They Came to Arrest Him Yesterday, and Today They Brought Money to Make Amends?

Bibi Dong's words, "Talk directly," had barely settled on the public screen when the great bronze bell at the top of the Myriad Ages Douluo Group rang out with a boom.

Immediately afterward, a crimson-gold screen of light slowly stretched across the entire group. This time, the deviation was chapter-level, far more eye-catching than the paragraph-level deviations before it. The entire volume of history shook, its pages flipping with a rustle.

In the center of the screen, the announcement appeared line by line.

[Historical Deviation Announcement · Chapter Level] The Official History of the First Era: Suotuo Dossier originally recorded: "In this year of the First Era, the Spirit Hall Suotuo Branch Hall suppressed the academies. Order prevailed throughout its jurisdiction, and none defied its commands." Current progress: deviated. Spirit Hall's punitive campaign against the "historian" has been rewritten as a failure, reshaping the balance of the First Era. Related entries in this volume have been marked for revision in batches, and the proportion of invalidated sections in the history has risen accordingly.

The announcement had just settled the matter when a line of gold text appeared at an unhurried pace on the page before Qin Zhaoye.

[Gold-Letter Report: Facilitated a chapter-level historical deviation. Group owner credited with 4,000 Talking Capital!]

Four thousand Talking Capital had landed in his pocket in one lump sum. In truth, no deviation since the group's creation had ever paid out so much, but this time he had brought about a chapter-level deviation.

The others in the group, however, saw a different scene. In the Official History of the First Era: Suotuo Dossier and the Spirit Hall Volume, dozens of related entries were turning gray one after another, every one of them becoming "pending revision" before their eyes.

"The gallery is in an uproar ×7,200!"

The counter in the Cross-Era Gallery hit a new high on the spot. How could those descendants sit still as the long list of grayed-out entries flooded the screen? They immediately kicked up a commotion on the public screen.

Lan Xuanyu was the first to rush in. He opened with a "Holy shit," then said it was a massive chapter-level deviation, with even the balance of the First Era being reshaped. He told everyone to look at the dozen or so pages of related entries at the back of the Suotuo Dossier, which had all turned gray in a flash. At this rate, the group's Official History of the First Era would probably need a revised edition.

Tang Wulin posted right after him.

[Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion: Yesterday they brought a punitive force and surrounded the academy so tightly that not even water could get through, but today the campaign was ruled a failure outright! I've already taken a screenshot of this gray list and saved it in my ancestral operations textbook. So an entry in the official history really can be smashed into pending revision with a single page of a book!]

[Ten-Thousand-Year Melon Field Contractor: Even the proportion of invalidated sections jumped up a notch! If they keep graying out at this rate, there'll hardly be enough of the Suotuo Dossier left to cross out. Today's big reveal was so satisfying to watch!]

[Tang San: Even Spirit Hall's direct punitive campaign, with its elite forces mobilized, has been rewritten as a failure. The balance of the First Era really has changed from today onward.]

[Group owner: The history books only record the final outcome. If they can't win, they naturally have to sit down and settle accounts again according to the rules.]

[Ten-Thousand-Year Melon Field Contractor: What I want to know now is, Spirit Hall lost so much face in Suotuo City, and Her Holiness the Pope said to talk directly. How is Manager He, who led the men to surround the gate, going to wrap things up this morning?]

While the public screen buzzed with conversation, a comical scene that no one in Suotuo City could have dreamed of was playing out in the real world, outside the gates of Perching Swan Academy.

The long bluestone street, bristling with blades and spears only yesterday, had been swept spotless by Suotuo Branch Hall's servants early that morning. Eight branch hall deacons waited below the stone steps, carrying four large chests.

The chest at the front was the very one containing small Soul Bone items that He Zhili, the branch hall manager, had sealed and confiscated from Perching Swan Academy's storeroom a few days earlier.

He Zhili, a level-fifty-five branch hall manager, had changed into ordinary clothes and stood respectfully at the foot of the steps.

When Qin Zhaoye walked out through the academy gates, He Zhili removed his manager's official hat without another word and held it in his hands, turning it around three times in a constrained manner.

"Young Master Qin!"

He Zhili wore an apologetic smile and bent low at the waist. Not a trace remained of the official bearing he had shown yesterday when leading men to make an arrest. "A few days ago, these old eyes of mine failed me, and I mistook Young Master Qin's private property for ownerless stolen goods. I have come especially to beg your forgiveness today!"

He Zhili waved his hand, and several deacons behind him hurriedly flipped open the lids of all four chests in unison.

The gleaming Gold Soul Coins, complete sets of Soul Tool components, and even boxes of rare materials sealed in jade cases dazzled the onlookers from the neighborhood.

"Look, this first chest is the one of small Soul Bone items carried away from your academy. I didn't dare touch the seal and had it brought back just as it was!"

He Zhili wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and pointed to the three large chests behind him. Though he was smiling apologetically, his heart was twitching with the pain of the loss. "These three chests of Gold Soul Coins, Soul Tool components, and materials from our stores are compensation scraped together by everyone in the branch hall. From now on, if anyone from our branch hall passes your academy's gate, they'll take a detour around it!"

Qin Zhaoye walked down the stone steps and personally broke the seal on the Soul Bone chest. After inspecting the goods, he casually closed the lid. "Since Manager He knows the rules, we can consider this matter settled. Old Feng, come out and check the goods."

"Coming, coming! I've been waiting all along!"

Academy Head Feng Yanqiu darted down the steps with an abacus tucked against his chest. He leaned over the chests, running his hands over the Gold Soul Coins and Soul Tool components filling them. Both hands trembled as he checked the goods, and his abacus clattered. "A whole chest of Gold Soul Coins, complete sets of Soul Tool components, and all the rare materials accounted for! I'll have someone carry them into the academy storeroom right away!"

He Zhili gave a wry smile, cupped his hands in farewell, and left, walking even faster than he had yesterday.

He had barely stepped away from the stone steps when two carriages stopped, one after the other, at opposite ends of the long street. A secret envoy of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and a special envoy of Spirit Hall strode to the academy gate and presented their calling cards.

The two came face-to-face at the gate, and when they recognized the style of each other's insignia, their expressions changed at the same time. Both immediately competed to raise their offers to Qin Zhaoye.

"Mr. Qin! I have come on the orders of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family to offer you the esteemed position of guest elder, with the stipend raised one grade above the original offer!"

Hearing this, the Spirit Hall envoy squeezed half a step forward and matched the offer on the spot. "Mr. Qin! Her Holiness the Pope has specially appointed you Spirit Hall's 'external representative.' You may respond to assignments without being subject to summons, request resources at will, and receive terms another grade above those of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family!"

The Heaven Dou envoy immediately raised his voice. "The imperial family will also grant you a private residence in the capital!"

The two great powers had originally been considering whether to kill him, but in the blink of an eye, they were crowding onto the same doorstep, competing to recruit him.

Qin Zhaoye's expression remained unchanged. He reached out and accepted both gold-embossed calling cards, stacked them together, and tucked them into his robes. "I've accepted the cards. As for whom I'll serve, this historian has been very busy lately. We'll discuss it another day."

He accepted both cards and answered neither, so the room for negotiation on both sides doubled on the spot.

Before leaving, the Spirit Hall envoy hesitated, stepped closer, and asked in a low voice, "Mr. Qin, the Pope asks: Which era are you from, exactly?"

Qin Zhaoye smiled without answering. He merely raised a finger and tapped twice on the bronze scroll in his palm, then turned and stepped through the gate.

The envoy stood outside in a daze for a long moment before boarding his carriage back to the capital, full of questions.

Back in the new academy building, Qin Zhaoye opened the bronze scroll and set up a negotiation table for fate-changing orders on the group's public screen.

[Group owner: The accounts for the special session are settled. The fate-changing order negotiation table is officially open. Orders will be accepted in sequence.]

[Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion: Well, would you look at that. A huge chapter-level deviation just happened, and now the fate-changing counter is officially open for business! In the deviation transcript just now, Suotuo Branch Hall carried chests over to apologize, and both great powers competed to present calling cards. What a sight! I don't think I'd get tired of watching it ten times!]

[Ten-Thousand-Year Melon Field Contractor: Yesterday they were still shouting to fight and kill, but today they came to apologize and lined up to compete for him. Spirit Hall has completely admitted defeat this time! Now that the fate-changing negotiation table is ready, the first slot has already been reserved for Her Holiness the Pope. Who do you think will get the second order?]

[Ancestral Precepts Recitation Champion: Do you even have to guess? It'll definitely be one of the two who kept asking about the price during yesterday's special session!]

[Tang San: The three categories of payment on the fate-changing price list aren't cheap. If you want a place near the front, Talking Capital alone isn't enough. You also need to bring sufficient real-world bargaining chips.]

Before they had finished speaking, Qian Renxue, deep inside Heaven Dou's imperial palace, slapped a completed form right in the middle of the public screen.

[Qian Renxue: Consultation on the Angel God path. I want to join the queue too.]

With a flash of golden light, the Group Hub's queue ticket popped up on the public screen: There is one Pope ahead of you.