Silence reigned.
The entire room seemed to be under a forbidden spell; no one spoke.
On the high platform, Chen Qi's heavy breathing was amplified infinitely.
He Zhou's spear had been shattered by the Nine Heavens Devil Halberd, and he had fallen below the high platform, his fate unknown, being maintained by the Yellow Springs Envoy to preserve his weak vital signs.
Chen Qi, who had just forcibly restrained Xiao Hei's movements despite the enormous backlash, was now in the opposite position, with Xiao Hei gripping his neck and his struggles proving futile.
Xiao Hei stared indifferently at Chen Qi with eyes as deep as a still pool, and said softly, "If this weren't a competition, you would already be dead."
Xiao Hei could feel Chen Qi's throat moving up and down in his palm.
Chen Qi looked unwilling, but now he could only sigh, his voice hoarse, and after a long while, he finally said, "I lost..."
Xiao Hei then released his grip.
The Nine Heavens Devil Halberd was sheathed, and all the black demonic energy returned to Xiao Hei's body. His deep, abyss-like eyes gradually returned to normal.
Envoy Tao appeared out of nowhere and announced loudly, "The competition among the candidates has ended. Xiao Hei has won first place. After the handover of affairs, the succession ceremony of the Nine Nether Underworld Lord will be held, and all the Underworld in the myriad realms will be notified at that time."
The dust has settled.
All the candidates looked up at Xiao Hei with eyes full of reverence.
The previous doubts, contempt, and jealousy have long since vanished.
Might makes right.
In the third round of the competition, he fought against ten opponents single-handedly, a terrifying strength that proved he was qualified to sit on the throne of the Nine Nether Underworld Lord.
It's just that my current cultivation level isn't high enough... but with this talent, plus the resources of the Underworld, it's only a matter of time.
As for privileges...
With that kind of talent and ability, he deserves special privileges.
At this moment, Envoy Tao looked at Xiao Hei and said, "Come with me..." Then, Envoy Tao's gaze fell on Chen Qi and He Zhou, "And you, come with me too. As for the one who can't be moved, Envoy Yun, you take him there."
The Envoy Yun, who was treating the wounded in He Zhou, nodded upon hearing this.
Chen Qi's body stiffened for a moment, but he quickly recovered and followed behind Envoy Tao after taking a pill.
"Those who advance to the third round will be granted access to the Nether King Hall, where they will be given a chance to comprehend the Nether King's True Essence as a reward."
Those who advanced to the third round, including Xue Ling, all beamed with joy.
The Nether King's True Essence —that's an insight left behind by the Nine Nether Underworld Lord! Let alone fully comprehending it, even just a tenth of it would be immeasurable for their future.
Side hall.
Envoy Tao brought Xiao Hei and Chen Qi to the man, while Envoy Yun carried He Zhou over.
The man smiled at Xiao Hei and said, "As expected of the successor of the Lord of the Nether Lord, the Lord's judgment is never wrong."
Xiao Hei had returned to normal, grinning as he said, "It doesn't matter whose successor I am, what matters is that I had a great time today."
The man laughed loudly, "You really are a battle maniac. But now that you've taken over the position of Nether Lord, you can't solve everything with fighting anymore. You need to learn to use tactics."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hei immediately said, "Then forget it. This position of Nether Lord is not suitable for me. Give it to someone else."
man. "..."
Envoy Tao: "..."
Chen Qi thought to himself, "Then what's the point of me fighting so hard for this?"
"Ahem." The man coughed, covering his mouth, and said, "It's alright. You just need to step in at crucial moments; you can delegate the rest to others."
other people?
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Hei's first thought wasn't of his senior and junior brothers, but of the Gu Sheng.
Thinking of this, Xiao Hei said, "Then I happen to have someone in mind."
"Oh?" Envoy Tao asked in surprise, "So quickly you've entered the 'hands-off' stage? But that person must be completely trustworthy and have sufficient ability. The affairs of the Underworld cannot afford the slightest mistake, after all, they are in charge of the cycle of reincarnation across all realms."
Xiao Hei nodded. "His ability to manage things is definitely better than mine, and there's no doubt about his trustworthiness. He was also personally appointed by the Lord of the Nether Lord Nether Lord's Attendant."
Nether Lord's Attendant?
Envoy Tao, was startled, then looked at the man.
The man's eye twitched repeatedly. "No wonder the Lord of the Nether Lord has taken a liking to him... even his way of being a hands-off manager is exactly the same."
The Envoy Yun standing nearby couldn't help but laugh, pointing at the man and saying, "This is Nether Lord's close attendant; many of the Underworld's affairs have been delegated to him by the Nether Lord."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hei looked at the man and nodded seriously, "That's perfect, senior, you can pass on this experience to the Gu Sheng."
The man... that is, Tan Feng, had his eye twitching even more frequently.
"Can't you just let me retire?"
Xiao Hei chuckled and scratched his head. "The capable should do more, right?"
Holy crap...
Tan Feng suddenly had a strong urge to beat Xiao Hei up and then leave without a care in the world.
Taking a few deep breaths, he finally managed to suppress his killing intent before looking at He Zhou and saying, " Envoy Yun, wake him up."
Although the Envoy Yun was puzzled, he nodded and pointed a finger at He Zhou's forehead.
He Zhou then slowly came to his senses.
Seeing the scene before him, He Zhou forced himself to stand up, cupped his hands, and said, "Gentlemen."
" He Zhou," Tan Feng said solemnly, "Where did you get that spear? As far as I know, people from the Underworld have virtually no access to such weapons."
The inhabitants of the Underworld all cultivate the Power of Reincarnation, and have developed their own unique system.
Weapons from the outside world that are based on the Power of Reincarnation are extremely rare, not to mention that the Power of Reincarnation in the outside world is subtly different from the Power of Reincarnation in the Underworld.
Furthermore, unless under special circumstances, people from the Underworld are not allowed to travel to the human world.
Even the lords of other great realms Underworld are the same.
Without the slightest hesitation, He Zhou immediately replied, "Reporting to your Excellency, this spear was given to me by the Prefect. As for its origin, you would need to ask the Prefect; I do not know."
The "Lord of the Prefecture" mentioned by He Zhou is naturally the Lord of the Underworld in the Soaring Realm Underworld.
Tan Feng frowned. "Alright, I'll send someone to verify this..." Tan Feng looked at Chen Qi. "And what about you? The Black Rock Realm Underworld you're in is higher than the Soaring Realm. Where did your understanding of the Power of Reincarnation come from?"
Chen Qi shrugged and laughed, "Perhaps it's because I have higher talent."
That makes perfect sense...
Tan Feng waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can go to the Nether King Hall to gain enlightenment."
Chen Qi and He Zhou exchanged a glance, cupped their hands in greeting, and took their leave.
Seeing the two leave.
Xiao Hei then asked in confusion, "Why do you ask that? Aren't they all acting normally?"
"Under normal circumstances, Chen Qi would be considered normal, but now is a time when various forces are secretly stirring up trouble, so the appearance of these two at this juncture is not normal."
Xiao Hei looked at Tan Feng, Envoy Tao, and Envoy Yun, who were all kneeling on the ground.
The sound came from behind.
Xiao Hei turned around and saw a familiar figure. At the same time, Tan Feng and the other two behind him solemnly announced, "Greetings, Nether Lord!"