“I’m not trying to interfere, but next time you drink, could you please take off your ring? Priests serving the Sun Goddess are not allowed to drink excessively,” Molly’s voice said, a bit dejectedly, from inside the ring.

“My apologies.” Zhou Ning tilted his head back, downed the beer in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and smiled, “Next time, definitely.”

Molly:... She simply couldn't be bothered to speak anymore. Zhou Ning chuckled and shook his head, put down the glass, and pushed the Vester Family VIP card across to the bartender, saying softly, “I need some information.”

The bartender calmly picked up the VIP card from the table, examined it for a few seconds, then returned it to Zhou Ning, pointing to a secret door in the back right: “Go inside, the third room.”

Pushing the door open revealed a downward staircase, at the end of which was an iron gate guarded by someone. The burly doorman scrutinized Zhou Ning but didn't stop him from pushing the door open and entering.

Just like in the game, this was an underground fighting arena. After the game started, it was once a popular spot for players. They could both PK and earn money.

Since players couldn't die, battles between players were absolutely brutal, with fists meeting flesh and legs drawing blood, making them extremely entertaining. Deaths were common, so it was highly favored by the underground fighting arena.

However, this favor didn't last long. Soon after, the arena discovered that many players were fixing matches; they would revive immediately after dying, then rush back to split the money. Consequently, most players were blacklisted.

Upon entering the arena, a terrifying wave of sound immediately swept over him.

The match had already begun. In the ring, a northern fighter was already locked in combat with a burly werewolf.

Zhou Ning narrowed his eyes. With his current strength, it wasn't difficult to sense that both fighters were quite strong. The werewolf, in particular, had the advantage of being a transcendent race and was likely around Level 20.

“Take down that northerner!”

“Ghost Wolf! You’ll definitely win!”

“Don’t lose, Northerner! I bet 70 Groschen on you!”

...Outside the ring, the audience roared madly, blood pumping, with no shortage of profanities. The environment was much harsher than in the game.

Zhou Ning felt like he had entered a modern rave, the immense noise almost making his heart stop. He walked around the ring, counted to the third room, whose door was ajar. Zhou Ning reached out and knocked, and the door swung open.

Inside was an office with a slightly lower temperature than outside. Sitting behind the desk was a portly businessman wearing gold-rimmed glasses, completely bald, with a slight smile on his lips, giving him a very shrewd impression.

Zhou Ning smiled and showed him the Vester Family VIP card: “I need to purchase some information.”

Hearing this, the businessman stood up, took the VIP card, looked at it, and immediately smiled. He extended his hand to Zhou Ning and shook it: “My name is Gino McAuley. Please come in and sit down, Mr. Wayne.”

Through the Vester Family connections, he vaguely knew some things about Zhou Ning and held him in considerable awe.

After closing the door, the outside noise significantly diminished.

After Zhou Ning sat opposite him, Gino McAuley poured him a beer and asked, “What information do you need?”

“I need some information on the Brystone Clan Knight families, the more detailed the better.” Zhou Ning casually took off his ring, picked up the beer, and took another sip.

“35 Victa,” Gino said, giving him a meaningful look and quoting a price. “This is already an 80% discount. Collecting this information is not easy.”

“Deal.” Zhou Ning took out four 10-Victa bills from his wallet and handed them to the other party.

Gino took the money, counted it, and nodded, saying, “Very straightforward. Give me a few minutes.”

Gino hurried out the door and turned to the other side.

Not long after, Gino re-entered, holding a thick file bag and a 5-Victa banknote: “You know, information about the Vester Family is not included, but all other families are.”

Zhou Ning nodded, took the money and the file bag, opened it, and saw that it indeed contained very detailed information about the Clan Knight families. He put away the file bag, looked up at Gino, and asked thoughtfully, “One more question, I want to know if there are any Transcendent gatherings in Daklan? Or places specifically for trading Transcendent items?”

This was an idea Zhou Ning had long had. In the game in his previous life, such gatherings did exist, but they were generally not open to players. He had some items that didn't belong to this world, such as firearms and Devil Fruit, which should also be very popular in Transcendent circles. Especially Devil Fruit; selling a small amount might bring unexpected surprises. Besides that, he also wanted to see if he could buy anything good.

“Transcendent gatherings? This information is free,” Gino said with a smile. Introducing suitable people to the trade fair also benefited him.

“Do you know about the Old Town Underground Market? Every Saturday night at 8 PM, there’s a gathering for Transcendent in Daklan. Go find Old Taylor, the manager of the Underground Market, after 7:30 PM, and tell him I sent you.”

“Thank you very much, I understand,” Zhou Ning said, his lips curving upwards.

Today was Thursday, meaning there would be a Transcendent gathering the day after tomorrow. He was very much looking forward to it.

After bidding farewell and leaving the Wine and Wolverine Bar, Zhou Ning returned to his rented hotel room, lit his gas lamp, and eagerly tore open the file bag to begin reading.

There were a total of 25 pages of information about the Clan Knight families. The first family introduced, and the one with the most pages, was a family named Molton.

The patriarch was Isaac Molton, Chairman of the Brystone Kingdom's Upper House, with the title of Earl. Their Clan Precept was currently unclear but should be related to courage.

It shouldn't be him... Zhou Ning continued to flip pages without hesitation.

The second was the Turner Family, located on the northern border. The Turner Family’s Clan Precept was 【Cold makes one clear-headed, ice and snow make one resolute】. This family had appeared during the Elemental Chaos, and their ability was to control ice and snow.

It wasn't him either.

It wasn't until he was near the end that Zhou Ning’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Rivers Family: Patriarch Harrison Rivers. Clan Precept currently unknown, but it should be related to will.

It was him!

Zhou Ning remembered the name on the painting, his spirits lifting, and he carefully read his information.

Harrison Rivers held the title of Viscount and had a very good relationship with Charles VII, the current King of Brystone. He was a current member of the Upper House and also the Chairman of the Brystone Kingdom's Legislative Committee. He was currently pushing for the introduction of an amendment to the Poor Law.

Based solely on the information, this Harrison Rivers seemed completely unproblematic—a close friend of the King, a member of the Upper House, a political star. No one would have suspected that he was actually a high-ranking member of the Cult of the Cursed God.

Whew, Zhou Ning silently exhaled. If there were players, it would be great; all the dirty and hard work could be left to them. Next, he needed to focus on gathering information about this Harrison Rivers. He had a vague premonition that the Cult of the Cursed God and the Life Alchemy Society were conspiring a major plot together.

He hesitated for a moment, then still picked up a pen and wrote an anonymous tip-off letter targeting Harrison Rivers. He went to the Ascetic Church's suggestion box two blocks away and dropped it in.

You're welcome, I'm Lei Feng.

Early Friday morning, Zhou Ning woke up early and rolled out of bed.

Though reluctant, he had to face reality: he had to go to school!

Vik University operated on a credit system; one needed to accumulate 140 credits to graduate successfully. These credits could also be used as currency at Vik University, most commonly to access advanced knowledge beyond what was taught in regular school courses.

As a gifted but physically frail student with a specific academic focus, Zhou Ning's predecessor, unfortunately, failed some subjects related to physical combat skills.