Chapter 1177 Wu'an, Luo Yang
Underworld Officials who are obscure and unregarded are almost all those below the Earth Soul realm. Once they open their Earth Soul, even if they previously had no great accomplishments or legendary feats, they will still receive attention from the relevant departments. However, this attention varies from person to person; compared to Emissaries of Death who have only opened their Heaven Soul, they receive significantly more attention. But when compared to the influential figures within the Underworld Office, the attention they receive is negligible.
In Yang Haoran’s Ninth District, there are a few Underworld Officials who have opened both their Heaven and Earth Souls, but none are particularly famous. Besides Ding Tianhua, who is somewhat well-known as an Emissary of Death, the other Emissaries of Death, even with both souls opened, do not possess a resounding reputation within the Underworld Office circles.
Nevertheless, Underworld Officials who have opened both Heaven and Earth Souls hold a different status; they are fundamentally distinct from those who have only opened their Heaven Soul. Therefore, even without significant renown, they receive far more attention from the relevant departments than those Underworld Officials who have only opened their Heaven Soul.
Consequently, the information recorded in the Underworld Iron Tome for these Emissaries of Death under Yang Haoran, who have successfully opened both their Heaven and Earth Souls, is far more comprehensive than what can be found for ordinary Emissaries of Death who have only opened their Heaven Soul.
Yang Haoran spent some time reviewing all the information on these Emissaries of Death, gaining a deeper understanding of them. However, this "deeper understanding" was merely relative. To claim an absolute understanding of these individuals was clearly impossible; after all, the data in the Underworld Iron Tome was quite limited, and moreover, it could only serve as a reference. One could not directly judge a person's abilities and character based solely on this information.
Nevertheless, Yang Haoran still managed to select two backup candidates based on the information in the Underworld Iron Tome. Although, from the data, these two candidates didn't quite reach his absolute satisfaction, they were still considerably better than the others and met his minimum requirements. Thus, he designated them as backup choices.
Subsequently, he still reviewed the files of the mid-Earth Soul Emissaries of Death under his command. Although there were only a handful of them, and his hopes for them weren't particularly high, out of a rigorous approach, he decided to examine their profiles. Even if he didn't select any of them, gaining a little more insight into them was still something he, as a Guardian, ought to do.
After finishing the review of their profiles, Yang Haoran smiled and dismissed these few. According to their data, the cities they oversaw were among the few major cities in his Ninth District. Not only were these cities crucial to his district, but the complexity of the situations within them was no less than that of Tongyou City. If he were to transfer them, their currently managed cities would be left without such powerful individuals guarding them, and no one could guarantee that problems wouldn't arise as a result. Therefore, this approach was no different from "robbing Peter to pay Paul."
After much consideration, Yang Haoran decided not to move these few. Instead, he prepared to select one of the two candidates chosen from among the early-Earth Soul Emissaries to take over Ding Tianhua's position.
Given Yang Haoran’s personality, he naturally wouldn’t decide whom to choose based solely on information he considered mere reference material. To ultimately determine who would replace Ding Tianhua, he would, of course, need to conduct interviews, deciding on the final candidate through conversation and various specific details.
Yang Haoran had no idea if communication had been restored to normal in the cities where the two individuals were stationed. In Tongyou City, where he was, the communication equipment had long been shattered beyond repair, and with no one to fix it, contacting them by phone was clearly unrealistic.
The New Beginning Realm was already in disarray. The technology, equipment, and even weapons of mass destruction that once existed were now rarely usable. What little usable technology remained was almost entirely in the hands of the Administrative Councils that still possessed considerable power.
If it had merely been a conflict between ordinary people, it certainly wouldn’t have turned the New Beginning Realm into its current state. However, the catastrophe facing the New Beginning Realm this time was unprecedented: demons, monsters, ghosts, and extraordinary individuals had all swarmed out in a frenzy. Their destructive power was astonishing, which was why the New Beginning Realm had become as it was. It was perfectly normal for conventional smart devices used by ordinary citizens to become scrap.
Moreover, even if Tongyou City’s communication was still functional and could coincidentally connect with their cities, Yang Haoran didn’t have their phone numbers. To communicate with them by phone, he would first need to acquire their numbers, which was another troublesome matter—not impossible, but time-consuming.
With communication equipment unusable, Yang Haoran could, of course, directly dispatch someone to their cities to summon them to Tongyou City. However, his trusted aides were not currently by his side. While there were Night Watchers in Tongyou City who had opened their Heaven Soul, they were all important figures in the Tongyou City Underworld Office, currently swamped with the aftermath of Tongyou City. Sending them out would not only delay their current work but also consume a lot of time, and they might even encounter danger en route. Therefore, Yang Haoran decided against this approach.
After a brief thought, he decided to issue a command via the Underworld Iron Tome, ordering the two to immediately come to Tongyou City to see him. Although this approach might give the impression of him "pulling rank as a Guardian," he simply couldn’t think of a better way to handle the matter at present.
With his decision made, Yang Haoran didn’t procrastinate. He immediately issued an order on the Ninth District’s page, requiring the two to rush to Tongyou City to meet him with the utmost speed.
As the command was issued by Yang Haoran, the Guardian himself, without exception, all Emissaries of Death in the Ninth District experienced a strong reaction from their Underworld Iron Tomes immediately. They thus saw Yang Haoran’s issued command at once.
The Emissaries of Death in the Ninth District were greatly perplexed as to why Yang Haoran would suddenly issue such a command. According to previously released news, the Underworld Office had achieved a decisive victory in the battle of Tongyou City. Detailed announcements had also been made regarding who had made significant contributions, who had died in battle, and who was still alive. And conspicuously, among the list of survivors, was the name of Ding Tianhua, the Emissary of Death of Tongyou City.
Since Emissary of Death Ding Tianhua was seemingly unharmed, why would Yang Haoran choose this moment to transfer two Emissaries of Death to Tongyou City immediately, specifically requesting only these two individuals to travel there alone? This was quite intriguing.
Some speculated that perhaps the Spirit Masters had suffered too great a loss in this major battle and were unwilling to let the Tongyou City Underworld Office off so easily. Thus, they might be making a comeback, intent on utterly destroying the Tongyou City Underworld Office to vent their rage and simultaneously inflict immense damage upon the Ninth District.
Yet others didn’t believe this. They felt that if the Spirit Masters truly were making a comeback, Yang Haoran certainly wouldn’t dispatch only two Emissaries of Death for support; that clearly defied common sense.
They believed it was more likely that Ding Tianhua had succumbed to his severe injuries, and the Tongyou City Underworld Office needed someone to immediately take over the Emissary of Death’s position. Hence, Yang Haoran had decided to order these two to rush to Tongyou City. After all, both were experts who had opened their Heaven and Earth Souls; with their strength, taking charge of the Tongyou City Underworld Office might not be guaranteed to be problem-free, but it certainly met the standard for guarding such a major city.
Emissaries of Death who made such conjectures were few, but without exception, they were intelligent individuals skilled at observing details. Although they hadn't guessed entirely correctly, they were very close.
The two individuals chosen by Yang Haoran were not in cities particularly close to Tongyou City—they weren’t neighboring cities—but they weren’t too far either. The distance was one of the reasons Yang Haoran selected them.
Furthermore, while the cities managed by the two were not absolutely peaceful, with daily conflicts still occurring, their Underworld Offices generally fared quite well. At the very least, there hadn't been any large-scale Spirit Master attacks recently. The stability of their respective jurisdictions was also one of Yang Haoran's reasons for choosing them.
Precisely because the distance between their cities and Tongyou City wasn't too great, both soon arrived in Tongyou City one after another.
The first to appear before Yang Haoran was Uan, the Emissary of Death of Jiangyu City. He looked only sixteen or seventeen, a complete youth. However, his perpetually serious expression and the occasional glimpse of world-weariness in his eyes didn't match his youthful face at all, making him seem somewhat out of place.
Uan’s appearance was quite distinctive. As he still looked like a teenager and possessed a baby face, his features conveyed cuteness rather than handsomeness. Coupled with his relatively short stature, only about 1.65 meters, he seemed even more adorable, like a boy next door.
If he hadn't been wearing the Underworld Office's distinctive Death God uniform—the Death God uniform that only Emissaries of Death were qualified to wear—it would have been hard to imagine that this cute young man was actually an Emissary of Death from the Ninth District of the Jingling Continent Underworld Office, and one of the very few who had opened both their Heaven and Earth Souls.
Of course, if one only looked at Uan’s figure and face, the impression was indeed one of cuteness. But if one considered his expression and the world-weariness in his eyes, the feeling changed entirely.
Shortly after Yang Haoran issued the command, perhaps just over an hour later, Uan arrived in Tongyou City and, led by a Night Watcher, came to the building where Yang Haoran was.
The two maidservants still stood respectfully on either side of the main door. Seeing another unfamiliar Emissary of Death, they were puzzled, but before they could inquire, Yang Haoran gave the order from inside for Uan to enter. The two naturally dared not ask further questions; they immediately allowed Uan to proceed, respectfully opening the door for him. However, they couldn't help but steal a couple more glances at Uan's adorable face.
It wasn’t that the two maidservants had fallen for Uan, the Emissary of Death. Under Ding Tianhua’s tutelage, they wouldn’t dare harbor such naive thoughts. Their extra glance at Uan was purely because he was genuinely cute, which involuntarily made them look twice.
Uan, having successfully entered the building, became the first of the two to meet Yang Haoran, the Guardian.
Less than half an hour after Uan met Yang Haoran, the other individual also successfully arrived in Tongyou City and, guided by a Night Watcher, successfully met Yang Haoran.
This person was named Luo Yang, the Emissary of Death of Jiangzhong City. He appeared to be in his early twenties; though he looked slightly older than Uan, he was still much younger compared to Yang Haoran.
Luo Yang not only had a tall and sturdy physique but was also exceptionally handsome, a rare sight indeed. Compared to Uan, there was not only a significant height difference between them, but their facial expressions were also vastly dissimilar.
Uan’s face was perpetually serious, his eyes exuding a sense of weariness, giving the impression of an introvert. Luo Yang, on the other hand, wore a perpetual smirk, his eyes bright and lively, radiating an aura of complete extroversion.
The names of their respective cities were also quite similar. However, this similarity wasn't due to them being neighboring cities; quite the opposite, their cities were not in the same direction at all. The resemblance in names was purely coincidental.
If their cities truly were neighboring, Yang Haoran would absolutely not have allowed them to come see him at the same time. Both would have left their managed jurisdictions, and should any sudden situation arise—for example, Spirit Masters suddenly attacking one of their cities—there would be no one to back them up, which would certainly cause immense losses to the target city. If it came to that, it would be the Underworld Office that suffered. With Yang Haoran's character, he would certainly not do such a thing.
At this moment, Yang Haoran leaned back in his chair, smoking a cigarette with a faint smile on his face. Uan and Luo Yang, the two Emissaries of Death, sat on either side below him, with cups of fragrant tea beside them.
The two sat down, of course, at Yang Haoran’s instruction. Regardless of their prior impressions of Yang Haoran, he was, after all, a Guardian and their direct superior. Furthermore, since Yang Haoran had no grievances with either of them, they naturally wouldn’t immediately show disrespect upon meeting him, the Guardian.
Both Uan, who arrived first, and Luo Yang, who arrived later, observed the basic courtesies expected of a subordinate upon meeting Yang Haoran. They originally had no intention of sitting, prepared instead to remain standing before Yang Haoran.
While this might seem like they were doing so out of reverence for Yang Haoran, the Guardian, that wasn’t actually the case. Their actions had nothing to do with reverence; it was entirely due to the rules of the Underworld Office. Yang Haoran was a Guardian, and they were Emissaries of Death under him, so they had to maintain at least a minimum level of courtesy towards him.
However, at Yang Haoran’s repeated insistence, the two finally sat down. Since Yang Haoran wasn't bothered by the formality and even invited them to sit multiple times, they naturally wouldn't continue to refuse.
Before Luo Yang arrived, Uan had already been seated for some time. During this period, Yang Haoran didn't bring up official business, merely chatting idly with Uan.
Since Yang Haoran hadn't proactively mentioned official matters, Uan naturally wouldn't foolishly urge Yang Haoran to get to the point. He knew that Yang Haoran definitely wouldn't discuss official business before Luo Yang arrived, so he didn't ask directly, but instead chatted about various unrelated topics with Yang Haoran.
The situation between them at the time was less a conversation and more a question-and-answer session; the questioner was, of course, Yang Haoran the Guardian, and the answerer was Uan the Emissary of Death.
Even though Yang Haoran and Uan had only had a brief interaction before Luo Yang arrived, it was in this very brief contact that Yang Haoran gained a deeper understanding of Uan.
Uan appeared to be merely a youth, yet he completely lacked youthful arrogance. Instead, he was mature and steady. Although somewhat introverted, his mind was exceptionally sharp.
These aspects of Uan were not recorded in the Underworld Iron Tome. This was information Yang Haoran deduced after his brief interaction with Uan, through Uan's words, actions, and various details. Although he couldn't be one hundred percent certain that his conclusions were flawless, in his estimation, they were very close to the truth.
After Luo Yang appeared, Uan immediately felt a sense of relief, as Yang Haoran's attention shifted entirely to Luo Yang. Just as with Uan earlier, Yang Haoran didn't immediately get to the main point and announce official business. Instead, he chatted idly with Luo Yang, asking about things like the recent situation in Jiangzhong City, any significant covert movements by Spirit Masters, whether his journey was arduous, or if any incidents occurred along the way, and so forth.
Some of the questions Yang Haoran asked, though not official business, were still acceptable, at least providing some understanding of Jiangzhong City's current situation. But other questions seemed rather pointless.
Nevertheless, it was precisely the combination of these somewhat insightful and entirely pointless questions that, without him realizing it, also allowed Yang Haoran to gain a deeper understanding of Luo Yang.
Luo Yang was a straightforward person, giving the impression of being somewhat careless. However, he wasn't the kind of reckless hothead who would say or do anything. On the contrary, despite his seemingly nonchalant demeanor, he only spoke when appropriate and steadfastly kept silent when he shouldn't, proving himself quite intelligent. In this regard, he bore some resemblance to Xiang Chuan, yet also differed.
The brief interactions had provided Yang Haoran with a deeper understanding of both men. With enough time elapsed and sufficient insights gained, he felt it was time to discuss official matters with them.
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