Chapter 589: Second Judge of Hell
Hui Yue was unconscious for a full three days, and during these three days, massive changes happened in the city.
Yanluo sent some of his personal guards alongside a few flood dragons to Youdu where they picked up the elders of the Celestial Sword Sect who were staying there waiting to hear how Pei Ze and Hui Yue had fared in the trials.
The news about the new judge spread over all of Diyu like a wildfire. Within these three days, everyone knew that the new Second Judge of Hell was a youngster named Pei Yue and that he hailed from the Celestial Sword Sect.
Many major experts within Diyu purchased recordings of the fight between the two top geniuses, and whether it was the nine tribulation’s lightning, the three bloodlines, or even the overpowered Phoenix Descent everyone was stunned silly; they all could not help but admire Hui Yue.
Although Hui Yue was nowhere near the strongest expert in Diyu, he was without a doubt the most talented youth, and talent was often just as important as strength. If he were given time to grow, he would become a true monster later and with the protection of Diyu, and the Celestial Sword Sect, it was impossible for Hui Yue not to grow and become strong. That was of course as long as he did not make any silly mistakes during his training like going out to train on his own.
The other nine Kings of Hell were all excited and rather pleased with the results of the tournament. Hui Yue had displayed incredible talent and also abilities that others could not comprehend; he had displayed two, maybe even three, bloodlines and outstanding Ancestral Worldpower Skills.
He had also shown a connection with at least three daos. Although these daos were all categorized under different major daos, the fact that he was starting to comprehend so many was already quite superb.
The Nightcrawler Sect's youth awoke before Hui Yue, and when he did, his eyes gleamed with excitement. He had finally found a rival! This made it possible for him to become an even more outstanding expert. If he continued to challenge Hui Yue, it was clear that one day he would become much stronger than he was now. This challenge alone had not only increased his Ancestral Worldpower but had allowed for him to comprehend many things about his world of darkness, cage of darkness, and daos that he had not noticed and realized before.
Deep inside he could not help but feel grateful that Hui Yue fought with him. Although he had lost, it was a just loss. He did not feel agitated nor hostile towards Hui Yue.
During the three days that Hui Yue was unconscious, Wei did not leave his side for even a moment. He stayed and guarded him as he was overcome with a mixture of emotions time and time again.
Having become a member of Yanluo's personal guard was already amazing, and the achievement he was most proud of in all his life, however now he was in a position where he was considering giving it all up and becoming nothing but a simple guard under the Second Judge of Hell.
The decision should not have been a hard one. Staying with Yanluo would allow him to gain access to more resources, it would allow him to gain more fame, and eventually, he would become a revered expert in Diyu.
But considering the short time he had been together with Hui Yue, this young man had made wonders happen. He had managed to bring him to the underground marketplace; he had given him pills of clarity, and he had a strange air about him which made it very hard to dislike him. As a matter of fact, Wei found Hui Yue very likable and admirable. He was also shocked that this young man had actually managed to become a Judge of Hell.
While everyone was busy preparing for the new judge to ascend the throne, Hui Yue was unaware of everything. He was in a big white world, where everything seemed to merge.
He could feel his heartbeat and together with the heartbeat was the throbbing of the countless daos of the universe. They pressured his mind and tried to force their way inside.
It was as if Hui Yue was in a world of his own; a world where the only thing that existed was him and the dao. Trying to understand just one dao was impossible, but focusing on more than one at a time was just as impossible.
It seemed that although Hui Yue could feel the daos of the world, these daos were still out of his grasp. He stopped focusing on the outside world and instead looked inside himself.
His body was shining with a gentle white light, but the feeling was completely different from before.
The throbbing in his mind was many times more intense than it had been before, and he could feel the daos he had comprehended like rays of sunshine as they illuminated every part of his body.
Although he had fully comprehended the daos, he felt that he was growing many times more familiar with them, and as he did, he also felt that the dao of gale that he had been trying to comprehend flooded his mind like water through a broken dam.
As for how long he was within this wondrous state, Hui Yue did not know, but at some point, he woke up. His head was dizzy, and his eyes were spinning.
The first thing that met his eyes was a white ceiling. He turned to look around and noticed that Wei was standing by his side, but his back was turned towards him, so he had yet to notice that Hui Yue had awakened.
Sighing, Hui Yue tried to focus a little more, and after a brief moment, his dizziness subsided. He was now capable of looking straight ahead and focusing, and the moment the sigh escaped his lips, Wei turned to look at him. Joy filled his face as he saw that the young man had woken up.
He instantly summoned an orb and mumbled something into it before storing it once more. Minutes after, Yanluo appeared in the room.
He was all alone this time, but a great smile adorned his face, and his eyes were glistening with excitement. It was clear he had waited for quite some time for the news of Hui Yue's awakening.
"Pei Yue greets King Yanluo," Hui Yue said with a hoarse voice as he slowly got to his feet and bowed to the ultimate expert.
"Finally you woke you punk! It was about time! You have no idea how much trouble you've caused us all," Yanluo exclaimed, but although his words were harsh, a smile played on his lips, and he laughed heartily.
"In another two days, you'll be crowned as the new Judge of Hell. After that, you will go to Youdu with me for a meeting with Master. As for what happens afterward, he will decide. He will also be the one answering every question that you might have about your dead beloved."
Wei who was still in the room simply stood at the side. He said nothing but he listened to every word as he considered when the best time would be to announce his intention of leaving Yanluo's guard and joining Hui Yue's instead. When he heard about Hui Yue's dead beloved, he suddenly realized things he had not understood before.
He understood why Hui Yue had been so desperate to win this tournament; he also understood why the late Chujiang's wife had seemed to feel some sort of connection with Hui Yue. He even understood why he had had such changes to his mental and emotional state throughout the tournament. Everything made sense to him now, and he was thoroughly shocked, so shocked that he forgot what he originally wanted to say.
"You are quite the smart one!" Yanluo continued. "At first I thought you mentioned how to resurrect Chujiang because of your pity towards the widowed wife, but after spending some time thinking about it, I understand that you wanted him to return. You are actually not willing to be the Judge of Hell for too long, are you? You just want to get the answers you are here for, and then have Diyu out of your life!"
Hui Yue awkwardly scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. It was indeed true that he wanted the original Chujiang to return to his position as the Second Judge of Hell.
"It is not completely true," he argued back. Something which neither Yanluo nor Wei expected to hear. "It is true that I do think that Chujiang is more suitable as a Judge of Hell, but it is not because I don't want to be the Judge of Hell. I am just not positive I am capable of fulfilling such a massive role. Chujiang, on the other hand, is someone who has already proven his worth, and no one could say that he should not be allowed to retake his position."
"Also, one can not deny that me being the temporary judge, alongside the main reason that he has been resurrected, I have curried favor with Diyu and they owe me a favor now."
It was just as Hui Yue said. He did not have the time to deal with affairs of the Second Court of hell; he had quite a lot of things he needed to do, amongst which the most important was to resurrect Wang Ju Long. He also had to get ready for the fight against An He, and he needed to find the Alchemist God. If all these things were taken into consideration then he truly was not fit to become the Judge of Hell.
Sighing, Yanluo just shook his head. "You there," he called out as he looked at Wei. "I can't leave this kid alone. From now on you are to follow him anywhere he goes and report back to me. If he dies, you are to never show your face in front of me again unless you want me to throw you in the yellow river myself!"
Wei was shocked silly when he heard the order, but moments after a smile appeared on his face. He could not ask for a better position than the one he had been given. He was now able to roam the galaxy together with Hui Yue, but he did not have to give up his position as one of Yanluo's personal guards.
Yanluo looked at Hui Yue for a long time, and then he grinned as he shook his head. "I like you. From now on you are going to be my younger brother. Although you are most likely not going to be the Judge of Hell for long, you are still a martial brother of mine for life! Not to mention you have a phoenix within your body! Just because of this, I would treat you as a brother," he grinned, confusing Hui Yue.
It seemed that Yanluo knew everything about the phoenixes. He had been able to tell that Hui Yue had been resurrected by a phoenix, just like he knew that there was a phoenix living within him. This made Hui Yue slightly apprehensive, but after a bit of time, he just shook his head. There were so many things that he still did not understand, and it was not likely he would understand it anytime soon either.
"The elders from your family should arrive tomorrow. I made my flood dragons fly at their fastest speed, but for now, there are a lot of people who wish to meet you. That includes those two youngsters from the major sects. That guy you defeated and the boy from your own sect have been here multiple times every day, waiting for you to wake up."