Chapter 2175: Second Challenge

Some of the lingering souls were initially hesitant, wondering if they should wait a few days to cross the river with other River of Forgetfulness ferrymen. However, seeing the current situation, they immediately sobered up: at crucial moments, one must always choose the right side!

How could the other River of Forgetfulness ferrymen compare to this one? If they were to anger this lord, it would be all too easy for him to subtly manipulate the River of Forgetfulness, causing them to fall from the boats and be unable to cross.

So they all handed over their Karma Coins and quickly rushed through the River of Forgetfulness passage. If those fellows started fighting and some River of Forgetfulness water splashed onto them, that would be truly unfair. As a result, everyone's crossing speed increased significantly.

The other River of Forgetfulness ferrymen could only watch this scene in impotent rage. They wanted to intervene, but the River of Forgetfulness water blocked them, preventing them from getting close. Some also thought about pooling their Karma Coins, hoping they might turn the tide and snatch victory from defeat. However, after their previous grudges, animosity had long developed between them. It was only thanks to a common enemy like Zu An that they hadn't started fighting among themselves.

Everyone wanted others' Karma Coins for themselves, unwilling to sacrifice their own for someone else's gain. After all, even if they couldn't become the victor of this selection, keeping so many Karma Coins would bring immense benefits to their future lives. Why would they give up so much merit just for a moment of pride? Thus, with everyone harboring their own ulterior motives, despite some ferrymen's desperate pleas, they ultimately couldn't reach an agreement, and time slipped away unnoticed.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the void: "Time's up!"

Immediately afterward, a golden ranking appeared in the sky, displaying the Karma points earned by each ferryman. The top three had significantly increased their Karma points; the highest had over 400,000, and the lowest among them had over 300,000. Yet, not a single smile graced their faces. Instead, they collectively stared at the individual ranked first, who had an astounding 660,000 Karma points!

It was especially infuriating to think that they had paid an enormous price to buy Karma points from other ferrymen, only to gain absolutely nothing! No, worse—they had accumulated a mountain of debt! A towering inferno of rage instantly ignited within the group.

Rage value from River of Forgetfulness Ferrymen A, B, C, D, etc.: 999,999,999…

Of course, some rejoiced while others grieved. The ferrymen who had ranked lower and knew early on that vying for first place was hopeless were now overjoyed. They had just lent out their Karma Coins and now not only had no debt but had also made a small profit. At this moment, they wished they could hug Zu An and give him a couple of kisses. Naturally, they wouldn't answer the call from the higher-ranked individuals to truly unite against him. Human joys and sorrows are not universally understood, and neither are those of ghosts.

At this moment, Zu An no longer bothered with the losers, for the familiar voice echoed in his ear: "Congratulations, you have passed the selection and become the King of the River of Forgetfulness. You are qualified to participate in the final trial."

Just then, a blurry figure appeared before Zu An, but its face was indistinguishable. However, the moment it appeared, everything else seemed to freeze. Not only the souls cheering after crossing the River of Forgetfulness but also the enraged River of Forgetfulness ferrymen, with their emotions still clearly visible on their faces.

Zu An was surprised. His attention returned to the blurry figure before him. "Why can't I even see your appearance?"

"It's for your own good that you don't see me," the blurry figure replied, as expected.

Zu An was speechless.

"Then why did you appear?"

"Mainly, I didn't expect you could turn the tables. Just now, even I couldn't think of any way for you to snatch victory from defeat," the blurry figure sighed.

Zu An: "???"

"You thought I couldn't win, and you just said so?"

"I trust the judgment of my other self. Since he sent you here, there must be a reason, and it turns out I was right," the blurry figure replied.

Zu An was speechless.

You've got all the answers.

"Then you should at least tell me what this trial is all about, shouldn't you?"

Fortunately, this time the blurry figure wasn't being cryptic: "This trial is to compete for a special book, or, to put it another way, to contend for an authority."

"Authority?" Zu An's heart stirred, and he thought of the colorful beacon of world laws within the Myriad Dragon Tomb.

"You'll know the specifics once you win. Knowing too much now will only bring destruction," the blurry figure continued.

Zu An was speechless.

Well, I just praised you for not being cryptic. It seems I spoke too soon.

At that moment, the blurry figure waved its hand, and a black vortex appeared before them. "Go," it said. "Originally, I didn't have high hopes for you, but now I sense a glimmer of hope in you."

Zu An frowned. Shouldn't it be confidence? Why did he use the word "hope," and his emotions at that moment seemed unusually complex.

"You should at least tell me how this trial is structured, shouldn't you? I feel like the other candidates from the Underworld know a lot more, and I'm probably the last one to qualify, already so far behind everyone else. Does that align with your principle of fairness?" Zu An, recalling the previous Skinned Ghost King, didn't miss any chance to gather information.

The blurry figure hesitated for a moment. "Don't worry, it makes no difference whether you enter this trial early or late. The other candidates don't know much more either."

"However, considering you carry the aura of my other self, and your recent performance was indeed dazzling, I can reveal a bit more to you: everything you will see next is something that has happened in a particular space-time. It has been made into a kind of 'time slice' existence. You will need to perform better than those historical figures to possibly advance to subsequent stages."

Zu An's heart stirred. This kind of situation didn't seem to be new to him; he seemed to have experienced similar things in some previous secret realms. "So, how many stages are there in total?"

"Go explore for yourself..." The blurry figure stopped answering and, with a push from behind, instantly propelled him into the black vortex.

Zu An was shocked. With his current cultivation, he hadn't been able to react at all. If the other party had harbored ill intentions, he would likely have been in grave danger. He knew that he was confident he could handle the River of Forgetfulness ferrymen, even the Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Guardians, and similar beings. But in front of this figure, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Who exactly was this figure?

However, he had no time to think. After falling into the black vortex and experiencing a moment of disorientation, the next second his surroundings suddenly brightened. The oppressive, deathly aura of the Underworld was gone. Water surrounded him; he was clearly at the bottom of a body of water, inside a beautiful palace that bore some resemblance to the Dragon Palace he had previously seen. For a moment, Zu An was disoriented, thinking that everything that had just happened was a dream and that he hadn't entered the Myriad Dragon Tomb, but was still in the Dragon Palace.

However, he quickly dismissed that thought. While the layout around him indeed resembled a Dragon Palace, there were significant differences. Mainly, its scale was smaller, and the surrounding water seemed to be freshwater... He scanned his surroundings and noticed many attendants and ministers. It was clear they were all transformed from various fish and shrimp, still retaining many characteristics of their original forms.

Zu An frowned. "Are these even worthy of being called fish?" he thought. Compared to the sisters Shang Liuyu and Shang Hongyu, these fish-people were far inferior; their appearances were truly unappealing. The few maids by his side looked somewhat delicate and lovely, but they were still far below the standard of those in the undersea Dragon Palace from a few days ago. Any one of those maids would have been considered a campus beauty in his previous life.

Zu An calmly observed his surroundings. This also seemed to be a Dragon Palace, though considerably smaller in scale. He confirmed this because his divine sense had already extended out, clearly showing him his current appearance. He wore a crown, and his head clearly bore draconic features.

Just then, many memories suddenly flooded into his mind. It turned out he was the Jing River Dragon King, in charge of this great river and simultaneously responsible for bringing clouds and rain to this region.

"Jing River Dragon King? Why does that sound familiar..." As Zu An was deep in thought, he was suddenly interrupted by a frantic cry:

"Disaster! Disaster!"