Difference

Zhang Yuanqing was about to speak when a "knock-knock" sounded at the office door. The three of them looked over to see Wang Tai standing in the doorway, clutching his laptop.

"May I come in and listen?"

Having said that, he clamped his mouth shut, waiting for a response.

Li Dongze pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Come in. And while you're at it, help Yuanshi put together the walkthrough report."

Wang Tai let out a sigh of relief. He wasn't one for gossip, but the S-level Sheling Tunnel was a known bug in the Night Wanderer trial Spirit Realm, making it a fascinating subject; he couldn't resist the temptation to listen in.

Zhang Yuanqing weighed his words carefully. Once Wang Tai had taken his seat, he recounted his experiences in the Mountain God Temple.

He omitted the specific functions of the Demon Subduing Pestle, describing it only as an item capable of suppressing yin entities.

As for the Red Dancing Shoes, he was equally vague, claiming that he had been trained by his uncle since childhood in singing, dancing, and rap, and possessed an incredible memory, which allowed him to barely crack the rules of the Red Dancing Shoes.

Naturally, he also omitted the exclusive reward from the character card, as that would expose the fact that he had obtained the Red Dancing Shoes.

Concealing key information was a tip he had picked up from Guan Ya.

Rule-based items were exceptionally precious. While the Five Elements Alliance might not actually trade items for five hundred yuan and a small pennant, one still had to be on guard.

As for the awakening of the Lady of Three Paths Mountain, he planned to bring that up separately later for a proper discussion.

Throughout this process, Wang Tai typed away, recording everything he heard.

Li Dongze listened patiently, then stroked the handle of his cane and said, "That item used to suppress yin entities must have been a reward for clearing the level, and it certainly isn't a low-level item."

Guan Ya quickly laughed. "You brat, it's an S-level 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 lie, and not overdo it.

Zhang Yuanqing's smile remained unchanged. "Oh, I forgot to mention the item. That item was indeed a reward for clearing the level."

He didn't blush or skip a beat.

Li Dongze didn't dwell on it and continued, "In that case, the difficulty level of the Sheling Tunnel should decrease."

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

Li Dongze explained patiently:

"We joke that the Spirit Realm is a game, but that's just a joke. In the Spirit Realm world, items are extremely rare, and each one is unique and cannot be replicated.

"Since you brought that item out, the segment involving killing the tree demon may disappear in the future, and the difficulty of the Sheling Tunnel will naturally decrease."

Taking advantage of the moment Li Dongze was drinking, Guan Ya added:

"Let me give you some knowledge about Spirit Realm dungeons. Spirit Realm dungeons are constantly adjusting. 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 the Spirit Realm and your items are obtained by the anomalies within, they become more powerful, and the dungeon's difficulty will increase. The Red Dancing Shoes are the best example of this.

"Also, for the same Spirit Realm, different levels receive different missions. I once went to a wilderness survival Spirit Realm. I had read the walkthrough in advance, and in that dungeon, the predecessor was a hunter whose mission was to hunt down nine criminals in the jungle. But when I entered the Spirit Realm, I found I was one of the nine criminals, and the mission was to survive for 36 hours. This was because my level was lower than that predecessor's. Therefore, walkthroughs can only serve as a reference to help us understand the dungeon and learn 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 and remained silent.

Wang Tai, completely oblivious, continued:

"It's a bit strange. Such data, such gains, such information—it doesn't match an S-level difficulty. Are you hiding something?"

This is too direct. You're going to make everyone very awkward... Zhang Yuanqing coughed.

"It's not hiding; I was just about to say that there was a tree demon in the cave, and a stone coffin."

"A stone coffin? What was in the stone coffin?" Li Dongze leaned forward, his tone urgent.

Wang Tai also stopped typing.

Guan Ya was full of curiosity.

S-level Spirit Realms are usually accompanied by important information; it could very well be a earth-shattering secret.

Official organizations, civilian organizations, and even evil organizations—half of their understanding of the Spirit Realm comes from observation and summarizing patterns. The other half comes from information obtained within the Spirit Realm.

This is how they unlock the secrets of the Spirit Realm step by step.

No Spirit Realm walker could resist such temptation.

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

Li Dongze's pupils shrank, and he blurted out:

"She woke up?"

He stood up abruptly, as if he could no longer sit still, pacing the office with his cane while frowning.

After a long while, Li Dongze said with a grave expression:

"Perhaps we were all wrong. Based on the relevant information about that Lady, she must be a high-level Night Wanderer. Now that she has awakened, there are only two possibilities.

"One, the Mountain God Temple will undergo earth-shattering changes and will no longer be a Night Wanderer trial Spirit Realm, but a high-level Spirit Realm dungeon."

"Second, the Mountain God Temple remains downgraded, but given the status of that Lady, a new, high-level Spirit Realm dungeon will inevitably appear.

"For the upper echelons of the Taiyi Sect, this information regarding the turnover of Spirit Realms related to their own professions is exceptionally 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 was pleasantly surprised, then immediately grew worried:

"That old hag who died hundreds of years ago even smiled at me. I have a feeling she'll come looking for me; I don't feel at ease."

If the Banyan Tree Spirit wasn't lying, then the Demon Subduing Pestle contained half of the Lady's Yang soul, so she would definitely, certainly, and absolutely come for him.

However, Zhang Yuanqing did not mention this to his colleagues.

Wang Tai offered sincere comfort:

"Don't be so confident; with your level, you won't run into such big shots."

If you don't know how to talk, just shut up. Zhang Yuanqing nodded with a grateful expression, indicating that these words had comforted him.

Guan Ya smiled and asked:

"Is that Lady pretty?"

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

Wang Tai added earnestly from the side:

"Her research value is also higher than yours."

The veteran flirt was furious:

"Get lost."

Capital City, courtyard house.

The sun was bright, and the large locust tree was bathed in daylight, its leaves shimmering with iridescent light.

A breeze blew, causing the branches and leaves to sway and emit the giggling laughter of children.

Elder Sun sat under the locust tree, waving a cattail fan and rocking gently in his rocking chair, with a tea set and an old-fashioned radio on the side table.

A middle-aged man in black hurried over the threshold, walked into the courtyard, and reported in a low voice:

"Elder Sun, news has come back from Songhai City; someone has cleared the Sheling Tunnel Spirit Realm."

The waving fan paused. The white-haired old man suddenly opened his eyes, two brilliant golden rays shooting from them. The children's voices in the locust tree seemed startled, letting out a cry before falling silent together.

The old man sat up from the rocking chair and stared at the middle-aged man, "The Night Wanderer recruited by that Fu family kid?"

The middle-aged man nodded.

The old man was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh hard with the fan and cried out in distress:

"I misjudged, I misjudged!"

The last time the middle-aged man had seen Elder Sun so annoyed 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 named Yuan Ting. Notify him that this matter is not to be spread. Otherwise, where will 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, looked at it, and said:

"It's a call from Elder Heishan."

"Answer it."

The call connected. As soon as the old man took the phone, a roar came from the other side:

"Old Sun, what are you doing? It was one thing to privately give away the Sheling Tunnel dungeon, but you actually promised Fu Qingyang not to take that Night Wanderer? Do you know how big a mistake you've made?"

Elder Sun was dazed for a second: "Why does an old guy like you already know?"

"Never mind how I know! Do you know how long it's been since the Taiyi Sect recruited a Night Wanderer with such outstanding talent? I'm going to the Sect Master to report you right now."

The phone hung up.

Veins throbbed on Elder Sun's forehead.

At this moment, the phone rang again. The middle-aged man took a look:

"Elder Hongying."

"Answer it."

"Uncle Sun, I heard the Sheling Tunnel was cleared? And you specifically named that Night Wanderer, saying you didn't want him?"

"..."

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

"..."

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

"You bastard, since when is it your place as a deacon to come here and interrogate me?"

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

"Elder Sun, I heard you..."

"Get out!"

Within a few minutes, he had received five or six calls.

The middle-aged man in black watched Elder Sun silently. The last time he had been this uncomposed was when he had leveraged his stock investments.

Elder Sun took a deep breath, resumed the previous topic, and asked:

"What did you just say?"

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

Elder Sun's blood pressure spiked instantly.

The phone rang again.

Elder Sun was about to hang up, but seeing that the caller was Fu Qingyang, he exhaled slowly to calm his emotions and answered:

"You brat, are you calling to mock this old man too?"

"Mock you?" A cold, clear voice came through the phone, enunciating every word. "I wouldn't do something so tedious. I'm here to repay a favor. The strategy report for the Mountain God Temple is finished; I've sent it to your email."

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

Elder Sun was immediately interested. He hurriedly hung up the phone and looked 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 handed it back without a word.

Elder Sun squinted, reading the content word by word.

He read calmly, his expression showing no ripples. For a Spirit Realm walker of Elder rank, a trial-level Spirit Realm was merely child's play.

But when he saw the information regarding the revival of the Lady of Three Paths Mountain, his expression changed drastically.

Creak! Elder Sun jumped up from his rocking chair, his expression grave.

"Elder?" The middle-aged man looked stunned.

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

That was the direction of the Sect Master's residence.

In the two-story building.

Zhang Yuanqing sat at his desk, skillfully opened the computer, and following Guan Ya's instructions, accessed the internal forum of the Five Elements Alliance to browse the pinned posts one by one.

They were all basic materials about the Spirit Realm world.

He first checked "Spirit Realm Types." Just as Li Dongze had said, Spirit Realms were divided into "Single-player" and "Multi-player." Single-player types usually only featured Spirit Realms unique to that profession; for example, the single-player Spirit Realm for a Night Wanderer at the Extraordinary stage was supernatural in nature.

Multi-player types were divided into two kinds: team-based confrontation and team-based adventure.

The former involved Spirit Realm walkers competing against each other in special Spirit Realms, while the latter involved facing the dangers within the Spirit Realm. Some were death-type, others were non-death-type.

The penalty mechanism for non-death types was a deduction of experience points.

Additionally, the scenarios for multi-player Spirit Realms were diverse, and the "gameplay" varied accordingly.

Next, he read the post on "Level Classification." This post was very simple:

Extraordinary Stage: Levels 1-3.

Saint Stage: Levels 4-6.

Note: For stages beyond Saint, please click the link below.

Zhang Yuanqing clicked the link, only to be told he lacked the required permissions.

I hate permission-gatekeepers, he grumbled inwardly, then helplessly browsed other posts.

"Complete List of 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? There were only three evil professions? No wonder Guan Ya said the official organization was the hunter. Zhang Yuanqing's gaze moved down and he saw content that left him astonished.

[Note: To query foreign professions, please click the link below.]

Unsurprisingly, he lacked the permissions.

"Are there Spirit Realm walkers abroad too? Do they have professions different from ours?" Zhang Yuanqing raised his head and looked at the back of Guan Ya's head in front of him.

Does this place actually distinguish between domestic and foreign servers?

The veteran driver turned her head and smiled:

"Why would you think only our country is special?"

This... Zhang Yuanqing was left speechless.

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

If the Spirit Realm covered the entire globe, and if there were other Spirit Realm walkers and other professions abroad, then the structure of the Spirit Realm world—whether in dungeons or reality—was far more complex than he had imagined.

"Spirit Realm walkers have a strong sense of territoriality, and official organizations from different countries rarely interact, except to strike at evil organizations. So, you don't need to worry about foreign Spirit Realm walkers for now; that is not something a Transcendence-stage walker like you needs to consider," Guan Ya said.

Zhang Yuanqing gave an "en" and tapped on "Night Wanderer" to check the profile of his own profession.

"Night Wanderer, favored by the Taiyin, spirit of the dark night, excels in assassination and controlling yin entities. The profession mark is a black crescent moon. It is one of the top-tier professions among the Order-aligned, possessing formidable combat power.

"Every Night Wanderer is a natural-born assassin, and their ability to control yin entities makes them even more troublesome. Night Wanderer is the profession name for the Transcendence stage; after reaching Level 3, one can change professions."

Note: To view the Night Wanderer profession advancement names, please click the link below.

Zhang Yuanqing tapped away for a long time, only for a dialog box to pop up stating insufficient permissions.

Damn permission-wielding snobs! He nearly cursed out loud.

Wait, why did something feel off? Zhang Yuanqing suddenly froze, re-reading the introduction, and realized where the problem lay.

The profession mark is a black crescent moon? But that night, I clearly saw the mark on my forehead was a black full moon.

What is going on? Is my character card different from everyone else's?

Zhang Yuanqing subconsciously looked up at the back of Guan Ya's head, wanting to ask.