I quietly watched John Chou, feeling a bit puzzled. The other Ghost Sovereigns were just as confused, because what he said was ambiguous. Yuna Ji, in particular, looked especially suspicious.
"How should I know what I'm doing? If you must ask, I'm just trying every possible way to merge lost souls and skeletons. I haven't done anything else."
John Chou smiled and began to walk slowly.
"Each of us has something we want to chase, or something we can't let go of. That is what makes us ghosts."
With that, John Chou prepared to leave. He didn't seem interested in talking further with Yuna Ji, as if he had something extremely important to do. Soon, he vanished from sight.
"John Chou is always like this, never speaking clearly. What is that supposed to mean?"
Yuna Ji muttered a complaint, and Red Hair left with a smile. But at that moment, Lord Shenyan suddenly spoke.
"It seems John Chou has already grasped some kind of special power. Didn't any of you notice?"
Basil Bertram nodded.
"I sparred with him a few times last week, but I kept feeling something was off about him. It's as if there's something inside him, about to awaken. Anyway, it's about time we left too."
Soon the Ghost Sovereigns dispersed. Yuna Ji was left alone in the cave, not knowing what to do. She had lost all patience and interest in merging lost souls with skeletons.
"This is such a damn hassle."
After a few half-hearted attempts, Yuna Ji failed every time, just as expected. She walked out, seemingly determined to put the whole matter behind her.
Once Yuna Ji left, the scene shifted instantly to John Chou. He stood quietly in the cave, the corners of his mouth lifting as if he wanted to smile but suppressed it. Just as Basil Bertram had said, it was as if something inside John Chou was being held back.
Gradually, John Chou sat down, but his gaze seemed to be fixed on somewhere else, not here. Everything around him faded from his view, and the smile on his lips was strangely unsettling.
"Even now, I still can't understand what you really are."
John Chou finally spoke, his words tinged with excitement. I stared quietly at his body; his ghost aura still hadn't leaked out, remaining solidly within him.
"What are you, really? Still can't answer me?"
From the looks of it, John Chou was conversing with his own instinct to kill. Other Ghost Sovereigns, except perhaps Redmond, had begun to awaken their own primal instincts within this part of Abyssal Hell, which was once only a fragment of illusion.
After a while, John Chou stood up, apparently having failed again. He walked straight out of the cave and onto the scorching earth, wandering aimlessly. His eyes, however, remained fixed on the many black stones exposed on the burning ground. These stones, formed from ghost aura that had settled for who knows how long, had become solid and extremely hard—the perfect material for forging Wraith Armaments.
John Chou occasionally squatted beside these stones, tapping them lightly with his finger as if checking something. He did nothing else all day. When he returned to the cave, he found Basil Bertram already waiting for him.
"Brother Chou."
"It seems you've sensed something."
John Chou spoke, and Basil Bertram nodded.
"I'm not entirely sure, but Brother Chou, there's a power inside you that's about to erupt. That power fills me with fear, so what I want to say is..."
"I know. Great power requires even greater restraint, and I understand that well. But continuing to train like this won't help us grow much stronger. We have to wait for Yuna Ji to finish her experiment, so the skeletons gain consciousness. Only by sparring with them continuously can we truly improve our strength."
Basil Bertram nodded and said,
"I don't know exactly what's changing inside you, Brother Chou, but that power frightens me. I'll do my best to help you strengthen yourself, just in case you can't bear that power."
John Chou shook his head.
"Our sparring now won't actually make us much stronger. Or have you forgotten, Basil Bertram, what is the fastest way to increase one's strength?"
Basil Bertram immediately understood and nodded.
"Only through slaughter."
"It's not time yet, so we just need to wait for Yuna Ji to figure things out. As long as she can merge the lost souls with the skeletons, we'll be able to make real progress."
But things didn't go as planned. A week passed, and Yuna Ji hadn't accomplished anything. She had grown so frustrated she was nearly disgusted. The six Ghost Sovereigns gathered again.
"I really can't do it anymore."
Yuna Ji said weakly, while John Chou looked around at the scattered skeletons and lost souls slowly recovering.
"Did you just ignore everything I told you last week?"
Yuna Ji looked helplessly at John Chou and shook her head.
"If you say it like that, how am I supposed to know what to do? This is such a pain."
The situation seemed completely deadlocked for a moment. Yuna Ji could control the skeletons, but without any consciousness, they were useless. Even if they could kill those Hell Wardens, what would happen next? Without someone to control them, they'd just stand there, motionless. John Chou and the others relied on the green Specter Web Yuna Ji provided to control those skeletons.
"Here's what we'll do, John Chou. You're so smart—why don't you stay here this week? While I'm working on the fusion, you can watch and point out any problems you see."
In the end, John Chou agreed. Just then, a cough came from the corner, and all the Ghost Sovereigns looked over. It seemed the agreed time had arrived—Mona Ouyang had awakened. Smiling, he walked over slowly.
"How has everyone been this past week?"
No sooner had he finished than Redmond lost his temper and grabbed Mona Ouyang.
"What's going on outside? Tell me."
Mona Ouyang gave a sarcastic smile.
"Redmond, I've already contacted your subordinates and passed on your message."
Redmond stared at Mona Ouyang in confusion. Mona Ouyang then began to speak.
Ever since the seven of them were captured, the state of the ghost world in the Living Realm has grown chaotic. The Green Wraiths, who had been nearly wiped out and had past conflicts with them, have started acting recklessly. It seems they all want to imitate the seven Ghost Sovereigns—claiming territory and recruiting other ghosts to form their own factions and groups.
The only real difference is in absolute power—many Green Wraiths can't achieve it, so they're all still stuck in the slaughter phase. Meanwhile, those in the sorcery world are just watching, seemingly unwilling to intervene, letting these evil ghosts tear each other apart.
Most critically, the Underworld Court isn't intervening either. Even though ghosts are causing chaos everywhere, the Underworld Court seems to have tacitly approved this situation. After all, mutual slaughter only leads to ruin for both sides, allowing the sorcery world to wipe out many evil ghosts in one fell swoop.
Because of the ghosts, many have entered human society, causing a surge in troublemakers. Most in the sorcery world have sided with those in power, furthering certain agendas. In just over a month, the Living Realm has changed dramatically.
Mona Ouyang has already contacted the factions under the Ghost Sovereigns, telling them to hide and wait for the right moment.
Now, the Living Realm is even more chaotic due to human wars. Some powerful ghosts have already started to rise up. Since the Underworld Court just captured the Ghost Sovereigns, they won't act for a while, and many from the ghost world have come to the Living Realm.
With war everywhere, people are dying all over. Some want to profit from the chaos, some want to eat more humans, and others are recruiting followers, aiming to establish their own power in the ghost world.
"Who would've thought that after the seven of us were captured, the Living Realm would become so chaotic."
Redmond looked rather pleased, but John Chou immediately laughed.
"This kind of chaos won't last long, right, Mona Ouyang?"
For a moment, surprise flashed in Mona Ouyang's eyes, as if John Chou had seen through something. Basil Bertram smiled and shook his head helplessly.
"Brother Ouyang, I'd advise you not to get too involved in the Living Realm. People aren't what they used to be."
Basil Bertram spoke, and Mona Ouyang snorted coldly, clearly unwilling to continue the conversation. He turned and walked away.
"I might come next week. If something comes up, I won't be here."
With that, Mona Ouyang went to lie down in the corner and soon fell asleep.
"That guy probably built up his own power while we were gone. He's always the one to take advantage of chaos."
Redmond understood perfectly. It wasn't hard to see—Mona Ouyang had the weakest faction among the seven Ghost Sovereigns, with pitifully few subordinates. His power isn't much use to most ghosts right now, except for his one loyal follower, the formidable Three-Eyed Green Wraith.
After a while, the Ghost Sovereigns all left, leaving only John Chou and Yuna Ji in the cave. At this point, Yuna Ji had fused a skeleton with a lost soul, but sure enough, less than a minute later, the black skeleton began to wail miserably, then exploded with a loud bang.
John Chou watched the whole process in silence, finally speaking after a moment.
"Continue."
Yuna Ji pursed her lips and reluctantly kept trying, but no matter how many times she tried, she failed every time.