John Chou vs King Quentin, Judge of the First Court II

"What exactly is John Chou trying to do?"

White Wuchang, Xie Bian, muttered under his breath, while Black Wuchang, Fan Wujiu, nodded.

I was thinking the same thing, and so was the Tabby Cat King present. None of us could figure out what John Chou was up to. With his current strength, he wasn't a match for King Quentin. Even if he regained his Blood Fiend Power, it was uncertain he could defeat King Quentin.

But as far as I remember, John Chou would never do anything pointless. The fight was still ongoing—or rather, it was no longer a fight, but John Chou single-handedly enduring King Quentin's attacks.

With a thunderous crash, shattered stones flew everywhere. King Quentin pinned John Chou to the ground again, laughing wildly. The moment he slammed John Chou down, he lifted him up, gripping his face, and with a shove, sent John Chou flying. King Quentin rushed over, and before John Chou could hit the main hall, he raised his foot and kicked him like a soccer ball.

With a whoosh, just as John Chou was about to fly toward us, he suddenly landed on the ground and steadied himself.

Facing King Quentin, who was already upon him, John Chou still wore a faint smile, gripping the Beauty in his hand.

"I've basically gotten used to it, old man."

With a boom, King Quentin's punch was dodged by John Chou, who stabbed out with his sword again. However, after missing, King Quentin was already behind him. The Beauty in John Chou's hand struck only a phantom—King Quentin once again grabbed John Chou's head.

"You can't run anymore, John Chou."

A swirling red current rose from the ground, instantly wrapping around John Chou like a rope, binding him tightly.

"It was your order, wasn't it? Back then, the Eternal Life Society was already defeated, but the Underworld did nothing. We fought them for seven days and nights, exhausted, and when you came, it wasn't to help, but to arrest us. Ha!"

King Quentin did not answer. The red current binding John Chou had turned almost liquid, tightening and twisting. I felt John Chou's ghost aura vanish in an instant, and panic overwhelmed me.

"King Quentin, that's enough."

The Fifth Court Yama stood up and slowly floated into the air. At that moment, John Chou burst out laughing.

"We haven't fought you Yamas much, but for centuries your power has never changed—strong ghost aura, perfectly tuned to counter ghosts. But after all these years, haven't you developed any sense of vigilance? The methods you use are so outdated, just like the current state of hell—decayed and rotten."

With a flash of red light, John Chou broke free from his restraints and suddenly darted out, landing on the ground. King Quentin stared at him in disbelief.

"If not for the Warden's Armor, you'd have died countless times already, John Chou."

As King Quentin spoke, he waved his hand, and instantly the ground surged with waves of mud—it was the Hellstream. We retreated again.

"Ah, without this Warden's Armor, I wouldn't be standing here right now. Let me show you something you've never seen before."

I widened my eyes. In an instant, the ghost aura around John Chou disappeared, and the Tabby Cat King stared in shock.

"Things that are too outdated are worthless before new power. Even if you possess endless ghost aura and endless ghost souls, does it really matter?"

John Chou spoke calmly as the black Hellstream surged toward him. But at that moment, his body grew blurry, dreamlike and unreal.

"What on earth is this?"

I stared in astonishment, and even Black and White Wuchang beside me looked at John Chou in disbelief.

Gradually, John Chou's form became almost invisible, like smoke. I suddenly recalled what he once told me—ghost power is ethereal and elusive.

With a bang, the Hellstream struck John Chou, but the red smoke quickly drifted in all directions, as if untouchable.

"What is that thing?"

The joy on King Quentin's face had vanished. He stared gravely at the drifting red smoke, unable to see John Chou's body or sense any ghost aura—just an unyielding cloud of smoke.

"Can't comprehend it?"

John Chou's voice came out, tinged with a faint smile.

"If I wanted to cut you down, you'd already be finished, King Quentin. Do you really understand ghosts? Or, more precisely, do you understand ghosts from before the Underworld was founded?"

I stared in shock as the red smoke passed through King Quentin's body with a hiss, tearing open his shoulder and spraying blood.

"John Chou."

King Quentin turned, waving his hand to send a red beam of light at us. We dodged immediately, but the beam had no effect on the smoke—the red haze remained.

"Wow, how did he do that? He actually wounded a Yama."

The Tabby Cat King exclaimed in disbelief. That incomprehensible scene had gone beyond anything we could grasp. In my mind, a Yama couldn't be harmed. Though I'd witnessed the battle between Tantan and King Taishan before, Tantan's power was terrifying.

The smoke slowly settled to the ground, and gradually John Chou reappeared. He plopped down, and the Beauty in his hand dropped to the floor.

"I'm done, King Quentin. The rage in my chest has been vented."

There was no anger left on King Quentin's face—only confusion. He withdrew the Hellstream, and the shattered flagstones fully restored themselves.

We all gathered around John Chou. He gasped for breath, looking up with a smile.

Lady Meng and the Fifth Court Yama came over too.

"John Chou, what exactly was that thing?"

Lady Meng spoke first.

"It was just something I picked up on my way to the Purelands. I ran into an interesting fellow, fought him, and learned a thing or two. That guy was one of Phantom Sage's subordinates."

We all stared in shock.

John Chou stood up, patted the dust off himself, and laughed.

"King Quentin, what do you think now? I, a ghost with no power, managed to cut you. Why do you think that is? If my power were a bit stronger, maybe you'd end up like King Taishan did when Tantan defeated him. Of course, if you all went all out, it wouldn't happen, but you have your reasons for holding back, don't you!"

John Chou's words seemed to strike a nerve in King Quentin. He fell silent, lost in thought.

"Rotten things, huh?"

Lady Meng murmured to herself. I swallowed hard—this was just a signal, but an extremely dangerous one.

"Earlier, I did see two reckless Green Wraiths—one named Hao Hong, and another. The techniques they used, I'd never seen before. As Green Wraiths, their powers were unlike anything I've encountered."

"Can you tell me the details, Zhang Qingyuan?"

King Quentin looked at me. I nodded and began to explain: Hao Hong and the others wanted to work with the Dark Banquet to seize Yuna Ji's primal battle instincts, asking me to cooperate. I ended up fighting them by the river. The male Green Wraith wasn't that strong, but his techniques were strange—I almost suffered a heavy loss.

"If that's really the case, then things are looking bad."

John Chou let out a cold laugh.

"You're all like blind men now. You have no idea what they're up to, and the same goes for the Animal Realm. Do you really think you have absolute control over it? Maybe once you did, but not anymore. Think it over, old men."

"Use that technique you just showed us again."

King Quentin said, but John Chou shook his head as he stood up.

"There's no time, and I'm in no condition. You hit me so hard just now, I'm injured—maybe next time, when I recover!"

As John Chou spoke, he turned to leave, but Lady Meng stopped him.

"Come over here, I'll take a look. You'll be healed in no time."

"Now that's more like it."

We followed Lady Meng, flying along, passing through many parts of hell. The number of visible ghosts was sparse. When we reached the Bridge of Remorse, apart from a few ghosts carrying things, I hardly saw any souls being collected. The Yellow Springs Road had widened considerably, with crowds of ghosts hauling supplies from the bridge, heading straight for Yuna Ji's Netherhell.

"You really went through with it, making the dead souls work for the people of the Yellow Springs. Ha!"

The color of the sky changed. We landed beside the Bridge of Remorse, which was eerily quiet, not a single ghost in sight. The river flowed slowly.

"It's a last resort. Tell me honestly, John Chou, what else have you learned?"

John Chou laughed, then held up three fingers.

"Those Green Wraiths have three powerful techniques, completely different from anything we've encountered before. So far, we haven't figured out how to counter them."

A surge of powerful ghost aura flew toward us—I could sense it. It was Isabelle Frost, along with Redhair, Bertram, and Ouyang Meng. They were already visible.

They landed right beside the Bridge of Remorse.

"John Chou, you bastard, you tampered with my origin, you..."

As soon as Isabelle Frost landed, she reached out to strike John Chou, but he caught her hand.

"Hey, silly little sister, that temper of yours is no good. Heh, didn't you bring them back here safely? If I hadn't tampered with your origin, you wouldn't have."