Jiang Kai frowned as he looked at the job-change potion on the table, shaking his head. "I gotta say, senior, acting like this really makes it hard for me to trust you completely."
[You can't blame me for that. Don't forget, we're both gamblers. And since we're gamblers, telling a harmless little lie now and then isn't too much, right?]
Jiang Kai didn't reply. He silently walked up to the corpse nearby, then suddenly pulled out the Purple Lightning Illusion Sword—and stabbed it straight into the body!
The sword pierced through the corpse completely. Jiang Kai struggled for quite a while before finally pulling the blade free.
[You—you, what are you doing!] The male voice suddenly roared out!
[I'm guiding you, and this is how you treat my corpse?!]
Jiang Kai gave an apologetic smile. "Don't get me wrong. I just wanted to see if this thing was your fake decoy body."
"That fake substitute of yours has probably fooled a lot of people. Gotta be cautious."
The voice sounded a little weak now.
[Just because my profession is the same as yours doesn't mean my skills and talents are the same!]
[Sigh, I didn't really lie to you. I just… hid a few details, that's all. Otherwise, you'd be on guard against me in every possible way.]
[Besides, I need to remind you—transcending into the extraordinary requires a strong will to support it. And these three materials? Each one contains a portion of fate-grade components, far more unstable than ordinary materials.]
Jiang Kai fell silent.
One was the most standard extraordinary-class material.
One was the weird-class material that demanded a soul as payment but offered greater power.
And the last one… an unknown path that even came with divine punishment.
To be honest, Jiang Kai was starting to feel unsure.
At first, he'd entered Ghost Star just to earn money to treat his older brother's illness.
Now, his brother had recovered, and Jiang Kai had earned more than enough to support his family for a long time.
Moreover, although he hadn't joined the military, his relationship with them had grown increasingly close. Choosing the extraordinary path would stabilize that connection, and given his advantageous attributes, he could still become someone of importance.
As long as he didn't go looking for trouble, the extraordinary material was the safest bet.
Yet—Jiang Kai could never forget—his talent was "Double Down."
Gamblers can't win forever.
One death could send him spiraling into a vicious cycle.
His relationship with the military was built entirely on his contributions. He had no military background.
If he could no longer contribute, would the army still value him?
Once he lost military support, Xuanwu and the Huang family would never let him go.
In the end, he needed personal power—real strength—to stand unshaken!
And the power of the weird professions could guarantee that.
But Jiang Kai shared the same concern as this so-called senior:
If you sell your soul for strength… are you still yourself?
More importantly, if the weird professions are comparable in level to the extraordinary ones, then that means something deeper—
Now that the real world and Ghost Star were linked, selling one's soul might not only have consequences inside Ghost Star…
Both the extraordinary and the weird paths no longer seemed like the best choice.
This unreliable senior seemed to prefer that he choose the divine punishment materials instead.
"Senior, what exactly is this 'divine punishment' you're talking about?"
[No idea.]
"Then… will a divine punishment profession become stronger than a weird one in the future?"
[Maybe. But I can't give you a definite answer. No material can guarantee strength just by consuming it. Your strength is always determined by you.]
"Where do I find the follow-up materials for divine punishment, then?"
[You're asking a dead man that?]
"Hiss… senior, are you sure you're here to guide me, and not scam me?" Jiang Kai shook his head helplessly, then thought for a bit and asked, "You said you became an extraordinary once, but it didn't change anything?"
[If I'd changed anything, my corpse wouldn't be lying here for you to desecrate!] the male voice said bitterly.
[I'll give you plenty of time to make your decision.]
The voice didn't rush him anymore. Other than answering questions, it stayed quiet—just waiting patiently for Jiang Kai to decide.
"Senior, should I start the job change now? Actually, there's a friend who said he wanted to talk to me before I became extraordinary." Jiang Kai recalled Wei Ying's earlier request.
[Is his advice that important to you?]
"He's helped me a lot. I respect him deeply," Jiang Kai said earnestly.
[Where is he? What's his name?]
"His name's Wei Ying. He's a War God of Huaxia. But I don't know where he is now."
[Lucky you. He's right outside. I can pull him in—but you can only meet on the open ground outside the ancient temple. He can't enter it.]
"You can pull people in? Then pull more! Those War Gods might die out there!"
[You think I'm running a charity? You got in because you had an invitation. I can only bring one person in.]
"Then… can you save the little mouse beside me?"
[That little thing? Sure.]
[But once I pull him in, I can't maintain the Temple of Fate much longer. You'll have at most five minutes, then I'll send you both back to the surface.]
"Alright, thank you."
...
When Wei Ying opened his eyes, he found himself lying on soft grass. In front of him, Jiang Kai was smiling down at him.
"Jiang Kai? Where… where is this?"
Jiang Kai crouched and helped him up. "Old Wei, you mining here too?"
Wei Ying was still dazed, but calm. "These ores are important to the military. Didn't expect things to turn out like this."
"Where is this? Why are you here? And why is there a mouse on your shoulder?"
Jiang Kai sat beside him. "Long story. Not much time to explain. Old Wei, you told Luo Shen to pass me a message—that you wanted to talk before I became extraordinary."
Wei Ying frowned slightly. Having seen all kinds of things, he knew now wasn't the time for questions.
"You brat, got another stroke of fortune, huh? Looks like I escaped falling thanks to you."
"Sort of," Jiang Kai said uncertainly. "It's hard to say whether this is luck or disaster."
Wei Ying chuckled and looked at him kindly. "Didn't expect that kid who joined Ghost Star just to cure his brother… is now about to surpass the mortal realm. Time sure flies…"
"Old Wei, we've only got four minutes…" Jiang Kai interrupted, embarrassed.
"I've seen weird profession users before. You're gonna tell me not to choose that path, right?"
Wei Ying frowned, then surprisingly shook his head. "No! What I want to tell you is… follow your heart!"
"On the Beast God battlefield, we so-called War Gods fight to hold the line and keep people safe. But is that really the result we want? We're always on defense. If one day the Beast Gods grow so powerful that not even we can resist—then isn't this world doomed?"
"Jiang Kai," Wei Ying said firmly, eyes serious. "You're the most unique, most promising person I've ever met. I see possibilities in you that I've never seen in anyone else."
"Don't be bound by what we already know. Our understanding of Ghost Star and the Beast Gods is far too shallow."
"For fifty years, we've played by the rules—and nothing has changed!"
"Follow your heart's choice. Maybe the real way forward lies within you."
"The complexity of Ghost Star goes beyond our comprehension. Maybe the way out is in the last place we'd ever expect."
Time flew by. Jiang Kai looked at his watch—only two minutes left.
"Old Wei, thank you. I… I have to go!"
"Go," Wei Ying smiled faintly.
...
Jiang Kai stood before the extraordinary materials.
The threats from Xuanwu and the Huang family hadn't been eliminated. The Beast Gods constantly endangered their lives. The military was his strongest backing. This was the safest path.
And the man he respected most, Wei Ying, was also a War God. Jiang Kai wanted to become like him—a guardian of peace in Huaxia.
He reached out toward the materials—but his hand stopped halfway.
Choosing safety for the sake of family and survival… was that really his nature?
Suddenly, Jiang Kai pulled his hand back. He left the extraordinary room and glanced at the weird one.
The extraordinary materials meant stability.
The weird materials meant risk and danger.
Finally, his gaze fell upon the room in the middle.
Inside were the divine punishment materials—representing… a gamble.
A gamble with no precedent, no guaranteed outcome… a big gamble!
At last, Jiang Kai gritted his teeth and stepped into the middle room, taking the materials from the table.
As he picked them up, that voice finally spoke again.
[Hahahaha! I knew it! I knew it! You became a gambler for a reason! You were bound to choose the big gamble!]
[You truly are… a gambler to the core!]
Jiang Kai shook his head. "Senior, that's not fair to say. You're a gambler too, aren't you?"
[That's right. I've been waiting here for so long. My gamble was that before my consciousness faded, another gambler would step into this room—and pick up the divine punishment materials!]
[And of course, I'm also betting… whether you can change what I never could. Whether you can seize hold of… the Wheel of Fate!]
[🎉 Shoutout to Acheron13, LightEvil, Amirul, Benedict, Jordan, Cameron & Jerome for joining p@treon. There is also a discount event ongoing till 6 November 12.00 P.M. Thank you very much.🤗]