Song of Blood and Fire

The young man on the rooftop across the way furrowed his brow guessing all night, while Cheng Shi slept soundly.

The next morning, the moment he opened his eyes, a matching notification for the trial's start appeared before him.

[Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire [War]) has begun]

[Matching teammates (1/6)]

[Trial Objective: In the crucible of blood and fire, grit your teeth and endure (Time limit: 24 hours)]

Cheng Shi stared at the word [War] in the game description, his temples throbbing.

This was going to be a tough fight.

Although [War] was a God on the [Civilization] path, Their trial was anything but civilized.

Almost every round was a straightforward, real-deal brawl—there wasn't even a need to decipher the clues the trial provided. As long as you eliminated every enemy around you, you could clear it.

But the problem was, surviving 24 hours was something that truly tested a person's endurance and mental fortitude.

The enemy wouldn't give you a moment to catch your breath, nor would they slow their assault just because you wanted to rest.

In this situation, the more capable your teammates were at fighting, the greater the advantage.

"Please, match me with a few more fighters. One dead weight like me is enough. Please, please."

[Matching successful (6/6), entering trial now]

A blood-red notification flashed by, and the scene before Cheng Shi's eyes began to slowly warp. Then, in an instant, he vanished from where he stood.

The sky was dim, smoke and dust thick in the air.

Cheng Shi opened his eyes and found himself standing atop a pile of rubble. Looking around, there was nothing but broken walls and collapsed structures.

This place had clearly been a small town before, but now, it had been erased from the map by brutal war.

A few seconds later, several beams of light descended around him, followed by a series of startled exclamations.

The teammates for this trial had arrived.

Cheng Shi looked at them immediately. Among the three men and two women, only one was carrying a greatsword. The rest, like him, had no visible weapons.

"Hiss—"

Cheng Shi sucked in a cold breath, thinking to himself, "Please don't tell me this is another dead-weight round."

In the [Faith Game], there were only six classes: Warrior, Mage, Priest, Assassin, Hunter, and Singer.

In theory, no class was inherently better than another—only bad players, not bad classes.

But in reality, because trials had their own biases, certain classes were ranked higher or lower depending on the trial.

Just like today's [War] trial, Warriors, Mages, and Priests were definitely stronger than Assassins, Hunters, and Singers.

The six people matched together sized each other up. When the big man carrying the greatsword saw that no one else had a weapon, a hint of irritation crept onto his face as he spoke:

"Same rules, don't waste time. Report your path, class, and score first. I'll start. Chen Chong, [Civilization], Warrior, Ladder 1647."

Chen Chong, [Civilization], Warrior, Ladder 1647.

Each path had two to three Gods under it. The reason they only reported their path and not their God's name was to avoid matching with someone of opposing faith.

Although everyone in the trial was a community of shared fate and should help each other, when matched with a player of opposing faith, some Gods would issue additional [Divine Decrees], possibly ordering their followers to pull some shady moves before the mission succeeded.

This was a lesson learned in blood.

In the six months since the game started, countless people had died because of this, so players couldn't be too careful.

Still, at the beginning of a trial, cooperation was necessary.

"Song Yawen, [Life], Assassin, Ladder 1636. Bro, are you an 'Order Knight'? I think I've seen that sword in another [Order] Warrior's hands before. Should be a Shieldsword, right?"

The second to speak was a tall, thin, bespectacled young man in sportswear standing next to Chen Chong. After introducing himself, he carefully examined the greatsword in Chen Chong's hands, as if comparing it to one in his memory.

Song Yawen, [Life], Assassin, Ladder 1636.

Since he'd been recognized, Chen Chong didn't bother hiding it. He nodded.

Seeing him admit it, the others visibly relaxed.

Followers of [Order] were among the few strangers in this game you could trust.

They adhered to the will of [Order], respected the rules, and restrained themselves. They were the most welcome teammates in the entire game, almost without equal.

And a Warrior who believed in [Order] could become a T0 existence in a [War] trial.

Reliable and effective.

"Xia Wan, [Life], Hunter, Ladder 1519."

For some reason, the order of speaking had turned clockwise. The woman standing to Song Yawen's left, wearing a military-green short-sleeved shirt with a heroic bearing, introduced herself in a tone of utter indifference.

Her figure was tall but not slender, her muscles firm and well-defined, a sense of power palpable even through her clothes.

Xia Wan, [Life], Hunter, Ladder 1519.

Song Yawen, upon hearing that he had a comrade sharing his Path, grinned and nodded in greeting.

To Xia Wan's left was another woman, petite in stature, with hair as black as a waterfall.

She wore a black high-collared shirt, covering herself completely from head to toe, leaving only her face exposed.

"Nangong, Sinking, Priest, Ladder 1396."

Nangong, Sinking, Priest, Ladder 1396

When the words "Sinking" left her lips, the faces of the two players who followed the Life Path darkened.

Life and Sinking were opposing Paths.

Song Yawen looked at Nangong with some surprise and suspicion, his gaze far from friendly.

Xia Wan remained motionless, her face still cold, though her sidelong eyes carried a hint of scrutiny.

Nangong's heart was uneasy. Both people she'd met so far were from opposing Paths. She had to survive this trial for an entire day, and now she could only pray that the Gods these two believed in weren't opposed to her own.

Path opposition only bred unease; if their faiths were also opposed, it might mean death.

Next came Cheng Shi. Cheng Shi looked at Nangong on his right, a meaningful smile suddenly spreading across his face.

"Cheng Shi, Life, Priest, Ladder 1501."

"Cheng Shi?"

The moment his words fell, the faces of those present showed a mix of joy and worry.

The ones happy were naturally the two who shared the Life Path; the only one worried was Nangong, whose expression turned exceptionally grim.

Life, as a Path of a righteous God, meant its followers at least had a moral compass leaning toward good—whatever their private conduct, on the surface they were "good people."

But the Gods of Sinking each had their own brand of "evil."

Order Warrior Chen Chong, sensing the tense atmosphere, frowned and reminded them:

"Path differences can wait until the end. Twenty-four hours is a long time—survive first, talk later."

Song Yawen, seeing he had more allies, simply smiled. Xia Wan wore her usual cold face. Cheng Shi enjoyed the drama. Nangong lowered her head in thought.

Only the player to Cheng Shi's left, dressed like Doctor Strange, cast a slightly odd glance at Cheng Shi, his expression unreadable.

"Cao Sansui, Existence, Mage, Ladder 1906."

Cao Sansui, Existence, Mage, Ladder 1906

"How much?!"

When that score came out, everyone drew in a sharp breath.

The others felt they'd latched onto a powerhouse. Only Cheng Shi sucked on his teeth, his face twisted like he'd eaten something sour.

"Tch... Existence, huh..."

Chen Chong's expression brightened considerably. He raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile:

"Memory Traveler or Time Walker?"

"Memory Traveler" was a Mage who followed Memory; "Time Walker" was a Mage who followed Time. Chen Chong was asking which God he served.

Since none of the six people present were on his opposing Path, he could openly reveal his identity so everyone could understand him and coordinate better.

Within the Existence Path, there were only these two Gods.

Cao Sansui was clearly not his real name, but names were just labels—no one paid them much mind.

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, he hesitated for a moment, his probing gaze sweeping over Cheng Shi multiple times. Finding nothing noteworthy, he sighed and said:

"Time slips like a gap, and I am like the wind."

That was the prayer of a Time follower.

Cao Sansui was a Time Walker.

This combination of class and faith was a T0 existence across the entire game. (Note: T0 = highest priority, generally understood as the most powerful class.)

As the name suggested, a Time Walker could control time.

Hearing he was a Time Walker, Chen Chong's smile grew even wider, and Cheng Shi also broke into a grin.

This time, it was a genuine smile.

"Brother Cao, you're insane!"

Song Yawen's reaction was nothing like a low-key Assassin. He kept giving enthusiastic thumbs-ups. If they were more familiar, he might have even gone over to hug Cao Sansui.

"With Brother Chen leading the team and Brother Cao holding it down, we're solid, comrades!"

His gaze swept over everyone in turn, skipping only Nangong.

The smile on Nangong's face was somewhat awkward, but there was nothing she could do—her situation was truly dire.

Seeing the team about to isolate one person from the very start, Cheng Shi shook his head inwardly.

Losing a combatant over Path differences was the most irrational choice, especially at the beginning of a trial.

To ease the tension among his teammates, he pondered for a moment, then suddenly spoke up:

"A dual-Priest setup is perfect for the [War] trial. My gut tells me Nangong is not our enemy."

Everyone stared at him in surprise, and even Nangong looked at this rival of an opposing Path with disbelief.

He was actually speaking up for her?

"You..."

Cheng Shi tilted his head, flashing a bright smile, and said:

"Let me reintroduce myself. Cheng Shi, Priest of [Birth]."

"???"

"Damn? A guy like you, and you're a Child-Seeking Guanyin?"