Chapter 404: He IS Hell
Xu Qing currently stood just outside of Level 89, looking at the jailer who had led him down here.
The scar-faced jailer had already received instructions about Xu Qing’s post, and what to do next. Leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, he looked Xu Qing up and down. He had looked at Xu Qing before, but had been assessing him as an outsider. Now, things were different.
“Considering how good-looking you are, boy, you’re not going to have an easy time down here. To the brutal villains that call this place home, you’re simply not going to be very intimidating. They’re going to have a lot of fun with you.”
The jailer grinned maliciously.
Xu Qing said nothing in response, and merely looked at the man.
Seeing Xu Qing’s calmness, the jailer chuckled. “Interesting. Come with me.”
Pushing away from the wall, he started climbing the stairs back up. As he passed the dark cell blocks, he would inspect them and bark a few curses. It didn’t matter how the inmates were clamoring, when they heard the jailor’s curses, they went quiet.
Xu Qing noted that thoughtfully. Each cell block contained a large dimensional space, within which were hundreds of cells. Imprisoned in those cells were all sorts of prisoners from every imaginable species. Many were bizarre in appearance, with the majority not even being humanoid. Xu Qing even spotted a few Seazombies.
After looking around, Xu Qing retracted his gaze and then peered into the darkness below. A chill, sinister wind rose up from there, along with occasional howls and screams.
“Don’t even bother looking,” the jailer said coolly. “Everything below Level 89 is Unit C. You’re not allowed to go there. Not even I’m qualified for that.”
“Was this place once a ghast hollow?” Xu Qing suddenly asked.
“You’re very well-informed. Yes. This place was indeed a ghast hollow. Back when the Corrections Division was established, the emperor himself sent people here to take control. Hold on, what was that?”
The jailer’s facial expression darkened. Turning, he kicked open one of the cell block entrances. As he stepped inside, the door smacked shut behind him, then turned blurry, making it impossible to see inside.
Xu Qing stood patiently waiting outside.
Shortly thereafter, the cell block door opened, and the jailer emerged, grinning cruelly as he wiped his mouth free of blood.
“One of the inmates is a Hornmerchant who used to be in the same little sect as me. After I became a jailer, I requested time off specifically to go arrest him. He never behaves well. Whenever I get a chance, I go in and show him a thing or two. Of course, I have to be careful. Can’t kill him. Otherwise all the fun will come to an end.”
The jailer seemed a lot more relaxed now. He even whistled a bit as he led Xu Qing onward.
Glancing into the cell block, Xu Qing saw that it was absolutely still and quiet, with a faint blood mist slowly settling down. Obviously, when the jailer mentioned ‘showing him a thing or two,’ it was more complicated than it seemed on the surface. That said, this was roughly how things worked in the Violent Crimes Division, so Xu Qing wasn’t surprised.
As Xu Qing followed along, he saw more and more jailers. Most were in the cell blocks standing guard. However, things were different compared to when the jailer led him down. This time, the jailer called out greetings to whoever he saw.
“We got a newbie here!”
The jailers they encountered, all of whom pulsed with bloody and baleful auras, seemed intrigued, and some of them even started following along. In short order, there were over thirty jailers in their little group. Many were urging the first jailer to ‘hurry up.’
“Come on, Ol’ Li, this is far enough,” one of them said. “We’re already at D-170. There’s nothing interesting past this point. We’ve all got things to do and just want to enjoy the show. Enough with the delays!”
The middle-aged jailer grinned and stopped in front of one particular cell block. “Alright. This is the spot.”
He kicked the door open, then beckoned at Xu Qing to follow him as he stomped inside.
Xu Qing looked over his shoulder at the more than thirty jailers behind him. All of them looked at him with gleaming eyes, like a pack of wolves.
“Wanna bet on the outcome?” he asked suddenly.
The jailers laughed.
“I’ll bet on myself,” Xu Qing said. With that, he took out a small sack that had about a hundred spirit stones in it. He tossed it to Ol’ Li. Without saying another word, he turned and entered the cell block.
“Very interesting.” The jailers outside the cell block exchanged even more curious glances, then followed.
The moment Xu Qing stepped inside, his vision blurred briefly, and then he found himself in another spatial dimension, surrounded by over a hundred cells. There were all types of prisoners. Some looked vicious, some looked grim, and some grinned wildly. None of them spoke. They just watched as Xu Qing entered with the jailers.
The middle-aged jailer the others had called Ol’ Li glanced around then called, “It’s play time, fellas. It’s your lucky day. The same rules apply as always. For every chunk of flesh you rip off, you get one month cell-free. You’ll be free to roam D-170 as you wish, and won’t face any reprisals. Same as ever.”
The inmates were already breathing heavily, and their brutal and wild gazes were fixed on Xu Qing, as if they wished to rip him limb from limb with their eyes only.
To them, Xu Qing looked dainty and tender, like a pastry that could be consumed in a single bite. Vicious cruelty rose in their hearts. After all, a month of freedom without being locked in a cell was something each and every one of them longed for. Though they all knew that the people assigned to work here as jailers weren’t ordinary individuals, they all still felt confident. Any criminal sentenced to serve time here was someone who had slaughtered numerous human beings. Being locked up constantly only caused the perverse energy within them to build higher and higher. Not only did Xu Qing himself pique their interest, but also, they detested swordsages. Because of that, the ominous atmosphere in the cell block grew more intense.
Seeing all that, Ol’ Li looked at Xu Qing. “Alright, ya little punk. This is how we do things in the Corrections Division. Every new jailer has to quell a cell block riot. If you fail, you’ll end up as someone else’s assistant, and won’t qualify to do real jailer work. If you succeed, then you’ll qualify to be in charge of an entire cell block. Have fun. And make sure to kill a few for us.”
With that, Ol’ Li strolled back to the main entrance where he stood with the other jailers. There, he waved his hand, and clanging sounds rang out as all of the cells in the cell block opened up.
At the same time, the restraints constricting the inmates’ cultivation bases were removed. Gold Core auras instantly sprang up everywhere. In Unit D, most inmates were Gold Core cultivators.
Because of being locked up, their spirit energy was weak. But there were over a hundred of them, all with various skills and abilities. What was more, they all had brutal auras that only the most resolute, high-level swordsages would be able to face without shying away.
Beyond that, there were some species present who had extremely impressive fleshly bodies. Obviously, this wasn’t going to be any sort of conventional fight.
The inmates were already moving toward Xu Qing, some of them cackling madly, others stoic, others howling in rage. Some moved quickly, others took their time. Some seemed to advance with wild abandon, others were clearly planning things out. And while some had terrifying fleshly body power, others were clearly using astonishing magical techniques. They were like a horde of devils or a pack of wild beasts, pouring out of the cells and converging on Xu Qing.
Xu Qing stood there looking like a helpless lamb just waiting to be ripped to pieces.
The observing jailers already seemed to be having fun. All of them had gone through this process, so they all looked forward to watching other newbies go through it. Of course, if it got to the point where it looked like Xu Qing might die, they would interfere. This really was a tradition, not bullying or harassment.
“Remember, kid,” Ol’ Li called, “you need to ask for mercy if things get too rough. Don’t get yourself killed before we can save you.”
Nodding, Xu Qing strode forward toward the first inmate, who was a nonhuman covered with scales that resembled armor.
As the nonhuman closed in, grinning viciously, Xu Qing lunged forward.
A boom rang out. The vicious grin remained on the nonhuman’s face. All he felt was something like a strong wind hit him. Then a tremor passed through him and blood sprayed out of his mouth. A look of shock filled his face as a dagger appeared in Xu Qing’s hand, which then slashed through his throat. The blow was delivered with such force that the nonhuman’s head flew off his shoulders within a geyser of blood.
Xu Qing shot backward, slamming into another nonhuman. Before the nonhuman could react, Xu Qing thrust his dagger backward, stabbing into him. The dagger pierced the nonhuman’s abdomen, and then Xu Qing ripped it up all the way to his forehead.
Next, Xu Qing dropped to his knees, avoiding a magical technique, then jumped forward with the agility of a cat to land right in front of a third nonhuman. Bending his leg, he slammed a knee into the nonhuman’s face. The nonhuman managed to utter an agonized shriek before his head exploded.
Everyone could hear the sound of blood splattering onto the ground, as well as the thump of bodies hitting the ground. It almost seemed like the gates of hell had been opened, and a fiend of slaughter had emerged.
Xu Qing had moved so quickly that none of the other inmates had yet reacted. And before any of them could, Xu Qing blurred into motion, arriving in front of a four-armed nonhuman with a gemstone growing out of his forehead. This nonhuman clearly had a very strong fleshly body. All four of his hands were clenched into fists as he launched an attack at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing was too fast. Grabbing one of the nonhumans’ arms, he tapped into his own explosive fleshly body power and pulled hard. The nonhuman’s face fell as he felt an immense force yanking him toward Xu Qing.
As blood erupted everywhere, Xu Qing’s right hand turned semitransparent, and he stabbed it into the nonhuman’s chest and grabbed his four heavenly palaces. As everyone watched in shock, Xu Qing ripped four dull gold cores out in a haze of blood, crushed them, and absorbed them. The nonhuman screamed as Xu Qing tossed him over his shoulder, and then blurred toward the next nonhuman. His index and middle fingers were like a needle that stabbed into the nonhuman’s throat. At the same time, Xu Qing crushed his gold cores.
Similar things happened to eight inmates. Twelve. Seventeen.
The inmates were now coming to realize how terrifying Xu Qing was, and how difficult he was to deal with. They exchanged grim glances, and then some continued to approach him, while others prepared magical attacks from a distance. They hoped to use nets above and snares below to see him dead.
But Xu Qing was just too fast, and his fleshly body was beyond astonishing. Magical techniques flared around him, and the golden crow appeared behind him. The crow’s piercing cry rang out as its power fought back against the magical techniques unleashed by the dozens of inmates.
Surrounded by flashing, multicolored light, Xu Qing closed in on one of the nonhumans using a magical technique. This nonhuman had a pair of wings. He wasn’t a Demi-Immortal, but rather, looked like some sort of birdman. Upon seeing Xu Qing close in, the birdman’s pupils constricted, and he backed up. However, he was too slow. Xu Qing grabbed his neck, then slammed him into the nearby wall. The wall trembled as the birdman’s neck and head exploded.
“What a pity,” Xu Qing said, realizing he hadn’t left himself an opening to take his opponent’s gold cores.
He threw the corpse off to the side. Looking around at the vicious nonhuman inmates, he licked his lips and burst into motion again. He didn’t use any poison. It seemed like a waste to resort to trump cards in a situation like this. In fact, he didn’t even use many magical techniques.
He suddenly appeared behind a shocked inmate, who tried to flee but wasn’t fast enough. Xu Qing’s right hand pierced into his back, grabbed his heart, and crushed it. Then he wrenched his hand to the side, destroyed the nonhuman’s heavenly palaces, and pulled out four dim gold cores.
In this manner, bloodcurdling screams filled the D-170 cell block. The screams never stopped. They just echoed out, shriller and more miserable with each moment that passed.
Thirty inmates. Forty. Fifty....
Xu Qing killed with increasing speed and efficiency. Leaving behind a string of blood-colored afterimages, he grabbed a nonhuman by the neck and, as he screamed, ripped out his gold cores.
An inmate tried to ambush him, but before getting close, Xu Qing’s shadow twitched. A moment later... half of the nonhuman’s body was gone, having been devoured by some invisible force.
The slaughter continued. An incense stick’s worth of time passed, which wasn’t much. The stench of gore filled the cell block. Bodies littered the floor. Most of them had no more heavenly palaces or gold cores. They were desiccated corpses, their energy and blood having been absorbed by Xu Qing’s golden crow. Some corpses were headless. Others were dismembered. It was a grisly scene.
There were a couple unique species whose skin Xu Qing had ripped off. There were only a few dozen nonhuman inmates left. Their innate ferocity had now been crushed, and they felt nothing but pure terror. They hadn’t seen Xu Qing’s facial expression change one time, and yet to them, he looked so different from before that they almost couldn’t process it mentally.
Xu Qing had looked like a helpless lamb to them. But now it seemed like he had ripped off his sheep’s clothing to reveal that he was really a vicious wolf. In fact, ‘wolf’ wasn’t even the right term. He was like a walking, living hell!
Their hearts swelled with astonishment and fear, and they trembled physically as they backed away from him.
“He’s not a Unit D jailer!”
“Unit D jailers release emotional fluctuations when they attack. This guy... has none!”
“He’s a fiendish killer! He’s obviously been wounded, but he hasn’t so much as batted an eyelid this entire time. This kind of person... I FORFEIT! Exalted jailers, we give up!!”
It was true that Xu Qing had been wounded. There was no way he could fight so many enemies without using trump cards, and come out completely unscathed. However, the more he got wounded, the more viciously he fought. Even as the terrified inmates backed away from him, he shot toward one and head-butted his face, causing his entire head to explode.
The surviving inmates’ hearts went cold. They were brutal individuals, but their eyes were full of terror as they looked at Xu Qing. He was obviously capable of a lot more brutality than them. In fact, when the blood-drenched Xu Qing turned to look at some of the inmates, they couldn’t control their fear. Trembling madly, they ran in the direction of the jailers.
That said, the jailers by the cell block door were also deeply shaken by the unforgettable scene they had just witnessed. They looked at the bodies and the blood. They saw the terrified inmates. And there was Xu Qing, looking incomparably calm. Some of the jailers gasped. All were shocked. They had witnessed slaughters before. They themselves were killers to the core. So what shocked them wasn’t the mere act of killing. Rather, it was Xu Qing’s facial expression while he did it. They were vicious individuals, but none of them could match Xu Qing, who slaughtered his enemies without the slightest change in facial expression.
Whether one was carrying out the slaughter, or facing the prospect of being slaughtered, it was common to get riled up emotionally. People about to be slaughtered would feel terrified and despairing. Those carrying out a slaughter would reveal excitement or anger. They were all emotions that couldn’t be faked. And they would all be revealed on the face.
It was the same with all the jailers in Unit D.
Only people who had carried out endless slaughter might not have any emotional reaction at all. Either that, or people who had experienced hell on earth, and had developed the instinctive ability to be able to completely control their emotions.
These jailers had seen people like that before, but they were all in Unit C, below Level 89, which meant they were much higher-ranking jailers. All of the jailers in that place were like that!
“Unit C!” the jailers murmured, exchanging glances. All of a sudden, their expressions weren’t amused as they looked at Xu Qing. Instead, their eyes shone with respect.