Heaven Official's Affliction | TGCF

005

Mount Tonglu was eerie. The amount of evil energy here was so powerful, even the Martial God felt shivers crawl down his spine. Hundreds upon thousands of ghosts, all gathered here for one purpose - to become the next Ghost King. Even though all of these ghosts were formidable, Xie Lian didn't spot any that struck him as the next White Calamity. If he was lucky, this batch was already destined to fail. Unfortunately, luck was never on his side.

The Crown Prince made a point to lie low in a disguise for the time being. So, he brought along a worn black leather cloak and hood. It wasn't honourable by any means, but the less ornamental it was the easier it would be to not draw any attention to himself. Fighting them all wasn't the plan - he just needed to scout out the strongest.

And so he looked around. There were a lot of sword users... which was a good sign. Since there were a bunch, he didn't have to worry about sticking out like a sore thumb. Other than that, there were some maces, bows, spears, you name it! Every weapon under the sun was here.

Xie Lian couldn't help but get giddy at the sight.

It was admittedly less impressive than Jun Wu's armoury, but the Martial God still found himself in awe with some of the craftsmanship. The silver arch of a bow, the ornamental weights on swords delicately handcrafted by experienced blacksmiths that easily rival anything that could come out of Xianle, if not - maybe even surpass. This all meant these ghosts know what they're doing.

Of course the Crown Prince got distracted. Eyeing every weapon, he made a mental note of their unique capabilities without even considering the potential of the ghost. But, as he continued to look...

That ghost doesn't have a weapon?

That was odd. There was a ghost that just didn't bring a weapon. He didn't have the build to be a brawler, either. Maybe it's hidden? After all, the weaponless figure was mysterious enough. He was tall, garbed in a black torn robe, bandages over his right eye... why would someone wounded and weaponless come to Mount Tonglu? He must have a trick up his sleeve.

The intrigued Xie Lian tried to go in for a closer look, but with some passers-by blocking his view for a moment he ended up losing sight of the male ghost. Maybe he'll run into him somewhere on Mount Tonglu? But Xie Lian wasn't too hopeful. Who knows if he'll make it out alive in that state? Nonetheless Xie Lian couldn't help but secretly pray they'll meet eventually. Xie Lian had good eyes for spotting potential, and something told him this mysterious ghost may do something great in the future.

It seemed fighting had already started to break out, so Xie Lian continued to sneak around. As long as he didn't stay in the same spot for too long, he'd be able observe all of the others and, hopefully not draw enough attention to get pulled into a fight himself. That was the plan.

But the god of misfortunate events could never catch a break.

"HEY, PUNK." A towering ghost sneered down at the Crown Prince, who just-so-happened to accidentally bump into him. "WHERE THE HELL'YA WALKING THERE, BUD?"

"Oh," Xie Lian looked up in a panic, waving his hands infront of him. "Sorry about that, I'm just trying to get through!"

"GET THROUGH WHAT?" The ghost sneered. "DO I LOOK LIKE A GHOST OR SOMETHING? THINK YOU HAVE A RIGHT JUST TO WALK THROUGH ME?"

"..." Xie Lian was speechless.

"YOU MOCKING ME?!"

The situation was not ideal. Not only did he get the attention of this ghost, he was loud enough to collect all the other eyes on the mountain too. It seems they attracted quite a crowd.

"N-no, not at all!" Xie Lian tried to counter with a nervous chuckle, but he was too late. The towering ghost took it extremely personal, as his eyes filled up with tears.