Realm Walker

Fu Qingyang sat behind the wide solid wood desk in his office. A massive thirty inch screen glowed before him, and from the speakers mounted on the wall came sounds of a fiercely restrained yet razor sharp debate.

He was in the middle of a conference call with six participants. Aside from himself, one elder each from the Hundred Flowers Society, Water God Palace, Central Court, White Tiger Legion, and Crimson Fire Gang was in attendance.

Who could have imagined that a single Transcendent tier S-rank Spirit Realm strategy guide would warrant a dedicated meeting among the elders themselves?

These were elder-level Spirit Realm Walkers, the kind of high ranking individuals who could effortlessly level an entire city. They rarely involved themselves in mundane affairs and almost never showed their faces. Most matters in the mortal world had long since ceased to interest them. Only when something truly significant occurred, or when a particularly thorny problem defied easy resolution, would the elders step in to handle things personally.

The Jinshui Amusement Park strategy guide was exactly that kind of problem.

The Hundred Flowers Society Elder was speaking.

”If Spirit Realm 6203 is mishandled, it will become a second Sheling Tunnel for Nocturnal Specters, The latter is at least a trial realm. At worst, it reduces the number of newly born Nocturnal Specters. But 6203 could drastically thin the ranks of Transcendent tier Nocturnal Specters. The Taiyi Sect shares the same roots as us. We ought to pass the strategy guide along to them. This is for the good of the Five Elements Alliance as a whole.”

Within the Five Elements Alliance, the Hundred Flowers Society was closest to the Taiyi Sect, since the two factions were bound by marriage. The daughter of the society’s Grand Elder was the sixth wife of the Sect Master of the Taiyi Sect, and their son Ling Jun, a Saint-stage Wood Demon of the Beast King variety, had studied under the Hundred Flowers Society’s Alliance Chief.

”We can offer the strategy guide to the Taiyi Sect,” the Central Court Elder said, ”but the terms of the deal need to change. We need more than just money. We must have Nocturnal Specter strategy materials and items. As to how detailed these materials should be and the quantity of the items, we can leave room for further negotiation.”

”That would make us look like opportunists kicking them while they’re down. It will damage the relationship between our two sides,” said the Hundred Flowers Society Elder, his voice slowly rising.

”Given the difficulty of Spirit Realm 6203, I think a higher asking price is perfectly reasonable,” his Central Court counterpart countered. ”Heh, even we would have had headaches if we’d encountered something like this back in the day.”

The conference fell silent. No one could deny the value of this strategy guide.

After a few seconds, the Water God Palace Elder said in a dark, measured tone, ”According to a report from a Water Ghost in Jiangsu who cleared Jinshui Amusement Park, three people survived this Spirit Realm. Among them was a girl named Xie Lingxi. Apparently, she followed that Nocturnal Specter through the entire dungeon.

”I’ve already looked into it. She’s a direct descendant of the Xie family in Jiangsu. We are not the only ones who possess a detailed walkthrough.”

”The Xie family will demand far more than we would,” the White Tiger Legion Elder claimed boldly and dismissively.

He continued, ”Besides, the key to clearing the Haunted House stage lies in the strategy guide we hold. I don’t think its value needs further debate.

”What concerns me more is this: the author of the strategy guide has explicitly warned us that Spirit Realm 6203 pits Walkers against each other. The hidden quest does this, as does the guaranteed-death stage for Nocturnal Specters. If our people happen to be in the same party as a Nocturnal Specter from the Taiyi Sect, there’s a very real chance they’ll be sold out during the Ghost Bride segment.”

In a Spirit Realm designed for mutual slaughter, an information advantage could change the outcome. In fact, it could change fate itself.

The conference call fell silent again.

Fu Qingyang spoke into the silence, his voice calm and even. ”Elders, I have a question.”

”Speak!”

”Yuanshi raised a theory in the strategy guide,” he began, his tone neither servile nor overbearing. ”He believes that role assignments are based on the nature of one’s heart. We could refuse to give the guide to the Taiyi Sect. We could keep it exclusively for Five Elements Alliance members. But what if someone who receives the guide gets assigned the role of Evildoer? We all know that a Lawful class does not necessarily mean good.”

”You make a fair point,” The Water God Palace Elder replied in the same tone. ”What else are you thinking?”

”The Taiyi Sect and the Five Elements Alliance share the same roots. The strategy guide must be given to them,” Fu Qingyang said evenly. ”But we should modify its contents first.”

He then laid out his recommendations. ”Remove the author’s theory, add a note claiming that role assignments are random, and mislead the readers. Afterward, we strictly scrutinize all completion reports. The moment we discover anyone within our organizations, Taiyi Sect included, who was assigned the Evildoer role, we arrest them immediately.

”Think of it from another angle. This is actually a powerful tool for rooting out the bad apples among us.”

The mutual killing that was baked into the dungeon’s design and could not be changed, and the strategy guide also had to be shared, since they were allies after all. If the Squad Captain won in the end, it would be all the better. But if the Evildoer achieved victory instead, the official organizations would exact justice and eliminate the threat.

”But it’s only a theory,” objected one of the elders.

”Which is why I said arrest, not execute.”

Seeing that the other elders offered no objections and had lapsed into contemplation, Fu Qingyang continued.

”After this affair, the Taiyi Sect will inevitably try to poach him. They possess a wealth of Nocturnal Specter Spirit Realm strategy guides and deep knowledge of the class, advantages we simply cannot match. I believe we need to properly secure his loyalty. I intend to win him over through virtue.”

The elders didn’t particularly care about poaching, but this new Nocturnal Specter was genuinely special.

”The young man has real talent,” the Central Court Elder mused. ”He’s cleared two S-rank Spirit Realms in a row. He will surely attain the Saint tier at a minimum. Win him over through virtue, you say? How do you plan to do that?”

Fu Qingyang’s voice remained perfectly composed as he laid out his idea. ”Expedite the approval of his bonus and the awarding of merit.”

The conference room fell silent for the third time.

The Hundred Flowers Society Elder cleared his throat, pretending the whole ”win him over through virtue” thing had never happened, and spoke.

”I have a piece of intelligence regarding that young man. The Taiyi Sect has been compiling a list of recently altered Spirit Realms, and they’ve discovered that the vengeful spirits inside these dungeons have all been entrusted with the same task by the Three Paths Mountain Goddess: finding a certain young man.

”This young man’s name is four characters long. Cross reference that with the detailed strategy guide from Sheling Tunnel, and it’s not hard to deduce that the Three Paths Mountain Goddess is searching for Yuanshi Tianzun.”

Shock broke through Fu Qingyang’s stern expression. ”The Three Paths Mountain Goddess is looking for him?”

The other Elders were equally startled.

The Hundred Flowers Society Elder chuckled. ”The young fellow hid something in his Sheling Tunnel report. The Taiyi Sect is investigating the matter and may approach him soon. Keep an eye on things.”

”Understood.”

***

In a private group chat for Squad captains, Yuan Ting fired off a message with visible anguish.

Yuan Ting: Elder Sun has lost his mind!

The group consisted of captain-level Nocturnal Specters who were scheduled to enter Spirit Realms in the near future. Fear over the recent changes to the dungeons had driven them to band together, and they had hastily formed a small chat group to discuss how to survive the terrifying S-rank and A-rank Spirit Realms.

The other squad captains chimed in one after another.

Specter 1: It’s not that bad, it’s not that bad...

Specter 2: The Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect share the same roots. Getting a copy of the Jinshui Amusement Park guide shouldn’t be that hard. At most, it’ll cost us a bit.

The person called Yuanshi Tianzun was certainly a prodigy with a bright future, but the Taiyi Sect was hardly lacking in talent either. There was no shortage of geniuses at both the Transcendent and Saint tiers. Besides, the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect were allies. From a certain perspective, Yuanshi Tianzun practically counted as one of the Taiyi Sect’s own.

Yuan Ting: You don’t know the half of it. I heard from Li Dongze that Jinshui Amusement Park is a guaranteed death sentence for Nocturnal Specters.

The others were collectively stunned, and fired off several messages expressing their shock.

They might not necessarily have to enter Jinshui Amusement Park this time, but as long as they remained at the Transcendent tier, they might still have to in the future.

Specter 1: That guy is also a Nocturnal Specter. If it’s a guaranteed death, then how did he survive?

Specter 2: Exactly. As long as we have the strategy guide, we’ll be fine.

Yuan Ting: I heard from Li Dongze that the Five Elements Alliance Council of Elders is currently in session, and they apparently aren’t too keen on handing the strategy guide over to us at the Taiyi Sect. You know how these elder meetings go. It’s perfectly normal for them to drag on for ten days to half a month before reaching a conclusion. But a lot of people in this group can’t afford to wait that long.

The squad captains could not contain their outrage.

Specter 1: Oh no... Elder Sun has lost his mind!

Specter 2: Elder Sun has truly lost his mind!

· · ·

So, a serious disagreement has arisen, mused Zhang Yuanqing. He thought it over briefly and quickly grasped where the conflict lay.

He laughed it off. ”Who cares? That’s a headache for the higher ups. As long as they don’t shortchange me on my bonus or the merit that will be awarded, I’m happy. Squad Leader, I’ve been broke lately.”

He had been with the Five Elements Alliance for half a month now, and payday still hadn’t arrived. He was still a penniless student.

He continued, ”Squad Leader, I just cleared an S-rank Spirit Realm. How about we all go out together tonight? My treat, but you’ll have to front the bill first. I’ll pay you back once the bonus comes through.”

He glanced over at the wooden-faced Wang Tai. ”Bro Wang Tai, you should come too.”

Wang Tai shook his head. ”No thanks.”

”That’s no good. You need to hang out with everyone, share a meal, build friendships, and expand your network. After dinner, I can even take you to a fishmonger to unwind.”

”I have social anxiety.”

”Social anxiety? Oh my god, social anxiety actually exists? What’s there to be anxious about? What exactly are you afraid of?”

”People like you.”

Zhang Yuanqing was left speechless.

Li Dongze, who had been standing nearby, smiled and spoke up.

”Dinner is fine, but you don’t need to treat us. Our Squad Two has a VIP guest to entertain tonight, and this guest specifically requested Wang Tai as the host. But you know his personality. He can’t possibly handle that kind of social occasion, so Guan Ya and I talked it over and decided to accompany him. Since you’re here, you might as well join us.”

”A VIP guest?” Zhang Yuanqing asked, curious.

Guan Ya seized the chance to jump in, a playful grin on her face. ”She’s the heiress of a noble Spirit Realm Walker family.”

An heiress?

Zhang Yuanqing immediately broke into a sly grin and elbowed Wang Tai in the side. ”You thick-browed, bright-eyed rascal. Your nose isn’t even that big, yet you’ve managed to hook yourself a lady from a wealthy house.”

Wang Tai’s expression didn’t change. ”You don’t need to repeat what the Squad Leader and Guan Ya just said.”

He let out a weary sigh. ”I have no connection whatsoever with the Xie family in Jiangsu. I can’t figure out why their heiress wants to see me.”

”With that goldfish memory of yours, even if you did have a connection, you’d probably have forgotten,” Guan Ya teased him mercilessly. ”Anyway, this is a good thing. Wang Tai, put in some effort. Try to marry into the Xie family as a live-in son in law.”

”Oh my, what an enviable career path,” Li Dongze joked with a laugh.

Zhang Yuanqing’s heart skipped a beat. The Xie family?

”What’s the deal with this Xie family?” he asked quickly.

Li Dongze never missed a beat when it came to educating his team.

He explained, ”The Xie family is like the Fu family. They’re considered Spirit Realm Walker nobility. Every year, the family produces quite a few Musicians, and they’re very powerful. The Xie family isn’t technically an official organization, but they are a Lawful-class faction with longstanding ties to both the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect.”

So they’re basically a martial arts sect that got recruited by the government, Zhang Yuanqing realized. Is this Xie family heiress you’re all talking about a certain green tea princess who loves acting all weak and pitiful?

The heiress to the Xie family, a semi-official organization, specifically requesting to see Wang Tai... All the conditions matched. It was almost certainly Xie Lingxi.

That girl actually tracked me down? he thought, surprised.

He frowned slightly and mulled it over for a moment before deciding he would go meet the little green tea princess. Given her family’s background, she could absolutely trace things back to Yuanshi Tianzun if she was determined enough. In fact, she wouldn’t even need to dig that deep. A casual browse through the Five Elements Alliance’s official forums would reveal that ’Wang Tai’ had been Yuanshi Tianzun’s alias in the spirit realm.

Since there was no avoiding it, he might as well face it head on. For one, the Xie family was at least semi-official, which made them more reliable than rogue Walkers or small civilian organizations. Also, given his present standing and reputation within the organization, there was no need to be overly secretive. Besides, Xie Lingxi might not even mean him any harm.

Might as well check out what the little green tea princess is really after, he thought.

He lingered at the office until evening, when the setting sun bled across the sky like an open wound. Zhang Yuanqing texted his aunt, asking her to tell his grandparents that their beloved grandson would not be home for dinner.

Then he climbed into Li Dongze’s business car and headed for their destination: the Huayu Hotel.

Halfway there, his aunt sent him an accusatory text.

Jiang Yu’er: What did you do today to make my mom so angry?

Zhang Yuanqing: I didn’t do anything.

Jiang Yu’er: Bullshit. She called you the disgrace of the family. That’s supposed to be my brother’s honorary title.

I really didn’t do anything! I just accidentally played some dirty audio out loud, he complained inwardly.

Zhang Yuanqing: I’m my uncle’s true successor, so the title would naturally pass from uncle to nephew sooner or later. Anyway, gotta go. I’m off to meet a pretty girl.

Jiang Yu’er: A girl?

His aunt sent a barrage of bloody-knife emojis.

The Huayu Hotel was a five star establishment with rooms starting at 1,500 yuan a night and suites over 3,000 yuan. It featured a gym, a bar, a wellness spa, a high-end buffet restaurant, and more. Among the guests passing through the revolving doors were sharp-suited professionals alongside glamorous women in tight-fitting dresses and heavy makeup.

The revolving restaurant on the hotel’s top floor had been reserved for the evening. Zhang Yuanqing and the others rode the elevator up and followed a member of the staff to the restaurant’s entrance.

The attendant pushed open the double doors for them. Inside, the spacious and luxurious restaurant was bathed in soft lighting, and the carpet was thick and plush underfoot. Four attractive female attendants stood at attention on either side of the entrance.

A young girl stood with graceful poise by the enormous floor to ceiling windows, admiring the nightscape of Songhai City laid out below.

She wore a prim sailor-style outfit: a knee length black skirt paired with a white blouse tied at the collar with a black bow. Her long, straight black hair cascaded smoothly over her shoulders. The soft overhead lights illuminated her face, giving her complexion a warm, jade-like glow.

She was both refined and ethereally beautiful. Innocent, demure, and lovely—she embodied every beautiful quality a girl in the bloom of youth could possess.

The sound of the door caused the girl to turn around to look. Her eyes lit up and a radiant smile blossomed across her face.

She sprinted over happily and called out, ”Bro Wang Tai!”

Li Dongze raised an eyebrow and stared at Wang Tai beside him, his face full of surprise. He needed to completely reevaluate the relationship between his subordinate and the Xie family heiress. Who would have guessed that this quiet team member was secretly a master of romance?

Guan Ya let out a soft ”wow” and shot Wang Tai a teasing sidelong glance.

”I underestimated you, future son in law of the Xie family,” she said softly.

Wang Tai looked utterly bewildered. He had absolutely no idea what was going on.

Then they all watched as the Xie family heiress skipped right past Wang Tai, stopped in front of Zhang Yuanqing, tugged gently at the hem of his shirt, and called out sweetly, ”I found you, Bro Wang Tai.”