All the undead stared in shock at the figure before them.
They hadn't expected anyone to be so audacious as to disregard the authority of the Lord of the Underworld and directly confront him.
"Who is that guy? How dare he?"
"Who knows who he is! I'm your father, I died before you, and I'd like to ask you."
"Hands behind his back, with a buzz cut, where did this guy come from?
Someone go and drag him back! Don't anger the Lord of the Underworld!"
The undead beside the golden River Styx immediately erupted in a commotion, whispering among themselves.
"Hiss~ I've been in a daze for too long, my memory is all blurry, I think I recognize this guy."
A male undead wearing the old-style Spirit Hall deacon's uniform stroked his chin, his eyes filled with reminiscence.
The undead man dressed in the uniform of the Spirit Empire's garrison gritted his teeth and said, word by word,
"Hmph, I know this guy. I'm the garrison commander of Jialing Pass."
"I'd recognize him even if he were ashes. Ha, the renowned 'Master,' huh?"
"By the way, has anyone seen Dugu Bo?
We haven't been able to find him.
So many of our brothers want to have a heart-to-heart talk with him."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless heads surged, searching everywhere, trying to drag Dugu Bo out.
The sheer number of undead was enough to kill someone with trypophobia on the spot.
The Spirit Empire's garrison at Jialing Pass numbered approximately 500,000.
If not all, at least 80% were poisoned by Dugu Bo; even at a conservative estimate, it was close to 400,000.
In the Holy Spirit Cult, that would be considered a ruthless elder-level figure.
It's just that Dugu Bo was born at a good time; now, he'd be considered a powerful evil spirit master.
Dugu Bo, of course, hadn't reincarnated yet; he had died relatively late.
He now stood coldly among the crowd of restless spirits.
Some around him recognized him; after all, he was a powerful figure beside the Sea God Tang San, and his reputation was considerable.
"So what if you find me?"
"The Underworld forbids armed conflict. Yes, I admit you mostly died from my poisonous arts."
"No matter how angry you are at me, I will never regret my decision."
"If you want to blame someone, blame yourself for not choosing the right side."
Dugu Bo crossed his arms, closed his eyes, and ignored the curses of the surrounding spirits.
In his view, war was just like that—survival of the fittest, ruthless and merciless.
Even if it happened again, he would still choose to use poison.
"Choose a side?"
"Dugu Bo? Did you choose the right side?"
"Your old friend didn't seem to have brought you to the God Realm, did he?"
"I'm curious, does the Dugu clan still exist? Did they all poison themselves to death?"
"Why don't you shout and summon the Dugu clan to gather? See if they've survived to this day?"
A tall, elderly man stepped out from the crowd, his tone mocking.
The surrounding Spirit Empire guards recognized the old man, and someone exclaimed,
"Golden Crocodile Douluo!"
Dugu Bo saw him, his eyes unreadable, ignoring the Golden Crocodile Douluo's sarcasm.
Sometimes, no answer is the best answer.
If asked whether Dugu Bo regretted his actions before his death, he did have some regrets.
Tang San hadn't cured the Dugu clan's ailment, only provided a way to avoid it, but this method had significant flaws.
The poison was indeed forced into the soul bone, but if one wanted to continue cultivating, the poison would regenerate continuously until the soul bone could no longer withstand it.
The solution was simple: fuse with another soul bone, using it as a new vessel.
The principle is easy to understand, but difficult to implement.
At that time, how many soul bones were there on the entire continent?
Even the elders of the Spirit Hall combined probably couldn't gather a complete set.
The soul bones also couldn't be too old; at least ten thousand years was needed to contain them.
He and his granddaughter had no problem; with their Title Douluo strength and the prestige they had gained in war, finding a few soul bones was easy.
However, the future bloodline of the Dugu clan suffered. Soul bones corrupted by poison were uninheritable; absorbing such soul bones was tantamount to suicide.
In other words, every generation of Jade Phosphorous Serpent Soul Masters needed soul bones to become stronger; without them, they would die instantly.
To obtain soul bones, the family needed Soul Douluo or even Title Douluo level experts, but to become strong, the poison problem had to be solved.
A single-minded approach had become a dead end, a vicious cycle.
Originally, relying on the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, with the suppression of extreme ice and fire, it was possible to bypass soul bones and become a Title Douluo.
Unfortunately, the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was given to Tang San and now belongs to Huo Yuhao.
Looking back, the Jade Phosphorous Serpent lineage was only fortunate to find the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well and use it to suppress poison, becoming a Title Douluo.
For this lineage to become a Nine-Ring Douluo is incredibly difficult.
In an era before Soul Cores existed, they had to try to condense poison into poison pills.
Dugu Bo's death essentially sealed the fate of the Dugu clan.
Seeing Dugu Bo's silence, Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't say anything more.
His strong resentment towards Dugu Bo stemmed from the fact that Dugu Bo had poisoned the Jialing Pass garrison in front of him.
Now, most of those people had reunited in the Underworld; he had even seen that brat Qian Xunji, but Qian Renxue was avoiding him and refused to see him.
"Sigh, never mind."
"That all happened countless years ago. Everyone's in the Underworld now, and they're about to be reincarnated."
"Everyone, give me, Golden Crocodile, some face. Don't gather together; it'll only cause trouble for the Lord of the Underworld.
Be prepared, so you don't reincarnate with too much negative emotion."
Golden Crocodile Douluo's reputation was still very high, and dwelling on past lives was pointless. The surrounding spirits glared at Dugu Bo before dispersing.
"Thanks,"
Dugu Bo said abruptly. Golden Crocodile Douluo paused, waved, and disappeared into the crowd.
He was still busy looking for Xiaoxue. From the last surviving spirit, he already knew the outcome of the war.
Qian Daoliu wasn't in the Underworld, and as her second grandfather, he had a responsibility to be with her. Returning to Huo Yuhao,
Huo Yuhao put down the Book of the End and looked at the short-haired man before him.
He felt the man looked familiar, but couldn't quite place him.
The short-haired man spoke.
"Great Lord of the Underworld, the Underworld is newly established, and what it needs most now is a strong and effective order."
"I have a proposal: the Underworld can establish an empire, modeled after the empires of the mortal world, using a ducal system to cultivate etiquette and humility, bestowing titles upon lords to manage and develop the vast Underworld."
"All things in the world should follow a hierarchy, with the high ruling over the low, the strong governing the weak, the strong preying on the weak.
The Underworld should be no exception. Only in this way can the Underworld function healthily." "
Therefore, Lord of the Underworld, please declare yourself Emperor!"
Huo Yuhao's eyes changed. Where did this feudal remnant come from?
And he was so bold, almost completely destroying Xia Die's dream of the Underworld with just one sentence.
Xia Die pursed her lips, tightly holding Huo Yuhao's large hand. She hated this kind of system.
If it were like this, what difference would there be between the Underworld and reality?
Death would be neither just nor warm.
If her Underworld became like this, it would be better to let it return to its original chaotic state, at least that would be just enough.
Before Huo Yuhao and Xia Die could say anything, the undead behind them erupted in chaos.
"What the hell is this guy saying?!" "
What kind of beast does this thing want to turn the Underworld into?!" "Damn
it! He bowed and scraped to nobles while alive, and he's still bowing and scraping in death.
Didn't I die for nothing?!"
"The Lord of the Underworld is such a gentle god, willing to offer warmth to the dead. How could this guy be so vicious?!"
"Drag that guy away!"
"Yes, drag him away!"
Huo Yuhao pressed his hand down, signaling everyone to be quiet, and looked at the short-haired man, saying,
"May I ask your name?"
The short-haired man ignored the furious glares of the countless undead behind him, his hands behind his back, a confident expression on his face.
"Yu Xiaogang."
"People of my generation liked to call me Master. I also served as the National Preceptor of the Heaven Dou Empire and have some insights into governance."
"Tang San, the Sea God, was a student I personally taught."
Huo Yuhao leaned back strategically, taking a deep breath, and said,
"Master Yu Xiaogang!"
"A renowned surrealist writer of the Douluo Continent!"
"His work, 'My Life,' is hailed as a pinnacle of surrealism and fantasy on the continent!"
"Excellent in literary quality and imagination, selected as one of the 100 must-read books of the Heaven Dou Plain."
"A feudalist fighter who has abandoned highbrow tastes and firmly stands against the people of Douluo."
"So it's you."
Yu Xiaogang didn't react for a moment, waving his hand and adding,
"Actually, I still prefer the title of Master of Martial Soul Theory."
"Not really a writer."
Huo Yuhao smiled and said,
"Let's forget about Martial Soul Theory.
The continent doesn't recognize that now; it's been debunked by countless Soul Masters.
But your writing is indeed excellent!"
"Also, I suggest you don't mention the title 'Tang San, the Sea God' anymore, and try not to go any further. It would be best if you reincarnated now."
"Otherwise, when the rest of the dead arrive, you'd better pray you can keep your mouth shut."
Huo Yuhao had barely finished speaking when a pair of strong hands grabbed Yu Xiaogang and dragged him away.
"Ha, a master of spirit theory, huh!"
"More like a plagiarism master! I read those theories of yours in books when I was a child!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo threw Yu Xiaogang to the crowd behind him.
Yu Xiaogang tried to struggle, but countless hands covered his mouth, pulling him back forcefully.
If it weren't for the underworld's rules prohibiting the dead from killing each other, Yu Xiaogang would already be torn to pieces.
Neither humans nor spirit beasts wanted the underworld to have a feudal system like the real world.
Standing beside Golden Crocodile Douluo was a blonde woman with her head bowed; her identity was self-evident.
(End of Chapter)
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