“Last night,” Xie Lingxi settled onto the couch beside the floor-to-ceiling window, took her phone, and asked, “Was it related to the Xiahou Family?”
Her female assistant shook her head: “It was related to the Primordial Celestial Lord.”
At that, Xie Lingxi’s interest piqued. She urged, “What happened?”
“I heard from an Official Walker that while the Kangyang District’s official team was hunting a Spiritual Energy Society wanted criminal, they walked into an ambush. Reportedly, the enemy consisted of four Level 3 Evil Classes, which put the hunting team in grave danger. In the end, it was your friend, the Primordial Celestial Lord, who single-handedly annihilated the Gu Sorcerers of the Spiritual Energy Society.”
“Killed four Level 3 Gu Sorcerers, for real?” Xie Lingxi’s mouth hung open slightly, her face a picture of stunned disbelief.
Is the Primordial Brother really that powerful?
“The authenticity of the story is unconfirmed. I heard that the Centurion from Kangyang District had instructed not to divulge the details of last night,” the assistant said with a shake of her head.
She had gleaned this information from a female Walker with whom she was on good terms. The incident wasn’t a secret and had spread among certain small female Walker groups.
As for the accuracy of the information, the assistant couldn’t verify it. After all, even the grassroots Official Walkers might not be clear on the details. Furthermore, it wasn’t essential classified intelligence, so she didn’t probe further. She mentioned it only to keep the young miss informed about the movements of the Five Elements Alliance and her friend.
His strength can’t possibly be that formidable, no, but he cleared an S-level spirit realm with the highest score; he might have acquired some powerful consumable or item. An item is also a part of one’s strength; the Primordial Brother has great potential; I must introduce him to dad when I get the chance. As Xie Lingxi’s thoughts raced, her face bloomed with a sweet smile:
“Heh, compared to him, Xiahou Tianyuan is just like a sly little rat. You go out first; I need to make a call to comfort the Primordial Brother, especially since he’s been bullied by Xiahou Tianyuan.”
The female assistant expressed her surprise: “I don’t think Xiahou Tianyuan can bully him.”
“What do you know!” Xie Lingxi rolled her eyes.
At 8:30 am, Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the office with his backpack slung over his shoulders.
Li Dongze, with a heavily bandaged shoulder and leaning on a cane, couldn’t help but ask as Zhang Yuanqing ascended the stairs:
“Do you come to the office every day? Don’t you need to go to school?”
Zhang Yuanqing replied with a righteous tone:
“How can I let my studies delay my contribution to the organization? But since you, Decurion, brought it up, I’ve been thinking, a person’s energy is limited, so I don’t want to study anymore.
“Does the Five Elements Alliance have a way for me to skip school and still get a diploma?”
Guan Ya, sitting at her desk eating a simple breakfast, chimed in:
“Sure, by that time, everyone will know that the Primordial Celestial Lord is a student at Songhai University.”
Li Dongze patted his trusted subordinate on the shoulder, offering reassurance:
“Your dedication to the organization is commendable, but you shouldn’t neglect your studies. After all, you’re not a Fire Warrior; heh, even if you give up on your brain, you can still clear an instance.”
Decurion, you’re insulting Fire Warriors again! Zhang Yuanqing agreed, “Alright, Decurion makes a good point, Scouts are indeed the most badass profession.”
Li Dongze was instantly pleased, giving another pat on the shoulder of his trusted subordinate.
“I’ll prepare a box of Coke for you. If you want some, just go to my office and grab it. Now, let’s get down to business.”
His gaze swept over Guan Ya and Wang Tai, as he announced: “I need some time to heal. During my absence, someone will replace me. Guan Ya, Primordial, I want you to assist the Acting Decurion in hunting down the Black Guards of Impermanence. They will report for duty the day after tomorrow.”
Ah? The Decurion is leaving? Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback.
He quickly realized that Li Dongze’s shoulder had been pierced through by Spider Woman, and he had not received treatment with Vitality Essence. Furthermore, as a Scout, he lacked healing skills and didn’t have the self-healing abilities of a Night Wandering Deity.
Such injuries indeed required time to recuperate.
“Decurion, who is the new Decurion?” Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.
“Acting, it’s an Acting Decurion!” Li Dongze emphasized. He didn’t elaborate further, simply adding: “You’ll know when you meet them. I hope you get along.”
With that, he left the second floor, supporting himself with a cane.
As soon as Li Dongze was gone, Zhang Yuanqing immediately pulled up a chair and sat beside Guan Ya. Looking at her exquisite profile, he asked slyly:
“Is the new Decurion one of those team members who haven’t shown up yet?”
She was wearing an expensive perfume, fragrant and rich yet not overwhelming.
Guan Ya hummed in response, her smile revealing:
“The battle last night left many needing bed rest, which led to a shortage of personnel. Fu Qingyang is planning to call back those two idle guys from the Second Team.”
“The Decurion doesn’t seem to like them much?” Zhang Yuanqing finally voiced his long-held curiosity.
“If you were leading a group of unruly subordinates, whom you can neither beat nor scold, you wouldn’t like them either.”
“Is the Decurion that weak?”
Guan Ya glanced at him, her lips curved up as she applied her lip color:
“What gave you the illusion that the Decurion is strong? The Decurion’s combat power has always been the second to last in the Second Team; the last being Wang Tai. In terms of physical skills, I can crush the Decurion, let alone those two guys. Then you came along, and he still remained second to last.”
Zhang Yuanqing was at a loss for words, feeling a pang of sympathy for Li Dongze.
After teasing Li Dongze, Guan Ya turned serious:
“I must tell you about these two. One is a Fire Warrior, who despises evil and is impulsive and hot-tempered. He can’t stand any nonsense. You can’t keep leering at my butt anymore, or you’ll get beaten up.”
“Guan Ya, don’t wrong me. When have I ever leered at your butt?”
“Are you saying you haven’t?”
“I was clearly staring at your chest.”
Guan Ya rolled her eyes at him and continued:
“The other is a Water Ghost, with a weird temper, hard to get along with. The Decurion has been frustrated to the point of vomiting blood by him several times, metaphorically speaking. However, he has a very upright personality and likes people who are straightforward.
“The most important thing is, both of them have extraordinary backgrounds. Getting on their good side will benefit you.”
Zhang Yuanqing showed eagerness to learn more.
“One is the scion of the high ranks of the Flaming Sect, a Level 3 Fire Warrior. The other doesn’t have a big background, but he is a Level 4 Saint Realm.” Guan Ya listed off as if she were reciting from memory. She then opened a drawer, pulled out a notepad, turned her back to confirm once more, and nodded in agreement:
“I haven’t got it wrong; that’s pretty much it.”
Zhang Yuanqing quickly glanced over the note and vaguely saw:
Primordial Celestial Lord, Scorpio male, Zodiac traits: scheming, holds grudges, strong sexual desire. Note: Extremely high probability of being seduced by women from other organizations.
This damn woman. He clenched his teeth in frustration.
At that moment, his phone in his pocket vibrated.
Zhang Yuanqing took it out and saw the caller ID.
Xie Lingxi? Zhang Yuanqing silently entered the restroom.
On the outskirts of Songhai City.
Wang Qian, wearing a duckbill hat and a mask, hands in his pockets, walked briskly along the uneven pedestrian path.
Compared to the city center, the infrastructure in the suburbs was much more dilapidated, with roads sinking and tilting to the sides, and pedestrian paths full of pits and cracked tiles.
Furthermore, due to the lack of demolition opportunities in the city, real estate developers were buying land and building houses here, creating construction sites everywhere, adding to the chaos.
But for Wang Qian, the more chaotic the place, the easier it was to hide.
He walked down the long pedestrian path, passed through a construction site, and arrived outside a low, dilapidated bungalow.
“Knock knock knock”
He knocked on the door with a unique rhythm and whispered, “It’s me, Wang Qian.”
The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a beer belly, an explosive hairstyle, and wearing a tattered coat peeked out, looked around cautiously, and pulled him inside.
The room was messy, with beer cans, dirty clothes, and takeout boxes strewn about. Aside from the rotund middle-aged man, there were two others.
One was a Spicy Girl wearing jeans and a black tube top, smoking a cigarette while playing video games in front of the TV.
The other was a pale-faced young man wearing over-ear headphones, lying on the sofa and listening to music.
“Why are you here?” the rotund middle-aged man asked, scratching his unwashed explosive hair with a grave tone:
“During these critical times, don’t wander around. What’s wrong with you?”
He suddenly sensed something was off, as Wang Qian’s eyes were bloodshot, his complexion was ashen, and his expression was extremely fierce.
“Boss,” Wang Qian said through gritted teeth, “my sister has been kidnapped.”
The Spicy Girl playing games put down her controller, and the young man on the sofa opened his eyes.
Passionate Crazy Sage frowned and asked, “How did you find out?”
Wang Qian took a deep breath to calm himself:
“Today, I wanted to check in with my family, so I deliberately went to a neighboring district to make a call. My mom told me that my sister had been kidnapped. It must be the Xiahou Family’s doing, otherwise, who would kidnap my sister for no reason?”
“You could be tracked by making that call!” Passionate Crazy Sage burst out in anger.
“But if I didn’t contact my family, I wouldn’t even know that something happened to my sister by now,” Wang Qian said loudly, eyes red with emotion.
The Spicy Girl slammed down the controller and cursed, furiously saying, “The Xiahou Family has no principles; I can’t stand it anymore. Let the Palace Master gather the brothers; if worst comes to worst, we’ll all go down together.”
The young man with headphones sneered:
“Foolish. Why should we destroy ourselves along with them? If they dare to harm Wang Qian’s family, then our families are also in danger. We might as well not have families at all, and instead focus on targeting and killing the Xiahou Family’s people, wiping out their lineage. Who’s afraid of whom?”
Passionate Crazy Sage glared and said, “Inhumane Heaven, I don’t think your orphan strategy is good, it’s too extreme.”
“To end killing with killing, to stop war with war, that has always been the creed of the Ending Killing Sect,” the young man retorted.
Passionate Crazy Sage was momentarily at a loss for words, but eventually he said with resignation:
“The Palace Master has her own plans. She wants us to stay hidden, so we should stay put and not mess things up. We haven’t reached that point yet; let me think of a solution.”
The room fell into silence, and after about fifteen seconds, Passionate Crazy Sage’s eyes lit up:
“We shouldn’t be the ones to take action. The Xiahou Family kidnapping civilians is a breach of the rules. We should seek help from someone in the Official organization.”
Spicy Girl cursed again, exasperatedly saying:
“Seek help from who? Who would help Wang Qian? The Five Elements Alliance is clearly biased towards the Xiahou Family. No, many of them are actually part of the Xiahou faction. Seeking help from the Official organization is like asking a dog for help.”
Passionate Crazy Sage looked at Wang Qian: “Don’t you know the Primordial Celestial Lord from the Second Team in Kangyang District? Try reaching out to him.”
“Last night,” Xie Lingxi settled onto the couch beside the floor-to-ceiling window, took her phone, and asked, “Was it related to the Xiahou Family?”
Her female assistant shook her head: “It was related to the Primordial Celestial Lord.”
At that, Xie Lingxi’s interest piqued. She urged, “What happened?”
“I heard from an Official Walker that while the Kangyang District’s official team was hunting a Spiritual Energy Society wanted criminal, they walked into an ambush. Reportedly, the enemy consisted of four Level 3 Evil Classes, which put the hunting team in grave danger. In the end, it was your friend, the Primordial Celestial Lord, who single-handedly annihilated the Gu Sorcerers of the Spiritual Energy Society.”
“Killed four Level 3 Gu Sorcerers, for real?” Xie Lingxi’s mouth hung open slightly, her face a picture of stunned disbelief.
Is the Primordial Brother really that powerful?
“The authenticity of the story is unconfirmed. I heard that the Centurion from Kangyang District had instructed not to divulge the details of last night,” the assistant said with a shake of her head.
She had gleaned this information from a female Walker with whom she was on good terms. The incident wasn’t a secret and had spread among certain small female Walker groups.
As for the accuracy of the information, the assistant couldn’t verify it. After all, even the grassroots Official Walkers might not be clear on the details. Furthermore, it wasn’t essential classified intelligence, so she didn’t probe further. She mentioned it only to keep the young miss informed about the movements of the Five Elements Alliance and her friend.
His strength can’t possibly be that formidable, no, but he cleared an S-level spirit realm with the highest score; he might have acquired some powerful consumable or item. An item is also a part of one’s strength; the Primordial Brother has great potential; I must introduce him to dad when I get the chance. As Xie Lingxi’s thoughts raced, her face bloomed with a sweet smile:
“Heh, compared to him, Xiahou Tianyuan is just like a sly little rat. You go out first; I need to make a call to comfort the Primordial Brother, especially since he’s been bullied by Xiahou Tianyuan.”
The female assistant expressed her surprise: “I don’t think Xiahou Tianyuan can bully him.”
“What do you know!” Xie Lingxi rolled her eyes.
At 8:30 am, Zhang Yuanqing arrived at the office with his backpack slung over his shoulders.
Li Dongze, with a heavily bandaged shoulder and leaning on a cane, couldn’t help but ask as Zhang Yuanqing ascended the stairs:
“Do you come to the office every day? Don’t you need to go to school?”
Zhang Yuanqing replied with a righteous tone:
“How can I let my studies delay my contribution to the organization? But since you, Decurion, brought it up, I’ve been thinking, a person’s energy is limited, so I don’t want to study anymore.
“Does the Five Elements Alliance have a way for me to skip school and still get a diploma?”
Guan Ya, sitting at her desk eating a simple breakfast, chimed in:
“Sure, by that time, everyone will know that the Primordial Celestial Lord is a student at Songhai University.”
Li Dongze patted his trusted subordinate on the shoulder, offering reassurance:
“Your dedication to the organization is commendable, but you shouldn’t neglect your studies. After all, you’re not a Fire Warrior; heh, even if you give up on your brain, you can still clear an instance.”
Decurion, you’re insulting Fire Warriors again! Zhang Yuanqing agreed, “Alright, Decurion makes a good point, Scouts are indeed the most badass profession.”
Li Dongze was instantly pleased, giving another pat on the shoulder of his trusted subordinate.
“I’ll prepare a box of Coke for you. If you want some, just go to my office and grab it. Now, let’s get down to business.”
His gaze swept over Guan Ya and Wang Tai, as he announced: “I need some time to heal. During my absence, someone will replace me. Guan Ya, Primordial, I want you to assist the Acting Decurion in hunting down the Black Guards of Impermanence. They will report for duty the day after tomorrow.”
Ah? The Decurion is leaving? Zhang Yuanqing was taken aback.
He quickly realized that Li Dongze’s shoulder had been pierced through by Spider Woman, and he had not received treatment with Vitality Essence. Furthermore, as a Scout, he lacked healing skills and didn’t have the self-healing abilities of a Night Wandering Deity.
Such injuries indeed required time to recuperate.
“Decurion, who is the new Decurion?” Zhang Yuanqing asked curiously.
“Acting, it’s an Acting Decurion!” Li Dongze emphasized. He didn’t elaborate further, simply adding: “You’ll know when you meet them. I hope you get along.”
With that, he left the second floor, supporting himself with a cane.
As soon as Li Dongze was gone, Zhang Yuanqing immediately pulled up a chair and sat beside Guan Ya. Looking at her exquisite profile, he asked slyly:
“Is the new Decurion one of those team members who haven’t shown up yet?”
She was wearing an expensive perfume, fragrant and rich yet not overwhelming.
Guan Ya hummed in response, her smile revealing:
“The battle last night left many needing bed rest, which led to a shortage of personnel. Fu Qingyang is planning to call back those two idle guys from the Second Team.”
“The Decurion doesn’t seem to like them much?” Zhang Yuanqing finally voiced his long-held curiosity.
“If you were leading a group of unruly subordinates, whom you can neither beat nor scold, you wouldn’t like them either.”
“Is the Decurion that weak?”
Guan Ya glanced at him, her lips curved up as she applied her lip color:
“What gave you the illusion that the Decurion is strong? The Decurion’s combat power has always been the second to last in the Second Team; the last being Wang Tai. In terms of physical skills, I can crush the Decurion, let alone those two guys. Then you came along, and he still remained second to last.”
Zhang Yuanqing was at a loss for words, feeling a pang of sympathy for Li Dongze.
After teasing Li Dongze, Guan Ya turned serious:
“I must tell you about these two. One is a Fire Warrior, who despises evil and is impulsive and hot-tempered. He can’t stand any nonsense. You can’t keep leering at my butt anymore, or you’ll get beaten up.”
“Guan Ya, don’t wrong me. When have I ever leered at your butt?”
“Are you saying you haven’t?”
“I was clearly staring at your chest.”
Guan Ya rolled her eyes at him and continued:
“The other is a Water Ghost, with a weird temper, hard to get along with. The Decurion has been frustrated to the point of vomiting blood by him several times, metaphorically speaking. However, he has a very upright personality and likes people who are straightforward.
“The most important thing is, both of them have extraordinary backgrounds. Getting on their good side will benefit you.”
Zhang Yuanqing showed eagerness to learn more.
“One is the scion of the high ranks of the Flaming Sect, a Level 3 Fire Warrior. The other doesn’t have a big background, but he is a Level 4 Saint Realm.” Guan Ya listed off as if she were reciting from memory. She then opened a drawer, pulled out a notepad, turned her back to confirm once more, and nodded in agreement:
“I haven’t got it wrong; that’s pretty much it.”
Zhang Yuanqing quickly glanced over the note and vaguely saw:
Primordial Celestial Lord, Scorpio male, Zodiac traits: scheming, holds grudges, strong sexual desire. Note: Extremely high probability of being seduced by women from other organizations.
This damn woman. He clenched his teeth in frustration.
At that moment, his phone in his pocket vibrated.
Zhang Yuanqing took it out and saw the caller ID.
Xie Lingxi? Zhang Yuanqing silently entered the restroom.
On the outskirts of Songhai City.
Wang Qian, wearing a duckbill hat and a mask, hands in his pockets, walked briskly along the uneven pedestrian path.
Compared to the city center, the infrastructure in the suburbs was much more dilapidated, with roads sinking and tilting to the sides, and pedestrian paths full of pits and cracked tiles.
Furthermore, due to the lack of demolition opportunities in the city, real estate developers were buying land and building houses here, creating construction sites everywhere, adding to the chaos.
But for Wang Qian, the more chaotic the place, the easier it was to hide.
He walked down the long pedestrian path, passed through a construction site, and arrived outside a low, dilapidated bungalow.
“Knock knock knock”
He knocked on the door with a unique rhythm and whispered, “It’s me, Wang Qian.”
The door opened, and a middle-aged man with a beer belly, an explosive hairstyle, and wearing a tattered coat peeked out, looked around cautiously, and pulled him inside.
The room was messy, with beer cans, dirty clothes, and takeout boxes strewn about. Aside from the rotund middle-aged man, there were two others.
One was a Spicy Girl wearing jeans and a black tube top, smoking a cigarette while playing video games in front of the TV.
The other was a pale-faced young man wearing over-ear headphones, lying on the sofa and listening to music.
“Why are you here?” the rotund middle-aged man asked, scratching his unwashed explosive hair with a grave tone:
“During these critical times, don’t wander around. What’s wrong with you?”
He suddenly sensed something was off, as Wang Qian’s eyes were bloodshot, his complexion was ashen, and his expression was extremely fierce.
“Boss,” Wang Qian said through gritted teeth, “my sister has been kidnapped.”
The Spicy Girl playing games put down her controller, and the young man on the sofa opened his eyes.
Passionate Crazy Sage frowned and asked, “How did you find out?”
Wang Qian took a deep breath to calm himself:
“Today, I wanted to check in with my family, so I deliberately went to a neighboring district to make a call. My mom told me that my sister had been kidnapped. It must be the Xiahou Family’s doing, otherwise, who would kidnap my sister for no reason?”
“You could be tracked by making that call!” Passionate Crazy Sage burst out in anger.
“But if I didn’t contact my family, I wouldn’t even know that something happened to my sister by now,” Wang Qian said loudly, eyes red with emotion.
The Spicy Girl slammed down the controller and cursed, furiously saying, “The Xiahou Family has no principles; I can’t stand it anymore. Let the Palace Master gather the brothers; if worst comes to worst, we’ll all go down together.”
The young man with headphones sneered:
“Foolish. Why should we destroy ourselves along with them? If they dare to harm Wang Qian’s family, then our families are also in danger. We might as well not have families at all, and instead focus on targeting and killing the Xiahou Family’s people, wiping out their lineage. Who’s afraid of whom?”
Passionate Crazy Sage glared and said, “Inhumane Heaven, I don’t think your orphan strategy is good, it’s too extreme.”
“To end killing with killing, to stop war with war, that has always been the creed of the Ending Killing Sect,” the young man retorted.
Passionate Crazy Sage was momentarily at a loss for words, but eventually he said with resignation:
“The Palace Master has her own plans. She wants us to stay hidden, so we should stay put and not mess things up. We haven’t reached that point yet; let me think of a solution.”
The room fell into silence, and after about fifteen seconds, Passionate Crazy Sage’s eyes lit up:
“We shouldn’t be the ones to take action. The Xiahou Family kidnapping civilians is a breach of the rules. We should seek help from someone in the Official organization.”
Spicy Girl cursed again, exasperatedly saying:
“Seek help from who? Who would help Wang Qian? The Five Elements Alliance is clearly biased towards the Xiahou Family. No, many of them are actually part of the Xiahou faction. Seeking help from the Official organization is like asking a dog for help.”
Passionate Crazy Sage looked at Wang Qian: “Don’t you know the Primordial Celestial Lord from the Second Team in Kangyang District? Try reaching out to him.”
