Chapter 3

Song of Blood and Fire

The young man on the opposite rooftop had been frowning all night trying to guess; Cheng Shi slept soundly.

The moment he opened his eyes the next morning, a match notification for the trial appeared before him.

【Special Trial (Song of Blood and Fire 【War】) Activated】

【Matching Teammates (1/6)】

【Trial Objective: Hold Fast Through the Ordeal of Blood and Fire (Time Limit: 24 Hours)】

Cheng Shi stared at the word 【War】 in the game description, a throbbing ache building in his forehead.

This would be a hard fight.

Though 【War】 was the god of the 【Civilization】 Path, His trials were anything but civilized.

Almost every one was raw, bloody combat—no need to decipher clues; just kill every enemy around you to clear it.

But surviving twenty-four hours was an extreme test of endurance and mental fortitude.

Enemies wouldn’t give you a breath, nor slow their assault just because you wanted rest.

Under these conditions, the stronger your teammates, the greater your advantage.

“Please, match me with a few warriors—I’m the only slacker we need. Please, please.”

【Match Successful (6/6), Entering Trial】

A crimson alert flashed by, the scene before Cheng Shi twisted slowly, then he vanished from his spot.

The sky was dark, smoke thick in the air.

Cheng Shi opened his eyes to find himself standing atop ruins; all around, only broken walls and shattered remains.

This had clearly been a small town—now erased from the map by brutal war.

Seconds later, beams of light descended around him, followed by startled exclamations.

The trial’s teammates had arrived.

Cheng Shi immediately scanned them: among three men and two women, only one carried a greatsword; the rest, like him, showed no weapons.

“Ssshh—”

Cheng Shi sucked in a breath inwardly: “Not another slacker squad?”

In 【Faith Game】, there are only six classes: Warrior, Mage, Priest, Assassin, Hunter, and Singer.

No class is inherently weak—only weak players have weak classes.

Yet due to the inherent bias of trials, class priority varies across different trials.

Today’s 【War】 trial, for instance, Warrior-Mage-Priest clearly outclass Assassin-Hunter-Singer.

The six matched players sized each other up; when the burly man in casual wear, wielding the greatsword, saw no one else had weapons, he frowned and spoke:

“Standard procedure—no wasting time. First, state your Path and class, then your ladder score. I’ll go first: Chen Chong, 【Civilization】, Warrior, Ladder 1647.”

Chen Chong, 【Civilization】, Warrior, Ladder 1647

Players only state their Path, not their specific faith, to avoid matching with opposing believers.

Though all in the trial are bound by fate and ought to aid each other, when opposing faiths are paired, some gods issue extra “Divine Edicts,” compelling their followers to commit “sordid” acts against opposing faiths before trial’s end.

Since the game began half a year ago, countless have died because of this—so now, players can’t be too careful.

“Song Yawen, 【Life】, Assassin, Ladder 1636. Big bro, you’re an ‘Order Knight’? That sword—I’ve seen it before on other Order Knights. Isn’t it a shield-sword?”

The tall, thin, glasses-wearing youth in sportswear, standing beside Chen Chong, spoke next, scrutinizing the greatsword as if comparing it to memories.

Song Yawen, 【Life】, Assassin, Ladder 1636

Chen Chong, his faith revealed, didn’t hide it—he nodded in confirmation. The others relaxed visibly.

Followers of 【Order】 are among the few strangers in trials worth trusting.

They uphold 【Order】’s will, respect rules, restrain themselves—by far the most sought-after teammates in the entire game.

Order Knights, as Warrior followers of 【Order】, are the most reliable asset in a 【War】 trial.

Reliable and useful.

“Xia Wan, 【Life】, Hunter, Ladder 1519.”

For some reason, the order shifted to clockwise; the short-haired woman in camouflage tank top and black shorts beside Song Yawen introduced herself with icy detachment.

She was tall but not slender; even through clothing, the muscle in her upper arms bulged.

Xia Wan, 【Life】, Hunter, Ladder 1519

Song Yawen, hearing a fellow 【Life】 follower, grinned and nodded in greeting.

To Xia Wan’s left stood another woman, petite with a touch of baby fat.

She wore a black turtleneck shirt and white sport pants, covering every inch of skin except her face.

“Nangong, 【Dissolution】, Priest, Ladder 1396.”

Nangong, 【Dissolution】, Priest, Ladder 1396

The moment 【Dissolution】 was spoken, the two 【Life】 followers’ expressions darkened.

【Life】 and 【Dissolution】 were opposing Paths.

Song Yawen stared at Nangong with wary suspicion.

Xia Wan remained motionless, face still cold, though her sidelong glance held sharp scrutiny.

Nangong felt no better—two opponents of her Path already. She had to survive a full day; all she could do was pray their gods weren’t direct enemies.

Opposing Paths caused unease; if their faiths clashed too, someone might die.

Next came Cheng Shi. He looked at Nangong beside him and suddenly smiled a knowing smile.

“Cheng Shi, 【Life】, Priest, Ladder 1501.”

“?”

“Cheng Shi”

At those words, expressions around him varied—joy on the two 【Life】 followers, dread on Nangong’s face.

Chen Chong, sensing the tension, frowned and warned:

“Faith differences can wait. Twenty-four hours is long—survive first, then deal with the rest.”

Song Yawen, pleased with his fellow 【Life】 teammates, merely smiled; Xia Wan kept her cold face; Cheng Shi enjoyed the drama; Nangong stayed silent, head down.

Only the last unspoken player glanced at Cheng Shi with an odd, unreadable expression.

“Cao San Sui, 【Existence】, Mage, Ladder 1906.”

Cao San Sui, 【Existence】, Mage, Ladder 1906

Cao San Sui, [Existence], Priest, Ladder 1906

The moment the score dropped, everyone sucked in a breath.

All others felt they’d hit the jackpot; only Cheng Shi grimaced, teeth clenched like he’d swallowed a lemon.

Everyone else felt they’d grabbed a powerful leg to hold onto; only Cheng Shi sucked his teeth, his face as grim as constipation.

Chen Chong’s expression brightened. He raised an eyebrow and asked:

“Memory Traveler or Time Walker?”

“Memory Traveler” was the Mage of 【Memory】; “Time Walker” was the Mage of 【Time】—only two gods resided in 【Existence】.

Since no one here opposed Cao San Sui’s Path, he could safely reveal his identity to better coordinate with teammates.

But he didn’t answer right away. He paused, his gaze repeatedly flickering over Cheng Shi, studying him—until, seeing nothing, he finally spoke:

“Time is a crack; I am the wind.”

That was the prayer of 【Time】 followers.

He was a Time Walker—his name said it all: his class could manipulate time.

Hearing a Time Walker among them, Chen Chong’s smile widened; Cheng Shi grinned too.

This time, it was genuine.

“Bro Cao, awesome!”

Song Yawen, far from acting like a stealthy Assassin, kept giving thumbs-up; had they been closer, he’d have hugged Cao San Sui.

“With Brother Chen leading and Brother Cao holding the line, we’re solid, comrades!”

His gaze swept over everyone—except Nangong.

Nangong’s face was etched with embarrassment, but she had no recourse—her position was dire.

Seeing a teammate about to be isolated from the start, Cheng Shi silently shook his head.

Losing a fighter over Path differences was the least stable choice. To ease tensions, he shifted his eyes slightly and suddenly spoke:

“A dual-Priest setup is actually ideal for a 【War】 trial. My instinct tells me Nangong isn’t our…”

“The dual-priest system is actually ideal for the [War] Trial; my intuition tells me Nangong isn’t our...”

Everyone stared at him in surprise—even Nangong looked at him, disbelieving, this rival Priest of an opposing Path.

He was speaking up for her?

“You…”

Cheng Shi tilted his head, flashing a bright smile:

“Let me reintroduce myself: Cheng Shi, Priest of 【Birth】.”

“Let me reintroduce myself—Cheng Shi, Priest of [Nurturing].”

“Holy shit—you’re a guy and you’re the Child-Giving Guanyin?!”

"What the fuck? You're a guy, and you're the Child-Granting Guanyin??"