Chapter 559: The Second Court of Hell
Walking through the Celestial Sword Sect’s mansion, Pei Ziqi led Hui Yue to the front yard where a whole group of experts was already waiting for them.
“The trial begins tonight, and I am sure everyone has made their preparations. All of us will enter Yanluo’s palace once more. Not only us, but everyone present within Youdu who wishes to become the new Judge of Hell will appear, and the first trial will commence.”
Hui Yue was surprised to see that he was not going to be questioned and instead had been picked up for the trial which was to begin.
No one seemed to react to the fact that Hui Yue came together with Pei Ziqi, and instead, they were all full of energy chatting with one another about what these trials would cover.
Hui Yue was also curious, but he had no one to chat with, and even if he did, he would prefer to keep to himself.
Locating Pei Ze amongst the younger generation geniuses, Hui Yue went straight for this silent young man and stayed by his side. Although they did not speak much when out, there was some comfort being close to Pei Ze. The two of them had formed a strange friendship.
Pei Ziqi and Hui Yue were the last ones to arrive, and as they did, the other head elders nodded their heads. They then led the group towards Yanluo’s black palace, the same place where they had been for the banquet.
Although the city had been full of life the previous time they had walked through Youdu, that was nothing compared to today.
Everywhere he went there was a sea of people; a flood of people were moving towards the black palace like a human wave that was crashing upon the shore.
Hui Yue had known that a lot of experts had appeared for the sake of these trials, but seeing these millions of experts rushing towards the black palace, even Hui Yue was stunned speechless.
Previously the roads would have been cleared for the large sects making it possible to move quickly through the city, but now they had to hustle through the sea of people using their elbows and Ancestral Worldpower to force their way through everyone.
The walk through the city took at least five times longer than it had last time, and when they finally arrived, they were shocked to see that people were standing in lines.
Puzzled the head elders went forward to see what was going on while all the younger generation politely stood in a line.
It did not take long before the head elders returned with confidence on their faces instead of shock.
“The first trial is within one of the houses. I assume it is a type of endurance trial where you need to hold out for as long as possible. There are cultivators constantly leaving with dejected expressions on their faces because of this trial.”
“Those leaving look pale and exhausted because they used up all their energy.”
“Though it should be more than strength that one is tested on here. It does not seem as if it is strength determining how long someone can endure this trial. Some of those who are leaving have already comprehended four daos, while others have comprehended one or two.”
“Since it is not a question about comprehension or power you will have a much better chance of passing as long as your mind is clear and you are determined.”
The speech made everyone excited. If it was not strength that mattered then they truly did have a chance. Although they were strong, they were still the younger generation, and thus they were not as strong as some of the experts that had appeared who wished to become a Judge of Hell.
The line in which they were standing was slowly moving forward, but still, a full day went by before it was their turn to enter the building. During this day most of the experts were busy discussing what they thought the trials would be about or chatting about the experts around them. Although a day might seem like a long time, it was truly not that long when one was a God ranked cultivator especially considering that the majority of the younger generation were above hundred years old. Quite a few were above two hundred years old, and only a handful were below fifty years old!
Hui Yue was one of the few people below fifty years old, but no one, apart from Pei Ze and the head elders, knew exactly how old Hui Yue was. Based on his strength all of them assumed that he was around two hundred years old, but then again, no one knew the full extent of power he wielded.
Had they known that Hui Yue controlled three complete daos and that he could control Lan Feng’s two daos, then they would be utterly terrified. Even without knowing his age, knowing that he was a member of the younger generation and that he had comprehended three daos was already outstanding. That was without mentioning all his other powers and skills, though, it seemed like these powers would be useless in the first trial.
It was finally their time to enter the house where the trial was taking place. The first people in were Hui Yue followed by Pei Ze and then Pei Feng.
The fact that Hui Yue was ranked first shocked everyone except Pei Ze and Pei Feng, both had assumed this would be the case as he was after all a third generation descendant.
But that Pei Ze was ranked above Pei Feng made Pei Feng grit his teeth. Usually, the two would have tossed a coin, and the winner would have gone first. But now, Pei Ze was automatically chosen in front of Pei Feng which made him feel incredibly angry and dissatisfied. This was because of Hui Yue’s influence. He did not need to do anything other than being by Pei Ze’s side, and Pei Ze was already increasing his strength and solidifying his position within the sect because of this.
Entering the building, Hui Yue found that there were around twenty pillars of light and people were seated within these pillars. Everyone was seemingly in severe pain, some were even screaming out loud, but no sound could be heard in the room.
“Welcome to the first trial to become a Judge of Hell!” Yanluo’s voice sounded out in the room as Hui Yue, Pei Ze, Pei Feng, and another few experts appeared in the room.
“There will be as many trials as needed to find the true Judge of Hell, but to become a judge it is very important to understand the pain of the punished souls. Enter a pillar of light, and you will experience the pain of every single punishment that is administered by the Courts of Hell. That is, obviously, with exception of the Tenth Court’s Potion of Forgetfulness.”
“Those who endure through the nine courts of torture will be allowed to enter the second part of the trial.”
“You will feel as if you are dying time and time again; the pain will be severe, and the strain on your mind will be immense. You are free to give up at any time, unlike the souls who go through this punishment. Simply say stop, and it will all end, but if you do this you will fail the trial.”
Hearing this, the faces of everyone turned slightly pale. Especially Hui Yue’s face was not too pretty as he remembered every single punishment that Pei Ze had informed him about earlier, but even so, he was not going to give up.
“It is impossible to die, and so since I cannot die, I can live through the pain!” He mumbled to himself determined.
He had previously experienced the memories of his previous lives and knew what it was like to die. He had fought many battles and while fighting his body would become lacerated, wounded, and riddled with pain, but all of these were things he had overcome before.
Now that Wang Ju Long’s resurrection was before him, Hui Yue was not going to give up. He could handle some pain!
More and more people were being removed from the white beams of light. Seeing this, Hui Yue grit his teeth. He could not be scared of a bit of pain. Imagining Wang Ju Long who had sacrificed her life for him, he was certain that he could handle the pain and entered the closest beam of light.
Seeing Hui Yue move, the other members of the Celestial Sword Sect also started moving, entering one light beam after another. The last thing that Hui Yue heard before entering was Yanluo welcoming another set of experts.
Hui Yue did not instantly feel the pain of the different punishments from the Ten Courts of Hell; instead, he sat down and breathed a few times heavily before entering meditation.
The moment his mind relaxed, his entire body was enveloped by a scorching hot aura of energy which slowly penetrated through every single layer of defense and protection that Hui Yue had around his body. No matter how much he protected himself, it was impossible to minimize the pain from the hot energy that entered his body. This energy made every single cell feel as if it was currently being dipped in a hot volcano.
Although the pain was penetrating Hui Yue’s body, his mind was completely calm. This physical pain was nothing compared to the pain he felt when he lost Wang Ju Long.
Thinking about her, the pain which was eroding his body seemed to become insignificant, and as soon as he overcame the pain, it changed in nature. The extreme heat turned to extreme cold, and the scorchingly hot energy which felt like it was melting every single cell of his body suddenly turned incredibly cold. He started feeling like frostbite was slowly setting in even to his very core, but the frost was just another extreme pain. This pain was not so different from the scorching hot pain earlier, and Hui Yue did not even flinch as the change appeared.
It was as if this energy could feel that Hui Yue would not succumb to the pain and thus the feeling changed once more. This time it was no longer a biting cold, but instead the feeling of being emerged in something heavy.
The scent of blood assaulted Hui Yue’s nostrils as he felt his mouth fill with thick, warm blood. Although Hui Yue had his mouth closed, it was still being filled with blood, and all of it started to enter his throat. It slowly made its way through his body.
A heaviness affected Hui Yue as he felt the sudden change in the punishments, and his body was convulsing as a result of not being able to breathe. Although he was a God, and he could survive without breathing, this beam of light truly made him feel the pain of drowning, drowning in warm, thick blood.
Out of the three punishments so far, this was by far the most painful as it was impossible just to ignore it. This pain was also the one which had stayed the longest so far.
Although the pain was severe, Hui Yue kept his mind clear. He might be dying, but Yanluo had guaranteed that even though the pain was severe, no one would die. With this in mind, Hui Yue could persevere through the pain. Even when the world around him turned black, he stayed calm, and moments after, the scent and taste of blood completely vanished. The pain subsided, and Hui Yue could breathe normally for a short while. He had passed through the punishments of the First Court of Hell.
