Nie Yan carefully recalled the incident in detail. Him and Bayonet entering the VIP room, still in disguise. No one had seen them. No one could find out it was them. The bodyguards were all taken care of. Qin Han was killed. Liu Tianshi, he was the only loose end. Though the blackmail should’ve kept him quiet. He died before he could reveal the truth.

Of course, there were more factors at play. There were bound to be some clues. Nie Yan’s greatest concern was Tang Yao. Did anyone else know about him being taken away by Qin Han and Liu Tianshi? Wang Duo and his men could also lead back to him. Even if they themselves kept quiet, their group storming through the bar most likely had drawn an eye or two.

Thankfully, Bayonet was a professional. He’d made sure the cameras were all disabled.

Tang Yao was recuperating somewhere safe. During the night, he would log into Conviction as usual. It would be incredibly difficult for the Monet Financial Group and Liu Family to find him. As for Wang Duo and the others, they were part of the 12th Mech Armoured Corps. Trying to investigate them would prove to be even more of an impossibility.

Even though everything seemed okay, it was hard to say nothing was overlooked. Nie Yan’s heart turned cold. It appeared he’d have to prepare for a clash with the Liu Family and Monet Financial Group. With World Bloc’s current strength alone, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

World Bloc had risen to become one of China’s top 10 financial groups, standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of the Glory Financial Group and Dragonsoar Financial Group. Their connections in the military and political circle were also expanding. Even though their foundation was still shallow, they weren’t to be trifled with. If an outsider were to try and touch World Bloc, they would disturb the interests of many different powers.

Nie Yan thought for a moment. His main priority right now was still the Century Financial Group. The feud between World Bloc and the Century Financial Group had already come out in the open, with them clashing in many different spheres. Cao Xu was even dipping his fingers into the metal industry—World Bloc’s root. Father Nie definitely wouldn’t sit still. If World Bloc could defeat the Century Financial Group, their strength would skyrocket.

As for the Liu Family and the Monet Financial Group, for now keeping a close eye on them would have to do.

「Bayonet, I want to recruit some people. Do you have any recommendations?」Nie Yan asked. The situation was slipping from his grasp. He urgently needed capable people he could mobilize. Bayonet was a man of great skill, but at the end of the day he was just one man. Far from enough to face behemoths like the Liu Family, Monet Financial Group, and Century Financial Group.

「What kind of people are you looking for?」

「Bodyguards. The kind who won’t hesitate to pull the trigger when it’s needed,」Nie Yan said. He was already past the point of no return. He could only steel his nerves and press forward. If the enemy got too close, he wouldn’t resign himself to death.

「That’s simple. As long as you have the money, we can recruit anyone you want,」Bayonet said.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

「I don’t want trash. Can we recruit experts?」

「Of course, but experts are expensive.」

「Money isn’t an issue, so long as they’re worth the coin!」Nie Yan said.

「I have a few people in mind. I’ll get in touch with them. If they’re interested, I’ll bring them to meet you. Honestly, if you’re looking for experts, there’s no need to look for outsiders. Our guild has a couple,」Bayonet said.

「Our guild? You mean Asskickers United?」Nie Yan asked in a daze. Even up until now, he had always treated Asskickers United as an ordinary guild in a game. The thought that there were more real life experts like Bayonet among their ranks never crossed his mind.

「Of course. Don’t look down on your own guild. We have hundreds of thousands of players, all of whom are hand-picked elites. If we’re talking about experts, Shadow Killer is one. He is just as strong as I am. There are also a few others who are fairly low-key, but they definitely can’t escape my eyes!」Bladelight said. His vision was extremely sharp. He could easily tell a person’s profession from a single glance.

「Shadow Killer? You’re really sure he is as strong as you?」Nie Yan asked in disbelief. He understood how difficult it was to find another expert on the level of Bayonet!

「I’m 100% certain,」Bayonet said seriously.

「I recall your relationship with him is pretty decent,」Nie Yan remarked. Inside the game, Bayonet and Shadow Killer got along pretty well, probably because the two were in the same profession, so it was easier for them to connect.

Bayonet chuckled, not denying Nie Yan’s words.

「Would he be interested?」

「I think I can convince him.」

「That’s great! I’ll be counting on you,」Nie Yan excitedly said. If Shadow Killer really was as strong as Bayonet described, he would have another top expert by his side.「If you do convince him, don’t let anyone find out he’s working for me.」

「Of course.」Bayonet instantly understood what Nie Yan was getting at.

Apart from Shadow Killer, Asskickers United still had several other experts. Bayonet planned to recruit them all. Nie Yan was filled with anticipation. If they could bring together a group like this, he would have a few more trump cards. They could mean the difference in a crucial moment.

Hearing the birds chirping and feeling the cool breeze on his face, Nie Yan immersed himself in the moment. He understood that in the future he wouldn’t have many opportunities to enjoy tranquility like this again.

Seeing Nie Yan’s absent-minded state after finishing up the phone call, Xie Yao couldn’t help but sigh. She knew Nie Yan was carrying a lot of things on his shoulders. She really wanted to share his burden, but she didn’t know how. All she could do was grab his hand and be there for him.

The warm touch to his hand caused Nie Yan to snap back to his senses. Turning his head, he was greeted by Xie Yao’s beautiful smile. At this moment, the feelings of two lifetimes seemed to come together.

No matter what, Nie Yan resolved to protect those around him. Xie Yao and his parents were definitely his reverse scales that couldn’t be touched!

“Let’s head back,” Nie Yan said in a quiet voice.

“Mhm.” Xie Yao nodded. She stared at him with her bright eyes. The air around him had changed, from anxious and disarrayed to a firm resolve.

Nie Yan an Xie Yao went to school, spending most of the day in class. A peaceful day. Before long, evening arrived.

Nie Yan logged back into Conviction and resumed clearing away the corpses. This kind of work was tedious and monotonous. Ordinary players definitely wouldn’t have the patience for it.

On the seventh day, Nie Yan’s Adjudicator of Light title ranked up from Junior to Intermediate.

Just what sort of use does this title have? Nie Yan couldn’t help but wonder. The difficulty of obtaining this title was just as great as obtaining the Great Prophet title. However, its use was still shrouded in mystery. It just gave some basic stat bonuses, along with a few skills like Extreme Deterrence.

After killing a certain number of evil creatures, every player would obtain the Demon Hunter title. If they continued raising it, it would turn into the Devil Slayer title. Above Devil Slayer was the Adjudicator of Light title. As for exactly how many evil creatures you needed to kill, Nie Yan had lost count.

For now, Nie Yan was perhaps the only player with the Adjudicator of Light title.

As Nie Yan’s Adjudicator of Light title ranked up from Junior to Intermediate, the wings on Kalenna’s back gew a bit larger and became more dazzling.

Pulling open Kalenna’s character page, Nie Yan noticed two skills he could make use of in her skill window. One was Angel’s Touch, a powerful healing skill. Even at the lowest level it could instantly bring someone like Bladelight back from critical health to full. The other skill was Seraph’s Cloak. It could completely erase his presence.

Two skills, it might not seem like much, but Nie Yan was extremely excited. This was a start. Did this mean that if he continued raising his Adjudicator of Light title, he could eventually completely control Kalenna?

“Oh Adjudicator of Light, congratulations on obtaining a Templar title.” Kalenna gave a cute bow.

“Templar title?” Nie Yan asked in confusion. He wanted to learn more information from Kalenna, but she didn’t bother explaining any further. He searched online for the term, but all he could find was a brief description. It was apparently a category of high rank titles exclusive to the Temple of Light.

Nie Yan guessed Templar was a step above regular Holy titles. Likely it was related to the angels. Why was it that the Adjudicator of Light title didn’t count as one at Junior rank but did at Intermediate? This was something he’d look into at a later time.

Making wild guesses was useless. All Nie Yan could do was to put it aside for now. Once he found some clues, the answers would naturally come.

Nie Yan happened to glance at his own character page at this moment and discovered a new window. It contained the coordinates of all the Chapters from the Book of Order.

Chapter of Silvermoon (Moran Marsh: 238582.282.283382)

...

Nie Yan’s eyes trembled in shock. The exact coordinates of every chapter from the Book of Order! One of them was constantly changing. Likely it was in the hands of someone.

Nie Yan didn’t expect a Templar title would have this kind of effect.

Seeing these coordinates, a crazy idea welled up in Nie Yan’s heart. If he could complete the Book of Order, he would become the Supreme Pontiff of the Temple of Light!

This was definitely extremely alluring.

After becoming the Supreme Pontiff, he would be completely unrivalled! Even the likes of Angel Corps would have to obediently submit to him.

After seeing the coordinates of all the chapters, Nie Yan calmed down. The ones that were in the hands of players were fairly easy to obtain. As for those located in the wilderness, several were in forbidden zones. The bosses there were all extremely powerful. Even existences like Half-Demon Angud were nothing but ants before them.

It seemed like completing the Book of Order wasn’t going to be easy.

Even though it was difficult, it wasn’t impossible. Just the coordinates was enough. Now he at least knew where to search for the other chapters.

The Book of Order had six volumes divided into 36 chapters. If Nie Yan gathered all of them, he would become the leader of the Temple of Light. His position would be on the same level as Jebiah the Great and the Orc King! This was his goal, an absolute pinnacle no one else could reach!