Reborn in the Court of Ghost Kings

So, Mu Ning jumped.

After his body was fully submerged, he even heard the Ghost King Zhenyan—dressed in black—exclaim in shock,

“Wait—seriously? I told you to jump and you actually did? Aren’t you afraid of dying???”

“Because I don’t want to live anymore.”

“So I’m not afraid of dying.”

That was what Mu Ning thought as he sank into the pitch-black water.

And after struggling through it and climbing back out, that was still his answer.

But to say he had no attachments…

Wasn’t entirely accurate.

Because the moment that thought surfaced, his heart felt inexplicably heavy.

Clearly, there were still things he cared about.

Only now, he couldn’t bring himself to dwell on them.

Within the dark pool, he encountered many strange fish.

Fortunately, the water seemed to grant him strength.

Though those creatures were ferocious, he managed—after great difficulty—to kill them all.

So while the situation had been hard to deal with,

He still managed to climb back out alive.

Facing the mysterious woman hidden beneath her veiled hat, Mu Ning asked seriously,

“Senior, you saved me… it can’t just be for nothing.”

“So tell me—what do you want me to do?”

But the Ghost King Zhenyan only smiled without answering.

“Xiao Ningzi, if you have time, you can soak in the Soul Cleansing Pool more often.”

“If you soak enough… you’ll naturally understand.”

And so, Mu Ning continued soaking.

After repeated immersions, he finally understood what she meant.

Simply staying in that pool…

Made him stronger.

Much later, one day—

Mount Mangku became unusually lively.

Countless fierce ghosts gathered there.

Mu Ning was among them, standing beside a woman dressed in black.

She had once introduced herself as his senior sister,

And insisted they address each other as such.

As for why the Ghost King Zhenyan acknowledged him as her junior—

She simply said that since their master had once guided him,

That was reason enough.

No further questions needed.

Mu Ning didn’t dwell on it.

What he cared about more was—

Why had she brought him here?

And clearly, others were curious too.

“Big Sister Zhenyan, what’s this?”

“Why bring such a young, healthy boy?”

“Could it be~?”

On the open ground where they stopped, countless grotesque ghosts had already gathered.

One of them—a seductive woman whose body was barely covered by a dozen red strings—looked between Zhenyan and Mu Ning with a suggestive smile.

Just looking at her, one could feel an aura of depravity.

At the same time, Mu Ning noticed that the ghosts formed a rough circle.

They were divided into ten sections—

Likely representing the Ten Ghost Kings.

Ignoring the noise around them, Zhenyan suddenly grabbed Mu Ning’s shoulder and turned him forward.

“Welcome to your new world, Xiao Ningzi.”

This—

Was the bearing of the strongest Ghost King in the current era.

Though Zhenyan had no Dao-proving poem,

That did not affect her title.

Every cultivator remembered how she rose to power.

On an unknown day, in an unknown year,

This mysterious woman who called herself “Zhenyan” appeared.

She wandered the world—

Challenging and killing every Ghost King and Ghost Sovereign of her time.

Such achievements alone were enough to earn her the title of Ghost King.

After slaughtering them all,

For reasons unknown, she was not recorded in the Imperial Register.

Yet her actions inspired many.

For example, the later Ghost Emperor Yuan.

Though weaker in foundation, that woman carved her way through Mount Hatred Cavern,

Slaying ghosts step by step—

Until she became an eternal sovereign.

No one knew Zhenyan’s real name or origin.

Though she lacked official recognition,

Her strength far surpassed ordinary ghosts.

As for the legendary Ghost Emperor Yuan—

She had disappeared tens of thousands of years ago.

And Zhenyan had never fought the two Immortal Emperors either.

Thus, she was only called the strongest Ghost King—

Because no one beyond that level could yet be compared to her.

It was like an exam among students—

Some scored full marks not because they were flawless,

But because the test itself had a limit.

Mu Ning already understood how terrifying Zhenyan was.

After all, she had pulled him back from death itself.

Even guided him to cultivate in the tomb of the Langya Emperor.

By all logic, after taking revenge,

He should have passed on.

But when he died holding that oil-paper umbrella,

He awakened instead.

Strange.

Much later, Zhenyan explained it to him.

“You never truly let go.”

“You just didn’t understand your own heart yet.”

“If you had no resolve, would you have dared jump into the Soul Cleansing Pool?”

“If a ghost truly wants release, there are far easier ways.”

“If you had asked, I could’ve told you plenty.”

“You didn’t jump because you wanted to die.”

“You jumped because you knew… there was something worth climbing back for.”

Perhaps—

For Mu Ning—

That was the oil-paper umbrella from that rainy night.

But at this moment, he didn’t know any of that yet.

Right now, he only knew one thing—

He was standing among a gathering of powerful ghosts.

And those ghosts…

Were openly hostile toward both him and Zhenyan.

After everything he had gone through,

Mu Ning’s understanding of human nature had deepened.

He was no longer the sheltered scholar who only knew how to read.