Chapter 106: Righteous Xu Zhi!
“But it looks like it’ll still be a while before it reaches level 30.”
Ever since hitting level 29, the soaring evolution point requirements had Xu Zhi’s blood pressure rising.
Simply put, the requirements from level 29 to 30 were greater than the sum of all the previous levels combined. That only made Xu Zhi more certain—level 30 must unlock something big.
“This scaling is just ridiculous.”
[Why should the occult make sense?]
“Fair point.”
After all, anything incomprehensible could always be blamed on occultism.
“Alright, I’m heading out again.”
She had completely run out of [Moth] attribute cores. That made the 1,000 promised by the Federation incredibly important.
[Don’t cause trouble!]
The narrator clearly hadn’t recovered from Xu Zhi’s previous antics.
“I got it, I got it.” Xu Zhi answered unusually seriously this time.
After nearly getting herself killed just now, she planned to behave—for now.
Without the [Moth] attribute cores, her spirit body also lost the [Chaos] attribute. Considering the Federation would likely have a ton of questions once she returned, Xu Zhi deliberately chose to load her spirit body with the [Lamp], [Enlightenment], and [Heart] attributes.
A clear message—Justice!
When Xu Zhi reappeared on the familiar streets, she found significantly more people out and about. Some gathered in small groups, others watched a certain direction and discussed animatedly.
It seemed the red light hadn’t spread to this area. From the snippets of conversation, people were talking about that towering red beam and wondering what it was.
No matter how well they had hidden things early on, something like this couldn’t be concealed anymore.
Now that it was exposed, it would be much harder to pull something similar in secret again.
Xu Zhi waited a bit before Lin Zizhen hurried over.
From his clothes and expression, he hadn’t rested since leaving the building. Yet seeing Xu Zhi, he still visibly relaxed and smiled.
“Miss Xu, you’ve finally arrived.”
Say what you will—the service attitude was excellent.
“I’m here for the cores. Have they been delivered?” Xu Zhi got straight to the point.
“Of course.” Lin Zizhen nodded and handed her a black briefcase. Xu Zhi opened it and saw high-grade [Moth] attribute cores neatly packed in transparent containers.
Admittedly, they were quite pretty.
In front of Lin Zizhen, Xu Zhi casually stowed the entire briefcase into her storage space. She didn’t bother hiding it—let others assume she had some kind of supernatural storage ability.
She didn’t plan to stay long this time—after all, she came just to collect the cores. With the Capital appearing increasingly unstable, any delay could cause complications.
When she informed Lin Zizhen she wouldn’t stay, he gave a wry smile: “Miss Xu, you really can’t stay a little longer?”
Xu Zhi was a bit curious about his persistence. “Is something going on?”
Lin Zizhen nodded. “To be honest, a Transcendent from the capital wants to meet you.”
After several encounters with Xu Zhi, he knew better than to lie. Telling her outright was the best approach.
Be sincere, maybe say something to pique her interest—and then, it all depended on Xu Zhi’s mood.
And right now, her mood was clearly average. She didn’t agree immediately, only asked, “Meet me? What for?”
As if she didn’t already know.
Xu Zhi obviously understood, but by asking, she made it clear she wasn’t very willing.
Lin Zizhen hesitated, then said, “It’s an Omniscient. Perhaps Miss Xu could exchange some information?”
Xu Zhi shook her head. “Not interested.”
“Oh right, here—this is for you.” She pulled out a manual she had stored but hadn’t yet given to Lin Zizhen. It was a handbook distributed to every resident in the residential zone.
If the Federation could learn something from it, she didn’t mind sharing.
Seeing Xu Zhi truly uninterested, Lin Zizhen had to play his trump card. “Miss Xu, you could make a request—have the capital pay you in cores, and then agree to meet the Omniscient.”
Lin Zizhen silently apologized to his colleagues in his heart.
But really, what else could he do?
“You’re right.” Xu Zhi finally showed a hint of interest.
“Then 100 high-grade attribute cores. The same attributes I mentioned before. Once I have them, I’ll meet her.”
A single meeting for 100 high-grade cores—talk about bold negotiation.
But hey, it was the capital paying. And the capital had money!
“They’ve agreed. The meeting will be in forty minutes. Is that okay?”
Xu Zhi nodded. “But I won’t stay long.”
Probably just a ten-minute chat or so.
“Oh, I also need detailed intel on the current classification system for new Transcendents. Can you provide that?”
“As exchange, you can ask me a question of roughly equal value.”
Xu Zhi added, “And I mean detailed—not the public stuff anyone can see.”
“Of course.” They understood why she’d want this—probably for Zhong Lingfan—and it wasn’t really a secret. They could definitely provide it.
As for the exchange? At this level, they’d just ask something simple.
Then came the real ask.
“Miss Xu, we’d like to know—do you understand what that ritual formation was actually for?”
Xu Zhi thought for a moment. “I won’t cheat you. That question’s worth 200 cores—same attributes.”
Naturally, high-grade attribute cores.
As soon as she said it, Lin Zizhen couldn’t stop his eye from twitching.
200?! And she says she’s not cheating them?!
Fortunately, it wasn’t just the Capital interested in this—almost every other city was too. They could split the cost.
“Deal.” Lin Zizhen nodded.
He didn’t even bargain, which made Xu Zhi wonder—Did I price it too low?
Still, 1,200 attribute cores for one ritual explanation was a hefty price.
After a moment of thought, Xu Zhi said, “Are you aware of the internal hierarchy among the cultists?”
Lin Zizhen nodded. “Roughly.”
“That ritual was designed to create a new leadership tier, one above all current cultist levels.”
“They call it—Archbishop.”
Lin Zizhen listened intently, and the word Archbishop visibly shook him. Clearly, he hadn’t known this part.
Since he hadn’t haggled at all, Xu Zhi generously shared everything she currently knew about the Archbishop.
Except for a few sensitive things—like anything involving Yu Shenwei. She simplified it to a failed ritual previously conducted by cultists in Cloud City, and omitted Yu Shenwei entirely.
Finally, in exchange for the 1,200 cores, Xu Zhi added magnanimously, “I can tell you, the Archbishop position that the Capital tried to promote through the ritual was: Wrath.”
“But they failed.”
“So you’d better watch out—there’s a chance they’ll try again.”
