The Late King Is Dead, a New King Shall Rise

The Black Tortoise Plain. Dark clouds smothered the earth. An endless ghost tide surged forward, charging straight toward the Underworld Gate basin. But in the next breath, when the ghost creature standing atop the shoulder of the foremost Ghost Emperor raised a hand to signal a halt, the colossal ghost tide pulled up in absolute unison. It was like a movie abruptly paused. There was scarcely any collision or stumbling. "The King..." At the vanguard, the ghost perched upon the Ghost Emperor's shoulder narrowed his eyes and gazed toward the Western Desolate Isle. He sensed that the King was dead. How could the King suddenly perish on the Western Desolate Isle? Had he grown careless? He looked down at his arm. A red line was gradually surfacing around his wrist. It was the summons of their Royal Clan's Heavenly Dao. The late King had fallen, leaving no heir and no testament. A new sovereign had to be chosen to lead the Royal Clan in its continued growth and conquest. "Hold positions and await orders," he rasped, issuing his final command to the host. Immediately after, dozens of ghost creatures set to work laying out a teleportation array on the ground. The moment the formation was complete, he stepped forward and vanished from the plain. When his vision cleared, he was already standing upon the Primitive Continent. The entire continent was shrouded in endless gloom. Yet the darkness did not hinder his sight. Inside a vast hall, dozens of generals had arrived ahead of him. Every ghost remained silent, none uttering a word as they waited for everyone to assemble. Some cast wandering glances, feigning indifference; some wore expressions of profound grief, mourning the King's fall; others kept their eyes lowered to their noses and their noses to their chests, acting as still as corpses. A myriad of dispositions, each harboring their own thoughts. Lower down in the hall sat several Ghost Emperors. These emperors were all original members of the Ghost Clan who had been incorporated into the Royal Clan. They held the right to listen, but none possessed the right to stand for election. Every high-ranking member of the Royal Clan was relatively short, coming up only to about the mid-thigh of an ordinary human. When traveling on regular days, they invariably rode upon the shoulders of towering Ghost Emperors. Soon, all were present. Presiding over the gathering was an aged ghost with a whitening beard. Standing beside the hall's throne, he spoke in a rasping voice: "The King of the Royal Clan is dead. He fell into a trap set by Fan Domain. Fan Domain laid out a colossal teleportation array across the Underworld Gate basin, which the King failed to detect." "He walked into an ambush." "He met an untimely demise." "We must choose a new King to lead our Royal Clan forward." "Since the founding of our clan, the late King has always held dominion, so we have no prior experience in selecting a new ruler. Today, our main task is to determine the criteria by which the new King shall be chosen." "Martial might." Seated on a chair to the left of the hall, a ghost creature spoke with a chilled expression: "I am a Ghost Venerable. A primary reason our King fell was that his strength was insufficient. Had he attained the cultivation of a Ghost Venerable, how could things have come to this?" "If you're so formidable, why didn't you rebel earlier?" a ghost in a chair across from him mocked. "Humph." The first speaker merely grunted cold disdain and held his tongue. Voices followed in succession. "I believe it should be composure. If the late King had been composed enough, he would never have stepped into that trap." "Then it should be intellect. Our King ought to be sufficiently clever." "Isn't that mistaken?" At that moment, a voice sounded from the crowd. "Shouldn't it be darkness affinity? Where else does the ghost tide come from?" The hall fell abruptly into dead silence. But soon enough, a consensus formed. "Indeed. The primary criterion should be darkness affinity." "Very well," the aged ghost beside the throne said slowly. "Then let us all proceed to the Black Abyss to test our affinity with darkness." In the next moment, the old ghost turned and strode out of the hall. Before long, they reached a rift tearing across the Primitive Continent. The chasm was terrifying to behold, resembling an abyss carved out by the blade of some supreme powerhouse. The old ghost was the first to leap inside. The other ghosts followed close behind. Then, the Ghost Emperors who had surrendered from the Ghost Clan exchanged glances and plunged into the depths as well. They fell endlessly. No one could tell how much time passed before their descent gradually slowed. When their vision sharpened again, they found themselves hovering above an expanse of open sea. A sun hung in the sky, bathing the realm in surprising brightness. It was an exceedingly strange sea. As far as the eye could see, there was not a single island or continent, yet the water beneath their feet was astonishingly viscous. Stepping onto its surface felt like treading upon a non-Newtonian fluid; their bodies did not sink into the depths. The water was an azure blue. Yet directly ahead, a vast tract of the sea displayed a drastically different hue. It was pitch-black and stretched across an immense territory. "This is the Black Abyss." "Near the Black Abyss, the strength of all beings is constrained by the world. Fighting is strictly forbidden here." The old ghost began to explain slowly, "Before this day, very few ghosts have ever set foot here; this place is a closely guarded secret of the Royal Clan. At present, the Black Abyss still retains forty percent of its darkness reserves. You may all step forward and test yourselves." "You need only approach the Black Abyss, and the corresponding information will manifest in your minds." "Now, if you please." The ghost who had initially been stationed on the Black Tortoise Plain narrowed his eyes. He had heard of the Black Abyss, but just as the old ghost had said, he had never stepped foot in this place before. He was the first to step forward, drawing close to the Black Abyss. Soon, faint information surfaced in his mind. [Affiliated Clan: Royal Clan.] [Possesses Clan Heavenly Dao; qualified to access the Black Abyss.] [Clan Tier: Tier 2.] [Available ghost types for manifestation as follows:] [Tier-1 Pseudo-Human Ghost: 2 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-1 Flesh Worm Ghost: 2 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-1 Monkey-Headed Ghost: 2 points of Darkness Source.] [...] [Tier-5 Ghost King: 20,000 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-10 Great Ghost: 100,000 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-15 Ghost Emperor: 1,000,000 points of Darkness Source.] [...] [Manifestation authority for higher entities locked; accessible only upon reaching Tier-3 Clan.] [The Royal Clan has currently conquered two continents. Conquering one more continent will advance the clan to Tier 3.] The ghost froze where he stood, taking in the faint stream of information. It felt as though a gateway to an entirely new world had been thrown open before him. Having never encountered such knowledge before, he instinctively channeled two points of Darkness Source to manifest a pseudo-human ghost. In the next breath, the pitch-black sea before him began to churn. Tendrils of black vapor drifted upward, and as the darkness coalesced at high speed, a thoroughly ordinary pseudo-human ghost materialized. A pseudo-human ghost, born out of nothingness. "Pingyi," the old ghost's voice came from behind him. "How much Darkness Source did you expend to create a pseudo-human ghost?" "Two points," he answered instinctively. "Insufficient." The old ghost shook his head. "When the late King manifested a pseudo-human ghost, he expended merely 0.5 points of Darkness Source. Your darkness affinity is too low. You are out of the running for the throne." Pingyi said nothing. He merely licked his dry lips and stared intently at the blackened sea. Becoming King was not a prerequisite for generating ghost creatures in the Black Abyss. In other words, so long as one seized this domain, one could churn out ghost creatures in vast numbers. Even Ghost Venerables could be produced. Whoever possessed the Black Abyss was the true King. In that fleeting instant, the eyes of the surrounding ghosts flared with naked ambition. Every one of them seemed to envision the day they would achieve sovereign descent over all under heaven. As if blind to their shifting gazes, the old ghost continued his measured address. "Darkness blankets the entire world." "The Darkness Source scattered across the world naturally coalesces into ghost creatures. Creatures formed in this manner possess no consciousness; they simply charge toward continents and slaughter all living beings. When the Eternal Night falls, ghost creatures walk the earth." "When the Eternal Night recedes, they dissolve back into darkness and return to heaven and earth." "Yet among these primordial entities, a portion gradually awakened their own intellect and consciousness. We gathered together to form clans, growing steadily stronger." "Places where darkness gathers in supreme concentration are known as the Black Abyss." "They are the boon bestowed upon us by heaven." "Here, by drawing upon the concentration of darkness within the Black Abyss, we can mass-produce ghost creatures and forge armies of our own." "For humans, claiming a homeland is remarkably simple: they need only occupy a continent." "Yet we ghosts find no favor in the eyes of heaven and earth." "To truly secure a homeland of our own requires tenfold the effort." "Therefore—" "I implore everyone to stand united. Only when a new King ascends and officially conquers the Eternal Night Continent can our Royal Clan advance to a Tier-3 Clan, truly claiming a homeland of our own and securing an undeniable foothold in this world." The old ghost spoke with earnest gravity, though how many took his words to heart remained to be seen. "Let me try!" another ghost stepped forward. "My expenditure to produce a pseudo-human ghost is 0.7 points of Darkness Source." "Mine is 1.7." "Why is mine 19? Is there an error?" "There is no error," the old ghost said, shaking his head. "In truth, expending around twenty points of Darkness Source to manifest a pseudo-human ghost is typical. The highest I have ever witnessed was seventy-eight points." The ghosts nodded thoughtfully and continued to take turns testing themselves. The old ghost observed the spectacle in silence. In truth, he knew perfectly well whose affinity was highest. Not a single ghost here possessed a higher affinity for darkness than the King had. He had served at the King's side for ages. Whenever any ghost showed signs of awakening consciousness, or whenever a new progeny was born, the King would instruct him to bring the candidate to the Black Abyss. If their affinity for darkness was found to exceed the King's, they were put to death immediately. However... His gaze drifted casually toward a nonchalant figure standing among the several dozen generals. That was his son. It was no easy feat for a ghost creature to produce offspring of its own. Thus, when his son was born, he had not reported it to the King right away. Instead, he had secretly brought the child to the Black Abyss to test his darkness affinity, discovering that it actually surpassed the King's. Elation and terror had seized him in equal measure. He concealed his son's very existence, tossing him into the ghost tides to begin as a lowly foot soldier while secretly rendering assistance from the shadows. Blessed with a noble darkness affinity, his child's cultivation had surged with breathtaking speed, attaining the rank of Ghost Emperor in less than a century. The old ghost knew the time had come. As the King's most trusted confidant, manipulating small matters was child's play. He had suppressed certain dispatches passed up from below. Trifling, insignificant matters. Truly minor details. Not a whisper of information had leaked regarding Fan Domain's construction of the massive teleportation array, and he genuinely had not known about it. He had merely obscured, consciously or otherwise, the terrifying speed of Fan Domain's rise. They were seemingly trivial reports; even if uncovered and investigated, he could brush them off as mere oversights. In all the Royal Clan, no one understood Fan Domain better than he did. Once he grasped the full measure of Fan Domain, he knew beyond doubt that this force was no native power of the Eternal Night Continent, and that Chen Fan was certainly no local dweller, but an outsider as well. Such a faction could not be underestimated. The opportunity had arrived. He began intentionally praising and flattering the King. None thought anything of it, for flattery was his duty, and the King was pleased to hear it—so pleased that he had personally ventured to the Underworld Gate basin for a stroll. The old ghost had waited patiently. He had waited for Fan Domain to deliver a miracle. And the miracle had arrived. Fan Domain had truly slain the King. The late King was dead; a new King must rise. A faint smile flickered deep within the old ghost's dazed eyes as he looked upon that robust figure among the ranks of generals. Though the time had not yet come to acknowledge each other openly, his son was destined to become the King of the Royal Clan. And he would be a sovereign with an even greater darkness affinity than the late King. In reality, had the late King discovered the child's terrifying affinity a century ago, groomed him thoroughly, and yielded the throne at an opportune moment, the Royal Clan would surely have flourished far beyond its present state. Of course, he knew that was an impossibility. Only what belonged to oneself was truly valued. No matter how strong someone else was, if they were not one's own, it was meaningless. Finally, it was his son's turn to step up and test his affinity. "I..." The ghost, visibly larger than the others and roughly the height of an adult human, blinked in surprise. "It takes me only 0.4 points of Darkness Source to forge a pseudo-human ghost?" "Isn't that even lower than the late King?" "Hail the birth of our new King!" Before the other ghosts could even process what had happened, the old ghost presiding over the council let out a raspy, blood-tinged roar, his eyes rimmed with red: "General Kuiyi is already a Ghost Emperor, and his darkness affinity exceeds even that of the late King! Both his martial prowess and his affinity are unparalleled!" "He is the undisputed heir to the throne!" "Does anyone object?" The hall fell into a complicated silence. It seemed a new ruler had already been decided, yet other thoughts were stirring deep within the onlookers' eyes. Previously, they had been ignorant of the Black Abyss, but now that they knew of its existence, matters were entirely different. "What's the rush?" The Ghost Venerable who had spoken earlier in the grand hall said with an unfriendly scowl. "Haven't a few candidates yet to test themselves, and you're already declaring the outcome? Besides, isn't darkness affinity merely one of the criteria?" "And what about those over there? The new recruits incorporated into our clan—shouldn't they be tested as well?" The old ghost lowered his head to collect his emotions. Aware that he had let too much feeling slip through, he did his best to regain his usual composure before speaking in a deep voice: "Fair enough." Promptly, the remaining generals stepped forward one after another, but none possessed an affinity matching Kuiyi's. Standing beside the Black Abyss observing the commotion, Natian stared at the pitch-black waters with mixed feelings. For the first time, he grasped the chasm dividing a regular army from mere amateurs. The primary source of ghost tides for the Ghost Clan had been the tides born from the deep sea. According to the old ghost, those were naturally formed by heaven and earth. Yet the Royal Clan could mass-produce ghost creatures on their own. The disparity was plain to see. Just then, the Royal Clan ghosts nearby glanced at them and gestured for the surrendered Ghost Clan members to step up for testing as well. Naturally, the defectors understood that no matter how high their affinity might be, they could never become the King of the Royal Clan. These Ghost Emperors who had once belonged to the Ghost Clan stepped up in turn. "Manifesting a pseudo-human ghost requires 27 points of Darkness Source." "7 points." "89 points." "1.8 points." Finally, Natian stepped forward. The instant he drew near the Black Abyss, he felt the information registering in his consciousness. It was not particularly high. "11 points," he called out from the crowd, reporting the cost required to create a pseudo-human ghost. Soon, every ghost had been tested. Yet most showed little ripple on their faces, each nursing their own unvoiced schemes. "Follow me back to the Primitive Continent," the old ghost resumed his duty. "We shall proceed to the next trial." The teleportation array gradually activated. Just as the gathered assembly vanished, the blackened sea, which had settled into stillness, suddenly began to churn once more. Billows of black vapor poured forth, condensing at rapid speed. This time, what emerged was no pseudo-human ghost, but a colossal entity dozens of meters tall—a Ghost Emperor. And his face was strikingly familiar. "I..." Standing upon the surface of the sea, the Ghost Emperor muttered as he stared down at his own hands, "Even the heavens won't take me! Is my luck just that damn stubborn?" He was certain he had died once. Yet after an indeterminate time spent submerged in absolute darkness, a message had surfaced within his mind: [Affiliated Clan: None.] [Lacks Clan Heavenly Dao, but possessing a Darkness Sacred Physique, is qualified to access the Black Abyss.] [Clan Tier: None.] [Available ghost types for manifestation correspond to a Tier-1 Clan.] [Tier-1 Pseudo-Human Ghost: 0.1 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-1 Flesh Worm Ghost: 0.1 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-1 Monkey-Headed Ghost: 0.1 points of Darkness Source.] [...] [Tier-5 Ghost King: 1,000 points of Darkness Source.] [Tier-10 Great Ghost: 50,000 points of Darkness Source.] [...] [Manifestation authority for higher entities locked; unlocked upon joining or establishing a clan and advancing to Tier 2.] [Establish your own clan and conquer one continent to advance to Tier 2.] [PS: Exceptional darkness affinity detected; innate Darkness Sacred Physique. Each clan tier advancement unlocks further Authorities of Darkness.] [Current Authorities Held:] [1: Authority of Death: Resurrects any deceased ghost creature. The required Darkness Source varies according to the target's cultivation level.] This was the message that had registered in his mind the moment he opened his eyes following his demise. Before he could fully make sense of it, a crowd of ghosts had arrived. Through their conversations, he learned that the King of the Royal Clan had been finished off by Fan Domain, that a new King was being selected, and that darkness affinity was a key factor. The late King of the Royal Clan had required 0.5 points of Darkness Source to manifest a pseudo-human ghost. The highest tested just now had been 0.4. Yet he... He required merely 0.1. He knew nothing about any innate Darkness Sacred Physique, but he understood the Authority of Death well enough. He had used that authority to resurrect himself. Immediately following his rebirth, black vapor billowed rapidly across the water. One ghost creature after another materialized. "My King?" An old ghost, slowly coalescing into form, looked around in a daze. "Does the Underworld really exist?" "Underworld, my foot!" Jiuwu grinned broadly, his eyes reddening. He scooped the old ghost up and placed him on his palm, then looked toward the other figures taking shape beside him. "Guiyi, Guier, and Sanha... everyone's back." "Now's not the time for reminiscing." "This place is dangerous." "Let's get the hell out of here first." In the next instant, massive numbers of ghost creatures rapidly condensed. Spending someone else's fortune never stings; he had no idea what it meant for the Black Abyss to have only forty percent of its reserves left, but it wasn't his anyway. He splurged with wild abandon. Within the span of a single incense stick, the Black Abyss was drained completely bare, every drop of Darkness Source squandered in a single go. In return, an army of ghost creatures stretched out toward the horizon, so vast its borders could scarcely be seen! "Time to run!" Jiuwu swept his eyes over his surroundings, picked a direction, waved his massive hand, and roared with spirited gusto: "Brothers, follow me eastward! If our luck holds, we'll find a small island!" "And then..." "We can officially retire!" "We won't be dying this time!" He was no fool. He had seen the four words *Darkness Sacred Physique* plain as day, and he knew that if he embarked upon a path of conquest, he could carve out an empire of his own. But so what? Even if he conquered vast territories, what would it matter? Right now, he wanted nothing to do with any of it. His mind was firmly set on retirement! The enormous ghost tide began stampeding across the water, running from high noon until sunset. This realm was wondrous; even in broad daylight, ghost creatures could survive without issue, racing ever further out. Ghost Emperor Jiuwu led the charge at the very front. He ran for seven days and seven nights. Eventually, the sea's surface lost its viscous, fluid quality, and when they could no longer run across it, they began to swim. None minded the fatigue. Never before had he felt so utterly liberated. This sea lay nowhere near the Eternal Night Continent; as for where it actually was, he had no clue, nor did he care. Ghost Emperor Jiuwu grinned. He laughed with genuine joy. Ahead in the distance, he spotted a desolate island. An uninhabited wilderness. The mighty ghost tide made landfall. The island was not small, only slightly smaller than the Western Desolate Isle. Standing upon the highest peak of the desolate isle, Ghost Emperor Jiuwu, surrounded by his old subordinates, declared with spirited pride: "Everyone! From this day forth, we are all retired! As of today, our clan is officially founded as the Retirement Clan!" "And now—" "You may all begin enjoying your retired life!" Right at that moment, a faint message registered deep within his consciousness: [Successfully founded the clan: Retirement Clan. Successfully occupied one continent.] [The Heavenly Dao of the Retirement Clan is condensing...] In the next breath, thunder roared and lightning flashed! He faintly sensed that above the desolate isle, the Heavenly Dao belonging to their Retirement Clan was slowly taking shape. A torrential downpour swept across the entire island and engulfed the surrounding seas. "What's going on?" Ghost Emperor Jiuwu stood frozen in bewilderment. He had only occupied a single island—did an island count as an entire continent? Well... Whatever. His grin broadened. They had their own Heavenly Dao now. That meant they had received initial recognition from this world. They could take wives and raise children. Retirement life was now truly complete! "Heh heh." Ghost Emperor Jiuwu looked down at the old ghost who was roughly the size of his toe and chuckled. Everything seemed to be heading in the right direction. "Wise is our King!" "Wise is our King!" Chants swept across the desolate island like rolling waves.