Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

Quan the Seventh was nowhere to be found in the Yellow Springs Winery.

Naturally, there was no reason to stay and look around.

They had the Rotten Gambler continue to lead the way. After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they arrived at the very heart of the Ghost King Palace.

The King’s Hall!

The King’s Hall was not large.

As the core of Eternal Town’s three-tiered structure, it appeared to be just a small, gloomy building.

Like the other places, the area around the King’s Hall was also completely empty.

Not a single ghostly shadow could be seen.

And there was still no sign of the legendary Quan the Seventh.

The Rotten Gambler stood before the building and slowly spoke:

"Lord Ghost King, the Rotten Gambler requests an audience!"

Silence from within the building. Not the slightest echo.

Jiang Ran listened intently, his brow twitching slightly. "We’re going straight in."

"But..."

The Rotten Gambler hesitated. "Master, the Lord Ghost King’s martial skill is unfathomable. If we offend him so rashly, I fear there will be trouble."

Jiang Ran raised his eyes slightly, gave a small nod, and slowly began to speak:

"I, Jiang Ran, a humble latecomer, request an audience with the master of the Ghost King Palace. I ask that you show yourself!"

As his voice fell, it was like the tolling of a great bell.

VMMMMMM!

Every window and every tile of the King’s Hall before them trembled softly, as if they were all speaking at once.

A sound wave swept out in all directions, rolling forth from that spot.

Li Tianxin, Luo Qingyi, Ruan Yuqing, Liu Xiao’e, the Rotten Gambler, and the six dice freaks all felt a roar in their minds, their ears ringing incessantly.

WHOOSHING winds rose from all sides, and a sound like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves drifted through the air.

The entire Ghost King Palace, and indeed all of Eternal Town, seemed to spring to life the moment Jiang Ran shouted.

The faint green candles flickered erratically, like eyes blinking in the dark.

The Rotten Gambler’s face paled. Only now did he realize just what kind of martial prowess his new master possessed.

A single CREAK was heard.

The main gate of the King’s Hall swung open. Though it made no sound, it was clearly an invitation.

"Thank you, Ghost King, for granting this audience."

Jiang Ran’s brow rose, and he stepped into the King’s Hall.

The others followed close behind. Liu Xiao’e had intended to walk at the very back to attract as little attention as possible.

But she found that Li Tianxin was walking even slower than she was.

Lingering right beside her...

She glanced up at Li Tianxin and blinked, though her face wasn’t a pretty sight—it had been painted paper-white to begin with, and her crying had since smeared the makeup.

Now, it was also covered in the Defeat Powder she had just thrown everywhere herself.

It was a complete mess.

And yet, her eyes were utterly captivating, as if they could see into the depths of a person’s soul and stir their very heart.

But as their gazes met, she felt that Li Tianxin’s eyes were like a deep sea—bottomless and infinite.

Stunned, she let out a muffled groan.

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth. All thoughts vanished from her mind, leaving only terror in her eyes.

"Why are you spitting up blood? So careless."

Li Tianxin’s voice sounded in her ear.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was as if every word was hammered deep into Liu Xiao’e’s heart, wounding her even more severely.

She immediately bowed her head, not daring to look or speak again.

Walking at the very front, Jiang Ran’s ears twitched slightly, and the corner of his mouth pulled into a somewhat complicated smile.

He scanned his surroundings. They were now inside the King’s Hall.

It was a spacious hall.

There were six chairs on either side, for a total of twelve seats. Presumably, the regular seats for the Rotten Gambler, Prince Yu, the Ghost Chef, and Quan the Seventh were among them.

As for who the remaining eight belonged to, it was impossible to know.

And at the head of the hall was a wide chair.

At first glance, the chair somewhat resembled a dragon throne.

But it was entirely pitch-black, with none of the usual golden brilliance. The carvings upon it were not of Divine Dragons and auspicious clouds, but of roiling storm clouds mixed with countless skulls and ghostly heads.

At this very moment, a person was sitting on this chair.

The person was dressed in black robes. Their face was obscured by a plain white mask with no pattern on it.

Their hair was tied up with a golden circlet and fastened with a skull hairpin.

"Greetings, Lord Ghost King."

Seeing this person, the Rotten Gambler didn’t dare to be disrespectful and immediately bowed in greeting.

"The Ghost King Palace has never welcomed outsiders. Rotten Gambler, why have you brought strangers to see me?"

The Ghost King’s voice was deep and low:

"Have you forgotten the rules of my Ghost King Palace?"

As he spoke, he slowly raised his head.

The moment his gaze landed on Jiang Ran, a look of shocked fury flashed in the eyes behind the mask:

"It’s you!!!"

BOOM!

As those two words fell, black energy erupted from the Ghost King’s body.

His robes billowed and his hair flew wildly.

The next moment, he slapped a hand on the armrest of the black ghost throne and launched himself into the air. His body spun like a cyclone, the cries of ghosts and howls of wolves mixing with the gale of his Gang Qi. Skulls and ghostly heads flickered in and out of view within the black energy. With a single palm thrust, he was upon Jiang Ran.

The Rotten Gambler was shocked:

"Master, be careful! That’s the [Eternal Ghost Hand]!"

As he spoke, Jiang Ran had already raised a hand to meet the attack.

The two palms collided with a thunderous BOOM that spread through the hall.

WHOOSH!

A wave of Gang Qi exploded outward from the point of impact where their palms met.

CRASH! RATTLE! CLANG!

Every door and window in the King’s Hall was blown open by the blast of Gang Qi, making a deafening racket.

The people behind Jiang Ran were hit by the aftershock of the exchange and were involuntarily pushed back by varying distances.

From this, it was clear that the six dice freaks had the weakest Inner Energy cultivation.

They were almost blown completely out of the King’s Hall.

Next were Luo Qingyi and Liu Xiao’e, who were each forced back five steps.