A red light suddenly appeared in a certain space, looking like a distant flame. Agonized screams began to grow louder. A smell of burning flesh assailed Yuan Sheng's nostrils. Everything gradually revealed a horrific scene: a landscape entirely red, not with blood, but with iron stakes piercing naked bodies, which were being consumed by blood-red flames. The horrific screams continued. Only then did Yuan Sheng realize, thinking to himself, "Where is this? Could it be..." He couldn't finish his thought. A group of people walked past and bumped into Yuan Sheng. They were all dressed in pure white robes, walking in a line. Yuan Sheng was pushed aside, standing there bewildered. Suddenly, from a distance, two monsters, neither human nor beast, approached Yuan Sheng. One looked like a pitch-black dog-human, the other a pure white cat-human. One held a staff, the other a whip. They spoke loudly:
"Move it! What are you standing there for? You're dead. Everyone here is dead. Quick, follow that group. If you don't go, I'll show you what a whip feels like."
Yuan Sheng immediately obeyed. He thought to himself, *Am I really dead?* He tried to rummage through his memories, recalling his past life.
Yuan Sheng's real name was Feng Yuansheng. He used to be the son of a wealthy family. Due to his parents' high expectations, hoping he would inherit his father's business and run a large company, he had to study day and night without rest from a young age. Thanks to his innate intelligence, he was always at the top of a prestigious school, perfect in every aspect, from appearance to personality. At the age of 15, overwhelmed by the immense pressure from his parents, he drank poison and committed suicide. Thinking of this, he felt guilty towards his parents, yet he had no regrets about his decision. He had done it to free himself; for so long, he had never been truly free. Now, he felt truly relieved.
Only now did he admit:
"This really is the underworld."
The screams echoed again. *Perhaps those people being burned alive over there are being punished for their misdeeds?* Yuan Sheng thought to himself, *I didn't do anything bad in my previous life, I was always indoors. Surely I won't be burned.* Thinking this, he continued to follow the group. They walked on and on. There was no specific time here; it felt like he had been walking for a week. Although he was a soul and felt no fatigue, some of the people looked quite faint, as if they were about to dissipate. After another day of walking, Yuan Sheng finally faintly saw a majestic, vast building. He couldn't help but be surprised. Suddenly, a voice boomed like thunder:
"You have arrived, Quan San. Bring him here quickly."
As the majestic voice faded, a massive, muscular dog-human appeared right next to Yuan Sheng, startling the entire group. The dog-human suddenly knelt before Yuan Sheng and spoke:
"Immortal, you have arrived."
After saying that, the dog-man extended his hand. Yuan Sheng unconsciously took the dog-man's hand, not understanding why he acted that way. In a flash, he was inside the building, he didn't know when. This startled him; the dog-man instantly vanished, leaving Yuan Sheng behind. At a loss for what to do, he curiously walked around the building, looking at his surroundings. He walked and walked but couldn't find a door. *He thought to himself, 'I can't believe the building is this big.'* Not long after that thought, he found a massive door, even bigger than his old house. Unconsciously, he pushed the door to go inside, expecting it to be heavy, but it was surprisingly light; it opened with a single push. Inside the room was a vast space with countless bookshelves, each book thick and arranged incredibly neatly and orderly. Yuan Sheng quietly stepped inside, looking around in a daze, when he suddenly noticed someone standing not far from him.
It was a middle-aged man, around 30, with an unshaven beard, dressed simply. He looked like one of those uncles from Yuan Sheng's previous life. The man held a book, reading intently. Yuan Sheng didn't know where he was. Just as he was about to speak up and ask for directions, the man interrupted him: "Hey, you, is your name Yuan Sheng?" Yuan Sheng was slightly surprised and nodded gently. The man glanced at Yuan Sheng, then mumbled:
"Excellent appearance, very good. Come with me."
The man looked pleased. Hearing this, Yuan Sheng unconsciously followed the 'uncle'. After walking a short distance, the 'uncle' stopped and said to Yuan Sheng:
"Let me introduce myself. I am Zi Ling. As you already know, this is the Underworld, where all souls gather after death. You are no exception."
Yuan Sheng secretly cursed Zi Ling in his mind, *'Who doesn't know that? No need to introduce it.'* Then he felt confused. He should have met a judge, drunk Meng Po's soup, and then been reborn into a new life. Why was he brought here instead? Were those fortune-tellers just spouting nonsense about the Underworld? Or was he not going to be reborn? Yuan Sheng felt a little uneasy. If he wasn't going to be reborn, would he be banished to the layers of hell and punished? Yuan Sheng then imagined the souls being burned alive on their way here, which sent shivers down his spine. As if understanding Yuan Sheng's thoughts and seeing his anxiety, Zi Ling explained:
"No need to worry. I am the judge of this Underworld. You will also be reborn, but it will be special, unlike other souls. Your next life will be as a Primordial Spirit Being. You should feel lucky."
Only then did Yuan Sheng fully recover his senses and process Judge Zi Ling's words. Feeling curious, he immediately asked:
"What is a Primordial Spirit Being? Why should I feel lucky?"
Judge Zi Ling glared at Yuan Sheng, then smiled kindly. It was understandable, after all, there was no such thing as a Primordial Spirit Being in Yuan Sheng's previous life. Understanding the judge's meaning, Zi Ling explained:
"That's right. Your previous world was full of mere mortals; there were no immortals. Anyway, this will be helpful to you later, so I'll tell you now: Do you know which universe ours is?"
Yuan Sheng felt curious and countered the judge's question with one of his own:
"Are there more than one universe?"
Judge Zi Ling, looking pleased, continued:
"That's right. Currently, in this boundless space, there are 1800 universes lying next to each other in a circular formation. Because they are adjacent, these universes are connected by spatial gates, which in your world are called black holes or something similar."
Yuan Sheng nodded, surprised there were so many universes. The Judge continued:
Perhaps there are even more, but because of its sheer vastness, this is all we know. The higher the cosmic order, the vaster the cosmic space becomes, making it harder to search for black holes. So far, we've only reached the 1800th universe. Am Phu is at the bottom of the universe, and Thien Dinh is at the very top. When living beings die, their souls are transported here, and Am Phu was created to manage their reincarnation. If one committed evil deeds in their previous life, they reincarnate as intelligent beings; if they did good deeds, they reincarnate as superior beings. Thien Dinh, on the other hand, governs the entire universe, including Am Phu.
Nguyen Sinh then had a sudden realization. He had always thought Thien Dinh and Am Phu were some kind of spiritual realms, but it turned out they were just parts of the universe. Nguyen Sinh suddenly remembered something and asked Phan Quan:
"Then haven't I been here all this time? Why haven't I been reincarnated yet?"
Phan Quan Tu Lang smiled gently and continued:
"Don't be impatient. You are very special, so you will reincarnate in a different way. Your soul is extremely rare; you'd find only one like it among millions. Your soul was born at the dawn of creation, when our 101st universe began to form. Such a long time, over 70 billion years to this day, and it still hasn't dissipated. That's truly remarkable. What's more, in your previous life, you were born at the 'heavenly hour' and died at the 'earthly hour'. And since you committed no evil deeds in your previous life, according to the divine decree, you will be reborn as a 'Pre-Heavenly Being'. How fortunate! Even I envy you."
With that, Phan Quan Tu Lang burst into laughter. Nguyen Sinh, feeling curious, asked:
"What's so powerful about a Pre-Heavenly Being?"
Phan Quan fixed his gaze on Nguyen Sinh and said:
"Extremely powerful! Since you don't know, I'll tell you: a Pre-Heavenly Being is an individual born by absorbing the primordial energy of heaven and earth. This individual must absorb primordial energy for hundreds of millions of years, meaning after reincarnation, you will be a child of heaven and earth. And Pre-Heavenly Beings have three extremely significant advantages. The first advantage is that a Pre-Heavenly Being possesses the ability to resurrect."
Nguyen Sinh, now utterly excited, interjected:
"So, you can die and come back to life?"
Phan Quan Tu Lang nodded in satisfaction and continued:
"Exactly. Pre-Heavenly Beings have the ability to die and come back to life, and in an extremely short amount of time. As long as you possess spiritual power, you cannot die. The only one who can kill you is an Emperor, or if your strength surpasses that of an Emperor, then no one can kill you."
Nguyen Sinh nodded, thinking, 'Could he really be that formidable?' Phan Quan, deep in thought, then uttered a sentence that dampened Nguyen Sinh's spirits:
"Each time you die, your strength will decrease by one level. And if you die repeatedly, it will also lead to your ultimate demise."
Not stopping there, Phan Quan went on to describe the second advantage:
"A Pre-Heavenly Being receives special dispensation not to drink Man Ba's soup, meaning you can remember your previous life – an enormous benefit. And the third advantage is that upon birth, a Pre-Heavenly Being already possesses the power of the demon race, with an infinite source of demonic energy like a Demon King. One could say you are a righteous Demon King, but you won't exude demonic energy, so rest assured. Besides these, there are countless smaller benefits, which will aid you in various minor ways later on."
As Nguyên Sinh was overcome with joy, he thought of his previous life, where he had only studied, cooped up indoors all day. Though he lived a life of comfort, well-fed and well-clothed, it was utterly devoid of freedom. He yearned for his next life, where he could freely do as he pleased without anyone to stop him. Just then, Judge Zi Ling, his face solemn, was about to say something to Nguyên Sinh when the ground suddenly shook violently, startling both of them. A thunderous roar echoed from somewhere, causing the bookshelves to sway wildly and topple over in disarray. Nguyên Sinh looked towards Judge Zi Ling, a powerful aura emanating from the Judge and enveloping him. The Judge’s eyes widened as he stared in one direction. At that moment, the dog-person from earlier suddenly appeared, kneeling to report to Judge Zi Ling:
“Your Honor, two flood dragons, one white and one black, have appeared from somewhere and are wreaking havoc in the Underworld. I and the soldiers tried to stop them at the outermost perimeter, but it was no use. The white one is at the high-tier Divine Power realm, and the black one is at the mid-tier Divine Power realm. The soldiers couldn’t even hold off one. I am currently at the high-tier Divine Power realm, so I can only hold back one, but I still can’t stop them. They are about to arrive here. I need your guidance.”
Judge Zi Ling was a bit surprised to hear this, but quickly composed himself. He turned to Nguyên Sinh and said:
“I didn’t expect such an unexpected event. These two flood dragons probably came from the lower realms. They’re about to cause trouble here, so there’s not much time left. Khuyên Tam, you and the soldiers try to stall them for a bit longer. Once this is over, I will deal with them.”
The dog-person vanished immediately upon receiving the order. Zi Ling grabbed Nguyên Sinh’s hand and pulled him along at an extremely fast speed. Before Nguyên Sinh’s eyes was a large mirror, nearly twice his height. Zi Ling quickly explained to Nguyên Sinh:
“After you step through this mirror, you will officially be reincarnated. But I have a few things to tell you first, which will help you later. The world you will be reborn into is called ‘Địa Tôn Continent’. It is vast and home to all races in the universe. At that time, you will no longer be human, so you will be able to cultivate. Cultivation has two stages: Mortal-level cultivation and Divine-level cultivation. Mortal-level has 10 ranks: Apprentice – Initiate – Origin – Grand – Martial Apprentice – Heavenly Apprentice – King Apprentice – Overlord – Immortal – God. Each rank is divided into ten smaller tiers. After cultivating past the Divine-level, you will reach the Supreme realm. From this realm onwards, there are no further realms; instead, you advance by tiers, like me, currently at Supreme Tier 32.”
Hearing this, Nguyên Sinh was filled with admiration for Zi Ling. He hadn’t expected the Judge to be at Supreme Tier 32; he had only thought he was at the Immortal or God level. He was utterly impressed. Judge Zi Ling continued:
“There’s one more thing. When you reincarnate, you will possess an unlimited source of demonic power, just like the Demon Kings. Although it won’t emit an aura, the energy trails when you use it will still be visible to the naked eye. You absolutely must not let anyone see your energy trails. Otherwise, you will be hunted down and killed by Overlords, shunned by others, and potentially exploited by other Demon Kings.”
Nguyên Sinh recognized the danger of a Demon King’s identity:
“I will be careful.”
The Judge nodded with satisfaction. Then, his face immediately turned serious. The tremors outside grew stronger, and the roars outside became louder and louder.
While Zi Ling and Yuan Sheng were talking, a brutal battle was raging outside. Two divine flood dragons, working in tandem, shattered the layers of defensive soldiers. Squads of troops were incinerated by black flames, and the two flood dragons grew increasingly ferocious. Quan San was currently struggling, fighting on par with the white dragon. Both moved at incredible speeds, each strike unleashing extraordinary power, making the soldiers below dizzy just watching. Quan San was the strongest general in this Underworld, personally trained by Zi Ling but lacking real combat experience. The white dragon, having lived wildly, was full of battle experience, giving it a slight edge over Quan San. While dodging a sweep of the white dragon's tail, Quan San spotted an opening and lunged forward, aiming a kick. Unexpectedly, the white dragon used its "Position Swap" technique. Quan San struck the white dragon's afterimage, which then vanished. Quan San was stunned and panicked. The white dragon, having appeared behind Quan San, swung its tail powerfully into Quan San's back, sending him flying thousands of miles, scraping across the ground before lying unconscious. With Quan San defeated, the two dragons combined their strength, swiftly tearing through the defenses and charging straight towards the building where Yuan Sheng stood. The black dragon spewed black flames, then swung its tail, knocking the roof clean off.
As he spoke with Judge Zi Ling, a powerful tremor shook the ground, making both of them unsteady. Zi Ling felt the heat of the black flames, and an aura of mist emanated from his body as he glared in one direction. Yuan Sheng also became wary and cautious. Suddenly, the roof was shattered in an instant, revealing two flood dragons, one white and one black. Seeing the two massive, muscular flood dragons, Yuan Sheng became highly vigilant, but with Zi Ling beside him, he felt a sense of reassurance. At this, Zi Ling clicked his tongue, his aura growing increasingly powerful, and he turned to Yuan Sheng, saying:
"I still have much to tell you, but now is not the time. Dealing with these two will be quite a struggle. I cannot guarantee your safety, and it's best not to let you be annihilated. Quickly, step through that mirror, and you will officially be reincarnated. Remember, from now on, you must not do evil. You must help the good and eliminate the wicked. When we meet again, if you haven't followed my instructions, I will kill you without mercy, shattering your soul and spirit, preventing any future reincarnation."
Yuan Sheng gave a wry smile. Why was he being threatened like this? Yuan Sheng had no intention of doing evil, and he replied firmly:
"I will follow your words. Until we meet again."
Zi Ling nodded in satisfaction. The two dragons wasted no more time; the black dragon immediately spewed black flames towards Zi Ling. Zi Ling retracted his misty aura, leaped straight at the black dragon, dispelling the black flames with one hand, while the other conjured countless sword qi, aiming to wound the black dragon. But the white dragon wouldn't stand idly by; it swung its tail powerfully at Zi Ling. Zi Ling effortlessly blocked the white dragon's mighty blow with one hand, the residual shockwaves causing the ground to tremble violently. Yuan Sheng knew this was no time to watch the fight, so he quickly stepped through the mirror and entered the void. Zi Ling no longer paid attention to Yuan Sheng, focusing all his strength on swiftly dealing with the two flood dragons.