After the Lunar New Year, around the fifth or sixth day of the first lunar month, Xie De and Wei Yanchi left G City, bidding farewell to Xie De's parents.
Xie De stepped away from the warmth of ordinary life and threw himself back into his bloody, shadowy work in the Otherworld, traveling between countries as he worked to establish the Supreme Council.
Because the Supreme Council demanded such extensive authority, some countries refused to cooperate. Others went so far as to deny Xie De and his companions entry.
That was a major headache, but it was not his biggest one.
His biggest headache only came to light once he started investigating, and what he found was alarming. While the major organizations fought tooth and nail over science and technology, some smaller groups claimed to be members of the Otherworld while secretly worshipping evil gods. They were cults through and through.
Although cults like these were not as dangerous as the Laboratory, they were still terrorist organizations. Not only did they refuse to submit, they even began waging guerrilla warfare against instances.
It was enough to give anyone a headache.
While Xie De discussed countermeasures with 730, 455, Guan Chenghai, and the others, the time finally came for Wei Yanchi's makeup exams.
"Sir! I don't want to take exams. Isn't my strength enough to prove myself? How could my master do this? He insists I come back and retake every exam I failed, but I haven't studied at all!"
Wei Yanchi's wails came through the phone. He sounded utterly miserable, more hopeless than if he had been told to clear an instance or solve the world's problems.
It was an international call. While Wei Yanchi was taking his exams at the Taoist Academy, Xie De was resting in a country