Chapter 186: Earth God

Zhu Rong. Of course there would be audio of her.

The moment Demon Lord's words reached his ears, the corner of Zhang Yuanqing's mouth twitched involuntarily. Back when Demon Lord had mentioned capturing the sister of the Zhu family head, Chi Yue'an's ex-wife, Zhang Yuanqing had suspected a recording like this would surface sooner or later. And sure enough, here it was.

I should save all these recordings, he thought. Someday I could release a compilation. "The Women Demon Lord Slept With" or "Demon Lord's Lovers: The Greatest Hits." Throw it on the black market and it'd sell like wildfire.

After all, the women who'd been involved with Demon Lord back then had since become influential noblewomen and darlings of society. The profit potential was enormous. Of course, doing something like that would be unconscionable, and utterly ruin those women's reputations. Then again, he had to admit most of the women who'd gotten tangled up with Demon Lord weren't exactly saints themselves. Well, except Yin Ji, who had arguably been deceived in love. He'd give her the benefit of the doubt, at least.

Confronted by Demon Lord's cold mockery, Zhu Rong either refused to respond out of humiliation or was too preoccupied by the intensity of the activity to spare any breath for words. Judging by the rapid, muffled grunts filtering through her nose, Zhang Yuanqing suspected the latter.

"Nothing to say?" Demon Lord prodded, his voice dripping with derision.

"You... you... bastard... You'll die a horrible death..." Zhu Rong panted between clenched teeth.

"That's exactly what you said when you and your friends ambushed me. And now look at you, all drenched beneath me. I wonder what your dead companions would think if they could see you selling yourself to survive."

"Staying alive is how I'll kill a piece of filth like you. Justice demands it."

"Oh, tough talk. Funny, your mouth was plenty soft when I was tasting it earlier."

As they spoke, Zhang Yuanqing heard the mattress creak, the unmistakable sound of someone getting up from a bed. Then came the chaotic and uneven patter of bare feet on a hardwood floor. It sounded like Demon Lord had hauled Zhu Rong off the bed and dragged her along by force when she resisted.

He heard the clatter of objects hitting the floor followed by a loud bang, then the rhythmic thud of something slamming against a desk. A new round had begun.

Demon Lord let out a low laugh. "Justice? You noble Spirit Realm family types are no strangers to dirty work behind closed doors. I cannot comprehend the sheer audacity it takes for you to shout about justice. I've never killed an ordinary person in my life. You people only hunt me for Reputation. If you were going to step on me to make a name for yourselves, you should've anticipated that you might be killed in return. There's no rule that says I have to stick my neck out and wait for the blade.

"I gave you a choice. Die with your companions, or become my prisoner. You chose the latter. What was it you said during the ambush? That if I got on my knees, kowtowed, and crawled between your companions' legs, you'd let me live a few more minutes. Well, now I'm giving you a choice. Starting today, you'll have to please me once a day. If I'm satisfied, you get to live another day. If not, I will kill you on the spot. Agree, and the contract takes effect immediately. Refuse, and I send you back to the Spirit Realm right now."

Zhang Yuanqing frowned as he listened. At the point of this recording, Demon Lord should have still been at the Transcendent tier, but compared to the earlier recordings, his personality had clearly grown more extreme. There was a volatile edge to him now, something hovering between righteousness and wickedness.

The Fallen Holy Grail's corruption is terrifying, he thought. Demon Lord's mind is warping faster than I expected. He still has some kind of moral baseline here, and still needs to justify his actions with a legitimate grievance. By the later stages, he'll have fallen completely into darkness.

After a long silence, Zhu Rong's voice came through in broken fragments, punctuated by whimpers. "Why... Why should I believe you?"

"I never lie to women!"

There was a short pause before Zhu Rong whispered, "Fine."

"Hm? What was that? Louder."

Zhu Rong's voice cracked as she screamed between sobs, "I agree!"

By the time the two of them finished, Zhang Yuanqing had lost count of how many times he'd activated Night Wandering. His entire body felt wrung out, his stamina utterly depleted. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into the bed and sleep.

Honestly, listening to Demon Lord's bedroom escapades is exhausting every single time, he thought wearily. For a hot-blooded young man like me, this kind of audio is way more stimulating than anything on a screen. I should really cut back.

In the recording, Demon Lord and Zhu Rong lay panting softly, neither speaking for a long while.

After a moment, Demon Lord let out a contemptuous laugh.

"Completely spent? It seems like your husband wasn't exactly satisfying you. Give it a month and you won't be able to leave me. Now then, let's talk business. I hear the Zhu family ancestors were among the very first Spirit Realm Walkers. What era did they come from?"

Zhu Rong said nothing.

Smack!

A sharp, ringing slap. Zhu Rong cried out in pain, though it was impossible to tell where exactly she'd been hit.

The blow made her cooperative.

"Late Qing, early Republic," she replied.

"Ha! It's the modern era. Just as I thought!" Demon Lord cried triumphantly. "So tell me, do you know why Evil and Lawful Walkers are mortal enemies?"

Zhang Yuanqing perked up at the conversation flowing through the speaker. There seemed to be some real substance here, not just gratuitous content.

He'd asked himself the same question before. The animosity between the Lawful and Evil alignments had always felt like it lacked a genuine driving force. Just being of different factions alone shouldn't be enough to make Walkers from both sides treat those from the other faction as blood enemies. After all, reality wasn't a game where a single backstory was enough to inspire people to lay down their lives. In games, one could respawn. In real life, dead meant dead. Without tangible benefits, who would risk their neck?

Zhu Rong seemed confused by the question. "What... What do you mean?"

"You really aren't the brightest among these noble family scions, are you? I'm a Lawful Walker, right? But after becoming a Spirit Realm Walker, I've never once done anything that could be called lawful. In other words, I could have completely ignored the Evil classes. So doesn't the supposedly irreconcilable hostility between the Lawful and Evil alignments seem strange to you?" Demon Lord went on.

"On top of that, the only reward for killing a Walker of the opposing alignment is Reputation. Reputation is nice, but it's not enough to make someone risk a fight to the death, because the cost far outweighs the return. Which means the hostility between the two factions shouldn't actually be that severe. And yet in practice, the official organizations have a kill-on-sight policy when it comes to Evil-aligned Walkers, and the evil organizations have the same view of Lawful Walkers. Don't you find that strange?"

"The family elders taught us from childhood that Evil Walkers are enemies of all mankind, to be killed on sight," Zhu Rong said.

"Ah, then let me take back what I said," Demon Lord replied. "You're not stupid. You've just been conditioned into a fixed way of thinking. What I'm asking is this: did the family elders ever explain why Evil-aligned Walkers must be killed without exception?"

Zhu Rong said, "I don't know. The family elders never explained it. But now that you mention it, I do recall something. The Sovereign elders would go out every year specifically to hunt Evil Walkers, every single one of them, without exception. They treated hunting Evil Walkers with the same importance as clearing Spirit Realm dungeons. But they... They weren't exactly people driven by a burning hatred of evil. Now that I think about it, it does really seem strange."

Demon Lord was silent for a long time before he let out a cold laugh. "I think I can guess the reason why."

The audio cut off there.

Zhang Yuanqing nearly smashed the speaker in his hand. Where's the rest of the conversation? What's the reason for it? Just say it already!

He let out an inner sigh. That Demon Lord. He may be morally bankrupt and obsessed with women, sure, but he's undeniably brilliant.

Zhang Yuanqing leaned back in his chair, turning the conversation over in his mind. He suddenly recalled the Chronicle of Sixty Years of Cultivation left by the Yin Yang Hermit. It had mentioned that in ancient times, Evil and Lawful Walkers were able to coexist. They had still hunted each other, but that was driven by genuine ideological differences or a desire to uphold justice, and not by some innate, irreconcilable opposition.

Before the Spirit Realm appeared, the concepts of righteous or wicked among those ancient cultivators were matters of personal conviction. After the Spirit Realm appeared, the Evil and Lawful alignments came into being. So it's the Spirit Realm itself that's driving the factional hostility.

But the Spirit Realm's influence is subtle. It only has the Reputation mechanic. No—perhaps the influence isn't subtle. Perhaps I haven't reached the required level to detect it yet. According to what Zhu Rong said, hunting Evil-class Walkers is critically important to Sovereigns. That sense of urgency must be driven by the Spirit Realm itself—perhaps a Spirit Realm quest or some other mechanism.

And there's more. Hunting Evil-class Walkers probably benefits the organizations too, which is why the authorities post bounties. The Evil alignment does the same. But why would the Spirit Realm want to drive this factional conflict?

He sighed. So Zhu Rong really did end up a twisted woman because Demon Lord broke her. That's why she started keeping boy toys and tormenting them. It's all his fault.

Zhang Yuanqing tucked the Cat King Speaker away, returned to Little Goofball's side, and picked up his controller. A moment later, the frozen screen sprang back to life, and his character resumed its rampage across the battlefield.

Little Goofball immediately brightened up, his earlier flicker of confusion already forgotten.

***

The next morning at seven o'clock, Zhang Yuanqing finished breakfast and his morning routine, then headed back to his bedroom, planning to squeeze in a nap. He'd stayed up playing games until four in the morning.

Of course, for a Nocturnal Specter, that didn't technically count as staying up late. It was just a night without rest. The tradeoff was that daytime drowsiness hit harder, an occupational hazard of the class.

I'll have just under two hours of sleep, he decided. Set an alarm for 8:50. There's still the tournament today. I probably won't fight two days in a row, but other star-level competitors will be taking the stage. Watching their battles is essential.

Zhang Yuanqing lay back down and idly logged into the forum. Just a quick hit of flattery before bed.

As the forum loaded, his eyes suddenly narrowed. A conspicuous post sat near the top of the front page. It wasn't pinned or highlighted, but the staggering volume of comments had kept it bumped to a prominent position.

【#Five Elements Alliance Covers for Yuanshi Tianzun#】

The post had been reposted from the Taiyi Sect's official forum. The content was straightforward, accusing the Five Elements Alliance of covering for Yuanshi Tianzun. As for what exactly they were covering up, the post claimed: Bound by contractual obligations, we cannot state it explicitly, but those who know, know!

【What Yuanshi Tianzun has done is utterly unconscionable. If the Five Elements Alliance refuses to provide an explanation, the Taiyi Sect will withdraw from the tournament. Furthermore, as an official organization, the Taiyi Sect reserves the right to take action against any Nocturnal Specter who violates established conventions.】

Clearly, the Taiyi Sect's Nocturnal Specters were referring to his spirit servant situation. Other classes might not have noticed, but Nocturnal Specters would certainly have noticed Little Goofball's existence, plain as day.

Refining an infant into a spirit servant didn't just violate the rules. It was a deeply disturbing act.

Tch. Losing the Maoshan Warlock match really stung their pride, huh? Now they're trying to use the spirit servant angle to come after me. Well, it is a legitimate issue. I can't blame them for the attack.

Zhang Yuanqing felt no panic whatsoever. The circumstances surrounding Little Goofball's origins were completely aboveboard. The little spirit had been born from an accident, and not privately refined. The incident had been properly reported at the time. The full details of the case were documented in the official records, and Guan Ya had been involved throughout.

At worst, he'd kept an infant spirit without authorization. The severity of that was on a completely different scale, and barely even counted as an offence.

He scrolled through the comments. The Five Elements Alliance Walkers were a mixed bag. Some were asking what had actually happened, while others were deflecting with vague non-answers. A few admitted that Yuanshi Tianzun had indeed done something wrong.

The official Walkers who sided with reason were in the majority, but even those defending him sounded halfhearted and unconvincing. For any Spirit Realm Walker who knew the inside story, privately refining a spirit servant was a serious transgression, especially when the subject was an infant spirit.

Just then, a sharp ringtone cut through the air. The caller was Fu Qingyang. Zhang Yuanqing immediately answered the phone.

"Yes, Centurion?"

Fu Qingyang's deep voice came through the line.

—The Taiyi Sect has filed a formal complaint with the Songhai Branch, accusing you of privately refining a spirit servant, and an infant spirit specifically. Elder Teddy called me personally and wants an explanation from you.

Those bastards actually filed an official complaint? Zhang Yuanqing responded immediately. "Centurion, I didn't privately refine a spirit servant. The infant spirit came into my possession through an accident..."

He laid out the full story from beginning to end.

"Guan Ya was involved in handling the matter and can vouch for me," he added. "I filed a report at the time. The full details, including Wang Qian's testimony, are all in the case files. You can review them."

Fu Qingyang's tone softened noticeably.

—In that case, there's no problem. I'll relay this to the elders. The forum moderators will publish an official statement to clear your name. I'll try to have it posted before nine.

Zhang Yuanqing gave a grunt of acknowledgement, and Fu Qingyang proceeded to the next topic.

—Elder Teddy has some intelligence that needs to reach the Palace Master, through you.

"What is it?"

—Before the Chu family was wiped out, Dark Rose had no leader. Elder Teddy wants to know her thoughts on that.

"Understood."

Roughly half an hour later, a Five Elements Alliance forum moderator published a new post, pinned and highlighted in red.

The content was simple: an official mission report detailing the handling of the infant spirit incident. Since it was a routine Spirit Realm Walker case, the report's classification level was low, so there was no issue making it public. The downside was that any official Walker who hadn't previously known Yuanshi Tianzun had a spirit servant could now piece together quite a bit from the report.

The Five Elements Alliance Walkers perked up the moment they finished reading.

⤷ So that's what happened. Should've said so earlier. Someone repost this to the Taiyi Sect forum.

⤷ Thank goodness. I almost thought Yuanshi Tianzun's image was collapsing.

⤷ Already reposted. Those idiots went dead quiet. Just a few stubborn ones left, saying things like "setting the facts aside for a moment, are you really saying Yuanshi Tianzun did nothing wrong?"

Naturally, the Five Elements Alliance did hand down a fair punishment for Yuanshi Tianzun's unauthorized possession of a spirit servant: one demerit and one month's pay docked.

***

At nine o'clock in the morning, figures materialized one after another in the ancient-style colosseum.

There was no opening ceremony that day, and no contracts to sign. Once inside, the assembled official Walkers instinctively sought out friends and acquaintances, and the arena dissolved into a noisy, chaotic bustle.

Zhang Yuanqing, wearing The Silencer skull mask, found the open-minded lady right where he'd hoped. Queen and the little green tea princess had sought him out on their own, but Jiang Jingwei hadn't. She was hanging around with her brother, the Fire Young Master.

"If there are no star fighters competing today, I'm going back to sleep," Zhang Yuanqing said, stifling a yawn.

Xie Lingxi tilted her head curiously. "What were you doing last night, big bro?"

Nothing much, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. Just listening to Demon Lord and Zhu Rong play poker for over half an hour.

"Playing video games," he said aloud.

The little green tea princess nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"The Taiyi Sect people are watching you," Guan Ya said quietly.

They were sitting closer to the Taiyi Sect's section than the day before, near enough for each side to make out the other's faces clearly. As a Scout, Guan Ya had been the first to pick up on the Nocturnal Specters' stares directed their way.

Zhang Yuanqing followed her gaze and found a wall of unfriendly eyes looking back at him. The notable ones—Yin Ji, Fengdu Ghost King, and the other famous Saint-tier figures—paid him no attention. The Nocturnal Specters glaring at him were all at the Transcendent tier.

"Hm...?"

Zhang Yuanqing spotted Sun Miaomiao surrounded by her sect mates. He was just about to admire her beauty when he noticed something odd about the way she was looking at him.

Her expression was... complex. If he had to describe it, she looked like a predator eyeing up its prey. There was an excitement laced with hunger, and that hunger was also laced with naked aggression.

Even Zhang Yuanqing, a natural socialite, couldn't help looking away. He didn't dare meet her eyes. What's that girl's deal?

At that moment, the armored swordsman took the stage and announced the rules as always, and the match list materialized before every Walker in attendance.

【Zhou Bapi vs Arrogant Youth】

【Too Tired to Love vs Only Sweet Soy Milk】

【Long Qianyun vs The Girl Next Door】

【Earth God vs Zhurong】

【Crossing Pawn vs Loves Handsome Boys】

【...】

There were another forty matchups, with eighty competitors in total. Two star fighters were involved: Earth God, ranked second in the Transcendent tier, and Crossing Pawn, ranked tenth.

Zhang Yuanqing's interest spiked immediately. The top three were all favorites for the championship. Earth God, ranked second, was famous for his supposedly invincible defense. He'd nearly worn down the previous year's champion and almost made him concede from exhaustion.

For Zhang Yuanqing, Earth God was unquestionably a major obstacle on the road to the title, and he was eager to see just how durable the old man really was.

As for Crossing Pawn, Zhang Yuanqing was equally curious. He was a Scout, of all things. Everyone knew that at the Transcendent tier, a Scout was essentially a human surveillance camera. What kind of combat power could a surveillance camera possibly have? And yet, Crossing Pawn had clawed his way into the top ten against a field of powerhouses. This was no ordinary fighter.

After several reasonably entertaining preliminary bouts, the moment everyone had been waiting for finally arrived. The armored swordsman walked into the center of the arena.

"Match four: Earth God versus Zhurong!" his voice boomed.

The instant the words left his mouth, a ball of fire shot from the spectator stands, streaking toward the arena floor. As it landed, the flames erupted outward, coalescing into a tall, stern-faced young man.

The entrance was spectacular, earning him a burst of cheers.

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze swept quickly across the arena, stopping on an old man wearing a leather jacket and leather pants, with a pair of black sunglasses perched on his nose and a lit cigar clamped between his teeth. The old man looked like an aging rock star, radiating an aura of irreverent cool.

The moment he stepped into the ring, the crowd exploded. He was clearly a fan favorite through and through.

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but offer up a mental jab. This is nothing like the white-bearded, kindly-faced Earth God I was imagining.

Once both fighters had entered, the young man whose Spirit Realm ID was Zhurong spoke up eagerly. "Earth God, this time last year, I was only a Level 2 Fire Sage. I felt so envious as I watched you dominate the tournament back then. But things are different now. I'm Level 3 too, and I think I can beat you."

His pronunciation was peculiar, the kind of accent that instantly marked him as someone from the infamous region in Fujian province where it was rumored they ate people.

Earth God chomped on his cigar and grumbled, "Bro, can you speak Mandarin?"

"I am speaking Mandarin."

Earth God waved his hand dismissively. "Whatever. Forget the chit-chat, let's go."

The Fire Sage lived up to his class. Without another word, flames detonated beneath his feet and the resulting thrust launched him forward like an arrow.

"Not bad! Your control over fire has really matured," Earth God said approvingly.

"And there's more where that came from," Zhurong growled as he clenched his fist.

Searing flames ignited around it, and he drove it straight into Earth God's face. But three feet from the old man, his fist met an amber barrier and stopped dead.

Zhurong wreathed himself in fire and unleashed everything he had, fists and feet hammering against the barrier in a relentless barrage. Each impact detonated like a grenade as fire bloomed in violent bursts across the shield's surface.

Earth God didn't budge. His sunglasses didn't even shift.

Zhurong's expression faltered, but he rallied quickly, trying to save face. "I've got more tricks! Acording to the five elements cycle, wood conquers earth. Let's see you block this."

He summoned a verdant wooden blade, its surface pulsing with living green energy.

Brimming with renewed confidence, Zhurong circled the old man, slashing and chopping from every angle.

Several minutes passed, and Earth God hadn't moved a muscle.

Zhurong ground his teeth. "Even this won't break through? I still have one more move—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a wave of dizziness crashed over him, and his limbs went weak.

Earth God exhaled a lazy plume of smoke and, mimicking Zhurong's accent perfectly, drawled, "You think I'm smoking this cigar to look cool, like you young people? You've been poisoned, kid. I was already Level 3 before you even became a Spirit Realm Walker. How exactly did you plan to beat me? Get lost!"

One massive slap sent the poisoned Zhurong crumpling to the ground, unconscious.

"Earth God wins!" the armored swordsman declared.

The arena erupted in thunderous cheers as the crowd roared its approval for the old man.

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't bring himself to share in the celebration. Incredible. That level of defense has to be approaching the Saint tier.

The Fire Sage hadn't been weak. His attacks had been fierce and relentless. Fire Sages ranked near the top of all Lawful classes in close-combat ability. But against Earth God, he'd looked completely outclassed.

Guan Ya turned to study Zhang Yuanqing's face and leaned in close. "Now that you've seen his defense firsthand, what do you think? Any confidence?"

Zhang Yuanqing shook his head slowly. "I can't break through."

The Bloodthirsty Blade couldn't pierce a defense of that caliber. The Yin Yang Spell Robe wouldn't work against that trendy old man either. After turning it over and over in his mind, the only strategy Zhang Yuanqing could come up with was shameless attrition. He would use the Red Dancing Shoes' relentless pursuit to whittle him down while harassing him and stalling with Night Wandering, Fire Walk, and every evasion trick at his disposal. It would be death by a thousand cuts.

But defense was only one of Earth God's tools. As a veteran Earth Wraith who'd been in the game for years, he surely had other cards to play.

And if the second-ranked fighter was already this strong, the top-ranked one would only be worse. The third-ranked fighter wouldn't be far behind either.

Zhang Yuanqing felt a pressure he'd never experienced before settle over him.