473: Who is playing chess?

When Zhang Lingxiao approached, Qin Yang felt a wave of evil Qi wash over him.

His dark eyes were like an abyss.

Gazing into them, he seemed to hear countless souls howling.

Indeed, his temperament was such that it couldn't be cultivated without slaughtering thousands, if not millions, of people.

Even Bai Qi would have to offer him a stick of Karma.

And the 'no flowers, no grass' cleansing operation was, in fact, jointly carried out by Zhang Lingxiao and Bai Qi.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang asked, "Grandmaster, did you have fun in the land of the sticks?"

"It's work, Your Majesty. As long as you are satisfied with the results, I am happy."

Zhang Lingxiao pulled out a cigarette from his Daoist robe, and just as he was about to light it, he heard Qin Yang say,

"I told you to use the long sword as a measuring standard. Did you, old man, lay the long sword flat?"

Zhang Lingxiao was stunned and asked, "Your Majesty, when your long sword slipped from your hand, wasn't that what you meant?"

Qin Yang frowned and said coldly, "What do you mean? Am I that cruel? You're just making wild guesses about my intentions."

Zhang Lingxiao took a deep breath. If his eyes could speak, the words "You scoundrel" would have been uttered.

But... if the Emperor wants you to take the blame, then you can only bear it well.

He bowed with clasped hands and said, "I should not have presumed to guess your sacred will. I ask for your punishment, Your Majesty."

Qin Yang chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Forget it. Thickness is also height. I'll give you a chance to atone for your sins."

Hearing this, and seeing the profound expression on the Divine Emperor's face, a flicker of realization crossed Zhang Lingxiao's eyes.

He finally understood.

The Divine Emperor had another task to assign him.

Zhang Lingxiao didn't beat around the bush and clasped his hands, volunteering, "If Your Majesty has any commands, I will go through fire and water."

Qin Yang nodded with satisfaction and asked, "How many breakthrough orbs have been refined so far?"

Zhang Lingxiao replied, "100,000 Elite Tier, 20,000 Grandmaster Tier, 500 Hero Rank, and 12 Monarch Tier."

Qin Yang was slightly stunned. "How could so many have been refined in just a few days?"

Zhang Lingxiao gave an evil, charming smile and said, "I selected some Imperial Observatory members and taught them the refining method. Now, 1,000 people are refining simultaneously, and over a thousand furnaces have already been started."

"Well done."

Qin Yang took a deep breath and nodded silently.

It was no wonder he was surprised.

20,000 Grandmaster Tier breakthrough orbs could add 20,000 Grandmaster Tier Professionals to Shenzhou.

And those 12 Monarch Tier breakthrough orbs could add 12 top-tier combatants to Shenzhou.

This wave of improvement alone could significantly increase Shenzhou's conventional strength.

Now, even without himself, the Divine Emperor, Shenzhou's overall combat power was almost catching up to the Free Federation.

After all, there weren't many Monarch Tier combatants in Shenzhou currently.

There were even fewer than ten Peak Monarchs like Si Zhenfeng and Zhan Tianxiong.

Darkening indeed strengthens one tenfold. This saying was true.

If the Jiuzhou Federation had let Zhang Lingxiao wreak havoc freely, it would have become powerful long ago.

However, this guy was too anti-human.

If he were truly allowed to be himself, no one could control him.

Qin Yang dared to let him do this because he had absolute strength to suppress this evil cultivator.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang suddenly became a little curious about the true nature of Zhang Lingxiao's profession.

Recalling it carefully, his methods didn't seem like those of a proper Daoist.

Especially that life-swapping skill of summoning the Fengdu Ghost Gate.

When the names of the God of Truth and Zhang Lingxiao were marked by the 'Judge's Brush,' it gave Qin Yang quite a shock.

From that moment on, Qin Yang knew.

Professions related to Huaxia deities were not limited to the Supreme Emperor.

Zhang Lingxiao's profession could also 'invoke deities.'

Previously, Qin Yang had been waiting for Zhang Lingxiao to voluntarily introduce his profession, but this guy was too cautious and never mentioned it.

But now that a real threat was approaching, Qin Yang couldn't wait any longer.

The 'warning' just now was also a prelude to asking about his profession.

Thinking of this, Qin Yang said, "Grandmaster, what exactly is the origin of your profession?"

Hearing Qin Yang's question, Zhang Lingxiao was slightly startled, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.

Evidently, he had great reservations about revealing his professional characteristics.

However, the more Zhang Lingxiao acted this way, the more Qin Yang became interested in his profession.

He increasingly felt that Zhang Lingxiao's profession was related to the Ninetynine Human Emperor.

The Emperor and his subject remained silent for the duration of a cup of tea.

Finally, Zhang Lingxiao took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, have you ever wondered why this world has professions like Sword Immortals, Daoists, and Scholars, which are outside the orthodox divine system?"

Qin Yang's eyes narrowed.

He had indeed thought about this question.

Logically, all professional powers came from the bestowal of orthodox deities like Elebella.

But Eastern professions like Sword Immortals did not conform to this rule.

Humans had studied this problem for 500 years without understanding it.

However, everyone had reached a consensus.

These professions certainly didn't appear out of thin air; there must be some entity bestowing all of this.

Qin Yang's previous understanding was that the Law of the Huaxia world wanted to invade here, so it projected these powers.

But as time went on, he found that this guess couldn't explain his own existence.

Or rather, it couldn't explain the existence of the Supreme Emperor.

This profession was too strong, far stronger than professions like Sword Immortals and Daoists.

Compared in this way, those Huaxia Professionals seemed dispensable.

Because if there were just one more profession similar to the Supreme Emperor, all the heavens would be unified.

If the 'Huaxia Law' wanted to invade, there would be no need to create other professions.

And after Qin Yang learned of the mission of the Second Rank Human Emperor, this feeling became even stronger.

He even speculated that the Creation of these Huaxia professions was also part of the Human Emperor's advancement.

Now, with Zhang Lingxiao bringing this up, Qin Yang's idea became even firmer.

He said to Zhang Lingxiao, "Are you trying to say that these professions exist for me?"

Zhang Lingxiao nodded and said, "Their existence is all to cover for you."

Hearing this, Qin Yang was somewhat puzzled and asked, "How do they cover?"

Zhang Lingxiao shrugged, "If there was only one special profession in the world, wouldn't that be too conspicuous?"

A look of realization flashed in Qin Yang's eyes.

He seemed to understand.

The matter of reshaping the Human Emperor's authority did not begin the moment he awakened as a Professional, but rather when the first Huaxia profession was born in this world.

If only his profession in this world was not bestowed by a deity, could he have grown so freely?

"What a grand scheme," Qin Yang exclaimed, and asked Zhang Lingxiao, "Who is playing this game?"

Zhang Lingxiao bowed with clasped hands and said, "Your Majesty, the will of the Emperors and the Past Emperors of Huaxia facilitated all of this. We merely laid out the chessboard in advance; the true player is still you."

"You all?"

Qin Yang looked at Zhang Lingxiao.

This Daoist had taken a long detour and was finally getting to the point.

Zhang Lingxiao clasped his hands and bowed deeply, over ninety degrees, to Qin Yang, saying, "Your Majesty, the power of my profession comes from the Lord of Heaven."