63: Chapter 63 The Money Arrives

On both sides of the gate stood two massive stone statues. The one on the left was the image of the Ghost King, clad in battle armor with a long sword hanging at his waist, his golden eyes looking down upon all living beings. The one on the right was also the image of the Ghost King, with long black hair flowing and a strange smile on his lips.

The Yin Qi swirled around the stone statues, making them appear even more majestic and eerie.

Directly in front of the gate was a wide road.

That road led straight to the world core of the Netherworld World.

And on both sides of the road was an endless void.

Any existence wishing to enter the core of the Netherworld had to walk that road and pass through that gate.

There were no shortcuts.

There were no loopholes.

Ghost Gate Pass.

The first barrier of the Netherworld.

Su Bai stood at the world core, looking at the towering giant gate, an indescribable emotion welling up in his heart.

This was the Ghost Gate Pass.

The legendary Ghost Gate Pass.

He turned his head to look at the Ghost King.

The Ghost King hovered in mid-air, his golden vertical pupils staring fixedly at the gate.

His body was trembling slightly.

He could feel a wonderful connection forming between himself and that gate.

That connection was even tighter than he had imagined.

The Ghost Gate Pass was his gate.

He moved.

He slowly flew toward the Ghost Gate Pass.

Behind him, all the units looked up, watching his back.

The Ghost King landed before the Ghost Gate Pass and looked up at the thousand-foot-tall giant gate.

He raised his hand and gently pressed it against the door.

The gate opened.

The runes on the door began to flicker, and the faint blue light grew brighter and brighter, finally converging into a beam of light that shot into the Ghost King's body.

The Ghost King's body jolted violently.

He closed his eyes, allowing the beams of light to pour into his body.

His aura was climbing.

Mid-stage of the 5th Rank.

Late-stage of the 5th Rank.

Peak of the 5th Rank.

When the light beams dissipated, his aura stopped at the peak of the 5th Rank.

He was only a step away from the 6th Rank.

But he did not break through.

Because the gate told him that the 6th Rank required not just power, but something much deeper.

The time had not yet come.

The Ghost King opened his eyes, and a sense of unfathomable depth appeared in his golden vertical pupils.

He turned around, looked at Su Bai, and knelt on one knee.

"Master."

Su Bai looked at him, and new information appeared in his consciousness.

[Ghost King (Hero Unit)]

[Rank: Peak 5th Rank]

[Grade: 6-Star]

[Skills: Ghost Kings Pressure (Active), Ten Thousand Ghosts Submission (Passive), Ghostly Qi Avatar (Active), Nether Slash (Active), Immortal and Indestructible (Passive), Ghost Domain (Active), Yellow Spring Road (Active), Ghost Gate Pass (Exclusive/Bound), Pseudo (New Active)]

[Pseudo (New Active): Through the linkage between Ghost Gate Pass and the fate-reversal ledger, the Ghost King can apply a 'Life and Death Mark' to any enemy unit entering the Netherworld's range. After a successful marking, the unit's life information will be recorded in the Pseudo fate-reversal ledger. During the marking period, the Ghost King can issue a 'Soul Hooking' command at any time to forcibly strip a certain percentage of the unit's lifespan or power. The number of marks is proportional to the Ghost King's own strength. Current capacity: 3/3.]

[Description: The establishment of the Ghost Gate Pass has truly made the Ghost King the first barrier of the Netherworld. He is no longer just a powerful warrior, but the guardian of the Netherworld's order. Any enemy who steps into the Netherworld's range will face his judgment.]

Su Bai looked at the new skill, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

Pseudo.

He could mark three enemies and strip them of their lifespan or power at any time.

What did this mean?

It meant that from now on, any enemy who dared to invade the Netherworld would have an invisible shackle placed around their neck.

If the Ghost King wanted them dead, they would not live.

At the very least, they wouldn't live comfortably.

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Rise."

The Ghost King stood up, still positioned before the Ghost Gate Pass.

His gaze fell upon the kneeling units.

He suddenly spoke.

"To all units who have died in battle."

"Your souls may now return home."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless points of light began to emerge on the doors of the Ghost Gate Pass.

Those points of light were dense, like the stars across the sky.

They drifted out from the gate, floating toward every corner of the Netherworld World.

They drifted to the Yaksha Wasteland, the Crimson Blood Scorched Earth, the Mycelium Deep Forest, the Shadow Demon Abyss, the Extreme Cold Ice Plains, the Demon Scorched Earth, the Ferocious Beast Forest, the Death Plain, and the Deep Blue Sea Abyss.

Those points of light landed in the places where they had once died and began to condense.

Some condensed into small clusters of light.

Some condensed into blurred phantoms.

Some condensed into complete bodies.

Ghost Soldiers.

A 2nd-rank unit type condensed from the souls of the dead.

They had no self-awareness or emotions, only the most basic instincts.

But they could patrol, stand guard, and maintain order.

Most importantly, Su Bai did not need to spend Power Of Faith to create them.

They came from death.

They came from the units sacrificed in war.

Su Bai looked at those points of light, calculating silently in his mind.

There were 153,000 souls wandering throughout the Netherworld World.

According to the Ghost Gate Pass's conversion efficiency, at least two to three thousand Ghost Soldiers could be condensed.

And as more wars occurred in the future and more souls accumulated, this number would only grow larger.

In addition, there were the souls of the hundreds of thousands from his races who died of natural causes.

By then, he would no longer need to spend Power Of Faith to create Underworld Soldiers and Soul-Hooking Ghosts.

Death itself would provide him with a steady stream of troops.

Su Bai's lips curved up slightly.

Five thousand points of Power Of Faith—it was well worth it.

Extremely worth it.

He withdrew his consciousness and looked at his remaining Power Of Faith.

311 points.

Not much.

But it was enough.

He looked up, his gaze piercing through the barriers of the Netherworld World and landing on the reality outside.

Outside the window, the neon lights were still flickering.

On his communicator, messages from Chu Kuangren were popping up one after another.

[The money is here!!! Ten million has been transferred to your card!!!]

[Also, my dad says if you break into the top 500, he'll add another twenty million!!!]

[Top 300, another thirty million!!!]

[Top 100, fifty million!!!]

[Top 10, one hundred million!!!]

[Brother, you can do it!!!]

Su Bai looked at the messages, the corners of his mouth turning up.

He closed the communicator, stood up, and walked to the window again.

In the distance, that massive arena was still brightly lit.

In the public channel, the mockery continued.

The Sword Emperor's challenge was still hanging there, waiting for his response.

But he was in no hurry.

He closed his eyes, feeling the newborn power within him.

The Ghost Gate Pass had been built.

The Ghost King had grown stronger.

The Ghost Soldiers were condensing.

Once all those souls have finished transforming, and those three thousand Ghost Soldiers officially join the Netherworld's order-maintaining ranks...

At that time.

He opened his eyes, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

At that time, he would play with them.

Sword Emperor?

Ranked 300-something?

Just wait.

The moment he stepped into the arena again, he would make everyone understand one thing:

Qinglin Province does not cower.