My Word Is Fact

The waymark fell into Yu Ziqing's hand, and its radiance began to spread over him, guiding his return.

This would take some time.

Meanwhile, outside, the three powerful cultivators who had arrived with the nation- trấn giữ artifacts were in a much worse state.

In a single exchange, just one exchange, all three of them were injured, and their three magic treasures had suffered immense damage.

Even though magic treasures of this caliber could potentially be restored as long as they weren't completely destroyed in one go, they were unusable for the time being.

The three fell silent. Although they knew the King of Hungry Ghosts' aura was stronger than theirs, possibly by a full realm, they hadn't expected that even with the nation- trấn giữ artifacts, they would be so thoroughly outmatched.

And now, the King of Hungry Ghosts' aura was actually growing stronger, becoming more and more outrageous.

Suddenly, their expressions shifted. They each used a cultivation method to sense carefully. They seemed to feel that the King of Hungry Ghosts' continuously growing momentum had stopped.

Moreover, it seemed to be showing signs of decline.

The seemingly frenzied King of Hungry Ghosts also gradually calmed down.

However, they no longer had sufficiently powerful magic treasures to use, or rather, even if they did, they didn't dare to use them.

The three exchanged a glance from afar, seemingly reaching a tacit understanding. They simply waited quietly, intending to observe further. If the King of Hungry Ghosts' momentum weakened, they would have an opportunity to act again.

After waiting for an hour, the King of Hungry Ghosts' momentum had indeed fallen, and the surging tide of black sludge that had been spreading outwards began to recede.

However, these three, who seemed to have tacitly agreed to act, all wore solemn expressions. They appeared to be significantly injured, showing no inclination to make the first move.

Just then, a streak of light flew from the direction of Da Gan, transforming into a disheveled Daoist with tattered clothes all over his body.

The Daoist glanced at the King of Hungry Ghosts from afar and shouted at everyone with a pained expression.

"Stop messing around already, haven't you caused enough trouble?"

Seeing this Daoist, the three were somewhat shocked. Who could have made this Daoist look so pathetic?

While thinking this, they didn't dare to ask, merely offering polite salutes.

The strong man from Great Zhen and the woman from Great Li said in unison.

"Greetings, Senior Dragon Tiger."

The elder from Da Gan also respectfully paid his respects.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Dragon Tiger. Senior Brother, weren't you going to wander the void? What happened..."

Daoist Dragon Tiger glanced at the King of Hungry Ghosts in the distance.

"What else could it be? It's all thanks to this one. While in the void, I vaguely sensed some peerless ferocious being awakening. I just went to take a look from afar, who would have thought this fellow had such a temper and nearly crushed me to death on the spot.

Immediately after, I saw this unreasonable creature tear open space and enter the Wasteland.

I was already wondering why this fellow inexplicably came to our territory and entered the Wasteland, landing in this location. Their purpose was very clear, but there was no reason or possibility for it.

I asked around and finally figured it out. It's all because of the mess you lot have caused!"

Daoist Dragon Tiger grew more agitated as he spoke. His temper flared, and he immediately kicked the elder flying. With a step, his large foot appeared before the woman in the phoenix robe, kicking her flying as well.

The strong man from Great Zhen wore a pained expression. He was already no match for this person, and now, severely injured with his magic treasure broken, how could he possibly dodge? If he dodged, it might not be just one kick.

To his surprise, Daoist Dragon Tiger completely ignored him, instead pointing at the two from Da Gan and Great Li and launching into a tirade.

"Are you all idiots? Are the people you've taught also idiots?

That being was peacefully slumbering there, waiting for the passage of countless years to borrow the world's earth energy, vitality, and the radiance of the sun and moon to nourish itself and potentially return.

But you, for some inexplicable reason, kicked its slumbering place into the void. Did you think it wouldn't get angry just because it was still asleep?

The elder pointed at the King of Hungry Ghosts in the distance, somewhat shocked.

"Senior Brother, you're saying this King of Hungry Ghosts isn't awake yet? And this is what you call 'not awake'?"

"If this being were truly awake, all of you would die here, I would die, and Da Gan and Great Li and Great Zhen around the Wasteland would all die," the Daoist said with unusual seriousness.

As they spoke, they could clearly feel the King of Hungry Ghosts' aura continuing to decline, and indeed, there was no major disturbance.

Thinking about how they had been beaten by the King of Hungry Ghosts in its sleep, the three wore somewhat complex expressions.

Then, considering that if their people hadn't been fighting here and caused the semi-blessed land called Jinlan Mine to fall into the void, this situation wouldn't have happened, their hearts felt even more complicated.

"Don't provoke it anymore. It has returned to its slumbering place and will soon fall asleep."

Everyone watched as the black sludge tide, which distorted everything, began to retract completely, revealing the mountains once more.

They were all more obedient than ever, not daring to even use their power, simply watching honestly, afraid of disturbing the great lord with the considerable temper any further.

As the black sludge receded, the mine was revealed again. All the villagers who had been hiding obediently were unharmed.

The black sludge retreated into the ground and disappeared within.

Deep underground, the radiance on Yu Ziqing's body grew brighter. All the black sludge retracted back into his body. The flame ignited in his heart slowly dimmed, and the faint flames of life began to grow stronger.

At this moment, Yu Ziqing slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a starving ghost, resembling a corpse, with skin and bones and a shriveled interior. The ghost was smiling and slowly bowed, welcoming his return.

He looked down and saw a small piece of beef jerky clutched in his left hand.

This was the waymark of his return.

It was also the first time he transformed into a hungry ghost, and the starving ghosts formed from countless starving people around him, grateful that he had given all starving ghosts a new path, found some beef jerky from somewhere and gave it to him as a token of their gratitude.

At that time, he had only been on the Wasteland for a few days when disaster struck. Everything was destroyed, the temperature began to plummet, more and more people died, and it became increasingly chaotic. It was a living hell.

In the end, he would rather starve to death than eat the rotten white meat. He feared that even if he survived, he would rather die than live. It was better to end it all and die clean.

Finally, he climbed onto a hillside and looked at the countless corpses scattered across the land. He chose the same path as them, maintaining his last bit of integrity, and starved himself to death.

However, as fate would have it, everything about him – his memories, his past, his emotions, his thoughts, his past – was entirely under his own control. This was the only way to have a perfect, all-encompassing grasp of a person's information.

The prerequisite for triggering his ability's judgment had been met to the extreme without any suspense.

And at the moment of his death, endless unwillingness, pain, and despair transformed into pure power devoid of any impurities, perfectly unified with his body, mind, and spirit.

This fulfilled the second triggering condition: he wanted to kill someone, even though he was starving himself to death.

The judgment was completed, and the eruption began.

Thus, this allowed his ability to achieve its strongest and most perfect eruption.

But this eruption became a battle against himself.

He wanted to starve himself to death, yet he didn't want to starve to death. This contradiction, through constant self-conflict, finally reached a state of unity.

Since neither side would yield, they could only compromise, starving to death yet not starving to death.

He surpassed the starving ghosts, who could never eat anything, and transformed into the first hungry ghost with the opportunity to eat, something that had never existed before, completing that unification.

However, the time he spent as the initial hungry ghost was very short. Countless starving ghosts there accepted the path he pointed out and dug up a small bag of beef jerky for him as a reward.

This was the initial gift and reward.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, he was pulled back by the beef jerky, which had become witnesses.

Since then, the path of the hungry ghost emerged, and the beef jerky in his hand was no longer ordinary beef jerky.

He once said that his life was given to him by this beef jerky, and it wasn't because he was stingy…

And now, after he woke up, he still held a wooden bowl in his right hand. It was from that hungry ghost who stubbornly believed that the thick soup in the wooden bowl was the best thing in the world, a sacred item that could best resolve hunger, and insisted on leaving it for him.

Coming back to his senses, Yu Ziqing smiled and looked at the hungry ghost that Cece had transformed into.

"Seeing you, we should return to the Wasteland, and we haven't exceeded twelve days yet."

After his first awakening, Yu Ziqing naturally knew that twelve days was the limit.

When he transformed into the initial hungry ghost, the path of the hungry ghost had no obstacles for him. One stage per day, and after twelve days, he would never be able to return, and the King of Hungry Ghosts would exist forever.

However, in this state, the King of Hungry Ghosts had no self, no consciousness, only instinct.

It was also possible that after a very, very long time, the King of Hungry Ghosts would re-cultivate a new consciousness, but that would have nothing to do with him, Yu Ziqing.

Yu Ziqing sized up the hungry ghost in front of him.

"I'm not used to seeing you like this."

He raised his hand and offered the beef jerky in his hand to the other party.

"This is your job transfer token, your advancement token, whatever you want to call it. Anyway, it's yours, eat it."

The hungry ghost held the beef jerky, smiling all the while, and nodded.

The moment she received the beef jerky, a hole large enough to swallow appeared in her sealed throat.

She put the beef jerky into her mouth and chewed it carefully.

As she moved, a ball of black flame enveloped her. She pursed her lips slightly, unable to suppress a low, pained whimper, yet her body, transformed by the flames, gained new life.

Her emaciated body became full again, her dark brown skin turned fair and tender, and hair reappeared on her bald head.

When the flames dissipated, she returned to her previous appearance, like a living person.

The discarded old husk transformed into a black robe and was placed on her.

Cece looked at herself, somewhat surprised.

Yu Ziqing smiled.

"Congratulations, you've completed your job transfer. 'Hungry Ghost' is just a race name like 'Human Race'. You were just an ordinary hungry ghost before, but now you've truly embarked on the path of the hungry ghost, with no chance of turning back."

Cece knelt on the ground, her face full of piety.

"Thank you, King, for your great gift."

"Change your address. I don't like it very much. If possible, I never want to starve to death again. I've already starved to death twice, and I don't want to become that unconscious state again. I might really become a Demon King who destroys the world."

"Alright, young master."

"Are the people in the village alright? Did I… kill them?"

"No, young master. Although you lost consciousness, you still had instincts."

"Help me out. I'm afraid there will be some trouble later."

"Forgive me, young master. I took the liberty of doing a few things."

"What?"

"After young master returned to the Wasteland, I delayed waking you up for a short while. Therefore, young master beat up the one in the abyss, as well as the strong individuals from Great Zhen, Great Li, and Da Gan. The strong individuals from other places are now afraid to approach, just like them. As long as they aren't too stupid, they should have learned their lesson by now."

"This..." Yu Ziqing shook his head helplessly. "Forget it, I won't bother. Just help me out. I'm so hungry, so hungry. I just want to eat..."

As they walked, halfway through, they saw the hungry ghost from before, kneeling on the ground with beef jerky in his hands. Behind him, countless hungry ghosts followed.

Yu Ziqing stepped forward and gently stroked the bald head of the stubborn hungry ghost. There was no hint of disgust in his eyes, only tenderness.

He still remembered this stubborn hungry ghost, silly but very cute.

"What I gave you was for you to eat, not to cherish. Eat it."

The stubborn hungry ghost hesitated for a moment, but still stubbornly held the beef jerky in his palm, wanting Yu Ziqing, who was too weak to stand, to eat it.

"You're so silly. I said, eat it."

With a command, the hungry ghost's body trembled, and he honestly put the beef jerky into his mouth.

Like Cècè, black flames ignited and enveloped him. Amidst the black flames and pain, he completed his job transfer, fully embarking on the path of the hungry ghost, transforming into a thin, small youth. He slumped to the ground, holding a wooden bucket in his arms.

He hugged the wooden bucket blankly for a long time before reacting. Then, he quickly knelt and kowtowed, repeatedly thanking him. He tried to say something, but could only make babbling sounds.

"Get up. I'm not used to people kneeling to me. It feels like it shortens my lifespan. You don't have to do it anymore."

Cècè glanced at the lucky youth with a smile and said softly.

"Young Master wants you to get up, so get up. You haven't spoken in a long time, and you've forgotten how to speak. You'll get used to it slowly."

The youth stood up blankly, and the wooden bucket he was holding disappeared.

Yu Ziqing walked past the youth and looked at the dense mass of hungry ghosts behind him. He took out a wooden bowl and placed it on the ground, saying softly.

"Eat."

As soon as the words fell, the little bit of gelatinous, spoiled thick soup remaining in the wooden bowl instantly transformed into a full bowl of sweet dew.

Like the beef jerky in his hand last time, this wooden bowl had also changed. For a hungry ghost, it was a sacred artifact.

These hungry ghosts lined up in an orderly fashion, stepping forward one by one to taste the first bite of food they had eaten after dying, transforming into starving ghosts, and then into hungry ghosts.

And the first food they could eat after becoming hungry ghosts had to be personally bestowed by Yu Ziqing. Only Yu Ziqing had the ability and the right.

The Wasteland had returned to peace. With the disappearance of the King of Hungry Ghosts, all its aura was completely reclaimed.

The four powerful figures also retreated from the Wasteland, not daring to make any more dangerous attempts.

On a Flying Boat, Daoist Dragon Tiger slumped onto a chair with a lack of decorum, drinking heavily to calm his nerves. The old scholar beside him asked in a low voice.

"Senior Brother, was what you said earlier true?"

The hand holding the wine pot of Daoist Dragon Tiger paused slightly. He slowly put down the wine pot, stared deeply at the old man, and a dangerous aura began to emanate from him.

"Junior Brother Jian Zhen, I will only say this once."

"What I said is true. My words are fact."

"A fact that no one can alter."

After speaking, Daoist Dragon Tiger returned to his usual disheveled state and continued to drink to calm his nerves.

A cold sweat broke out on Jian Zhen's back. He felt that if he dared to say another word, his good Senior Brother, the Senior Brother who didn't care about anything, wandered around all day and was never seen, had no proper conduct, but took great care of his juniors.

He might actually kill him on the spot!

He understood what his Senior Brother meant. He also knew that it was probably because he had made eye contact with the King of Hungry Ghosts, his Dao heart was unstable, and his consciousness was impacted, causing him to ask an extremely foolish question.

Whether his Senior Brother's words were true or false, they had to be true now.

The truth must be this way, and anyone who altered it would die!

Because all of them might not be able to bear the consequences if the truth were otherwise.

From the moment he heard the truth from Daoist Dragon Tiger, his words and actions, and even his inner thoughts, had to be unified, without the slightest wavering or doubt.

"Senior Brother, I understand. After we return, I will immediately go to see the Qian Emperor, summon the imperial historian, and have him write down the truth of history with Sweat-Blood Crimson Ink on the spot, so that it cannot be altered!"

Uh, I see some readers asking, so let me clarify the timeline. The first chapter starts a few months after the protagonist landed. The months between landing and the first chapter are not included in the main text. This is clearly explained in the first chapter, with the original text.

Moreover, the original text in the first chapter also introduces the golden finger.

If it's still not clear, let me put it in the most straightforward way: As long as you have enough information, even gods can be killed.

In theory, after meeting the minimum information requirements, the more detailed the information known, the stronger the power triggered by the judgment.

As for the transformation, starting from the first three chapters, there have been many hints and foreshadowing (I see some experts have almost dug them all out).

Well, I didn't expect you guys not to expect the protagonist to stop being human.

So, I introduced someone who stopped being human earlier, and when the second one appeared, I thought you wouldn't be surprised...

To clarify further, after the transformation, it was specifically mentioned that the protagonist was the beginning, and the hungry ghosts had never appeared before. Therefore, I thought some experts would immediately guess that this was not the protagonist's first transformation (and indeed, some experts had already guessed it in advance).

There was also the direct judgment when the hungry ghost first appeared.

There were also clues like "one level per day" and "twelve days" mentioned earlier, all of which were in the original text.

As for the protagonist getting stronger every day after transforming, it was mentioned N times within a single chapter...

The clues needed for the final explosion were provided from the introduction of the golden finger in the first chapter, precisely because I was afraid some readers wouldn't understand and I couldn't say it directly.

In fact, as early as a few chapters in, a highly imaginative reader had already made a guess, and I didn't dare to respond.

Hey