The Boss Behind The Game

Yue Yao was not prepared for the surrender of both the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King. It felt like punching a piece of cotton which exerted zero force in return.

Nevertheless, Yue Yao was very happy that they would yield under him. Since his influence in Beiqi had not yet stabilized, it would greatly benefit him to have more support.

Besides, he didn't believe that either the Rock Ghost King or the Hydra King would dare to play any tricks on him as they would have to recite the Soul Oath.

So, Yue Yao went back to the Mansion of the Dead with a complicated feeling.

This time, the Hydra King and the Rock Ghost King followed along, too.

After Yue Yao was led to His Excellency's palace, he cleared the underlings, then spoke to Liu Chai and the other two.

"I believe that you all are loyal to me, but we still have to follow the rules. Please begin the Soul Oath!"

"What Soul Oath?" Liu Chai was dumbfounded.

"You should just recite along with both of us!" Yue Yao didn't suspect the fact that Liu Chai had never heard of the Soul Oath before. In his eyes, Liu Chai was just a fool.

Liu Chai glanced at the Ghost Kings at his side and nodded unconsciously.

They didn't hesitate since they weren't afraid of the oath at all. They started to recite calmly...

"Under the witness of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, I vow to…"

Liu Chai followed along as well.

According to Liu Chai, he was a player. Any kind of soul allegiance in the game would not affect him. So, of course, he was not scared.

On the other hand, Liu Chai was pretty worried about the Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King's soul allegiance, but it wasn't entirely hopeless. As long as Yue Yao died, all the problems would be solved.

The second step of their plan was to use Yue Yao to their benefit and then to finally kill him.

In terms of power, they would never be able to overpower an existence at the level of a Ghost Emperor. Thus, they had to outsmart him.

After the three of them finished with the Soul Oath, Yue Yao laughed with relief.

He never expected to overthrow Beiqi so easily.

The next thing he would do was to obtain the Great Emperor's blessing and become His Excellency.

"As of now, are there any other forces left in Beiqi?" giving it some thought, Yue Yao asked with concentration.

"Lord Yue Yao, there are two more forces left. One of them is the Demon Capital Army from the jungles of the Cliffs of Desperation, and another one is the Ground Wolf Army that has been living underground throughout the years!" Liu Chai answered.

"Your Majesty, these two armies are not to be concerned about. We've already possessed the ultimate power, they have no choice but to surrender. We'll just look for them and make sure they submit themselves to you!" the Rock Ghost King continued Liu Chai's words.

Although the Rock Ghost King didn't care about the Demon Capital or Ground Wolf, the mastermind behind this plan had told him to ensure their safety for they would side with them in the future.

"Alright then, you should take off now. By the time I unite Beiqi, I can ask for the Great Emperor's blessing!"

After listening to those words, Yue Yao felt so carefree that he couldn't help laughing out loud.

...

Three days later, Beiqi was united. All the forces, be it powerful or not, were now under Yue Yao's control and so he naturally became the ruler of Beiqi. The only thing left was the recognition of the Great Emperor.

Due to the existence of Lie Shan, Yue Yao could not tolerate any delay. Under the witness of the elders of various forces and all the players, he recited His Excellency's Succession Code at the Mansion of the Dead's center zone.

His Excellency's Succession Code was no secret in the Underworld. In fact, all the lands had the same ceremony. The purpose of this was for the Great Emperor to detect the recitation of the code and thereafter grant his blessing to the successor.

After the successor passed the test and verification by the Great Emperor, he would be able to become His Excellency and hold the Yin Talisman which was exclusive to the larger domains.

Following Yue Yao's recitation, everyone including the players could feel an invisible surge of force slowly oppressing them.

Cold sweat covered Yue Yao's forehead as he was extremely nervous.

The Great Emperor symbolized the Underworld's Supreme God.

They were the creators of the rules of operation though they weren't responsible for how the Underworld should run. Among the Six Paths of Reincarnation, they were truly the controller of the Underworld.

Time passed and the recitation of the code was halfway till the end. Then, an illusory brass clock appeared from the void.

It remained still but the ringing of bells could be heard clearly by all the living beings at the scene.

"Enter!" a long and vicious voice emerged.

Yue Yao was surprised when he heard the call. Following that, his body began to float in the air and flew into the brass clock.

In the blink of an eye, the surroundings changed and golden light rays flashed from the surface of the brass clock.

When all the movement stopped, the crowd noticed something. The brass clock, along with Yue Yao, had vanished into thin air.

"Where did he go?" Liu Chai asked curiously.

"I suppose he went to see the Great Emperor, but I'm not sure. I've seen the same thing before, but the former King of Beiqi said nothing after he came back. He only mentioned some tests and verification," the Rock Ghost King shook his head while he answered.

Liu Chai got even more confused after that.

Thus, the wait began.

...

Yue Yao found his body shuttling through a colorful tunnel. The surroundings twisted and turned as he noticed that his body was constantly deforming.

"Yue Yao!" the voice of the Great Emperor appeared.

"The almighty Great Emperor, I am the one they call Yue Yao," Yue Yao instantly kneeled down, but his figure continued to be misshapen. Although he was on his knees, he looked like an extended straw mat with many colors.

"I've seen you. You've indeed gained the ownership of all the territories in Beiqi, but you have not earned the recognition of these people!"

"Great Emperor, how can this be? All of them pledged loyalty to me!" Yue Yao lifted his head and shouted after having a great shock to his heart.

"Nonetheless, Beiqi has been without a king for some time. Since you've successfully conquered all the territories, you shall have the right to become His Excellency. Now, take the Heart Cultivation Test!"

Along with the Great Emperor of Dong Yue's words, everything around him turned blank...

When he came back to his senses, Yue Yao heard the Great Emperor of Dong Yue's voice again.

"Yue Yao, you have passed the Heart Cultivation Test. Go back now!"

Yue Yao was confused because he had completely forgotten what had just happened.

Regardless, he had already passed the test, so all Yue Yao could feel right now was happiness. He opened his mouth, wanting to express some gratitude, but soon he saw that the tunnel became extremely deformed. When everything became clear again, he found himself in the sky above the Mansion of the Dead.

In front of the shocking gazes from all the forces, the brass clock re-appeared. Accompanied with its slow and steady sways, thunderous bell rings resounded across the Land of Beiqi. All of them felt the shudder in their souls.

At that time, a cylinder of golden light materialized from the void and wrapped around Yue Yao.

Under the baptism of the cylinder of golden light, Yue Yao smiled ecstatically.

He could feel the loosening of his realm and the empowerment of his soul power along with the brushes of the golden light.

Rumble!

With a loud noise, Yue Yao's body surface was lit with golden fire.

The players who were observing Yue Yao's menu witnessed the scene and it caused an uproar.

"Holy shit, he's surpassed the Intermediate Ghost Emperor!"

"It must be a cheat by the Great Emperor. It's so cool. Don't tell me that he's the biggest boss in the game now?"

"I want a blessing, too, motherfucker. If we all could level up directly in the Ghost Emperor Realm, then we could level up a few hundred times at once!"

"Jealousy! Envy! Hatred!"

"Killing Yue Yao would surely drop materials that could cost a fortune! I'm so excited!"

"Someone please tell me which realm is this Great Emperor in? Is it a realm after the Ghost Emperor Realm?"

"The Great Emperor might be in a realm that hasn't been unlocked yet. We will surely know when we get stronger. Everybody, be patient!"

"Yes, let's kill this Yue Yao first before talking about any other realms. Let's not reach for something that's out of our grasp and just focus on growing bit by bit!"

...

Amid the player's heated discussion, Yue Yao's upgrade did not end. With another loud bang, his power was instantly upgraded to that of a Greater Ghost Emperor.

The Rock Ghost King and the Hydra King had seen these happenings before and appeared to be calm.

They had experienced it before and from Lu Yan, they heard that the Great Emperor's blessing had no relation with the actual realm the person was in. As long as he hadn't achieved divine status, he could be upgraded by two realms. Back then, Lu Yan who was stuck at the Intermediate Ghost King level also received a blessing from the Great Emperor and reached the Ghost King Peak. Since then, his power had grown so much that it was only half a step away from the former King of Beiqi who was a Ghost Emperor.

Because of this, many were crazy about being king. After all, an upgrade by two realms could hardly be achieved by years of cultivation. Also, simply becoming His Excellency could save them a lot of tough days.

In other words, under the feet of His Excellency were countless bodies of his competitors, and no one was an exception.

After the golden light disappeared, Yue Yao felt like he had been reborn. Endless power was brewing inside of his body as if he could break the sky and ground with a single punch.

Then, a triangular-shaped Yin Talisman which was shining with black luster slowly became visible before him.

With the utmost satisfaction, Yue Yao grabbed it and he could still sense the remaining breaths of the Great Emperor on it. He then kneeled down in the air and kowtowed toward the slowly fading brass clock.

"Thank you for your blessing, Great Emperor!"

The players below him started to chatter away in the chat channel, but no one seemed to be in a panic.

This was because helping Yue Yao to get stronger was also part of Yin Xiaoqi's plan.

Apart from that, the existence of Yue Yao was indispensable in the war with the Nine Luminaries!

Therefore, the rest of the arrangements could only go on after his power increased.

At that time, both Yue Yao and the players were overjoyed.

Somehow, they could already imagine the moment when Yue Yao found out he was set up and happy smiles were written all over their faces.

...

Underworld, in the Great Hall of the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

A humongous, black sculpture stood in the Great Hall. At the palm of the sculpture's hand was a brass-colored clock.

The sculpture was sometimes clear, sometimes blurry, and surrounding it were lines of different colors.

There was nothing special about the lines, but each and every one of them represented the Supreme Law that determined the structure of the Underworld. Within the lines, there was unlimited power of the law. Although the lines seemed to be only circling around the sculpture, innumerable thin space cracks were created.

"Was it her?"

There was no response as the voice echoed within the Great Hall.

"I sensed her breath, but I can't be sure!" another voice sounded.

"The Underworld without her is not complete. Will she return?"

"I don't know. Maybe she will and maybe she won't!"

"If she isn't here when the ones who left come back, what should we do?"

"Burn my life with fire and fight for her! As long as she exists, the Underworld will not vanish!" the voice said again.

"Feng Du, it seems like you've prepared yourself."

"I see that you have, too!"

Then, the two voices disappeared at the same time. The Six Paths of Reincarnation returned to silence once again.