Full-Time Magister: Dark Throne

"Um?"

Even before landing, He An could already sense the difference here.

Mo Fan, Zhang Xiaohou, and Fang Gu were all marked with shadow marks by him, but now it shows that they are not in the same space as him.

"That's interesting."

He An carefully sensed the shadow marks whose signals were disrupted due to the spatial turbulence within the Abyss of Fiends.

According to the original story, I should have landed with Mo Fan and the others, but that's not the case now.

The only ones capable of doing this in the Abyss of Fiends, besides the armor on the Blood Throne, are the Nine Nether Queens, the only one among the Eight Dead Kings whose whereabouts are unknown.

"I know you're here. Why don't you come out and talk?"

He An looked around at the empty space. Apart from the phantom of a white tomb palace, all that remained was bottomless, deathly darkness.

"You're quite clever, bro~" A pair of jade-like arms suddenly reached out from behind He An and gently rested on his shoulders.

A woman—no, a female ghost—dressed in a magnificent black and red robe, breathing sweet fragrance, pressed close to his face.

"Hmph! Let's talk this out." He An snorted coldly, and at the same time activated the power of the Shadow Monarch and the Netherworld Divine Realm, forcing Jiu You Hou to retreat.

He didn't want a monarch-level ghost so close to him, especially one that was blowing against his neck.

"Oh dear~ Young man, you must not have a girlfriend, right? So rude~" After being forced back, Jiuyou transformed into a wisp of wind and drifted to He An's front, revealing his form, and said with some resentment.

"So, what is your purpose in bringing me here?" He An ignored the teasing in her words and raised an eyebrow indifferently.

Empress Jiuyou covered her mouth and chuckled, shaking her black and red robes down to her shoulders, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin: "Couldn't I be attracted to your handsome face, young man, and want to spend the rest of my life with you?"

"Seriously, I'm in a hurry." He An frowned, pulled out Ye Lan, and placed it on Jiu You Hou's neck.

With the blessing of the Netherworld God Realm, Ye Lan can easily deal with a ghost without a physical body like the Nine Netherworld Queen.

"You're so easily amused." Empress Jiuyou muttered to herself, looking at He An with great seriousness, and asked, "Do you want to become king?"

"As the lord of millions of souls in this ancient capital, the Emperor of the Abyss of Death, your power will be unmatched in this world!"

"If you want, I can help you get that seat."

After her death, Jiuyou was no longer the quirky woman she once was, but truly resembled a woman who had long held power.

He exuded an aura of authority and had a solemn expression.

His words and demeanor exuded an air of unassailable authority.

"Heh!" He An suddenly chuckled.

"That's ridiculous. Since when did the eight deceased rulers under the ancient throne have the right to decide who gets to take his place?"

"Leaving aside Khufu of Egypt and the Queen of the Sea, just considering those old fogies in the country joining forces, the current 'Ancient King' probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape, would he?"

"Where do you get the audacity to claim you're invincible?"

As He An spoke, he expressionlessly used Nightfall to shatter the Nine Netherworld and the entire space into dust.

"What I want to be is not the 'Ancient King,' but the true King of the Underworld!"

After shattering this small space that had been moved from somewhere unknown by the Nine Netherworlds, ten magnificent and imposing flying arch bridges appeared before them.

The arched bridge, like a dragon soaring through the air, connects the place where He An is located with the darkness deeper within the imperial mausoleum.

A bridge where nine deaths and one life are possible!

This is a test set by the ancient king for his descendants who possess his bloodline.

Of the ten bridges, only one truly leads to the Blood Throne where the ancient king resides; the other nine are all dead lands.

Based on the directions indicated by the shadow markers, Mo Fan and Fang Gu should have already chosen which bridge to cross.

Without much thought, He An stepped onto a bridge and walked along the jade railings on both sides into the depths of the imperial mausoleum.

A bridge to life? A bridge to death?

One in ten chance?

True strength doesn't involve thinking about so many things.

If there is no way out, then fight your way to survival!

-----------------

After Zhang Xiaohou was rescued from the brink of death by Mo Fan, he continued walking along the road.

"Boom!"

A deafening sound came from behind him, and Zhang Xiaohou turned around to look.

The bridge of life and death that we had just crossed had collapsed, and the jade stones that formed the bridge beams fell into the abyss below, where they were pulverized by the relentless black wind sickle.

Only one real bridge remains, which is the altar leading to the tomb.

The entire altar is shaped like an ice crown, and the stone steps below are enormous, as if built for gods and giants, requiring one to use both hands and feet to barely climb them.

But the higher you go, the narrower the steps become, until finally they are small enough to step over in one stride.

Zhang Xiaohou wearily took his first steps and climbed the last step.

His gaze drifted toward the top of the altar.

There was a huge, blood-red jade with sharp, jagged edges, which looked like a king's throne with countless sharp blades stuck upside down.

That is the Blood Throne of the Ancient King.

At this moment, a person was sitting on the throne, wearing a black armor robe.

The armor remains spotless even after a thousand years, its surface as smooth as a mirror.

Zhang Xiaohou could even see himself slowly approaching in it.

Where is that person?

The person on the Blood Throne suddenly spoke, and his hoarse voice even had a somewhat familiar quality.

"Who? Who is that person?"

Zhang Xiaohou stopped approaching and cautiously asked.

"That person named He An."

The figure on the Blood Throne rose to his feet, the firelight from the altar dispelling the shadows on his face.

It turned out to be Fang Gu, who had already arrived at the Blood Throne!

The bridge he chose was the only one that brought him to life. He sat on the throne of the ancient king and donned his armor!

"Fang Gu? What are you doing here?"

"Why can't I be here?" Fang Gu chuckled. "The ancient kings have long since passed away. Whoever arrives here first will become the next ancient king."

Just as Fang Gu was speaking, a black shadow with six wind wings swept past Zhang Xiaohou.

"Chief Instructor?" Zhang Xiaohou exclaimed upon catching sight of the familiar face beneath the black robe.

Zhan Kong, hidden beneath the black robe, reached out towards the armored figure.

The armor robe instantly drained the energy that sustained Fang Gu's skin and flew towards Zhan Kong.

"Clang!"

A jet-black scabbard shot out from afar, blocking the path between the sword and the armored figure rushing towards it, colliding with the armor and producing a metallic clang.

After slamming the armor back onto the Blood Throne, the scabbard made a turn in mid-air and returned to its master's hand.

Zhan Kong turned his head and saw that He An had appeared at the edge of the altar at some point.

"How can an older brother let his younger brother rush ahead?"

He An smiled and slowly walked towards the Blood Throne.

"It's you!"

"It's you!!!" Fang Gu's face suddenly reappeared from within the armor.

This time, it looked at He An with a crazed expression.

It was as if they had seen some incredible, rare treasure.

"He An, be careful! This armor probably only contains a wisp of the ancient king's evil will, and it needs a lot of blood to revive it!" Zhan Kong frowned as he looked at the strange armor and shouted a warning to He An.

Based on the intelligence he secretly gathered about the Salang Plan, the current state of this "Ancient King" is definitely not right.

He could become the ancient king for the sake of the ancient capital, and for what he wanted to do.

But He An absolutely cannot!

He must not be targeted by the "Ancient King" and become part of its resurrection.

The armor transformed into a wisp of black smoke and swiftly attacked He An.

"Hahaha!"

"Your body is mine now!!!"

"Fierce Fist!"

Zhan Kong swiftly condensed a star map and unleashed a fierce punch, attempting to hinder the armored figure's progress.

The armor, which could turn into black smoke, was completely unaffected by the magic and flew straight to He An's side.