Blue Phoenix

Not far away, Yanluo was seated in a chair with closed eyes and a smile on his lips, "To think that a simple conversation with this young man was enough to instill in her the desire to live."

"I guess that we who have lived in Diyu for so long have forgotten that death is not always final. The ones who come here have no path of return, but us Gods are different. As long as their soul is within the Yellow River, then they can be resurrected either as their old lives or be thrown into the cycle of reincarnation."

"Only He Bo is in control of the Yellow River, and even if I wished to go and force him to release Chujiang, he would refuse. Never did it cross my mind to try and trade something for a soul."

"Although He Bo is stronger than me, he never ventures away from the Yellow River. Apparently, he feels such great reverence for master that he would never slack on the task given to him."

"Still, he is no kind soul. He even had one of his eyes shot out by Houyi because he killed countless mortals throughout the various worlds by making devastating floods."

"But considering that he is stuck within the Yellow River, it is highly likely that he lacks things, things that can be traded for one soul of a mere God. One soul more or less doesn't matter and considering his position; Master will not even get mad at him for doing so."

"But if he truly returns what am I to do?" Yanluo reached this point and started pondering. "If he came back… He is the true Chujiang, but I am currently trying to find another King of Hell... What am I to do? Make another court? Make them work together? Ask Chujiang to retire? I don't know."

Yanluo sighed for the first time, but King Qinguang just chuckled. "It is rare to see you so troubled, brother," he said laughingly, and Yanluo shot him an exhausted glance before he shook his head.

"I guess that we could probably ask Chujiang to retire. He will most likely sooner or later leave the second court to go find the Alchemist God again, and to him, it would be a load off his shoulders," Yanluo finally said after a long pause. "No matter what, it is indeed a great idea to get fresh blood into our courts. Even if we cannot get this Pei Yue, any of the others are also as interesting; anyone of them will make Diyu stronger!"

Yanluo, finally reaching a conclusion, nodded his head with satisfaction before he turned to look at King Qinguang with a big smile.

"Be careful not to die, or you'll be replaced too!" he said jokingly as he looked at the sky above. His cheerful expression turned serious as he said, "In the future, should one of us die then I will go seek He Bo and trade some rare treasure for the sake of getting them back. I'm kicking myself right now for not thinking of this myself, but I just assumed that his death was final. Master never mentioned the possibility of bringing Gods back to life."

"Master must have his reasons," King Qinguang said with a face full of respect and awe as he thought about their almighty master. The respect he held for their master was borderline fanatical, and it was different from how he looked at Yanluo.

While the two were chatting, servants appeared in front of every room occupied by a youngster undergoing the trials. Everyone’s door was opened, and they were all given the same information.

"Two weeks from now will be the tournament. It will be knockout style, and the winner will be the new Judge of Hell. Each person will fight once a day, and it is against the rules to use any treasures or pills during the tournament. King Yanluo only wants to see your personal strength."

Everyone was excited as they heard this piece of news; it was finally time to display their skills!

The reason it would take a full two weeks until they could start was because Yanluo sent a message to every Judge of Hell about the tournament, and he wished for them to arrive in time to observe the fights. Two weeks was the amount of time it would take for the judge from the tenth court to arrive if he flew here at his top speed.

Although not all of these experts could become the Judge of Hell, their strength could still help the Netherworld. Some could be adopted into the families of the other judges, and they would end up being a strength of Diyu that way.

Of the experts remaining in the trial, only three came from a major sect or family, and although those three were impossible to recruit, the other five were all from minor families who would benefit greatly if their younger generation found a protector. Even more so, if they became part of the family.

Knowing that their next trial would be a tournament and that they only had two weeks before it begun, everyone instantly started meditating.

Hui Yue spent his time either strengthening his soul, practicing with his soulforce, improving his Ancestral Worldpower Skills, or comprehending his daos. He did not consume any Pills of Clarity even though they would help him comprehend another dao, right now that would only hurt him. Instead, he wished to become much stronger with the strength he already had.

He consumed quite a number of pills that he had traded for the Pills of Clarity, and he was all in all pleased with his results.

By the time the two weeks had passed, Hui Yue was no longer considered a new God. His strength and Ancestral Worldpower pool were now so developed that he could finally be considered a real Primordial God.

Not only this, but his control over gravity was increasing alongside his Ancestral Worldpower Skills.

He had tried to use his newfound knowledge of the wind but found that although he could sense the wind all around him, and he could use it to boost his speed, it was still impossible for him to fully use the strength of the wind until he fully comprehended the dao.

Even so, Hui Yue was not in a rush to focus on the many daos of wind. He had comprehended many daos already and now could handle most Primordial Immortals, but there were always exceptions.

"Although my Ancestral Worldpower pool has increased, I am still able to gain energy by absorbing it from my foes using devour. I have my blue cloud and the red mist. I can heal most wounds with lifeforce because of the green pearl and my wings which greatly add to my speed and agility. I can become as tough as a mountain by using the red gem not to mention my daos of inferno, sword, and gravity."

"And even more I have Lan Feng's bloodline, my own bloodlines, the daos that Lan Feng has comprehended, and the mysterious black figure that hates me."

"Although I previously said that I would like this final trial to be a tournament, and I feel like I should be able to win, the truth is that I don't know the strength of my opponents. Pei Ze claims to be the top expert of the Celestial Sword Sect, but he definitely cannot hold a candle to the expert from the Nightcrawler Sect."

"The other experts in the trial are not Immortals of Creation, but I assume that this is because of their focus on the dao. If they have comprehended a few daos, then I could be in trouble especially if they are of the same element and have been merged. Worst would be if someone managed to comprehend an entire major dao!"

Hui Yue was mumbling to himself with worry, but soon his eyes iced over and his voice turned cold. "I cannot lose! Even if I have to use everything at my disposal, I will not give up. I am going to win and resurrect Ju Long!"

Gripping his hand so tightly that blood was dripping down, Hui Yue looked out his window with furrowed brows. He was not keen on being ruthless and sacrificing others but to get Ju Long back, Hui Yue was willing to kill almost anyone.

The guard entered the room, and just as he was about to speak, he paused as he saw Hui Yue. The young man was so engrossed in his thoughts as he looked out the window that he seemingly did not notice the guard, but just as the guard was about to turn around and leave, Hui Yue left the window and looked at him.

"What can I do for you?" he asked curiously as the cold gleam in his eyes from a second ago was gone.

"You will be fighting the others soon," the guard said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Why don't we go to the Meditation Room and spar? The room might not be big, but having a real fight is good for you instead of constantly training on your own."

Hearing this, Hui Yue was taken aback at first before a smile broke out on his lips. "You know I’m sure this isn’t a part of your job as a guard," he said cheekily as he moved towards the meditation room. "I am very grateful for the offer! Please instruct me!"

The reason Hui Yue was excited was because the guard was an Immortal of Creation. He had never before fought against an Immortal of Creation and he wanted to know how he compared to an expert of this caliber.

Hui Yue's guard was not the strongest or most talented individual around, but he was not bad either. His talents were comparable to the Fu brothers, and his position was very much like theirs. Where the Fu brothers had chosen to support and guard the Celestial Sword Sect, this guard decided to protect and support Diyu and especially Yanluo. Only the strongest experts in the guards of Diyu were allowed to become Yanluo’s guards.

As they entered the meditation room, the guard instantly bowed in front of Hui Yue.

"Sorry, I think that I have never introduced myself as anything other than your guard. I am Wei. I left my family, and thus I no longer bear any other name than Wei.”

"I should not be offering to help you as my only task is to protect you, but you have shown me great kindness, and I want to repay you. The only way I could think of was to help you with your training."

He shook his head apologetically but Hui Yue just smiled, "It is indeed a great help!"

Energy started to swirl around Hui Yue's body as Ancestral Worldpower, and soulforce were roused from within his body both visible to the naked eye.

The reason he was forced use soulforce as soon as he had laid eyes on the guard was obvious. An overwhelming aura was pressing down on him making every single movement difficult, and even breathing was no easy task.

"Do not underestimate someone with more Ancestral Worldpower. Although daos are important, so is the amount of Ancestral Worldpower one controls. Just by releasing my Ancestral Worldpower I can make it hard for you to stand."

"I will make my aura similar to one that is at the peak of the Primordial Immortal rank, but don’t take me too lightly. This level is far from where you are now!"