「Imperial Capital.」

Here lay the true heart of Dragon Nation. All internal organizations within Dragon Nation were gathered here. The headquarters of the two most important associations, the Beast Master Association and the Breeder Association, were both located here. At the same time, the headquarters of other associations, such as the Refiners Association and the Mechanics Association, were also all situated in the Imperial Capital. In addition, there were many various types of department headquarters. The Qintian Monitor was undoubtedly among them.

Within the headquarters of the Qintian Monitor, inside an office, a man looked at a series of prompts on the backend system with some annoyance. The man's name was Huang Tianbing, and he was none other than the Chief Supervisor of the Qintian Monitor. As the leading figure of the Qintian Monitor, he had an extensive understanding of all its members within Dragon Nation and held the highest authority to mobilize them. He could be described as a figure with real power. Nevertheless, even those with such authority sometimes found their hands tied.

For example, a couple of days ago, a certain prominent figure had contacted him by phone. This person claimed to have secured a position within the Qintian Monitor for their grandchild—the grand-sounding post of "Herald of Dawn." Of course, that's just the external title, Huang Tianbing mused. In reality, it's nothing more than a records clerk and inspector responsible for documenting the conditions of Secret Realms. Although this was the most basic membership in the Qintian Monitor, not even granting the qualification to be among the first to explore Secret Realms, it still counted as being a member.

Had anyone else asked him for such a favor, he would have flatly refused. It was only because that figure in Dragon Nation—renowned for his virtues (and notorious for his ill deeds)—had made the request that he reluctantly agreed. He had agreed to give face to that powerful figure. Moreover, he had kept a little trick up his sleeve: from the backend system, he could monitor all of Su Ping's activities, any feedback received, and any specific investigations into Secret Realms.

As expected, just a few days after he had entered this young fellow Su Ping's details into the system, the lad had managed to stir up trouble. The series of messages popping up in his administrative backend made his head spin:

[Secret Realm Inspector Su Ping has submitted a report: 'Jianghai Secret Realm No. 972' has collapsed and disappeared. The number and specific information will be archived in 'Jianghai Secret Realm Incidents' records. Approve?]

[Secret Realm Inspector Su Ping has submitted a report: 'Jianghai Secret Realm No. 1005' has collapsed and disappeared. The number and specific information will be archived in 'Jianghai Secret Realm Incidents' records. Approve?]

[...]

In a single day, this young master had chosen to report five Secret Realms in Jianghai Forest Province as collapsed and gone, effectively removing them from the map. This was no trivial matter. It wasn't as if those Secret Realms posed no further danger and were simply waiting to collapse naturally. Record-keeping of Secret Realms must be accurate and rigorous! Every week, local inspectors went out to check and confirm their status. Secret Realms were unstable entities; if any fluctuations occurred after they were prematurely removed from the map, it could lead to a huge mess. If something happened later, how could the Qintian Monitor possibly shoulder that responsibility? Other departments envied the Qintian Monitor for its seemingly cushy job, which allowed its members to scavenge through various Secret Realms. But did they see the significant risks and responsibilities involved? Especially dealing with the aftermath, which had always been the Qintian Monitor's most troublesome worry. What on earth was this young master playing at now? Huang Tianbing truly couldn't comprehend what could possibly be amusing about the Qintian Monitor's work with Secret Realms. He was growing increasingly irritable.

Just as he was about to reject all these vexing notifications—reports he felt powerless to change yet couldn't ignore—someone knocked on his office door.

"Come in."

The person who entered made Huang Tianbing's headache worsen. He furrowed his brow and asked, "Which Secret Realm is causing problems now?"

The visitor was one of the Qintian Monitor's Deputy Supervisors. The Qintian Monitor had three Deputy Supervisors, each with distinct responsibilities. This particular Deputy Supervisor was in charge of collating reports on special situations discovered by explorers in various Secret Realms and overseeing their resolution. Secret Realms were not static; the fact that Dragon Nation and even other countries had similar departments underscored the immense importance attributed to them. Some Secret Realms could even cause great destruction in the real world. Undoubtedly, most of the situations Deputy Supervisor Lin reported were of this critical nature.

While there were stable Secret Realms that Beast Tamers could freely enter and leave, there were also, naturally, unstable ones. Some Secret Realms, for various reasons, couldn't dissipate naturally. This could lead to the energies left behind in the Beast Taming Spaces by deceased Beast Tamers leaking into the outside world, severely impacting the local ecology and public safety.

However, this time, Huang Tianbing was mistaken. Deputy Supervisor Lin's tightly furrowed brow made Huang Tianbing tense up. Could an incident similar to the one in Sichuan Province ten years ago have occurred again? Back then, a spatial entrance had experienced widespread instability and disorder. Twenty to thirty Ferocious Beasts born within a Secret Realm had suddenly appeared in a busy district of Sichuan Province, resulting in hundreds, possibly thousands, of casualties.

But clearly, it was a false alarm.

"Boss," Deputy Supervisor Lin began, "there's been a situation in Jianghai Forest Province. According to our records, the five Secret Realms there, the ones our people regularly check, have suddenly disappeared!"

"Hm?" Huang Tianbing was taken aback. He was about to speak but then paused.

He subconsciously glanced at Deputy Supervisor Lin. Could the backend messages from that young master who got in through connections also have reached Deputy Supervisor Lin's inbox?

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