Novels online

Chapter 375: A Guardian Appears

The platform was entirely black, constructed from massive black boulders, with skull-sized ghost flames floating around its perimeter, illuminating the entire structure.

Yang Haoran glanced at Xu Meijing beside him, seeing that her gaze was also fixed on the platform.

"What's this stone platform for? And what's that black hole? " Yang Haoran asked Xu Meijing, lowering his voice.

This time, he wasn't pretending; he genuinely had no idea.

Xu Meijing, with her hands in her pockets, shook her head and replied, "I'm not too sure either."

Yang Haoran was somewhat surprised. In his impression, Xu Meijing was practically an encyclopedia, someone who knew everything. But to his astonishment, even Xu Meijing didn't know what this platform and black hole actually were.

"Why so surprised? Did you really think I knew everything? " Xu Meijing said, noticing the astonishment on Yang Haoran's face. "Still, you heard that voice that echoed throughout the Underworld just now. From the sound of it, this platform and black hole might have something to do with submitting souls."

No sooner had Xu Meijing finished speaking than a massive rift suddenly tore open in the space above the platform. One after another, figures emerged from the spatial rift.

The appearance of these individuals immediately drew the gazes of all the Underworld Officials in Jingling Continent.

A moment later, no more figures emerged from the spatial rifts, and the rifts vanished. Without exception, exactly one hundred people had appeared on the platforms of all four continents.

These hundred individuals, old and young, male and female, brought out stone desks and chairs after appearing on the platform, arranging them neatly.

In addition, they placed an imposing stone chair in the most prominent, special position on the platform, clearly reserved for a great personage.

They then took their respective seats, and immediately thereafter, each pulled out an Underworld Iron Tome, placing it on the stone table before them.

No one exchanged whispers, nor did they make much noise. They simply attended to their own business. Once everything was set, they sat rigidly in their seats, their expressions solemn, as if awaiting something.

This was true not only for the hundred Ghost Officials on the Jingling Continent platform but also for the hundred individuals on the platforms of the other three continents.

Judging by their attire, they were all Ghost Officials from the Underworld.

Not long after these Ghost Officials sat down, another rift appeared in the space above the platform. This time, however, the phenomenon only occurred on the platform belonging to Jingling Continent.

As the spatial rift appeared, a figure stepped out, standing ramrod straight on the platform.

Upon seeing this figure, many Underworld Officials in Jingling Continent erupted in excitement. Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing also showed surprise, while the hundred Ghost Officials who had just sat down immediately rose from their seats and respectfully saluted the newcomer.

This sudden appearance was none other than Luo Yao, the Guardian and direct superior of Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing.

Jingling Continent had a total of nine Guardians, and Luo Yao was just one of them, so not all Underworld Officials in Jingling Continent recognized him.

However, Luo Yao oversaw thousands of Underworld Officials. Thus, those whose expressions changed or whose emotions became agitated were almost exclusively his subordinates.

Of course, a portion of the Underworld Officials were not Luo Yao's subordinates but recognized him and knew his status as a Guardian.

After Luo Yao appeared, he paid no attention to the Underworld Officials of the other three continents. Instead, his gaze swept over the Underworld Officials of Jingling Continent present, then he spoke directly.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Luo Yao, one of the Guardians of Jingling Continent. This year, the matter of submitting souls for Jingling Continent will be presided over by me," Luo Yao said, his face grim.

From Luo Yao's expression, it seemed his mood was not particularly good.

Indeed, Luo Yao was in a rather sour mood. Each year, every continent sent a Guardian to oversee the soul submission process. However, in the eyes of a Guardian, such a trivial task was nothing but a waste of their precious time, and no one wanted to be assigned it.

Starting this year, Luo Yao was the assigned host for Jingling Continent, a duty that wouldn't conclude for another ten years. This meant that for the next decade, at the end of every year, he, Luo Yao, would have to come to the Underworld to oversee the Underworld Officials submitting souls.

Of course, he was only responsible for Jingling Continent. As for the other three continents, other Guardians would preside.

Although presiding over the Underworld Officials' soul submission didn't require him to *do* much beyond supervision, he still had to be physically present and return at the end of each year for a decade. The mere thought of it was irritating; how could he possibly be in a good mood?

However, the Underworld Officials of Jingling Continent were unaware of these reasons. They merely noticed that the Guardian was in a bad mood, and thus, no one dared to speak haphazardly, only listening in silence.

As Luo Yao spoke, spatial rifts also appeared successively on the platforms of the other three continents, each welcoming their respective Guardians.

Of these three Guardians, one, like Luo Yao, had a rather grim expression. To be more direct, this particular Guardian looked even more displeased than Luo Yao.

Another of the two Guardians wore a bitter smile, clearly indicating his resignation to this task, though it also showed he possessed a relatively good mindset.

The last Guardian's expression was utterly placid, revealing neither joy nor sorrow, making it impossible to ascertain his current mood from his face.

The appearance of the other three Guardians did not attract Luo Yao's attention. The Emissaries of Death on Jingling Continent's side, naturally, had no mind to concern themselves with the situation on the other three continents. Their gazes were all fixed on Luo Yao, including Yang Haoran and Xu Meijing.

After speaking, Luo Yao, still grim-faced, glanced at his watch, then continued to address the Emissaries of Death below him in Jingling Continent: "Everyone, time's up. We shall now begin this year's soul submission process."

With that, Luo Yao turned his gaze to the hundred Ghost Officials on the platform and said, "You may begin. The remaining work falls to you."

"Rest assured, Divine Emissary!"

The hundred Ghost Officials responded in unison. After respectfully saluting, they dared to resume their seats.

The subsequent tasks were entirely left to the hundred Ghost Officials. As a Guardian, Luo Yao only needed to preside over the platform; he didn't need to manage anything else.

On the platform, the hundred Ghost Officials had long since prepared a majestic, exclusive stone chair for Luo Yao. Luo Yao made no pretense of politeness. With a grim face, he strode to his designated seat, sat down with a thud, and boredly closed his eyes, awaiting the conclusion of Jingling Continent's Underworld Officials' soul submission.

At this moment, a Ghost Official addressed the Underworld Officials below from Jingling Continent.

"Everyone, the name of an Underworld Official and the city they are responsible for will appear above the head of each of our hundred Ghost Officials. Please proceed to the corresponding Ghost Official as quickly as possible. Do not waste anyone's time. Thank you for your cooperation."