Chapter 21: Different
Just as Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak, there were two knocks on the office door. The three of them turned to look, and saw Wang Tai standing at the doorway holding a laptop, saying:
"May I come in and listen?"
After saying this, he refused to speak further, waiting for a response.
Li Dongze pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Come in, and help Yuanshi prepare the strategy report while you're at it."
Wang Tai breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't someone who liked to join in on the excitement, but as an S-rank dungeon, the Sheling Tunnel was a bug in the Night Walker's trial realm, making it a very good topic. He couldn't resist the temptation to listen in.
Zhang Yuanqing considered for a moment. After Wang Tai took a seat, he began to recount his experience in the Mountain God Temple.
He omitted the functions of the Demon-Subduing Pestle, only saying it was an artifact that could suppress yin objects.
As for the Red Dancing Shoes, he similarly gave a vague explanation, saying that he had been trained by his uncle since childhood, was proficient in singing, dancing, and rap, and had an amazing memory, so he was barely able to crack the rules of the Red Dancing Shoes.
Of course, he also concealed the matter of the character card's exclusive reward, as this would expose the fact that he had obtained the Red Dancing Shoes.
Concealing some key information was a tip he had received from Guan Ya.
Rule-type artifacts are exceptionally precious. The Five Elements Alliance might not necessarily exchange artifacts for 500 yuan and a small pennant, but you have to guard against it.
As for the situation of the revival of the Three Mountain Goddesses, he planned to bring it up separately later for a thorough discussion.
During this process, Wang Tai listened while rapidly typing to record.
After listening patiently, Li Dongze stroked the handle of his cane and said:
"That artifact that suppresses yin objects should be the reward for clearing the dungeon, right? And it must be a high-level artifact."
Guan Ya quickly laughed and said:
"You little rascal, it's an S-rank trial mission, how could it only reward a bit of experience?"
She was teaching Zhang Yuanqing that when lying, one should mix nine truths with one falsehood, not overdo it.
Zhang Yuanqing's smile remained unchanged: "Oh, I forgot to mention the artifact. That artifact was indeed the clearance reward."
His face remained calm and composed.
Li Dongze didn't mind and continued:
"In that case, the difficulty level of the Sheling Tunnel will have to be lowered."
"Why do you say that?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, puzzled.
Li Dongze patiently explained:
"We joke that the spirit realm is a game, but jokes aside, in the spirit realm, artifacts are very rare, and each one is unique and cannot be replicated.
"Since you've brought out that artifact, the step of killing the tree demon may disappear in the future, naturally lowering the difficulty of the Sheling Tunnel."
Taking advantage of Li Dongze drinking, Guan Ya added:
"Let me tell you about the knowledge of spirit realm dungeons. The dungeons in the spirit realm are constantly adjusting. For example, if you clear the Mountain God Temple and take away artifacts from inside, then its difficulty will inevitably decrease. Or if you die in the spirit realm and your artifacts are obtained by the anomalies inside, it becomes stronger, then the spirit realm's difficulty will increase. The Red Dancing Shoes are the best example.
"Another point is that for the same spirit realm, different levels receive different tasks. I once went to a wilderness survival type spirit realm and read the strategy guide in advance. In the dungeon, that senior was a hunter, and the task was to hunt down nine criminals in the jungle. But when I entered the spirit realm, I found that I was just one of the nine criminals, and the task requirement was to survive for 36 hours. This is because my level was lower than that senior's. So, strategies can only serve as references, allowing us to understand the dungeon and know some basic information and dangers."
"It won't decrease," Wang Tai said. "Because the Red Dancing Shoes are still there."
Guan Ya and Li Dongze glanced at Zhang Yuanqing, remaining silent.
Wang Tai was oblivious and continued:
"It's a bit strange. This data, these gains, this information, don't match up with an S-rank difficulty. Are you hiding something?"
This... is too direct, you're going to make everyone uncomfortable... Zhang Yuanqing coughed and said:
"I'm not hiding anything. I was about to say that besides the tree demon in the cave, there was also a stone coffin."
"Stone coffin? What was in the stone coffin?" Li Dongze leaned forward, asking urgently.
Wang Tai also stopped typing.
Guan Ya looked full of curiosity.
S-rank spirit realms usually come with some important information, possibly even an earth-shattering secret.
Official organizations, civilian organizations, and even evil organizations - half of their understanding of spirit realms comes from observation and summarizing patterns. The other half comes from information obtained within spirit realms.
Thus, step by step, they unlock the secrets of spirit realms.
No spirit realm walker can resist this temptation.
"The Three Mountain Goddesses were lying in the stone coffin. After I opened the coffin, she... she awakened..." Zhang Yuanqing still felt scared recalling it now.
Li Dongze's pupils contracted slightly, and he exclaimed:
"She awakened?"
He suddenly stood up, as if he could no longer sit still, and began pacing the office with his cane, frowning.
After a while, Li Dongze said with a grave expression:
"Perhaps we've all guessed wrong. Based on the information about that goddess, she must be a high-level Night Walker. Now that she's awakened, there are only two possibilities.
"One, the Mountain God Temple will undergo earth-shattering changes, no longer being a Night Walker trial spirit realm, but a high-level spirit realm dungeon.
"Two, the Mountain God Temple will still be downgraded, but given that goddess's level, there will inevitably be new, high-level spirit realm dungeons appearing.
"For the upper echelons of Taiyi Sect, information regarding the evolution of spirit realms related to their own profession is extremely important."
Guan Ya felt a wave of envy and said:
"The more important the information, the more rewards the organization will give you."
More money? Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of excitement, but then said worriedly:
"That old hag who's been dead for hundreds of years was smiling at me. I keep feeling like she'll come looking for me. I'm uneasy."
If the banyan tree spirit wasn't lying, half of the goddess's yang soul was sealed in the Demon-Subduing Pestle, so she would definitely, absolutely come looking for him.
However, Zhang Yuanqing didn't mention this to his colleagues.
Wang Tai sincerely comforted him:
"Don't be so confident. At your level, you won't encounter such big shots."
If you can't say anything helpful, just keep quiet... Zhang Yuanqing nodded gratefully, indicating that these words had comforted him.
Guan Ya smiled and asked:
"Was that goddess beautiful?"
Zhang Yuanqing turned to look at her: "More beautiful than you."
Wang Tai sincerely added from the side:
"And of higher research value than you."
The old veteran flew into a rage:
"Get lost!"
Beijing, Siheyuan courtyard.
The sun shone brightly, with the large locust tree bathed in sunlight, its leaves sparkling with seven-colored brilliance.
A gust of wind blew, shaking the branches and leaves, producing the sound of children's laughter.
Elder Sun under the locust tree fanned himself with a palm leaf fan, gently rocking in the rocking chair. A tea set and an old-fashioned radio were placed on the side table.
A middle-aged man in black clothes hurriedly stepped over the threshold, entered the courtyard, and reported in a low voice:
"Elder Sun, news has come back from Songhai. Someone has cleared the Sheling Tunnel spirit realm."
The swaying fan paused, and the white-haired old man suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes shot out two dazzling golden rays, and the children's voices in the locust tree seemed startled, letting out cries of surprise before falling silent together.
The old man sat up from the rocking chair, staring at the middle-aged man, "That Night Walker recruited by the Fu family kid?"
The middle-aged man nodded.
The old man was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh with the fan, crying out in anguish:
"I've misjudged, I've misjudged!"
The last time the middle-aged man saw Elder Sun so frustrated was when he was playing the stock market.
The old man was silent for a moment, then said:
"I remember, the manager of Kangyang District in Songhai City is called Yuan Ting. Notify him that this matter should not be spread. Otherwise, where would I put my old face?"
"But..."
"But what?"
Just as the middle-aged man was about to answer, the phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and looked, saying:
"It's a call from Elder Heishan."
"Answer it."
As soon as the call connected and the old man took the phone, there was a roar from the other end:
"Old Sun, what are you doing? It's bad enough that you privately gave away the Sheling Tunnel dungeon, but you even agreed with Fu Qingyang not to take that Night Walker. Do you know how big a mistake you've made?"
Elder Sun was stunned for a second: "How do you know about this, you old fox?"
"Never mind how I know. Do you know how long it's been since Taiyi Sect recruited a Night Walker with exceptional talent? I'm going to report this to the Sect Leader right now."
The call ended.
Elder Sun's forehead throbbed with bulging veins.
At this moment, the phone rang again. The middle-aged man looked:
"Elder Hongying."
"Answer it..."
"Uncle Sun, I heard the Sheling Tunnel has been cleared? That Night Walker, you specifically said you didn't want him?"
"..."
"Uncle Sun, you'll have to apologize for this."
"..."
"Elder Sun, I heard you rejected a talented Night Walker?"
"You bastard, since when does an executive like you have the right to question me?"
"Ah, Elder Sun, please don't misunderstand. I'm just curious."
"Elder Sun, I heard you..."
"Get lost!"
In a few minutes, he received five or six calls.
The middle-aged man in black silently watched Elder Sun. The last time he lost his composure like this was when he used leverage in stock trading.
Elder Sun took a deep breath and continued the previous topic, asking:
"What were you about to say just now?"
The middle-aged man hesitated, "If Yuan Ting knows, it means everyone knows."
Elder Sun's blood pressure immediately skyrocketed.
The phone rang again.
Elder Sun was about to hang up when he saw the caller was Fu Qingyang. He slowly exhaled, calmed his emotions, and answered the call:
"You little brat, are you calling to laugh at this old man too?"
"Laugh at you?" A cool voice came through the phone, enunciating clearly, "I wouldn't do something so boring. I'm here to repay a favor. The strategy report for the Mountain God Temple has been written. I've sent it to your email."
Fu Qingyang said calmly: "I believe this intelligence should be very important for your Taiyi Sect."
Elder Sun immediately became interested and quickly hung up the phone, looking at the middle-aged man: "How do I open the email?"
The middle-aged man silently took the phone, logged into the email, opened the file, and then silently handed it back.
Elder Sun squinted his eyes, reading the content word by word.
He read very calmly, his expression showing no waves. For a spirit realm walker at the elder level, trial-level spirit realms were purely child's play.
But when he saw the information about the revival of the Three Mountain Goddesses, his expression changed dramatically.
Creaking~ Elder Sun jumped up from the rocking chair, his expression solemn.
"Elder?" The middle-aged man looked bewildered.
"An ancient Day Walker has awakened." Elder Sun's solemn expression was mixed with worry. He transformed into a beam of golden light, streaking into the sky and disappearing.
That was in the direction of the Sect Leader's residence.
Two-story building.
Zhang Yuanqing sat at his own desk, skillfully turned on the computer, and following Guan Ya's guidance, opened the internal forum of the official Five Elements Alliance organization, browsing through the pinned posts one by one.
They were all the most basic spirit realm world data.
He first looked up "Spirit Realm Types". As Li Dongze had said, spirit realms were divided into "Single-person Type" and "Multi-person Type". Single-person types usually only feature spirit realms unique to that profession. For example, the single-person spirit realm for Night Walkers at the transcendent level is the supernatural type.
Multi-person types are divided into two categories: team battles and team adventures.
The former involves spirit realm walkers battling each other in special spirit realms, while the latter faces dangers within the spirit realm. Some are death types, while others are non-death types.
The punishment mechanism for non-death types is deduction of experience points.
Additionally, multi-person spirit realms have a variety of scenes and "gameplay" that differ from each other.
Next, he read the post on "Level Classification". This post was very simple, with the content:
Transcendent Stage: Levels 1-3.
Saint Stage: Levels 4-6.
Note: For stages after Saint, please click the link below.
Zhang Yuanqing clicked the link, but was prompted that he didn't have sufficient permissions.
He inwardly grumbled that he hated permission restrictions the most, and reluctantly browsed other posts.
"Complete Guide to Spirit Realm Walker Professions"
Lawful professions: Night Walker, Scout, Wood Spirit, Water Ghost, Fire Master, Earth Anomaly, Music Master, Scholar.
Evil professions: Bewitching Demon, Witch Doctor, Illusionist.
If he remembered correctly, Wang Tai was a Scholar, but what profession was Music Master? Only three evil professions? No wonder Guan Ya said official organizations were the real hunters. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze moved down, seeing content that shocked him.
[Note: To view foreign professions, please click the link below.]
As expected, he didn't have sufficient permissions.
"Are there spirit realm walkers abroad too, with professions different from ours?" Zhang Yuanqing raised his head, looking at the back of Guan Ya's head in front of him.
Is this really divided into domestic and foreign servers?
The old veteran turned her head, smiling as she said:
"Why would you think only our country is special?"
This... Zhang Yuanqing was at a loss for words.
He had to revise his understanding of spirit realms once again.
If the spirit realms covered a global range, if there were other spirit realm walkers and other professions abroad, then the structure of the spirit realm world, whether dungeons or reality, was more complex than he had imagined.
"Spirit realm walkers have a strong sense of territory. Official organizations from different countries rarely interact, except when combating evil organizations. So you don't need to worry about foreign spirit realm walkers for now. This isn't something a transcendent realm walker like you needs to consider," Guan Ya said.
Zhang Yuanqing made a sound of acknowledgment and clicked on "Night Walker" to view the introduction of his own profession.
"Night Walker, favored by Tai Yin, spirit of the night, skilled in assassination and controlling yin objects. The profession mark is a black crescent moon. One of the top professions among lawful professions, with extremely formidable combat power.
"Every Night Walker is a born assassin, and their ability to control yin objects makes them even more difficult to deal with. Night Walker is the profession name for the transcendent stage. After reaching level three, one can change profession."
Note: To view Night Walker's profession change names, please click the link below.
Zhang Yuanqing clicked repeatedly, but a dialog box popped up saying he didn't have sufficient permissions.
Damn permission restrictions! He almost cursed out loud.
Wait, something doesn't seem right? Zhang Yuanqing suddenly froze, re-read the introduction, and realized where the problem was.
The profession mark is a black crescent moon? But that night, I clearly saw a black full moon mark on my forehead.
What's going on? Is my character card different from others?
Zhang Yuanqing unconsciously raised his head to look at the back of Guan Ya's head, wanting to ask.
PS: Typos will be corrected later after updating. It's the beginning of the month, please consider giving monthly tickets.
(End of chapter)
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