After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Those three dim lights lasted only half a breath.

Zhou Ran didn't look up, his fingers remaining pressed on the Devouring Heaven Seal.

Hundreds of thousands of rays of light from the military registers of the four regions were as dense as a galaxy. They dimmed for a moment and then returned to normal, so that others could not even notice them.

However, since his primordial spirit had just been disturbed by the Name Erasure Order, he could not hide any subtle fluctuations in the military register.

Huan Yin stood to his left, the newly restored Formless Domain Seal still radiating warmth.

She glanced at the military register, said nothing, and instead focused her soul power into the seal, comparing the military status of the 30,000 Illusionary Demon Guards one by one.

The bloodthirsty gun barrel paused slightly on the ground.

"The bounty for the imperial prince has barely been placed, and already some people are getting their hands dirty?"

The Nine Netherworlds reacted the fastest.

With a wave of her hand, nine layers of coffin shadows rose from the ground, sealing off all entrances and exits to Nine Nether City.

The deathly aura of the underworld spread to the base of the city walls, and any soul wave that attempted to transmit its message out of the city would be swallowed up by the shadow of the coffin.

"Seal the city first."

Jiuyou looked at Zhou Ran.

"No matter who it is, they can't escape."

Bloodlust raised his spear, and the blood aura on the spearhead had already taken shape.

"What city are you sealing? Just pull out the three military registers and I'll search their souls one by one."

"If anyone in the 300,000-strong Blood Demon army tries to trade you for coordinates, I'll drain their blood before questioning them."

Huan Yin also spoke, her dark red soul power swirling above the military register at her fingertips.

"Soul searching is too crude. My Formless Domain can investigate silently without alerting anyone."

By comparing the deviation values ​​between the military identification marks and the individual's soul wave, all anomalies can be identified within three days.

The three peak-stage Tribulation Transcending experts each offered their solutions, and the commanders in the hall dared not even breathe loudly.

Zhou Ran released the Devouring Heaven Seal and leaned back on the throne.

"None of them will work."

He raised a bloodthirsty eyebrow.

"You're saying no?"

"The Soul Search will force the traitor to act prematurely." His eyes darkened for a moment, indicating that he was still hesitant and had not made a final decision.

"You searched my soul, turning hesitation into decisiveness; this is what the imperial prince has been waiting for."

Zhou Ran looked at Jiu You.

"A city lockdown won't work either."

With the Nine Nether City sealed off, the news couldn't get out, and the Emperor's son instead learned that we had discovered a traitor.

Its next step will be to increase the bounty, turning hesitation into panic.

He turned to Huanyin.

"Three days is too long."

The emperor gave them a seven-day deadline; after three days of investigation, there were four days left to deploy defenses.

But the mole won't wait for you to finish your investigation; by the next day, he'll already know he's been exposed.

The three empresses fell silent simultaneously.

Ming Cang stood beside the military register, sweat beading on his forehead.

"Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Zhou Ran didn't answer Ming Cang, but instead turned a page in the Unified Army Register.

The clause in the Emperor's decree that "whoever surrenders Zhou Ran will be granted the coordinates of Blue Star" appeared on the surface of the military register, and could be seen in all military registers of the four regions.

"Read it out."

Zhou Ran said.

Mingcang was stunned for a moment.

"Emperor?"

"The Emperor's son said that if I hand over the coordinates of Blue Star, he will give me the answer. I will not hide it from him."

Zhou Ran pointed to the legal provisions.

"Write this in the bounty notice board of the unified army roster so that everyone in the four regions can see it clearly."

The several commanders in the hall looked at each other in bewilderment.

The Bloodthirsty Spear hovered, its red eyes narrowed as it stared at Zhou Ran.

She suddenly understood.

Zhou Ran is making a mirror.

The bounty terms were read aloud, and everyone's first reaction was recorded in the military register. The vast majority would feel anger, tension, or a desire to pledge their loyalty to Zhou Ran.

However, some people are a beat slower to react.

They already knew the details of the bounty beforehand. The mole had already received the news when the imperial decree was issued.

Bounties were old news to them.

Old news doesn't trigger stress.

Mingcang accepted the order.

The military registers flipped over, revealing the bounty terms in the universal Soul Script used by all four domains above each register. Hundreds of thousands of soul lights responded almost simultaneously, waves of anger, horror, and loyalty swarming like a dense hive.

The underworld warehouse retrieved the military personnel registration fluctuation records and sorted them by reaction time.

The vast majority of people react within a single breath.

Seventeen people exceeded two breaths.

Fourteen of them have reasonable explanations—they are injured and unconscious, in seclusion, or at extremely remote outposts.

The remaining three.

The reaction was delayed for a full three breaths, and the fluctuation curve was flat, without any emotional fluctuations.

Mingcang's finger hovered over the three names, his voice kept extremely low.

"Emperor, the three of you belong to the three realms."

One person from the Realm of No Form, one person from the Sea of ​​Blood, and one person from the Devouring Demon Palace.

A dark red light flashed in Huan Yin's eyes. The Wuxiang Domain had just experienced the crisis of being erased from the list of names, and its military ranks had only just been restored to stability, yet there was still a spies hidden within.

Bloodlust's face was grim. The Blood Sea had just finished clearing the Rift Mountain when another one appeared.

Jiuyou's expression remained unchanged; he simply gathered his deathly aura to within three inches of his feet.

Zhou Ran rose and stepped down from the throne, turning his head slightly as he passed Qin San.

His lips were almost touching Qin San's earlobe.

Those words were so soft that even a faint echo from a step away couldn't detect them.

A sharp glint flashed in Qin San's eyes. He turned around and strode out of the main hall, his sword still sheathed, his pace two steps faster than usual.

Ming Cang watched Qin San's retreating figure, wanting to ask something, but shut his mouth after meeting Zhou Ran's gaze.

Gu Ji stood in the corner, his gaze lingering on the three names for a long time.

He recognized the name Devouring Heaven Demon Palace; it belonged to a former general from the Devouring Bones era, named Zang Yuan. This man was in charge of the eastern supply route, commanding three thousand grain transport soldiers. He was usually taciturn and never participated in power struggles.

How could someone who never vies for power know the contents of the imperial prince's reward in advance?

Qin San walked through the main hall's long corridor, his footsteps echoing in the empty passageway.

He did not go to the eastern grain route, nor did he set up a post in the Boundless Domain or the Blood Sea.

He was simply following Zhou Ran's instructions to make this trip.

The goal is not to arrest people, but to force them to reveal their weaknesses.

The long corridor leads to the west side hall. There live more than ten former generals of the Devouring Heaven Demon Palace, all mid-level officers who surrendered after Devouring Bone's death.

As Qin San passed by, he deliberately slowed his pace, glancing at the pillars on both sides of the corridor out of the corner of his eye.

Night filtered through the windowpanes, casting long shadows of everyone on the stone wall.

He saw the burial ground.

The former general stood with his back to the corridor at the entrance of the side hall. There was nothing unusual about his figure or armor.

But his shadow cast on the stone wall was three inches shorter than him.

Qin San did not stop.

He didn't even pause for a moment, walking naturally through the side hall and disappearing around the corner at the end of the corridor.

But his right hand had moved from the hilt of the knife to his sleeve, and his index finger pressed down on a communication jade that Zhou Ran had given him earlier.

The shadow is three inches shorter.

Either the person's actual height has changed, or the shadow projected on the wall is not his own.

Qin San did not rush to send a telepathic message.

Zhou Ran gave very clear instructions—just look, don't touch, and remember anything unusual.

Behind the main hall, Bloodlust and Nine Netherworlds each led their subordinates away.

The lingering power of the Emperor's decree still hovered above the Sixth Heaven, but after tonight's crisis of name erasure and trust verification, the military formations of the Four Regions were even heavier and tighter than before.

As Zhou Ran put away the Devouring Heaven Seal, Huan Yin's voice came from behind him.

"Come with me."

He turned around.

Huanyin stood in front of the hidden door on the side of the hall, the formless patterns on her dark red dress still glowing faintly.

Her complexion was paler than before she recovered, her lips were lighter in color, but she didn't look tired.

"Your soul imprint of the same frequency has been disturbed by the Name Erasure Order."

Huan Yin's tone left no room for negotiation.

"My life mark also grew back from your primordial spirit."

There are cracks on both sides. If we don't fix them, and the next time something goes wrong, you won't even remember who I am.

Zhou Ran did not follow immediately.

He glanced at the entrance to the secret chamber behind Huanyin. Dark red, formless restrictions covered the door frame. This was Huanyin's temporary private domain.