The next moment, an immense surge of divine power poured into the token.
A deep hum resounded throughout heaven and earth.
The Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token swelled in the wind, becoming a black-and-white curtain of light that blotted out the sky in an instant.
With the City of Wrongful Death at its center, the curtain rapidly spread in every direction.
In mere moments, every city, village, sect, and noble territory within a thousand li was enveloped by the black-and-white curtain!
Every living being beneath it, whether cultivating or occupied with earning a living, felt an indescribable pressure at that instant.
It was as though a pair of unseen eyes were watching their every move.
Some, with clear consciences, felt only confusion.
Others felt inexplicably anxious, cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads.
The nobles who usually used their power to bully others and oppress the common people felt a tremor from the depths of their souls the instant the curtain descended.
"Wh-what is that?"
Inside a noble estate, a middle-aged man in splendid clothes sprang to his feet.
He looked at the black-and-white light filling the sky outside his window, his face etched with terror.
"Someone! Get in here, now!"
"What on earth is happening?"
Yet no matter how he shouted, he could not dispel the growing unease in his heart.
Meanwhile, on a city street, an old man in ragged clothes looked up as well.
The old man gazed at the curtain on the horizon, his cloudy eyes filled with shock.
He had once watched with his own eyes as his son was taken away by nobles for no reason. He had also knelt before those lofty figures, begging them to spare his family.
But in the end, the old man had gotten nothing.
Apart from humiliation, all that remained was endless despair.
Now, looking at the black-and-white curtain spreading from the direction of the City of Wrongful Death, the old man suddenly had a powerful premonition.
Perhaps the justice he had waited so many years for was finally coming!
Just then, Zhong Tian's voice rang out across heaven and earth.
"I am Zhong Tian, the Underworld's Hell Judge!"
"Today, in the name of the Hell Judge, I wield the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token to examine the past deeds of all beings within a thousand li!"
"The good shall receive their reward!"
"The wicked shall suffer their punishment!"
"All who oppress the people, treat human lives as worthless, or abuse their power for personal gain shall be subject to the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token's scrutiny!"
"All that you have done in the past shall be judged by this token!"
The moment his voice fell, the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token shook with a thunderous rumble.
The black-and-white light seemed to become countless chains, instantly crossing the thousand-li expanse and reaching every living being beneath the curtain.
Then an incredible sight unfolded.
Countless phantom souls emerged uncontrollably from people's bodies, then turned into streaks of light and were drawn into the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token!
Before those Soul Masters could resist, they found their consciousnesses being pulled away by a mysterious force.
The ordinary people had even less idea what was happening. They could only watch helplessly as their souls left their bodies and flew toward the token suspended in the sky.
"No!"
"Help!"
"What kind of evil sorcery is this?"
Cries of panic rose and fell.
Some desperately channeled their Soul Power, trying to resist the force.
Some fell to their knees, frantically begging the gods for protection.
Some nobles even ordered their family Soul Masters to attack, hoping to shatter the black-and-white curtain.
But no matter how they struggled, they could not stop their souls from being taken.
Before the power of the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token, ordinary Soul Power could change nothing.
Soul after soul was drawn into the token.
Then the black-and-white light within the token began to weave and flow, as though distinguishing one by one what these souls had done in life.
Some souls radiated a gentle white light.
Others were wrapped in thick black Qi as soon as they entered.
The black and the white seemed to represent two entirely different fates.
And the celestial screen displayed this scene in its entirety to the whole Douluo Continent!
"It has begun!"
"Zhong Tian has really begun the judgment!"
When countless people saw the scene on the celestial screen clearly, a great uproar swept across the Douluo Continent.
Ordinary people who had long suffered under the nobles' oppression looked at the souls being drawn away in the sky. Shock gave way to barely contained excitement.
They had waited far too long for this day!
In the past, they had not even possessed the courage to resist the nobles' oppression.
Even when someone suffered an injustice, they could only appeal for help everywhere, never receiving justice.
But now, a judge of the Underworld had personally taken action!
No matter how distinguished those nobles' former statuses had been, or what powers stood behind them, at least at this moment, they could no longer act as recklessly as before!
"Wonderful!"
"Heaven has eyes!"
"The Underworld's judge has come! Those nobles who have committed so many wicked deeds will finally be punished!"
"Noble or not, anyone who does evil should pay the price!"
"This is a true upright judge! This is the upright judge our Douluo Continent needs!"
Cries rang out from city after city.
Countless ordinary people looked up at the celestial screen, their eyes brimming with tears of excitement.
Some gripped their families' hands tightly, some remembered relatives and friends who had died at the nobles' hands, and others knelt on the ground and repeatedly kowtowed in the direction of the City of Wrongful Death.
To these people, Zhong Tian's appearance meant they finally had a chance to escape their old lives, when anyone could bully them.
They did not know just how powerful the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token was, nor did they know how the Underworld's judgment would proceed.
But they knew that the man who had once been executed for judging nobles had now stepped forward again!
And this time, Zhong Tian had the entire Underworld behind him!
"The upright judge has come!"
"The upright judge of our Douluo Continent has finally come!"
The cheers grew louder and louder.
In the hearts of countless people, their image of Zhong Tian rapidly changed.
Once a stranger and a judge of the Underworld, Zhong Tian was now a judge who could uphold justice for ordinary people, someone in whom they placed their hopes.
As this feeling continued to spread, a brand-new title rapidly circulated across the Douluo Continent.
Douluo's Upright Judge!
The Noble Tribunal had officially opened for business!
Meanwhile, in the Fengdu Grand Hall.
Chen Yuan sat upright on his throne, quietly watching the judgment unfold on the celestial screen.
When he saw the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token cover a thousand li and Zhong Tian formally announce the start of the judgment to the Douluo Continent, a faint smile of satisfaction finally appeared on Chen Yuan's face.
"Good."
"This is what a subject of my Underworld should do."
Chen Yuan's voice was not loud, but it reached the ears of every ghost and god in the hall.
In Chen Yuan's view, since the Underworld had decided to return to the mortal world, it could not merely look down from on high at everything happening on the Douluo Continent.
The Underworld needed to display sufficient majesty to those who had committed countless evil deeds.
And for the ordinary people who had suffered oppression for so long, the Underworld likewise needed to show them hope.
Zhong Tian's judgment was the first step.
Good and evil were distinct; rewards and punishments were clearly meted out.
Those who were guilty should pay the price.
Those who were innocent should not suffer injustice because of their low status.
This was the order Chen Yuan hoped the Underworld would establish on the Douluo Continent.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Below the throne, Qian Daoliu was the first to bow.
Beside him, Bibi Dong, Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and the other ghosts and gods of the Underworld also lowered their heads, their expressions solemn.
To them, Zhong Tian's action was more than an ordinary judgment.
It also meant that the Underworld was beginning to truly involve itself in rebuilding order on the Douluo Continent.
From this day forward, the nobles who had relied on their power to run rampant would finally face the Underworld's scrutiny.
And the ordinary people they had oppressed, who had never had anywhere to appeal for justice, finally had a chance to seek redress for the injustices they had suffered.
Qian Daoliu looked at Zhong Tian on the celestial screen, a trace of approval flashing in his eyes.
Bibi Dong said little, merely turning her gaze into the distance.
She knew full well that this judgment had only just begun.
A thousand li was only a beginning.
When Zhong Tian's judgment truly spread across the entire Douluo Continent, the evils hidden behind power and glory would eventually be exposed to the world, one by one.
And as Chen Yuan formally expressed his approval of the matter, the images on the celestial screen began to change.
Cities, noble territories, and countless figures beneath the Good and Evil Reward and Punishment Token appeared one after another before the beings of the Douluo Continent.
The Douluo Tribunal's first judgment had officially begun!
The entire Douluo Continent would witness this unprecedented storm with its own eyes!