Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Lu Wu and Bei Li burst out laughing upon hearing Tong Gua’s explanation, while Tong Gua gave a grimace.
“Don’t mock me. If I can cultivate the Way of Fate to its pinnacle, I will be installed as a deity. Did you know that? Then, I’ll be as strong as the Demonic God!”
Bei Li acknowledged his words with a nod. Then, she waved her arm, and immediately a video appeared in the middle of the air. Before long, Tong Gua’s cry, originating from the video, resonated across the atmosphere.
“You can disgrace the crane but not kill it. I am fine with you hitting me, scolding me, or insulting me, but please…”
Tong Gua and Lu Wu were both rendered speechless.
“Can you delete it?” Tong Gua pleaded resentfully.
“No!” Bei Li gave a succinct reply.
“Then, can you let me go?” Tong Gua asked expectantly.
“No!”
“Then, can you terminate the soul contract?”
“No!”
Upon hearing Bei Li’s answers, Tong Gua stomped his feet in frustration, “What exactly do you want from me now?”
“Stop playing dumb, Big Goose. You should know how much you’re worth. I will give you a choice now. You can either allow me to modify your soul and release you, or I can kill you here!”
Bei Li had before considered to modify Tong Gua’s soul directly. However, Tong Gua’s cultivation had reached the Ghost King Peak Realm, making its soul a solid one. If the modification was done by force, Tong Gua’s soul might chip. The only way was to threaten him to give in.
Tong Gua’s eyes widened as he stomped his feet again after he heard the two options offered by Bei Li.
“Are you really trying to keep me in bondage? Back when the King of Beiqi was around, I was treated as his honored guest! How about this? I’ll be your subordinate and we can forget about this whole soul enslavement? Let’s slow down, lest we do something we all regret!”
A soul modification would be a difficult task even for a god. Tong Gua was not confident at all.
In Tong Gua’s opinion, Bei Li was rather mysterious. She was physically weak, yet she was still deemed as a valuable asset by the King of Beiqi. So, under these circumstances, Tong Gua was afraid that she really did have the strength to carry out the task.
“Do I look like I’m trying to negotiate with you?” the mighty sword in Bei Li’s hand started to take form as she spoke.
“I heard that crane meat is quite scrumptious,” Lu Wu interrupted nonchalantly.
As expected, Bei Li’s eyes sparkled at the mention of food. Tong Gua’s feathers stood up, feeling uneasy being stared at by Bei Li.
As Bei Li slowly lifted the mighty sword, timid Tong Gua immediately begged for mercy.
“Wait, stop! I agree. But, you have to let me know what to do, right?”
Having Tong Gua agreeing to their terms, Lu Wu and Bei Li immediately showed smiles on their faces.
“You will know soon enough. Release your soul and let the power of the artifact fill it.”
As Bei Li spoke, she focused on using the invisible power that flowed out of the artifact to lock Tong Gua in place. The power then infiltrated his body.
“Quit struggling, Big Goose. You wouldn’t want your soul to chip, right?”
Bei Li could not help but warn Tong Gua as she modified him.
Big Goose lay spreadeagled on the floor as he looked at the artifact in the sky with a vacant stare. It seemed like he had lost his confidence in the world and did not want to be bothered.
After the modification went on for half an hour, Bei Li heaved a sigh of relief.
Then, she announced it happily to Lu Wu, “Wu, it’s done!”
Lu Wu nodded and looked toward Tong Gua who was still lying on the floor.
After the modification, Tong Gua flapped his wings before he slowly rose to his feet. Still, there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
“Little Li, how dare you violate the regulations of the three worlds and take control of normal human powers! You… you’re so audacious! Do you know what consequences you’ll have to face if you are discovered?”
Tong Gua had now become an NPC in the game, just like the members of the Wood Spirit Clan. The contents of Battle Online, along with the Reincarnation Contract, which forbade him to reveal Lu Wu, Bei Li and the artifact’s existence, had all been inscribed on Tong Gua’s soul. That was why Lu Wu and Bei Li were not afraid to let Tong Gua learn about this secret.
“You don’t need to worry too much. You’ve already read your Quest Menu and you only need to fulfill your duty. We wouldn’t dare do it if we were afraid of getting caught!” Bei Li said confidently.
Tong Gua was terrified. He knew that if these secrets were exposed, they would receive punishments from the world of the immortals and would be doomed.
Tong Gua took a glance at his NPC menu. It felt like he was trapped in a simulation, having no idea where he would be led to next.
[NPC: Tong Gua (Casting Master)]:
The Ghost King of Beiqi’s Illusion Zone, willingly put himself under the patronage of the Beiqi Army after repenting of his sins. Now, he has become the best caster in Beiqi.
NPC Abilities: Complete random quests assigned by Master Tong Gua, or provide materials along with a high amount of soul coins to forge an Epic Level piece of equipment.
(Note: Provide spiritual materials of King Level or above to forge a Legendary Level piece of equipment.)
Requirements of NPC (self-assessment): Forge five Epic Level pieces of equipment or one Legendary Level piece of equipment everyday. (NPC will be annihilated if the requirement is not fulfilled)
“No way! Five pieces per day? Are you trying to kill me from exhaustion? What if I have no customers that day? Will I be killed? Besides that, forging weapons of such quality would require soul power. Where am I supposed to find that much soul power?”
Bei Li chuckled upon hearing Tong Gua’s reply and proceeded to enter another message into Tong Gua’s mind.
“Holy shit, extracting soul power and turning them into soul coins. There are tons of soul coins in the hands of the players!” Tong Gua’s lips curved in a smile.
“Do I get any bonuses for forging equipment?” the fear inside Tong Gua began to fade as it was slowly replaced by the desire for soul power.
He knew how precious soul power was. Yet, he did not expect the artifact to be able to extract soul power from dead bodies for personal use.
Even though Tong Gua had reached the Ghost King Peak Realm, soul power was still important to him. It was necessary to enhance his strength.
Bei Li took a quick look at Lu Wu and saw him nodding. Then, she said, “The cost of forging an Epic Level weapon is set from 10,000 to 30,000 soul coins. You can have 200 soul coins as a bonus for every weapon made.”
Bei Li set the requirement of five pieces per day for Tong Gua to prevent him from loafing on the job. Nevertheless, Lu Wu would provide him with the materials. Even if the equipment could not be sold off, they could still be put on sale in the shop. Therefore, nothing would be wasted at all.
Bei Li had also gone through a list of thorough considerations before she allowed Tong Gua to assign tasks for the players.
Even though Tong Gua could make the players run errands with his task-assigning power, he would still need to compensate them with soul coins for the completed tasks.
Bei Li had even set up an NPC surveillance system in the artifact to warrant fairness for the players. It would make sure all players receive a reward that equated to the tasks issued. Besides, tasks issued by an NPC would need to be assessed by the surveillance system. If the worth of the prize did not match the difficulty of the task, the task would have to be revised.
Lu Wu and Bei Li had discussed the system before and this would be the first time they implemented it. Tong Gua would also be the first NPC who could issue tasks.
Of course, this was also simultaneously made to enhance interactions between players and NPCs, thus elevating the thrill of the game.
Tong Gua, who initially had a gleam of hope, pulled a long face when he heard that forged weapons were only worth 200 soul coins.
“You will get 70 percent and I get 30 percent? Don’t you forget that I am a Ghost… fine, I agree!”
Tong Gua, who seemed to be rather resentful, agreed to the terms instantly after he saw the sword that began to take form in Bei Li’s hand.
“But Little Li, what exactly is this artifact? How can it be so powerful? If the King of Beiqi owned this back then, he would have been invincible!” Tong Gua was extremely curious. He was clueless about this object. Not only was it able to link the two worlds of Yin and Yang, but it could also extract soul power.
“Mind your own business. You are just an NPC now. I will build a forge for you in the Mansion of the Dead later. Be prepared to start working. You haven’t accomplished your task today yet!”
Tong Gua’s expression was disheartened after hearing Bei Li’s words. He heaved a sigh of despair. Sigh, beggars can’t be choosers!
“Don’t worry, Big Goose. From now on, you will be our brother. Now that you know the powers of the artifact, do your job well and I will make sure you will live in the lap of luxury every day!” Lu Wu added as he moved forward to pat Big Goose on the shoulder.
“Who is this stupid cat? Your pet? Your mount?” Tong Gua looked at Lu Wu with a disgusted expression.
Tong Gua took a look at Bei Li’s height and then took a peek at Lu Wu, subsequently making a wild guess with confidence.
“It is undoubtedly your mount!”
Bei Li was speechless.
The smile was wiped away from Lu Wu’s face as the killing intent expanded rapidly in his heart.
