Chapter 71: Chapter 71 - The Offline Database and the Board of Directors

Su Bai was left alone in the quiet courtyard of Clear Cloud Peak.

It was the perfect time for some asset consolidation.

Sitting cross-legged inside his hut, Su Bai lined up the storage rings he had acquired from the bad guys: the Gaunt Demon’s ring, Inspector Zhao’s ring, and the two rings from the Qi Refining guards.

First, he efficiently siphoned all the spirit stones into his own personal ring.

Next, he turned his attention to Inspector Zhao’s ring. As expected of a corrupt official playing both sides, Zhao had been incredibly careful. The ring contained healing pills, a few low-grade defensive artifacts, and some standard swords. There were no ledgers, no demonic tokens, and absolutely no paper trail connecting him to the Blood Harvesters.

But as Su Bai sifted through the junk, his spiritual sense caught onto a strange piece of unfamiliar metal. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

He took it out. It was roughly the size of a thumb, jagged on one end, and completely devoid of any Qi fluctuation. It didn’t have any hidden arrays. To anyone else, it looked like a broken piece of mundane scrap iron.

Su Bai frowned. He opened the Gaunt Demon’s storage ring and rummaged through it. A moment later, he pulled out a second, almost identical piece of metal.

He placed them side-by-side on the floorboards.

The jagged edges... locked together perfectly. The weird, nonsensical engravings on the surface suddenly aligned to form a complete, cohesive pattern.

"They cut it in half," Su Bai muttered as his eyes narrowed. His corporate instincts flared. This wasn’t scrap. This was a physical receipt.

Suddenly, he remembered his proprietary offline database.

Su Bai stood up and walked out into the courtyard. Resting there was the basin filled with dark, shimmering liquid. The "Gossiping" Quenching Trough.

Without a second of hesitation, Su Bai tossed the locked pieces of metal into the dark water.

The liquid rippled as the trough processed the query. A moment later, a distinct, gossipy voice echoed directly into Su Bai’s mind.

"Item: Unregistered Black-Market Vault Key, currently in two pieces. Composition: 99% mundane iron, 1% Void-Stone alloy. Forged: exactly three weeks ago in the illegal forge beneath the Spring Blossom Pavilion!"

The trough paused.

"Usage history: Commissioned by Demonic Cultivators to secure Lockbox 404 at the Golden Toad Underground Exchange. The Demons snapped the key in half, giving the ’Handle’ to a conspirator as a promise of payment. The Demons retained the ’Teeth’ as leverage. They were only supposed to hand over the teeth after the conspirator turned a blind eye and allowed their smuggled goods through the checkpoint!"

Su Bai felt like he had just been struck by lightning.

He stared at the two pieces of metal resting at the bottom of the basin.

’An escrow system,’ Su Bai realized. A chill ran down his spine.

The demons weren’t just chaotic, bloodthirsty murderers. They were highly systematic. They didn’t trust Inspector Zhao, and Zhao didn’t trust them. So they locked the bribe money in a third-party black-market vault and split the key. Neither party could access the funds without the other’s cooperation.

It was a perfectly executed, risk-free corporate transaction.

But now... Su Bai had both halves of the key.

"I have the physical evidence of Zhao’s corruption, and I have the key to a demonic slush fund," Su Bai grinned. His eyes gleamed with the thrill of a massive acquisition. Lockbox 404 might contain the bribe money, but it could also contain ledgers leading to other corrupt Righteous inspectors!

Just then, the sound of a descending flying sword echoed through the clouds.

A guard disciple wearing from Radiant Zenith Peak arrived. He offered a polite bow to Su Bai.

"Senior Brother Su, the Sect Master formally requests your presence in the Grand Hall."

Su Bai nodded. His master had clearly finished briefing the CEO. It was time to present the findings to the Board of Directors.

The Grand Hall of Radiant Zenith Peak was a marvel of architectural majesty, supported by massive pillars that hummed with dense spiritual energy.

When Su Bai entered, the atmosphere was thick with heavy gravity.

Sitting on the highest elevated throne was Sect Master Li Xuanzong. His usual easygoing smile was replaced by a calm, deeply calculating expression. Flanking him in the lower seats were the various Peak Masters.

Lu Canghai was there, looking incredibly serious. Sitting across from him was Shen Youran.

Su Bai walked to the center of the hall, brought his hands together, and offered a flawless bow.

"This disciple greets the Sect Master and the esteemed Peak Masters."

"Ease your posture, Martial Nephew," Sect Master Li Xuanzong said. "Your master told me everything. He spoke of horrifying atrocities, corrupted Righteous inspectors, and a massive demonic trafficking ring. Do you have the evidence to back it up?"

"I do, Sect Master," Su Bai said clearly.

He stepped forward and placed the Gaunt Demon’s storage ring and Inspector Zhao’s storage ring onto the jade table in the center of the hall.

With a wave of Li Xuanzong’s hand, the contents of the rings were projected via a sensory array for all the Peak Masters to see.

When the spiritual projection revealed the massive wooden carriage, the ledgers, and the horrifying, hollowed-out mortal corpses drained of their organs, the Grand Hall instantly erupted.

"Abominations!" Peak Master Yao Ding of the Verdant Peak roared. He slammed his fist onto his armrest. "To treat mortals as mere livestock for Blood Pills! This crosses every boundary of the heavens!"

"It gets more complicated," Su Bai spoke up. He seamlessly pivoted into his presentation. "Based on intelligence I gathered during my mission, the demonic forces are not a monolith."

He carefully relayed the information he had learned from Ning Shuang, thoroughly scrubbing her identity from the narrative. He explained the stark difference in business models between elite, selective factions like the Abyssal Lotus Sect, and these crude, mass-harvesting operations.

"The faction operating in the south doesn’t care about Spirit Roots," Su Bai concluded. "They are operating a high-volume, low-quality supply chain. But the true danger is how they are moving these goods. They are using our own Righteous inspectors to do it."

The Peak Masters scowled, deeply unsettled by the systemic corruption within the Righteous Bureau.

"Inspector Zhao was careful," Sect Master Li Xuanzong noted. His sharp eyes analyzed Zhao’s personal ring. "He kept no ledgers. A corrupt man is hard to convict without a paper trail."

Su Bai smiled faintly.

Then, he reached into his sleeve and placed the two halves of the jagged iron metal onto the jade table.

"They didn’t use a paper trail, Sect Master. They used a physical escrow."

Su Bai proceeded to give a presentation on the Black-Market Vault Key. He explained the division of the key, how the ’Handle’ was given to Zhao as a promise, and the ’Teeth’ kept by the demons as leverage.

"They secured the bribe in Lockbox 404 at the Golden Toad Underground Exchange," Su Bai declared, his voice echoing through the silent hall. "With both halves now in our possession, we not only have irrefutable proof of Zhao’s collusion... but we also have direct access to their black-market slush fund. We can seize their assets, and potentially uncover the identities of other corrupt officials."

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the Grand Hall.

The Peak Masters stared at the jagged pieces of iron. They were stunned by the sheer depth of the demonic scheme... and even more stunned that Su Bai had completely unraveled it in a matter of days.

And then, a booming laugh echoed through the hall.

"Hahaha! Look at that!" Lu Canghai roared as he slapped his thigh in absolute triumph. He pointed at the other Peak Masters with overwhelming smugness. "That is my disciple! A few days in the mortal realm and he dismantles a trafficking ring, roots out corruption, and secures the keys to a demonic vault! What have your disciples done this month?!"

The other Peak Masters gritted their teeth, furiously glaring at Lu Canghai’s shameless boasting, but they couldn’t utter a single word to refute him. The kid’s results were terrifyingly perfect.

Even Sect Master Li Xuanzong couldn’t suppress a highly satisfied smile.

"Lockbox 404," Li Xuanzong repeated softly. His eyes gleamed with the predatory light of a sect leader about to seize an enemy’s treasury. He looked at the young man standing confidently in the center of the room. "Martial Nephew. You have uncovered a monumental secret. The Radiant Sky Sect will heavily reward your contributions today."

Li Xuanzong leaned forward, his smile sharpening. "Tell me... how would you like to plan a raid on the Golden Toad Underground Exchange?"