"Xinghe, don't we have an undercover agent in the Evil Spirit Cult? What's the point of controlling the Dark Earl?"
Gu Yuena watched Meng Xinghe use his methods to control the unconscious Dark Earl and asked in confusion.
Meng Xinghe replied, "An undercover agent is like money. No one ever thinks they have too much money; they only want to find ways to make more."
Hearing that, Gu Yuena nodded as though she understood.
She had been born wealthy and had never needed to earn money herself. She rarely even spent it herself; nearly everything she needed had been prepared by others. As such, she truly had little concept of human money.
To her, wasn't money simply something you could have whenever you wanted it?
Besides, human lives were so short, and money could not be taken with them after death. She truly did not understand why humans were so obsessed with it.
Meng Xinghe understood what Gu Yuena was thinking. "Humans aren't like you."
"Some people live to enjoy life, while others live merely to survive. Having money is the former; lacking money is the latter. You've never had to worry about money or earning it, so naturally, you can't truly understand humanity's obsession with it."
With that explanation, Gu Yuena understood.
She still understood the difference between living and surviving.
Weak Soul Beasts hunted to survive, because they would starve to death if they did not. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion hunted to live, because even if she did not hunt, the other ferocious beasts would prepare her favorite food for her.
For humans, money determined whether they could live or merely survive. That was why they were so obsessed with it.
"Xinghe," Gu Yuena continued along the topic of the Evil Spirit Cult.
"Who is our undercover agent in the Evil Spirit Cult?"
Meng Xinghe raised his head to look at the sky. Seeing this, Gu Yuena also looked up.
It was now evening. The sun had set beyond the western mountains, and a bright moon hung faintly in the sky. If one's eyesight was good enough, one could even see one or two stars twinkling in the not-yet-darkened heavens.
"Our undercover agent in the Evil Spirit Cult is..."
Federal Investigation Bureau, East Sea Branch.
Outside the chemistry laboratory, Wu Changkong and Long Bing accompanied Tang Wulin as they waited in the corridor. Xie Xie had not stayed to accompany his best friend, because his father had taken him away.
Tang Wulin looked through the glass window into the laboratory. His mother was skillfully preparing a chemical agent, while his father assisted at her side.
"Student Wulin, don't worry." Long Bing spoke to comfort Tang Wulin, her gentle manner like that of a caring older sister.
"I asked my father about the situation. The reason the Evil Spirit Cult captured your parents was most likely a medicine they developed many years ago. Now, the Federation needs your parents to prepare that medicine, determine its exact effects, and infer why the Evil Spirit Cult needs it. Only then can we better protect your parents."
"Mm." Tang Wulin responded, forcing a smile onto his face.
That shouldn't be it. How could it be a medicine?
Tang Wulin's thoughts were in disarray.
He had already guessed that his father was a senior Mecha Repairman. Though he had been somewhat surprised to learn his mother was a pharmacist, that was all.
But shouldn't the reason the Evil Spirit Cult captured them have been the Golden Dragon King's God Core? How could it be some medicine?
Moreover, Tang Wulin had discovered that his parents seemed completely unaware of the God Core inside him, just as they did not know of Brother Huo's existence.
Then who had placed the Golden Dragon King's God Core inside him? And who had placed eighteen seals within his body?
"Brother Huo, do you know?"
"I do," Huo Yuhao replied instantly. "But you're still young. There are some things you need to wait until you've grown up to be told."
At that moment, footsteps sounded in the corridor. Na Nali walked toward the laboratory, and ahead of her was a middle-aged man wearing a plaid shirt and a monocle.
Recognizing him, Wu Changkong and Long Bing quickly rose and saluted. "Director Shi."
Tang Wulin also stood up and politely said, "Hello, Director Shi."
"Mm." The middle-aged man nodded slightly.
His name was Shi Xing, the current director of the Federal Investigation Bureau. A Demigod, his Martial Soul, the Time Flies Clock, possessed the rare and powerful time attribute. He was hailed as the "strongest beneath Quasi-Gods."
(Yes, he was that Shrek City Lord Schrödinger. As for why Shi Xing appeared in this era, everyone should understand.)
Shi Xing looked at Tang Wulin and said,
"You're little Tang Wulin, right? Come, stand in front of Uncle."
As he spoke, he took a silver-white pocket watch from his pocket. With a click, the cover sprang open. One end of the chain remained in his hand while the watch face dangled below, falling freely through the air before swaying from side to side. Waves of silver-white ripples spread through the air.
The invisible, intangible power of time circled Tang Wulin once before forming a moving image of time reversing behind him.
Through that reversed-time image, Shi Xing, Wu Changkong, and Long Bing witnessed the entire course of the Evil Soul Master incident.
Tang Wulin was not drawn to the image behind him, because something before him was even more captivating.
What am I seeing? Nine Soul Rings are surrounding this uncle. That's the mark of a Titled Douluo, but why are the Soul Rings' colors...
Tang Wulin thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. He rubbed them, but when he looked again, nothing had changed.
The man's nine Soul Rings had only two colors: red and orange-gold.
Six of the Soul Rings were red, while three were orange-gold...
The Spirit Pagoda's Soul Spirit handbook stated that a hundred-thousand-year Soul Spirit could provide a Soul Master with five Soul Rings, while a ferocious beast Soul Spirit could provide six.
Six red and three orange-gold. Such a Soul Ring configuration meant this uncle possessed at least two hundred-thousand-year Soul Spirits and one ferocious beast Soul Spirit.
Tang Wulin was stunned. So this is the director of the Federal Investigation Bureau? He really is terrifying!
Compared to him, Deputy Director Na Nali's Soul Ring configuration was far inferior. The four black and five red rings that had amazed him that morning now seemed like nothing much beside Director Shi Xing's configuration.
"Director, did you find anything?"
Na Nali asked. Outsiders like them could only see the image of time reversing, but as the user of the soul skill, Shi Xing could sense far more through his own Martial Soul.
Shi Xing shook his head regretfully.
In truth, he had discovered Dai Mao, who had been hiding in the shadows at the time. However, this likely concerned Heavenly God's plan, so he naturally could not reveal it carelessly.
"Perhaps the key to the answer lies in..."
A set of electronically printed documents appeared out of thin air in Shi Xing's hand. "Tang Ziran was once a resident of the Star Luo Empire. As a child, he immigrated to the Federation with his family. Young Tang Ziran had no parents, and the one who helped prepare his immigration procedures was the clan chief who took over his guardianship."
"To uncover the truth behind this incident, we need to understand Tang Ziran's past in the Star Luo Empire."
Before you continue