I subdue demons and monsters, and cultivate immortality in hell to become a saint.

These ghosts lay with their eyes closed, and black evil energy kept rising from the bottom of the pit. They were swallowing the ghosts like they were eating noodles.

The malevolent energy in his soul was growing stronger.

The system panel popped up instantly: [Ghost Nest, Level 1, can transform ordinary ghosts into evil spirits].

Zhong Jiu's eyelids twitched: "A level one ghost nest? It would take a level six vengeful ghost to set it up? This Qingquan Town is hiding it well."

The ghosts in the pit were dressed simply, obviously villagers from the surrounding area who hadn't had time to enter the city. The dozens of elite soldiers in military uniforms he was looking for were also mixed in with the ghosts, and were being gradually eroded by the evil energy.

My first thought was to smash this ghost's lair with a chain. Keeping it alive would be like raising a tiger to cause trouble; sooner or later, it would create a group of evil spirits to wreak havoc on Guiling City.

But reason quickly prevailed over impulse: if he, a mere newly promoted Soul Master, destroyed something set up by a Level 6 Fiend, wouldn't that Fiend skin him alive when it returned?

"I have a system and trump cards; there's no need for me to gamble my life with a level six vengeful ghost."

Zhong Jiu abandoned the idea, "A steady and methodical approach is the best way. Let's get my manpower back first."

His gaze swept across the pit, and he quickly noticed the difference: the other spirits had long been soaked in malevolent energy, their eyes were empty, and they were like walking corpses. Even if they were rescued, they would eventually turn into evil ghosts.

But those dozens of elites were different. Apart from five whose souls were darkening, the remaining twenty-seven gritted their teeth and endured it. Their souls remained clear, but their faces were getting weaker and weaker, and they obviously couldn't hold on for much longer.

"It'll be too late if we wait any longer!"

Without further hesitation, Zhong Jiu waved his hand sharply: "Soul-Binding Lock, get to work!"

The black chains flew out with a "whoosh," as if they had eyes, avoiding the corrupted spirits and precisely binding the twenty-seven souls, pulling them sharply.

With a "whoosh," twenty-seven figures were forcibly pulled out of the pit, fell to the ground, and rolled several times.

They slowly woke up, their eyes unfocused, and it took them a while to react.

Upon seeing this, Zhong Jiu shouted, "Wake up, all of you!"

The shout, imbued with soul power, struck their souls like a thunderclap.

With a loud bang, memories flooded back into their minds, and they finally regained consciousness.

A middle-aged man sat up, clutching his head, and muttered, "I am Zhou Sheng, the captain of the second squadron. We were attacked in Qingquan Town... and our entire army was wiped out."

He was the first to react, immediately spotting Zhong Jiu standing beside him. His spirit tensed instantly, and he asked warily, "Who are you?"

People in their line of work have a deep-seated wariness of strangers.

"Take care of your own souls first, then worry about my identity."

Zhong Jiu crossed his arms and spoke in a nonchalant tone.

Everyone looked down and, upon seeing their semi-transparent bodies, erupted in chaos: "I...I've become a ghost?"

"Am I already dead?"

"What's in that pit?"

Zhou Sheng remained calm, restraining the agitated team members, and looked at Zhong Jiu: "Sir, please explain clearly, what exactly is going on?" He had a feeling that the person in front of him could answer all his questions.

Zhong Jiu didn't beat around the bush and pointed to the ghostly nest, explaining the whole story.

When everyone turned around, they saw that the evil spirits in the pit were still consuming the malevolent energy. Their faces turned pale instantly, and they almost turned into those mindless evil ghosts!

"Thank you so much for saving my life!"

Zhou Sheng took the lead and cupped his hands in gratitude, his eyes full of thanks.

Their duty is to fight evil spirits; if they were to become evil spirits themselves, that would be the greatest disgrace.

After expressing his gratitude, Zhou Sheng was now considering recruiting him: "With your abilities, why not join the official Special Operations Bureau? I'll personally recommend you; with your skills, you're at least a captain!"

Zhong Jiu chuckled and interrupted him, "I already have a place to serve."

Zhou Sheng was taken aback: "Where?"

"The Underworld and the Netherworld".

"What? The underworld?"

Zhou Sheng's mouth gaped open wide enough to fit a fist; his worldview shattered instantly. "Then, why don't the King of Hell and the judges come out and do something about this world?"

Zhong Jiu touched his nose, unable to respond. In his judgment, the underworld in this world was just an empty shell. Otherwise, why weren't there any underworld officials or messengers to manage so many souls?

With his soul guard standing here, he might be the highest leader of the entire underworld, but this fact cannot be said.

Zhong Jiu was too lazy to argue with these rough men about the inner workings of the underworld, such as where Yama, the King of Hell, was. That was not the kind of question a newly recruited soldier should be asking.

He took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "I saved you for one purpose: to recruit you as my soul soldiers. Stop dawdling and just say whether you agree or not."

He swept his gaze over the crowd, his eyes carrying an imposing aura, and continued, "The rest is none of your business."

Zhou Sheng clenched his fists, remained silent for two seconds, then looked up and asked, "What are you going to do after becoming a Soul Soldier?"

"Hear my command, slay evil spirits, protect the people, and do what you were doing in your old days."

Chung Kau stood with his arms crossed, his tone casual yet exuding an undeniable confidence.

Almost as soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes lit up. They were familiar with the job of fighting criminals with guns in life and slaying evil spirits with knives in death!

Not to mention that if you don't become a Soul Soldier, you'll be devoured by the evil energy in the Ghost Nest and turned into a demon. Only a fool would choose the second path.

After exchanging glances, Zhou Sheng and the others said in unison, "We are willing to become soul soldiers!"

"You guys know what's good for you."

With a flick of his finger, Zhong Jiu sent ten black military talismans flying out, striking the ten souls precisely. These were the ones he had chosen for their strongest will and most stable souls, and Zhou Sheng was among them.

The moment the military talisman touched his body, it immediately transformed into a cloud of black energy and merged into his soul.

The crowd, who had been confused, instantly cleared their eyes. The rules of the underworld and the duties of soul soldiers seemed to be ingrained in their bones. They all knelt on one knee and stretched out their hands, saying, "Your subordinates pay their respects, sir!"

Swish, swish, swish... Ten soul-binding chains, gleaming with a cold light, appeared out of thin air and landed in their palms.

The veterans who had followed Zhou Sheng for several years were dumbfounded. Their arrogant captain, who had never bowed his head when he won a championship at military school, was now kneeling on the ground with his back bent more submissively than anyone else.

Zhong Jiu nodded in satisfaction; this was how underworld soldiers should behave.

He looked at the remaining dozen or so people who were staring expectantly and waved his hand: "I only have these ten military tallies. You will come with me back to Guiling City to find a place to stay."

Zhong Jiu paused, then added, "Don't worry, once the quota for soldiers is filled, you'll all have a bright future."

Although everyone was somewhat disappointed, they knew it was the best solution and quickly bowed to express their gratitude.

Over the next two days, the evil spirits of Guiling City were extremely unlucky. Zhong Jiu led ten soul soldiers to sweep across the entire city. Wherever they went, the evil spirits were crushed before they could even finish their screams.

"You son of a bitch! You've killed fifty-seven people, today I'll make sure your soul is annihilated!"

In the ward of the Third Hospital, Zhou Sheng's furious shouts shook the windows.

Then came the sound of chains snapping, and the Soul-Binding Lock was lashed out like a whip, snapping shut on the evil spirit that was sucking away people's yang energy.

In just three moves, the evil spirit was strangled into black mist. Zhou Sheng dragged the chains out of the ward, without a trace of a smile on his face.

"Captain, is it resolved?"

The soul soldiers guarding the door hurriedly went to greet them.

"Go, go and report back to the master."

Zhou Sheng nodded, his expression even more serious than when he was in the army.

He hadn't smiled since becoming a soul soldier. Firstly, a soldier should act like a soldier; what kind of talk is this? Secondly, the evil deeds he had witnessed in the past two days had made his soul tremble.

The casualty figures reported by major media outlets are actually less than a fraction of the crimes committed by evil spirits.

Especially since a little devil actually extracted the souls of all the children in the building to use as toys. How could he, with his righteous indignation, laugh at such a tragic scene?

At the hospital entrance, Chung Kau was leaning against a tree, waiting.

Seeing this from afar, Zhou Sheng strode over and knelt down on one knee with a thud: "My lord, all the evil spirits at the Third Hospital have been vanquished!"