Chapter 37: The Heir of the Demon Lord

 Chapter 37: The Heir of the Demon Lord

Pushing the door open, Zhang Yuanqing saw Yuanting sitting at the conference table, holding a cigarette between his fingers, leaning back in his chair with a slightly lazy posture, smiling as he looked over.

Next to this Night Wanderer was a pen holder with a command flag inserted into it. The flag had a sharp iron tip and was made of silk fabric. The flag's surface was pure black, embroidered with cloud patterns using silver threads, and at the center was embroidered the character "Command."

Simply looking at its appearance, it bore no difference from the command flags used in ancient armies.

Zhang Yuanqing took his seat, standing up straight, and asked, "Captain Yuanting, what brings you here? Just to clarify, I'm very happy in the Second Squad and have no intention of transferring."

He was trying to test the other person's intentions in a teasing manner.

"You passed the She Ling Tunnel, and Captain Fu Baifu values you greatly. I can't lure you away. Ah, you may not know this, but when Captain Fu Baifu asked for the strategy guide on your behalf, our Taiyi Sect's Elder Sun thought you wouldn't be able to pass, so he didn't give it to you. Now it's too late for regrets. Many people in the sect have differing opinions. They believe you have great potential and might even ascend to become a Saint... Oh, I've said too much." Yuanting explained himself.

"I tend to be talkative, and I hope you don't mind."

Oh, so Elder Sun's mistake was like that? Zhang Yuanqing nodded.

"Do you smoke?" Yuanting asked.

"I'm not very good at it..."

"When I was your age, I didn't smoke either. It was only after becoming a Night Wanderer and experiencing traumatic trials that I developed a smoking habit to ease the stress. Although it's not a good thing, it does relieve pressure. Every Night Wanderer has some quirks, more or less.

"I have a friend named Jian Ji. When he first became a Night Wanderer, he was so frightened by the trials that he needed to watch an hour of Teletubbies every day to vent his emotions and alleviate his fear. Even now, he can't shake off that habit. Hahaha..."

Entering the room, Zhang Yuanqing saw Yuanting sitting by the conference table, holding a cigarette with a slightly lazy posture, smiling as he looked at him.

Beside the Night Wanderer was a pen holder with a command flag inserted into it. The flag had a sharp iron tip and was made of silk fabric. The flag's surface was pure black with cloud patterns embroidered in silver threads, and in the center was the character "Command."

Zhang Yuanqing took his seat, appearing serious and attentive, but internally, he was silently mocking the situation.

After some small talk, Yuanting finally remembered the main purpose of the meeting and cleared his throat, saying, "We are looking for a lucky individual, the one who inherited the Demon Lord's legacy. All the newly promoted Night Wanderers this year are under investigation, including you. The 'Demon Lord' is the ID of a high-level spiritual realm practitioner."

"The Demon Lord's legacy?" Zhang Yuanqing was puzzled. "I don't understand what you mean..."

"Let me clarify. According to our official speculation, the issuance of character cards in the spiritual realm is not without limitations. There is a certain upper limit. Therefore, when a spiritual realm practitioner dies, everything they possess will be reclaimed by the spiritual realm, including their character card."

"When a higher-level spiritual realm practitioner dies, the spiritual realm won't completely format their character card. The card will retain some special elements and then be passed on to a new person. We call this phenomenon 'inheritance.'"

Zhang Yuanqing finally understood. He pondered and asked, "Can I inquire about who the Demon Lord is and what your purpose is in finding the heir? It's related to me, and I hope you can understand."

Yuanting was surprisingly candid and straightforward, saying, "I don't know the purpose of the higher-ups in searching for the heir of the Demon Lord. As middle-level officers like us, we just follow orders. As for the Demon Lord..."

A look of hatred and fear appeared on Yuanting's face as he said in a low voice, "He is a fallen Night Wanderer and our Taiyi Sect's mortal enemy. Many official spiritual realm practitioners have died at his hands, including members of the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect. Even the elders in our sect dread him. At one point, he caused widespread panic among our organization. The sect master once commented that he is the most potentially dangerous Night Wanderer in nearly thirty years."

"I don't know if he's terrifying or not, but he must be very chuunibyou," Zhang Yuanqing asked, "Then how can you identify the heir of the Demon Lord? Or how should I cooperate with you?"

It seemed that the heir of the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord himself were not related. As a righteous organization, Taiyi Sect wouldn't hold innocent people accountable.

Yuanting was again candid, saying, "The heir of the Demon Lord has two distinctive features. First, the moon symbol on their character card is not a crescent but a full moon. Second, during clearing dungeons, they will receive an additional exclusive reward on their character card, unlike regular Night Wanderers."

Zhang Yuanqing was shocked internally but remained composed on the outside, pretending not to know anything. His mind was in turmoil: "This means that my character card is the one belonging to the Demon Lord. The card Brother Bing sent me... is the Demon Lord's? Why would Brother Bing have the Demon Lord's character card? What is their relationship? I always thought that the exclusive reward from Red Dance Shoes was normal. Now it seems that the Demon Lord's inheritance has given me something special. Fortunately, due to the rarity of rule-type items, I managed to hide the fact about the exclusive reward on the character card. Commander and Old Sijia only know that I have rule-type items, but they don't know about the exclusive reward."

Zhang Yuanqing's mind raced with various thoughts. He quickly composed himself and lamented with a smile, "It looks like I'm not the heir of the Demon Lord after all. I always thought I was special, especially after clearing the She Ling Tunnel."

"Captain Yuanting, how can I display my mark? It's not something I can control."

The mark represented the spiritual realm, and besides the night when the character card was rebooted and when he leveled up in the spiritual realm, the moon mark only appeared on his forehead. At other times, it seemed to disappear.

Yuanting glanced at the command flag in the pen holder and said, "Low-level spiritual realm practitioners can't influence the mark. This kind of 'stylish' 'fashion' is a privilege of high-level practitioners. I don't need to see your mark; I just need to discern lies."

With that, he looked at the command flag beside him and explained, "This flag is a prop I borrowed from Captain Fu Baifu. Its ability is to make people obey and prevent them from lying. The cost is that I also cannot lie."

.....Zhang Yuanqing tried his best to maintain a smile on his face. At this moment, no language could describe his current feelings. Yuanting stopped wasting words and pulled out the command flag, pointing it towards Zhang Yuanqing from a distance, saying in a deep voice, "So, let me ask you now, is your Night Wanderer mark a crescent or a full moon?"

As the words fell, Zhang Yuanqing felt an immense and imposing force enveloping him, making him deeply awestruck and subconsciously obedient. He dared not conceal anything and felt compelled to divulge all his secrets. His mind was tense and his scalp tingled with an uncontrollable sensation.

The purpose of Taiyi Sect in searching for the heir of the Demon Lord must be more than just talent recruitment. There had to be deeper reasons behind it. Since the character card was given to him by Brother Bing, it might involve him as well. His anxiety intensified as he thought about it.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing remembered the baby spirit, Yinger, residing inside him. A master could transfer the injuries and negative effects received onto their spiritual servant, allowing it to share the burden.

Zhang Yuanqing considered the possibility of using Yinger to share the burden of this immense pressure and anxiety he was currently experiencing.

Pushing open the door, Zhang Yuanqing saw Yuanting sitting by the conference table, holding a cigarette in his hand and leaning back lazily in his chair, smiling as he looked at Zhang Yuanqing.

On the table beside the Night Wanderer was a pen holder with a command flag inserted into it. The flag was made of iron with a silk cloth, pure black in color, embroidered with silver threads forming cloud patterns, and a "command" character in the center. It closely resembled the ancient military command flags.

Zhang Yuanqing greeted, trying to sound serious, "Captain Yuanting, what brings you here? Let me clarify beforehand that I'm quite content in the Second Team and not interested in switching teams."

He used a teasing tone to test the purpose behind Yuanting's visit.

Yuanting chuckled and replied, "Oh, just seeing you makes me feel like I'm looking at family. It's an inexplicable sense of familiarity. Perhaps that's the camaraderie between Night Wanderers."

With an outsider present, Zhang Yuanqing temporarily put aside the matter of the baby spirit and listened attentively.

Yuanting continued, "We are looking for a lucky individual, someone who has inherited the Demon Lord's legacy. All newly promoted Night Wanderers this year are subject to our investigation, including you. 'Demon Lord' is the ID of a high-level Spiritual Realm practitioner."

"Demon Lord's legacy?" Zhang Yuanqing looked puzzled. "I don't understand what you mean."

"To put it plainly, according to our official speculation, the distribution of character cards in the Spiritual Realm is not unlimited; there is a certain upper limit. Therefore, when a Spiritual Realm practitioner dies, everything they possess, including their character card, will be reclaimed by the Spiritual Realm," Yuanting explained.

"When a high-level Spiritual Realm practitioner dies, the Spiritual Realm won't completely format their character card. It retains some special features and then passes it on to a new individual. We call this phenomenon 'inheritance,'" Yuanting added, taking another drag of his cigarette.

"I see. So, is the Demon Lord the person who inherits the character cards?" Zhang Yuanqing asked, feeling a little relieved as he finally understood the situation.

"No, not necessarily," Yuanting replied. "According to the rules, the Demon Lord's character card displays a full moon instead of a crescent moon, and they receive an exclusive reward when clearing dungeons. I'm conducting this test to determine if you are the heir of the Demon Lord."

As Zhang Yuanqing's character card showed a crescent moon, he realized he wasn't the Demon Lord's heir.

Yuanting continued, "If you find any Night Wanderer with these two characteristics, be sure to inform me. Taiyi Sect values the heir of the Demon Lord greatly, and there might be substantial rewards for such information."

Zhang Yuanqing agreed to inform him if he discovered anything, but he had no intention of betraying himself. After the discussion, Yuanting offered to become friends and provide guidance if Zhang Yuanqing had any questions regarding being a Night Wanderer.

Zhang Yuanqing scanned the QR code and added Yuanting as a friend, but then he got worried when Yuanting jokingly said he would charge for consultations. However, Yuanting assured him that the information about upcoming missions was free.

After the meeting, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his office, but he had to change the way he reported about his aunt's hospital. He couldn't reveal any information related to the baby spirit. He decided to keep a low profile for now.

As he observed Yuanting leaving the conference room, Zhang Yuanqing realized something and asked Yuanting if the Demon Lord's skills included the Power of the Sun.

Yuanting confirmed it but admitted he wasn't sure about the specific level of the skill. Satisfied with the answer, Zhang Yuanqing bid him farewell and started preparing for his next mission.

The singing stopped, and then there was a knock on the door.

Li Dongze responded, "Come in."