Chapter 122: The Candidates

Headquarters of Everywhere Express.

The chairman’s office.

Ye Yan cradled a cup of hot tea as he sat across from Zhao Fangxu. After taking two sips, he finally spoke.

“Chairman Zhao, why did you ask me to come?”

The call had come so suddenly that even after arriving at Everywhere Express headquarters, Ye Yan still had no idea what he had been brought there to do.

Originally, Xu Si had told him over the phone that he would explain everything once they met.

But the moment Ye Yan got out of the car, Zhao Fangxu had pulled him away. Xu Si had not even had time to say a word.

So, even now, Ye Yan had no idea what was going on or why he had been summoned to headquarters. In short, he was completely in the dark.

“All right, I’ll get straight to the point.” Zhao Fangxu smiled warmly. “Young Friend Ye, do you know that the Old Celestial Master has descended from the mountain?”

“The Old Celestial Master has come down?” Ye Yan froze. “When did that happen?”

“Not long after you arrived in the capital, the Old Celestial Master left Dragon-Tiger Mountain with his fourth disciple, Zhao Huanjin. In less than half a day, they wiped out every member of the All-Sex Society hiding in Yingqin.”

“Good grief…”

Before Ye Yan had left the mountain, the Old Celestial Master had still appeared to see him off and reminded him to be careful.

Yet barely half a day later, the Old Celestial Master had descended from the mountain and completely eradicated all the All-Sex Society members hiding in the various strongholds around Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

He had acted with astonishing speed and decisiveness.

It seemed the Old Celestial Master had been planning this descent for a very long time.

Seeing Ye Yan fall silent, Zhao Fangxu slowly continued.

“Young Friend, you should understand the Old Celestial Master’s identity and his importance to the world of adepts. That is why the company is taking his descent from the mountain very seriously.”

“Very seriously?” Ye Yan gave him an amused smile. “And how exactly does the company intend to show that seriousness?”

“The Old Celestial Master’s descent is, in a sense, a family matter of Dragon-Tiger Mountain. The All-Sex Society killed his people, and the Celestial Master has gone to seek vengeance. It is only natural. Even the company probably has no grounds to restrict his actions.”

“That may be true…” Zhao Fangxu hesitated. “But you are also one of the strongest people in our world. You should understand how much upheaval a supreme expert of the Old Celestial Master’s level can cause.”

“Especially at a time when trouble is already brewing across the entire community. His actions would be highly detrimental to stability.”

As the chairman of Everywhere Express and one of the leading figures in the world of adepts, how could Zhao Fangxu not know the true reason behind the Celestial Master’s descent?

The company should not have interfered, much less attempted to stop him.

But the company was both the law-enforcement authority and the guardian of the community.

Therefore, it had to consider the overall situation from every angle, rather than focus on personal grievances.

“So what has the company decided?”

Since he had been brought there, Ye Yan did not believe Zhao Fangxu merely wanted to inform him of the situation. There would have been no need for such a grand arrangement.

Ye Yan suspected that Zhao Fangxu had a plan—and that the plan would likely require his participation.

Now that Ye Yan had brought the matter up, there was no point in concealing anything.

Zhao Fangxu became more direct.

“We asked you here because we wanted to hear your opinion.”

“My opinion?” Ye Yan smiled calmly. “I’m just an ordinary employee of the company. What opinion could I possibly have? I’ll do whatever you, Chairman Zhao, ask me to do.”

His answer sounded exactly like the exemplary response of a model employee.

If Ye Yan had not single-handedly annihilated the Wang family, Zhao Fangxu might even have believed him.

“You needn’t be so restrained. The company will never restrict its employees’ right to speak.”

“You may say whatever you wish.”

Zhao Fangxu adjusted his glasses, his smile gentle and benevolent. At first glance, he looked every inch the kindly employer.

Ye Yan, however, shook his head.

“I’m fine with anything.”

When it came to matters like this, Ye Yan had never been interested in voicing opinions. Still, he was an employee of the company, so he had to offer the appropriate platitudes.

“What an ambiguous answer.” Zhao Fangxu looked both amused and helpless, but he did not press the matter. “In that case, let me explain the company’s plan.”

“The senior leadership has already reached a decision. For now, we will observe what the Old Celestial Master intends to do. If his actions truly threaten to cause excessive upheaval in the community, the company will step in to stop him.”

“…”

“So the company wants me to take part in this as well?”

Ye Yan had understood Zhao Fangxu’s meaning. The man was simply trying to bring him aboard.

“That’s right.” Zhao Fangxu nodded. “Originally, the company planned to have the Ten Elders handle the matter. That would both prevent the balance of the community from collapsing and ensure the Old Celestial Master’s safety.”

“But because of what happened to the Wang family, Wang Ai is no longer with us…”

“After careful consideration, the board decided to have you participate and fill the vacancy left by Wang Ai.”

“What do you think?”

The instant Zhao Fangxu finished speaking, Ye Yan answered.

“No problem.”

His reply was so swift and decisive that Zhao Fangxu was momentarily stunned. He had genuinely not expected Ye Yan to agree so readily.

Before he could figure out why, Ye Yan’s next sentence left him helplessly amused once again.

“Of course, given the wisdom of Chairman Zhao and the company, I assume you wouldn’t ask an ordinary employee like me to work for free?”

Zhao Fangxu fell silent.

“There will certainly be a reward. The company will never mistreat an employee who has worked hard. If you are willing to fill this vacancy, I can place you among the candidates for the vacant seat of the Ten Elders. How does that sound?”

“The Ten Elders?”

Ye Yan had not expected Zhao Fangxu to be so generous.

Even merely being a candidate for the Ten Elders represented the pinnacle of power within the world of adepts.

Yet now, so long as Ye Yan participated in this operation to stop the Celestial Master, he would gain the chance to compete for a seat among the Ten Elders.

“That’s right. As long as you take part in this operation, I guarantee that you will receive a place among the candidates. Think it over.”

After speaking, Zhao Fangxu calmly lifted his teacup and took a long sip, moistening his throat. He did not rush Ye Yan, instead giving him ample time to consider.

…

…

Yingqin.

Inside an upscale hotel.

A man with a scarlet wolf-head tattoo on his wrist was rolling around listlessly on the bed.

Suddenly, the black smartphone on the bedside table lit up, and a low ringtone echoed through the room.

The man reached over, glanced at the screen, and lazily answered the call, holding the phone to his ear.

“Hello? What is it?”

“Nightmare has gone down. Abort the infiltration plan for now. You and Ghost Bird are to go into hiding. I’ll send you the information later. Change your identities.”

The voice on the other end was hoarse and terse, so dull that it made the listener feel listless.

Yet the man who answered immediately became alert.

“Nightmare failed? What happened?”

“The information was inaccurate. The target, Ye Yan, may possess Grand Duke-level strength.”

“Grand Duke level? That’s impossible. How could a tiny community like the one in Dragon Nation produce two experts of that level in succession? You must have made a mistake.”

“Absolutely not.”

The man on this end of the call—Ghost Eye—clearly did not believe him.

In Ghost Eye’s view, the world of adepts had only emerged a few decades ago. How could such a small community possibly possess two figures at the level of a Grand Duke?

It was simply unbelievable.

Even Purgatory, an organization that welcomed every kind of talent and accepted people from all corners of the world, had only seven Grand Dukes.

Despite that, Purgatory still possessed more Grand Dukes than any other organization in the psychic world and remained utterly unshakable.

So what right did Dragon Nation have to possess two?

Ghost Eye could not make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.

As he pondered, the person on the other end seemed to see through his thoughts and issued a warning.

“Ghost Eye, the organization’s orders are for you and your brother to remain undercover in Dragon Nation and await further instructions.”

“And one more thing. As your contact, I ought to offer you some advice: never underestimate a nation with several thousand years of history.”

“Have you forgotten what happened twenty years ago—the incident that nearly brought about the organization’s destruction?”

“Of course I haven’t forgotten.”

At the mention of those events, Ghost Eye’s expression gradually turned solemn.

Within Purgatory, practically everyone knew about what had happened twenty years ago and the bloody lesson it had left behind.

The one responsible had been a man named Zhang Zhiwei, an obscure Celestial Master of Dragon-Tiger Mountain.

Yet that single man had relied on his own strength to heavily injure two Grand Dukes and forcibly halted Purgatory’s invasion of the world of adepts.

“If you haven’t forgotten, then do your job. I’ll send you the information later.”

“That’s all.”

After leaving him with that warning, the contact hung up, leaving only the monotonous beeping of the disconnected call.

“Impatient as ever.”

Ghost Eye lowered the phone and sighed.

He was not particularly angry. He had long since grown accustomed to the contact’s cold attitude.

Even so, he remained intensely curious about the target of this mission—the man named Ye Yan.

He really wanted to see what sort of person could bring down Nightmare.

Within Purgatory, Nightmare might not rank among the strongest in terms of raw power or combat ability.

But when it came to ambushing people and staying alive, Nightmare was unquestionably among the very best.

Moreover, Nightmare rarely appeared in public. Almost no one knew what his true identity was.

Whenever he showed himself, he did so through a different body.

Naturally, no one could ever trace him.

But judging from the contact’s tone, Nightmare had not merely lost his body this time. He had probably vanished from the world altogether.

That made Ghost Eye even more curious about Ye Yan.

“Whatever. I’ll be staying undercover in Dragon Nation anyway. I’ll have a chance to see him sooner or later.”

Muttering to himself, Ghost Eye received a document from an unknown sender.

There was not much in it—only a few brief pages, most of them containing basic personal information.

There were seven or eight files in total.

The people described varied in height, build, and appearance. Their only common trait was that they all bore the surname Wang.

They were survivors of the Wang family’s recent destruction, or perhaps people connected to the family in some way.

“This one won’t do…”

“This one is too ugly.”

“This one doesn’t even eat sweets. A heretic.”

“…”

Ghost Eye’s fingers flew across the screen as he browsed through the files, offering his own commentary along the way.

“This one looks decent.”

As he scrolled, one file caught his attention. He began examining it carefully.

Wang Sheng. A member of the Wang family’s collateral branch. Former steward of the Wang family. Slender build. Has a sweet tooth.

“Not bad.”

After reading through Wang Sheng’s information, Ghost Eye nodded in satisfaction.

The side-parted hair in the photograph looked rather greasy, but the man’s features were acceptable—at least he stood out favorably among the collection of unsightly faces.

The tallest among the short, he supposed.

Ghost Eye consoled himself.

His appearance was only one reason for choosing Wang Sheng. The true reason was that Wang Sheng had a blind younger brother.

And Ghost Eye happened to have a younger brother as well.

It was a perfect fit.

…

…

For Ye Yan, becoming a candidate for the Ten Elders was naturally an opportunity impossible to refuse.

In the end, he agreed to Zhao Fangxu’s proposal. If matters truly reached that point, he would join the company in stopping the Old Celestial Master.

Over the next few days, Ye Yan stayed at Everywhere Express headquarters under Zhao Fangxu’s arrangements, quietly waiting for the company to make its final decision.

The descent of the Celestial Master and the appearance of a supreme expert could not possibly remain secret.

Even though Everywhere Express deliberately tried to suppress the news, it ultimately spread far and wide.

During his few days in the capital, Ye Yan’s phone was flooded with updates about it.

The Old Celestial Master was storming strongholds of the All-Sex Society across the entire country. At times, he could even appear in multiple cities separated by great distances on the same day.

And whenever he struck, he did so cleanly and decisively. If someone belonged to the All-Sex Society, the Old Celestial Master crushed them without exception.

His domineering thunder arts and his relentless determination to exterminate his enemies had only made the news of his descent more explosive.

Ye Yan, meanwhile, was enjoying every bit of the spectacle.

Since he had nothing else to do, he spent each day glued to his phone, watching to see which unlucky bastard would be chosen by the Old Celestial Master next.

To Ye Yan, the Celestial Master’s descent was thrilling entertainment.

But for the All-Sex Society, which now stood at the center of the storm, every day felt like a nightmare. At any moment, a bolt of heavenly lightning might descend from the sky and randomly strike some unfortunate wretch dead.

Their days were truly miserable.

After a refreshing night’s sleep, Ye Yan stood by the window and lit a cigarette.

Just as he picked up his phone to see how many members of the All-Sex Society the Old Celestial Master had killed that day, someone suddenly knocked on the hotel door.

A man’s voice came from outside.

“Mr. Ye Yan, pardon the interruption. Chairman Zhao would like to see you.”