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“Come on,” he said, “let’s play another game.”

“Of course,” the servant said. As he prepared the board, he hesitated, then quietly asked, “Master Seventh, about Third Highness and the Kid....”

Master Seventh looked at the servant. “You care a lot about the Kid, don’t you?”

The servant nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Third Sib does things by fair means or foul,” Master Seventh continued. “That’s just who he is. He looks kind, but the reality is that he’s completely emotionless. That’s how he rose to the top during his Offpeak years, and that’s how he joined the ranks of my apprentices. It’s what I like about him. As for the Kid, the question is whether he can figure out what Third Sib is all about, and whether he can stand out in his own way. It’ll depend on how smart he is. In this chaotic world, fools don’t last very long.”

With that, Master Seventh looked out at the predawn sky, which was just about to fill with light.

***

Beneath that same dome of heaven, in Harbor 79, Xu Qing sat down in his dharmaboat to think. As the sun rose, driving away the darkness of light, his eyes glittered.

First. Thirty years ago during the Grand Competition, the Merfolk became allies of Seven Blood Eyes. It makes sense that the two parties would seem united, but have underlying disagreements. Back during that incident at the Sixth Peak shop, the young merman was obviously scared of Second Highness. That seems to indicate that she was part of the Merfolk slaughter at the competition thirty years ago.

Second. Apprentices of the peaklord of the Seventh Peak probably wouldn’t openly go against his wishes. Second Highness’ attitude toward the Merfolk shows that things aren’t going perfectly with them. Then Third Highness actually killed some Merfolk. None of this is hard to reconcile. Except, why would Third Highness invite the Merfolk to Seven Blood Eyes, and then kill them? And also, why did he do it right in front of me? Third Highness has some other motive. If I was him, what circumstances would motivate me to do something like that? What would make me kill someone in another person’s presence?

Xu Qing’s eyes narrowed as he realized there was one obvious answer.

There’s only one thing that makes sense, and that would be if I wanted to blackmail the Merfolk. I would need some sort of leverage against them. And if no leverage existed, then I would need to create the leverage! I would only kill someone with a witness around if doing so would be profitable. Then I could both blackmail the Merfolk and also earn a favor at the same time. The premise is that the witness would need to be important.

Xu Qing thought back to the mysterious smile on the Captain’s face when he talked about the incident at Sealizard Island. It was obvious the man had some backdoor channels to get information. If the Captain had the means to do that, Third Highness would too.

Furthermore, Xu Qing hadn’t forgotten about how someone had locked onto his position when he fled Sealizard Island. He hadn’t been able to identify the person behind that when he was speeding along underwater, but right now, his eyes glittered as he came up with a theory about who it was.

The fact that Seven Blood Eyes is allowing all this to happen seems to indicate... that they want to strike a blow against the Merfolk! Regardless, the time has come for me to get out of here for a while!

Xu Qing had no way of knowing if his analysis was correct. Therefore, he would leave for a short time in case there were ramifications to the recent events. Only after they blew over would he make his return.

After all, he was very close to reaching the tenth level of Qi Condensation. After that would come the breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, which would qualify him for Onpeak life, and also earn him the right to share in Seven Blood Eyes profit. That meant he would have a minimum monthly income of 5,000 spirit stones for as long as Seven Blood Eyes existed. From the moment he heard about that, he had been intrigued by the possibility. Of course, staying alive was more important.

Therefore, it was without hesitation that he chose to take a trip out of the sect. Besides, this was a good opportunity to take care of something that had been troubling him for a long time. And that was... Patriarch Golden Vajra Warrior. Only by killing him could Xu Qing truly sleep well at night.

Having made his decision, he didn’t waste any time. As the sun rose, he put away his dharmaboat then went to the Violent Crimes Division.

The Golden Vajra Warrior Sect is an official sect. They might be small, but if they really relocated their headquarters, they won’t be able to do it secretly. Seven Blood Eyes keeps an eye on everything that happens in its territory.

As a member of the Violent Crimes Division, Xu Qing had the right to browse the division archives, which contained all sorts of information about what was going on in Seven Blood Eyes territory.

Of course, the information wouldn’t be as detailed as what the Intelligence Division had access to. But it was a lot easier to do research in his own workplace than to go to the Intelligence Division.

Therefore, it didn’t take long before he was at the Violent Crimes Division’s Archives Office.

He was much more well-known in Violent Crimes than the sect in general. He had performed spectacularly in the Night Dove operation, and had brought in the heads of numerous criminals for bounties.

Because of that, when he arrived, the Archives Office disciples were very polite, and gave Xu Qing access to whatever he asked for. Before long, he was browsing through some random reports that the sect didn’t take very seriously. That was where he found the clue he was looking for.

They sought asylum with the Church of Departure?

His eyes narrowed as he read through the file. Most people thought of the Church of Departure as being full of lunatics. And most organizations viewed the Church with either revulsion or fear. It was more common to leave their area of influence than get closer to them.

I doubt it’s just because of me that they moved. It probably has a lot to do with Second Highness and her demand for gifts. After paying up, they were probably broke, and also terrified. Rather than stay in Second Highness’ territory, they decided to just leave.

Xu Qing rubbed his chin as he perused the details of the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect’s departure. Then he left the Violent Crimes Division.

Out on the street in the Port District, he went around to some random shops to sell some of the miscellaneous items he’d acquired on Sealizard Island, including a handful of lizard skins. He also bought some things he would need while away from the sect, including quite a few poisonous plants.

Finally, he stood outside of a shop that sold talisman treasures. Trying not to feel disappointed at how many spirit stones he was about to lose, he went inside.

Shortly after, he came out with some special talisman treasures. These specific talismans could change a person’s appearance and aura. Although the effect wasn’t perfect, it was good enough for what Xu Qing wanted to do.

It was currently noontime, and though winter was on the way, Seven Blood Eyes’ geographical position ensured that even winters were warm. After all, the sun shone brightly here year-round.

Walking through that sunlight, Xu Qing entered an alley. When he emerged from the other end of the alley, he looked different. He wasn’t delicately handsome, but rather, looked like a sallow, long-faced middle-aged man. And instead of a daoist robe, he wore an ordinary jerkin. His cultivation base fluctuations were different as well. Instead of being those of the ninth level of Qi Condensation, they were more like the third.

He knew full well that someone in the ninth level of Qi Condensation would stand out among scavengers. But someone in the third level of Qi Condensation, though impressive, wouldn’t draw a lot of attention.

Sensing that the power of the talisman treasure was active, Xu Qing looked around cautiously, then kept his face expressionless as he headed toward the teleportation portals. He didn’t use his identity medallion, but instead paid the spirit stone fee. Before long, he stepped onto the portal and disappeared into the dazzling light.

***

In the eastern part of South Phoenix, some tens of thousands of kilometers away from the old headquarters of the Golden Vajra Warrior Sect, was a vast, sparsely populated area. It was a wilderness in which a specific type of crimson, saw-toothed grass grew. Because of that grass, it came to be called the Crimson Wilds.

From a distance, the place looked like it was covered with fresh blood. It was actually a somewhat ghastly place. The mutagen there was much stronger than in most wilderness areas of South Phoenix, and as a result, the mutant beasts were much fiercer.

It was no surprise that in such a foul environment, cities were not common. You might see one every few hundred kilometers. They were crude and primitive places, and scavengers usually occupied the slums around them.

Whether you considered the geography or the population, the Crimson Wilds was a nasty place. The clans of the Violet Lands looked down on it, and Seven Blood Eyes hardly paid it any attention. However, the Church of Departure, because of certain aspects of their teachings, liked nasty places like this, and often proselytized there. That was why the Crimson Wilds came to be part of the Church of Departure’s territory.

On the edge of the Crimson Wilds was a city jointly operated by the Violet Lands and Seven Blood Eyes. It was the only place in the Crimson Wilds that had a teleportation portal.

The teleportation portal blazed to life, and a middle-aged cultivator with a sallow complexion and a black jerkin appeared. Of course, it was Xu Qing in disguise.

Before he even stepped off of the portal, he was surrounded by a putrid, noxious scent. To people who weren’t familiar with it, that odor would be very difficult to acclimate to. But Xu Qing was very familiar with it, though it was a bit stronger than the places he’d lived before. He kept his face expressionless as he walked off the platform. The handful of lazy guards nearby barely looked at him.

As he walked through the city, he saw that most of the buildings were gray and dilapidated. Trash and feces littered the ground. Everyone looked on edge, and people kept their distance from each other. There weren’t many women, and those he did see looked ferocious. There were a few children, who stuck to the shadows in the alleys, and looked out with dull eyes that had seen plenty of death. Occasionally, he heard screams or angry curses.

Seems more like a scavenger basecamp.

People looked at him with either caution or ill intent, but he ignored all of them. He didn’t stay in the city long. In fact, he went straight out the gate and then started moving at top speed through the wilderness.

The Golden Vajra Warrior Sect had relocated to the Crimson Wilds, and wasn’t very far from this exact city.

Before coming, Xu Qing had checked a map of the area, and knew where he was going.

He moved with incredible speed, the chill wind biting against his face. He even felt a few snowflakes smack into him, and some of the distant low-lying mountains were capped with snow. Winters were warm in Seven Blood Eyes, but in this place, it was already getting very cold.

It made him think of the past. And as he traveled, he saw many beasts, as well as human remains.

A chaotic world. Expression calm, he picked up speed.

In this manner, time passed. Soon night came, and with it, more wind and snow. Once he was far from the city, and out in the Crimson Wilds proper, Xu Qing suddenly stopped moving and looked off into the distance.

Along with the wind came the sound of vicious laughter and blood. Through the snowy wind, he could see a pile of corpses. Within it were commoners, guards, and surrounding it were random cargo and damaged horse carts. It was obviously a merchant caravan that had been heading toward the city.

Next to the pile of corpses stood a group of about a dozen people in tattered clothing, their hair disheveled, and their expressions vicious. They were criminals, and most of them were in the second level of Qi Condensation. Some were tending to weapons, some were rifling through cargo, and others were dragging the corpses away. A few were giving way to bestial desires upon the corpses of dead women.

Even further away were some fires; apparently someone was preparing hot food. Obviously, this merchant caravan had run into these criminals, and everyone in the caravan was now dead.

Xu Qing’s arrival attracted the attention of some of the criminals, who looked at him with vicious eyes.

Seeing that he emanated the fluctuations of the third level of Qi Condensation, they grinned viciously and started heading right toward him.

They thought Xu Qing would be their next victim.

Xu Qing looked at them coldly. He had seen acts of slaughter just like this many, many times. Of course, his experience with scavengers led him to realize that the caravans that braved the wilderness usually weren’t filled with good people. People in those caravans wouldn’t hesitate to slaughter anyone weaker than themselves.

That was just how things were in a world of chaos. People killed, and they got killed. There was no point in compassionately trying to figure out who was good and who was bad.

But... since these people had attacked him, he couldn’t just leave them alone.