Chapter 140: Showing Off in Public

Chapter 140: Manifesting Divinity Before Men

"What is so special about the Yin-Yang Town instance that she feels she cannot hand the data over to the archives directly?" Ling Jun asked suspiciously:

"Planning to let the Fu family secretly pocket it?"

Fu Qingyang picked up his knife and fork, resuming his breakfast, and said, "Even if that is the case, it is beyond reproach."

Besides being a member of the Five Elements Alliance, Guan Ya is also of the Fu family's direct lineage; prioritizing the family with 'good finds' is justified both in sentiment and reason.

Fu Qingyang also suspected his cousin might have discovered something unusual within the Yin-Yang Town instance.

The two continued eating, chatting idly.

"When are you getting the hell back to the Capital?"

"I'll stay a year or so. Going back to the Capital means dealing with girlfriends, too annoying."

"In a year or so, your girlfriends in Songhai will be plenty annoying too."

"They're not all girlfriends, really. I just enjoy the company of women, discussing romance and life, giving little gifts on a whim—it's Platonic companionship, but they all insist on thinking they're my girlfriend, sigh."

"A tiger father begets no dog of a son!" Fu Qingyang sneered.

"You can insult my dad, but you can't insult me. That man... he had kids just to cultivate Spirit Realm Walkers. I'm different; I pursue romantic communion, a meeting of souls, and occasionally, when passion overwhelms, a fusion of flesh." Ling Jun said indignantly.

At that moment, the bunny girl returned holding a laptop, placing it carefully beside Fu Qingyang.

He unlocked the screen, opened his mailbox, and downloaded the email Guan Ya had sent.

A few minutes later, Ling Jun watched with his own eyes as the comfortably seated Fu Qingyang subtly straightened his spine, his impassive face turning grave, his calm gaze suddenly turning sharp.

This was rare for Fu Qingyang; judging by Ling Jun's understanding of him, it meant either a major event had occurred, or he had been profoundly shaken.

Otherwise, the poker-faced man wouldn't have reacted like this.

"What did the report say?" Ling Jun asked.

"Guan Ya said Yin-Yang Town has a hidden plotline; teams of different strengths follow different plotlines. They experienced the highest difficulty plotline last night, and that plotline has never been cleared."

"Just that?"

"The difficulty of that plotline likely approaches an S-rank instance."

"Didn't expect Yin-Yang Town to hide such depth. But there are myriads of Spirit Realm instances; the number of undeveloped ones is countless. There's no need for such secrecy, is there?"

Fu Qingyang glanced at him, saying blandly, "The enemy they encountered was Li Xianzong."

Ling Jun, who was drinking milk, sprayed it out with a *puff*.

The fastidious Fu Qingyang frowned slightly.

Ling Jun wiped his mouth casually and pressed, "Is there a powerhouse in the Lawful camp?"

Fu Qingyang shook his head: "It was Yuan Shi who slaughtered Li Xianzong."

Ling Jun froze for a moment, then sighed with emotion:

"This kid... his growth rate makes my scalp tingle. Back in our youth, we were barely at this level. Give him another year or two, won't he stand shoulder to shoulder with us? Then the Official Four Scions will become Five."

He cheered up at once:

"Since the Evil Faction's trial opened, the Transcendent-stage brats have been getting beaten down; this time we can finally vent our spleen. Hahaha, I can just imagine the spectacular expressions on the Evil Faction Walkers' faces when they hear the news.

"Though, Elder Sun is definitely going to be unhappy again. Elder Sun is a f... cough, cough, I'll stop playing that meme from now on."

Fu Qingyang cast a dubious glance: "Hmm?"

Ling Jun sighed:

"Didn't Elder Sun just come out of the Spirit Realm a while back? He browsed the forum for a bit, suddenly lamented that the Taiyi Sect's younger generation was slacking in cultivation, summoned Yuan Ting to the capital, and drilled them personally. A few days ago he even posted a special training video on the Taiyi Sect's official site; instantly, no one dared play that meme anymore."

Fu Qingyang said blandly: "Let's hope so."

He cradled his laptop and left the restaurant.

In her report, Guan Ya detailed Yuanshi Tianzun's performance in the instance, including every detail, and mentioned the existence of a hidden artifact.

Guan Ya didn't disclose the artifact's detailed data, but explicitly pointed out that Yuanshi Tianzun had relied on that very artifact to turn defeat into victory.

And what he had to do now was "polish" this report, make certain deletions and revisions; on the premise of retaining Yuanshi Tianzun leading the team to clear the instance and killing Li Xianzong, conceal the artifact's existence.

A Spirit Realm clearance report was equivalent to a walkthrough; once uploaded to the database, official Walkers with sufficient clearance could view it—this included potential Dark Rose members, as well as traitors colluding with Evil professions.

Guan Ya bypassing Li Dongze to give him this report and letting him decide was precisely this meaning.

...

San Zhuang Province, Crab City.

A high-end residential district in the city center, 16th floor, spacious balcony. A queen with striking, magnificent features, silver hoops dangling from her earlobes, sat on a soft single sofa. Before her sat a small glass round table, atop which rested a compact laptop.

She wore sunglasses; the fairness of her face, the black of the shades, and her lipsticked lips combined into a heart-stirring mature woman vibe.

Right now, she was lowering her head to reply to Guan Ya's message:

"Understood. When I write the report, I won't write that robe in."

The Queen put down her phone and continued clacking away at the keyboard.

A mission report—can write that whenever. Surfing the net is the priority.

"...After entering Yin Yang Town, I discovered there were actually two official colleagues in the squad. You'll never guess who they are. That's right, Songhai Branch's Yuanshi Tianzun and Guan Ya. Yuanshi Tianzun, ah, a huge star. Finally saw the man himself. First, my first impression of him. Hmm, a very handsome little milk dog..."

The Queen deleted "little milk dog" and re-typed:

"A very handsome young man, looks about twenty-something. Clean-cut, handsomer than I imagined. The first trial we went through was the 'Cursed Cat'... I won't describe the process, it's only for the report. I can only tell you, this stage was extremely perilous. Thanks to Yuanshi Tianzun, we survived.

"The second stage was a widow, said to be very promiscuous. One of our teammates was carelessly seduced by the widow, almost did *that* and *that*. Again, because of Yuanshi Tianzun, the whole team survived unscathed.

"Next is the key point. Everyone sit tight. Key point coming. The third stage was a joint boss battle between both factions. You definitely can't guess—the Evil Faction's captain was—Li Xianzong.

"Such a coincidence. Never thought these two would encounter each other in an instance. If Li Xianzong were a woman, I'd suspect they had some karmic entanglement.

"This battle was incredibly grueling. Li Xianzong lives up to being a top-listed Transcendent expert on the wanted list. I've never met such a ferocious Evil professional. At the end, due to certain unspeakable reasons, the enemy became invincible, while our combat power plummeted. We could only choose to flee.

"I was despairing then, already prepared to die in the instance. But, but... I must say, Yuanshi Tianzun deserves to be the genius who cleared two S-ranks. His ability, his wisdom, his methods—are only stronger than you imagine.

"He led us to a comeback. Won the faction confrontation mission. And personally killed Li Xianzong. Ahhh... the OP really loves him to death!!"

Having finished editing the post, the Queen corrected a few typos and hit send.

In the time that followed, she lounged languidly against the sofa, lifting her coffee to take delicate sips.

Meanwhile, inside the computer, the ding-dong of incoming replies never ceased; at its peak, several messages flooded in within a single second.

"Haha, just as I predicted—off the charts. My post is sure to be pinned. In another half-month, I'll have accumulated enough points to apply for a moderator position..." the Queen thought, delighted.

By the time she had finished her coffee at a leisurely pace, half an hour had already slipped by.

Only then did the Queen set down her cup, refresh the page, and check the replies—the forum had already blown up.

The post had been highlighted in red and pinned to the top by a moderator.

[DaysAhead: Fake, right? OP, fishing for replies like this is too much. At least make up something plausible—like Li Xianzong ambushing Yuanshi Tianzun again, but the wily Yuanshi Tianzun escaping calamity once more.]

[Jiang Yang: OP is probably a Yuanshi Tianzun stan, writing a fanfic to salvage their idol's image and boost morale for us official colleagues while they're at it?]

[BetelNutPlusSmokeMagicBoundless: True, it's too exaggerated. From stage one to stage three, all the credit goes to Yuanshi Tianzun? So your teammates are all useless? How come I've never run into a captain that badass? Well, a person who clears two S-ranks consecutively is rarer than a national treasure; it's normal I haven't met one. Reasonable doubt, no flaming please.]

The dozen or so replies that followed all questioned the post's authenticity.

Until more people discovered the thread and joined the fray, and a few "netizens" fairly familiar with the Queen began to reply:

[LittlePigGeorge: First off, the Queen isn't a Yuanshi Tianzun fan—she doesn't even stan the Fourth Young Master, let alone Yuanshi Tianzun. Besides, knowing her, she wouldn't write a sob story like this to scam clicks. But then again, if the post is true, I'm doing absolutely nothing today, just grabbing a front-row seat for the melon-eating online.]

[SentimentalJenny: I remember the Queen posted last week saying the next instance entry was drawing near; my gut says she was telling the truth. Holy sh*t, then this just got huge—there's definitely a show to watch. Yuanshi Tianzun is f***ing awesome!!!]

[TheLonelyRulerHasAnIllness: Perhaps I shouldn't ask this now, but I must know—does "seduced by the widow, doing this and that" refer to the golden needle piercing the peach blossom stigma? Is the widow pretty? Fresh and dewy? Don't get the wrong idea, I'm about to enter the Spirit Realm too, just doing some academic research.]

Two factions with opposing views argued endlessly, driving the thread's heat to a climax; then, the Spirit Realm Walkers of the Songhai Branch descended en masse to inquire.

[Li Dongze: My God, did your team have no other heavy hitters? Yuanshi actually killed Li Xianzong? Oh my God, oh my God, I'm so excited I want to smash your dog head in with a stick.]

[QueenConsort: I recall this person is Yuanshi Tianzun's superior, right? What does he mean? He doesn't know? Then the post's content becomes highly suspicious.]

[WhiteDragon: Don't know if the post is true or false, but I know Yuanshi is indeed entering the Spirit Realm soon, and it's a multiplayer instance—we discussed it just yesterday.]

[GreenVine: The Queen isn't from Songhai; she couldn't possibly know Yuanshi was entering the Spirit Realm soon. The post is most likely true—otherwise, what a coincidence. How did he pull it off? Too shocking, too incredible.]

[BoxingKing: Damn it, I bet five million on Yuanshi and Li Xianzun being evenly matched—lost my shirt.]

With colleagues from the Songhai Branch joining the discussion, the skeptical voices instantly died down; everyone debated while glued to their screens, refreshing the database guides.

Yin-Yang Town was a Transcendent-stage instance; all official Walkers of the Transcendent realm could search for it—even if their clearance was insufficient to view the details, searching posed no issue.

By noon, a forum moderator personally posted a thread:

#YuanshiTianzunEncountersLiXianzongInYinYangTown_LiXianzongPerishes#

It sent the official forum into an uproar.

...

Huayu Hotel.

Xie Lingxi scrolled the official forum in excitement; she had been parked in front of the computer all morning.

Though as an unofficial person she couldn't register an account, couldn't comment or post, simply browsing those threads and comments discussing Brother Yuanshi was enough to leave her thrilled and thoroughly satisfied.

As expected of the man I admire; he’s avenged himself so quickly. I said it, didn’t I? With Yuan Shi Gege’s potential, how could he possibly fall to Li Xianzong… Xie Lingxi scrolled the wheel in satisfaction, immersed in the discussions falling like rain across the sky.

Those official Spirit Realm Walkers—before today, they were still pontificating, critiquing the gap between Yuan Shi Gege and Li Xianzong, adopting a tone of hating iron for not becoming steel.

Hmph. Now it’s "Venerable Tianzun" this and "Venerable Tianzun" that—utterly shameless.

Yuan Shi Gege’s popularity is soaring; the evil organizations’ bounties on him are sure to rise… That "Call Me Queen" seems to be from our Sanzhuang Province, going on and on about loving Yuan Shi Tianzun to death—it’s truly annoying…

At this moment, the female assistant approached, holding a phone, and whispered, "Miss, the Master wishes to speak with you."

Xie Lingxi’s eyes never left the computer screen as she replied coolly, "Tell him that because of his teachings, I have severed all ties of gratitude and righteousness with Yuan Shi Tianzun."

"What?" A middle-aged man’s furious voice crackled from the speaker: "Lingxi, you… how could you be so muddleheaded?"

"Dad, wasn’t that your intention?"

"I…" The man on the phone choked for a moment, his tone softening: "Can it be salvaged?"

"I can try, but…" Xie Lingxi sighed: "Dad, you’re going to have to bleed heavily. Prepare two artifacts and ten million in cash."

"…"

…

Shijing Farmhouse Inn.

Dazzling lights sliced through the dark night; a white sedan was parked outside the farmhouse inn.

The beautifully featured Auntie Xiao Yuan parked, killed the engine, opened the door, and stood beside the car, casting a glance at the brilliantly lit farmhouse hotel in the dark night.

Today she wore a pair of light-colored jeans, a black tank top, and a women’s windbreaker—long legs, round buttocks, slender waist, ample bosom; her mature, alluring figure was outlined to perfection.

Shijing Farmhouse Inn was familiar to her—another black market where evil professionals gathered.

Not long ago, she had learned that Tian Lingling’s black market had been wiped out in one fell swoop, mutilated corpses littering the ground, left to rot until they stank with no one to tend to them.

In the end, it was evil professionals who frequented the underground bar who discovered the scene and called the Public Security Bureau; only then did the authorities arrive to clean up the mess.

After passing a rigorous screening, Auntie Xiao Yuan entered the farmhouse inn, traversed the lobby crowded with drinkers, and under a succession of stunned gazes, reached the backyard to meet the proprietor.

The proprietor was a plainly dressed village woman, silver threads mixed into her black hair, in her early forties.

She was sitting by the well in the backyard, making bean curd sheets.

"Xiao Yuan, ah."

The middle-aged woman looked up, then lowered her head to continue her work: "You rarely come here. What have you been doing these past few years?"

The middle-aged woman was a member of the Spiritual Ability Association, once Xiao Yuan’s guide, and had treated her quite well; but due to a clash of ideals, Xiao Yuan had not joined the Association.

She had always harbored guilt toward this guide, and thus rarely came to see her.

"Working at a hotel," Xiao Yuan said coolly. "Sister Yan, I’ve come to buy some intelligence."

The middle-aged woman did not respond, continuing to make the bean curd sheets.

Xiao Yuan said: "I want intelligence on Li Xianzong—what he plans to do recently, the areas he’s hiding in, and so on. The more detailed, the better."

She was gathering intelligence on Li Xianzong to sell to Yuan Shi Tianzun; that guy still owed her money.

The debt wasn't repaid, but he absolutely couldn't let Li Xianzong harvest him.

"No need for that anymore." The middle-aged woman kept her head down, busy with her task.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yuan frowned.

"Li Xianzong was killed inside the instance." The middle-aged woman said.

What? The news caught Xiao Yuan off guard. Though Spirit Realm Walkers dying in the Spirit Realm was as normal as generals falling on the battlefield.

Yet hearing it now, it still felt absurd, almost farcical.

A genius that strong, just dead like that? Yuan Shi Tianzun's luck was a little too good.

Xiao Yuan mused, "Was the news released by the Bing Zhu Jiao?"

"No, it was the Five Elements Alliance."

"Hmm?"

The middle-aged woman finally looked up, wiped her hands clean, and spoke seriously: "News from the Five Elements Alliance forum. Yuan Shi Tianzun and Li Xianzong entered the same instance. That genius of the Bing Zhu Jiao was butchered."

Xiao Yuan froze.

The middle-aged woman spoke unhurriedly:

"Yuan Shi Tianzun's bounty has risen another step, ranking fourth now. The reward is extremely generous. If you're short on cash, you can try hunting him down. Songhai and Jinshan City aren't far apart."

"Sigh, the officials produced a genius like this, and now many people can't sleep. They're all afraid another Fu Qingyang will appear."

She finished, scrutinizing the dazed Xiao Yuan, her brows furrowing slightly: "What's wrong?"

This guy... Xiao Yuan snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and perfunctorily replied: "Got it. If the chance arises, I'll hunt down Yuan Shi."

...

Inside the bedroom.

Zhang Yuanqing opened his eyes. The sun slanted westward, the dying glow like blood.

The time was 6:30 PM.

He opened his eyes, radiant and spirited, feeling power coursing through his entire body. He itched to punch an Asura, kick a Marshal, roar the Taiyi Sect Master into retreat. His condition had never been better.

He slipped on his slippers and walked to the living room. The sound of Grandma stir-frying ingredients drifted from the kitchen.

"Grandma, I'm starving, hurry up." Zhang Yuanqing howled.

Grandma ignored him completely.

Zhang Yuanqing greeted Grandpa and returned to the bedroom.

He picked up his phone, turned off airplane mode, and checked unread messages.

Guan Ya had sent a message at noon saying she'd finished the guide, and reminded him to rest well.

Zhang Yuanqing exited the chat app and eagerly opened the official forum, seeing nothing but posts singing his praises. His mood instantly lifted, the corners of his mouth curling up as he immersed himself in it, losing track of time for half an hour.

The Queen is quite sensible, actively helping me show off in public... Humans really do need to show off. Showing off in public relieves melancholy...

……

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his bedroom, sat at his desk, and retrieved the Yin-Yang Wanderer's Cultivation Record from his inventory.

A figure born in the same era as the Lady of the Three Dao Mountains—the "notes" he left behind, what secrets might they hold?

Perhaps they could unravel the mysteries of the Spirit Realm, even if only a fragment.

Zhang Yuanqing carefully flipped open the yellowed, brittle cover.

……