Du An ignored the sudden words from the Black Robe. The thought that he had been rather unlucky lately flashed through his mind as he slowly raised his hand, prying the black-robed priest's wrist away with a strained but resolute grip.
The black-robed priest standing before him was formidable. Du An couldn't entirely gauge his true strength.
But it didn't matter.
Du An was no ordinary Cloud Hidden Priest, either.
His Wizard Embryo Fragment was incredibly massive. It was the largest fragment in the Ring World, making up nearly half of a complete wizard embryo.
Because of this, he had managed to survive a Star Glow Priest's pursuit in the crevices of the minor world until Priest Jun arrived. It was also why he could use every ounce of his strength to pry this priest's hand away inch by inch, especially since the man was clearly in a weakened state.
However, before Du An could completely throw off the Black Robe's grip, the priest managed to brush against Du An's Wizard Embryo Fragment.
Fortunately, it was only a fleeting touch. He couldn't actually snatch it away.
Du An instantly broke out in a cold sweat, truly grasping just how powerful and dangerous this black-robed priest was.
Suddenly, the hand Du An was gripping jerked back.
The Terror Spell crushing down on him vanished in the same instant.
Surprised, Du An didn't miss a beat. He rapidly backed out of the dark clouds.
The black-robed Wizard who had attacked him remained hidden within the dark, rolling mist.
But Du An knew he hadn't left.
The piercing gaze cutting through the dark clouds to lock onto him was unmistakable.
Du An was well aware that he hadn't won their final clash. His opponent had simply given up.
The dark clouds churning before him seemed to grow eyes and a mouth. A deep, mellow voice rolled out from the mist.
"How fascinating. Look what I've stumbled upon."
"Two Wizard Embryo Fragments from the exact same minor world."
"Little guy, do you know Li Ban?"
So this black-robed priest had also tried to steal Li Ban's Wizard Embryo Fragment.
The man was incredibly strong—at least a Star Glow Priest. How had Li Ban managed to escape him?
Du An's thoughts raced, though his expression remained frosty. "It seems you suffered a loss at his hands."
A low chuckle echoed from the dark clouds. "Heh. Yes, a terrible loss. I had to come out and hunt for a few priests' fragments to mend myself."
A Protection Spell abruptly flared to life around Du An, and his diamond-shaped Self-Seeking Mirror materialized in his palm.
Just as he was about to contact the other white-robed priests and warn them of a hidden black-robed priest in the area, the man spoke a single sentence that stopped Du An in his tracks.
"Follow the White Robes, and you will never become a black-robed priest."
The small diamond-shaped mirror spun lightly between Du An's fingertips. "Is this how you black-robed priests recruit? It's rather pathetic."
The Black Robe in the clouds chuckled again.
"Black suits you better."
Du An remained impassive, entirely unmoved.
He trusted his own judgment and self-control, so he decided to hear out what this clearly injured black-robed priest had to say.
He didn't mind gaining another source of information.
"Are you aware that your divine soul is severely fractured? To restore it by cultivating your heart will take decades, perhaps even a century."
"I just need to mend it." The prism in Du An's hand flipped over.
The subtle gesture was his way of telling the Black Robe that he wasn't interested in nonsense.
"Mend it? If you truly had that kind of patience, the flaw in your divine soul wouldn't be a real flaw to begin with."
Du An remained unswayed.
He had already found the Leader, and he had a solid lead on Chen Dong. Though they had slipped through his fingers for now, Du An firmly believed that since they had chosen to stay in the Trash Realm despite possessing a Realm-Breaking Stone, they must have an undeniable reason to remain there.
However, their stay would undoubtedly be cut short by his appearance. That was why he was so desperate to rack up merits, hoping to return to the Trash Realm as soon as possible.
He was confident he could track the Leader down again.
Once he did, the issue with his divine soul would be swiftly resolved.
Seeing Du An's unwavering composure, the Black Robe's interest deepened.
"It seems you aren't so easily beaten down by hardship. Tell me, do you know that the Wizard Embryo Fragment Li Ban carries is almost identical to yours? Pluck it from him, and you'll possess a nearly complete wizard embryo."
Du An suddenly snapped his eyes up.
By now, he knew exactly what a nearly complete wizard embryo meant.
Only an 8th Tier Solar Priest possessed a nearly complete Wizard Embryo Fragment.
But just as quickly, he lowered his gaze.
"If I took your fragment, I should become a Solar Priest even faster."
"That is entirely different. Your fragments share the same origin. If you take his, you won't need to waste massive amounts of time and spiritual rhinoceros trying to merge them. The chances of awakening a complete wizard embryo are far greater than if you haphazardly jammed incompatible pieces together."
Du An frowned slightly.
The White Robes had never shared this information with him.
"Merging fragments of the same origin reduces cultivation time and increases the chances of becoming a Wizard. Not bad. I've learned something new."
"However, if I do take Li Ban's fragment, my wizard embryo might become whole, but the process would delay the repair of my divine soul. I could be stuck at the Cloud Hidden Tier for a long, long time. Even if I fled into the Shattered Realm, I'd just be a little shrimp swimming into the vast ocean, constantly hunted by other Black and White Robes."
Du An quickly reasoned it out. He couldn't steal Li Ban's Wizard Embryo Fragment.
At the very least—not until his divine soul was fully repaired!
'That's enough of this,' Du An thought, preparing to summon the other priests.
He knew very well he was only ending the conversation because he had felt his own resolve waver.
But the black-robed priest's next words stopped his hand once again.
"Are you worried about your divine soul? Become a black-robed priest, and you won't have to mend it at all."
"Black-robed priests follow their hearts. We do not cultivate them."
Once Li Ban was back on the road and certain Du An hadn't followed him, he immediately asked Shi Ming to stand guard. Then, closing his eyes, he projected himself into the Shadow World.
By the time Li Ban descended from the second floor in his Smart Mecha, 9899 had already been waiting for quite a while.
Her eyes lit up when she saw him, and she quickly rose from the sofa.
"Young Master Nineteen, I've managed to contact someone who sells Independent Data Readers that can operate completely offline."
Li Ban walked down the stairs unhurriedly. Only after he had taken a seat across from 9899 did he speak. "Who are they? How did you get this information? Tell me everything."
Seeing his calm demeanor, 9899's initial excitement cooled off.
This Young Master Nineteen clearly wanted to purchase the machine in absolute secrecy. Perhaps he didn't want the Shen Family to know, which was why he remained so cautious even after finding a seller.
She recalled how she had stumbled upon the information. Sensing no glaring issues, she recounted the details carefully.
"When I worked in the legion, I knew there were people inside smuggling and reselling supplies from Trash City. Since this sort of thing is strictly forbidden on the surface, the smugglers actively disconnect from the network and enforce physical isolation protocols."
"However, the latest model of an Independent Data Reader is rare. The only people capable of selling one are either from the logistics department or from the manufacturing companies that produce this machinery."
"I have no way of contacting the manufacturers, but I do know of a deputy director in the logistics department who has the necessary channels and methods. Rumor has it that he routinely reports perfectly good machines as scrap. Instead of destroying them, he sells them off—sometimes even to factions outside Trash City."
Li Ban had assumed that a system like Trash City, ruled with absolute authority by the Main Brain, would be free of corrupt individuals lining their own pockets.
But perhaps the Main Brain was running low on energy, or perhaps it simply lacked the computing power. Whatever the case, it clearly couldn't micromanage every single citizen.
Instead, it relied on humans to govern other humans.
As a result, Trash City functioned much like any normal, human-ruled society, plagued by the inevitable capitalist infighting and bureaucratic corruption.
"How did you actually get in touch with them? Did a friend tip you off?"
Given 9899's current destitution, the friends she used to have might not be so friendly anymore.
"No, no, no," 9899 said, waving her hands emphatically. A hint of dejection crept into her voice. "I went out in disguise. I didn't dare reach out to anyone I used to know."
Though she had been framed by the Shen Family, in the eyes of the Main Brain, she was still a perfectly legal, lower-class citizen. She wasn't afraid to roam around the inner city.
"I already knew these rumors from my time in the legion. Over the past few days, I simply went to confirm if the deputy director was still operating out of his old spot. After that, I hired a broker to make some inquiries. They were vague, but they admitted to having heavy machinery like Independent Data Readers in stock. Any specifics, however, have to be discussed with the buyer in person."
"I couldn't make the decision on my own, so I came back to ask you."
"The specifics require a face-to-face meeting?" Li Ban stood up. "Go back and ask him if we can meet in the outer city. If not, we drop the deal."
9899 opened her mouth to argue. Would a deputy director of the logistics department really be willing to leave the safety of the inner city?
But the moment he finished speaking, Li Ban turned and went back upstairs, leaving her absolutely no room to negotiate.
'An Independent Data Reader is a massive piece of hardware. It's a huge deal. They might just agree,' she consoled herself, before turning and sprinting out of the room.
Since Li Ban was in a hurry, 9899 immediately commissioned someone to seek out the deputy director that very same day.
To her surprise, Deputy Director Jia Gu agreed to Li Ban's demand with barely a moment's hesitation.
The only condition was that Jia Gu chose the location, casually mentioning that he already had business in the outer city and would simply be fitting their meeting into his schedule.
He would wait at the designated spot at two o'clock the following afternoon. If the buyer failed to show up on time, he would assume the deal was off and leave immediately.
Having laid out his terms, Deputy Director Jia Gu dismissed 9899's broker without giving them any chance to bargain.
9899 immediately rushed back to relay the news to Li Ban.
Li Ban had never heard of the address Jia Gu provided.
Fortunately, his Smart Mecha was incredibly advanced and possessed high-level clearance, meaning it contained a fully detailed map of Trash City's outer districts.
Pulling up the map, Li Ban quickly identified Jia Gu's chosen meeting spot.
He raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't say he was truly surprised.
The next day, Li Ban arrived at the deputy director's designated meeting location ten minutes early.
It was one of the outer city's most notorious hubs for gambling, vice, and illicit drugs.
The Bottle Cap Arcade.