Realm Walker

Both Dark Rose and Yuanshi Tianzun were eye-catching tags on the forum that drew attention like iron filings to a magnet. The moment the post went live, readership climbed by the hundreds every second, and the comment count surged right alongside it. In less than ten minutes, there were already three or four hundred replies.

By half past nine, the morning rush hour had ended. Most people had either settled into their offices or finally dragged themselves out of bed. By this time, the post’s comment section had already blown past a thousand.

⤷ The King With A Condition: First! How is this about Yuanshi Tianzun again? I’m already sick of seeing news about him. I’m dropping a bookmark. I’ll read it properly once I get to the office.

⤷ Little Pig George: There really has been way too much Yuanshi Tianzun content these past few days. It feels like the guy’s always stirring up trouble, with never a moment’s peace.

Ever since Yuanshi Tianzun had become an official Walker, incidents involving him popped up every few days, and every single one was a big deal. Plenty of people on the forum thought he generated too much drama. It was one thing after another, in an endless stream.

Fortunately, the recent Evil-class trials had spawned daily hunting and counter-hunting events across every region. There was plenty of online discussion about those, which at least split people’s attention somewhat.

Had it been a calm, uneventful period, there would definitely have been a pile of people complaining: Enough already! I’m going to puke!

The post itself was lengthy. It described how, in the wake of the Full Inspection, the Songhai Branch leadership had decided to conduct a thorough sweep of mid- and low-level personnel to root out anyone who had slipped through the cracks.

To that end, they had appointed Yuanshi Tianzun, whose background was spotless and whose abilities were exceptional, to investigate in secret.

Through his tireless efforts and the kind of dedication that could only be described as working around the clock, seven days a week, he had finally locked onto a target: Chi Yue’an, Shakou District Steward.

The crimes were listed one by one, and included testimony from the female victims. Reading it made one’s scalp tingle and stomach churn.

⤷ Long Road Ahead: Can a Lawful-class Walker do something like that? How did he climb to the position of steward? Don’t the supervising elders need to investigate? Oh wait, the authorities are supposedly lawful too, and they do whatever they please all the same. They grow fat and bloated, every ounce of it squeezed out of the blood and sweat of ordinary folks.

⤷ Bitter Days Past: Brother, watch what you say. Still, this Chi Yue’an really isn’t human. Execute him. Execute him right now! My blood pressure’s through the roof just reading this. They do a Full Inspection every year, yet every year there are still so many scumbags warming seats they don’t deserve. Is the Full Inspection just for show? I have every reason to suspect the higher-ups are involved.

#Long Road Ahead has been muted by a moderator for ten minutes#

#Bitter Days Past has been muted by a moderator for thirty minutes#

The two who had made the sharpest remarks received complimentary muting packages of ten and thirty minutes respectively from the forum moderators.

⤷ The King Has Ailments: Those two brothers above went a bit too far. Being Lawful doesn’t make someone a saint. Everyone has dark thoughts. The difference is only that some people never get the opportunity to act on them. Scum can never be fully eliminated, which is exactly why we need the Full Inspection every year, sweeping out corruption and rot. That persistence is what matters most.

⤷ The King Has Ailments: Besides, Chi Yue’an was part of Dark Rose. All it proves is that Dark Rose is absolutely disgusting. Kill them on sight going forward. And hey, I take back what I said earlier. Yuanshi Tianzun did beautifully. This kind of thing? The more, the better. I’ll never get tired of it.

⤷ Little Pig George: Dark Rose’s infiltration of our Five Elements Alliance is honestly terrifying. Another steward... I’ve read the post several times now. My blood’s pumping and my heart’s singing. The only shame is that they didn’t write out the details of how it went down. Did anyone else notice? They captured Chi Yue’an alive at the scene. That scumbag was a Saint. How on earth did Yuanshi Tianzun pull that off?

⤷ Jiang Yang: The post says he gathered evidence solo, but it never says he captured Chi Yue’an solo. Sigh, if I had a teammate like that, I wouldn’t slack off anymore either.

⤷ Sentimental Jenny: Wow, I’ve completely changed my opinion of Yuanshi Tianzun. I always thought he was a genius who looked decent, but I never imagined his character was this outstanding. He’s a truly upright young man. There can be plenty of geniuses, but the people who actually uphold justice? Those are the ones who deserve the most respect. The Songhai Branch leadership clearly knows what it’s doing. It’s incredibly satisfying.

⤷ Call Me Queen: Finished reading it. It’s hard to imagine a steward could be this deranged. Yuanshi truly is the man I had my eye on. Fantastic. He’ll definitely become a steward himself someday. I want to transfer to Songhai.

⤷ Princess Consort: Hmph. The Chi Yue’an incident is infuriating, sure, but the fact that the Songhai Branch can root out its own rot? That deserves recognition. It’s better than our branch, at least. Ours is full of corrupt trash. I suspect every last one of them is Dark Rose. I suggest headquarters send Yuanshi Tianzun over here to investigate.

Yuanshi Tianzun’s reputation had turned to solid gold overnight, glowing with praise from every direction. This was different from the cheers he got when he had killed Li Xianzong, which reduced the frustration on the side of the authorities. Back then, the boost to his reputation had centered on concepts like ”powerful” and ”genius,” inspiring fear but not respect. Rooting out corruption and punishing evil, though, was an endorsement of character and integrity.

Of course, anyone who built such a reputation risked a devastating backlash if they ever fell from grace. But as long as one held fast to moral principles, it would remain a golden brand. Over time, and with enough accumulation, the position it conferred would be unshakeable.

Beyond the praise for Yuanshi Tianzun, the Songhai Branch itself received tremendous acclaim. Look at that attitude! If there’s a bad apple, they investigate. If there’s a criminal, they arrest him. That’s how leadership should behave. As long as the roots haven’t rotted, any pests will eventually be brought to justice.

⤷ Call Me Queen: I just went and did some digging. Do you all know the background of this Chi Yue’an from the Songhai Branch? He used to be the Zhu family’s live-in son-in-law. They divorced later and he joined the Five Elements Alliance. Apparently he stayed very close to the Zhu family.

⤷ The King Has Ailments: Oh, a Zhu family’s live-in son-in-law? No wonder he acted like he was above the law. A steward without backing would never dare behave like that.

⤷ Princess Consort: Divorced? Which daughter in the Zhu family was he married to?

⤷ Call Me Queen: The family head’s sister. That woman’s reputation in their circles isn’t exactly stellar. Apparently she likes to keep male concubines, and her personal life is... let’s just say, problematic. On top of that, she’s a genuine deviant. She enjoys tormenting her kept men. I just found out that last year, she crippled one of her boy toys so badly he could never function as a man again. Absolutely savage. Do you think Chi Yue’an divorced her because he couldn’t take it anymore? And the post says he liked to abuse women... I can’t say more here. Anyone who wants details, message me privately.

***

Inside a dim study, lit only by the pale yellow glow of a desk lamp and the glow of a computer screen, the Great Protector, draped in his cloak, sat at the desk reading an email.

Its contents were a copy of the post from the Five Elements Alliance forum about Chi Yue’an, complete with a selection of official Walkers’ replies furiously denouncing Dark Rose. As he read, the lips beneath his hood pressed into a thin, tight line, and a muscle in his cheek twitched.

The Great Protector let out a low, strangled curse. ”Those shameless Elders at the Songhai Branch. They’ve gone too far...”

They’ll splash any dirty water they want on Dark Rose, won’t they? Do they think they can pin anything on us just because we don’t have a voice in public discourse?

He exhaled slowly, releasing a breath of stale air.

Fine, he thought. The official internal tournament is coming up. Time to give them a little surprise.

The ringing of his phone broke the silence. The Great Protector snatched up the device beside him, glanced at the caller’s name, and answered.

The voice on the other end was a direct subordinate, seething with fury.

—Great Protector, I heard about it! The Songhai Branch has gone too far. They’ve cost Dark Rose another Saint! We must have vengeance!

The Great Protector’s cheek twitched violently. Dark Rose was a clandestine organization. Its members had no contact with one another. Each person communicated only with their direct superior.

Apart from the leader, only the Three Great Protectors had access to the mid- and low-level membership records. Even Saint-tier members had no idea how many people were actually in the organization, where they were placed, or what positions they held.

—But honestly, that Chi Yue’an was a real piece of work. There are a million ways to accumulate wealth, and he picked the most depraved one. How did Dark Rose even recruit trash like that?

The Great Protector drew a deep breath, and when he spoke, his voice came out low and hoarse. ”Are you free right now? Have you killed Fu Qingyang? Have you killed Yuanshi Tianzun?”

—Well...

The subordinate faltered, assuming the Great Protector was in a foul mood because one of his cultivated assets had been uprooted. The Great Protector couldn’t be bothered to explain further. He finished dressing down his subordinate and hung up without ceremony.

***

Along Huitong Road in Kangyang District, a young man wearing a sports headband and dressed in a sanitation worker’s uniform swept the street with focused, methodical precision, clearing away every speck of dust and scrap of litter.

When it came to cleaning up trash, the Demon Eye Heavenly King had always been passionate. Whether it was literal garbage or human garbage, as long as it made the world a cleaner place, he would spare no effort.

Of course, sweeping city streets was itself a good deed that earned Morality. The amounts were small and the process time consuming, but the Demon Eye Heavenly King had come to Songhai to search for a needle in a haystack anyway. He could comb the entire city for his targets and literally sweep the streets while doing so.

Occasionally, he could even help an elderly person cross the road. And when he encountered someone elderly behaving disgracefully, he could slap them silly, or simply mark the offender and, once he had accumulated enough Morality, pay them a visit to remove their head.

Just then, the phone in his pocket buzzed. The Demon Eye straightened up, leaned on his broom, and fished out his phone.

—Heavenly King, we’ve collected intelligence on Yuanshi Tianzun and Slaughter Cessation Palace. According to a Lawful freelance Walker, members of Slaughter Cessation Palace have recently appeared at the underground black market in Kangyang District. They purchased a large quantity of materials in one go. It seems they’re planning to leave Songhai.

”Oh? Retreating, are they?” Demon Eye smiled and asked, ”And what about Yuanshi Tianzun?”

—The intelligence on Yuanshi Tianzun is more complicated. It’s hard to explain over the phone. I’ve already sent it to your inbox.

The Demon Eye didn’t bother responding to his subordinate. He simply hung up, opened his inbox, and downloaded the attached file.

Dark Rose, Yuanshi Tianzun... He scanned the title, skipped past it, and began reading the contents.

The file contained the same post from the Five Elements Alliance’s official forum, detailing the crimes of Shakou District Steward Chi Yue’an.

The Demon Eye’s expression was blank at first. But as he read further and the descriptions of the atrocities appeared, his face grew darker and darker, and the killing intent in his eyes threatened to spill over. Beneath the headband on his forehead, the demon eye writhed frantically, as though it wanted to burst through its seal to unleash its fury upon the world and cleanse it of sin.

He pressed one hand against his forehead and kept reading. Soon, he reached the summary of how Yuanshi Tianzun had infiltrated the criminal hideout alone to gather evidence, gone on a rampage inside, and captured Steward Chi Yue’an alive. As he read on, the vertical eye on his forehead gradually calmed, and the killing intent in his gaze slowly subsided.

The Demon Eye clicked his tongue. ”Not bad. He really is a bleeding heart.”

This aligned with the intelligence he had already gathered on Yuanshi Tianzun. The man had no black marks whatsoever. His record was spotless. The Demon Eye had been struggling to find a justification for killing him.

Perhaps I should bring him back to Bing Zhu Sect instead. It would be nice to have companions at one’s side when embarking on the grand endeavor of cleansing the world.

After a moment of deliberation, he dialed his subordinate’s number.

”I need you to handle three things for me. First, find out Yuanshi Tianzun’s real identity and background. Second, gather intelligence on Dark Rose. If you discover any Dark Rose members, kill them without hesitation. Third, I want files on every official implicated in the Chi Yue’an case.”

—Yes, sir!

***

Inside the Fu Family Bay villa, Zhang Yuanqing sat in the study, savoring a cup of fine red tea and enjoying the summer desserts brought by the bunny girl servants. Guan Ya sat beside him, while across the table sat Ling Jun and Li Dongze.

Ling Jun clicked his tongue. ”Fu Qingyang really is cut out for politics. That’s underhanded. Absolutely underhanded. The way he handled it reminds me of a joke.”

”What joke?” Zhang Yuanqing asked as he scooped up a spoonful of ice cream, playing along.

”Oh, something about a flood. I forget the specifics.” Ling Jun smacked his lips a couple of times. ”What about the Enchanting Demon? Has Fu Qingyang proposed a plan for dealing with him?”

”No. He wants to wait for me to approach him about it first.” Zhang Yuanqing said.

At that moment, he received a Spirit Realm notification.

【Morality +2000】

A surge of elated surprise washed over Zhang Yuanqing. So resolving the situation did give me Morality. And two thousand points at that.

His prediction had been correct. Doing good deeds was not limited to donations, charity work, and helping old ladies cross the street. Punishing evil and championing justice also counted. Now it was clear. For major cases like this, the Morality reward was awarded all at once after the case was concluded, wrapped up and put to rest. During an ongoing investigation, there was no settlement at all.

Wait. Is the Morality awarded just for killing evildoers, or is it awarded only when the case is formally concluded and publicized?

If it was the former, then the squad leader’s estimates of the Demon Eye Heavenly King’s Morality would be off.

Ling Jun had received his own notification from the Spirit Realm too, and his face bright with satisfaction. ”Huh, I actually got three hundred Morality. Not bad at all. That makes up for the loss from injuring those public security officers, and then some.”

Li Dongze was envious. ”I only got thirty Morality. Well, I didn’t really do anything.”

Guan Ya smiled gracefully. ”Squad Leader, I got sixty.”

The open-minded lady took a sip of juice, then turned to look at Zhang Yuanqing beside her. “Yuanshi, you must have gotten quite a lot, right? How much Morality did the Spirit Realm give you?”

Across the table, Ling Jun and Li Dongze stared at him with undisguised curiosity.