"I can't just pretend I didn't hear that, Master of Hell!"
A sharp, somewhat low female voice drifted from behind me. Accompanied by a streak of black light, a woman in a long red dress, her hair coiled up, appeared at my side.
"Fiona Blaze, go play elsewhere. Stop interrupting. And call me Ethan Zhang."
Fiona Blaze snorted coldly. Across from her, Black Shade giggled and shook her head.
"It's a pity—you lack the ability, so you can't be entrusted with important tasks. You'd better keep watch over your Briar Wall. Can you manage that? If those souls over there wake up and start running around again, then..."
"What do you mean, lack the ability? And don't lump me in with those two idiots."
The two women stood together, bristling with anger. I glanced left and right, raising both hands to push them apart.
"No need to get so worked up. Alright, alright, break it up!"
Before I could finish, I was sliced into several pieces. Instantly, Black Shade and Fiona Blaze were already fighting. Black streaks of light slashed through the air, booming loudly. My eyes widened as the souls who had barely survived the selection were obliterated by their clash, sinking into the ground.
"You two... you..."
Black Moon tossed my head to the side, and I instantly flared up. With a whoosh, I turned into a wisp of black smoke and appeared between Black Shade and Fiona Blaze, grabbing both their hands.
"Don't go too far..."
Before I could finish, the two had already broken free and were about to start fighting again. Suddenly, red light flashed in my eyes, and the Hell Imprint appeared on both their foreheads. Only then did they come to their senses, dropping to one knee on the platform.
"You two... look at what you've done! The materials I painstakingly selected—you just destroyed them. You..."
"Master of Hell, it was Black Shade who struck first."
Fiona Blaze spoke up immediately, while Black Shade just laughed dismissively.
"Weren't you the one who provoked me first?"
"I think you started it."
Seeing these two about to go at it again, I instantly released the aura of Hell from within me and spoke with authority.
"Enough."
Finally stopping their bickering, I returned to the white chair and let out a sigh.
"What's there to argue about? It's just a matter of who goes first. Once I've finished forging the weapons, I'll send you wardens to the Living World. Don't worry."
I said, dropping into the chair. But with a crack, it crumbled to powder, and I ended up sitting on the ground, eyes wide in shock.
"What are you two trying to do?"
Black Shade and Fiona Blaze lifted me up, one on each side. The two glared at each other while I looked around.
"You two, stay here and keep watch until the selection is over. Understood?"
After they let go, each stood to one side. I sighed, raised my hand, and the white chair restored itself. I sat back down.
"No more nonsense. Let's talk business. How do you think we should handle the Nether Syndicate problem?"
I looked at Black Moon as he paced in front of me. At that moment, Black Stone spoke up from the side.
"It's simple, Master Zhang. Once we get to the Living World, even though we'll be bound by its laws, we can disguise ourselves as Nether Syndicate operatives and launch a massacre against key Buddhist and Daoist figures, using Nether Syndicate techniques. Black Moon, what attack techniques do Nether Syndicate operatives use?"
Black Moon looked at us, shook his head, and spoke.
"So far, no. The techniques developed by the Nether Syndicate are all aimed at ghosts. There aren't any that can harm humans—or rather, none that can harm truly upright people. Most of those Buddhist and Daoist practitioners are pretty righteous, without much evil in their hearts. That makes things difficult."
"Then find a way to corrupt those Buddhist and Daoist practitioners—make them harbor evil thoughts, and then use Nether Syndicate techniques to kill them."
I nodded, surprised at Black Stone. I never expected this quiet guy to be so clever. He seemed excited today, probably because I'd allowed him to go to the Living World.
"It's a good idea, but most of those practitioners follow the cycles of heaven, karma of good and evil. It's hard to corrupt them—good and evil aren't sharply divided in their hearts. They just pursue nature and self. Trying to make these stone-like, flowing-water types fall to evil is too hard, so that plan won't work. It's too time-consuming and likely to fail."
Black Moon analyzed methodically. I nodded, and Black Stone immediately spoke again.
"There's another way—force these upright people into killing by mistake. Find the right candidates, put a ghost's spirit on them, let them cause trouble, and then have someone smooth things over. People will do anything for money. When those righteous types come, they'll kill the ghost, but the person inside won't come out unscathed. That'll traumatize them, draw out their evil thoughts, and then we can use Nether Syndicate techniques to kill them."
"That might actually work."
Black Moon muttered, and I grunted in agreement, nodding with a smile.
"Not bad. I thought you were just a fool because you're usually so quiet!"
Black Stone scratched his round head with a thick finger and laughed, then continued.
"There's another way. We could just throw the Buddhist and Daoist practitioners into the Nether Pit. As long as we find the Nether Pit, once they're inside, there's no way they'll come out unscathed. Then we spread the word to the whole supernatural community. Over time, they'll be shunned—just like Hades was in the past. That way, we isolate them first."
This chapter isn't over ^.^, please click next page to continue reading!
I grunted, and Black Stone grew more excited as he spoke.
"Step two: collaborate deeply with the Immortality Society and offer them some benefits. They'll help us out—after all, they want immortality, right? They'll love the bodies of Nether Syndicate operatives, plenty to study. They can secretly take out quite a few Nether Syndicate members for us, and keep their corpses and souls for research."
Black Moon looked at Black Stone in surprise, and Black Shade and Fiona Blaze were also shocked. Black Stone shoved Black Moon aside and stood before me, launching into his speech.
"Step three: use the people of Hades to tie down the smaller supernatural sects. Many in those sects hit a bottleneck in their cultivation and want to prolong their lives. We can secretly leak details about the power of Hades' immortality. They'll try to capture Hades denizens to crack the secret. It's been tried before, but only Hades denizens can truly remain undying. If we let some small sects taste immortality, and leak the news, it will spread fast. The Hades people will learn and start fighting these sects, dragging them into conflict."
I clapped my hands. Black Stone bowed and burst out laughing.
"Step four: exploit the tension between the Underworld Court and the Ghost Sovereigns. No matter who wins the war, their conflict runs deep. We can use the death of Basil Bertram, the missing Ghost Sovereign, to provoke the other six. The old grudges run deep, so ideally the Underworld Court wins. When we get up there, we can help calm things down, then spread the rumor that Basil Bertram's death is linked to the Underworld Court. Over time, both sides will get restless and start preparing for war. Once they clash, we can operate in secret."
Black Moon walked over and patted Black Stone, who was still eager to keep talking.
"So tell me, do you really think they'll just jump into the trap we've set for them, exactly as you imagined?"
"Of course. As long as we stick to the plan, everything will go off without a hitch."
Black Moon shook his head.
"First of all, the Underworld Denizens are not what they used to be. Ever since the power of the Four Guardians descended directly upon the Living World, their strength has soared. How could those small sects possibly stand against them? Now, every Underworld Denizen bears the mark of the Four Guardians—any hint of danger, and those nearby will rush to help. Those sects barely have a handful of people each."
Black Stone pressed a palm to his forehead.
"And then there’s the maniacs in the Immortality Society. They never play by the rules—they only care about maximizing their own gain, and they’re notorious for betraying others. How do you expect to cooperate with a bunch like that? Work with them long enough, and they’ll sell us out, the plan gets exposed, and everyone celebrates our downfall."
Black Moon let out a weary sigh and shook his head.
"And yes, the Ghost Sovereigns and the Underworld Court have long-standing grudges, that much is true. But do you really think both sides would go to war just because a Ghost Ancestor died? You think the Ghost Sovereigns are fools? The Underworld Court even less so. Even if things calm down, they’ll just keep working with the Ghost Sovereigns. As for your brilliant plan to bury the Nether Syndicate—sure, it sounds clever, but have you actually thought it through? Do you even know where the Nether Syndicate’s headquarters are? Where the Nether Pit is?"
Black Stone fell silent for a moment. Black Moon slowly walked toward me.
"Boss, at this moment, there’s only one person in this world who truly poses a threat to you. Our first step in returning to the Living World is to eliminate the woman who endangers your existence—completely."
"Who?"
Black Moon smiled.
"A woman named Rachel Lan. She’s Ethan Zhang’s wife!"