The phone rang for a long time before the other end answered. The voice was clear and precise, but its tone was icy:
"I'm currently reviewing Ou Xiangrong's files, analyzing his behavioral patterns. You have ten seconds."
Within the Official Spirit Realm Walker organization, small teams served as the primary force for handling cases, while Deacons coordinated from behind the scenes, only intervening personally in particularly difficult situations.
Centurion Fu is really putting the pressure on us, Li Dongze thought, clearing his throat. He reported in a low, serious voice:
"Centurion Fu, we've eliminated Ou Xiangrong."
The response was clearly unexpected. The line went silent for a few seconds before Fu Qingyang's voice, now devoid of its earlier coldness, asked:
"Where did you find him?"
Li Dongze replied:
"We eliminated him at Songhai University. He was trying to force Xu Yingying to reveal the location of the Holy Grail and the Roster, but she had no knowledge of either. She's just an ordinary female student. Your assessment was correct—Ou Xiangrong had indeed lost his mind."
Fu Qingyang praised him: "Well done, Li Dongze. Your quick thinking prevented a large-scale bloodbath. I'll recommend you and your team for commendation to the Council of Elders. Were there any casualties?"
"No," Li Dongze paused. "Centurion Fu, we didn't kill him."
"You didn't kill him?" Fu Qingyang's voice carried a hint of confusion. Then, as if a realization struck him, he exclaimed, "Ah, I almost forgot! There's an elder from the Water God Palace at Songhai University. Was it him who intervened? I should pay him a visit sometime to express my gratitude."
An elder at Songhai University? Li Dongze's face registered surprise before he realized Centurion Fu had misunderstood. He quickly clarified, "Ou Xiangrong was killed by Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the Nightwalker I recently recruited."
A Level 1 Nightwalker killed a Level 3 Seductive Demon?
The centurion on the other end of the line fell silent again. After a dozen seconds, Fu Qingyang said, "Understood. Have him submit a detailed report."
After a pause, his voice softened with amusement. "Well done."
Ending the call, Li Dongze gripped the steering wheel, his face beaming, and unconsciously pressed harder on the accelerator.
White Dragon pulled out his phone and created a temporary group chat with the other captains. "Look at Li Dongze strutting around! His mustache is practically flying up to his eyebrows."
Green Vine replied, "Their team pulled off a major coup. If I had an subordinate like that, I'd be just as smug."
Within the Official Organization's regulations, to foster a strong sense of collective honor, a single member's achievement would result in rewards for the entire team, including bonuses and performance evaluations for all members.
Regarding the Nightwalker Li Dongze had recruited, the Captains had initially felt simple envy. Now, however, their jealousy had grown so intense that they were tempted to abandon all sense of fair play.
Kangyang District Public Security Bureau, Morgue.
Li Dongze closed the morgue door, blocking the Captains from entering.
He gazed at Zhang Yuanqing beside him, his eyes deep and penetrating, and said, "Nightwalkers can increase their experience points by devouring Spectral Entities, but the long-term side effect is spiritual corruption. If you've already tried this method to enhance your strength, you should understand what I mean."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded.
"Have you tried using that artifact to purify your mental impurities?" Li Dongze prompted, revealing his own solution.
Seeing Zhang Yuanqing frown in thought, Li Dongze chuckled. "It seems that artifact comes with a significant price."
Indeed, using it too often leads to anemia and a deficiency of both qi and blood. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly recalled a detail: he had once discovered a Spectral Crystal in the Mountain Goddess's mouth.
Now it seemed highly likely that the Spectral Crystal had been formed from the condensed soul of a Spirit Realm Walker who had died at the Mountain God Temple.
This explained why the item description claimed it was the Nightwalker's best tonic.
The impurities within the Spectral Crystal were likely spiritual pollution, but the Goddess had purified them. By extension, the Demon Subduing Pestle should also be capable of purifying spiritual pollution.
With this in mind, Zhang Yuanqing opened his Inventory and retrieved the Demon Subduing Pestle—a brass-colored staff intricately carved with floral patterns and incantations.
He briefly explained the item's effects and drawbacks, then said, "If I go berserk later, stab me with this. Yeah, stab my thigh."
"Got it!" Li Dongze took the pestle.
Zhang Yuanqing approached Ou Xiangrong's corpse, placed his palm against the man's chest, took a deep breath, and summoned viscous, pitch-black energy from the depths of his eyes, awakening the Spectral Entity lingering within the corpse.
A throbbing pain erupted in his forehead, and his consciousness expanded violently as something foreign forcefully invaded his mind.
Through the haze, Zhang Yuanqing saw himself, the Underground Parking Garage, and the eerie Red Dancing Shoes.
This was the battle that had just unfolded in the parking garage.
Zhang Yuanqing silently waited for the battle to end. The scene quickly shifted to a dimly lit room where Ou Xiangrong stood before a masked man holding an exquisitely crafted crystal goblet filled with a crimson liquid as red as blood.
"As a Seductive Demon, your evil is pure. You possess considerable potential. Drink the wine from the Holy Grail, and you will become my servant."
"You must drink from the Holy Grail again every half-month, or even the gods cannot save you."
"Remember my name: Eerie Eye Judge."
In a cheap rental apartment, a man wearing a mask and a baseball cap stood in the living room, his voice cold as he said:
"The Eerie Eye Judge is dead. His trusted lieutenant, Black guard of Impermanence, has fled with the Fallen Holy Grail and the Roster, hiding in Songhai City. If you don't want to die from the poison, help us find him. The Spiritual Energy Association won't let you down."
The scene changed again. He saw a blue sky and a group of thugs in bizarre outfits kicking and punching him.
The abrupt shift in style left Zhang Yuanqing disoriented. It took him several seconds to realize he was being bullied.
Is this Ou Xiangrong's past memories? he wondered. I never imagined such a ruthless killer would have experienced something like this.
"Ou Xiangrong, are you deaf to my words?"
"Ou Xiangrong, you'd better cherish the times we speak to you properly."
Don't hit me, don't hit me. Zhang Yuanqing sensed Ou Xiangrong's intense fear as he cowered in terror.
"Useless wretch! Getting bullied again? If they hit you, hit them back! Why are you crying to me? How could I have spawned such a worthless piece of trash?"
A middle-aged man roared, spittle flying from his mouth.
This time, Zhang Yuanqing felt despair radiating from Ou Xiangrong's emotions.
A chaotic, fragmented series of images flashed through his mind: repeated instances of similar abuse, each one twisting Ou Xiangrong's psyche further, driving him deeper into violence.
Suddenly, a radiant, pure golden light pierced through the Sea of Consciousness, dispelling the violence and pain, bringing warmth.
Zhang Yuanqing's eyes snapped open. He saw the bright fluorescent lights and pristine white walls, and then Li Dongze, his face bruised and swollen, his suit disheveled.
"Chief, are you alright?"
Zhang Yuanqing was startled. He quickly touched his face and found it streaked with tears.
"I'm fine," Li Dongze said, casually tossing the bloodstained Demon Subduing Pestle to the ground as he straightened his clothes. "I should have brought Guan Ya. She's a better fighter than I am. This is so undignified."
Once he had tidied himself up, he eagerly asked, "Did you find any new clues? You look terrible."
"I'm just feeling a bit down."
His experience points had increased again, but this time, Zhang Yuanqing felt no joy.
Li Dongze's expression cleared with understanding. "Is it because of Ou Xiangrong's memories?"
"Yeah."
The memories of Spectral Entities are fragmented and incomplete, retaining only the most haunting experiences. After all these years, Ou Xiangrong remained fixated on his childhood traumas, which had shaped his entire life.
Even though Ou Xiangrong was a despicable criminal, Zhang Yuanqing still felt deeply troubled.
Li Dongze sighed. "I don't know what you saw in those memories, but I understand. The Nightwalkers of the Taiyi Sect despise consuming the Spectral Entities of Evil Classes for this very reason. Primordial, do you know why the concept of 'Evil Class' even exists?"
Instead of immediately pressing for clues about the case, he seized the opportunity to enlighten Zhang Yuanqing, saying:
"In the factional conflicts, we've slain countless Evil Class practitioners. After analyzing the data from the Taiyi Sect's Nightwalker Soul Inquiries, we observed a consistent pattern: every Evil Class practitioner was a villain or criminal in the real world.
"In other words, the Spirit Realm selects Spirit Realm Walkers for the Evil Classes from specific groups."
Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. "So, they didn't become evil because they became Evil Class practitioners. They were already evil to begin with."
"But their wickedness isn't entirely innate," Li Dongze sighed. "It's a firestorm of humanity's own making.
"The Spirit Realm doesn't actively cultivate evil. Every Evil Class practitioner's emergence is a consequence of humanity's own karmic flames. This reality is bleak and lacks positive energy, but it's the truth of the world. Understand it, but don't broadcast it."
Zhang Yuanqing nodded silently.
"One more thing," Li Dongze added. "You've already killed Ou Xiangrong, so you should have gained Reputation, right?"
"Killing fellow Spirit Realm Walkers within the same faction doesn't deduct Morality Value, but having Reputation makes them wary. If you have 10 Reputation points, killing you would cost a fellow faction member 20 Morality Value points. Heh, there's a difference between being Orderly and being Good."
After explaining this, Li Dongze patted Zhang Yuanqing on the shoulder. "Alright, let's get down to business. No time to waste."
So, among Orderly Class members, there are Good, Chaotic, and Neutral alignments? Then, among Evil Class members, could there be those who have repented and turned good? Like Zhang Yuanqing himself...
Zhang Yuanqing shook off his thoughts, steeled his resolve, and said gravely, "Chief, I think I saw something major in Ou Xiangrong's memories."
"Major?" Li Dongze chuckled. "He was just a Level 3 Seductive Demon. How major could it be? I've been working here for years—I've seen it all. Just tell me."
He wasn't being arrogant; Li Dongze simply believed that Primordial's inexperience might have skewed his perception of what constituted a "major" event.
"It's like this..." Zhang Yuanqing began, recounting the memories he had extracted.
A few minutes later, Li Dongze burst out of the morgue at full speed, roaring at the captains outside, "Major incident! Major incident!!"