I pondered carefully, watching John Chou. He had clearly thought of some solution, but I still only half-understood everything happening now. Beside me, the Wraithlord grinned wickedly, silently staring at John Chou.
"This guy is truly smart. John Chou knows exactly when to advance and retreat; that’s how he’s managed to survive so many times. If the Ghost Sovereigns hadn’t listened to him back then, they’d probably have been wiped out."
I stared at the Wraithlord in confusion. Sure enough, John Chou had thought things through in detail. Then the scene froze, and the Wraithlord began to laugh.
"What exactly happened? Was I there at the time?"
The Wraithlord nodded and began to speak.
Back then, the seven Ghost Sovereigns had each grown in strength, defeating many Blue Wraiths and building up their own forces. Though their domains weren’t large, they’d earned considerable prestige in the ghost realm. But in Quentin Kue’s eyes, this wasn’t good news, so he started petitioning the Underworld Court to wipe out the seven evil ghosts in one stroke.
At first, no one paid attention to these petitions, since most in the Underworld Court thought the seven evil ghosts were far weaker than some of the Blue Wraiths.
Later, Quentin Kue went alone to the world of the living, investigating everything about the seven Ghost Sovereigns. He soon confirmed that Yuna Ji had ties to the Nether Syndicate, which was her powerful backing, and that the other Ghost Sovereigns weren’t weaker than those Blue Wraiths—they simply possessed unique powers.
Quentin Kue feared that if such power kept accumulating, it would eventually threaten the entire ghost realm. After investigating everything, he asked the Underworld Court for permission to freely use his powers in the world of the living, but his request was rejected.
Most powerful ghost officers sent up from the Underworld Court find their powers restricted by the forces of the living world. Without the Infernal Judge’s Seal, they can’t bring their full strength above; too much power causes a disruption between Yin and Yang.
To most of the Infernal Judges, this matter was just idle gossip. Quentin Kue grew frustrated, wanting to capture the Seven Ghost Sovereigns on his own, but faced endless obstacles—not just from ghosts, but even some people in the world of magic sided with the Ghost Sovereigns, colluding with them. The living world was already in utter chaos, wracked by war, disaster, and suffering, while the Underworld Court was busy collecting souls and paid no attention to this.
It wasn’t until one day, when the Ten Infernal Judges suddenly gathered and ordered their forces to capture the Seven Ghost Sovereigns, that Quentin Kue learned it was Judge Bane who had sent the Infernal Judges a prophetic dream, warning them that the Seven Ghost Sovereigns would threaten the Underworld Court’s rule. With that, the entire Underworld Court united in the hunt.
Sure enough, the initial attempt met fierce resistance. The Seven Ghost Sovereigns were clever, darting through the living world, while most of the Underworld Court’s agents lacked the Infernal Judge’s Seal and couldn’t use their powers. The Underworld Court had hoped sheer numbers would suffice, but they failed.
Quentin Kue realized that one of the Ghost Sovereigns seemed able to predict the future, which shocked the entire Underworld Court. They couldn’t trace the origins of this sovereign named Yun Mei. The Ghost Sovereigns always seemed to know what was coming, waiting for the Underworld Court to act before striking back hard. The Underworld Court lost face and suffered heavy losses, causing a stir in the world of magic.
At this point, Quentin Kue contacted Yuna Ji, offering generous terms in hopes she would help gather the other six Ghost Sovereigns.
But Yun Mei had already foreseen all this. This time, though, she kept silent, because John Chou had approached her beforehand. John Chou then used Yuna Ji’s hand as a cover, gathering the other Ghost Sovereigns through cunning, giving the Underworld Court a chance to catch them all at once.
The scene was utter chaos. The Seven Ghost Sovereigns rushed their forces in, determined to fight the Underworld Court to the death. But during the battle, John Chou convinced the others: the Underworld Court was dead set on ending their freedom, and the hard-won power they’d built up could be destroyed. Better to retreat and survive than face annihilation.
Thus, the Seven Ghost Sovereigns agreed to take responsibility individually in exchange for the safety of their followers. When their forces learned the truth, they were heartbroken, desperate to rescue their leaders. John Chou asked Quentin Kue for help, relaying the Ghost Sovereigns’ wishes.
Quentin Kue hadn’t thought it through at the time, but with the Seven Ghost Sovereigns escorted back to the Underworld Court, their followers finally settled down. In fact, John Chou had used illusions: without Quentin Kue noticing, he had the other six Ghost Sovereigns inform their followers to wait in peace and hone their strength.
That’s how John Chou and the others ended up in the Abyssal Hell. John Chou did all this because he knew their power was no match for the Underworld Court. Direct resistance would mean destruction, especially at a critical time in building their forces. If they fell here, they’d never recover, so he chose this humiliating compromise.
In the end, John Chou’s choice was correct. Here in the Abyssal Hell, they gained power far beyond what the Underworld Court could imagine, using what they found to forge their own ghost weapons and take many things with them. So after escaping and lying low for just a few decades, they could claim supremacy, looking down on the ghost realm, finally forcing the Underworld Court to bow. Later, John Chou chose to hide himself, because he’d long foreseen my existence and, without absolute certainty, avoided any chance of my resurrection. He managed to keep me trapped until now, unable to revive, and even created someone like The Lost Mediator. Heh, truly impressive.
The scene continued to move. I stared at John Chou in shock, beginning to doubt the Wraithlord’s story—maybe things just happened to work out that way. No matter how brilliant John Chou was, could he really have foreseen it all perfectly?
"Perfect? Heh, Earth Soul, there’s no such thing as perfection in this world. What John Chou has is patience and wisdom—he knows how to judge the situation. That’s how he always has ways to keep his plans going before trouble arises, avoiding risk and achieving what you call perfection."
I couldn’t help but look at the Wraithlord in confusion. He seemed to know John Chou extremely well.
After a while, more ghosts began to revive behind us. John Chou quickly knocked two of them unconscious, and then everyone started feeding. Shen Yanjun, Ouyang Meng, and Bo Ziran ate more than the others, regaining much of their strength. They used Bo Ziran’s power to disguise themselves as dead souls.
The revived dead souls began to talk, all expressing helplessness about their torment. As expected, like the other dead souls, none of them remembered more than seven days. John Chou seemed to confirm something, smiling at everyone.
Soon, a fierce argument broke out in the woods, and even turned physical. Nearby ghost officers rushed over as many plants were destroyed. The two ghosts who had once called each other brothers—one Green Warden, one Blue Warden—were now fighting bitterly.
The argument grew louder and, with the ghost officers intervening, the two were separated. But much of the area had been ruined by their violent clash. John Chou watched in a daze—they hadn’t gone far.
"I told you something’s wrong—those 21 dead souls were definitely eaten by a ghost. And that ghost has either run off or is hiding somewhere. If this gets any worse, we’re finished."
"Then why didn’t you stick to your own idea back then? As soon as trouble started, you dumped everything on me. Whenever I mention drinking, your eyes light up. This isn’t my fault—you all be the judge."
Nearby ghost officers tried to mediate. At that moment, the four highest-ranking ghost officials arrived—Black Warden, Red Warden, Blue Warden, and Green Warden. When they descended, Black Warden began cursing furiously, and many ghost officers joined in, searching for clues.
"It’s karmic fire, chief."
The seven ghost officers watching the pile of dead souls were stunned. I soon saw Black Warden arrive at the grass where Shen Yanjun and the others had passed, pointing his finger. Sure enough, a faint flame rose from the grass, scorching it before quickly vanishing.
"Search, all of you. Apart from us, only prisoners are here—someone else has come in."
"What do we do, John Chou?"
Redmond asked, and John Chou smiled.
"Don’t worry. They won’t be able to find us."
John Chou’s words surprised the other Ghost Sovereigns, but just as he said, even though the ghost officers searched everywhere, they didn’t check the caves. In their eyes, caves that constantly absorb ghost energy were the last place anyone would willingly go.
The ghost officers even guessed that whoever entered must be a powerful Blue Wraith. No one knew their purpose, but one thing was clear—they survived by eating the tormented but not yet dead souls. So leaving dead souls in the place of rebirth was safest.
"You really are as sneaky as they say, John Chou."
John Chou didn’t answer Redmond, still watching closely. The ghost officers were in total chaos, searching the whole forest, never imagining the prisoners could resist them.
"Once people’s thinking gets stuck, whether they’re human or ghost, they become impossibly stupid."