22. If it dares to oppose me today, it will dare to kill me tomorrow.

Langshou Ghost City had no identifiable directions; once someone entered the city, they would begin to lose their sense of orientation. A gloomy fog draped over the place all year round—this fog was not thick, but it was more obfuscating than a dense fog because it restricted perception as well.

At the large, open city gate, there was no ferocious decoration, but the naturally miraculous stonework caused an unexplainable heaviness in one's heart.

Therefore, the seven Players standing at the gate were all looking somber at this moment.

They were veteran Players of this eerie game, having survived at least three years in this strange game, facing various trials and, with a bit of luck, finally completing the final sacrificial ritual.

To advance from Ding rank to C rank, Players needed a promotion ritual.

And for C rank Players to advance to B rank, they needed to complete the final sacrificial ritual.

Upon successful sacrifice, the ghostly fog descended, leading them into the Ghost City. From that point on, if they were to reemerge, they would surely have become super Players.

In this mysterious game, information on C and D rank Players could be collected as long as one was willing to spend money; occasionally, even B rank Players would publically teach, imparting their experiences with fierce ghosts encountered in instances.

But once at B rank, enhancing oneself became as elusive as the fog in this Ghost City.

Although the game did contain A rank godlike Players, each one was as elusive as a dragon—forget about lecturing, even meeting one was difficult.

The one confirmed existence of A rank Players was in the Players' group known as the Yujing Association.

But even the senior members of the Yujing Association had never seen the godlike Player within their ranks.

Thus, the scant flow of information from the A and B ranks caused these seven Players to be more anxious than ever.

Faced with fierce ghost instances, they could manage to remain calm.

But facing this mysterious Ghost City, they could not achieve such composure.

C and D rank Players corresponded to their own Ghost Cities, but no Player had yet entered those two cities. Their existence was solely to maintain the normal operation of those instances.

Suddenly, the seven Players heard a series of rapid footsteps. At first, the footsteps seemed far away, but in the next second, they sounded as if they were right beside them.

At the same time, the footsteps also vanished.

"Haven't you seen the City Lord yet? Why don't you pay your respects quickly?" A figure stepped out of the fog and shouted loudly at the seven Players.

"We pay our respects, my lord!"

Upon hearing this, the seven Players hurriedly performed the ritual greetings they had learned after completing the final sacrificial ritual.

"Alright, you may all leave now! As for you, stand up as well!" A somewhat gentle voice then rose, causing the figure that had stepped out to step back, and at the same time, suppressing the malevolent aura of these fierce ghosts to the absolute bottom.

"At once!"

The host of ghostly shadows departed.

The seven Players then stood up as well.

However, as they subconsciously looked ahead, all they could see was a hazy figure.

"Since you've all kowtowed to me, I won't mistreat you. However, I'll only impart it once—whether you can understand it or learn from it is up to you." The gentle voice continued, and without waiting for the seven Players to respond, began to recite the "Sevenfold Demonic Body Scripture."

From the first level to the seventh, the seven Players listened with an overwhelming surge of emotions.

The person delivering the Scripture was, of course, Tan Shuchang.

And after reciting the "Sevenfold Demonic Body Scripture," Tan Shuchang departed on his own.

He had learned it after just one lecture from the Heartless Old Man back then, and now, as he was imparting the Scripture, he also included his own cultivation experience. There was no reason why these seven people couldn't learn it.

These seven players had reached grade B, their minds naturally exceptional, and with Tan Shuchang's detailed explanations, two of them quickly gained entry into the cultivation technique.

"Is this why B-grade players are called 'super players'?"

"Cultivation Technique! This is a Cultivation Technique!"

Both players had already felt the power of the Sevenfold Demonic Body Scripture, especially since they had previously used ghost arts, leaving irreversible injuries that were now showing signs of recovery.

The other five players hadn't grasped it yet, but they were close to catching on and would succeed with a bit more time.

This was the gap in aptitude.

"Did the City Lord have another meaning when he said that we would get the teaching after we kowtowed to him?" one of the players suddenly asked.

In the instance of the ghost general, many clues were hidden in seemingly insignificant places or even within a single sentence, so over time, seasoned players who had survived long in the game developed the habits of close observation and thorough consideration.

"If we meet other B-grade players, we can test the waters. If there's a difference..." another player started to say, and although his sentence trailed off, the other six players understood what he meant.

"Therefore, we should keep this Cultivation Technique a secret for now."

"Right! After all, profound techniques like this often come with restrictions against disclosure. If we share it with others, it might help other players, but it could also lead to the death of both ourselves and anyone who learns the technique."

"Moreover, on a personal note, why should I casually pass on a chance that I only got after escaping death nine times out of ten?"

The seven players, both men and women, had come to an agreement at this point.

"Since that's settled, let's leave our real information. We all come from the City Lord, so let's gather sometime!"

"Agreed."

"No problem."

All seven players did not reject this proposal.

Yes, seven.

Because this line was not spoken by one of the seven players, but by Tan Shuchang, who had sensed the disturbance here and slightly disguised his voice before speaking.

...

Seeing that these seven players were quite promising, Tan Shuchang whimsically created a "City Lord's following."

And after obtaining the real information of these seven players, Tan Shuchang started to frown slightly because he wasn't familiar with the names of the cities they came from.

However, very soon, Tan Shuchang stopped caring, considering that these were matters from before his transmigration, his past life.

Previous life's myriad affairs now had nothing to do with him.

A man of this life should focus on this life's matters.

At that moment, he sensed his ghostly strategist approaching, so he spoke before the other could knock, "What's up? Just tell me."

"City Lord, it's General Huai who has come," the ghostly scholar quickly replied.

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

"In the Ghost City of Lang, all the ghost officials are under General Huai's command. Previously, I could only bring a few people to greet you because moving other ghost officials required General Huai's approval," the ghostly scholar explained.

Hearing his ghostly strategist's complaints, Tan Shuchang couldn't help but smile.

Today it dares to criticize me, tomorrow it might dare to kill me, and the day after it might dare to overthrow the king, so to protect the king, I should strike first, right?