The banging of the drums was rhythmic and far off. It got louder and louder, surrounding us until I could feel the bass tremble in my chest.
A deep, almost groaning, sound echoed out like a chant. The sound of smaller drums followed suit, banging more frantically.
“What the actual fuck,” Yue said, utterly dumbfounded.
All of us looked around frantically, trying to locate where the sound was coming from until what felt like millions of blue sparks flashed all around us.
Ghosts instantly appeared, but instead of being aggressive, they were looking around aimlessly, like they were just as confused as we were.
“What is this?”
“Where are we?”
“Are we finally back?”
“My stand! Did someone rob me? Which one of you twisted bastards stole my jewelery!”
“Is this one of those new challenges?”
“Haven’t you heard the news?” A young male ghost called out eagerly, bringing his fists up to his chest like he couldn’t contain his excitement. “Apparently, there’s a new king!”
“A new king? King of what?”
“Who cares, but there’s a new king!”
The ghosts were all humanoid, though some were more deformed than others. A good chunk of them had missing limbs; some were odd colors; and others were incredibly stunning, looking like they were still alive.
But, none of them exuded a dangerous energy.
“Um, Peijin,” Yue said, leaning in to whisper in my ear, “Should we kill all of them? Or…”
“Hold on,” I said, hyperaware of all my surroundings.
[Hindsight activated!]
The world turned translucent all around me as I frantically surveyed my surroundings for any threats. However, not even Hindsight was picking up on anything urgent around me.
The ghosts buzzed with excitement all around us. Some had taken up the stands in the marketplace and were selling their goods, but with each transaction, they whispered more and more imaginative rumors of the king.
“A new king? For us?”
“Should I light a candle?”
“Or make an offering?”
“Or say a prayer?”
“I heard he rivals the Four Great Male Beauties of China!”
“Oh, please. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“Well, I heard that even Aphrodite fell in love with him.”
“Aphrodite has so many lovers. Who cares about what she has to say?”
“Apparently she broke karmic restraints just to favor him in the last arc.”
“Broke karmic restraints?!”
“Will he be making an appearance soon?”
“I heard a rumor that there’s going to be a parade.”
“I heard the same.”
“Selling prayer candles here! Buy some now and curry favor with the new king!”
[Hundreds of ghosts are speaking of the new king.]
[Many gods are growing excited at the news of a new king.]
[Divinity Great Sage Equaling Heaven is asking if there is actually a new king.]
[Demon Great Sage who Pacifies Heaven says he hasn’t heard of any new kings.]
[Divinity Great Sage Equaling Heaven is scratching the inside of his ear with his pinky.]
[Divinity Great Sage Equaling Heaven is asking if the king is trying to become a god.]
[Divinity Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts gasps in excitement.]
[Divinity One Who Fights in Front gazes on with great skepticism.]
I stared blankly, having never been more confused in my entire life. What in the world was happening?
Dozens of ghosts bumped into me and shoved me on the street, swarming the candle shops and buying dozens at a time. It was rare for there to be such a big event in a ghost’s mundane existence, and their excitement was infectious.
“Should… I buy candles?” I asked mindlessly, staring blankly at the scene.
I turned around to face my party to see Yue already holding dozens of candles.
“You wouldn’t even buy those for me in Wei’s dungeon until I blackmailed you!” I protested.
“You told me I was supposed to worship the gods, right?! I want to cury favor with this king, too! If he likes us, can’t we get to the node easily?
[Thousands of gods are now watching the stream with baited breath.]
[Observers Chat]
Socrates: Jia Li… did we ever see an acension ritual this early in Surviving My First run?
Socrates: Not that I’m complaining, of course! This could be a great opportunity for you to make another divine ally!
The blaring sound of trumpets rang out all around us, and finally, Hindsight picked up on a completely chaotic sight rounding the top of the hill in front of the dome.
“Up there!” I exclaimed, pointing.
Dozens if not hundreds of ghosts dressing in beautiful, glistening uniforms were lined up in two rows outside of the dome. All of them moved perfectly in sync, moving and swaying with the grand music.
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In the middle was a stunning float parade. Toward the front, giant golden statues were being carried and thrown up and down by a group of ghosts. Behind them was an impressive display of giant floating creatures.
One of them showed beautiful female masks with golden wings protruding from the head. Another showed skeletons in massive fields of flowers. It seemed to stretch on and on, with no end in sight.
Did we seriously stumble into an ascension ceremony? Typically, ascension ceremonies were used to gain a sufficient amount of spiritual energy to become a divinity, or someone had already acquired enough spiritual energy and wanted to make a show of it.
In front of all of this was a massive line of animals and ghosts. Beautiful women stood in the front, dancing as their thin but colorful robes flew around them effortlessly, drawing in the eyes of thousands of ghosts. The men were dressed up as swordsmen, pulling off impressive tricks at the sideline.
Tigers prowled behind them, a line of elephants adorned with intricate fabrics, jewelry, and beads stomped through, and camels swung their heads back and forth with the music.
Amelia let out an excited gasp as she pointed to the creatures. “I’m going to get those!” She exclaimed with a new-found determination, blue sparks already lightly fluttering out around her.
“Wait a minute,” I said, staring at the jaw-dropping sight. I squinted. I couldn’t believe my eyes. “Is that… is that Cheng?!”
Leading the charge of this very chaotic sight was Cheng, shouting and riling up all the ghosts around him with more rumors of the king.
Cheng brought a small trumpet up to his mouth. “Make way for the King! Clear the Bazaar!”
He began clapping his hands to the sound of the music and chanting, and it ididn’t take much for all the ghosts to replicate him.
He practically skipped down the roads, talking to every single ghost near him. His energy was absolutely electric, his once playful demeanor now wickedly charming as he grabbed the hands of women and wrapped his arm around the shoulders of men. “A brand-new star is here, so come be the first to meet his eye!”
At once, all the ghosts around us sprinted toward the parade, stomping over one another greedily. My entire party followed suit, thankfully faster than all of the stampeding ghosts.
Cheng spotted me surprisingly fast, and he waved at me eagerly, looking far too overjoyed to be seeing his competing party.
“You’re gonna love this guy,” he shouted, a bright grin plastered all over his face. Although I knew Cheng was genuinely delighted to be putting on a show like this given his character, it felt like an insult to injury.
[Polling ongoing…
- 20%
- 62%
- 18%]
[Demon Bearer of the Thousand Hungers is roaring with excitement at the broadcast!]
[Divinity Clock-Handed Judge is asking if the King is a ghost.]
[Demon Hollow Herald is wishing for a wicked king.]
[Divinity Star-Eyed Watcher is looking at her screen for the first time.]
[The Divinities of Paradise are all watching the broadcast.]
[The Divinities of Olympus are all watching the broadcast.]
[An unprecedented number of gods are watching the broadcast!]
I could practically imagine the expression that Chang must be making right now, floating in all the stars he could ever want. Ruoming and I had turned him into a millionaire overnight.
I jerked my head to my party. “Follow my earlier instructions, and do not worry about me!”
They quickly dissipated into the crowd, with Wei lurking behind not too far from me. But, with the amount of ghosts present, it wasn’t hard to lose track of where everyone was.
I shoved my way to the front, shoving ghosts over with my shoulder. Although they’d normally protest and cry out in rage, they were far too fascinated by the spectacle before them. For a population typically extremely impoverished, this must have been the most brilliant display they’d seen in centuries.
Cheng smiled at me and extended a prayer candle out to me. “Care to celebrate our King?”
I snatched the candle from his hand and pulled out a lighter from my Boundless Bag. “Give these blessings to Divinity Blessed Martial Guard of Salvation.”
I smiled as I handed the candle back to Cheng. “Sorry, but I’m already loyal to a god. Besides, does your King even have an epithet?”
Cheng’s smile faltered when I sent the candle’s spiritual energy to Wei, but he quickly recovered and offered his hand out once more. A flash of blue sparks appeared on his palm and another candle took its place.
“No worries. There are thousands of these to go around.”
I gave him a tense smile. “Aw, Cheng, you’re far too sweet. Anyways, where is he?”
“Where is who?”
“The King.” I pulled Zhige around from my side, the blade ringing at the swift movement.
“Ah! He’ll be out in just a moment.”
“Cheng—”
Bang!
I moved before I could process what occurred. The bullet sliced through my cheek before striking a ghost, who turned into ash instantly without even a sound. Hindsight flickered wildly with an overwhelming amount of information.
[Observers Chat]
Socrates: OMG
Sapling123: WAS SHE HIT???
MagicTape: Peijin!! You need more spiritual energy!!
[Polling ongoing…
- 33%
- 50%
- 17%]
[Hundreds of gods scream in shock!]
[Divinity Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Hosts is dumbfounded.]
[Divinity The One Who Fights in Front grants Dsiciple Peijin a miniscule amount of spiritual energy.]
Although it would have normally caused a panic, in such a chaotic parade, the gunshot didn’t faze any of the ghosts, who were still in a frenzy over the new “king.”
I brought up two fingers and gently swiped it over where I felt the stinging wound. It should have healed by now, but instead, I could feel it burning as the wound only got deeper and deeper. I stared at the blood on my fingers before slowly turning my eyes back up to Cheng.
“Sending out your child soldier to kill me, now?” My voice was ice cold. Based on the way the bullet traveled toward me, Qijing must have been camping at the building just behind me. That was, of course, assuming she didn’t have a skill that could redirect her bullets.
Bang!
With the boost from Athena, I dodged instantly, my perception terrifyingly fast.
The thought of my own little sister trying to kill me publicly set a wicked bitterness coursing through me. I spun around, Hindsight frantically analyzing all of the buildings until it finally pinpointed the tiniest gun barrel peaking through the dried bricks.
My grip tightened on the hilt of my blade. Knowing that Wei was still surveying me from the crowd, I lifted Zhige and pointed straight at the barrel.
“Boom,” I mouthed before smiling as I watched the barrel instantly retract behind the security of the wall.
[Party Chat]
Peijin: Don’t kill her. I want her alive.
I brought Zhige just before me, assuming an appropriate fighting stance. “Planning on firing another headshot?”
Cheng gulped audibly before laughing anxiously. “I’m a really great healer.”
“Right.”
I lurched toward Cheng, my blade aimed right at his eye. He let out a nervous squeal as he quickly ducked. Blue sparks erupted around him. One of his skills activated.
I swung at Cheng with enormous killing intent, and yet he seemed to dodge it all just the same—no matter how fast I moved.
[Agility level 30 → 40]
Hundreds of thousands of stars instantly drained from my account. Blue sparks erupted around me.
Still, I couldn’t land a single hit on Cheng.
I let out a frustrated groan.
“Your skill,” I began, “You have Prey’s Insight, don’t you? You sense my killing intent and can tell where I’m planning on striking.”
Sweat formed on Cheng’s brow. Even if he could predict my moves, it wouldn’t stop an overuse of the skill from completely exhausting him. I stopped my movements, pulling back and staring at him.
“You’re not a challenge for me. Quit running.”
[Party Chat]
Peijin: Yue, take care of Cheng. He can sense killing intent, so he’ll know where you’re planning on striking him. But if you use Magician’s Hand and trap him in an illusion flooded with killing intent, you’ll blur his senses.
Yang: Peijin, you’re going to run out of messages. Keep it in check and don’t die. We’ll take care of things. Just trust what we’re doing from behind the scenes.
My fight with Cheng drew him away from his job of leading the parade, and the ghosts noticed.
“What is that woman doing?”
“Is she trying to stop the parade?”
“Why stop the parade? We haven’t even seen the King yet!”
“Get this bitch off the road!”
“She’s disturbing the show!”
I scoffed at the conversations, entirely ignoring Cheng now as I turned back to the parade. The ghost singers and dancers were now chanting the praises that Cheng sang.
“Here he comes—ring the bells and bang the drums!” they chanted, clapping loudly in beat. They continued moving forward, each step precisely calculated.
The ghost women adjusted their veils and outfits, polishing their appearance. The men attempted to push their way to the front, dying to know what the King would look like after such high praises were being sung.
Behind me, I could hear Cheng let out a startled yelp. He whipped around in confusion, his brow furrowed as he struggled to locate whatever was bothering him. I knew Yue had him now, and I continued pushing the opposite way of the parade, looking for the King.
Finally, I saw it. The comically sized, gold and red carriage. Hundreds of finely dressed ghosts were carrying it by the long poles that extended out of it, taking miniscule and slow steps as if merely touching the carriage was the greatest privilege of their lives.
I walked directly in front of its path.