Soren Black walked to the window, pushed it open, and let the moonlight in. He drank his wine, a nostalgic look on his face.
"Back then, under John Chou's command, there were only the most brutal evil ghosts. You've met Mr. Brown many times, haven't you? He seems pretty kind, doesn't he?"
I nodded. Thinking about it, Mr. Brown was always kind, and he often warned John Chou not to stir up trouble.
"Heh. Back then, Mr. Brown was the leader of those fanatics. Under his guidance, the Hall of Bloodbane grew more extreme, and eventually John Chou declared himself a Ghost Sovereign, challenging the other six Ghost Sovereigns."
Soren Black continued. At that time, the Underworld Court was overwhelmed by the rise of the Seven Ghost Sovereigns. The order in the ghostly realm of the living grew increasingly chaotic, while the Ghost Sovereigns kept suppressing the Underworld Court's influence.
John Chou placed almost no restrictions on his subordinates, yet they obeyed him completely, submitting to his authority. In the end, the situation kept escalating.
The Underworld Court tried several times to negotiate with the Ghost Sovereigns, but the talks collapsed when King of Hell Yan killed the negotiators before the meeting even began. From that point, it was all-out war.
Things spiraled out of control, with wars breaking out everywhere. At that moment, John Chou did something that forced the Underworld Court to acknowledge their actions—he demanded the right to judge souls and send them into the Sixfold Cycle, just like the Hall of King of Hell.
John Chou's terms caused an uproar throughout the Underworld Court. Eventually, the Court conceded, recognizing the Seven Ghost Sovereigns. Then, one by one, the Ghost Sovereigns held The Hundred Ghosts Feast, accepting souls for judgment.
"Because their power kept growing, the Seven Ghost Sovereigns, after centuries of calm, finally began their decisive struggle. All of it—John Chou started it himself."
I let out a sound of surprise and looked at Soren Black.
At the time, John Chou's Hundred Ghosts were unstoppable. They believed that following him would reveal a more thrilling world. But it all fell apart—after John Chou fought the other six Ghost Sovereigns, he went alone to the Sanzu Force and was bound by its power, disappearing without a trace. The other six Ghost Sovereigns were wounded to varying degrees.
Soren Black seemed to be telling a story both tragic and magnificent. I couldn't help but sniffle.
"After that, none of us knew what happened to John Chou—he was crushed by the Sanzu Force. People searched everywhere for him, for a hundred, two hundred years, but he vanished. Their spirits faded, and everyone went into hiding. They thought John Chou had betrayed them. Then came the great purge in the ghostly realm—many didn't survive."
Soren Black continued.
"Still, John Chou's Hundred Ghosts were clever. Most of them went into hiding. Now, except for Yuna Ji, the Hundred Ghosts of the other five Ghost Sovereigns are safe, just waiting for the right moment to rise. That's why, after I brought back Zane Zhuang, I plan to go find John Chou myself."
Soren Black spoke, then stood up and laughed.
"After all, I was his first Hundred Ghost, even older than Zane Zhuang."
Stories about John Chou kept coming from all sorts of people. The more I heard, the more I understood him.
"I bet John Chou's Hundred Ghosts have figured it out by now. It won't be long before they return to him. After all, every one of them wants to defeat John Chou—including me."