The post said that recently, the Night Wanderer Spirit Realm had undergone sweeping changes. Many previously documented Spirit Realm instances had changed, their difficulty levels had increased, and they had become entirely new instances that no one had ever cleared.
Their difficulty had reached A-rank and even S-rank.
Many Night Wanderers who were due to enter the Spirit Realm soon had unfortunately been assigned to these instances and had died as a result.
The poster was one of the forum moderators, so to some extent, this counted as an official announcement.
"Are there really so many S- and A-rank Spirit Realm instances exclusive to Night Wanderers?" Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.
The Spirit Realm had a balancing and matching system. Level 1 Walkers had Level 1 instances, Level 2 Walkers had Level 2 instances, and so on. Sometimes, a Level 1 Walker would enter a Level 2 instance, but the task they received would be relatively easy.
In short, the tasks given by the Spirit Realm could be very difficult, and the death rate could be high, but a Level 1 Walker would never receive a task meant for a Level 3 Walker.
Additionally, instances matching one's own level had five difficulty ratings, from S to D. S-rank was currently the highest difficulty, with a terrifyingly high death rate—but it also offered the most generous rewards.
Zhang Yuanqing had later thought back on it: without the Red Dancing Shoes, a newcomer's chance of clearing the Sheling Tunnel trial had been less than one in ten.
How many people would die with so many unexplored A- and S-rank instances appearing all at once?
Zhang Yuanqing's first thought was: Holy crap, I'll be entering the Spirit Realm soon too. Is there still time for me to change classes?!
His second thought was: Oh, I'm most likely entering a multiplayer instance next time. Then I'm fine.
He felt slightly relieved, then scrolled down to read what the official Spirit Realm Walkers had to say about the matter.
The post caused an uproar in the official organization as soon as it was published. Official Walkers at branches across the country were following the situation, and the discussion was drawing a lot of attention. There were over a thousand comments.
[Long Days Ahead: "No wonder. No wonder I suddenly couldn't get in touch with my Night Wanderer informant today."]
[Past Days Are Bitter: "What? You have a Night Wanderer informant? Dog, you've been hiding that well."]
[Untamed: "Something's wrong. Spirit Realm instances aren't fixed; they're always changing. But those changes are predictable and manageable. This time, the changes to the Night Wanderers' exclusive instances were far too sudden and unreasonable."]
[I Have an Illness: "Could this be because the Demon Lord died? I heard from someone at Taiyi Sect that the Demon Lord died not long ago."]
[Green Vine: "Who told you the Demon Lord had died? Was it Yuan Ting?"]
The Five Elements Alliance's attitude toward the matter was mostly one of watching the drama and gossiping. After all, it was the Night Wanderers' exclusive instances that had been affected, so it didn't have much to do with them.
But some people were worried.
[Call Me Queen: "We can't do our jobs without Night Wanderers. Besides, Judge of Ghostly Eyes just died, and branches everywhere are on guard against Fallen ones going berserk. Songhai also has the important task of hunting down Black Impermanence. With the Night Wanderer instances having problems at a time like this, won't we end up short-staffed?"]
[Green Vine: "That could happen, yes, but not every Night Wanderer will be entering an instance soon."]
Spirit Realm tasks didn't come up all that often, so there was no need to worry about Night Wanderers dying in large numbers.
[Call Me Queen: "But sooner or later they'll all have to enter the Spirit Realm. With so many unexplored instances appearing at once, the number of Night Wanderers is likely to plummet over the coming months."]
People could never avoid casualties while clearing Spirit Realm instances.
The Queen had a point. I'll eventually have to enter a solo instance, and S- and A-rank instances are terrifying. On top of that, I have the Demon Lord Role Card. At the thought, Zhang Yuanqing's mood grew even heavier.
He left the forum and opened his messaging app, then sent Yuan Ting a message:
"Captain Yuan, I saw the pinned post on the forum. What's going on with the changes to the Night Wanderer Spirit Realm instances? I can pay for a consultation."
For professional questions, it was best to ask a professional.
Yuan Ting replied quickly:
"I don't know. The Night Wanderer group chat is already in an uproar. Everyone who's due to enter the Spirit Realm soon—or sometime in the near future—is completely panicked. After all, not just anyone can clear an S-rank instance. Even A-rank instances require a bit of luck.
"I'm not sure what exactly happened either. The Council of Elders is collecting information. They should put out an announcement by tonight at the latest."
Yuan Ting was in a bad mood. An associate he was on good terms with had entered the Spirit Realm that morning, and still hadn't come out. No one knew if he was alive or dead.
And in half a month, Yuan Ting would have to enter a solo instance himself. At most, the timing would be off by a week.
"Understood."
Zhang Yuanqing didn't ask anything else.
For the rest of the morning and afternoon, Zhang Yuanqing kept checking the official forum for updates. He'd completely lost the mood to go shopping.
As the sun set, his aunt linked her arm through his and walked home with him. Zhang Yuanqing carried several large shopping bags.
"Hmm, have you gotten stronger?" Jiang Yuer said, squeezing her nephew's biceps. "They're rock-hard."
If you were Guan Ya, I'd say, "My hardness is beyond your imagination," or, "I've got something even harder." Zhang Yuanqing answered perfunctorily, "The body is the foundation of revolution. I've been working out lately."
After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his bedroom, locked the door, and waited for Taiyi Sect's announcement.
He could imagine that, at that very moment, official Night Wanderers all over the country were just like him, waiting for the organization's announcement with their phones or computers in hand.
At last, at half past nine, after refreshing the forum again and again, he found a new post pinned in red:
#Statement on the Recent Spirit Realm Changes and Bounty Announcement#
"Recently, the Night Wanderer Spirit Realm has undergone a sudden change. After an investigation, the Council of Elders confirmed that the anomaly was caused by the revival of a high-level BOSS in the Spirit Realm. According to the information collected so far, eight Spirit Realm instances have changed difficulty levels:
Minghu Town, No. 0128, S-rank (Night Wanderer exclusive instance)
Ming Dynasty Mass Grave, No. 1180, S-rank (Night Wanderer exclusive instance)
Xinfeng Reservoir, No. 1910, A-rank (Night Wanderer exclusive instance)
Yinshan Ghost School, No. 0046, A-rank (Night Wanderer exclusive instance)
King-Sealing Tomb, No. 0277, A-rank (Night Wanderer exclusive instance)
Jinshui Amusement Park, No. 6203, S-rank (multiplayer instance, death-type)
Screaming Chamber, No. 2097, A-rank (multiplayer instance, non-death-type)
Apartment 13, No. 1404, B-rank (multiplayer instance, non-death-type)
"As of today, Yinshan Ghost School and Xinfeng Reservoir have been cleared. No one has cleared the other six instances yet. The Council of Elders is offering a bounty: clearing an S-rank instance earns a B-rank merit. Clearing an A-rank instance earns a C-rank merit. Clearing a B-rank instance earns a reward of five hundred thousand."
The post had been reposted from Taiyi Sect's official forum.
It was worth noting that in the official organization's merit system, A-rank merits were generally awarded only to those who had died, with their families receiving the benefits. Most recipients of B-rank merits had suffered irreparable injuries. C-rank merits were the highest a regular Spirit Realm Walker could earn, but they were still very difficult to obtain. Usually, only a team working together could manage it.
Only the five alliance leaders had ever received the highest rank, S-rank. At most, a handful of the most outstanding elders had earned A-rank merits.
So the value of a B-rank merit spoke for itself.
By the time Zhang Yuanqing finished reading the post, there were already over a thousand comments beneath it. The uproar was even greater than the one caused by the post at noon.
That was because the official Walkers of the Five Elements Alliance had realized this might not be something they could simply watch from the sidelines. Two of the instances Taiyi Sect had listed as having changed were multiplayer instances.
Multiplayer instances meant that Spirit Realm Walkers of other classes could also be assigned to them.
[Long Days Ahead: "Those two 'multiplayer instances' have supernatural elements, right? My God, even multiplayer instances have been affected?! At least only one of them, 'Jinshui Amusement Park,' is S-rank."]
[Call Me Queen: "First, no one knows how long these chaotic changes will continue. What we're seeing is only what's changed so far. If more multiplayer instances with supernatural elements are affected, we'll be in danger. Second, even if it's not a death-type instance, failing once will cost us enough experience to make our strength regress. That's a heavy price."]
[Past Days Are Bitter: "Sigh, I was joking around about it at noon, and now this happens. What do I do? I'm supposed to enter a multiplayer instance soon too. I won't be unlucky enough to get one of these, right?"]
[Little Pig George: "If these instances aren't cleared soon, the number of official Night Wanderers will plummet within six months. Other classes could also be affected. What kind of BOSS is this? It's bad enough to make Taiyi Sect offer a bounty."]
[Green Vine: "Everyone, take note: this bounty has been announced to Night Wanderers across the country. If you have Night Wanderer informants or know any independent Night Wanderers, make sure to pass it on."]
[White Dragon: "Is the person above an idiot? Clearing Night Wanderer instances is the Night Wanderers' own business. What we should really be concerned about is clearing multiplayer instances. Those are the ones that affect our lives and livelihoods."]
[Past Days Are Bitter: "Exactly, exactly. Offering a huge reward for guides to 'Jinshui Amusement Park,' 'Screaming Chamber,' and 'Apartment 13.'"]
M-Multiplayer instances had been affected too?! Zhang Yuanqing stared blankly.
Just then, his phone rang with a shrill ringtone.
It was Li Dongze.
Zhang Yuanqing answered the call and greeted him. "Squad Leader."
Li Dongze's voice was grave. "Were you on the forum today?"
"If you mean the changes to the Night Wanderer Spirit Realm, I already know about them." Zhang Yuanqing sighed.
"Don't worry too much. If the sky falls, someone tall will hold it up. Maybe by the time your solo instance comes around, Taiyi Sect will have cleared these high-difficulty instances. You need to trust the official organization," Li Dongze reassured him.
Then, as though trying to lighten the mood, he joked, "Of course, if you're confident in yourself, you can always be the one to clear an instance."
But that would be incredibly difficult.
"Did you call to reassure me, Squad Leader?" Zhang Yuanqing asked tentatively.
"Two things. You're due to enter an instance soon, and based on past experience, it'll probably be a multiplayer one. You know how the level-matching system works. Centurion Fu discovered that 'Jinshui Amusement Park' is an instance for the Transcendence Realm. To be safe, he used his authority to get an old guide for you. You can use it as a reference." Li Dongze added gravely:
"Remember, it's only a reference. The Spirit Realm has changed. If you put too much faith in the old guide, you'll die."
Centurion Fu was busy dealing with thousands of Rabbit Girls every day, and he still remembered a small fry like me? Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of gratitude.
Li Dongze reassured him again:
"We're only preparing for the worst. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. There are all kinds of multiplayer instances in the Transcendence Realm, so the chances of getting 'Jinshui Amusement Park' are very, very low."
I hope so. Squad Leader, you don't know that my Role Card is the Demon Lord's. Zhang Yuanqing asked, "What's the second thing?"
"The second thing is about Lei Yibing."
Before you continue