The strength ranking of ghosts has been gradually refined and classified by humans over the decades. From ghosts to earthbound ghosts to evil ghosts, resentful ghosts, Ghost Generals, and finally Ghost Kings. However, when it came to reaching the level of a Ghost King, the difference in power could be far greater than what’s seen between the lower levels. They possess extremely powerful abilities, can command other ghosts, establish their own dynasties, and even lower-ranked Ghost Kings can be enslaved by higher-ranked ones.
Therefore, the Federation classifies Ghost Kings from one star to ten stars. There are significant power thresholds between each three-star level, and the top-tier ten-star Ghost Kings were just legends, with even the Bone Ghost King, who once battled Grandmaster Fu and survived thus only being sealed away, being an eight-star Ghost King. Newborn Ghost Kings like Bai Mei are the weakest in the one-star category, while the Bloody Eyed Ghost King, who could absorb Bai Mei’s energy and render her powerless, was at least a two-star. As for Ghost Kings from three stars and above, they would awaken their unique special talents.
“Federation SWAT officers ventured into the safety zones of Polokwane, Kuala Lumpur, and Rangoon and discovered that everyone there had turned into wax figures.”
Even if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Zhou Xun still shuddered when describing this terrifying scene. “Although these three safety zones are inconveniently located and are relatively far from other regions, the horrifying state of their collapse was only discovered after the Lantern Ghost King left. In other words, not a single person in these three safety zones was able to escape.”
Not all major safety zones have zone chiefs of the same level as the Ghost Kings. The strongest in small safety zones may only be A-level ability users. Nevertheless, all three safe zones were wiped out, and everyone, whether they were ability users, ordinary people, or just going on about their daily lives, remained unchanged and turned into wax figures. It was as if they had been halted by the press of a pause button, so the real strength of the Lantern Ghost King had been reevaluated.
Ghost Kings can be divided into stable and itinerant types, with the majority of higher-star Ghost Kings being bound by Yin Qi, choosing to stay in their Ghost Territories for the long term. The Lantern Ghost King was originally like this, but the anomaly in the Youpotan Tiankeng made it change its habits. Itinerant five-star Ghost Kings are a disaster for any safety zone in the world.
“My father came here to Jieyang voluntarily this time, one is to clear the Zhou family’s front door, and the other is to train his subordinates.”
Only by facing a Ghost King can one truly confront the almost soul-deep fear within them. Zhou Xun rubbed his face and didn’t continue. Even the specially-trained SWAT officers were all overwhelmed by the pressure from Bai Mei, who was not even an one-star Ghost King. Not to mention facing the formidable Lantern Ghost King.
In less than a month, the Lantern Ghost King would come. In recorded history, there have only been two or three instances of humans battling a five-star Ghost King. One was a failure, resulting in the destruction of a safety zone. The other two were crushing victories. Even if all the people were evacuated from Yangjiaping, and the Yangjiaping safety zone was abandoned, the Lantern Ghost King’s next target was still within the Asian safety zones. Humans couldn’t retreat forever.
So, the upper echelons of the Asian Federation issued a call for talented individuals to battle the Lantern Ghost King. They even made a special exception for Director Zhou, granting him ten slots for Federation SWAT agents, allowing him to recruit powerful ability users to defend Yangjiaping. At the level of a five-star Ghost King, individual strength surpassed numbers. Even with a large number of lower-level ability users and soldiers sacrificing their lives, it would be of no avail. Only the most powerful individuals could stand a chance against the Ghost King.
All of this was voluntary, and Zhou Xun not only came to find Wu Rong, but he also visited the other powerful individuals who were invited to Jieyang by Zhou Xinhong.
However, the situation was not optimistic. Except for Grandmaster Ling Yun, who was invited by Chief Zhou, along with Hui Xin, the young monk, the attitudes of the other individuals were ambiguous.
After all, agreeing to participate was tantamount to putting life and death aside, and it meant a decision to sacrifice oneself for the Federation. Not everyone had such determination. Moreover, for those who raised ghosts, facing a Ghost King head-on would significantly increase the chance of their own raised ghosts turning against them. The control that Ghost Kings had over spirits of other levels was terrifying. Even ghosts raised by humans could resonate with the presence of a Ghost King. When the battle had not even started, it was very likely that the Ghost King’s Qi would awaken the ghosts within the ghost keepers, causing them to act strangely.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“No need to make a decision immediately; this matter does require time for consideration.”
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“Leader Wu, I’m not trying to discourage you, but a five-star Ghost King is not something a normal person can deal with.”
Su Xiaomi was straightforward, “Let me put it this way, if my brother unseals his power now and reaches his peak strength using secret techniques, he’d be roughly equivalent to a two-star Ghost King, the same level as that new Bloody Eyed Ghost King. If my brother goes up against the Lantern Ghost King, he might last this long.”
Su Xiaomi held up one finger, and Huang Mao guessed, “An hour?”
“…One minute.”
“Three stars is a watershed. Ghost Kings from three stars and above are entirely different creatures from those below three stars.”
Su Xiaomi maintained an objective stance, saying, “When dealing with a Ghost King of this level, not to mention ordinary people, even regular ghost raisers would have to retreat. In the best-case scenario, everyone in the Yangjiaping safety zone could evacuate and cede this area to the Lantern Ghost King.”
“This is our human territory!”
Huang Mao couldn’t help but get excited and stood up to argue, “How can we just retreat without a fight and watch it fall into a Ghost Territory!”
“At least it’s better than being dead.”
Su Xiaomi nearly got sprayed with saliva. He played with the oranges in the fruit platter and muttered quietly, “So, that’s the best-case scenario.”
“Yangjiaping won’t have time to evacuate everyone.”
Wu Rong stated calmly. He didn’t know when the higher-ups received the news about the impending arrival of the Lantern Ghost King, but the fact that Yangjiaping still hadn’t imposed martial law in the past two months indicated that they probably learned about it not long ago. Evacuating an entire safety zone was a massive undertaking, especially in these times when there were no trains between safety zones, and transportation was inconvenient.
Many elderly people had frail health, and even with the protection of train talismans, leaving the safety zone could expose them to Ying Qi, potentially causing sudden death.
From the information Zhou Xun had shared, it was evident that the higher-ups didn’t intend to abandon the Yangjiaping safety zone. They were likely preparing for a defense, which was why they were making various preparations to attract strong individuals to defend the area.
“But, but…”
Huang Mao stammered for a long time, clenching his fists tightly, before finally falling silent. Home, homeland, hometown—these words weren’t frequently used in daily life, but almost anyone who thought about their hometown being destroyed, all the familiar scenes from their past only existing in dreams, would feel a deep sense of fear and unease from the depths of their hearts.
Fallen leaves couldn’t return to their roots.
Faceing the humiliating pain of being helpless and retreating in the face of an enemy that led to the loss of their homeland, this feeling had been etched deep into the human soul since the revival of the supernatural world. Sacrifice, death, the determination to create hope even when it seemed impossible, the shedding of blood in war—these had all become integral parts of the human experience.
Some people became more cowardly and fearful of death, resorting to any means to stay alive. Others became resolute and unyielding, willingly sacrificing themselves. The latter were more numerous, and it was their resilience that offered hope for the continuation of humanity.
In the end, neither Huang Mao nor Su Xiaomi said anything more, waiting for Wu Rong to make a decision. Wu Rong carefully read through the documents provided by Zhou Xun, the rustling sound resonating distinctly in the quiet villa. When Wu Rong saw a certain line’s contents, his brows furrowed slightly, and without looking up, he asked Fu Qing, “Can you make it in time for the assessment for the new Federation SWAT agents in two weeks?”
“I can make it.”
Fu Qing said briefly: “It will take ten days to go back to Longhu Mountain.”
When Fu Qing decided to do something, he would act immediately. After all, he was a member of the Fu family from Longhu Mountain and soul calling has the the best efficacy from the old house of the Fu family in Longhu Mountain.
“Then I’ll reply to Zhou Xun.”
“Okay.”
Their conversation was concise. It wasn’t until Wu Rong picked up his phone to call Zhou Xun that Huang Mao and Su Xiaomi reacted. Even though Huang Mao found it unbelievable, he eventually broke into a big smile, patting Su Xiaomi on the back in excitement. “I knew it! Wu Rong is not the type to flee in the face of danger!”
“It’s not fleeing; it’s called a strategic withdrawal… Well, okay, whatever.”
Su Xiaomi wasn’t upset either. Sometimes, the saying “everyone has their own path” held true. If a person chose to retreat every time they faced difficulties, they would become timid and cowardly over time. Such a mindset would create vulnerabilities in the psyche of individuals like Wu Rong and Celestial Masters, making them vulnerable. This tendency to retreat could turn into recurring nightmares, preventing Celestial Masters from advancing and making it easier for Ghost Keepers to be consumed by their own ghosts. Only by facing challenges head-on and becoming stronger with each encounter could one survive in this cruel world.
In reality, Wu Rong hadn’t thought about retreating at all. For him, Yangjiaping was the place where he had grown up in both of his lifetimes, and his mother was there. Whether it was one Ghost King or a group of them, it made no difference to him. It’s just that it was his first time hearing Ghost Kings were divided into star ratings, and he was very curious about the level that the Big Ghost had reached.
Is it a higher-star Ghost King, or is it a Heavenly Ghost from the Great Tiankeng?
Wu Rong also understood Fu Qing. The stronger the Ghost King, the stronger Fu Qing’s killing intent would be. However, the matter of Fu Qing retrieving his lost soul might be delayed, and his peachwood sword was destroyed in the Ghost Territory in Jieyang, leaving him without a suitable weapon.
But since Fu Qing said there was enough time, Wu Rong felt relieved. Time was running out, and Fu Qing was preparing to go directly from Jieyang to Longhu Mountain. As a Celestial Master, he was like Master Ling Yun, considered a member of Longhu Mountain. He didn’t need to add the title of a Federal SWAT offficer. Seeing that Fu Qing was about to leave, Wu Rong suddenly remembered something and grabbed Fu Qing’s hand, asking earnestly in a low voice, “How do we establish the closer relationship you mentioned?”
Fu Qing would probably have to wait until the Lantern Ghost King had almost crossed the border before coming back. Right now, the Zhong Gu was only lacking the pure essences of the fire and metal attributes. Wu Rong’s constitution was too Yin, and pure Yang fire was very suitable as a pure essence of the fire element.
Wu Rong was thinking that if it was convenient for Fu Qing, it would be best to obtain some pure Yang fire before he left.
The author has something to say:
Fu Qing: It’s convenient.
Big Ghost: It’s not convenient.
Editor: Cloud Chip Cake
Just a quick trip, last words spoken.
Self-jealousy also affects the Big Ghost, I see 👍🏻👍🏻
Thanks for the chapter!!! ❤️❤️❤️
lol self-vinegar, when your drinking jars of vinegar to drown yourself in salty jealousy (directed toward yourself cuz your wife like the other you more than you) xD
Oh never mind, even a guy who had risen a ghost king as his ghost could freely enjoy a cushy office job without having to go to battlefield. Really, how could this world survive for this long? At one safe zone, you have people who had the privilege to watch livestream, concert, etc. But at other safe zone, people died without ANY survivor apparently, AND it was only mentioned as an after thought.
Btw, didn’t Wu Rong said he had already gotten the fire element (Zhenyang fire) and the Zhong Gu had gotten all the thing it need to develop (which is why WR’s body was said to have undergone some changes.) So… why are we back to needing this fire again…?