Although Su Zhou’s name was officially displayed on the stage, a good portion of the press conference had already passed by the time everyone made the connection between him and the young student from the recent Holy Ascension Selection Test.

It wasn’t that the reporters were slow to react; after all, who could possibly connect the two? A powerful Transcendent who annihilated the leader of a dangerous Mysterious Organization, and an up-and-coming student who had just made his debut in the Holy Ascension Selection Test—it was truly impossible to associate the two.

Meanwhile, reporters from smaller outlets who were unaware of the Shepherd of Spirits’ identity began receiving messages from their headquarters, finally learning just who this person was.

Shepherd of Spirits, real name Vashir Hart, nationality unknown. His name first appeared in the international files on dangerous Transcendent individuals forty years ago, following a large-scale plague in the Southeast Asia region. The plague caused hundreds of deaths, and the Souls of the vast majority of the deceased were extracted. All suspicion pointed to the Shepherd of Spirits, who had apparently been visiting the area as a tourist.

His appearance hadn’t changed since then; he always looked like a middle-aged man.

Subsequently, every appearance of the Shepherd of Spirits was followed by massive riots and casualties, yet there was never any concrete evidence to prove his involvement. Coupled with his incredibly secretive movements, even the most skilled trackers at Interpol couldn’t find a single trace of him.

This power, in addition to inspiring dread, also attracted the attention of numerous local warlords. The Shepherd of Spirits frequently accepted commissions to strike at his clients’ enemies, harvesting Souls along the way. Of course, some tried to skip out on payment, but the Shepherd of Spirits always had a way of making them hand over the fee, crying and screaming.

This veteran Transcendent—a man who had run rampant in Southeast Asia for decades and could even be called a king of the underworld—had just been so effortlessly eliminated... It was no wonder everyone present was shocked and incredulous, their questions becoming disorganized and repetitive.

But after the initial chaos, the reporters’ questions gradually returned to normal. Su Zhou offered his own insights on matters such as the Heart Demon Spiritual Energy and the Spirit Summoning Association’s objectives, once again clarifying his position.

Any unauthorized Transcendent who illegally enters Zhengguo’s borders will immediately face the most severe and merciless of strikes.

Other local officials present supported Su Zhou, announcing their plans to rectify the recent chaos in the southern region.

At the same time, some sharp-eyed reporters noticed that Su Zhou’s current title was ’Professor.’ This immediately stunned those who understood the Zhengguo system.

Generally speaking, in Zhengguo under the Saint Supervision System, ’Professor’ was an honorific not used lightly. It was a title reserved for individuals who had made significant contributions in their respective fields.

Holding the title of Professor, whether in an Academy or the official system, allowed one to compete for the position of Academy Dean. Not only that, but the status of Professor was also a stepping stone to the national annual technology conference, where one could vie to become a representative for a relevant field. The next step up from there was the Thirty-Six Saints Central Committee.

’A professor under the age of twenty? That’s practically a public declaration that he’s headed for the Central Committee, isn’t it?’ At this thought, the reporters present grew excited. Combined with his clearly immense Extraordinary Power, they could all sense that this was a monumental development.

「Meanwhile.」

「Southern Ocean Far Sea, beneath an unnamed island, Spirit Summoning Association Headquarters.」

The underground base, located hundreds of meters deep, wasn’t staffed by many living people. Maintenance and labor were carried out by massive inorganic puppets and Undead creatures, such as enhanced skeletons.

In a conference hall near the ocean’s surface, six of the seven large screens on the wall flickered to life, displaying shadowy figures. But no one spoke.

"The Shepherd of Spirits is dead. There’s no doubt about it. His Soul has dissipated."

A slightly aged voice broke the silence, heavy and solemn. "Before he died, he had already advanced to the rank of Dead Tutor and achieved Perfection in his internal Extraordinary Power circulation. He died at the peak of his power."

"We all know that. He was hit by a coordinated strike from the Zhengguo Government’s Transcendents and the South Sea Fleet. Otherwise, he might have escaped."

Another, younger-sounding voice sighed, seemingly on familiar terms with the Shepherd of Spirits. "While I agree that child-eating bastard got what he deserved, the question is, how did Zhengguo find us? You all saw the press conference, didn’t you? That ’Su Zhou’ brazenly claimed he can see the ’Celestial God Factor’!"

Silence fell.

Even they could only perceive the Celestial God Factor directly related to themselves. But Su Zhou... even if he was some kind of humanoid from a Celestial God’s Favored Clan, how could a guy with Thunder Control have any connection to the Shepherd of Spirits, a follower of the Spirit Body Dao?

’And how can he see the Celestial God Factor?’

The Spirit Summoning Association’s plan was perfect, with one exception: to collect the Celestial God Factor, they had to remain near the scenes of chaos they created. This wasn’t typically a problem. Over years of hiding and evasion, they had mastered extremely potent counter-surveillance and concealment techniques. It was impossible for an ordinary peer of the same level to find them.

Even the one thing they couldn’t hide—the Celestial God Factor itself—wasn’t a liability, because ordinary people couldn’t see it.

But now, someone had appeared who could.

In the dimly lit, underground conference room, a woman’s voice spoke up. "This global operation was mostly a complete success. Aside from the major incident with the Shepherd of Spirits, the rest of us have gathered enough Celestial God Factor to advance to the Extraordinary Level."

"A multinational joint strike force will be coming for us soon. We should lay low for a while."

In reality, according to their original plan, the Spirit Summoning Association hadn’t intended to simply hide after gathering the power of seven Extraordinary Level members. They had planned to set a trap, or perhaps launch a few major operations in some key locations to make a name for themselves on the global stage and challenge the Majesty of the world’s nations.

The plan wasn’t guaranteed to succeed, but they were confident that the United Nations would be unable to catch them, so why not try?

But now, with the sudden appearance of a Transcendent who could apparently see through their concealment, the plan was dead in the water. For the leaders of a Mysterious Organization who valued their own lives above all else, this was far more terrifying than being the target of a global manhunt.

Another, gruffer voice spoke through a different screen. "But what do we do about the position the Shepherd of Spirits left vacant? He’s dead, and the ritual of the Silent Lord is lost with him. The bastard never took a single apprentice. Our losses are immense."

"...There’s nothing to be done." After a moment of contemplation, the aged voice of the apparent Leader sighed. "The council of seven will become a council of six... We will consider reinstating a seventh member when—and if—we acquire the legacy of another Great Being’s Beloved."

"For now, the Spirit Summoning Association is to go into full lockdown. Focus on delving into the legacy powers you’ve gained from your advancement."

Leaving aside the Spirit Summoning Association, which had been frightened into a full-scale retreat, the world’s major powers were filled with a mixture of anger and confusion. They saw the chaos erupting in their own countries and could only compare it to Zhengguo’s declaration that the perpetrator had already been eliminated.

Their anger was directed at the Spirit Summoning Association, as well as at their own intelligence agencies, which had failed to detect any clues or warnings. Although the Association’s attacks were cut short by the Heart Demon Spiritual Energy, the chaos they caused and the blow to national prestige were immense. In the American Federation, public outcry was fierce. People were already beginning to lambast the government as useless, utterly incapable of protecting its citizens from guns and Transcendents.

—There was only one solution: distribute more guns! If everyone had a semi-automatic rifle, then everyone could protect themselves!

As for their confusion, the world’s powers were just as baffled as the Spirit Summoning Association. ’How in the world did Su Zhou discover the Shepherd of Spirits? Could he really have done it just by looking?’

To put it bluntly, the Spirit Summoning Association’s concealment abilities were truly in a class of their own. If such a detection method could be mass-produced, there would essentially be no criminal who could escape capture.

Soon, the press conference concluded.

’Trespassers will be punished, no matter how far they run.’ This was the core message Su Zhou conveyed from beginning to end. Reports were already beginning to spread about a massive firefight and a Strong Spiritual Power thunderstorm in the South Sea Far Sea, which only served as indirect proof that his every word was true.

With such a decisive and solemn declaration, and with the Shepherd of Spirits made into an example, any organization that thought of stirring up trouble in Zhengguo would surely think twice, or perhaps abandon the idea altogether.

And so, after the press conference, Su Zhou once again became the center of public discourse. With a push from the Zhengguo Government, his name began to spread across the entire internet.