Stepping through the doors of the Golden Summit Hall, Zhang Yuanqing turned his palm upward and ignited a golden blaze. It barely drove back the shroud of black smoke, bringing the interior into view. The layout of this hall was no different from Yaoguang Hall or Zhengqi Hall—austere and simple, yet possessing a solemn dignity.
Upon the pedestal stood a statue of an elderly man holding a sword, his sleeves billowing with an immortal air, like a legendary sword immortal. Unfortunately, there was no crown upon his head.
Zhang Yuanqing touched the statue, but read no item information.
Even beneath the illumination of solar divine power, no item information surfaced, confirming it was indeed an ordinary object.
He immediately swept through the hall, found nothing, and departed at once for the residential quarters.
With the assistance of Fu Qingyang and the others, they quickly combed through the residences, but found no sign of the White Emperor Crown.
Fu Qingyang reviewed the entire plot of the Southern Courtyard and said, "There is no hidden storyline."
Certain items were concealed within hidden storylines, requiring one to trigger a hidden quest to obtain them—much like how Zhang Yuanqing had acquired the Yin-Yang Robe in Yin-Yang Town after completing a hidden storyline.
Xiahou Aotian analyzed, "Two possibilities. First, the White Emperor Crown isn't on Mount Shu. After all, Buliangshuai was a figure from the Tang dynasty; after a thousand years, the crown could have changed hands long ago. Second, the White Emperor Crown is on the main peak, not in the Southern Courtyard.
"Buliangshuai said that the White Emperor Crown is Mount Shu's sect-protecting treasure. Since it's a sect-protecting treasure, it must be stored on the main peak."
Hearing this, Demon Eye Heavenly King clicked his tongue. "The difficulty rating of the main peak's dungeon should be S-rank. Yuanshi, it's just a damn hat—no need to take that risk.
"Fear once entered an S-rank Dominator-stage dungeon. When he came out, he lamented that encountering an S-rank once in a lifetime was enough; no matter how high the experience points or how many treasures there were, he never wanted to step into another."
Fu Qingyang and the others remained silent.
Even Xiahou Aotian, who viewed himself as the protagonist, couldn't bring himself to crane his neck and boast: *Isn't it just S-rank!*
Though both were S-rank dungeons, an S-rank for Transcendent or Saint stages was a nightmare for ordinary Spirit Realm walkers, whereas an S-rank dungeon in the Dominator stage was a nightmare for geniuses.
Since the inception of the Spirit Realm across two districts and a century of history, countless geniuses had emerged, yet fewer than ten Dominator-stage S-rank dungeons had ever been cleared.
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but recall the dossier of uncleared dungeons Fu Qingyang had given him from the White Tiger Brigade.
Among them was a dungeon titled "Fighting Alone," whose main storyline quest was: *Annihilate a nation single-handedly.*
That was the intensity of an S-rank dungeon.
In comparison, all their previous dungeons felt like mere escape rooms.
Pulling back his thoughts, Zhang Yuanqing sighed. "Forget it. There's no point in forcing it; we'll talk about it later."
If the White Emperor Crown truly was on Mount Shu's main peak, its quality would likely be Level 9.
The power of the complete Heaven-Worship Set would truly make one invincible beneath the demigod level—perhaps even capable of clashing head-on with a demigod.
Just then, the Spirit Realm's prompt sounded beside Zhang Yuanqing's ears:
[Ding! Congratulations on completing the multiplayer Spirit Realm quest—Mount Shu Southern Courtyard, Number 45, Difficulty Level: A. Settling rewards...]
[Rewards being settled... Items/Props obtained: Yin Jade Crystal, Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger x3 (Consumable), Seven Stars Lantern Array (Consumable)]
[Reward experience points: 20%]
[Main storyline quest settlement complete!]
[Settlement concluded! Exiting the Spirit Realm in ten minutes...]
*Huh, the Demon Lord's character card rewards drew a blank again? Has his stash been completely exhausted, or are the remaining items Level 8 and Level 9, meaning my level isn't high enough to receive them?*
Zhang Yuanqing wasn't particularly disappointed. With the rewards from two high-difficulty dungeons added to his prior accumulation, his reserve of Dominator-grade items was already quite substantial.
A 20% experience gain was even richer than the reward from Ruler of a Fallen Nation. Was it because he had landed the killing blow on the dungeon boss? Zhang Yuanqing opened his character attributes; his experience bar had risen to 50%.
Perhaps it was due to his outstanding performance in the Yaoguang Hall trial combined with scoring the boss kill that the experience reward surpassed that of Ruler of a Fallen Nation.
That made sense; during the boss fight in Ruler of a Fallen Nation, he had played support rather than the carry.
He looked at his teammates beside him. The class crests on their foreheads glowed one after another as they experienced the infusion of spiritual power.
"Nice, very nice!" Xiahou Aotian declared gleefully. "I gained 11% experience, bringing my total experience to 20%."
A leveling speed like this was dazzling even across the entire Second District.
He could go flex in front of his clan again.
Once he reached Level 9 Dominator, he could force the clan patriarch to abdicate; once he became a demigod, he would make the old ancestors bow in submission.
Fu Qingyang glanced at Xiahou Aotian's face, then silently withdrew his gaze. "Yuanshi, how much experience have you accumulated?"
Zhang Yuanqing sighed.
"50%!
"To advance to Level 8, I'll need at least two more A-rank dungeons. Boss, what about you?"
In the Dominator stage, leveling speed dropped drastically; it truly was exceedingly arduous.
No wonder Fu Qingyang had followed the Grand Marshal's example once and never brought it up again. No wonder no one had been able to break the Grand Marshal's record over all these years—clearing high-intensity dungeons in succession truly bred despair.
Moreover, the Grand Marshal most likely hadn't done back-to-back high-difficulty dungeons either; lower-tier dungeons had surely been mixed in.
Otherwise, she would have ascended to demigod in three months, rather than taking nearly a year.
Fu Qingyang said, "Level 8, 18%."
After ascending to Dominator, he had emulated the Grand Marshal and successfully reached Level 8.
In the two subsequent A-rank dungeons, Ruler of a Fallen Nation had awarded him 11% experience, while Mount Shu Southern Courtyard awarded 6%.
Yuanshi was able to level up so rapidly because Fu Qingyang's presence had elevated the dungeon's difficulty to the Level 8 tier.
Had it been a standard Level 7 A-rank dungeon, Yuanshi might not have received such generous rewards.
The Palace Master of Halting Slaughter cradled the yellow gourd in her palm and asked, "I received a consumable version of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger. Which of you holds the genuine article?"
Zhang Yuanqing and the others all shook their heads.
The Palace Master looked at her nephew and muttered, "I thought you'd be the chosen one. Who knew the dungeon wouldn't reward the genuine artifact at all."
"Perhaps it will be awarded after clearing the main peak," Fu Qingyang offered his judgment. "Provided that whoever clears the main peak has also cleared Mount Shu Southern Courtyard."
*If that's the case, the gains from this Mount Shu dungeon are absurdly high. Not only could one obtain the White Emperor Crown and meet Sovereign Haotian, but one could also get the Immortal-Slaying Flying Dagger!* His eyes brightening, Zhang Yuanqing brought out the Yin Jade Crystal.
It was a fist-sized crystal radiating intense yin qi.
[Name: Yin Jade Crystal]
[Type: Crystal]
[Function: Enhancement]
[Description: A rare crystal abundantly produced in lands surging with yin qi, taking a thousand years to form. Can be used to refine dharma treasures and elevate the grade of yin items.]
[Remarks: Materials, like consumables, carry no price!]
*The yin qi is very potent—a high-grade material of Dominator quality. If used for refining an item, it could produce a mid-to-high-grade Dominator item. However, the failure rate for mid-grade items is already very high, let alone high-grade ones. And there's only one piece of Yin Jade Crystal. Forget it, better use it to upgrade my rebellious disciple Senior Sister!*
Zhang Yuanqing stowed the material and checked the countdown: thirty-odd seconds until returning to reality.
At that moment, he heard Xiahou Aotian suddenly get excited nearby, shouting at the top of his lungs:
"I thought of a way! I thought of a way!"
Everyone turned to look. Demon Eye Heavenly King asked, "What did you think of?"
Xiahou Aotian ignored him and looked at Zhang Yuanqing, his eyes shining brightly. "I thought of a way to bypass character cards to gain experience points!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, ripples spread across their vision.
***
Dusk.
A café outside the Kangyang District Police Station.
Dressed in plainclothes, Chen Yuanjun sat at a round table beside the glass wall. His gaze rested pensively on the passing pedestrians and traffic outside as he raised his coffee cup and took a sip.
Soon, he spotted his special-department colleague Li Dongze—wearing a black suit, carrying a cane, and sporting a pair of neatly trimmed moustaches—walking out of the station and heading toward the café.
Li Dongze entered the café, his gaze sweeping across the patrons before immediately locking onto Chen Yuanjun. In an exaggerated tone, he remarked:
"Oh, good heavens!
"The biggest workaholic in the station actually invited me for coffee. No one would believe it if I told them."
The mature, solemn Chen Yuanjun signaled the waiter. "Get him a cappuccino."
Once the waiter prepared the coffee and served it, Chen Yuanjun took the initiative to speak. "Captain Li, do you remember that missing persons case you took on back in April of last year?"
"A missing persons case..." Li Dongze thought for a moment and said, "Lei Yibing's disappearance—the one involving your cousin?"
Under the hypnosis of the Palace Master, Li Dongze had forgotten Yuanshi Tianzun's true name and Zhang Yuanqing's appearance; the two identities had been completely severed in his mind.
Chen Yuanjun nodded slightly, his brow furrowing.
"Not long ago, the station's archive was burned, and the electronic database was damaged. While working on data recovery, I discovered a missing persons file.
"The missing person on that file was Lei Yibing."
Sipping his cappuccino, Li Dongze quietly set down his cup, looking astonished.
"Lei Yibing's missing persons file? Didn't he go missing in Hang City, Jiangnan Province? Why would our station have a file on him?"
Chen Yuanjun said:
"That's not important—at least not for now.
"What truly matters is that someone deleted this file from the database. If not for this technical recovery, I wouldn't have known about it at all.
"Unfortunately, that electronic file is corrupted, and only a portion of its contents can be viewed."
As an experienced Spirit Realm walker who had also lived through the official investigation into Dark Night Rose spies, Li Dongze immediately grasped Chen Yuanjun's meaning.
After a moment's contemplation, he asked:
"Since you asked me out to a café today, just speak plainly."
Chen Yuanjun said:
"I suspect there are comrades within the Kangyang District Public Security Bureau who are breaking laws and breaching discipline. I hope you can help root them out."
Li Dongze smiled.
"Why not handle it yourself? You're the captain of the Public Security Brigade. In terms of authority, you're second only to the bureau chief."
"Captain Li, you misunderstand me," Chen Yuanjun said in a deep voice. "I want you to use your superpowers to help me find them. Investigating through conventional means is too tedious, and ever since supernatural abilities went out of control, I've been extremely busy. I don't have the time to waste on this."
After being promoted to brigade captain, Chen Yuanjun had been explicitly informed of the existence of superpowered individuals. Subsequently, experiencing the disappearance of the Merit Roster and participating in crackdowns on cults in Songhai had brought him into closer contact and cooperation with official walkers.
He had gained an initial understanding of this newly encountered world.
Li Dongze did not refuse. "Fine. I'll give you results within three days."
***
Kangyang District Middle School.
Wearing a baseball cap and a mask, Sect Master Chunyang strolled openly into the school right before the security guard's eyes.
It was recess, and the playground and school hallways were filled with laughing, romping students.
While investigating Yuanshi Tianzun's identity, Sect Master Chunyang had already visited Kangyang District Middle School once before. Familiar with the layout, he walked straight into the administration building and pushed open the door to the principal's office.
The pot-bellied principal, whose hairline receded all the way to the crown of his head, was currently guiding a newly hired female English teacher in her work.
The principal had grasped two key points of the female teacher's work and praised them lavishly, using the strong points honed over his many years of teaching to fill in her gaps. The female teacher felt her career and soul being elevated, utterly captivated by the principal's instruction.
When the locked office door was suddenly pushed open, both of them jumped in fright.
The principal had no time to keep praising the female teacher's two key points, and the female teacher hurriedly covered up her gaps.
The principal snapped sharply:
"Who are you!
"Who let you in?"
Sect Master Chunyang curled his lips into a smirk. "Seducing with flesh, debauching in broad daylight—and you dare fancy yourselves educators of youth? No wonder morals degenerate with each generation."
Just as the principal was about to bellow in fury, his expression froze, and his eyes turned hollow, devoid of life.
The female teacher beside him was the same.
Sect Master Chunyang pulled out a chair, sat down, propped his legs onto the desk, and said casually:
"I want the household registration records for all local male students from Songhai in the year 2017."
Through his encounter at the home of retired Kangyang District teacher Yao Yilin, Sect Master Chunyang had determined that Yuanshi Tianzun had attended Kangyang District Middle School.
Slapping down a photograph to demand Yuanshi Tianzun's name and address carried the risk of triggering the looping incident, so he had devised a compromise: obtain the home addresses of all students who could possibly be Yuanshi Tianzun.
Then investigate them one by one.
Within a month, he would undoubtedly pinpoint Yuanshi Tianzun's home address.
***
Fujia Bay.
Zhang Yuanqing snapped his fingers and vanished from his bedroom into starlight.
An instant later, starlight coalesced in Xiahou Aotian's CEO office.
Looking at Xiahou Aotian, who had also just emerged from the dungeon, he asked eagerly:
"Just now, you said you thought of a way to bypass character cards to gain experience?"
Chapter 906