Discussion and Analysis

Zhang Yuanqing reined in his sorrow and melancholic thoughts, then circled around to Brother Bing's right side to inspect him. Perhaps because he hadn't been in the abyss for very long, Brother Bing had turned into an ice sculpture, but unlike the surrounding objects, he wasn't coated in a thick, candied shell of frost. Otherwise, even knowing there was something in his pocket, Zhang Yuanqing wouldn't have been able to shatter the hard ice. As things were, "tearing open" the stiffened trouser pocket was something he could still manage. Zhang Yuanqing drew the Body and Spirit Annihilation Blade, ignited golden flames along the edge, carefully wedged it into the gap between the arm and the pocket, and sliced outward. *Crack!* Amidst the sound of shattering ice crystals, the pocket of the camouflage trousers split open, revealing Brother Bing's loosely clenched fist. Peeking from the fist was a piece of jade white as mutton fat. Tiny indentations, like a scatter of stars, were faintly visible across its surface. Zhang Yuanqing's pupils shrank. He stared at the jade fragment in disbelief. *A Demon Lord treasure map fragment?!* The fragments of the Demon Lord's treasure map—the keys to the Feathered Immortal Sect's treasury—had originally formed a complete jade disc. The Demon Lord had divided it evenly into six pieces and presented them to his beloved mistresses. At present, Zhang Yuanqing knew only that Yin Ji, Miao Teng'er, Betty, and Winnie each possessed one, and Eldest Miss Chris was suspected of holding one as well. It was plain to see that the Demon Lord had a penchant for foreign things. He preferred foreign fillies. Zhang Yuanqing had never tracked down the final piece, having previously suspected it was in the hands of Winnifred Elena, a Level 7 Wind Mage and First-Rank Silver Executive at Heaven's Punishment's Windy City branch. He had never imagined that the last disc fragment was in Brother Bing's hands! *Could Brother Bing have been one of the Demon Lord's beloved mistresses too?* Zhang Yuanqing shook his head vigorously, casting that horrifying thought from his mind. Miao Teng'er had once mentioned that the Demon Lord gave the key fragments to his lovers with the intention that, should he die, they could divide his legacy as compensation. Therefore, the Demon Lord could never have given a key fragment to Brother Bing. Corrupted by the Fallen Holy Grail, Brother Bing could never break free of its control. His ultimate fate would be nothing more than eternal enslavement, or losing control of the contamination after the Deceitful Eye Judge died, plunging into total madness before being executed by the official organization. In either case, the Demon Lord's lovers would never be able to gather all the jade fragments to open the treasure. The piece in Brother Bing's hand could only have been swindled, extorted, or snatched from the Demon Lord. In any event, it couldn't have been a gift from him. As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Zhang Yuanqing had already extracted the jade fragment from the loosely clenched fist. The chill grew increasingly severe, and his divine power of the sun was gradually stalling. If he lingered any longer, he too might fall into a slumber within the seal. Zhang Yuanqing took a long, deep look at Brother Bing, then turned and walked out of the cavern. Leaving the cavern behind, he transformed into a streak of golden light and shot toward the exit, returning to the surface. Xiahou Aotian, waiting anxiously at the abyss's chasm, let out a sigh of relief when he saw him emerge, and demanded point-blank, "You definitely know that guy, don't you? You must know him! Who is he?" Zhang Yuanqing shot him a sidelong glance. "He's your uncle!" Xiahou Aotian was taken aback before catching on. "Art thou seeking death, by thy mother?!" This was something he had picked up from the Qin Dynasty alchemist. "Don't mention a word of what happened today to anyone," Zhang Yuanqing warned. Then, looking down at the black iron thumb ring, he asked, "Is he truly not the First Emperor?" The Qin Dynasty alchemist "sighed" and replied, "Likely not." "Is there any chance his five-element power originated from the First Emperor, but the First Emperor's primordial spirit was obliterated by an accident?" Zhang Yuanqing offered his theory. The Qin Dynasty alchemist gave a mocking chuckle. "I would like nothing more, but what manner of existence could obliterate a Human Immortal? Especially the mightiest Human Immortal of all." *How would I know? Never mind. We can talk about this later. Getting to the bottom of it has no benefit or meaning right now; it has nothing to do with me anyway!* Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "Let's head back first." He retrieved the jade talisman his uncle had given him and gently crushed it. A moment later, Mr. President, clad in his pink suit, appeared in their field of view. With a sharp snap of his fingers, he declared, "Banish!" The scene blurred before sharpening again, and the two found themselves back in the CEO's office. Zhang Yuanqing glanced toward the executive desk and found his uncle already seated there, holding a thick tumbler filled with amber whiskey. "Boys! Did you have any marvelous encounters in the dungeon?" His uncle drew an iced Coke out of thin air, then turned to Xiahou Aotian. "Have a seat. What do you fancy? Red wine, brandy, whiskey, sake, or beer?" Xiahou Aotian rubbed his face, which still felt cold, and said, "Erguotou!" The three sat before the desk and recounted what they had seen and heard in the abyss. His uncle listened patiently before remarking with feeling, "So the administrator privileges that the Five Elements Alliance leaders have been searching for all along were down in the abyss of the Secrets of the Five Elements." There was no great surprise in his tone; he seemed to have anticipated it. Xiahou Aotian wore a look of regret. "It's a pity he's sealed in the abyss. If he could be rescued, the orthodox faction would practically gain an Asura, two Wind-Thunder Demigods, and five alliance leaders. "When that time came, no matter what waves the evil faction kicked up, they could be suppressed." "No need to waste breath on hypotheticals." Zhang Yuanqing looked at his uncle and said, "The Commander of the Buliangren told me the White Emperor Crown is in the Shushan Immortal Sect. I plan to enter the White Tiger Soldiers' guild dungeon—Shushan Southern Courtyard. There might be clues about the White Emperor Crown there." With any luck, he might even assemble the full Heaven-Worship Set. A complete Heaven-Worship Set could unleash the power of the five elements, making the wielder invincible beneath demigod rank. Furthermore, it concealed an important function: communing with Haotian God. "Uncle, what do you think Haotian God is?" Zhang Yuanqing asked. His uncle fell silent for a long while before giving a slight shake of his head. "Unclear. But one thing is certain: Haotian God is no evil deity. Communing with him won't bring about dire consequences." As far as history recorded, only two people had ever successfully communed with Haotian God: one was the First Emperor, and the other was the Commander of the Buliangren. Both had obtained methods of longevity from Haotian God. The First Emperor's whereabouts were unknown, while the Commander of the Buliangren had weathered the Dharma-Ending Age to survive into the present day. The First Emperor's disappearance wasn't Haotian God's fault, but rather the result of placing his trust in the wrong person, Xu Fu. The information given by Haotian God had been sound. Inside the Bronze Sacred Tree in Takamagahara lay the Musician class's supreme artifact, the Demon Refining Pot. Given the class traits of the Demon Refining Pot, granting longevity should have been within its capabilities. Both precedents had yielded positive, safe outcomes. His uncle said, "No need to dwell on Haotian God; that's something to consider later. Right now, your priority is to focus on leveling up. Prepare thoroughly before entering the dungeon—and by that, I mean resurrection and life-saving measures. Even for you, Dominator-rank S-grade and A-grade dungeons are lethal." He glanced at the wall clock and added, "My wife has ordered takeout. I'm heading home to eat." Before Zhang Yuanqing or the others could respond, he vanished into thin air. There was no surge of energy, no spatial distortion, no flashy special effects—just a blunt, straightforward erasure, like a dropped frame. *Doesn't he get sick of eating takeout every day? After a few years of takeout, Cousin started freeloading at Grandma's place daily!* Zhang Yuanqing inwardly quipped. Maintaining a calm expression, he turned to Xiahou Aotian. "We enter the dungeon the morning after tomorrow. Do you want to come along?" Xiahou Aotian lifted his chin. "Of course. Once I've freeloaded in the White Tiger Soldiers' guild dungeon, I'm heading into the Xiahou clan's guild dungeon. I intend to replicate the Marshal's legend and become the new prodigy." An expected answer! Zhang Yuanqing smiled and said, "The decisive battle between the two factions is imminent; we might not have a full year. If you want to match the Marshal's legend, why not break her record instead and become a whole new legend?" Hearing this, Xiahou Aotian stroked his chin in thought. "That makes sense..." He shifted his gaze to Yuanshi Tianzun. "Even if we clear guild dungeons non-stop, it's still unlikely we'll break the Marshal's record." "That's why you have to take an unconventional path. I don't know the method myself; you'll have to figure it out on your own. After all, Scholars excel at research." Zhang Yuanqing patted Xiahou Aotian's shoulder, speaking with heartfelt earnestness: "You're the most talented Scholar in the world. Even the Xiahou clan's ancestor was wary and envious of you, ultimately sighing in relief: 'How fortunate that this child bears the surname Xiahou.' "I believe you will definitely discover a method for rapid advancement." Xiahou Aotian thought to himself that this was quite a tall order, but since the conversation had reached this point, he could only hold his head high. "Naturally. For me, it's a walk in the park." Zhang Yuanqing gave him a thumbs-up. Leaving Xiahou Aotian's executive office, Zhang Yuanqing strolled leisurely over to Fu Qingyang's villa. He met no impediments along the way. The bunny girls were deferential, casting coquettish glances, but the upright Lord Tianzun kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, heading straight upstairs and pushing open the brown wooden door. Prematurely silver-haired, Fu Qingyang sat behind his desk, browsing his computer with a relaxed demeanor. Several thick stacks of documents lay on the desk. Zhang Yuanqing reported the stances of Mr. President and the Succubus, as well as the itinerary for the Secrets of the Five Elements, to Fu Qingyang. By now, the two stood on equal footing, yet he still maintained the habit and attitude of sharing intel and reporting developments. Fu Qingyang had already anticipated the attitudes of the two demigods, so he wasn't surprised. On the other hand, he listened with exceptional focus to the details of the Secrets of the Five Elements dungeon, picking up key points such as "Haotian God," "the missing First Emperor," and "the administrator privileges sought by the five alliance leaders." "A clash between the Commander of the Buliangren and the five alliance leaders is more than likely. His inability to emerge for now isn't necessarily a bad thing," Fu Qingyang said. "Then let's enter the Shushan Southern Courtyard dungeon. Thirty-two years ago, a Dominator entered this dungeon; twelve years ago, another Dominator attempted to clear it. Both failed and perished inside. "In a scenario like this, there are only two possibilities: either the dungeon's difficulty was too high, surpassing the entrants' limits, or the dungeon contained the power of other classes while the challengers' abilities were too narrow." Zhang Yuanqing nodded. "Which is why we need to bring more teammates. I already asked Xiahou Aotian, and he's willing to join. Demon Eye should be fine too; he leveled up to Level 8 not long ago, so this is a great chance for him to amass experience and stabilize his realm." Fu Qingyang said in a low voice, "The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter is vital." A team couldn't do without a healer, especially for a fragile swordsman like him, who relied heavily on a Musician with abundant healing capacity. "She and Xiao Yuan will both come with me," Zhang Yuanqing confirmed. "I assigned Xiao Yuan a task," Fu Qingyang said indifferently. "Investigating a cult faction of the Nihility Sect. For her, it's a way to untie her knots and settle her grudges and gloom." At the mention of this, Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "The evil faction has been spreading cults with rampant speed. In Songhai alone, dozens of cult organizations have been dismantled, so things must be far worse in remote, underdeveloped cities." "Class divide, gender conflict, racial discrimination, the wealth gap, societal pressures... The world was already brimming with hostility. When people discover the existence of superhumans, and when they see a chance to alter their own destiny appear before their eyes, they go mad for it," Fu Qingyang said grimly. "The evil faction is developing cults to prepare for the next disappearance of Morality Points." Instigating, commanding, or beguiling ordinary mortals into breaking the law and causing disorder would incur Morality Point penalties. This was why both factions had maintained a relatively low profile before the Merit Roster malfunctioned. Now, times had changed; Morality Points could be cloaked. As long as they restrained their believers and cultists from breaking laws while Morality Points remained active, the evil classes wouldn't lose Morality Points. After that, all they had to do was wait patiently. Once the Morality Points vanished, they would incite their believers and cultists to commit atrocities, murder, arson, and plunder, causing the entire social order to collapse into immediate chaos. This was far more efficient than the rampant mayhem the evil classes had unleashed during the first disappearance of Morality Points. "*Sigh*, now I understand the pressure the Marshal faces." Zhang Yuanqing's expression grew heavy. Suddenly, the chime of a Spirit Realm notification sounded by his ear: [Ding! Guild member "Orthodox God of the Thunder Department" has requested permission to use the item: Chaos Oil Painting!] "Orthodox God of the Thunder Department" was the Spirit Realm ID of Deng Jingguo, leader of the Anti-Black-and-White Alliance. *Old Deng is in danger?* Zhang Yuanqing froze.