A small conference room, on the second floor of a villa.

The sun was setting toward the west, its blood-red rays streaming through the glass windows and stretching across the conference room floor, dying the white wool carpet a crystalline crimson.

Li Dongze, Green Vine, White Dragon, Tang Guoqiang, Big Muscle. Several captain-level figures sat straight-backed around the conference table. Almost all the captain-level Spirit Realm Walkers from Kangyang District who could make it were present.

Aside from the Five Elements Alliance captains, Yuan Ting, who had just returned from the capital, was also at the meeting.

Li Dongze, being a Scout, keenly noticed Yuan Ting's poor mental state and frowned.

"Are you injured?" he asked.

Yuan Ting, pale faced, was leaning weakly against the chair back with his eyes closed in meditation. Hearing the question, he opened his eyes and replied with a composed expression, "No. It's just that Elder Sun paid extreme attention to me during this trip to the capital. He believes I'll be a pillar of the Taiyi Sect in the future and insisted on training me personally. The training was excessive, so my current condition is poor."

The other captains in the room offered him an expression of solemn respect.

Fu Qingyang glanced at him but offered no comment. Instead, he said seriously, "Let's get to business. What did Yuanshi see in Ou Xiangrong's memories that made you rush over here so urgently?"

Several captains immediately cast grave looks toward Li Dongze.

That guy had burst out of the morgue and, without explanation, summoned everyone immediately to the Centurion's place, claiming there was a major incident.

When they all asked him what it was about, he wouldn't say, leaving everyone anxious and agitated.

Li Dongze coughed once and looked around at everyone at the table. "Our Nocturnal Specter learned from Ou Xiangrong's memories what the Holy Grail really is," he finally revealed. "It's an item belonging to Ghost Eye Judge. Its full name is the Fallen Holy Grail."

"Ghost Eye Judge? Fallen Holy Grail?"

The captains on both sides of the conference table couldn't help but exchange glances, their expressions showing both concern and bewilderment.

Ghost Eye Judge was the vice president of the Psychic Assembly's East Division.

The Psychic Assembly was a notoriously evil organization among Spirit Realm Walkers, composed of a group of powerful and insane Hex Masters. Ghost Eye Judge, the vice president of the East Division, was eighth on the Five Elements Alliance bounty list, the kind of powerhouse who could move mountains and fill seas.

No one expected that Ou Xiangrong's case would involve a figure of this level.

As for their bewilderment, it was because they had never heard of the item called the Fallen Holy Grail.

"Ou Xiangrong was looking for this item belonging to Ghost Eye Judge? That guy's brain really was abnormal," Big Muscle frowned and said bluntly.

How could a mere Transcendent tier Enchanting Demon dare to covet a high level Spirit Realm Walker's item?

Everyone ignored Big Muscle, their eyes trained on Fu Qingyang.

Fu Qingyang was silent for several seconds. When he next spoke, his tone was heavy.

"I will share some intelligence with you all, but given your levels, you don't yet qualify to know information of this tier. Therefore, once you leave this room, keep it buried in your stomachs."

Hearing this, the others in the room couldn't help but sit up straighter and compose their expressions.

"The Fallen Holy Grail is a rule-type item reserved for an extremely high level individual of the Hex Master class. Its function is to control Spirit Realm Walkers. Ghost Eye Judge used this item to enslave many Spirit Realm Walkers of other professions. A significant portion of the 'Fallen Ones' we deal with every year were created by Ghost Eye Judge.

"According to our intelligence, once contaminated by the Fallen Holy Grail, one will be enslaved by Ghost Eye Judge for life. Only death can free them. There is no other way. Additionally, the contaminated must receive communion from the Holy Grail at regular intervals, or they will go insane and die."

Li Dongze grunted in agreement and said, "Ou Xiangrong was a servant of Ghost Eye Judge."

This explanation made everything made sense.

White Dragon first nodded, then frowned. "What does this have to do with him killing Zhao Yingjun, though? And this doesn't really count as a major incident, does it?"

It was Li Dongze who responded. "Zhao Yingjun was also a servant of Ghost Eye Judge. He was planted within the Five Elements Alliance ostensibly as a Public Security Bureau advisor, but was acting as Ghost Eye Judge's accomplice and secretly helping him scout new recruits."

Li Dongze paused, then said in an extremely serious tone, "Recently, Ghost Eye Judge died suddenly. His trusted subordinate Black Wuchang took the Holy Grail and a Registry which contained all the information on the Fallen Ones' identities and went into hiding.

"Now, it isn't just Fallen Ones like Ou Xiangrong hunting for Black Wuchang. Hex King, the other vice president of the Psychic Assembly's East Division, and his subordinate forces are also searching for Black Wuchang.

"After Black Wuchang obtained the Registry, he would surely begin contacting these Fallen Ones to inherit Ghost Eye Judge's legacy. Since Zhao Yingjun's status as an undercover agent was very important, Black Wuchang very likely already made contact with him. Ou Xiangrong was trying to find Black Wuchang's whereabouts through Zhao Yingjun."

Everyone at the table was stunned. Ghost Eye Judge was a high level Spirit Realm Walker, and such an important figure had actually died. All this information was too shocking. Even Fu Qingyang, who was normally composed, seemed slightly shaken.

Fu Qingyang tapped the table to break the suffocating silence, and said with a furrowed brow, "Ghost Eye Judge's Registry contains a large number of Fallen Ones. Black Wuchang took the Registry and the Holy Grail and went into hiding. He can't possibly take all these 'servants' under his wing, and mentally unstable fanatics like Ou Xiangrong are definitely not isolated cases."

Li Dongze smiled bitterly and added, "That's why this is a major incident."

The captains felt their hearts sink.

"Black Wuchang is hiding in Songhai," declared Fu Qingyang. "Songhai won't be a peaceful place in the coming period. I'll report this news to the Council of Elders as soon as possible, and have them notify colleagues everywhere to be ready to move against Fallen Ones who lose control.

"Starting today, everyone's leave is canceled. Keep your phones on 24/7 and remain on standby."

The captains nodded with heavy hearts.

Fu Qingyang said sternly, "Regarding this incident, I must criticize all of you for your negligence, lax attitudes, and lack of vigilance."

Then his expression softened, and he continued, "In the Ou Xiangrong incident, Yuanshi Tianzun achieved great merit. He was instrumental in everything, from killing Ou Xiangrong to the spirit interrogation that revealed Ghost Eye Judge's death. A group of experienced veterans couldn't match a newcomer. As your superior, I find this embarrassing."

Li Dongze and the others looked ashamed.

Yuan Ting was stunned by this revelation.

Huh? What? The one who killed Ou Xiangrong, that Enchanting Demon, was the newly promoted Nocturnal Specter?

He looked around, and couldn't help but raise his hand.

"Centurion Fu, are you saying that Squad Leader Li's Level 1 Nocturnal Specter killed Ou Xiangrong?" he asked, seeking clarification.

Li Dongze quietly puffed out his chest and lifted his chin.

Big Muscle sighed with admiration. "That kid has extremely strong combat talent. His future achievements will be limitless. He might even reach the Saint stage and become a steward-level figure."

Several captains nodded slightly, agreeing with his assessment.

Captain Green Vine explained further, "He was first to discover Ou Xiangrong's trail and attacked him decisively. By the time we arrived, the battle was already over. Although Ou Xiangrong was already injured and his mind was mostly deranged, killing him was still very difficult."

Yuan Ting was stunned for several seconds. What kind of genius was this? He felt a heartache come on, so intense he could barely breathe.

Elder Sun is a fool! he cursed inwardly.

Fu Qingyang stopped the conversation and said flatly, "Meeting dismissed."

Li Dongze and the others stood up and left their seats.

However, Yuan Ting didn't leave. After the captains exited the conference room, he suppressed the surging regret and frustration within him and said, "Centurion Fu, there's something I need your help with."

Fu Qingyang looked at him.

"This time the Sect Master summoned us to the capital and announced confidential news," Yuan Ting explained. "The Demon Lord is dead."

Fu Qingyang was stunned. His handsome, chiseled face was filled with shock. Even news of Ghost Eye Judge's death hadn't caused such an intense emotional fluctuation.

Demon Lord—an ID that struck fear into all official Spirit Realm Walkers. He was a fallen Nocturnal Specter, temperamental and brutal, and bloodthirsty by nature. Because he was skilled in assassination and concealment, countless Spirit Realm Walkers had died by his hand.

During the Demon Lord's most prolific and ostentatious era, even the Elders of the official organizations had to be cautious and keep low profiles, not daring to expose themselves in the real world.

He was equally despised by evil organizations because Demon Lord killed indiscriminately, treating those on the path of both good and evil equally.

It wasn't until early the previous year, when he encountered the female Marshal of the White Tiger Legion in a high-level PvP Spirit Realm and was severely wounded by that extraordinarily talented woman, that he finally disappeared.

"And then?" Fu Qingyang asked after he had regained his composure.

"The Sect Master gave us a mission to find the Demon Lord's successor. All newcomers who became Nocturnal Specters from two months ago up to the end of this year are considered subjects of our screening," Yuan Ting said.

Fu Qingyang frowned. "Even if some lucky person obtained Demon Lord's Character Card, that has nothing to do with Demon Lord himself. Why does your Sect Master want to find him? Don't tell me it's out of appreciation for talent."

When Spirit Realm Walkers die, the Spirit Realm clears all that character's "data" and then finds a new owner for that Character Card.

When high level Spirit Realm Walkers perish, some part of them would remain during the formatting of their Character Cards—perhaps some sort of benefit or privilege.

Such Character Cards are naturally superior to ordinary ones.

In Fu Qingyang's view, this sort of advantage wasn't enough to drive the Taiyi Sect Master to go to such great lengths. After all, even Demon Lord himself had been of a lower level than the world's strongest Nocturnal Specter.

Yuan Ting shook his head. "How would I know? I just follow orders. Only four newcomers in Songhai advanced to become Nocturnal Specters. One died in a Spirit Realm, and two joined Taiyi Sect and were sent to the training camp. The last one is under Li Dongze's command. I want to question him."

Fu Qingyang stared at Yuan Ting, his dark brown eyes sharp and deep, and Yuan Ting steeled himself to meet his gaze.

"Fine," Fu Qingyang agreed, "but you have to inform me of the result first, no matter what it is. You're not allowed to take him to the capital privately."

***

At his desk, Zhang Yuanqing turned on his computer. After pondering for a long time, he called out, "Sis Guan Ya, how should I write this report?"

Guan Ya looked away from the drama playing on her phone and responded in a perfunctory manner, "Didn't I send you the template? Just follow it."

"It's not the format that's the problem, it's the content," Zhang Yuanqing replied, looking troubled.

He had to write a report about how he had killed Ou Xiangrong, but what troubled him was that it would be very difficult to give a convincing account of his killing of Ou Xiangrong if he concealed the existence of the Red Dancing Shoes. After all, this wasn't something he could brush off with just a sentence or two.

"Ugh, you're so annoying," Guan Ya scolded him.

She spun her office chair around and asked, "How would you write it?"

Zhang Yuanqing pondered a moment, then replied, "I want to highlight, in a reasonable manner, how I relied on my kingly aura to intimidate Ou Xiangrong, then with my superb skills and brilliant mind, fought that Enchanting Demon for three hundred rounds before finally slaying the demon who had nearly brought bloody chaos to Songhai."

The mixed-heritage beauty rolled her eyes.

"Instead of trying to highlight these non-existent things in a reasonable manner, why don't you lower Ou Xiangrong's intelligence in your account instead? You showed real quick thinking in the garage. Why are you being so stupid now?"

Indeed, Ou Xiangrong's mind had already shown signs of abnormality, and he had been severely injured beforehand, though no one outside knew to what extent. That gave him leeway to describe Ou Xiangrong's condition any way he wanted to, since he couldn't exactly rise from his coffin to defend himself.

Zhang Yuanqing's eyes lit up.

"I understand. Thank you, Sis Guan Ya."

He immediately began typing, describing Ou Xiangrong's madness and irrationality in detail. At the same time, he had already decided how to handle the Bloodthirsty Blade.

The Demon-subduing Awl's function leaned more toward purification and demon suppression rather than close combat, but the Bloodthirsty Blade could fill that gap. Its built in bleeding and armor-breaking effects were a perfect match for a Nocturnal Specter's assassin attributes. The only consideration was anemia.

Once my experience points increase and my abilities improve, a Nocturnal Specter's powerful vitality and self-healing abilities should be able to support both items simultaneously, he thought to himself. The awl destroys demons, the blade cuts down madmen. That seems like a good deal.

After Zhang Yuanqing finished writing the report and sent it via email to Li Dongze, he asked, "When will my rewards for clearing Sheling Tunnel and this incident come through?"

"Your recognition needs approval from the Council of Elders, as does the allocation of funds. It will probably come with next month's salary," Guan Ya said with a smile. "What, are you eager to treat your sister to a meal? Hmm, I want abalone, sea cucumber, roast duck, imported ham, premium steak..."

No, that's too expensive. I can only treat you to a jianbing with an extra sausage and two eggs, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.

He looked at the time. It was already 2:30 PM, and he planned to go home.

"Where did the Squad Leader and other captains go?" Zhang Yuanqing asked before leaving.

After learning about Ou Xiangrong's memories, Li Dongze had very inelegantly rushed off with the other captains without leaving any instructions.

"To a meeting," Guan Ya replied.

She held her phone and leaned back into her chair, showing off her impressive cleavage as she smiled.

"High- or mid-level meetings for Kangyang District's Spirit Realm Walkers are generally held at Centurion Fu's place. Once you've been on the job for more than six months and have gained some seniority, you'll be able to go play there."

Zhang Yuanqing wasn't interested. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"What's so fun about that?" he scoffed. "I hate meetings the most."

Guan Ya blinked her eyes slowly and flashed a sly, knowing smile.

"There are lots of pretty bunny girls there."

Zhang Yuanqing’s expression immediately changed into one filled with honest yearning.

"I really want to participate in the organization's meetings soon and do my best to contribute to building up the organization," he declared.