The Boss Behind The Game

As Cangxu's soul was being torn apart by the River of Forgetfulness, the few wisps of consciousness that were watching all of this unfold from the dark dissipated gradually.

The erstwhile overlord of the Land of Cangxu was finally no more.

His only evidence of existence was in written history, a sinner loathed by future generations.

It was at this moment when a crack appeared in the Gate of Forgetfulness. A small hand appeared from the crack and tried to be grasping onto something…

…...

Inside the house, Bei Li suddenly turned her head around to hug Lu Wu, who was watching TV, and started wailing.

Lu Wu, who was in her arms, was confused.

"Wu, the one behind the blood ritual is dead. I saw his memories before he died. It was so heart-wrenching."

Looking at Lu Wu, who was still perplexed, Bei Li spoke about what Cangxu experienced before his death and the events of his memories to Lu Wu.

Lu Wu sighed with pity when he heard about Cangxu's painful experience.

"Wu, I think I've found a great spot to expand our server!" Bei Li, who had tears streaming down her face, lowered her head and said to Lu Wu.

"You mean the Land of Cangxu?" Lu Wu had already guessed the place that Bei Li was meaning to say.

"Yup. The Land of Cangxu is now a place without a ruler. It won't be too hard for players to expand here. Also, we now have extra assistance. If we manage to wake him, the Land of Cangxu will be ours!"

"Extra assistance? What do you mean?"

Bei Li loosened her grip on Lu Wu. She slashed the air with her right hand and a small ball of white light drifted out from the artifact.

"I saved him, but this is all that's left of him."

Lu Wu was stunned when he saw the ball of light, "This is the ruler of Cangxu?"

Bei Li nodded. She caught the ball of light in her hand and kneaded it like it was cotton candy.

"This is all that's left of him. Also, I've engraved an artifact seal on it. He won't betray us even if he regains consciousness. However, it'll be difficult to revive him fully at this point. He'll need to be nourished by an abundance of soul power."

Lu Wu's eyes lit up upon hearing that.

Lu Wu felt that his time to shine was coming when he thought about the fact that a ruler would be his subordinate soon.

"How many soul coins will we need to revive him?"

Bei Li tapped her fingers while doing her calculations and raised her head with a serious expression.

"Probably ten million or above. His Excellency Cangxu's strength is incredibly high. If we get into specifics, it might be even higher."

The smile on Lu Wu's face froze.

Ten million!

Lu Wu felt disheartened when he heard that number. He thought that he would have an unparalleled general soon, but it seemed like he could not afford it.

He finally understood the pain felt by the players who were into cultivating connections.

As he felt the same pain, Lu Wu decided to increase the level of oppression to have the players feel more pain. Only by doing that could he lessen his own pain.

…...

In the State of Illusion, Land of Beiqi.

This state was located south of the Mansion of The Dead, and was shrouded in mist all year round. It was impossible to have a clear line of sight there.

At this moment, dozens of members of the Slayer Alliance Guild were slowly exploring ahead with Lu Zhan as the lead.

The mist on the map was slowly pushed away and the scene of the State of Illusion on the map was getting clearer.

Lu Zhan had been feeling frustrated lately.

All the bosses of other guilds had chance encounters like obtaining the Son of the Sea or getting the legacy of a Demonic God. Yet, he himself had nothing and he was trailing behind in this aspect.

Therefore, Lu Zhan decided to follow the advice of the pros in the forums and brought his members along to explore, as he might come across a chance encounter himself.

He chose to explore the State of Illusion that was shrouded in mist, because there were scarcely any players exploring this region. There might be tons of undiscovered resources sleeping there.

After exploring for around half an hour, Lu Zhan and the others were still empty-handed. They were starting to get restless.

It was at this moment when a huge black silhouette appeared in the thick mist and peered at Lu Zhan and his team through its vermilion eyes.

"Roar!"

Waves of killing intent assaulted Lu Zhan and his team and frightened them.

"This land is where deities train in isolation, how dare you…"

"Ouch!"

The tone of the silhouette changed instantly when it was hit by a stone. It no longer sounded imposing or menacing. It sounded childlike instead.

"How dare you…"

Lu Zhan cut it short by picking up another stone and smashed it on its body.

"How dare you try to scare me. I'm not scared even if you're a Demonic God."

Lu Zhan's subordinates followed suit and threw rocks at the silhouette frantically.

"Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop throwing! We can talk this out!" the childlike voice spoke up again as the huge silhouette shrank and the mist dispersed.

"A big goose?" Lu Zhan was stunned when he saw the snow-white crane standing before him.

"I am a crane! A crane!" Tong Gua explained angrily.

Bam! Lu Zhan hurled another rock at Tong Gua's head.

"You're a big goose!"

Tong Gua didn't dare to retort this time. He could only protest silently with a bitter gaze.

"Big Goose, how come you can speak?" Lu Zhan asked with curiosity.

Tong Gua was indignant to be bullied by such a weak creature. He was at least a Ghost King when the King of Beiqi was here, and was worshipped by the people. He was frustrated to be so powerless now.

Bam!

Another rock found its place on Tong Gua's head, "Hey, our boss is talking to you."

Tong Gua glanced at Lu Zhan and his team bitterly as he snapped, "There are no chance encounters here. The State of Illusion only has a single crane: me!"

Bam!

"I'm gonna beat the shit out of y'all!"

Tong Gua, who was struck again by another stone, could not take it any longer. He flapped his wings and dashed forward.

Wham! Bam! Thump!

Tong Gua laid on the ground, half dead, after getting beaten up by the members from the Slayer Alliance.

"Still not telling the truth, Big Goose? Look at you, you look like a weak chicken who can't even fly, and yet you're claiming to be a Ghost King! You're not even worthy to be a mount. Aren't you a little too arrogant to claim that you're a district ruler in the Land of Beiqi?"

Lu Zhan and his team clearly did not believe that such a puny and weak-looking being like the Big Goose was a Ghost King.

After all, even Cha Na, who was only a Ghost General, had terrifying strength. On the other hand, the Rock Ghost King's power was unbeatable to the players based on their current strength.

Lu Zhan and his team would never believe that this crane was a Ghost King.

Tong Gua's eyes welled up with tears as he felt like his life was meaningless.

He was a distinguished and highly respected individual when the King of Beiqi was still around. He even liberated the State of Illusion from the Land of Beiqi to be its own domain, and was crowned Tong Gua, the Ghost King. Who would have known that he would end up at this point, where he was too worthless to be considered as someone's mount? He clenched his teeth at the thought.

"Spit it out! What chance encounter does the State of Illusion have? I'll allow you to live if you tell me!" Lu Zhan lifted Tong Gua up by the neck slowly and threatened it.

It was at this moment when the light on the crane flitted past and the data analyzed by the artifact surfaced.

[Tong Gua, the Ghost King]: The ruler of the State of Illusion. Strongest Guardian Spirit of the Land of Beiqi. His power has reached the peak of the Ghost King realm.

Details: Unkown.

(Warning: This creature is extremely dangerous. Players are advised to stay away from him as far as possible!)

Lu Zhan and his team were befuddled when they saw the data.

"Extremely dangerous?"

Lu Zhan shook Tong Gua whom he was strangling, still not believing it.

Tong Gua was flapping his wings and his eyes rolled back into his head at that moment, looking like he was going to suffocate to death.

"Hmm, I guess he seems kind of fierce…?"