"Wait, wait...!"
I screamed, already feeling my skin begin to burn. With a sizzle, a plume of blue smoke rose up—I could even smell the scorched stench of my own flesh.
The Red Warden was the first to inflict torment upon me. My screams echoed through the chamber as he slowly twisted the red-hot iron rod in his hand, forcing it deeper into my flesh.
"Do you want a promotion?"
I shouted at once.
All of a sudden, both the Red Warden and the Green Warden froze in place.
"What did you say?"
I forced a grin, baring my teeth.
"I know a way to get you both promoted—no need to go through your superiors. You can rise up directly."
Panting, I stared at the two wardens. They hesitated for a moment, then let me down from the Execution Altar. I exhaled shakily—my body, run through moments ago, had miraculously healed, but the searing pain beneath me still lingered.
"What kind of promotion?"
The Red Warden asked immediately. I had blurted it out on impulse, but from the look on their faces, they were clearly hopeful for a promotion.
"First, tell me about the situation in Hell. I need to know what's going on before I can help you with a promotion."
The two wardens started talking. This was Scorching Hell, overseen by Lord Tai Shan of the Seventh Tribunal. Within its sixteen sub-hells was the Lava Sector—one of sixty-four places used to torment souls.
I was startled—this was the territory of Lord Tai Shan, with whom I'd had bad blood. I needed to be careful. My plan had been to learn about this place, then have the wardens hand me over to their superiors so I could look for a chance to escape. But if Lord Tai Shan found out I was here, I'd be doomed. He'd torture me to death in every way imaginable.
"Who was that just now?"
I asked. They told me the Black Warden was the chief of Sector Sixty-Three, one of the sixty-four Lava Sectors here. Each sector had 128 Hell's Registrars, who took turns torturing souls every day. Because the two of them had skipped work before, they were punished—they had to keep torturing souls here for thirteen years straight before they could leave.
I swallowed, looking at the two of them. They really were unlucky.
Hell, to put it simply, was just like a prison in the human world. In prison, inmates also worked to atone for their crimes and received education. The only difference here was that souls in Hell were tormented.
The remorse born from this agony was the very metric by which Hell's Registrars earned their promotions. So they had to torment these souls relentlessly, forcing even the most mindless spirits to writhe in pain and terror, day after day, until regret finally surfaced—only then could their sins be lessened.
Only after serving your sentence could you cross the Sanzu River and enter the Sixfold Cycle. Only those whose deeds in the living world balanced out could drink Lady Meng's Elixir and be reborn in the Human Realm—or, if a soul developed deep remorse after enduring hellish torment, it too could drink the elixir and enter the Human or Animal Realm.
As for those souls who felt no remorse at all, most were wicked in life and committed countless crimes. They would fall into the Hell Realm or the Hungry Ghost Realm.
"So, you two were slacking off?"
I murmured, my voice trailing off. The Red Warden let out a weary sigh.
"Sigh, I wouldn't call it slacking. My brother and I have been here for over ten thousand years. Just imagine—boring, right? Torturing these souls day after day... Honestly, I think we're the ones being punished."
The Red Warden spoke, his tone heavy with exhaustion. I couldn't help but let out a stifled laugh, but at that moment, both wardens seemed to sense something—a sudden terror flickered in their eyes as they stared at me.
"Our boss is here. Let's hand you over now—we'll finally get promoted."
The Green Warden said. My heart lurched—I still didn't fully understand the situation here. If I was handed over, I'd have to report to the Seventh Tribunal, and if I ran into Lord Tai Shan, I'd be doomed.
"Wait—if you hand me over, you won't be able to get promoted."
The Red Warden nodded as well.
"Sigh, brother, let's discuss this before we act. You know how our boss is—he's taken credit for our performance more than once."
Then they had me lie down beneath a pile of ghost souls, and the two started torturing other spirits.
"You two really haven't seen anything strange around here?"
The Black Warden asked sharply. The Red Warden replied with a helpless look.
"Boss, if we saw anything, we'd report it to you. We want a promotion too, you know."
The Black Warden looked around suspiciously, sniffing the air.
"There's a scent—the scent of a ghost."
My heart was pounding in my throat. Now, the Six Ghost Souls inside me began to stir, and my Ghost Aura started to recover. I hurriedly suppressed all my ghost energy, using my Specter Web to block the Ghost Gates.
"Boss, weren't you just checking out other sectors? What did the chiefs of the other sub-hells say?"
The Black Warden was still looking around.
"According to our calculations, a breach opened above Hell, and something fell into the area covering Sectors Sixty-One to Sixty-Four of the Lava Sector. So search carefully—strike first if you can. The higher-ups have ordered us to find it at all costs. It's a ghost, and here, the power of Infernal Hell will bind it, but there'll still be a ghostly scent."
The Black Warden kept searching as he spoke.
"Boss, was it Lord Tai Shan of the Seventh Tribunal who gave the order?"
The Red Warden asked, and with a slap, the Black Warden struck him.
"Just search like I told you! Stop asking questions!"
Then the Black Warden moved to a pile of ghost souls in the distance, grabbing each one and tossing them into the lava after checking them.
I grew anxious—he was fast, and soon the Red and Green Wardens came to search my area as well.
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"Don't make a sound. If he comes over, you'll just have to endure it—we'll toss you into the lava pool directly."
I gritted my teeth and nodded. It was the only option.
The Black Warden had already searched several places where ghost souls might appear, and now he was heading this way. The Red Warden stood beside me, while the Green Warden was searching a pile of spirits farther away.
"Nothing here, boss—nothing out of the ordinary."
The Black Warden walked over, staring intently and sniffing the air.
"The scent on your side is stronger—it's the scent of a ghost."
The Black Warden said, rushing over. The Red Warden grabbed me by the neck, gave me a cursory look, and was about to toss me into the lava lake.
"Wait—the one you're holding."
The Black Warden came closer, and I quickly started thinking about how to avoid him. Suddenly, I had an idea. As he approached, he grabbed me, sniffing me up close.
Suddenly, he let go and looked at the ghost soul beneath me, bursting into wild laughter.
"Ha! It's you! The Ghost Aura finally leaked out, didn't it?"
In my heart, I silently apologized—sorry, brother. I used the Desire Ghost to inject my Ghost Aura into the soul beneath me, just for now. The Black Warden, delighted, grabbed that soul and danced away.
"Boss, what about us?"
The Red and Green Wardens called out at once.
"Get lost, you two useless fools. You don't get any credit for this."
I saw disappointment in the eyes of the two wardens. The Black Warden vanished into the distant flames, clutching the ghost soul.
"Pah, that guy—who does he think he is?"
The Green Warden cursed bitterly, while the Red Warden laughed and helped me up. I finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hurry up. If we take you to the Seventh Tribunal, we should finally get promoted."
The Red Warden said, but I quickly shook my head.
"If you take me there, not only will you not get promoted—you'll probably end up dead."
As soon as I finished speaking, the Red Warden grabbed me impatiently, but the Green Warden held his hand back.
"The reason we haven't been promoted all these years is that bastard. Every time, he takes credit for our work, trades it with other chiefs, and accuses us of slacking off. Our salary is supposed to be for 128 ghosts, but he keeps the pay for 126 and claims it's punishment—he's just using it as a bribe for his own benefit."
The Green Warden spoke as the Red Warden let me go in frustration.
"What can we do? If he finds out, he'll come back and probably accuse us of colluding with this guy. Even if we go now, he'll insist we conspired with him."
I smiled and asked a question.
"Who's in charge of personnel transfers in the Underworld Court?"
"That's the Fourth Tribunal Lord, the Lord of Five Officials. All personnel appointments in the Underworld Court go through him."
I gasped and looked at the Green Warden. If those guys aren't under his command, doesn't that mean positions can be bought and sold at will? I asked, still puzzled.
The Red Warden explained that each Tribunal can directly appoint ten key positions without the Lord of Five Officials' approval—it's a special privilege for the Ten Tribunal Lords. But for lower-level registrars like them, it's handled by the Fourth Tribunal. Most low-ranked ghosts like them don't need the Lord of Five Officials' approval, just a judge or ghost general under him.
"How about you take me to the Fourth Tribunal Lord, the Lord of Five Officials?"
As soon as I finished speaking, both wardens stared at me in shock. The Green Warden thought for a while, then nodded, but the Red Warden was still reluctant.
"Let's take a chance! At least there's hope for advancement. Otherwise, we'll never get promoted."
I smiled warmly at the two of them.