Cooperation

The team consisted of three people—two men and one woman. One of them had yellow skin, though it was unclear whether he was a Spirit Realm walker from the Second District or an ethnic Chinese from the First District. The woman leading them had brownish-auburn hair, pale green eyes, and rather attractive features. In her hand she held a black staff topped with a gemstone wrapped in swirling azure currents. She floated half a foot off the ground, leading her team forward in a rush. She was on high alert, but upon seeing the three corpses lying on the floor, her expression shifted into surprise and shock. When she caught sight of the charred wound on the chest of the blond man with a buzz cut, the last trace of her wariness vanished. "You killed all of them?" Zhang Yuanqing leaned lazily against a display case and smiled. "It is polite to introduce yourself before asking questions." The auburn-haired woman said, "Alicia, from the Windy City branch of Heaven's Punishment. Level 6 Gale Walker, 96% experience." A peak Saint... Zhang Yuanqing nodded inwardly. Anyone with over 90% experience was considered among the ranks of peak Saints. She then introduced her companions. "His Spirit Realm ID is 'Federation Has No History,' from the Sea God Church." A bearded, corpulent man nodded in greeting. Staring at the three corpses, he grumbled unhappily, "Are you a Lightning Mage? We've been hunting those bastards for ages. If we weren't worried about breaking the display cases, waking up the artifacts, and bringing unnecessary trouble upon ourselves, we would have cashed those three in for points long ago. You really lucked out, kid." A Siren's arrogance was on full display in him. 'So the commotion earlier came from a fight between the two sides? No wonder those three were so desperate to snatch an artifact—they were being hunted and scrambled to protect themselves.' Zhang Yuanqing nodded quietly to himself. Alicia then pointed to the man who appeared to be Chinese. "He's a member of the Five Elements Alliance. His Spirit Realm ID is Qingzhu, and his class is Beast King." The Beast King possessed a well-proportioned, athletic build, clearly the type who was both agile and an exceptional fighter. He had a lean face and a gentle demeanor, entirely devoid of the aggressive edge the Siren beside him projected. However, he also shared the common flaw of Beast Kings: his gaze uncontrollably drifted, fixing on Commandery Princess Yinyao. 'Low resistance to beauties and a strong reproductive drive—cut from the same cloth as Lingjun... Qingzhu? The name rings a bell. I think he took part in the tournament, but he shouldn't be a peak Saint.' Under the gazes of the three orthodox walkers, Zhang Yuanqing said, "Spirit Realm ID: Daode Tianzun. Class: Stargazer. These two are my yin corpses." He pointed toward the disguised Greed Divine General and Commandery Princess Yinyao. Qingzhu tore his disappointed gaze away from Commandery Princess Yinyao and looked at Zhang Yuanqing. In an incredulous and critical tone, he asked, "You actually refined such a beauty into a yin corpse?!" "Daode Tianzun..." Alicia smiled. "Your Spirit Realm ID is very similar to Yuanshi Tianzun's, and both of you are Stargazers." "That's normal!" Zhang Yuanqing said. "We're both popular IDs. The only reason is that Yuanshi Tianzun returned to the Spirit Realm too early. Otherwise, in this year-end killing trial, I would've shown him who the true strongest Stargazer is." 'As if you're worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as Yuanshi Tianzun!' Coming from the Five Elements Alliance, Qingzhu sneered with blatant disdain. Worried an argument or conflict might break out, Alicia quickly changed the subject. "I was puzzled earlier. There are 41 participants in this killing trial, and the museum has six halls. On average, each hall should have at most seven people." She pointed at the corpses on the ground. "Yet we had nine people here, and adding the two who died at the staircase, that makes eleven. If those two are yin corpses, that explains it." 'So Exhibition Hall 3 only has two peak Saints. With 41 participants, peak Saints should make up at least half the total count, if not more. Having only two here means the other halls will have even more peak Saints.' 'I hope Xiao Yuan doesn't end up in a hall crawling with peak Saints.' 'Even though Xiao Yuan has climbed back to level 6, she's at mid-level at best. She has several high-quality items, but against peak Saints, it will still be grueling. If she gets gang-tackled, it will be even more dangerous.' A surge of concern rose in Zhang Yuanqing's heart. At that moment, Qingzhu offered a faint smile. "In any case, everyone left alive belongs to the orthodox faction. That means we can cooperate without reservations. Brother Daode, why don't you gather your spoils first? Alicia and I need a word." He shot Alicia a meaningful glance. The two walked off into the distance. Alicia waved her staff, raising four wind walls to block their voices from carrying. "I think something's off about him," Qingzhu whispered. "Aside from the bolt marks from the repeating crossbow, there are no other signs of battle. That means those three died extremely fast. Daode Tianzun must be a peak Saint, and one of the finest among them. Yet I've served in the Second District for years and never heard of such a figure." Alicia gave a slight nod. "Still, he is indeed a Stargazer." Qingzhu lowered his voice even further. "The Taiyi Sect has no Stargazer by that Spirit Realm ID, but... Dark Night Rose is a different story." Alicia's expression turned grave. "You mean Daode Tianzun is a member of Dark Night Rose?" Qingzhu nodded. Pondering for a few seconds, Alicia shook her head. "No. The Stargazer wielding the crucifix was the one from Dark Night Rose. A Taiyi Sect Stargazer wouldn't associate with the evil faction. If Daode Tianzun also belonged to Dark Night Rose, they wouldn't have turned on each other; they would've teamed up against us." "That Night Walker could also be an independent rogue," Qingzhu pointed out. "That is possible." Alicia sighed. "He is very powerful and a Stargazer to boot. You understand Stargazers better than I do—numerical superiority is useless against them. If we fight him, you and Federation Has No History are very likely to perish. And if we accidentally shatter the artifact cases, even I would be in grave danger. We can't make an enemy out of unsubstantiated suspicion. At least for now, he hasn't shown any hostility or aggression." She gave him a reassuring look, dispelled the wind walls, and turned back toward Daode Tianzun. By then, Zhang Yuanqing had finished looting the spoils and checked their item attributes. The artifacts here were all consumables: the repeating crossbow lasted for one hour, while the crucifix would vanish after three uses. The bronze club he had subdued also came with a time limit: fifteen minutes. 'In a trial like this, my advantage as the Artifact Tianzun is completely neutralized,' Zhang Yuanqing grumbled internally. Seeing the alluring Alicia walk over, he looked up. "Daode Tianzun, I'd like to cooperate with you," Alicia said directly. "Cooperate how?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. "That depends on how much you know about Exhibition Hall 3!" Alicia looked toward the distance, in the direction of the staircase. "Have you seen the boss?" Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "She shot and destroyed one of my yin corpses." Alicia's tone carried heavy solemnity. "The boss's offensive power has reached the Dominator level. Even my wind walls can't withstand it. The best way to get through the staircase is to tame powerful artifacts and use them to fight the boss. "However, subduing artifacts carries immense risk. Having an extra person means an extra measure of strength." Zhang Yuanqing naturally had no reason to refuse. "No problem. A win-win cooperation." One peak Saint and two level 6 Saints above 50% experience constituted a very formidable fighting force. Alicia shifted the conversation. "However, this killing trial suffered a glitch. Not only were the two districts merged, but the faction hostility mechanism was also removed. For everyone's safety, I suggest we sign a contract." With that, she opened her inventory and retrieved a sheet of golden paper and a quill. "It's a Saint-grade item, but even if the contract is breached, it won't inflict fatal backlash—it will only deliver severe injury at most," Alicia said candidly. "Severe injury is enough. Whether it's me breaking the oath or you, the other party will be able to swiftly kill the wounded oathbreaker." Qingzhu nodded approvingly. Alicia was truly an experienced executive. She hadn't pointedly raised the suspicious obscurity of 'Daode Tianzun,' but instead used the trial's unusual mechanics as grounds to sign a contract. This secured their cooperation without forcing an unmasking of his identity that would turn them against each other. "My ID is Daode Tianzun—meaning Moral Heavenly Worthy. As the name implies, morality is my personal creed," Zhang Yuanqing said. "Still, while I uphold morals, others might not. Signing a contract works for me." Alicia breathed a sigh of relief. Picking up the quill, she wrote the term 'No mutual harm within Exhibition Hall 3' onto the golden parchment, signed her Spirit Realm ID, cut her fingertip, and smeared her blood across it. Zhang Yuanqing took the quill, signed the name Daode Tianzun, and smeared his own blood. The golden paper flashed with a brass-colored light that soon receded. Zhang Yuanqing felt a needle take root within his spirit body; should he violate the contract, that needle would pierce clean through his spirit. Moreover, the needle was unaffected by psychic power and could not be purged. 'The ID I signed was Daode Tianzun. If I change my name back, the contract will probably lose effect...' Zhang Yuanqing returned the quill and smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you." Alicia let out a breath and stowed away the golden parchment. The tension on her face eased considerably, as did the expressions of Qingzhu and Federation Has No History behind her. "Now then, let's share some intelligence regarding the boss," Alicia said. "As I mentioned earlier, we fight artifacts with artifacts. The boss herself is an artifact of this museum. Her display case is over to the northwest, about a hundred meters from here. I'll take you there." She didn't describe the female statue directly; since they hadn't established mutual trust yet, Daode Tianzun wouldn't necessarily believe information coming straight from her mouth. Zhang Yuanqing's spirits lifted. From his experience subduing the bronze club, it was easy to see that an artifact's background details were crucial, often hinting at ways to counter it. Alicia floated up about three inches off the ground and drifted away like a gust of wind. Federation Has No History quickly followed. The Beast King, Qingzhu, made a welcoming gesture, indicating he would bring up the rear. 'Afraid we'll launch a sneak attack from behind?' Leading Yinyao and Greed Divine General, Zhang Yuanqing strode forward to keep pace. Before long, the group arrived before a stone pedestal. It was completely bare, with only an artifact plaque standing in place.