jarring... Zhang Yuanqing muttered under his breath, "I'll have to look up the origin of the Spirit Realm when I have time—if I have the security clearance, that is." And if ancient times lacked the concept of a panel, then the origin of the panel information they were so familiar with today became eerie and mysterious. In fact, whether the very concept of a Spirit Realm walker existed in ancient times was a question mark in itself. "The Spirit Realm holds so many secrets. I always felt that Morality Points made no sense—they show heavy traces of artificial design, rather than naturally emerging..." Just then, Zhang Yuanqing noticed that his colleagues downstairs were carrying out a large-scale evacuation. Without lingering any longer, he left the room and headed down the stairs. The official walkers on the ground floor had already been dismissed. In the center of the living room, a young man in a white suit sat upon a high-backed chair, framed by shattered furniture, crimson bloodstains, overturned sofas, and cracked walls. His suit was pristine as snow, his features handsome, cold, and solemn, forming a stark contrast with his ruined surroundings. Zhang Yuanqing examined the man in the white suit, who in turn scrutinized him. When Zhang Yuanqing stepped off the final stair, the young man in white gave a slight nod. "Fu Qingyang." *There's actually a man more handsome than me in this world...* Zhang Yuanqing bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Centurion." He had long heard of this Centurion's illustrious reputation, having listened to Li Dongze mention him many times: born into a prominent family, an exceptional genius, calm and wise, resolute and upright, with more money than sense... Well, that last one was Guan Ya's commentary. Now that he had finally met this "legendary" figure, his first impression was of someone proud, noble, and sharp—the sort of person one had to think twice before daring to joke with. Oddly enough, Zhang Yuanqing did not find him off-putting. Fu Qingyang's pride and nobility were pure, and his temperament matched his appearance perfectly. Sitting upright in the high-backed chair, Fu Qingyang said in an even tone, "No need for formalities. I have been watching you for a long time and wanted to meet you much earlier. But Guan Ya told me you were a pervert who lacked the guts to act on your desires, so I decided to observe you a bit longer." *Do you discriminate against perverts? Wait, I'm not a pervert...* Zhang Yuanqing explained, "That's her misunderstanding of me. I believe Centurion Fu ought to exercise your own judgment." Fu Qingyang said calmly, "She strongly recommended that I promote you to Decurion, considering you one of the finest talents among the new generation of the Five Elements Alliance." Zhang Yuanqing shifted gears immediately: "She truly has an eye for people." Fu Qingyang looked at him with profound, penetrating eyes. For some reason, Zhang Yuanqing's gaze subconsciously darted away. He disliked this sharp scrutiny that seemed to see right through everything. *I hate a Scout's gaze...* Zhang Yuanqing muttered disgruntledly to himself. Just as he was about to look back, Fu Qingyang shifted his gaze toward Unbridled's corpse and asked, "What do you make of this battle?" His tone was calm. Rather than an interrogation, it sounded more like an examination given to a valued subordinate. Knowing that the Centurion held him in high regard, Zhang Yuanqing weighed his words carefully before answering, "The enemy knew our deployment and headcount in advance; they had us completely figured out. The waters run deep here." Fu Qingyang replied bluntly, "Someone in the official ranks colluded with Unbridled and sold you out." *In other words, there's a traitor among us!* Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "That is why I sent everyone away. What comes next will remain between you and me." Fu Qingyang glanced at Unbridled's corpse. Zhang Yuanqing understood his intention. He stepped over to the grotesque, hideous corpse, thick black fluid surging within the depths of his eyes. The residual spirit lingering in the physical shell stirred and drifted out in wisps, coalescing above the corpse into a translucent phantom that bared its teeth and grimaced with wild ferocity at Zhang Yuanqing. "After I consume the spirit body of an evil profession, I might go a little mad..." He retrieved the Demon-Subduing Pestle and handed it to Fu Qingyang. "This item can cleanse mental contamination." Giving the pestle to Li Dongze had been out of trust in his character, whereas giving it to Fu Qingyang was because the man had more money than sense—or rather, possessed vast wealth—and would never covet his item. Fu Qingyang accepted the item and gave a gentle nod. Zhang Yuanqing said no more. Taking a deep breath, he drew the spirit body into his mouth. His brow abruptly swelled as something foreign forced its way violently into his sea of consciousness. Countless fractured images surged forth, flashing past like a revolving lantern, all of them the most vivid memories from Unbridled's life. Unbridled came from an impoverished family. To change his fate, he studied diligently, only to find upon entering society that the degree he had taken such pride in was of little help. After working for a few years, he discovered that being conscientious at his job only prompted his superiors to pile on more work, reducing him to a mere corporate drudge. He could not outcompete those with connections, nor could he outcompete sycophants who possessed no real capability. After a decade of work, he still couldn't afford an apartment, while the prerequisite for marriage was owning a home of one's own. To make matters worse, his father was an honest, uneducated farmer who had virtually no savings. Living honestly and properly offered no hope, whereas shady dealings brought in overflowing wealth. He didn't know where his future lay and grew deeply adrift—until one day, he leveraged his position to amass immense wealth. From then on, Unbridled fell into corruption and became addicted to such reckless risks. Finally, the scenery shifted. Zhang Yuanqing saw a gloomy bedroom, and a yin spirit hovering beside the bed. "Where is Hei Wuchang? Trust is the foundation of cooperation. It seems neither of us trusts the other enough." "You have two options. One is to wait for the Fallen on the roster to lose control one by one..." "To show my sincerity, I will disclose the deployments and operations of the official walkers to you." In another dim bedroom, Unbridled slit his wrist, letting his blood drip into a pitch-black wooden bowl etched with incantations. The blood inside twisted and formed a human face. "Boss, people from Dark Night Rose came to our door, wanting to meet you." "It's too early to meet. Scheming with tigers requires caution... Has their leader arrived?" "I don't know. Boss, taking control of the Fallen Holy Grail as early as possible is the key." "Are you telling me how to do my job?" "I wouldn't dare..." "What else did he say?" "He said he would provide me with the official squad's operational plan and have me lay an ambush to take pressure off you." "It's worth a try..." *Dark Night Rose? Hei Wuchang is hiding in Songhai waiting for the leader of Dark Night Rose? What kind of organization is this? They seem to be cooking up some massive conspiracy. Tsk, the intelligence I got this time is huge...* A golden light flared, scattering the visions. As his consciousness returned, Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes and found himself handcuffed to the high-backed chair. *Huh, it doesn't hurt. No signs of being beaten...* Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of relief, but then reflected that this only proved Centurion Fu had completely overpowered him, which soured his mood. Seeing him awake, Fu Qingyang immediately asked, "What did you find?"