The Terrifying Graveyard That Buries Grandmasters

"What is this place?" Ryan Ling shivered just looking at the photo.

"This is the most notorious haunted graveyard in East River State. You're literally the only Spirit Officer in the whole province and you don't know about it?" The System shook its head, speechless.

"Hey, you know I'm just a village-level Spirit Officer. How would I know about some haunted graveyard on the provincial level? Honestly, the farthest I've ever gone is Peachvale County!" Ryan was about to faint from frustration.

"Alright, dear Ghost Elder, stop messing with Ryan and just spit it out! The Special Item Store has a shopping festival today and we've still got to go shopping!" Granny Soul chimed in with a syrupy sweet voice that made Ryan nearly puke. But the worst part was hearing that those two were actually going on a shopping date—Ryan felt like his heart was getting sliced up.

"Fine, let me explain. This place is called the Mad Masters' Tombs, also known as the Grandmaster Cemetery. I'm sending you there to ferry their souls. Your human-world Hell Court is open for business and you've finished your first trial—next up is mass soul-ferrying. That's standard Spirit Officer procedure. But I picked this spot so you can get on the good side of those grandmaster ghosts. If you succeed in ferrying them, you'll get a huge power boost. And if you can convince a few of those old grandmasters to fight for you—possessing Harbor City's contestants—then the upcoming martial arts tournament? There's no way you could lose!" The System finished, and Ryan instantly saw the light.

This really was an awesome mission: boost his own power and recruit grandmaster ghosts to fight? That was like strapping a jetpack to a tiger. Right now, his biggest worry was the team's lack of strength—if he could bring a whole squad of grandmasters, they'd be guaranteed to win the tournament.

"Now you get it, right? Pretty sweet deal for fifty thousand Merit Points, huh?" The System chuckled, then immediately grabbed Granny Soul and headed off.

Ryan shot a fierce glare at those two shameless scammers.

But before he'd even taken two steps, the System suddenly turned back and said, "Kid, the mission's great and all, but watch out. If you're heading for the Grandmaster Cemetery, you'll have to pass through a village first. That place is no joke—the outside world calls it Little Hades, and everyone there is crazy tough. You better be careful!"

"Little Hades? What's that supposed to mean?" Ryan froze for a second and quickly asked.

"You may be a village-level Spirit Officer now, but stop asking me about every little thing. Do your own homework once in a while. I'm outta here..."

"Enough, Xiao Feng's smart enough to handle this. The shopping festival's about to start, and I already told you—I want that diamond bra! You better buy it for me!"

"Fine, I've got money, tons of money! A million yuan? No problem, I'll buy it for you right now!"

"Pfft!" Ryan Ling almost coughed up blood. This damn System was actually blowing a million of his cash to impress a girl. I swear, it's enough to kill me!

Night falls, but Harbor City's martial arts world is still buzzing, prepping like mad. This time, it's like everyone's juiced up on steroids, already acting as if the championship trophy for this year's tournament is theirs.

Meanwhile, Ryan and his crew are busy plotting their trip to the Grandmaster Cemetery.

"Bro, why'd you suddenly decide to hit that hellhole? Normal folks don't go there. I've heard that everyone who enters either drops dead or comes back totally insane!"

"Yeah, I've heard the same. That place is seriously cursed—top of East River State's Ten Most Haunted Sites."