Lord of Prayer

Time in the Netherworld seemed perpetually frozen in a silent twilight. Clouds and mist coiled high in the sky, and a blue-purple glow unique to this realm filtered through the overcast veil, casting its light upon the bleak and barren land.

The vast world was exceptionally quiet. Zhou Chen had flown fifty kilometers on his Christmas Sled without seeing a single moving thing. The entire journey was nothing but desert and ancient mountain ranges.

In any other place, such a desolate and cold environment would have been terrifying. But in the Netherworld, it was actually reassuring. At least he didn’t have to worry about running into any Undead.

If the Star Association hadn’t taken control, the Netherworld would surely have become the land of the dead depicted in myths and legends, teeming with Undead. It certainly wouldn’t be as desolate as it was now; it would be bustling—which would be terrible news for any visitor.

The Netherworld was a dimension unto itself, so its actual area was immense. Zhou Chen had flown a total of two hundred kilometers since he’d arrived, but his path was just a tiny, insignificant line on the map of the Netherworld. By his calculations, the realm was almost as large as the entire continent of Asia.

Just then, a beast’s roar echoed from the distance, as deep and muffled as a clap of thunder. It shook the ancient mountains so hard they seemed on the verge of collapse. The sound terrified the Christmas reindeer, their bodies went limp, and they instantly lost their ability to fly. The high-speed sled plummeted toward the ground.

Zhou Chen canceled the Skill just in time. The reindeer and sled dissolved into starlight as he used Flame Jump to land steadily in the desert, his eyes warily fixed on the source of the sound.

The Life Church had warned him not to wander off, that he had to stick to the predetermined route. This was because the Star Association and other major organizations were conducting various top-secret experiments in the Netherworld. Stumbling into one of their testing grounds would have unimaginable consequences—the Soul Rest Cemetery itself was one of the Life Church’s experiments.

That beast’s roar just now was probably part of another organization’s experiment.

Suddenly, Zhou Chen sensed something and turned his head. At the edge of his vision, a magnificent pillar of light descended from the Netherworld’s sky. Even from more than ten kilometers away, he could clearly see the massive beam connecting heaven and earth. It briefly lit up the Netherworld’s night sky. ’God only knows how wide its actual strike radius is, or how terrifying its Power,’ he thought.

’What the hell are these people even doing in the Netherworld...?’ Zhou Chen grumbled to himself. He summoned the Christmas reindeer again, made a wish to banish their Fear, and set off once more on the sled.

Fortunately, the rest of his journey was uneventful. He didn’t run into any more crazy business.

After a long while, Zhou Chen reached a stretch of the Gobi desert. Following the guidance of the map of the Netherworld, he arrived before a massive boulder. The next second, the map began to glow, and an Alchemy Matrix materialized on the rock’s surface. The Matrix slowly rotated, unlocked itself, and formed a doorway leading to the central hub of the Soul Rest Cemetery.

To enter the central hub of the Soul Rest Cemetery, one first had to enter the Netherworld via the cemetery itself, then follow a specific route to find its location. If someone were to come directly to the same coordinates within the Netherworld, they would find nothing. The Life Church had deliberately designed this feature when creating the Extraordinary Artifact, intending to protect the Soul Rest Cemetery from outsiders. Who would have thought they’d end up shooting themselves in the foot? If not for this security measure, the Life Church would have reclaimed control of the Soul Rest Cemetery in the Netherworld long ago instead of waiting all these years.

Zhou Chen stepped through. Behind him, the glowing Matrix Door gradually dimmed and vanished without a trace.

The Gobi returned to its lifeless silence and desolation.

He found himself in a building steeped in the religious atmosphere of the Life Church. This was the place where the Church drew upon the Power of the Netherworld to supply the Soul Rest Cemetery.

With the map of the Netherworld in hand, Zhou Chen reached the door to the central control room unimpeded and pushed it open.

But the instant the door opened, a black shadow shot out from within, aimed straight for Zhou Chen’s head.

Zhou Chen reacted instantly, tilting his head to dodge. He saw it clearly then—it was a throwing dart.

The next second, a storm of more darts and other hidden weapons came whistling toward him.

With a thought, Zhou Chen used Alchemy to conjure a metal wall in front of himself. A series of CLANGS and PINGS rang out as all the hidden weapons embedded themselves in the metal.

Ghost had controlled the Soul Rest Cemetery for over a decade; of course he would leave defenses in such a crucial location. The automated defense systems alone were more than enough to give an ordinary person a world of trouble.

Inside the central control room, beneath a tree of light formed from countless complex Matrices, a gaunt man opened his eyes. Instantly, an overwhelming killing intent swept over Zhou Chen.

A bone-chilling cold shot up his spine, and his Soul felt as if it had been plunged into an icy abyss.

’Fuck, another Tier Four!’

’Ghost actually found a Tier Four Ascender to guard the central hub of the Soul Rest Cemetery!’

’No wonder the guards in the cemetery itself were so weak. It didn’t matter if that place fell. As long as the central hub was secure, Ghost was still the master of the Soul Rest Cemetery.’

’Xiye, save me!!!’ Zhou Chen screamed internally. He never expected Ghost would entrust such an important place to another Tier Four guardian. ’Isn’t he afraid of being betrayed?’

"I’m here, I’m here."

The overwhelming, icy killing intent instantly vanished. Li Xiye descended in a body of Cyan Thunder. "Relax. I’m here, so there won’t be any mishaps... But shouldn’t you explain that trending topic about you and Erin first? Otherwise, I might just hit you too, you know."

The corner of Zhou Chen’s mouth twitched. "Now is not the time to talk about that! The guy’s awake!"

"Ha. In bed, it was all ’sweet sister this’ and ’I love you that,’ but now you find me annoying?" Li Xiye tutted. "You sure fell from grace quickly once you let go of your morals. Moving on to someone new already?"

"I didn’t!" Zhou Chen explained hurriedly, then yelped a curse—the gaunt man was charging at them.

BOOM!

With a tremendous roar, lightning surged and exploded, sending out a hurricane-like blast. Li Xiye sent the attacking man flying with a single punch. He smashed through the tree of light composed of countless Matrices and slammed violently into the far wall, making the entire space tremble. The tree of light, however, seemed to be just an illusion without a physical form, so it remained undamaged.

A single blow was enough to make cracks appear on the gaunt man’s body, and blood trickled out.

"Have time to explain now?" Li Xiye asked.

Zhou Chen could only explain meekly, "Erin figured things out, so she had someone create that trending topic."

Li Xiye’s Cyan Thunder form raised a surprised eyebrow. "Oh, that makes sense. She’s deliberately getting back at you while also staking her claim. Kids will be kids... Also, you’ve corrupted her. The old Erin would never have thought of a move like this."

’As if you haven’t taught her any underhanded schemes yourself...’ Zhou Chen grumbled internally, only to receive a sharp glare from Li Xiye in return.

"My bad, it’s all my bad," Zhou Chen admitted hastily.

Li Xiye didn’t press the issue. "There’s also a Tier Three in here," she said lightly. "I’ll leave that one to you."

’Another Tier Three?’ Zhou Chen was stunned. He looked deeper into the central control room and, sure enough, saw a dark figure rising from the shadows.

The dark figure had shapely curves, clearly a woman. Her form gradually solidified, revealing a nun in a pitch-black robed dress. Her face was beautiful, her expression full of pity, like a merciful madonna lamenting the state of the world.

But the aura she radiated was, without a doubt, Dark Essence.

Corrupt, dark, twisted...

Brimming with evil.