Chapter 2

The empty village was devoid of even snakes, insects, or ants; only the sound of burning paper money, "pata, pata," could be heard.

Tang Zheng didn't find it particularly terrifying.

With a decade of gaming experience, he had crushed countless dungeons, from the Soul Ladder, the Fengdu Underground Palace, to the Corpse Qi Nether Region, hundreds of times. Maps that were too light couldn't satisfy him anymore.

Since there was no one around, there was no need to be polite.

Tang Zheng, taking advantage of the dim night, directly pushed open the door of a house and entered.

Inside, there were a few flintstones on the table.

After blowing the candle on the table to life, Tang Zheng saw two large boxes by the wall. On the left box, a large "Clothing" character was written.

Recognizing the characters of this world was good news, indicating he wouldn't be illiterate.

Tang Zheng took out a clean white shirt and put it on, then found a deep purple robe that matched his purple-golden belt.

"Did I get the right one?" Tang Zheng sniffed, detecting a strange fragrance from the clothes, like a mix of floral and fruity scents.

After confirming that the style was male, Tang Zheng put it on. After dressing, he returned to the table and pocketed the remaining flintstones.

Then, as he lifted his head, he suddenly saw an eye floating on the door, staring at him coldly.

The eye was dim and turbid, as if it had seen all the horrors of the world, carrying an ominous and soul-chilling aura.

However, as a seasoned comedian, Tang Zheng smiled and waved, "Hi~"

The eye immediately disappeared from the door!

Tang Zheng's smile quickly faded, and he gripped a branch in his left hand, quickly following and pulling open the door. Almost instantly, he darted to the side of the wall.

Then...

"Aaaaaah, the door... Young Master, I haven't knocked yet, and this door... it opened by itself!" A weak, terrified scream came from outside the door.

Ding ding dang dang.

Immediately after, there was a clatter outside, as if pots and pans had been knocked over.

...

Outside were a master and a servant.

A scholar in a thin blue robe was accompanied by a young book boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old.

When Tang Zheng walked out from behind the door with a helpless look, both of their faces were pale.

This scene reminded Tang Zheng of a time when he was enthusiastically catching ghosts in the Soul Ladder dungeon, and a few players with reverse quests appeared. Before he could act, they were so scared by the map that one of them mistook him for a boss.

"Are you... a human or a ghost? Don't come closer..." The young book boy tugged at his master's robe and asked Tang Zheng in a shrill voice.

"Don't be nervous, don't be nervous," Tang Zheng spread his hands to show he was harmless, "I'm not a bad person."

"If you're not a bad person, then... are you a bad ghost?" The young book boy asked, his voice trembling.

"Xiao... Xiao Ji, one should not speak of strange and supernatural things," the young man in scholar's attire stopped the book boy, his face pale as he forced a smile and bowed to Tang Zheng, "I apologize, my book boy... was too rude. I am Tian Meng, a tutor hired by the Tang Family Castle in Wulong Town. I got lost on my way to my post and mistakenly entered this abandoned village. May I ask if I can stay here for the night?"

Tang Zheng noticed Tian Meng's face was as pale as the book boy's, his lips trembling and his legs shaking. He tilted his head, didn't expose him, and stepped aside, "Come in."

The room was indeed much warmer.

Tian Meng thanked Tang Zheng again, took out three flatbreads from his bag, and asked carefully, "It's late, brother, you probably haven't eaten yet?"

"I've eaten," Tang Zheng smiled and shook his head, thanking him.

Tang Zheng still had half a bowl of instant noodles in his stomach, so he wasn't particularly hungry.

Besides, although Tian Meng had lowered his guard, Tang Zheng hadn't. It was best not to take food from strangers.

While Tian Meng ate, Tang Zheng observed him closely.

Bringing in two strangers was risky, but Tang Zheng was willing to take the risk because he needed to talk to someone to understand this unknown world.

However, Tian Meng, who seemed to be from a well-educated family, ate quietly without saying a word.

After finishing, before Tang Zheng could speak, Tian Meng asked, "Brother, do you know why every household in this abandoned village burns paper money but has no one around?"

"I don't know. I got lost and mistakenly entered this Sealed Door Village," Tang Zheng replied.

It was just a normal response...

But unexpectedly, when the words "Sealed Door Village" were spoken, the young book boy let out a scream ten times more terrified than when he saw the door open by itself!

And Tian Meng's face suddenly turned even paler...

Then, Tang Zheng's eyes widened.

He saw a two-meter-tall shadow of a large knife suddenly appear behind Tian Meng!

The entire room was illuminated as if it were daylight.

Tang Zheng kicked over the table, quickly darted behind it, and gripped the branch in his hand, shouting loudly, "What is it?"

"Uh..." Tian Meng, seeing the room suddenly brighten, was stunned for a moment and immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

"What happened?"

"When I get nervous, I... I just do this... I'm really sorry." Tian Meng apologized repeatedly.

"What are you nervous about?" Tang Zheng rubbed his ears, which were stimulated by the book boy's scream. A professional player's ears were very precious!

"Sealed... Sealed Door Village..." The young book boy's voice was already trembling with sobs, "Sealed Door Village is a ghost village known to everyone in the thirteen towns of the Western Border. How could you not know?"

"..."

"Rumor has it that Sealed Door Village suppresses something. Anyone who enters Sealed Door Village... can't possibly come out alive..."

"If no one can come out alive, who spread the rumor? Ghosts?" Tang Zheng countered.

Tian Meng and his young book boy were stunned again.

That's right, if no one came out alive, who spread the vivid rumors of the ghosts?

Tian Meng laughed dryly, and the shadow of the large knife behind him gradually faded, "I'm sorry, as a descendant of the Tian family with a powerful star constellation, the Frostless Blade, to be so timid and useless, I've made a fool of myself in front of you!"

Tang Zheng poked the air with his hand, "Star constellation? Frostless Blade?"

"Uh, you don't know the Frostless Blade?"

"Should I know the Frostless Blade?"

The two stared at each other.

"Brother, you must be from a very far place, right?"

"Um. Not just far..."

"I'm sorry, I was rude." Tian Meng stood up and apologized, "Our Tian family is the descendants of traitors. Anyone in the thirteen towns of the Western Border who sees the Frostless Blade will know it belongs to the descendants of the traitors who betrayed their lord and opened the Tulun Pass."

Tian Meng spoke openly about his identity.

Tang Zheng, however, had no concept of lords or traitors, so he didn't react much.

Seeing that Tang Zheng had no reaction to his identity, Tian Meng gradually became more talkative.

Through their conversation, Tang Zheng learned a rough understanding of this world from Tian Meng.

The Starlight Continent, after the fall of the Purple Gold Empire, no longer had a national structure in Central China. Major families carved out their territories, with seven top families, ten upper families, and sixty to seventy middle and lower families. Additionally, there were over a thousand sects scattered across the mountains and rivers—this was an era of great heroes!

Whether from noble families or beggars, everyone was born with their own unique star constellation.

There might be millions of different star constellations, but they all had the same nine nodes!

These were the Nine Star Life Palaces.

Once a person's strength reached a bottleneck, they had to draw on the power of their main star to light up one of their life palaces.

The fourteen main stars were Qisha, Pojun, Lianzhen, Tanlang, Ziwēi, Tianfu, Wūqū, Taiyang, Taiyin, Jumen, Tianxiang, Tianji, Tianliang, and Tiantong. Each main star had different characteristics, and the risks of drawing on their power varied greatly.

Legend had it, "When all nine stars are lit, one becomes a Star Master; surpassing nine stars leads to deification"!

"So, how many stars do you have?" Tang Zheng asked with a smile.

"My Frostless Blade is a powerful star constellation. I was born with one star lit, the Tianji Star in my life palace..."

"Aren't you very strong then?" Tang Zheng clapped.

Tian Meng blushed and shook his head.

"But, you said earlier that people's talents are ranked from family-level star constellations, clan-level star constellations, powerful star constellations, famous scholar-level star constellations, to hidden dragon-level star constellations. A powerful star constellation should be quite strong, right?"

"My talent is good, but... all Tian family members above three stars were executed, and our descendants are sealed by the 'Three Calamities Star Seal,' forever unable to advance!"

"So, you were born with one star and are still at one star?" Tang Zheng asked.

"As long as I have Tian family blood, I will always be at one star!" A trace of anger appeared on Tian Meng's face, "If not for this, I would also ride across the Western Border, fight in battles, and achieve my ambitions..."

Under such a serious topic...

Tang Zheng, who couldn't be serious for more than three seconds, had a sudden, whimsical thought—wasn't Tian Meng just the template of a weakling in novels?

Weaklings always had a natural protagonist aura!

Tang Zheng spat out the half-chewed branch in his mouth and patted Tian Meng's shoulder, "Don't be discouraged! Tian is a good surname!"

"Uh?" Tian Meng was pushed to the side.

"Look, Tian." Tang Zheng drew a '田' character on the ground, "It blocks the sun on the left and right, above and below, and even when you remove a stroke, it still stands or lies as a sun. You will definitely have endless romance and a large family. Even if you can't achieve your ambitions, having a dozen children, one of them will surely break the seal and avenge the family!"

Tian Meng and his young book boy were stunned.

After a long while, Tian Meng weakly asked, "Brother... do you always comfort people in such a special way?"

"Do I have an even more special way?" Tang Zheng squinted and smiled.

"Ah?"

"How about I tell you a story of a weakling who was dumped, became a big boss, married a rich and beautiful wife, and reached the pinnacle of life?"

"Okay..."

So, Tang Zheng told him a super-abbreviated version of "Battle Through the Heavens."

After listening, Tian Meng fell silent, and the room became quiet.

The candlelight flickered on his face, reflecting a hint of unusual light in his eyes.

After a while, Tian Meng stood up, seemingly remembering something, and bowed to Tang Zheng, "I was rude earlier, only introducing myself without asking your name!"

"Me?" Tang Zheng's smile froze, suddenly at a loss.

Who was he?

Who else could he be?

He was just a professional player who sold gold and equipment.

Not a king-level expert worshipped by fans on the stage, nor a top player in the ladder arena.

"If a person lives in obscurity, even if his name is said a hundred times, it will be forgotten in a moment!" Tang Zheng laughed, waving his hand to brush off the question.

Tian Meng stared at Tang Zheng.

After a long time, he bowed again, "Brother, you are indeed a free-spirited person! Even if you don't tell me today, I believe that one day, I will hear your name being sung from other places..."

"Hey, what a coincidence, I feel the same way!" Tang Zheng smiled without a hint of embarrassment, suddenly asking, "By the way, what currency is used in the thirteen towns of the Western Border?"

"Uh?" The sudden change in topic and the quick jump left Tian Meng behind.

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Thank you to Xiao Momo's friend for helping with the hand-drawn cover! Also, please re-download the table of contents on the mobile app, as there were some formatting issues. Thank you!

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