It Dared Oppose Me Today; Tomorrow, It Would Dare Kill Me

Langshou Ghost City had no east, west, south, or north. The moment one entered this ghost city, one began to lose all sense of direction. Gloomy mist shrouded this place year-round. The mist was not thick, yet it obscured one's vision even more effectively than dense fog.

Because it restricted even one's senses along with it.

There were no ferocious decorations at the wide-open city gate, yet the natural, uncanny craftsmanship of the stonework made one's heart sink for no reason.

Thus, the seven players standing at the city gate all wore grave expressions.

They were all veteran players of the Weird Game. They had survived in this Weird Game for at least three years, endured all manner of hardships, and relied on a measure of luck before finally completing the final sacrifice.

Grade D players needed an advancement ritual to rise to Grade C.

But for Grade C players to advance to Grade B, they needed to complete the final sacrifice.

Once the sacrifice succeeded, ghostly mist descended, and they entered the ghost city. From then on, should they emerge again, they would undoubtedly become super players.

In the Weird Game, information on Grades C and D could be gathered as long as one was willing to spend money. Occasionally, there were even public lectures by Grade B players, passing on their various experiences of encountering fierce ghosts in instances.

Yet once one reached Grade B, how to improve oneself became as murky as the mist in this ghost city.

Although there were Grade A god-tier players in this game, every Grade A player was like a divine dragon that showed its head but never its tail. Forget teaching a class—even seeing one in person was difficult.

The only player organization confirmed to have a Grade A player was the Jade Purity Society.

Yet even veteran members of the Jade Purity Society could not catch so much as a glimpse of this god-tier player.

Thus, far too little information about Grades A and B had leaked out, leaving these seven players more uneasy than the last.

When facing fierce ghost instances, they could remain calm.

But before this mysterious ghost city, none of them could remain composed.

Grade C and Grade D players had corresponding ghost cities as well, but no player had entered those two ghost cities thus far. Their existence was merely to maintain the normal operation of those instances.

Suddenly, the seven players heard a burst of dense footsteps. At first, they clearly sounded far away, yet the next moment, they seemed to be right beside them.

At the same time, the footsteps vanished.

"How dare you not swiftly bow in worship upon seeing the Lord of the City?" A figure stepped out of the mist and shouted at the seven players.

"Greetings, my lord!"

The seven players hurriedly saluted.

They had learned this salute when completing the final sacrifice.

"Enough. You may all withdraw for now! And you, rise as well!" At that moment, a somewhat gentle voice rang out. As it caused the figure who had stepped forth to retreat, it also instantly suppressed the malicious domains around these fierce ghosts to the very bottom.

"Yes!"

The ghostly figures departed.

The seven players rose to their feet as well.

But when they instinctively looked ahead, all they could see was a hazy silhouette.

"Since you have all kowtowed to me once, I will not treat you poorly. However, I will teach this only once. Whether you can understand it or learn it will be your own affair." That gentle voice continued, then began explaining the Sevenfold Demon Body Scripture without waiting for the seven players to respond.

Beginning with the first fold and ending with the seventh, it sent the seven players' hearts surging like the tide.

The one expounding the scripture was naturally Tan Shuchang.

After finishing the Sevenfold Demon Body Scripture, Tan Shuchang left on his own.

Back then, he had learned it after hearing Blackheart Elder explain it only once. Now, while imparting and explaining it, he had even included his own cultivation experience. There was no reason these seven people still could not learn it.

Having made it all the way to Grade B, these seven players naturally possessed exceptional minds. With Tan Shuchang's explanation being so detailed, two of them soon made their first steps into cultivation.

"Is this the reason Grade B players are called super players?"

"A cultivation method! This is a cultivation method!"

The two players had both sensed the power of the Sevenfold Demon Body Scripture. In particular, the irreversible injuries left behind by their past use of ghost arts were actually showing signs of recovery.

Although the other five players had not yet begun, they had more or less found the thread of it. Given some more time, they would be able to cultivate it successfully.

This was the difference in aptitude.

"Earlier, the Lord of the City said that because we kowtowed to him once, he passed this on to us. Could those words have another layer of meaning?" one player suddenly asked.

Many clues in fierce ghost instances were hidden in inconspicuous places, even within a single line of dialogue. Over time, veteran players who had survived for long had developed the habit of observing carefully and thinking things over again and again.

"If we encounter other Grade B players, we can probe them a little. If there is a difference..." Another player spoke, and though he did not finish his sentence, the other six understood what he meant.

"So, we must keep the matter of this cultivation method secret for now."

"Exactly! After all, such profound cultivation methods often come with restrictions against being passed on. If we spread it, we may be able to help other players, but we might also get ourselves—and the players who learn this method—killed."

"Besides, from a selfish standpoint, this was a bestowed opportunity I obtained only after narrowly escaping death nine times over! Why should I casually pass it on to others?"

The seven players included both men and women, but at this moment, they had all reached an agreement.

"Since we are all under the Lord of the City, let us leave our real information and gather sometime!"

"Sure."

"No problem."

None of the seven players refused this suggestion.

Yes, seven.

Because those words had not been spoken by the seven players. They had been spoken by Tan Shuchang, who had sensed the commotion here and slightly disguised his voice.

Seeing that these seven players were all fairly decent, Tan Shuchang casually created a "Lord of the City's Retainers."

Then, after obtaining the seven players' real information, Tan Shuchang began to frown slightly, because he did not recognize the name of a single city where these seven people lived.

But Tan Shuchang soon stopped caring about it. After all, the matters from before his transmigration belonged to his previous life.

All the affairs of bygone days had nothing to do with him now.

A person of this life ought to live this life well.

Just then, he sensed that his lackey strategist had arrived, so before the other party could knock, he said, "What is it? Speak directly."

"Lord of the City, General Sophora has arrived," the fierce ghost scholar hurriedly replied.

"General Sophora?" This was the first time Tan Shuchang had heard that title.

"All the ghost officials within Langshou Ghost City are under General Sophora's command. Previously, this subordinate could only bring a few people to welcome you because if this subordinate wished to mobilize the other ghost officials, I had to obtain General Sophora's approval," the fierce ghost scholar said.

Hearing his lackey strategist speak as though lodging a complaint, Tan Shuchang could not help but smile.

It dared have objections to me today; tomorrow, it would dare kill me; the day after tomorrow, it would dare kill Earth-Destroying King. So, to protect Earth-Destroying King, I should strike first. There should be no problem with that, right?