The cause for Chen Xiaobei’s delight was because that item on the list was the final material he needed before he could upgrade the Netherspirit Battlescouter!

　　He had acquired everything on the list, and this was the one last thing he needed.

　　“Evil-spirit Warding Crystals!” Xuankong Zhenren read the list. “This is an extremely rare Three-star Earth-God item. The chances of finding its crude ore without an owner are close to zero!”

　　Chen Xiaobei said, “If that’s the case, then we would have to look for those that possess this item!”

　　“That’s right!” Xuankong Zhenren nodded. “To my knowledge, Royal Dome Starfield emperor’s military tag is made of an Evil-spirit Warding Crystal! During a war, the military tag would be used to maneuver Royal Dome’s hundreds of thousands of soldiers! When there’s no war, it is stored inside the Royal Dome’s exchequer!”

　　Chen Xiaobei’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, elder! I know what I have to do now!”

　　Xuankong Zhenren gave him a questioning look. “What are you going to do? Break into the exchequer? Young man, unless you have a Three-star Earth-God backing you up, this rash move is going to get you killed!”

　　Royal Dome’s Evil-spirit Warding Crystal had been made into the emperor’s military tag. They would not just give it away like that. If Chen Xiaobei wanted it, the only way to get it was to rob the treasury!

　　This would mean that Chen Xiaobei was at risk of making the entire Royal Dome starfield his enemy!

　　Qin Yitian nodded. “Childe Chen! The all the Nine Zones starfields have Two-star Earth-God Divine Instruments to protect their pwn starfield! On top of that, they have Earth-God battle formations. With hundreds of thousands of men, their combined energy would be similar to a Three-star Earth-God! Even I wouldn’t dare steal from them!”

　　“Thank you for showing concern!” Chen Xiaobei nodded. “I know what I’m getting myself into. I will be very careful!”

　　“Alright!” Xuankong Zhenren nodded. “Our Childe Chen here doesn’t look like someone without tact. You should know what you have to do!”

　　Chen Xiaobei nodded again. “Thank you for the pointers, elder. I will return the favor when I get the chance!”

　　Xuankong Zhenren smiled and said nothing more.

　　Qin Yitian did not make any more comments either.

　　Chen Xiaobei treated Xuankong Zhenren and Qin Yitian very differently.

　　To Xuankong Zhenren, Chen Xiaobei merely said that he owed him a favor. Once it was paid, they would owe each other nothing.

　　But with Qin Yitian, Chen Xiaobei left her his phone number, volunteering to not only provide medical help but in other areas as well!

　　To Qin Yitian, this return of favor itself was worth what she did for Chen Xiaobei.

　　Their relationship was based on an exchange of benefits, not really any kind of friendship. Reciprocity of favor was far more important in this case.

　　After that, the three of them parted ways.

　　…

　　Chen Xiaobei returned to Black Tortoise Imperial City with Su Xiaoman.

　　There, both of them parted ways, and Chen Xiaobei headed straight for Saint Duke Starfield.

　　He arrived just in time to meet the deadline for the second task of the betrothal contest.

　　He just needed to rest for a night in Saint Duke’s capital city. He would then head to the castle tomorrow and get ready for the third task!

　　Chen Xiaobei found an ordinary hotel to spend his night.

　　“I have 45 days left until my deadline with Lady Nuwo! My cultivation is still a whole chunk away from the peak of Ethereal Cultivation!” Chen Xiaobei was leaning against the bed, making plans.

　　“To break through to God-Ascension cultivation before the deadline, I will need to upgrade my Netherspirit Battlescouter as quickly as possible or I won’t have enough time! not mentioning the time I need to do the upgrade. After receiving the final task for the betrothal, I should head to Royal Dome starfield to get the Evil-spirit Warding Crystal. Everything else should be left for later!”

　　The deadline was getting closer. Chen Xiaobei had to map out every step he was about to make and attempt to save as much time as possible.

　　Luckily, everything else he had to do after that was pretty much within his control.

　　If everything went according to plan, Chen Xiaobei was confident that he could ensure that Saint Duke was kept away from the fires of battle forever.

　　But there was one thing Chen Xiaobei was not sure about.

　　“The core members of Saint Duke’s royalty are probably having a sleepless night…” Chen Xiaobei sighed. “Maybe, as Ling Qingfeng said, they would see me as Tenshou’s mole… or perhaps they would have a meeting to discuss how to deal with me…”

　　About ten days ago, when Chen Xiaobei and Wugui Kojiro showed up together, Ling Qingfeng had mistaken Chen Xiaobei as a Tenshou spy.

　　Although he was able to prove his innocence through the auction, he could not explain his relationship with Wugui Kojiro.

　　This was because Chen Xiaobei had used the Heavenly Dog Biscuit to control Wugui Kojiro.

　　The Heavenly Dog Biscuit was a top-secret affair. He could not let any outsiders find out about it.

　　More importantly, with the war at bay, Saint Duke royalties were on their toes, all wary. Even if Chen Xiaobei were to tell them the truth, they would not believe him.

　　Owing to this, he would rather not explain himself. At the end of the day, the truth – cold hard facts would knock away all suspicions!

　　…

　　Saint Duke palace’s secret meeting room.

　　It was deep into the night, but the lights remained burning in the meeting room. All of Saint Duke’s core members were present.

　　“No one has said anything for nearly one hour now. Doesn’t anyone have any solutions regarding the latest intel?” Luo Qiongcang held a stack of documents as he said, “About twenty days ago, that kid was seen with Wugui Kojiro at the Crimson Moon Auction House in Black Tortoise Imperial City. This proves that he’s really Tenshou’s mole!”

　　He continued, “Then, ten days later, this Tenshou spy returned to Divine Dragon starfield with Ling Qingfeng and stayed there for half a month! I have every reason to suspect that this mole has formed an alliance with the Dragon Emperor on behalf of the Tenshou Emperor! They will launch a joint attack on us soon enough! I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the final juncture between life and death for Saint Duke’s royalty! If we can’t come up with a solution, we’ll all be dead!”

　　Luo Qiongcang’s brows were furrowed, and his face had soured into a sickly shade of green. The imminent danger ahead had caused him to lose all the composure an emperor should have.

　　“Brother… We really don’t know….” Luo Shanhe said helplessly. “Tenshou and Royal Dome have been allies for a while now. Then the spy had just formed allies with Neptune and Divine Dragon… That’s four starfields in total who are going to attack us… We’re all going to die… There’s no doubt about it!”

　　“You mean we should just give all of it up?” Luo Quingcang bellowed. “Then why the hell are we having this meeting? Why don’t you all go clean your necks, and wait for the enemy to come and chop your head off!”

　　Luo Puti suddenly spoke, “Calm down, father…”