Realm Walker

The sun was setting over Fu Family Bay, painting the sky in amber and rose. Inside the spacious conference hall, however, the atmosphere was anything but warm. Fu Qingyang sat at the head of the table with a face like frost, listening to the reports from his subordinates.

Around the conference table sat the Kangyang District captains—White Dragon, Green Vine, Teng Yuan, Big Muscle, and Champion Fist—and several other key personnel.

Li Dongze stood off to the side, delivering his report. "Seven people were killed and twenty three sustained minor injuries in the attack on Pingtai Hospital. Both bombs have been defused, but the incident has caused significant public alarm. We have handed things over to the Public Security Bureau to deal with the aftermath."

He glossed over the details of the cleanup operations. That wasn't the Five Elements Alliance's domain. Their primary mission was to eliminate the rogue Spirit Realm Walkers responsible.

"Apart from the ringleader Li Xianzong, who escaped, all other assailants have been neutralized. This attack was premeditated. Li Xianzong Enchanted the Fallen Ones, deepening their resolve to die alongside their targets and driving them into commiting the suicide attack, while he himself prepared an escape route well in advance."

Li Dongze raised a remote and activated the projector. A photograph appeared on the screen, depicting a circle drawn on the ground in chalk.

"Based on our examination of the scene, we've identified Li Xianzong's means of escape. According to our colleagues at Central Court, this appears to be an Earth Wraith-class item. Unfortunately, the surveillance cameras were disabled at the time, so we have no footage of the actual event."

Li Dongze set down the remote.

Ling Jun, who rarely attended these meetings, spoke up. "The silver lining is that this type of attack will be difficult to replicate. Even though the Fallen Ones were the ones who killed those people directly, Li Xianzong had Enchanted them into doing so. Therefore, under the Morality system, he'll still receive a significant deduction in Morality points. He won't dare pull a stunt like this again for a long while."

The Morality system distinguished between direct and indirect actions. Indirect killing meant a Spirit Realm Walker used their abilities to manipulate others into committing crimes. Such indirect actions incurred a smaller Morality penalty, and the severity depended on the degree of control exerted. Directly puppeteering someone into murder, for example, carried the same penalty as doing it yourself, but penalties for incitement and persuasion were reduced, scaling according to the level of influence exerted.

The Spirit Realm systems had no exploitable loopholes. It was like a meticulously written program. Every vulnerability a person could conceive of had already been anticipated.

Jiang Jingwei spoke up, a note of complaint in her voice. "If the elder had arrived in time, this whole thing would have been resolved ages ago."

She had voiced what none of the other captains dared to. They all knew Fu Qingyang had been ambushed by the Void Sect Protector Yi Chuanmei, but none of them understood why that dog elder had taken so long to show up.

Fu Qingyang surveyed the faces around the table. "Elder Teddy went to the capital on business."

To purify Yuanshi Tianzun's Red Dancing Shoes, he thought to himself.

After the brief explanation, he turned to Guan Ya and asked, "How is Yuanshi doing?"

A shadow of melancholy crossed Guan Ya's features. "He's been injected with Life Essence. His life isn't in danger. But since waking up, he's been... despondent."

The captains couldn't help but recall how they'd found Yuanshi Tianzun. He had been on his knees, arms wrapped around something invisible, utterly motionless. His vital signs had barely registered. When they examined his injuries, they discovered over a dozen knife wounds across his body along with two gunshot wounds, on top of severe blood loss and multiple organ failure.

It was difficult to imagine what he had endured in those brief one or two minutes.

Fu Qingyang's brow furrowed slightly, then smoothed. "Surviving an encounter with Li Xianzong at all was a stroke of luck. Yuanshi's rise has been too rapid. A setback like this won't do him any harm."

He paused, then added, "No one is to go comfort him."

That would only wound his pride.

"Going forward, your mission is to conduct a full scale search for Li Xianzong within your respective jurisdictions. Warn your subordinates to stay alert for potential follow up attacks.

"Those of you at Level 3 are no longer to operate alone. Keep your phones on at all times. Yi Chuanmei was injured in our fight and won't resurface in the short term. Ling Jun and I will be available around the clock. As for Yuanshi, keep him at home for the next few days. No outings."

The evil organizations' trial missions were jointly issued by the Psychic Assembly, the Bing Zhu Sect, and the Void Sect. They were open to all Evil-class Walkers. Anyone could hunt down official Walkers for bounty rewards.

Most of the time, skirmishes between small fry went unnoticed, dismissed as minor scuffles beneath anyone's attention. It was the clashes between geniuses and powerhouses that drew all eyes.

The captains nodded. They were seasoned official Walkers who had weathered many such periods. Twice a year, at midyear and year's end, the Evil-class Walkers would launch one sided hunts against official Walkers. Both sides would engage in surveillance and counter surveillance, hunting and counter-hunting, with casualties on each side.

On the whole, the authorities still came out ahead. The only headache was that these sewer rats excelled at guerrilla warfare. Their movements were unpredictable and elusive, which meant the official Walkers were perpetually on the back foot.

A straight fight was manageable. Ambushes were the real problem.

"Dismissed," Fu Qingyang said, as gaze settled on the mixed-heritage beauty. "Guan Ya, stay behind."

The others filed out of the conference room. The vast space emptied until only the two cousins remained.

"You should be entering the Spirit Realm soon, shouldn't you?" Fu Qingyang asked.

Guan Ya nodded. "Within two weeks."

Fu Qingyang opened his inventory and produced a rifle. It was roughly 1.2 meters long, its body lacquered a deep black and adorned with gilded floral patterns of breathtaking intricacy.

He slid the rifle across the table to Guan Ya. "I recall you applied to the family for this item, but the Council of Elders was dissatisfied with your lack of initiative and denied the request. From now on, it's yours."

Guan Ya arched an eyebrow. "The Council of Elders approved it?"

Fu Qingyang shook his head. "This was the family's reward to me. An advance celebration for my entry into the Council of Elders, contingent on me reaching the Sovereign tier in this midyear slaughter dungeon. You've been deliberately stalling at Level 2 for a long time now. When you enter the Spirit Realm this time, I want you to reach Level 3. This rifle will give you the qualifications to participate in the midyear dungeon."

He sighed. "You can't keep going on like this forever. Even Yuanshi is Level 2 already."

This time, Guan Ya did not refuse. She gazed silently at the weapon she had coveted for so long.

***

The air inside the bar on the outskirts of Songhai hung heavy with cigarette smoke and sweat. Soft lighting illuminated the space, and mellow music drifted from the speakers.

Despite it being a bar, there were no dazzling lights or pounding bass. This was a black market where Evil-class Walkers gathered to exchange intelligence, conduct trades, and hold clandestine meetings. Indulgence in earthly pleasures was merely a secondary attraction.

The booths were packed with Evil-class Walkers, perhaps twenty or thirty in total. Some murmured in a hushed conference. Others haggled over prices, while a few were engaged in decidedly indecent activities in plain view.

Li Xianzong descended the staircase into the underground bar and dropped into the seat beside Tianlingling. "Get me a drink. Anything."

The bartender slid a glass of beer across the counter. Li Xianzong drained it in one long pull and let out a satisfied belch.

"Killing and drinking—life's greatest pleasures," Tianlingling declared with a grin as he clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "We've all heard about what you pulled today. You've just arrived in Songhai and you're already making a name for yourself."

"I haven't actually killed Yuanshi Tianzun yet," Li Xianzong scoffed. "Save the celebrations for when I put that kid in the ground."

Tianlingling swirled the contents of his glass. "So you've fought him? What's the kid like? Is he really as formidable as the rumors say?"

"He's definitely something. He's got a Saint-tier item. As for the man himself, he's decent enough, but killing him won't be hard," Li Xianzong said with casual disinterest.

"Good, as long as you're confident," Tianlingling said with a nod, then added, "What kind of item?"

"A piece of cloth. Nocturnal Specter-class." Then, Li Xianzong revealed his true reason for coming. "Uncle Tian, do you have any connections that could get me an Illusionist item? Without something to counter that thing, killing him is going to be a pain."

Tianlingling laughed. "Why not go ask Yi Chuanmei? With your build and your looks, you just have to offer up a couple of kidneys and you'll be fine."

Li Xianzong rolled his eyes.

Tianlingling stood and addressed the room at large. "Everyone! You've all heard about what happened at Pingtai Hospital today, right? Feels good, doesn't it?"

The Evil-class Walkers abandoned whatever they were doing and turned to look, voices rising in a roar.

"Hell yeah!"

"Satisfying?"

"Damn right!"

"Let's hear it for the big hero! Drinks are on the house tonight!"

The cheering grew louder.

"You crazy bastard, you actually got out in one piece? Beautiful work. I love a good psycho."

"Ha! The trial's just started and you've already given the Songhai Branch a black eye. Way more impressive than the lot who went to the capital."

"Did you beat the crap out of that Yuanshi Tianzun kid?"

"You're a big hero! We're following you from now on. Take us along next time you go hunting for official Walkers. Let us earn a little on the side."

Catcalls and laughter erupted from every corner, and the woman in the booth made a point of moaning at a theatrical volume.

Li Xianzong bared his teeth in a grin. "You're all a bunch of idiots."

Once the noise died down, Tianlingling lowered his voice and asked, "You weren't followed, were you? You cleaned up your trail?"

Li Xianzong waved a dismissive hand. "I know what I'm doing. I timed it perfectly. Got out before any Saints or Elders could arrive."

There was nobody at the Transcendent tier who could follow him, not even Scouts.

As he spoke, footsteps echoed from the top of the staircase.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The footsteps were strange. Each step was followed by a pause of several seconds, as though they belonged to a toddler learning to walk.

At first, no one paid attention. But gradually, more and more people frowned and turned toward the entrance. The footsteps continued to descend at an unhurried, deliberate pace, as if whoever it was wanted to be noticed.

At last, they saw her.

A woman in a sweeping scarlet gown of ancient design, embroidered with gorgeous threads of gold, wearing a silver mask over her face. In her hand, she held a length of red thread that shimmered in and out of vision.

Li Xianzong's expression grew shocked, and he jerked his head down. That was when he saw it. Tied around his ankle, so fine it was almost invisible, was a thread of red string.

The woman in red released the thread and let it dissolve into nothing. She clasped both hands behind her back, rose onto her tiptoes like a little girl, and giggled.

"Oh my, how lively! What's everyone playing? Can I join in?"

Her eyes glittered behind the silver mask as her gaze swept to the bald man. Her voice brightened with delight.

"Ah, it's you! Tianlingling! I've finally found you! Do you remember the Chu family massacre, twenty-one years ago?"