"Oh great one, heed my call."
"Bestow me with your presence and let me hear your voice."
"Guide me and let me borrow your powers."
"For, you are the celestial dragon and I am your worshipper."
The bone ring's soft glow became even more intense and it was now brightly glowing, almost blinding to look at.
Wang GuiYing squinted his eyes as he looked at the ring, anticipating whatever was to come next.
"A mere mortal dares to call me?" A voice could be heard, loud and clear but not audible to all. To be more exact, it was a voice that spoke directly in Wang GuiYing's mind, "It was a mortal who killed me, and now it's a mortal that woke me up for a favor. You, mortals, are quite troublesome, aren't you?"
Wang GuiYing sneered as he responded, "Not as troublesome as your breath."
He could already guess that the voice belonged to the celestial dragon whose spirit he had summoned.
The celestial dragon laughed as he heard Wang GuiYing's response, "You killed me to make them and you snatched them away from my soul. How could they be calm when I'm already like this?"
"..." Wang GuiYing gulped as he heard this. Although he wasn't the one who had killed the celestial dragon, he still couldn't say anything against that since he also agreed with the celestial dragon.
"But I can see that the karma which was supposed to belong to 'him' is now being faced by innocents," The celestial dragon continued with a sigh, taking pity on the burning victims who were already dead, "Since I'm so benevolent in nature, I'll help you."
Wang GuiYing smiled as he heard this.
Since he was now the owner of the bone ring, he could very well summon the spirit of the celestial dragon but he couldn't order the dragon to do anything. If the celestial dragon didn't want to help, Wang GuiYing would be left with no choice but to do this alone and that was surely going to be troublesome considering the fact that they didn't have any powers in this fourth stage.
The two flames suddenly rushed forward towards Wang GuiYing and the man almost thought they were trying to attack him.
However, when he held his hands up to block his face, the situation could be more clearly seen. The two flames weren't targeting him, instead, they were targeting the bone ring.
Wang GuiYing closed his eyes shut and didn't know what was going on. A minute or two passed and the sound of the celestial dragon laughing could be heard.
"Don't be afraid," For some reason, the voice of the celestial dragon was no longer intimidating, on the other hand, it sounded like the sweet ringing of bells.
As soon as Wang GuiYing heard him, his heart eased up and his muscles also relaxed.
He gulped and lowered his hand, slowly opening his eyes to see that the two flames had merged into one.
His eyes widened ever so slightly and he couldn't help but be amazed as he muttered, "Wow..."
The flame was now purple and it no longer looked angry. It still looked alive as if it had its own consciousness, but it was no longer anything like the red or the blue flame.
The purple flame contained with it an ethereal aura, that alike the glowing bone ring. It looked both happy and at peace with itself.
"Don't be that amazed by it," The celestial dragon scoffed as he proudly claimed, "When I was still alive, I was much more amazing to look at. Even the skies bowed down to me and the earth was blessed to be under my feet."
Wang GuiYing wanted to laugh as he heard this but when he thought about it, he only nodded his head as he believed in the celestial dragon's words. If its mere breath could create something so ethereal then there was no doubt that the celestial dragon was also such an ethereal existence.
"Thank you," Wang GuiYing thanked the celestial dragon from the bottom of his heart, and only after saying it did he feel a little awkward, knowing that it was probably the first time in his life he had been so sincere while thanking somebody.
"As a mere mortal, you are not that bad." The celestial dragon sounded a bit intrigued but refused to outrightly show his interest as he spoke, "If you want my help in the future, don't hesitate to call for me."
Wang GuiYing nodded his head. He couldn't help but feel that the celestial dragon was actually quite nice. Even after being killed by humans, he still helped a human and although he didn't need to, he still agreed to help out Wang GuiYing even in the future.
"That's it...?" Li Ling questioned as he looked at Wang GuiYing with disbelief flashing across his face.
"Hmm?" Wang GuiYing tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the man, "Is there supposed to be anything more?"
Li Ling's eyebrows furrowed together and with a small frown, he asked, "Didn't the celestial dragon ask for anything in return?"
Wang GuiYing shook his head without even needing to think about it.
"Are you sure about that?" Li Ling questioned, finding it hard to believe Wang GuiYing's words.
"He said to call him if I ever needed his help," Wang GuiYing spoke, "The celestial dragon was quite polite and kind."
"..." Li Ling didn't know if he wanted to laugh or not as he heard that conflicting statement. He was the gamemaster so he clearly knew more about the celestial dragon's personality than Wang GuiYing and according to what he knew, the celestial dragon was certainly not the type to bestow favors like that.
"Are you sure you have the right bone ring? Perhaps it's made from the bones of a different dragon...?" Zhihao asked as he joined in, looking to be just as confused as Li Ling.
"It could control the two flames so it should belong to the same celestial dragon," Wang GuiYing spoke with a small pout, "I don't understand why you two are acting like this."
"Trash, the celestial dragon killed almost ninety percent of the player population in the third stage," Li Ling firmly spoke, "The ten percent that survived were players who had reached the stage after the celestial dragon had been killed."
"..." Wang GuiYing gulped as he slowly digested the information.
'Mr. Dragon would never do that! Are you sure we are talking about the same celestial dragon...?!'
"Well, it's fine if it's over," Zhihao sighed as he spoke, "The celestial dragon probably gained enlightenment after death."
"Now let's get back to you," Zhihao continued as he looked between Xin and Wang GuiYing, "What are you doing here?"
Wang GuiYing gulped and took a minute to respond as he suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, "Ah! This is Xin. I saved his life back in the third stage. He's the ID thief that you're looking for."
Xin, "..."
"He has been stuck here for a whole year and if we don't get him out, he would be merged into this world or would get deleted from this world. If he stays here any longer, his life would be in danger."
Zhihao and Li Ling looked to be completely calm as they heard this. Since they were here precisely in search of this man, they knew about the situation clearly.
Wang GuiYing lightly pushed Xin forward as he spoke with a wide grin, "So help him get out of here."
Zhihao and Li Ling shared a look as they heard this and although they said nothing to each other, it could be seen that they were communicating a lot with that single glance.
Wang GuiYing was still oblivious and simply looked at them with expectant eyes.
"Trash, I understand your worries," Li Ling started with a sigh, looking almost reluctant to finish his words, "But... We have a slight problem."
"Huh...?"
"This stage is currently locked because of the celestial dragon."
Wang GuiYing's mind suddenly went blank and he tilted his head as he looked at the man with confusion evident on his face. He had a guess of what was going on but he didn't want that guess to be true.
"Unless we find all the artifacts, we can't leave this stage."
Wang GuiYing gulped in disbelief.
"I'm sorry but you are going to have to wait," This time, Li Ling shifted his eyes to Xin as he spoke.
"Wait... Are you telling me I can't leave this game even if I want to...?" Wang GuiYing questioned, slowly pronouncing each of the words.
Li Ling pursed his lips into a thin smile and nodded his head, "You've guessed it right, but look on the bright side."
"The bright side?" Wang GuiYing repeated.
"This won't be your first time stuck inside a virtual game so you'll have more experience and knowledge than other players who are stuck here with you."
Wang GuiYing didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry but he sure as hell wanted to curse the man standing in front of him.
"Oi! Oi! Oi! Why the hell am I trapped inside a game again?!"