Chapter 291

He said in a provocative tone,

"Do you want to reconsider the cost and the benefits?"

…That sounds simple enough, but clearly, if the Eternal Wraiths could be easily persuaded by words like that from Qi Xing, they wouldn't have become Eternal Wraiths in the first place.

On the other hand, there is more than one wraith here, after all.

Since time immemorial, at least hundreds of millions, perhaps even billions, of wraiths who hate the Creator have gathered here.

There are as many Truths as there are people. There are as many different thoughts as there are people.

Anger and hatred only cause the fires of rage to burn fiercely because they are pent up in the heart. Once they are put into words and conversation, the intensity of the fire diminishes.

So, after being blocked for eight moves by Qi Xing, and after Qi Xing made his proposal, will the individuals that make up this mass of concentrated wraiths… undergo any changes?

Like fireflies dancing in the dark night, some ghost fires began to drift out from within the black, concentrated mass of wraiths, flying intermittently toward Qi Xing.

These were reactions drawn from the consciousness of hundreds of millions, billions of Eternal Wraiths. Waves of emotions were constantly being transmitted back from all the souls in this universe who died with regrets.

…There was fear, hatred, sadness, anger, contempt, timidity, anticipation, joy, jealousy, longing, and shame.

It was a chaotic thing intertwined with many emotions. It was truly varied, so full of diversity, so much so that it even surprised Qi Xing.

But these chaotic thoughts and emotions actually made Qi Xing quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

That's right, that's exactly how it should be. Human sensibilities cannot be unified. Even when facing the same facts under the same conditions, humans will not just express a single reaction. Therefore, hearing Qi Xing's proposal, the fact that the reactions of the Eternal Wraiths were chaotic was actually only natural.

If the reactions were all the same, that would be terrifying; it would be a form of madness in itself.

On one hand, there were dead people who couldn't help but be curious about Qi Xing's proposal, and on the other hand, there were those who continued to hate and despise Samael… but that was enough.

Although it was by no means the majority—a large portion of the spirits drifted out from the concentrated wraiths and flowed entirely into Qi Xing's body.

All their hearts and memories, all the suffering endured because of the absurdity of this universe, everyone's despair, wailing, tears, and cries—all rushed into Qi Xing's soul, piling up on his shoulders.

Their suffering was extremely heavy.

Qi Xing swayed his body, adjusted his center of gravity like Sun Wukong carrying a mountain, and let out a breath.

These wraiths were definitely not fooled by Qi Xing. They would continue to rest on Qi Xing's shoulders until he proved his promise… but that part was a matter for later.

Looking up at the concentrated wraiths, which were only about half left, and the self-less "Hero," Qi Xing finally couldn't help but laugh.

"Is there still a need to fight the ninth move, Hero?"

Even Qi Xing himself felt that he was very much like a Demon King tricking the dead.

Volume 8: People of Freedom and the Free World: 268: The Ten Heavens

Nine moves had passed.

Well, strictly speaking, the ninth move wasn't fought at all. But the concentrated wraiths, having lost half their spirits, were now just frozen in place, appearing as if they had no intention of making another move.

Qi Xing spoke to it, but it didn't answer; he waved at it, but it didn't react. At least on the surface, it seemed there shouldn't be any problems.

Fine.

"Does this count as us passing the trial, [King of Hell]?"

Shaking his head and looking up, Qi Xing gazed toward the infinitely distant white throne and asked.

Whether it was Sasa on his back or Asuka in the [King of Hell]'s arms, both sides were in a state of having basically done nothing, and they exchanged a glance from afar, feeling somewhat awkward.

The [King of Hell] himself smiled slightly, looking quite pleased: "So this is your answer? To have a chat with the dead who hate Sael?"

"What's wrong with having a chat?"

Qi Xing asked in return, "I am not an omniscient and omnipotent God."

"These nine moves were originally a punishment for Sael."

The [King of Hell] glanced at Sasa on Qi Xing's back, "There's nothing wrong with you taking it for her. It's just that she doesn't look like she's suffered enough or learned her lesson yet."

"Doesn't whether she learns her lesson depend on her future performance?"

Qi Xing shook his head, "That's why I promised these wraiths to keep an eye on her—I am not an omniscient and omnipotent God."

Saying this sentence by sentence, there was a bit of gunpowder in his tone. Sasa was trembling with fear, but the [King of Hell] was not angry.

"Very well, Qi Xing. Nine moves have passed."

He took out the [Power] silver coin and tossed it casually toward Qi Xing. Sasa quickly reached out to catch it, but upon closer inspection, she was horrified to find that the [silver coin] had actually been cracked by the [King of Hell]'s brute force.

God wanting to drive this fragment of Sasa's authority, of course, didn't need to synchronize a "contract" like the [Silver Coin Messenger]s. He could just force it to work with brute force. The [Power] silver coin, on the contrary, had been cracked by the [King of Hell]'s overwhelming power.

—No wonder Sasa had been hanging around "Jingo Shinji" with Qi Xing for so long without ever sensing the [silver coin] on him. Originally, Sasa thought her brother was just hiding the [silver coin] so she wouldn't discover it, but now…

"You, why did you just crush my [silver coin]?!"

This [Power] silver coin no longer had any of Sasa's "power" remaining within it. Of course, she couldn't sense anything!

"This was done by your own followers."

The [King of Hell] dismissed it, "That bunch of cowards tried to summon Me using this [silver coin], and it was already crushed by Me on the night of the ritual."

"Besides, Sael, these thirty silver coins were originally the ransom paid to Me to redeem the humans of this world. When did they become your [silver coin]?"

…Oh, right. Christianity does indeed have such a concept.

Christ used his death on the cross and the thirty silver coins as the ransom for all humanity. Because Sasa, as the Creator of this knock-off universe, although her blueprints were copied, the Higher Realm did acknowledge her ownership of this universe.

If Jesus just slapped Sasa to death and took the knock-off humans she created, that would have been unfair.

For a moment, Sasa was speechless.

Qi Xing didn't quite understand this, but hearing this, he realized the situation was troublesome: He had come to challenge the [King of Hell] first because the final old Demon King [Simon Magus] possessed fifteen silver coins. Qi Xing had originally wanted to get the silver coin from the [King of Hell] first, so he could match fifteen against fifteen for the final showdown.

Unexpectedly, the [Power] silver coin in the [King of Hell]'s hand had been ruined by the idiotic Nazis during World War II. The plan for fifteen against fifteen was bound to fail; what was to be done?

…Qi Xing had gained a lot from this battle against the "Wraith Hero," and his complete realm had grown significantly. Should he just use fourteen against fifteen and make do? If he didn't rely on the [silver coin], couldn't he still win?

In an instant, Qi Xing had thought this through. If there was no other way, he would just go for it. What else could he do? What was there to be afraid of?

Unexpectedly, the [King of Hell] watched Qi Xing with interest for a good while, but then suddenly continued:

"From a boy who dared to confront murdering demons while holding some random magical artifacts,"

"To today, becoming a world-renowned hero, the [Venerable Leipu] who guards a territory."

"Your story is finally coming to an end, but what kind of ending would be special enough to be worthy of this journey?"

"The nine moves were just a punishment for Sael. Qi Xing, do you want to take My tenth move?"

"I will give you a chance, allowing you the possibility to surpass a God."

"—This is a reward that no one else would have, one that I give only to you."

Huh?

With these words, not only was Sasa stunned, but even Qi Xing himself was taken aback.

What is this situation? Actually fight Jesus? Me?

"…As for interest, indeed, as a martial artist, it is impossible for me not to be interested in personally experiencing the pinnacle of power."

After several seconds, Qi Xing frowned and replied,

"…But the fight is already over, and to add a move for no reason, agreeing to it actively would make me feel stupid. Is there any benefit to me taking this extra move?"

"Aren't you worried about whether you can still defeat the final enemy without a fragment of Sael's divine power?"

The [King of Hell] smiled playfully, "If you can defeat Me, do you still need to worry?"

…That was incredibly persuasive. It was exactly like defeating a hidden boss used for farming achievements before going back to play the main story; there would be absolutely no pressure.

Although Qi Xing was not the type to shrink back when facing an ancient Demon King, hearing the [King of Hell]'s words, he was truly tempted!

But Sasa saw at a glance what her partner was thinking and quickly reached out to pat his head: "Don't be stupid! If you can beat my brother, then of course you don't have to fear anything, but if you can't win, you'll just be blasted to smithereens!"

"Look at my brother's attitude; it's obvious he thinks you passed the first nine moves too easily, didn't punish me enough, and must give us both a hard hit to be satisfied. And since it's the 'tenth' move, it certainly won't be the kind of play with wraiths pouring power like before. That is real divine power!"

"Why? What's special about the 'tenth' move?"

"Because there are ten heavens!"

—There are ten heavens; this is an early concept in Christian theology influenced by Greek philosophy, and it is also like this in Dante's Divine Comedy, Paradiso.

The first nine heavens are just the Kingdom of Heaven, scenes flowing from God. Only the tenth heaven is the Empyrean where God resides, not to be looked at directly, indescribable.

…Sasa said this to stop Qi Xing from courting death, but hearing Sasa explain it like this, Qi Xing actually felt a bit itchy in his heart.

"I always have a feeling that if I don't see this Empyrean with my own eyes, even if I manage to defeat the other final enemies, I would definitely be very unwilling."

It was just like walking to the edge of heaven and then being kicked down by the gatekeeping angel; how could he be satisfied? It was unreasonable!

But while Qi Xing had his reasons, Sasa almost fainted upon hearing this—did he really have to do this at this time?

Even Asuka, Shinji's wife, couldn't help but turn her head on his arm to look at her husband: —Why? Why must it turn into a situation where you have to enter the field yourself?

Because if you enter the battle yourself, there is a possibility of losing.

Even God, according to the [King of Hell]'s own words, could potentially lose to Qi Xing.

Although Sasa couldn't imagine how Qi Xing could possibly win no matter how she thought about it.

"If you don't want to go along with it, you can run away first. Even if I really get blasted to smithereens, you might be able to finish it yourself relying on the thirteen [silver coins]."

Although Qi Xing kindly offered the suggestion…

"I'm really not that stupid, okay!"

But Sasa, after all, wasn't that stupid!

Seeing that Qi Xing was actually going to go up and fight, and seeing her brother sitting on the throne watching the show, she felt miserable, with countless curses flying through her mind… but!

"Gah! How could I possibly let you go up and fight him alone!"

"Isn't your brother alone too?"

"Nonsense! Isn't he still holding his wife? This is two people fighting you one!"

While arguing sophistically, Sasa grabbed the [silver coin], her divine body turning into a blade. Facing the [King of Hell]'s attack, whether this transformation was useful or not, no one knew… but anyway, she didn't intend to retreat.

[Brother! Do you think that winning against me once two thousand years ago means you've won forever?]

Not knowing which side she wanted to embolden, after turning into a blade, she actually shouted in Qi Xing's hand,

[Qi Xing is right, this is a story in my [Atheism] universe. If I don't win against you once at the end, and just skip the level like this, how can it be considered an ending!]

[I won't lose this time! I want to create my own world!]

Crazy. It was simply two people going mad together.

But the [King of Hell] would certainly not avoid such fighting spirit.

"Then try to win."

Sitting on the throne, he no longer concealed his look of pleasure at all.

Although they had experienced three lifetimes of turbulence, it was not easy for Qi Xing and Samael to have grown to this point.

Then, in this moment—as opponents of God, the two of them were not lacking in anything.

"The day of wrath, that day, the world shall be dissolved in ashes (Dies irae, dies illa, solvet saeclum in favilla)."

"As foretold by David and the Sibyl, the world shall turn to ashes, shattered and withered."

As he hummed softly, his left hand gripping the great spear, the original [Inner Realm]—the battlefield where the Eternal Wraiths gathered, began to shake and shatter.

Ascension.

Along with Qi Xing and Sasa, before the [King of Hell] even made a move, the entire surrounding world had already been pulled and ascended toward the Higher Realm by this one simple action of his. Immeasurably high, immeasurably far.

It was just like an object that was too heavy, which would inherently carry a huge gravitational force.

"The day the Judge comes, all shall be questioned and settled without omission, and the terrifying trembling is about to begin."

"The trumpet resounds everywhere, all the dead rise from their graves, gathering before the throne."