Chapter 236 (II): Hard Quota

It was half past ten at night. Fresh out of the shower, Sun Miaomiao sat at her computer, glossy black hair wrapped in a towel, wearing pajamas with a cartoon print. Her brows were knit together in concentration as she browsed the Taiyi Sect's official forum.

She had browsed the forums excitedly from the day before, and had watched the sect's Nocturnal Specters go from taking smug little digs at the Yuanshi Tianzun business to dead-duck stubbornness.

? That guy's got nine lives.

? The dungeon wasn't even hard.

She'd also watched and joined in the forum brawls and mudslinging between Five Elements Alliance and Taiyi Sect members.

Honestly, they’re still slinging mud at each other, she thought to herself. Everybody's a little too bitter.

The two sides had been at it for a full day. It had all started because screenshots of the Nocturnal Specters' snide remarks had been cross-posted over to the Five Elements Alliance's forum.

Then, just that morning, Yuanshi Tianzun came storming back into the real world and slapped every face in the room. Five Elements Alliance members swarmed into the Taiyi Sect's forums and chat groups, howling and screaming, and things escalated into a fierce shouting match.

The Alliance trolls mocked the Taiyi Sect's Nocturnal Specters to their hearts' content with comments like "I bet that slap stings" over and over, in a dozen ways.

The Nocturnal Specters had no comeback on the actual point, so they got creative and fired back with comments like "you'll still end up working for us at Taiyi" and "a little pocket change, and you'll hand the guide right over."

Sun Miaomiao sighed. Honestly, these people were all mild-mannered and courteous by day, but online, they turned into outlaws with zero restraint.

She logged into her online persona, ID "Sun Wukong," and hammered out a bunch of replies.

? Dumb Five Elements Alliance dogs!

? I'm Yuanshi Tianzun's mama!

? Yuanshi Tianzun, stronger than Demon Lord? Damn, you guys really know how to brag. I can't even comprehend how you came up with that nonsense. Why not just say Yuanshi Tianzun's the Lord of the Spirit Realm?

? I literally can't.

It wasn't that Sun Miaomiao disliked Yuanshi Tianzun. She just liked to argue. In real life, she was a sweet, gentle, and well-behaved little princess, while everyone watched her every word and move.

Only online could she rage freely, striking left and right, dropping enemies a thousand miles away in a clatter of keys.

She felt unfulfilled if she went a day without flaming someone, and now, this brawl was like a grand spectacle laid out in front of her. How could she pass it up?

Such bliss! Sun Miaomiao stopped her hands from dancing across the keys, gripped the mouse to refresh the page, and lifted her cup for a drink, as if she'd just spat out a solid ton of saliva with her savage words.

A new post came into view as she refreshed the page.

【#Just saw this on the Five Elements Alliance forum, real or fake#】

Curious, Sun Miaomiao clicked in.

The post was a repost from the Five Elements Alliance, with the original title "Reliable word: leadership has called a Council of Ten Elders to weigh selling the Mute Village guide to the Taiyi Sect."

What? The Five Elements Alliance called a Council of Ten Elders to debate selling a Transcendent-tier dungeon guide? Sun Miaomiao nearly laughed out loud. If you're going to make things up, at least keep it logical.

She was about to run over to the Alliance side and mock them when she spotted the comments below.

? Ling Jun: Sigh, it's real! You lot just don't get it. The Mute Village dungeon matters a lot to the Taiyi Sect.

? Zhao Chenghuang: @Ling Jun, so that's it. No wonder Grandpa went to Wuliang Mountain for a meeting and still isn't back. What's special about the Mute Village dungeon?

? Ling Jun: Whoever enters it armed with the guide will come out and beat you black and blue. No exaggeration. And there's no limit on the rewards.

? Maoshan Sorcerer: No limit? I don't buy it. @Ling Jun

? Ling Jun: Believe it or don't, small fry. And quit yapping, all of you. Right now we're the ones begging them to sell, and the Five Elements Alliance might not be willing to. Sigh, if Elder Sun hadn't turned Fu Qingyang down back then, this guide would already belong to the Taiyi Sect.

Sun Miaomiao's expression froze. All at once, the fun went out of flaming people.

That post caused a huge stir on the Taiyi Sect forum. They didn't believe the Five Elements Alliance's post, but they had to believe what Ling Jun and Zhao Chenghuang said.

Walk out of Mute Village and you’ll be able to beat down Zhao Chenghuang? You've got to be kidding. That would mean anyone could become one of the very strongest at the Transcendent tier... That's why the Five Elements Alliance called a Council of Ten Elders?!

In an instant, every Nocturnal Specter's blood ran hot. Mute Village was truly special. They absolutely had to get their hands on that guide.

At the same time, it dawned on them that right now the Taiyi Sect was the one who was at the mercy of the Five Elements Alliance.

No, at the mercy of Yuanshi Tianzun.

***

That same night. In the bedroom, Zhang Yuanqing sat in his three-thousand-yuan ergonomic chair, spit flying as he talked.

"These past few days, that perverted sex fiend called Demon Lord raped and murdered three girls in the flower of thier youth and six beautiful young wives in a row. Faced with a vicious superpowered criminal the public security officers couldn't handle, they turned him over to us, the Superpowered Agent Squad.

"I led my team and followed Demon Lord for a whole night. When he was about to move on a bar girl named Zhu Rong, I struck without hesitation, fought him in an all out battle, and finally brought the irredeemable monster to justice."

His little aunt sat on the edge of the bed, listening in a daze. When her nephew finished, she gazed at him with stars and worship in her eyes.

"Wow, so amazing~ Yuanzi, from now on you're the big hero of Auntie's heart."

Zhang Yuanqing nodded, keeping a straight face. "Protecting the weak is what people like us should do. There's a great man in our organization, codenamed Yuanshi Tianzun, who once said that with great power comes great responsibility. Superpowered people must always keep that in mind. Rooting out the strong and lifting up the weak is our duty, and we must keep faith in bettering society."

Little Aunt sighed, overcome with emotion. "His ideals are worthy of respect."

This was how things played out. Three nights back, Jiang Yu'er had found her nephew missing, only a phone he'd left behind in the room. Clever as she was, she immediately guessed he'd gotten an order from the organization and gone out on a mission. She quietly covered for him and distracted her mom and dad with the story of a vague, phantom girlfriend.

The moment she got off work that day, she ate dinner without a fuss, then flew straight to her nephew's bed, spewed the whole story start to finish, and asked whether he really had a mission last night.

That was what led to the scene just now.

Jiang Yu'er pressed on, thrilled. "Did Demon Lord die?"

"Of course!"

"And the bar girl, Zhu Rong. Did you save her?"

Her nephew sighed. "We saved her, yeah, but she suffered a huge mental shock. Later, some psycho peeled the skin right off her face."

"Yikes! So scary. What's the psycho called?"

***

It was June twelfth. The Saint tier arena tournament wrapped on schedule. No upsets, no dark horses, just as everyone expected. Fu Qingyang took home the championship, edging out Jiang Ju, Yin Ji, and Fengdu Ghost King.

It should have been a headline event. Instead the storm over the Mute Village guide siphoned off most of the attention and chatter.

The Taiyi Sect and Five Elements Alliance forums were full of posts about Mute Village, all the time. Only now and then did a stray post pop up congratulating Fu Qingyang on his title.

On the question of the Mute Village guide, the Five Elements Alliance members were the small people hiding it away, crowing that they'd throw it in the water before giving it to the Taiyi Sect before running back again and again to the forums to harp on this topic and jeer at them.

The Taiyi Sect members, meanwhile, had suddenly lost their swagger and the nerve to trade insults. Instead they could only fume inwardly, nursing their wounded pride. Elder Sun's a fool!

In the study of his Fu Family Bay villa, Fu Qingyang sprawled out on the brown leather sofa like a lord, a cigar between his fingers. The coffee table before him held pastries, sweets, fruit and ham slices, along with two bottles of whisky.

"The elders argued for two days and finally came to a conclusion," Fu Qingyang said.

He glanced at his empty glass and signaled his trusted lackey to pour. Zhang Yuanqing took the hint and filled the centurion's glass.

"Do we sell or not?" he asked.

He knew the elders had been in a meeting, meaning that they had been arguing for days. At the peak of it, a Crimson Fire Gang elder had announced he'd settle it offline, one on one. Against everyone in the room.

Because of this one guide, the elders had met for two full days.

"We'll sell!"

"How?"

"On two conditions. One, both sides will sign a contract. Any Taiyi Sect member who clears Mute Village will split the items they get evenly with the Five Elements Alliance. Two, the Taiyi Sect will consolidate every Level 4 A-rank and S-rank dungeon guide in its database and hand it to us."

That second one's for me, specifically, Zhang Yuanqing noted.

"And the Taiyi Sect agreed?"

Saint-tier dungeon guides, and A-rank and S-rank ones at that. Every single one was worth a fortune.

Fu Qingyang lifted his glass, took an elegant sip, and gave a soft laugh. "They didn't want to, of course. But headquarters was adamant about it, and the Taiyi Sect had no choice."

He set the glass down. "Three more days before the slaughter dungeon opens. Your yin corpse was lost in the Spirit Realm. By tomorrow at the latest, I'll hunt down a Level 3 Enchanting Demon corpse for you. If there's anything else you need to prepare, get on it quickly."

Zhang Yuanqing, eager and on edge, nodded sharply.

The slaughter dungeon was his shot at advancing to the Saint tier. Once he ascended to the Saint tier, he could start looking into Bro Bing's disappearance.

Fu Qingyang put down his glass. "Tonight, the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect are holding an online meeting. Everyone planning to enter the slaughter dungeon will be there. You too."

"A rally?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

Fu Qingyang nodded. "Every year, around this time, the evil organizations gather their members to plan their hunt for Lawful-class Walkers. On our end, Saints will share their experiences inside the slaughter dungeon so you get a feel for the evil organizations' habits and methods."

***

On the outskirts of Jinshan City, two electric scooters traveled side by side and finally stopped at a logistics company tucked away in a secluded spot.

Kou Beiyue, in a food delivery uniform, put one foot to the ground, looked at the logistics company that had rented an abandoned factory for its site, and said with envy, "I know logistics makes good money. You've really got the knack."

His companion, a baby-faced young man, said with total nonchalance, "It's all the funding the organization allocated. I'm the manager here. From now on, this is the Psychic Assembly's gathering spot for the Jinshan City district, as well as the location of the black market the Psychic Assembly is running. Whenever you want to dig up info, buy or sell items and materials, just come to me. Not many are willing to deal here yet, but I believe more will come around over time."

This man was a subordinate of the Hex King, Spirit Realm ID Blood Steamed Bun.

Kou Beiyue felt a flash of relief. The whole reason he ran with Blood Steamed Bun was to open up a stable channel to help Xiao Yuan dig up information and take on jobs.

"Isn't this a little too conspicuous, though? I figured you evil organizations always met in brothels and gambling dens."

Blood Steamed Bun burst out laughing. "You watch too many movies, kid. We're already rats everyone wants to squash. Setting up brothels and gambling dens on top of that? What, you're worried the public security officers can't find us?

"Generally the best sites for us are bars, hotels, and places like logistics companies that have high foot traffic and aren't suspicious. Also 'evil organization' is just the official label they slap on us. Don't keep 'evil' on the tip of your tongue. Say it to one of your own, and you'll get decked."

Something clicked in Kou Beiyue's mind. Oh. No wonder Xiao Yuan had bought a hotel back then.

"Any intel lately?" he asked his companion.

Blood Steamed Bun shot him a look, slung an arm around his shoulders, and sighed. "Beiyue. Before you ask a question like that, best to have your cash ready. But I know you're broke, so on account of us being kindred spirits, I'll give you two pieces of info for free.

"First, that Yuanshi Tianzun guy came out of the dungeon alive. Damn it, the guy really is something. We all figured he was finished this time. The old saying holds up. The good die young, and the scourges last a thousand years."

That sounds pretty weird coming out of the mouth of an Evil-class Walker. Kou Beiyue thought ironically.

He swallowed the urge to take a dig and asked instead, "And the second piece?"

"I hear the major evil organizations are holding their summit in Jiangnan Province this year. Yuanshi Tianzun and Fu Qingyang are the two key figures at the meeting. During this mid-year slaughter dungeon, one of the two has to die. That's the hard quota from up top."