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    This was a time of urgency.


    As for the Bureau of the Lamp, even though he was now employed there, his identity did not require him to clock in daily.


    Even without showing up, his sry from the Bureau of the Lamp would still be paid as usual.


    Not that he particrly cared about the meager sry, anyway.


    With nothing better to do, Cheng Guang simply amused himself by teasing ck Cub.


    Oddly enough, Cheng Guang found it strange that ck Cub, who appeared rather silly, wasn''t entirely so. When facing him, it would asionally disy almost human-like expressions.


    When given a Da Bi Dou, it would even show a timely sense of being humiliated.


    Such antics invigorated Cheng Guang; whenever he saw ck Cub bouncing around and tearing apart the house, he''d feel an itch in his hand and give it a Da Bi Dou.


    Seeing ck Cub''s heartless antics, he figured the psychological trauma inflicted by his teasing wasn''t too substantial.


    Thus, Cheng Guang felt justified, and he was not stingy in handing out Da Bi Dou.


    ......


    The night deepened, and all was silent.


    Not a cloud was in the sky; the stars twinkled feebly in the dark, while the moonlight nketed the world in a mysterious silver hue.


    At midnight, Cheng Guang slowly opened his eyes.


    Qing Luan had not stayed in his room that night—not because he was incapable, but because he had to see if the system would issue a new task and could not be distracted.


    At that moment, a cold, emotionless voice began to echo in Cheng Guang''s mind.


    "In the thirty-fourth year of Zhensheng, on August 17th, your forty-first day in the Heavenly Human Realm, you aligned yourself with the King of South Ming. After serving the King of South Ming, your identity and cultivation earned you significant regard there."


    "However, you also knew that your allegiance to the King of South Ming didn''t secure hisplete trust. Living under another''s roof, you were uncertain when the King might discard or betray you."


    "Having stayed with the King of South Ming for a while, you felt increasingly weary. Meanwhile, you heard that Empress Wu Ling of Great Zhou was in a fierce battle with the King of South Ming.


    If Empress Wu Ling couldn''t withstand the King''s and the crown prince''s assault, thest of Great Zhou''s territory would be lost, and the Great Zhou Dynasty would vanish from history in the Four Directions Mortal World."


    "You didn''t know what that final battlefield looked like. The King of South Mingmanded you to the field to confront Empress Wu Ling of Great Zhou, but ultimately, you didn''t have the heart to act against the Empress and refused the King''s order. As expected, the King punished you by hanging and beating you publicly."


    "The dignity of a Heavenly Human Realm cultivator was utterly lost."


    "When you received news about the front lines again, you learned that Empress Wu Ling had broken through to the third tier of the Heavenly Human Realm, defeating all invaders, putting the King of South Ming at a disadvantage."


    "Even the King of South Ming and the Devil Emperor behind him were no match for the strength of the third tier of the Heavenly Human Realm."


    "With Wu Ling''s breakthrough to the third tier of the Heavenly Human Realm, reaching the pinnacle of humans on earth, could it be that Great Zhou actually had a chance to reim its lost territories, that it wasn''t so easily doomed?"


    "Life under the King of South Ming wasn''t pleasant for you, and now hearing that there might be hope once more with Empress Wu Ling, you somewhat wished to return to her side. But you knew that you had once betrayed Empress Wu Ling, and now to go back to her would hardly be easy."


    "You nned to simply live out your days incent mediocrity under the King of South Ming. After all, with the Devil n''s power behind him and the Devil Emperor backing the King, he wouldn''t be so easily defeated by Empress Wu Ling."


    "As days passed, your life became dull and tedious, and inadvertently, you saw the legendary Queen of the South Ming, reviving a beat in your hollow heart, and you sighed as you gazed at this mythical Queen."


    "The identity of this Queen of South Ming was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. You learned recently that the Queen was from the Demonic Race of the Ten-Layered Demon Sea, one of the avatars of a certain supreme Demon Emperor of the Abyss."


    "It seemed the Queen had brokered some sort of deal with the King of South Ming, extracting the royal bloodline from within him to cultivate the Spirit Dao, essible only to the royal families of the Four Directions Mortal World."


    "And she, in turn, would support the King from behind, preventing him from beingpletely dominated by the Devil n."


    "A King of South Ming nked by the Devil n and the Demonic Race had be merely a piece yed by two great powers in the Four Directions Mortal World. You felt that the King had truly gone mad. Even if he were to seed in overthrowing Empress Wu Ling and ascend to the throne, what of it? He would still be nothing but a puppet."


    "Controlled by both the Devil n and the Demonic Race, the King of South Ming''s predicament was hardly better than yours."n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    "Thinking of this, you wanted tough."


    "At the same time, you realized that the King of South Ming was unreliable. If he himself was just a pawn, how could he offer you protection? Perhaps if you could curry favor with the Queen of South Ming, your circumstances might improve."


    "Level 2 Task: Court favor with the Queen of the South Ming."


    "Task Reward: The Princess''s stockings."


    The system''s cold voice resounded in Cheng Guang''s mind, and on thest sentence, Cheng Guang felt his face take on an exceedingly odd expression.


    The Queen of South Ming, from the Demonic Race of the Ten-Layered Demon Sea?


    ```