Different

Zhang Yuanqing was just about to speak when the office door went "knock, knock." The three of them looked toward the sound. Wang Tai stood in the doorway, holding a laptop, and asked:

"Can I come in and listen?"

After asking, he fell silent, waiting for a response.

Li Dongze considered it for a moment, then nodded.

"Come in. While you're at it, help Yuanshi put together a strategy report."

Wang Tai let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't one to seek out excitement, but the S-rank Sheling Tunnel, a bug in the Night Wanderer Trial Spirit Realm, made for a fascinating research topic. He couldn't resist the temptation to sit in.

Zhang Yuanqing thought it over. Once Wang Tai had taken a seat, he began recounting his experience at the Mountain God Temple in detail.

He left out the Pestle's function, merely saying it was an item capable of restraining Yin creatures.

He was equally vague about the Red Dancing Shoes. He said that his uncle had trained him from a young age, that he was skilled at singing, dancing, and rapping, and that he had an excellent memory, so he had managed to crack the Red Dancing Shoes' rules.

Of course, he also kept quiet about the Role Card's exclusive reward, since that would reveal that he had obtained the Red Dancing Shoes.

Keeping some key information to himself was a tip he'd gotten from Guan Ya.

Rule-based items were exceptionally valuable. The Five Elements Alliance might not actually trade an item for five hundred yuan and a little pennant, but it was best to be cautious.

As for Lady of Three Paths Mountain's awakening, he planned to bring it up separately in a moment and discuss it properly.

Throughout the process, Wang Tai listened while typing away noisily.

After listening patiently, Li Dongze rubbed the handle of his cane and said:

"That item that restrains Yin creatures must have been a reward for clearing the realm. And it was certainly a high-level item."

Guan Ya hurriedly smiled and said:

"You little brat, it was an S-rank trial mission. How could the reward be just a little experience?"

She was giving Zhang Yuanqing a lesson: when lying, make nine parts true and one part false. Don't overdo it.

Zhang Yuanqing kept smiling. "Oh, I forgot to mention the item. That item really was a reward for clearing the realm."

He said it without batting an eye.

Li Dongze didn't mind and continued:

"From the looks of it, the difficulty of Sheling Tunnel should go down."

"Why do you say that?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, puzzled.

Li Dongze patiently explained:

"We joke that the Spirit Realm is a game, but it's only a joke. In the Spirit Realm, items are scarce, and each one is unique. They can't be duplicated.

"Since you brought that item out, the tree demon encounter might disappear in the future, which would naturally lower Sheling Tunnel's difficulty."

While Li Dongze took a drink, Guan Ya added:

"Let me tell you a bit about Spirit Realm dungeons. They're constantly adjusted. For example, if you clear the Mountain God Temple and take an item from it, its difficulty will inevitably drop. Or, if you die in a Spirit Realm and one of its strange creatures gets your item, it might become stronger, raising the dungeon's difficulty. The Red Dancing Shoes are the best example.

"One more thing: the tasks you receive in the same Spirit Realm differ depending on your level. I once entered a wilderness survival dungeon after reading a strategy guide in advance. In the guide, 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 one of the nine criminals. My task was to survive for thirty-six hours. That was because my level was lower than the senior's. So strategy guides are just for reference. They help us understand the dungeon and learn some basic information and dangers."

"The difficulty won't go down," Wang Tai said. "The Red Dancing Shoes are still there."

Guan Ya and Li Dongze glanced at Zhang Yuanqing and fell silent.

Wang Tai didn't notice at all. He continued:

"Something's off. The data, the loot, and the information don't match an S-rank difficulty. Are you hiding something?"

That was way too blunt. You're going to make things awkward for everyone... Zhang Yuanqing cleared his throat.

"I'm not hiding anything. I was just about to mention that, besides the tree demon, there was a stone coffin in the cave."

"A stone coffin? What was inside?" Li Dongze leaned forward and asked urgently.

Wang Tai stopped typing too.

Guan Ya looked curious.

S-rank Spirit Realms usually contained important information. It could well be a world-shaking secret.

Official organizations, civilian organizations, and even evil organizations learned about the Spirit Realm partly by observing it and summarizing its patterns. The other half came from the information they obtained inside.

That was how they gradually unraveled the Spirit Realm's secrets.

No Spirit Realm Walker could resist that temptation.

"Lady of Three Paths Mountain was lying in the stone coffin. After I opened it, she... she woke up..." Even now, Zhang Yuanqing felt a lingering fear when he thought back on it.

Li Dongze's pupils contracted. He blurted out:

"She woke up?"

He abruptly stood, as if he could no longer sit still, and paced around the office with his cane, frowning.

After a long while, Li Dongze said gravely:

"Perhaps we were all wrong. Based on what we know about that lady, she must be a high-level Night Wanderer. Now that she's awake, there are only two possibilities.

"First, the Mountain God Temple will undergo a drastic change. It will no longer be a Night Wanderer Trial Spirit Realm, but a high-level Spirit Realm dungeon.

"Second, the Mountain God Temple will still be downgraded, but given that lady's level, a new, high-level Spirit Realm dungeon will inevitably appear.

"For Taiyi Sect's higher-ups, this is extremely important information. It concerns changes to a Spirit Realm related to their own profession."

Guan Ya looked envious.

"The more important the information, the greater the reward the organization gives you."

They'd give him more money? Zhang Yuanqing was delighted, then immediately grew worried.

"That old Clapper who'd been dead for hundreds of years smiled at me. I can't shake the feeling she'll come looking for me. It's unsettling."

If the Banyan Tree Spirit hadn't been lying, then half of Lady's Yang Soul was sealed inside the Pestle. That meant she would definitely, absolutely, without a doubt come looking for him.

But Zhang Yuanqing didn't mention this to his colleagues.

Wang Tai sincerely tried to comfort him:

"Don't be so sure of yourself. At your level, you won't run into a big shot like that."

If you can't say anything helpful, just shut up. Zhang Yuanqing nodded gratefully, showing that he felt comforted.

Guan Ya smiled brightly.

"Was that lady pretty?"

Zhang Yuanqing turned to look at her. "Prettier than you."

Wang Tai earnestly added:

"She was also more valuable to study than you."

Old Driver flew into a rage.

"Get lost!"

Capital City, Siheyuan.

The sun shone brightly. The old locust tree bathed in the sunlight, its leaves glimmering with a rainbow sheen.

A breeze swept through, setting the branches and leaves swaying. Children's laughter rang out from among them.

Elder Sun sat beneath the locust tree, gently swaying with his rocking chair as he waved a palm fan. A tea set and an old-fashioned radio sat on the table beside him.

A middle-aged man dressed in black hurried over the threshold and entered the courtyard. He reported in a low voice:

"Elder Sun, we've received word from Songhai. Someone cleared the Sheling Tunnel Spirit Realm."

The palm fan stopped moving. The white-haired old man's eyes flew open, and two dazzling beams of golden light shot from them. The children's voices in the locust tree seemed startled; they cried out, then fell silent all at once.

The old man sat up in his rocking chair and stared at the middle-aged man. "The Night Wanderer that young man from the Fu Family recruited?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

The old man froze. Then he slapped his thigh with the palm fan and cried out in anguish:

"I misjudged him! I misjudged him!"

The last time the middle-aged man had seen Elder Sun this upset was when he'd been playing the stock market.

The old man was silent for a moment, then said:

"As I recall, the person in charge of Kangyang District in Songhai City is Yuan Ting. Send word that this matter is not to be spread. How could I ever show my face again otherwise?"

"But..."

"But what?"

The middle-aged man was about to answer when the phone in his pocket rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen.

"Elder Heishan is calling."

"Answer it."

The call connected. The old man had barely taken the phone when a roar came from the other end:

"Old Sun, what the hell were you thinking? Sending out the Sheling Tunnel dungeon without permission was bad enough, but you even agreed to Fu Qingyang's request not to recruit that Night Wanderer. Do you know how big a mistake you've made?"

Elder Sun stared blankly for a second. "How did you hear about it, you old bastard?"

"Who cares how I found out? Do you know how long it's been since Taiyi Sect recruited a Night Wanderer with outstanding talent? I'm going to the Sect Master to report you right now."

The call ended.

Veins throbbed on Elder Sun's forehead.

Just then, the phone rang again. The middle-aged man glanced at it.

"Elder Hongying."

"Go ahead and answer."

"Uncle Sun, I heard the Sheling Tunnel was cleared. You specifically said you didn't want that Night Wanderer?"

"..."

"Uncle Sun, you'll have to atone for this."

"..."

"Elder Sun, I heard you turned away a Night Wanderer prodigy?"

"You impertinent brat! Since when does a mere manager get to call me to account?"

"Ah, Elder Sun, please don't misunderstand. I was just curious."

"Elder Sun, I heard you..."

"Get lost!"

He received five or six calls in just a few minutes.

The middle-aged man watched Elder Sun in silence. The last time he'd been this flustered was when he'd traded stocks on margin.

Elder Sun drew a deep breath and returned to the earlier topic.

"You were saying?"

The middle-aged man hesitated. "If Yuan Ting knows, it means everyone knows."

Elder Sun's blood pressure shot up.

The phone rang again.

Elder Sun was about to hang up when he saw that Fu Qingyang was calling. He exhaled slowly, settled his nerves, and answered.

"You little brat, are you calling to make fun of this old man too?"

"Make fun of you?" A cool voice came through the phone, each word clearly enunciated. "I wouldn't do something so pointless. I'm calling to repay a favor. The Mountain God Temple strategy report is finished. I've sent it to your email."

Fu Qingyang said evenly, "I believe this intelligence should be very important to Taiyi Sect."

Elder Sun immediately perked up. He hurriedly hung up and turned to the middle-aged man.

"How do I open my email?"

The middle-aged man silently took the phone, logged in to the email account, opened the file, and silently handed it back.

Elder Sun narrowed his eyes and read the contents word for word.

He read calmly, his expression unchanged. To a Spirit Realm Walker of Elder rank, a trial-level Spirit Realm was just a minor affair.

But when he saw the information about Lady of Three Paths Mountain's awakening, his expression changed dramatically.

Creak! Elder Sun leapt out of his rocking chair, his face grave.

"Elder?" The middle-aged man stared at him in bewilderment.

"An ancient Day Wanderer has awakened." Elder Sun's grave expression was tinged with worry. He transformed into a streak of golden light, shot into the sky, and disappeared.

He was heading for the Sect Master's residence.

The two-story building.

Zhang Yuanqing sat at his own desk and skillfully turned on the computer. Following Guan Ya's instructions, he opened the internal forum of the Five Elements Alliance and browsed the several pinned posts one by one.

They were all basic information about the Spirit Realm.

He first looked up "Spirit Realm Types." It was just as Li Dongze had said: Spirit Realms were divided into "solo" and "multiplayer" types. Solo types usually involved Spirit Realms exclusive to a particular profession. For example, the solo Spirit Realm for Night Wanderers in the Transcendence Realm was of the supernatural kind.

There were two kinds of multiplayer Spirit Realms: team competition and team exploration.

The former pitted Spirit Realm Walkers against one another in special Spirit Realms. The latter put them up against dangers within the Spirit Realm. Some were deadly, while others weren't.

The penalty for nonlethal types was a deduction of experience points.

In addition, multiplayer Spirit Realms had all kinds of settings and varied "gameplay."

Next, he read a post titled "Spirit Realm Level Classifications." It was very simple:

Transcendent Stage: Levels 1–3.

Saint Stage: Levels 4–6.

Note: To learn about the stages beyond Saint, click the link below.

Zhang Yuanqing clicked the link, but a notice appeared saying he lacked the necessary access.

The worst kind of people were those who hid behind access restrictions. He grumbled to himself, then reluctantly browsed the other posts.

"Complete Guide to Spirit Realm Walker Professions"

Orderly Professions: Night Wanderer, Scout, Wood Demon, Water Ghost, Fire Master, Earth Monster, Musician, Scholar.

Evil Professions: Bewitching Demon, Voodoo Master, Illusionist.

If he remembered correctly, Wang Tai was a Scholar. What kind of profession was a Musician? Were there only three Evil Professions? No wonder Guan Ya had said the official organizations were the hunters. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze moved down and landed on something astonishing.

[Note: To look up foreign professions, click the link below.]

As expected, he didn't have the necessary access.

"There are Spirit Realm Walkers overseas too? Do they have professions different from ours?" Zhang Yuanqing looked up at the back of Guan Ya's head in front of him.

Did this damn thing have separate servers for domestic and overseas players?

Old Driver turned around and smiled.

"Why would you think our country was the only special one?"

Zhang Yuanqing was at a loss for words.

He had to revise his understanding of the Spirit Realm once again.

If the Spirit Realm covered the entire globe, and there were other Spirit Realm Walkers and other professions overseas, then the structure of the Spirit Realm—whether in dungeons or in the real world—was far more complicated than he had imagined.

"Spirit Realm Walkers have a strong sense of territoriality. The official organizations of different countries almost never interact, except when it comes to cracking down on evil organizations. So for now, you don't need to worry about Spirit Realm Walkers in other countries. That's not something a Transcendence Realm cultivator like you needs to concern yourself with," Guan Ya said.

Zhang Yuanqing murmured in agreement and tapped "Night Wanderer," reading the description of his own profession.

"Night Wanderer, a favored one of the Lunar Moon, an elf of the night. Skilled in assassination and controlling Yin entities, their professional mark is a black crescent moon. One of the strongest professions among the lawful faction, with formidable combat strength.

"Every Night Wanderer is a born assassin. Their ability to control Yin entities makes them even more troublesome to deal with. Night Wanderer is the name of the profession during the Transcendent Stage. After reaching level three, one can change professions."

Note: To view the name of the Night Wanderer's new profession, click the link below.

Zhang Yuanqing tapped away for a while, only for a dialog box to pop up saying he didn't have sufficient permissions.

Damn those permission-hogging bastards! He nearly cursed aloud.

Wait, something seemed off. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly froze and reread the description, realizing what the problem was.

The professional mark was a black crescent moon? But that night, he'd clearly seen a black full moon on his forehead.

What was going on? Was his Role Card different from everyone else's?

Zhang Yuanqing instinctively looked up at the back of Guan Ya's head, wanting to ask her about it.

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