After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Emperor Song turned to Yan San.

"You've lost an arm, can you still manage?"

Yan San pressed his remaining hand against his severed arm, clenching his teeth.

"A broken arm won't stop me from writing the verdict."

"As long as there is even one brick left in the three halls, the rebels will not be able to cross the main hall."

Meng Po walked up to Zhou Ran, placed the chipped porcelain bowl in her palm, and took out two more pieces of broken porcelain from her sleeve.

The edges of the porcelain shards are uneven.

The soup stains had dried on it, leaving a light brown mark.

Zhou Ran looked at her.

"What is this?"

"My bowl."

Qiao Kun was taken aback.

"Grandma, didn't your bowl break on the day the river was sealed off?"

"Two pieces broke off."

Meng Po handed the broken porcelain to Zhou Ran.

"But the bowl isn't dead yet. These two pieces will be useful to you."

Zhou Ran pinched the porcelain shard; it felt cool to the touch.

"You want to fix it?"

Meng Po nodded.

"If the bowl breaks, the River of Oblivion will dry up."

"If the River of Oblivion is unsealed ahead of schedule, even the Three Palaces won't be able to hold it, and I'll have to make soup again."

Zhou Ran glanced at her.

"Aren't you coming with me?"

Meng Po said:

"I went there, but no one in the Three Palaces has suppressed the Lord of the River of Oblivion's mark."

"The Song emperor was able to sit in the palace and guard the heart of the palace, the judge was able to uphold the law, and Qiao Kun was able to guard the south bank."

"I'll stay here."

She paused, then spoke very calmly.

"Go and fetch the sword."

"I'll protect your escape route."

Zhou Ran put the two pieces of broken porcelain into his sleeve and turned to walk out of the hall.

The wind outside the hall grew stronger.

The kneeling ghost soldiers at the bottom of the steps all lowered their heads and made way for them.

In the distance, the black mist in the direction of the River of Oblivion is climbing up the horizon.

On the other side of the Bridge of Helplessness, a new battle flag has been raised.

Zhou Ran tucked the broken porcelain into his bosom.

"it is good."

"I'll bring this bowl back for you."

Zhou Ran turned to leave.

Emperor Song suddenly spoke.

"Zhou Ran".

He raised his hand, and a black-gold palace talisman flew out and landed in front of Zhou Ran.

"This is the military tally of the Three Palaces."

"You are now the Grand Commander, and the garrison will obey orders, not personal relationships."

"Upon reaching the south bank of the Bridge of Helplessness, if any garrison commander resists, execute him with this talisman."

Zhou Ran accepted the palace token.

"Who else disagrees?"

The Song Emperor's Way:

"Among the guards of the three palaces, some had served in the fifth palace."

"Their families, their records of souls, and their accounts of past merits are all in the hands of the rebels."

"They might not dare to rebel against you."

"But they will be afraid."

Zhou Ran looked at the kneeling Yin soldiers outside the hall.

"I'm sure I'm right."

"Only those who are afraid but still dare to stand are truly useful."

He stepped down the stairs.

Zhou Ran stopped in the middle of the steps.

I'll only say it once.

"If the south bank of the Bridge of Helplessness is lost, the back gate of the Three Palaces will open."

"When the rebels come in, Judge Cui will die, Meng Po will die, and you will be turned into fusion soldiers and hung on the flagpole."

Suppressed breathing could be heard from within the horde of ghostly soldiers.

Zhou Ran continued:

"Now go to the South Bank with Qiao Kun."

"If you want to live, obey my orders."

"If you want to join the rebels, stand up now."

A ghostly soldier looked up, his hands trembling.

"Grand Commander, if we hold the south bank, how will our karmic debt be calculated?"

Qiao Kun's eyes widened in surprise.

"What time is it? You're still asking about karma?"

Zhou Ran glanced at the ghostly soldier instead.

"Good question."

He took out the military tally given to him by the Song emperor.

"By order of the Grand Commander of the Three Palaces, those who guard the bridge today will be rewarded with three times the merit for their service in battle and will be recorded as acts of good deeds in the underworld."

"Those who died in battle will have their souls recorded in the Three Halls of Honor, the Register of Loyal Martyrs."

"The family members are cared for by the Third Prince."

Emperor Song raised an eyebrow.

Qiao Kun said in a low voice:

"Grand Commander, have you taken charge of this matter on behalf of the Third Prince?"

Emperor Song looked at the palace filled with ghostly soldiers.

Finally, he spoke.

"allow."

As soon as that one word was uttered, the aura of the kneeling ghost soldiers changed.

Someone reattached the broken spear to the ghost bone.

Someone tore the rotten flesh out of the armor plate and pressed it back into the chest.

Qiao Kun raised the Yaksha and roared behind him:

"Did you hear me?"

"Three times the merit in secret."

"Guard the bridge!"

More than two hundred ghost soldiers responded in unison.

The sound struck the dome of the three halls, shaking down several specks of black ash.

Zhou Ran didn't look at them again.

He walked towards the outside of the hall.

Li Zhiyao's voice came from the Gathering Yin Banner.

"Zhou Ran".

"The sword intent left behind by my elder brother is not easy to obtain."

"It has been submerged for four thousand years and may have become connected to the bridge piers."

Zhou Ran nodded slightly.

"How do I retrieve it?"

"Awaken it with the primordial energy and blood."

"If it recognizes you, it will come out on its own."

Zhou Ran asked:

What if it doesn't recognize it?

Li Zhiyao remained silent for a while.

"Then smash the bridge."

"When he left his sword intent there back then, he said something."

"If someone comes to take it, it means the underworld is beyond saving."

"Those who are alive should live by their own means."

Zhou Ran didn't stop walking.

"Then I'll use my method."

As soon as he stepped out of the main gate of the three halls, the black stone pavement beneath his feet trembled.

This tremor did not originate from a distant battlefield.

It came from the deeper underground, passed through the soil of the underworld, crossed the frozen River of Oblivion, and finally landed in Zhou Ran's dantian.

Within the Golden Core of the Mind, the gray crack throbbed once.

At the same moment.

Deep underground in the mortal world of Jiangcheng, the eyelid of the third eye of the Heavenly Corpse lifted up a crack.

Zhou Ran looked up and gazed in the direction of the River of Oblivion.

"Qiao Kun".

"Take people to the south bank."

Qiao Kun hoisted the Yaksha spear and flicked his black robe.

"Brothers, come with me."

Zhou Ran added, "Let your brother, the 'Daytime God,' press down on the cave entrance."

"It would be best if he could make it."

"If I can't make it, I'll push it myself."

Qiao Kun's expression changed.

"You broke through the ice yourself, retrieved the sword yourself, and now you're guarding the cave entrance yourself?"

"Do you really think you have three lives?"

Zhou Ran glanced at him.

"My fate is not under Heaven's control."

Qiao Kun's throat moved, but he didn't try to persuade him any further.

Zhou Ran tucked the Meng Po bowl fragment into his bosom and set off alone onto the black stone path leading to the banks of the River of Oblivion.

......

The banks of the River of Oblivion were quieter than Zhou Ran had imagined.

After the river froze over, the once churning black water became a solid sheet of ice.

The ice layer was translucent, and countless faces were sealed deep within it.

An elderly person's face was pressed against the ice, their lips still in the shape of reciting verses about their children and grandchildren from a past life.

There were fallen soldiers holding broken swords, half of their bodies submerged in the water, their souls still burning.

There were also some souls of the dead, being hunted by the rebels, with their arms outstretched, their fingertips just half an inch away from the ice.

Zhou Ran stood on the shore and watched for a moment.

Li Zhiyao's voice came from the Gathering Yin Banner.

"The River of Oblivion washes away memories."

"Even after being sealed in ice, it will still erode the soul."

"Don't stare at it for too long."

Zhou Ran said:

Are they still alive?

Li Zhiyao then said:

"The soul has not dissipated."

"If Meng Po can reconnect the waterways after the river is sealed off, they can still enter the cycle of reincarnation."

Zhou Ran looked at the outstretched hand under the ice; it was the hand of a rebel.

"What if the rebels win?"

Li Zhiyao said in a deep voice:

"They will become soldiers."

"Or it can be turned into fuel."

Zhou Ran looked away and stepped onto the ice with his left foot.

With a hissing sound.

The primordial yang energy spread from the soles of his feet, and white smoke rose from the surface of the black ice.

The pained expressions on the faces beneath the ice eased somewhat when illuminated by this yang energy.