This Is Ninety-Eight Percent Too?

Ghost cities had existed within the Weird Game for a long time. However, there were only four ghost cities in the entire Weird Game that could control instances.

They had only been established a few years ago and were considered emerging creations.

These four ghost cities also corresponded to the players' four rankings of Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding: Jia-rank Divine Players, Yi-rank Super Players, Bing-rank Major Players, and Ding-rank Players.

Langshou Ghost City was the one among the four great ghost cities that corresponded to Yi-rank Super Players.

There was no shortage of vicious ghosts within the weird world.

Thanks to the wandering souls Tan Shuchang had "sent over," they were now beginning to transform into vicious ghosts. The most gifted among them was only a final step away from becoming a qualified vicious ghost.

Thus, logically speaking, such a ghost city shouldn't have lacked someone to hold down the fort.

But among the Weird Game's four major player ranks of Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding, Yi-rank Super Players occupied a position that linked what came before and after.

There were only two ways for players to obtain supernatural power: Ghost Arts and ghosts.

And when players acquired them on their own, it was usually a complete mess.

Therefore, once players successfully obtained the qualification to enter Langshou Ghost City, the lord of this ghost city had to sort out their powers, allowing those powers to form a system and greatly increase the players' combat strength.

Furthermore, the lord of Langshou Ghost City had to ensure that a certain number of Yi-rank players survived and made it to the ghost city corresponding to Jia-rank players.

"This certain number was originally set at just thirty percent. After all, we're not those Flesh-and-Blood Players' parents! But a while ago, a new boss took over and said thirty percent couldn't demonstrate our capabilities, so it was raised to fifty percent. Fifty percent wasn't much to begin with, and a new official always burns three fires upon taking office. As subordinates, we could understand that, and we were more than willing to cooperate! Who would've thought those damned bastards would pass the burden down layer by layer, until it reached those of us actually doing the work and became ninety-eight percent!"

"Ninety-eight percent?"

"Yes, ninety-eight percent. They even said this was the only proper way! That it was cautious enough! City Lord, don't you think they're joking?"

Tan Shuchang had already arrived at Langshou Ghost City.

After all, his injuries hadn't healed yet. If he didn't have to fight, he wouldn't. Besides, he had immense authority over vicious ghosts, and he wanted to see just how immense it truly was.

As for that speech, it had been delivered by his dog-headed military adviser.

This dog-headed military adviser was a vicious ghost dressed as a scholar. He looked refined and delicate, as though he couldn't even truss a chicken. Yet among all the vicious ghosts Tan Shuchang had seen so far, this Ghost Scholar possessed the strongest Malice Domain.

Still, strong as the Malice Domain was, this vicious ghost was extremely respectful toward Tan Shuchang. Before Tan Shuchang had even arrived in Langshou Ghost City, this dog-headed military adviser had already led several vicious ghosts to greet him on the road with gongs and drums.

The musical bacteria were rather potent, though. Hearing it had nearly made Tan Shuchang attack.

Fortunately, Tan Shuchang needed to recuperate, and this dog-headed military adviser reacted quickly enough to announce his identity at once. That was the only reason a conflict had been avoided.

"So who is our current boss? I was sent by the Earth-Destroying King," Tan Shuchang asked curiously.

"City Lord, it's the Earth-Destroying Venerable himself!"

Tan Shuchang: "..."

Not only did this man harbor compassion for ghosts, he even had compassion for the living?

No wonder Langshou Ghost City's player survival-rate target had become ninety-eight percent, and no one had stepped forward to stop it. Perhaps the Earth-Destroying King had tacitly approved it...

However, Tan Shuchang finally understood why he, a living person, had been promoted to city lord just like that.

It was a tremendous transformation—from player to one of the Weird Game's own people.

He guessed that not a single vicious ghost had been willing to take charge of Langshou Ghost City.

After all, no ordinary vicious ghost could sit in the position of city lord. At the very least, it had to be on the level of those vicious ghosts in the Land Where Humans and Ghosts Coexist—able to converse naturally with people, possessing complete consciousness and a certain degree of thought.

And how could such vicious ghosts possibly fail to seek advantages and avoid harm?

After each of them had shoved the responsibility back and forth, he, a living person, had been dragged over to become city lord.

"Are the players' power systems documented?" Tan Shuchang asked. Although he had taken over a hot potato, his reasons for becoming city lord weren't pure either. As such, these troubles weren't troubles to him at all.

At worst, he'd be branded with the Earth-Destroying Mark.

"City Lord, this subordinate has prepared everything. Please inspect it." Upon hearing Tan Shuchang's question, the dog-headed military adviser hurriedly ordered two burly vicious ghosts to carry over a chest.

Tan Shuchang looked at the chest and assumed it contained some hidden space filled with bamboo slips and scrolls. Yet after sensing it slightly, he couldn't help but cast the Ghost Scholar a strange look. "Don't you know a secret art like the Sleeve Storage Technique?"

The chest looked large, but it only contained a dozen or so bamboo slips.

With a single Sleeve Storage Technique, all of that could have been stuffed into a sleeve.

Though the Sleeve Storage Technique wasn't some secret art involving space, it could still fit over a hundred pounds of things into a limited space.

In the Jia Five Realm, the Sleeve Storage Technique was an extremely widespread secret art.

And on the road here, Tan Shuchang had seen one of this dog-headed military adviser's subordinate vicious ghosts use a secret art similar to the Sleeve Storage Technique.

"This subordinate naturally knows it, but this looks more formal, and the presentation is better! At a glance, outsiders will know that City Lord is a diligent and conscientious good official!" the Ghost Scholar hurriedly explained.

Tan Shuchang couldn't be bothered to deal further with this bureaucratic vicious ghost. He lightly flicked his sleeve, and the chest immediately opened. The dozen or so bamboo slips flew onto the stone table before him and unfolded one after another.

Before long, Tan Shuchang had finished reading them. At last, he had gained a sufficient understanding of this Ghost Art system.

Within the Weird Game, each player could possess only nine Ghost Arts. To obtain a Ghost Art, they first had to carve a Ghost Mark onto themselves.

Such Ghost Marks could be carved personally or inscribed through a vicious ghost.

As long as one encountered a vicious ghost head-on and survived, a Ghost Mark capable of housing Ghost Arts would appear on one's body.

There were four ways to obtain Ghost Arts.

Buying them from the Ghost Art shop on Forgotten Street in the Land Where Humans and Ghosts Coexist, receiving them as gifts from others, being tainted by objects belonging to vicious ghosts, and learning directly from vicious ghosts.

Because these methods of acquisition were so chaotic, many players' Ghost Arts came into severe conflict with one another. A single misstep could even result in backlash.

Therefore, someone like Tan Shuchang, the lord of a ghost city, was needed to organize what these players had learned.

"Using a body of flesh and blood to contain a vicious ghost, allowing one to borrow a vicious ghost's power?"

This was another way for players to obtain power.

But Tan Shuchang merely glanced over it before skipping past, because this method was not only crude, but also extremely likely to turn oneself into a vicious ghost's container—or even its toy.

Just then, the sound of a bronze bell being struck rang out.

"City Lord, Flesh-and-Blood Players have arrived!" Hearing it, the dog-headed military adviser hurriedly turned to Tan Shuchang.

"Have them wait at the city gate. I'll go over later." Tan Shuchang casually waved a hand, sweeping the dozen or so bamboo slips back into the chest.

Although he now understood the principles behind Ghost Arts, he couldn't help players organize their abilities.

So Tan Shuchang decided to "accept disciples on his master's behalf."

He would help his benefactor, Blackheart Elder, spread the Sevenfold Demon Body Scripture far and wide, fulfilling a small part of his filial duty. After all, as his junior brothers and sisters descended the mountain, it was inevitable that this demonic cultivation art would spread everywhere. It might even become the preferred cultivation method of Rogue Cultivators.