As soon as Lu Chen said those words, the air in the room whooshed and froze solid.
“What did you say?”
The King of Hell’s voice carried three parts disbelief, three parts surprise, and four parts hidden anger.
“You call the shots?”
“Your Majesty, please don’t misunderstand,” Lu Chen explained. “I have no intention of meddling in the underworld’s normal operations. My request is actually very simple—just one thing: from now on, the underworld currency I issue must be designated by the underworld as the only valid currency between the living world and the underworld. If that can be agreed upon, I will dedicate myself completely to the great plan of the underworld.”
“That’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it!”
The chilly, sinister feeling instantly dissipated.
The King of Hell’s voice also softened a bit: “You don’t need to worry about that. Aside from you, I haven’t seen anyone else with this ability. Others can’t get involved even if they wanted to.”
Lu Chen: “Better safe than sorry. It’s good to make things clear in advance to avoid trouble later.”
The King of Hell thought for a moment. “Fine. I grant you this wish. If you can truly carry out this plan, I will certainly not treat you unfairly. Granting you this small benefit is no problem. However, if someday I need you to…”
Lu Chen clasped his fists: “Your Majesty, don’t worry. I understand!”
The King of Hell laughed heartily: “Good! I most enjoy dealing with smart people! Go ahead and do what you need to do. I will have your back!”
Seeing that the important matters were settled, Lu Chen immediately changed his demeanor, rubbing his hands together and grinning. “Well… Your Majesty, shouldn’t you give me some kind of official title? And assign me some manpower and resources? You can’t expect me to be a general with no troops, right? I won’t ask for much. Just give me a hundred thousand underworld soldiers.”
“Ho… how many?!” The King of Hell was shocked. “A hundred thousand underworld soldiers? Are you planning to attack the heavenly court?!”
Lu Chen: “…”
“Then how about ten thousand?”
“Dream on!”
“One thousand, then? That should be fine, right?”
“Get lost! The most I can give you are one pair of Ox-Head and Horse-Face, plus Black and White Impermanence. If you perform well and satisfy me, I might consider sending a few more underworld messengers your way.”
“No more?”
“What do you think?”
“Fine… Something is better than nothing.” Lu Chen said that, but inside, he was already overjoyed.
Ox-Head, Horse-Face, Black Impermanence, White Impermanence—these were the underworld’s dream team. Black and White Impermanence were responsible for capturing souls, while Ox-Head and Horse-Face handled patrolling and escorting in the underworld. One pair took care of the living world routes, the other handled the underworld paths. They fit perfectly with his plan.
Moreover, these four were all quite capable. In a pinch, they could even serve as bodyguards. He wouldn’t say they could take on high-level spiritual masters, but dealing with second- or third-rank opponents would definitely be no problem. From now on, that meant he had four bodyguards who were at least third-rank!
Next time he ran into a jerk like Zhao Zhihong, if he didn’t beat the crap out of him, Lu Chen would write his own name backwards!
“Your Majesty, what about my official title?”
The King of Hell thought for a moment. “How about I appoint you as a Day Patrol God?”
“Day Patrol God? No, no.” Lu Chen shook his head like a rattle drum. “Patrol Gods are the same rank as Black and White Impermanence. If I’m the same level as them, how can I give them orders?”
“You little rascal! You’re just a mortal with no rank at all, and you’re still not satisfied with being appointed as a Patrol God?”
“Your Majesty, you can’t say that. A higher rank crushes a lower one. If I’m the same rank as them, I’ll be tying my own hands when trying to get things done. That really won’t help me carry out my work.” Lu Chen looked completely sincere. “Without that authority, it’s hard to get things done.”
“Well… how about I appoint you as a Yang Judge?”
“A Judge? Still no.” Lu Chen continued shaking his head.
“Why not? A Judge can already command underworld messengers. Why doesn’t that work?”
“Your Majesty, I’m meant to be the vanguard general who expands the underworld’s territory. Giving me a civil position just doesn’t fit.”
“Well… then how about I assign you to the City God Temple to serve as a Deputy City God in name? That should work, right?”
The City God was a local official appointed by the heavenly court. They were responsible for protecting the peace of their area while also handling underworld affairs. Strictly speaking, they were still the superiors of Black and White Impermanence and the Day and Night Patrol Gods.
A Deputy City God, as an assistant, was still a considerable position.
But Lu Chen thought about it for a moment and still shook his head. “Your Majesty, still no.”
“You insolent brat!” The King of Hell roared angrily. “If this doesn’t work and that doesn’t work, what exactly do you want?”
Lu Chen explained calmly, “Your Majesty, think about it. What I’m going to do is something that faces the entire living world. If I only hold the title of Deputy City God, wouldn’t that confine me to just one city? How could I spread my wings and operate freely?”
“Well…” The King of Hell listened and actually found some truth in it. “Then tell me, what title do you want? What, do you want me to give you my seat?”
“Your Majesty, you’re joking,” Lu Chen said, waving his hand. “What do you think of this? Since what I’m going to do is earth-shattering, the title shouldn’t follow the old rules either. Why don’t you appoint me as a Grand General? That fits my identity as the vanguard perfectly!”
“A Grand General?” The King of Hell was stunned for a moment, then laughed in spite of himself. “You clever little rascal, you’re certainly full of schemes. Fine. If I don’t give you something sweet, you won’t let this go.”
“I’ll grant your wish. I appoint you as [Underworld’s Majestic and Righteous Virtuous General]. I grant you my royal decree, allowing you to communicate with the underworld and dispatch underworld messengers.”
“Additionally, since your cultivation is too low, I will also grant you a dose of spiritual power and add three more years to your lifespan!”
As soon as the King of Hell finished speaking, a black light flew out from the spirit tablet and burrowed into Lu Chen’s body.
In an instant, Lu Chen felt countless mysterious connections form between himself and the surrounding world. His five senses became incredibly sharp, and a surging, endless power flowed within his body. Deep within his spiritual sea, a spiritual lamp suddenly ignited, shining brilliantly!
“This is… peak first-rank?!”
For spiritual masters, every time they advanced a rank, a spiritual lamp would light up inside them. Nine ranks meant nine lamps. And when the lamp’s flame was blazing, it meant they had reached the peak of that rank!
Wow! The King of Hell was so generous! Granting a divine position, bestowing spiritual power, and adding three more years to his lifespan! If he had been this straightforward earlier, it would have saved so much talking!
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” Lu Chen immediately bowed with his hands clasped. He felt a slight warmth on the back of his hand as a ghost-face pattern flashed briefly and then quietly disappeared.
“This is… the King of Hell’s Decree? I thought it would be a physical token. This way is actually more convenient.” Lu Chen was secretly delighted.
“Remember, there are also several divine abilities within the decree. But with your current level of spiritual power, you can only learn one—[Underworld Divine Thunder]. Figure it out yourself, you clever little rascal. Satisfied now?”
“Your Majesty is so generous! I am eternally grateful! My admiration for you is like an endless river, flowing without cease; and like the Yellow River flooding, out of control!”
“Hmph, spare me the sweet talk. I also warn you—if within three months you cannot gather three thousand offerings of incense, don’t blame me for settling accounts with you then! You’d better do well!”
“Huh? Three thousand in three months? Your Majesty, isn’t that KPI a bit too high? Your Majesty?”
But no matter how much Lu Chen shouted, the King of Hell did not respond again. He had clearly returned to the underworld.
“He left just like that? I was planning to negotiate the price.” Lu Chen pouted. “Three thousand it is! Old King of Hell, you have no idea about the power of viral spread!”
As long as he could open the ancestor channel between the underworld and the living world, forget three thousand—thirty thousand, three hundred thousand, even three million wouldn’t be a problem!
“When the underworld currency business takes off and I’ve accumulated enough military merits, it’s only a matter of time before my Lu family rises to become a [New Aristocrat Family].”
With the money problem solved, Lu Chen naturally had bigger ambitions.
As the sworn brother of Lord God of Wealth—the main treasury god of the heavenly court—the quasi-godson of the Ten Kings of Hell, the current Grand General of the underworld, and the benefactor of the Sun family, one of the four great families in Jiangdu City…
How could he, Lu Chen, be content with always struggling at the bottom?
If others could enter the [New Aristocrats], why couldn’t he, Lu Chen?
Not just [New Aristocrats]—but the [Great Clans], [Renowned Houses], [Ancient Families], and even [Royal Clans] that came after!
If others could hold those positions, why couldn’t he, Lu Chen?
With heroic passion surging in his chest, Lu Chen began to tally today’s gains:
He had advanced to peak first-rank!
With this strength, if he said he was second in his class, no one would dare claim first!
An average teacher was only around second-rank.
Next, he had obtained the King of Hell’s Decree, which allowed him to command underworld messengers. That meant he had four bodyguards and enforcers who were at least third-rank.
Finally, he had achieved the feat of holding a divine position as a mortal!
He didn’t realize it until he summed everything up—but the total was shocking.
He had hit the jackpot!!
“Indeed. Tending to a cold stove is really incredibly rewarding! It’s truly ‘the more daring you are, the more you harvest’!”
Pushing down his surging emotions,
Lu Chen then lit another stick of incense, planning to chat with Lord God of Wealth and ask him to bless his future paper money business so it could shoot up to the heavens.
Just as he was inserting the incense stick into the burner—
Creak—BAM!
The door was suddenly pushed open.
From inside the room came Lu’s father’s excited voice: “Old Li, I’m definitely going to play a few rounds of chess with you tonight! Whoever loses more has to treat tomorrow!”
“Alright! With your skill level, if you can win even one game against me, I’ll call you the champion!”
Incense stick in hand, Lu Chen turned his head and saw his father, who had gone out for a walk, now standing at the door with his chess buddy—Uncle Li from the same neighborhood.
Lu’s father and Uncle Li also saw Lu Chen in the same instant.
Uncle Li’s gaze subconsciously fell on the King of Hell’s spirit tablet behind Lu Chen.
And then…
Both sides fell silent.
Until Uncle Li let out a scream that could lift the roof off:
“OH MY GOD! The Lus have invited the King of Hell into their home!!”
That was followed by the chaotic sounds of thump-thump-thump-thump—someone tumbling down the stairs.
“Oh no!”
Lu’s mother, who had been listening to the commotion from the inner room, suddenly turned pale.
Even though she knew a secret couldn’t stay hidden forever,
she hadn’t expected it to be exposed this fast.
“Lu Jianming, you truly can’t help but mess things up!”
Lu’s mother gritted her teeth in anger, twisted the door open, and rushed out…
