Both sides could be said to be determined to win, unwilling to accept any failure. In such circumstances, the Kunlun Sect issued a death-defying order to seize the last candidate for the Heavenly Pearl inheritor. This command was sent out from the Kunlun Sacred Realm, passed through the long divine path outside the Lingyue Hall, flew over the mountain gate protected by seventeen layers of restrictions, crossed the Kunlun mountain range, traversed the vast wilderness, and finally landed in an elegant villa in City A.

The owner of the villa was a wealthy man living incognito. Although he disliked being in the public eye, it was said that his assets were no less than those of the top ten on the annual rich list, and there were even rumors that his overseas assets could rival those of tycoons from Hong Kong and Taiwan. But these were just rumors. The true identity of the villa’s owner was the head of the Kunlun Lower Institute, the only disciple of the “Qing” generation in the entire Lower Institute, with the Daoist name “Edward.” However, people were more familiar with his other name: Edward Harris.

Edward Harris was the chairman of the Wanqing Group in City A, which was also the main economic source for the Kunlun Lower Institute. The entire operation of the Lower Institute depended on the financial support provided by the Wanqing Group. After all, life at the foot of the mountain was not like that atop Kunlun; in today’s society, everything still depended on money.

The Lower Institute was actually the Kunlun Sect’s eyes and ears in the secular world, and also served as a “threshold” for recruiting disciples. Only by passing the tests and trials of the Lower Institute could one enter the Kunlun Sacred Realm to cultivate.

Inside the villa’s secret chamber, the glaring lights made people’s eyes uncomfortable, and the gray walls all around did nothing to lift one’s spirits. Two stacks of dossiers sat on the table. The stack on the right was thick, with six or seven folders, while the stack on the left had only one folder—inside was the sect leader Xuanmeng Daoist’s personal order.

Chairman Harris had joined the Kunlun Sect for decades and had managed the Lower Institute for over ten years. It was rare for the sect leader to personally instruct the Lower Institute to handle something, and even more unusual for two disciples from the Kunlun Sacred Realm to be specially sent to “assist.” This showed just how seriously the entire Kunlun Sect regarded this matter. Edward Harris glanced at the tall stack of folders beside him—these were collected by his subordinates, containing intelligence on the movements of other sects, including the actions of the three great divine religions.

Edward Harris let out a long sigh. “It seems we’re not the only ones eyeing this last Heavenly Pearl…” He was quite troubled. Although he was wealthy and powerful, the others were by no means weak. The five great sects, the three great divine religions, and the meddling of the Buddhist sect—this disciple would not be easy to recruit.

“Old Ethan…” A middle-aged disciple beside him stood up. “In my opinion, this matter is actually quite simple. That kid is still an outsider. Secular people are nothing more than slaves to their desires. Whatever he wants, we just cater to his preferences, don’t we? As long as our offer is better than the others, there’s still a good chance.” The speaker was Edward Harris’s trusted aide, his senior brother, a disciple of Daoist Qingjue from the Kunlun Sacred Realm, temporarily assigned to the Lower Institute for training, a disciple of the “Wu” generation, Charles Bennett.

Strictly speaking, Charles Bennett was his junior nephew, but outside, they didn’t address each other by sect titles. Edward Harris nodded. “I’ve thought it over and over, and I still feel more at ease handling this personally. Xianwu, come with me.” Charles Bennett quickly nodded. “Alright, Old Ethan, I’ll make the arrangements right away.”

In the Western Divine Realm, Michael knelt at the Lord’s feet, kissing the Lord’s shoe. “Almighty and omnipotent Lord, your child has already, as you commanded, given the last Heavenly Pearl to a rogue, and the people of the Pocket Realm have already noticed him. Just wait and see the chaos that will erupt in the Immortal Realm…”

David Walker walked out into the morning sun. After a month, he was once again job hunting, and David Walker was full of ambition. By noon, he had sent out seven or eight resumes. He knew his own “limits” well and didn’t dare to hope for too much. He was just casting a wide net, and if he could catch even a small fish, he would be satisfied.

After two consecutive days of job hunting, he had only a few resumes left. The next step was just one word: wait!

Wait…

Wait…

Wait…

How many days had it been? David Walker checked the calendar on his phone. Three days had passed, and all his resumes and job applications had vanished without a trace, as if thrown into the sea. David Walker sighed. Graduating from a third-rate university’s Chinese department, it really wasn’t easy to find a job. He was a bit annoyed, jumped up from the bed, and cursed loudly, “Damn it, what’s the big deal? I quit!” He still had plenty of money in his pocket and no worries about food or clothing, so David Walker decided to set aside his troubles for now and go out to relax.

David Walker’s way of relaxing was simple: window shopping. If a man likes shopping, it’s definitely not because of the attraction of beautiful clothes and jewelry, but because of the beautiful girls attracted by those clothes and jewelry.

With both hands in his pockets, David Walker wandered the busiest streets of X City. He had taken the bus for over an hour just to feast his eyes here. The crowds were dense, and beauties were everywhere! David Walker was in a great mood and couldn’t help but whistle. The setbacks and discouragement from days of job hunting were swept away.

That was his strength: he never took things to heart, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.