I stared coldly at the group of Blue Wraiths before me. They were all powerful, having lingered on Mount Shade for so long, but none were my match. If they thought they could take me on, they were dreaming. I sat leisurely on a stone, while Ray Lin returned to the car, the door still ajar.
"Earthly Soul, do you truly wish to help the Underworld Court?"
"There's nothing left to discuss. Are we fighting now, or waiting until the war begins?"
I asked. Redcloak smiled, while the Blue Wraiths around him made no move, their eyes fixed coldly on me. I knew exactly what they wanted: if a fight broke out, they'd try to drag me into the ghost domain, working together to hold me down or suppress me, making sure I couldn't escape for a while.
"Is this the moment you've all been waiting for?"
Redcloak shook his head.
"Not now, but soon. I hope you'll assist us. If you do, there may not even be a war—the Underworld Court would collapse in an instant."
My eyes widened, then I shook my head and laughed.
"Do you take me for a child? Spare me the stories meant for kids—we're all adults here."
Redcloak stared at me intently.
"I'm not joking with you, Earthly Soul. The three lords don't want to settle things through endless, meaningless war. Every debt has its debtor, and while they do wish to repay the Ten Judges for seizing Hell, such methods would destroy hundreds of billions of souls. Both worlds—yin and yang—would be ruined. Even if Hell is reclaimed, it would mean nothing."
"Go ahead, let's hear your specific plan."
Redcloak chuckled and replied.
"Earthly Soul, you said we're all adults. If you can't guarantee cooperation, we won't just hand over our plan. All I can tell you now is what 'ending the war in an instant' truly means."
I stopped smiling and stared quietly at Redcloak.
"By some method, the three lords—Emperor God, Sylvia Yan, and Phantom Sage—would descend upon Hell, kill the Ten Judges, retake control, and end the conflict instantly. The power of those three far surpasses the Ten Judges."
"That's not believable! If they're stronger than the Ten Judges, why are they dead? Isn't that laughable? Those three are just losers, and losers can't be trusted."
Redcloak's expression froze instantly. He glared at me viciously, and the Blue Wraiths nearby were already staring at me with anger.
"Let me ask you again, Earthly Soul—do you think the Underworld Court's rule is just?"
"What's just or unjust? The strong rule the weak—that's how the world works. Whoever is strongest gets to rule. So I don't see any point in continuing this talk. Persuasion doesn't work on me. Even if Ethan Zhang heard this, he'd laugh!"
I laughed loudly as I spoke. Redcloak was furious but didn't make a move; instead, he raised his hands to stop the Blue Wraiths behind him from attacking. I stopped smiling, staring at them coldly. The power of apocalypse surged within me—if a fight broke out, I'd take down at least two or three in an instant. In a real battle, I'd go all out from the start, no mercy.
"Indeed, the three lords once lost to the Ten Judges, Lady Meng, and Ksitigarbha. But back then, if Lady Meng hadn't betrayed them first, using that method to send wave after wave of ghosts against Hell, weakening it, and finally splitting up the three lords to defeat them one by one, they wouldn't have lost."
"Let me ask you, Redcloak—were you there? Did you see it?"
I said coldly. Redcloak bared his teeth, glaring at me with clenched jaws.
"Hear the offer, Earthly Soul. I think you'll find it quite interesting."
I shook my head, but Redcloak immediately began speaking anyway.
"If you help us, and the three lords reclaim Hell, you'll be able to challenge them at any time, even fight the Wraithlord himself. How about it? For someone as battle-hungry as you, it's a great deal. Isn't power what you want?"
I stared coldly at Redcloak, clenching my fist until it crackled, black lightning bursting forth.
With a whoosh, I was already in front of Redcloak, fist raised.
"Where I go and who I fight—none of that is your business. My life is mine to decide."
With a thunderous boom, black lightning exploded instantly. All the Blue Wraiths reacted, but the two closest to Redcloak were struck by the power of apocalypse in a flash. They screamed in terror as the ghost energy within them withered rapidly. From the start, I'd aimed for their ghost souls.
Crackling sounds echoed as black lightning coiled around me. The mountainside was already misshapen, a huge chunk caved in, with shattered rocks flying and the surrounding mist dissipating.
"You should surrender. You're no match for me. If you try to run, I could take out even more of you in an instant. Maybe I'll hand you over to the Underworld Court as my first achievement."
I said half-jokingly.
"Indeed, we're not your match, Earthly Soul. It seems you're not that keen on fighting after all, originally..."
"It's not that I'm not keen—it's that I like to choose my opponents, not have them chosen for me. Sure, Emperor God and the other two are strong, but there's no joy in fighting them. My only goal now is to gain absolute power, power to defeat that bastard Ethan Zhang."
A burst of hearty laughter echoed.
"Ethan Zhang, huh? I thought I misheard you, Earthly Soul. I've observed him up close before—he's so weak, worlds apart from you. Is there really anything about him worth your attention? I must have misjudged you, Earthly Soul."
Suddenly, the space around me shifted. Pieces of trembling red cloth floated, crackling as streaks of black lightning tore through them. The snapping sound echoed, but I quickly noticed that above and below me stretched vast, endless waves of red cloth, undulating like the sea.
"Come out, you bastards."
I quietly surveyed my surroundings, raising my power of apocalypse. I could sense the immense ghost energy all around, but couldn't locate Redcloak and the others. I must have been dragged into Redcloak's ghost domain. I could've escaped earlier, but I chose to rush at Redcloak instead—their words had really gotten under my skin.
"It's useless, Earthly Soul. You're strong, but you're still too inexperienced in fighting ghosts. There are countless ways to hold you here. Want to talk now?"
I smiled coldly. This ghost domain was unusual. When I unleashed my power, I tore through most of the ghost energy, but it quickly filled back in, denser than before, constantly suppressing my apocalyptic force.
"Think it over, Earthly Soul. We really do hope you'll help us."
"Can't you do it yourselves? That business about bringing those three down to Hell."
I listened carefully, hoping to pinpoint their location by sound.
"It's not that we can't—it's that we can't get into Hell. If we enter, we'll be caught instantly. Only you can do it. Name your terms, Earthly Soul. As long as it's within their power, the three lords will grant it."
"My condition is..."
With a whoosh, before I could finish, I shot diagonally down to the left, thrusting my power of apocalypse forward without mercy. With a tearing sound, the trembling red cloth shattered. I unleashed a huge burst of power, propelling myself forward.
With a metallic clang, I touched the barrier of the ghost domain. Smirking, I twisted my power of apocalypse, and with a crack, I broke free. As I turned around, I raised a hand.
"Don't think you'll get away so easily."
A streak of black lightning shot toward the closing ghost domain.
With a snap, a flash of green light blocked my apocalyptic force. It was Ray Lin, standing right in front of me as the ghost domain closed behind him. He stared at me in a daze.
"What do you mean?"
I glared coldly at Ray Lin. The Blue Wraiths had vanished, and I couldn't sense their presence. For a moment, I considered unleashing my full power to destroy their ghost domain and capture them.
"I mean nothing else, Earthly Soul. Even if you killed them, it wouldn't change anything. But it's best not to alert the enemy—those are the Judges' orders."
My eyes widened instantly, staring blankly at Ray Lin. A special mark appeared on his forehead—a red glowing command symbol. A massive door materialized before me.
"Enough. The Judges want to talk to you—about the Abandoned Ones. Please, go ahead."
I let out a cold laugh.
"So that's it. Hiding so well—turns out you're a spy for the Underworld Court."
Ray Lin squinted and shook his head with a smile.
"No, I'm just a driver. I only report what I see to the Underworld Court and trade a few things with them. Please don't take it personally. Besides, believe me—I count Ethan Zhang as a friend."