The post explained that in recent days, the Nocturnal Specter Spirit Realm had undergone large-scale changes. Many dungeons that had been previously documented and catalogued had transformed, with their difficulty ratings climbing sharply, turning into entirely new instances that no one had ever cleared. Some had reached A-rank difficulty, others S-rank.

A number of Nocturnal Specters scheduled to enter the Spirit Realm had been unlucky enough to draw these dungeons and had perished as a result.

The original poster was one of the forum administrators, which meant this was, for all intents and purposes, an official announcement.

Zhang Yuanqing stared at the screen in shock. A whole wave of S-rank and A-rank Nocturnal Specter exclusive dungeons?

The Spirit Realm operated on a balancing and matchmaking system. Level 1 Walkers were given Level 1 dungeons, Level 2 Walkers given Level 2 dungeons, and so on. Occasionally, a Level 1 Walker might be placed into a Level 2 dungeon, but the assigned tasks would be comparatively simple.

In short, while the Spirit Realm's missions could be brutally difficult and the mortality rate terrifyingly high, a Level 1 Walker would never receive a Level 3 Walker's assignment.

Within a Walker's own level bracket, difficulty was graded on a five-tier scale from D through S. S-ranked dungeons were the absolute ceiling, with a death rate high enough to make anyone's blood run cold, though the rewards were equally extravagant.

Looking back on it now, Zhang Yuanqing realized that the Sheling Tunnel trial, even without the Red Dancing Shoes, had offered newcomers less than a ten percent chance of clearing it.

With so many uncleared A-rank and S-rank dungeons appearing all at once, the body count was going to be staggering.

His first thought was, Holy shit, I'm about to enter the Spirit Realm too. Is it too late to change classes?!

His second thought was, Oh wait, my next run will most likely be a multiplayer dungeon. Never mind then.

He let out a small breath of relief, then scrolled down through the post to read what the official Spirit Realm Walkers had to say about the situation.

The moment the post went live, it had sent shockwaves through the official organization. Walkers from regional branches across the country were following the thread closely, and the buzz was enormous. The comment section had already surpassed a thousand replies.

⤷ Long Road Ahead: No wonder, no wonder... My Nocturnal Specter informant suddenly went dark today...

⤷ Bitter Days Past: What? You have a Nocturnal Specter informant? You sly dog, you've been hiding that secret really deep.

⤷ Lawless: Something's off. Sure, the Spirit Realm's dungeons aren't fixed and are always shifting, but those changes are usually predictable and gradual. This time, the Nocturnal Specter-exclusive dungeons changed too abruptly, too drastically. It doesn't make sense.

⤷ The King Has an Ailment: Could it have been caused by the Demon Lord's death? I heard from someone in the Taiyi Sect that the Demon Lord perished not long ago.

⤷ Green Vine: Where did you hear about the Demon Lord's death? Was it from Yuan Ting?

The general attitude of the other Walkers in the Five Elements Alliance toward the situation was one of casual spectating and gossip. After all, this was a problem with the Nocturnal Specter-exclusive dungeons, which had little to do with them.

However, some were genuinely concerned.

⤷ Call Me Queen: We can't handle cases without Nocturnal Specters. And with Ghost Eye Judge's death, every region is on guard against the Fallen Ones going berserk. Songhai is shouldering the critical mission of hunting down Black Wuchang on top of everything else. If Nocturnal Specter dungeons go haywire at a time like this, won't that lead to a serious manpower shortage?

⤷ Green Vine: That's a valid concern, but not every Nocturnal Specter is scheduled to enter a dungeon in the near future.

Spirit Realm quests didn't come around all that frequently, so there was no need to worry about Nocturnal Specters dying off en masse just yet.

⤷ Call Me Queen: But they'll all have to enter eventually. With this many uncleared dungeons appearing at once, the number of Nocturnal Specters is going to plummet over the coming months.

Clearing Spirit Realm dungeons always came with casualties. That was unavoidable.

The woman asking others to call her Queen had a point. Zhang Yuanqing would have to enter a solo dungeon sooner or later, and the thought of S-rank and A-rank instances was enough to make anyone's stomach drop. Worse still, his Character Card belonged to the Demon Lord.

His mood grew heavier by the second. He exited the forum, opened his messaging app, and sent Yuan Ting a message.

Zhang Yuanqing: Captain Yuan, I saw the pinned post on the forum. What's going on with the Nocturnal Specter dungeon difficulty changes? I can pay a consultation fee.

For professional questions, it was best to consult professionals.

Yuan Ting's reply was quick.

Yuan Ting: No idea. The official Nocturnal Specter group chat has completely exploded. Everyone who's scheduled to enter the Spirit Realm soon, or will be entering in the near future, is panicking. S-rank dungeons aren't something just anyone can clear, and even clearing A-rank dungeons requires a good deal of luck. I'm not entirely sure what's happened either. The Council of Elders is collecting data. They should release an official announcement by tonight at the latest.

Yuan Ting was not in the best of moods. A colleague he was fairly close with had entered the Spirit Realm that morning and still hadn't come out. He did not know if he was alive or dead.

And in half a month, give or take a week at most, he himself would have to enter a solo dungeon.

Zhang Yuanqing: Got it.

He didn't press further.

***

Over the course of the next few hours, Zhang Yuanqing kept refreshing the official forum, watching for the latest news. Any desire to enjoy shopping had completely evaporated.

By sunset, his little aunt was walking arm in arm with him on the way home while he carried an armload of shopping bags in both hands.

Jiang Yu'er squeezed her nephew's bicep and raised an eyebrow. "Huh, have you gotten stronger? It's rock solid."

If you were Guan Ya, I'd say "my hardness is beyond your imagination" or "I've got something even harder," Zhang Yuanqing thought, but instead, he answered in an off-hand manner, "The body is the foundation of everything. I've been working out lately."

After dinner, he returned to his bedroom, locked the door, and settled in to wait for the Taiyi Sect's announcement.

He could picture it clearly. At this very moment, official Nocturnal Specters across the entire country were just like him, clutching their phones or hunched over their computers, waiting for official word from the organization.

Finally, at half past nine, his relentless refreshing was rewarded with a new post, pinned at the top in red:

【#Statement on Recent Spirit Realm Mutations and Bounty Announcement#】

【In recent days, the Nocturnal Specter Spirit Realm has undergone sudden upheaval. Following an investigation by the Council of Elders, it has been confirmed that the anomaly was triggered by the awakening of a high-level boss within the Spirit Realm. As of the current date, based on intelligence gathered, a total of eight dungeon instances have had their difficulty ratings altered. They are as follows:

【Bright Lake Town, No. 0128, Difficulty S (Nocturnal Specter exclusive)

【Ming Dynasty Mass Grave, No. 1180, Difficulty S (Nocturnal Specter exclusive)

【Xinfeng Reservoir, No. 1910, Difficulty A (Nocturnal Specter exclusive)

【Yinshan Ghost School, No. 0046, Difficulty A (Nocturnal Specter exclusive)

【Sealed King's Tomb, No. 0277, Difficulty A (Nocturnal Specter exclusive)

【Jinshui Amusement Park, No. 6203, Difficulty S (Multiplayer, death type)

【Screaming Chamber, No. 2097, Difficulty A (Multiplayer, non-death type)

【Apartment No. 13, No. 1404, Difficulty B (Multiplayer, non-death type)

【As of today, Yinshan Ghost School and Xinfeng Reservoir have been successfully cleared. The remaining six dungeon instances have yet to be completed. The Council of Elders hereby issues the following bounties: Those who clear an S-rank dungeon will be rewarded with B-rank merit. Those who clear an A-rank dungeon will be rewarded with C-rank merit. Those who clear a B-rank dungeon will be rewarded with 500,000 yuan.】

The post had been reposted from the Taiyi Sect official forum.

It was worth noting how the official organization's merit system worked. A-rank merit was generally only awarded posthumously, with the benefits going to the recipient's family. Most holders of B-rank merit had suffered irreversible injuries in the line of duty. Typically, C-rank merit would be the upper limit of what a Spirit Realm Walker could hope to achieve, and even that feat was extraordinarily difficult, typically requiring the coordinated effort of an entire squad.

As for the highest tier of merit, S-rank merit, only the five Alliance Chiefs had ever received it. Even the most distinguished Elders had earned A-rank merit at best.

The significance of B-rank merit, then, spoke for itself.

By the time Zhang Yuanqing finished reading the post, the comment section had already swelled past a thousand replies, the uproar dwarfing what the earlier post at noon had generated.

The Five Elements Alliance's official Walkers realized this was no longer something they could simply observe from the stands. Among the dungeons the Taiyi Sect had catalogued, two were multiplayer instances.

Multiplayer instances meant that Walkers of other classes had a chance of being matchmade into them as well.

⤷ Long Road Ahead: Good lord, multiplayer dungeons have been affected too?! Those two multiplayer dungeons contain supernatural elements, right? At least only one of them, Jinshui Amusement Park, is S rank.

⤷ Call Me Queen: First of all, nobody knows how long this chaotic mutation will last. What we're seeing is only the current state of things. If more multiplayer dungeons with supernatural elements get affected, then we're all in danger. Second, even if they're non-death type, failing one costs a massive chunk of experience, which would set your strength back significantly. The price is steep.

⤷ Bitter Days Past: Ugh, I was happily watching this unfold at noon, and now this. What should I do? I'm supposed to enter a multiplayer dungeon soon as well. I won't be that unlucky... right?

⤷ George Pig: If these dungeons aren't cleared soon, the number of official Nocturnal Specters will drop sharply within half a year, and other classes might get caught in the blast radius too. What kind of boss is this terrifying? It's even scary enough to force the Taiyi Sect into posting bounties.

⤷ Green Vine: Everyone, take note. This bounty has been issued to Nocturnal Specters nationwide. If any of you have Nocturnal Specter informants or know independent Nocturnal Specters, make sure to pass the word along.

⤷ White Dragon: Is the guy above me an idiot? Clearing Nocturnal Specter dungeons is the Nocturnal Specters' business. What we should really be focused on is clearing the multiplayer dungeons. Those are the ones that affect our lives.

⤷ Bitter Days Past: Exactly, exactly. Paying top dollar for guides to Jinshui Amusement Park, Screaming Chamber, and Apartment No. 13.

Zhang Yuanqing's gaze went blank. Mu-multiplayer dungeons are affected too?!

Just then, a shrill ringtone pierced the silence.

It was Li Dongze calling.

Zhang Yuanqing answered the phone. "Squad Leader."

—Have you been on the forum today? Li Dongze asked in a serious tone.

Zhang Yuanqing let out a sigh and replied, "If you're talking about the Nocturnal Specter Spirit Realm mutation, I already know."

—Don't worry too much. If the sky falls, the taller ones will hold it up first. Maybe by the time your solo dungeon comes around, the Taiyi Sect will have already cleared these high difficulty instances. Trust the official organization.

After offering this reassurance, he added with a teasing lilt, —Of course, if you're feeling confident, you could always be the one to clear them.

Li Dongze was trying to lighten the mood, but that was far too tall an order.

"Did you call just to comfort me?" Zhang Yuanqing probed.

—Two things. You're going to enter a dungeon soon, and based on past patterns, it should be a multiplayer one. You know how the level-matching system works. Centurion Fu noticed that Jinshui Amusement Park is a Transcendent-tier dungeon, so as a precaution, he used his authority to pull the old version of the dungeon guide for you. You can use it as a reference.

Li Dongze's tone turned serious.

—Remember, it's only a reference. The dungeon has changed. Trusting the old guide too much will get people killed.

Zhang Yuanqing felt a surge of genuine gratitude. The Centurion manages ten thousand bunny girls a day and still found time to think about a nobody like me?

Li Dongze again offered him some reassurance.

—We're just being cautious. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. There are a huge number of Transcendent-tier multiplayer dungeons out there. The odds of getting matchmade into Jinshui Amusement Park are extremely low.

I hope so, Squad Leader. What you don't know is that my Character Card literally belongs to the Demon Lord.

"So what's the second thing?" Zhang Yuanqing asked.

—The second thing is about Lei Yibing.