The sound of cracking echoed, and the screen before us went completely black. Soon, fractures began to appear across its surface.
"Hurry and get out, Ethan Zhang!"
Master Zachary Wu shouted, grabbing hold of me with one hand and Miles Chen with the other.
With a thunderous crash, the bright screen shattered instantly. A powerful gust of air burst forth—I stared in shock as Judge Bane was flung out from within, smashing into his own throne. His clothes were torn apart, and black scars marred both his hands.
"That damn brat."
Judge Bane roared in fury. With a loud crack, his throne shattered completely. Suddenly, a plume of black flames appeared and began to spread. Judge Bane immediately opened his mouth wide, devouring the fire, then sat cross-legged on the ground and closed his eyes.
"Hmph, looks like that kid is at the end of his rope, resorting to such lowly tricks."
Judge Bane stood up again. With a wave of his hand, a red space appeared. He stepped inside, then turned back, raising a finger at me.
"Stay here and behave yourself, Ethan Zhang. Don't cause any trouble."
A bright white light flashed before our eyes. The scene returned: a desolate plain, now scarred by a massive crater. Cracks radiated outward, and many places had collapsed, revealing a dense array of pits.
Redmond sat on the ground with bare hands, his suit torn to shreds—there was hardly a patch left intact. He kept gasping for breath.
"Using such disgraceful tricks—do you really think you can pierce my Hell?"
Judge Bane roared in fury, appearing once again in midair. Redmond struggled to his feet, brushed the dust off his body, and slowly drifted toward Judge Bane.
"You forced my hand, old man. It's not too late to back off now."
"You've reached the end of the road, haven't you?"
As Judge Bane spoke, he extended a hand.
"Hell's Thorn."
A red glow flared up. In his right hand appeared a blood-red, elongated weapon—its color as vivid as fresh blood. It was a thorny rod, about two meters long. The crimson thorns along its length began to turn green, oozing drops of viscous liquid.
"Isn't that Emperor Song's weapon?"
No sooner had Redmond spoken than Judge Bane grew even more furious.
The black space from before had vanished. Redmond looked to be in dire straits as Judge Bane swung the thorned rod at him.
With a loud smack, Redmond dodged, but the green thorns sprayed their liquid, splattering onto him. He screamed in agony as his skin was eaten through, leaving tiny holes. Instantly, black flames engulfed his body. He staggered back, gasping, arm raised defensively.
Tiny, bright green worms crawled out from his skin, only to be devoured by the flames.
Only then did I realize—it wasn't liquid at all, but countless green worms.
"Disgusting! Old man, can't you use a different weapon?"
Judge Bane ignored Redmond and flew at him, swinging the thorned rod again and again. Each strike landed with a sharp crack.
Redmond could only retreat quickly, but Judge Bane soon caught up. This time, Redmond couldn't dodge—he raised a hand and swung it at Judge Bane.
Yet none of it worked against Judge Bane. The thorned rod easily broke through the flames and struck Redmond's body. He leapt upward, clutching his battered back, baring his teeth in pain.
"Master, I have to do something."
As I spoke, I began to float up, but Master Zachary Wu grabbed my hand.
"For now, don't do anything, Ethan Zhang."
Just then, I felt an intense surge of ghostly energy. With a whoosh, something flew inside.
"Where is he—the guy who paid me to get him out?"
I stared wide-eyed. It was King Hollowbelly, brought in by the Hell's Registrar who'd just been inside.
"Sir, that's the kid. How did he get out on his own?"
King Hollowbelly glanced over, and the excitement in his eyes instantly faded.
"Oh, so it's you, Ethan Zhang."
"You've already paid once—what more do you want?"
I glared at King Hollowbelly. He landed in front of me and waved his hand, signaling the Hell's Registrar to withdraw.
"I can't open my Domain of the Dead anymore. Sigh, looks like Judge Bane (Sixth Tribunal) is getting serious."
King Hollowbelly looked truly dejected. It seemed he really couldn't open the Shadow Realm or access the Instinctive Space.
"This is trouble—why does it have to be such a nasty weapon?"
"What exactly is Hell's Thorn?"
King Hollowbelly glanced at me and replied.
"It's Emperor Song's tool for punishing troublemakers. Each strike chips away at your soul, and if you're hit nine times, your soul dies—ghosts included. It's vicious. Even if you avoid the blows, those little worms are just as deadly."
I stared wide-eyed at Redmond on the screen as he was struck again—this was the eighth time.
Redmond's strength posed no threat to Judge Bane now.
"Looks like you know how dangerous this thing is. Ha, that's eight strikes—even if it can't kill you, it'll peel off a layer of skin. Just surrender already."
Redmond glared stubbornly at Judge Bane, raising a hand.
"Hold on a sec, old man—can you tell me how you found Xiaofeng?"
Judge Bane burst into hearty laughter, lowering the thorned rod in his hand.
"It's simple—just be faster than her."
"You bastard."
With two sharp cracks, Judge Bane suddenly swung the thorned rod, and clusters of black flames erupted around him.
"Trying the same trick twice? You must really underestimate me. No one’s ever dared leave a mark on me—you're the first."
With a whoosh, Redmond turned into a streak of black light and shot off into the distance. Judge Bane hunched slightly, ready to pursue.
"This is Hell—endless, without boundaries. You can't escape."
With a thunderous flash, a streak of red light darted after Redmond. Judge Bane raised the thorned rod, and Redmond, though terrified at first, quickly composed himself and turned to face him.
Judge Bane, laughing wildly as he swung the rod, suddenly froze in mid-laughter. I watched the two of them, completely puzzled.
Just as I was trying to figure out what was happening, a massive blue sword-light swept across the scene. With a swish, Judge Bane's thorned rod was sliced in two. The attack passed by without harming Redmond.
The broken half of the thorned rod was firmly grasped in his hand. With a swish, a red sword pointed straight at Judge Bane.
A rumbling echoed beneath our feet, shaking violently. The Hall of Lost Souls seemed on the verge of collapse as streaks of green sword-light flew toward us.
"Why are you here, Lord Shenyan?"
Redmond let out a relaxed breath. The half of the thorned rod in Lord Shenyan's hand writhed, and a flicker of red flame ignited.
With a series of squeaks, the broken half of the thorned rod was reduced to ashes in the fire.
"No matter how fierce, the thorned rod that punishes sinners is no match for this karmic fire."
"Things have gotten complicated."
Wei Zheng muttered. The sky was filled with Specter Swordsmen, Lord Shenyan's swordmaster group. They flew past in perfect order toward the pavilion. The Ten Swordmasters raised their swords, glaring with hostility at the underworld officials.
"Jerry Li, why are you here too?"
Yvette Chao said with a hint of anger. Jerry Li raised his hands awkwardly and replied.
"Ah, Miss Chao, long time no see."
With a whoosh, Yvette Chao lunged at Jerry Li with her sword. With a clang, Perry Min blocked her blade with two fingers and spread his hands, separating the two.
"This isn't the time for that."
The ground kept trembling. A bottomless crack opened beneath our feet, and I immediately pulled Master Zachary Wu and Miles Chen into the air.
"How did you get in here?"
Judge Bane roared.
"I split open your Hell and came in."
"You may enter, but you will never leave."
Judge Bane immediately discarded the thorned rod and summoned a longsword, slashing at Lord Shenyan.
Once again, I witnessed a strange phenomenon: Lord Shenyan, who had seemed so weak before, now gained the upper hand against Xu Fu, Tantan, and Yue Que's combined assault.
Now, in the duel with Judge Bane, Lord Shenyan was again dominant. After a round of exchanges, Judge Bane's shoulder was sliced open. He glared furiously at Lord Shenyan, but soon pulled back, raising both hands.
With two booming crashes, twin streams of red ghostly energy swept toward Lord Shenyan.
"Did you forget I was here?"
With a crack, the two streams of red ghost energy exploded before reaching Lord Shenyan. In the flickering red light, Redmond burst out laughing.
"Looks like you can't get close to me now. Long-range attacks are useless against me. Aren't you going to recall the ghost souls you released, Judge Bane?"
"Such petty tricks can't trouble me."
Judge Bane paused, not attacking immediately but closing his eyes. I noticed the crack beneath our feet had vanished.
"You fixed the breach so quickly—truly flawless."
Redmond mocked, while Judge Bane calmly regarded Lord Shenyan and Redmond.
"It's troublesome, but today neither of you will step out of my Great Summoning Hell."
"You still haven't answered my question, Lord Shenyan—why did you come?"
Lord Shenyan looked at Redmond, then raised his sword.
"For justice."