Spirit Realm Walker

A roar erupted from the crowd like a tidal wave, layer upon layer of noise crashing over the arena. They had just witnessed a clash between star-caliber competitors. It had been a dazzling, breathtaking fight, a win snatched from the jaws of certain defeat.

From the gladiatorial arenas of antiquity to the concert halls and stadiums of the modern age, battles like these were always the same: loud, electric, and exhilarating. The crowd’s pent-up emotions had detonated, and the fuse had been Yuanshi Tianzun’s string of maneuvers in the second half, every one of them defying expectation. 

He’d somehow neutralized what looked like an unwinnable situation. Then he’d strapped a mask onto the Maoshan Warlock’s own yin corpse. A few deft moves, and the entire battle had flipped on its head. When that brutal melee yin corpse entered the arena at the end, only one thought remained in every spectator’s mind: He had a yin corpse?

He received the kind of thunderous applause and cheers that only a brilliant reversal by an underdog could provoke. A safe, predictable outcome could never have made the crowd explode like this.

”So Yuanshi Tianzun was acting weak on purpose the whole time, right? He kept his yin corpse off the field, waited for Maoshan Warlock to let his guard down, then delivered the finishing blow!”

”That was incredible. Genuinely incredible. From sealing Warlock’s yin corpse away to summoning his own to finish the job. There seem to be layers of strategy behind every move, but I can’t even begin to break it all down.”

”He really lives up to his reputation as a genius who’s cleared two S-rank dungeons. Has that Maoshan Warlock ever cleared an S-rank dungeon? Has he even cleared an A-rank one? What business does he have fighting our Yuanshi Tianzun?”

”I have no idea what just happened, but I’m absolutely shaken. When we get back to reality, let’s check the official analysis posts.”

”Huh? I thought we weren’t allowed to leak the details of the fights.”

”The official analysis posts come out every year. They won’t reveal item attributes or specific mechanics, but they’ll show you exactly how Yuanshi Tianzun pulled off the win.”

***

Compared to the Five Elements Alliance members that were whooping with delight, the atmosphere in the Taiyi Sect’s section was decidedly flat.

As practitioners of the Nocturnal Specter class, the pinnacle of combat professions, the Taiyi Sect’s members carried a natural pride about them. When that young man in the arena called them out, more than a few raised their eyebrows, feeling the sting of provocation. But the accusation was justified and they had no ground to stand on, so all they could do was fix Yuanshi Tianzun with hostile glares.

Maoshan Warlock had been a solid second-tier contender among the Transcendent ranks of the Taiyi Sect. No one had expected him to become another stepping stone for Yuanshi Tianzun’s rise to fame.

Zhao Chenghuang let out a cold snort. ”Trash. He got outplayed from start to finish.”

He turned his gaze toward the young sect member nearby who had shouted that warning mid-fight, his voice turning to frost. ”Disgraceful. Return.”

Zhao Chenghuang’s form vanished.

”Return.”

The Taiyi Sect’s Saints and Transcendents filed out one after another, departing back to reality.

Only Sun Miaomiao remained, her gaze lingering on Little Goofball with an almost lovestruck intensity, unable to look away and unwilling to leave.

***

”That boy’s a rough jade,” Elder Hongying said with a sigh of admiration.

A Nocturnal Specter that sharp and cunning was someone who elicited a deep and heartfelt appreciation. It was a shame he wasn’t a Taiyi Sect disciple.

Elder Sun, on the other hand, looked like he was about to burst a blood vessel, his mustache bristling and his eyes bulging. The words ”Elder Sun is senile” seemed to echo in his ears in an endless, mocking loop.

***

Phoenix Descending looked on as Yuanshi Tianzun stood in the arena. When she spoke, her voice was full of genuine admiration.

”He knew his enemy was strong and himself weak, so he laid out a plan from the very start. Every step was linked to the next. He used his cunning to overcome raw power. Guild Leader, I think I finally understand why you value Yuanshi Tianzun so highly. He really does have extraordinary tactical intelligence.”

As a Saint, she could read Yuanshi Tianzun’s plays clearly, and she knew that she herself could never have devised something so bold yet so meticulous at the Transcendent tier. The Transcendent Walkers screaming their heads off in the stands mostly couldn’t appreciate the finer details. Once they truly understood the depth of his strategy, their awe would only deepen.

After she finished speaking, Fu Qingyang turned his head. His eyes, as still and cold as a frozen pool, settled on her.

”You’re too naive,” he said flatly. ”Return.”

He vanished from his seat.

Phoenix Descending stared blankly at Shichiro, who sat two empty seats away, and blinked in confusion. ”Was my analysis wrong?”

”I don’t think so,” Shichiro replied without hesitation. ”Yuanshi Tianzun achieved victory from a position of weakness. He knew he couldn’t match his opponent head on, so he fought with six parts strength and four parts wit. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

***

On the other side of the arena, Bill Tarantino smiled. ”What a splendid match.”

He glanced over at Annie beside him, whose cheeks had flushed pink. Her eyes had gone glassy and distant, and her breathing had quickened. He shook his head with a sigh. 

”Time to go. This isn’t the place for you to be in heat.”

This was a particular quirk of the Love and Desire Walkers. When they laid eyes on prey that stirred their heart, and when their emotions surged, it triggered a wave of intense desire that compelled them to pursue and conquer their target, to drag them both down into a shared abyss of love and longing.

Love and Desire, after all, was always a two-way street, Bill knew. Annie had found her ideal prey.

”Return.”

Annie drew a deep, steadying breath. ”Return.”

***

Zhu Rong ran her tongue across her lips, her gaze fixed on the young man in the arena with an almost predatory hunger. She inhaled slowly, the corners of her mouth curling upward.

”Return.”

***

”Return.”

More and more spectators took their leave of the Spirit Realm, vanishing back to reality.

Zhang Yuanqing stood in the center of the arena, watching the audience in the stands blink out of existence one by one. He waved toward Guan Ya, Queen, the little green tea princess, and Jiang Jingwei. Well, Jiang Jingwei had already bolted back to reality, no doubt eager to go eat.

He recalled Little Goofball to his side, placed one hand on Corpse No. 1’s shoulder, and murmured, ”Return.”

The ancient colosseum dissolved in an instant, replaced by the familiar sight of his bedroom.

He let out a long breath. ”It’s over.”

Zhang Yuanqing spread his arms wide and let himself fall backward, crashing heavily onto the bed. Immediately, his face twisted in a grimace as a sharp breath hissed through his teeth. He’d forgotten about the stab wound in his abdomen, the one that had punched clean through his organs.

The bleeding had mostly stopped, and it would probably heal on its own within a couple of hours. There was just enough time for a nap.

He fired off a message to Xiao Yuan: First fight, first win. My opponent was Maoshan Warlock, ranked ninth in the top twenty.

It was a shame he didn’t have the Slaughter Cessation Palace Master’s phone number, or he would’ve sent her one too, just to show off.

***

Night fell, and neon lights lit up the bar district, covering it in sheets like a gaudy curtain.

Inside the bar on the corner, the lighting was soft and subdued, free of the chaotic flash of colored strobe lights. Men and women in all manner of dress filled the space, some exchanging intelligence in hushed tones, others haggling over materials and items, and still others satisfying darker urges in the dimly lit corners.

In the private room behind the bar, a gaunt middle-aged man in a bathrobe sat on the edge of the bed, listening to his subordinate’s report. On the mattress behind him lay two voluptuous women, their smooth skin mottled with bruises, tear stains still drying on their cheeks, unconscious and unmoving.

”So what you’re telling me is that he disappeared while pursuing the palace master of Slaughter Cessation Palace,” the Lust Divine General said with a furrowed brow. ”I’m well acquainted with the Demon Eye’s capabilities. The palace master isn’t strong enough to take him down on her own. And yet he’s vanished.”

The subordinate kept his voice low. ”Yes, sir.”

The Lust Divine General fell silent, turning the piece of information over in his mind. He had a fairly complete picture of everything the Demon Eye had done since arriving in Songhai. He had gone about killing gangsters and corrupt officials, while seemingly singularly obsessed with tracking down Yuanshi Tianzun with barely a thought for the Palace Master.

That’s classic Demon Eye behavior, he thought. What a righteous companion you are. It’s really a waste of your Enchanting Demon talents.

He reached back and ran his hand along the smooth, bare back of one of the women behind him.

”The Palace Master doesn’t have the power to do this,” he said aloud. ”But the elders of the Songhai Branch do. The Demon Eye had his sights set on Yuanshi Tianzun, and there’s no way the Branch’s leadership would have sat idle. The problem is, the Demon Eye should have been impossible to ambush.”

He was all but certain that the Demon Eye had been captured and imprisoned by the Songhai Branch’s senior leadership. What he couldn’t figure out was how those Lawful-aligned Sovereigns had managed to get the drop on him.

”Sir, perhaps if we locate Yuanshi Tianzun, we can learn the truth. The Demon Eye Heavenly King already determined that Yuanshi Tianzun is a student at Songhai University.”

A Songhai University student? The first image that sprang to the Lust Divine General’s mind was a parade of pure-faced, beautiful college girls.

”Noted. There’s no rush on this.” He pulled his robe tighter around his shoulders and strode out of the room.

He emerged into the main hall, bathed in the bar’s soft amber light, and raised his voice so every patron could hear. ”Ladies and gentlemen, I have a job. I’m looking for the latest intelligence on Yuanshi Tianzun and the palace master of Slaughter Cessation Palace, as well as their current locations. One hundred thousand per piece of intel. Five hundred thousand for a residential address.”

In truth, the Lust Divine General had no real interest in finding Yuanshi Tianzun or the palace master, and even less interest in tracking down the Demon Eye Heavenly King. None of it concerned him. He would have been perfectly happy if Demon Eye stayed missing, locked away permanently.

But the Fear Heavenly King had personally given him the order, and he needed to at least look like he was making an effort. He had to show the right attitude. Whether he actually produced results was a matter of ability, not commitment.

Once enough time passed and the heat died down, he could get back to what really mattered: savoring Songhai’s pleasures and its seemingly endless supply of beautiful women.

A cool, crystalline voice cut through the noise in the bar. ”I have a piece of intelligence on Yuanshi Tianzun. Regarding the Tournament.”

Just the sound of that voice made the Lust Divine General’s eyes light up. He had toyed with enough women to have heard every variety of voice imaginable, and over the years, he’d honed his hearing into something approaching an art. This voice was crisp as cold spring water, with the magnetic undercurrent of womanly maturity. Exquisite.

He turned toward the source, and his delight only grew.

In the corner of the bar sat a woman in a white dress shirt. Her voice was cool and detached, but her features were strikingly vivid. Her eyes were round and alluring, shimmering with an almost liquid charm. Her jawline swept upward in an elegant taper that gave her an almost classic oval face. Her straight and delicate nose was perched above a small, red-lipped mouth that was pressed into a habitual line that radiated authority and cold pride.

Below her slender, porcelain neck, a generous figure filled out the white shirt. She was an extraordinary beauty, the kind that lingered in the mind.

The Lust Divine General smiled. ”What intelligence?” 

”Yuanshi Tianzun won his opening match of the Tournament,” the stunning, ice-cold woman replied with casual indifference. ”His opponent was Maoshan Warlock, ranked ninth on the top twenty list. A Nocturnal Specter.”

It wasn’t exactly groundbreaking information.

The Lust Divine General snapped his fingers. ”Get this lovely lady her payment.”

One of his subordinates promptly carried over a thick stack of bills and set it down in front of Xiao Yuan. Having successfully cashed in for free, Xiao Yuan put the money away with a single sweep. With a satisfied air, she drained the last of her drink and rose to leave.

The Lust Divine General watched her retreating figure with undisguised longing. Only after she pushed through the bar door and disappeared into the night did he beckon a subordinate closer and issue his instructions.

”I want a file on her. As detailed as possible.”

The Lust Divine General was a slave to his appetites, but he was never hasty. Before making his move, he liked to have every scrap of information laid bare, so that he was in complete control.

Reckless, impulsive Walkers of the Evil alignment didn’t live long enough to reach the Saint tier. Everyone who’d survived this long was smart. Unlike Fire Sages.

***

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing, still in high spirits, opened up the official forum.

The forum’s probably full of posts singing my praises by now, he thought.

His eyes fell on the pinned post at the top, highlighted in red.

【#Strategic Analysis of Yuanshi Tianzun’s Defeat of Maoshan Warlock#】