Chapter 402: He Is Hell

At this moment, Xu Qing was outside the eighty-ninth floor, looking at the jailer waiting there.

This jailer, who had a scar on his face, had clearly received the official decree and understood Xu Qing's upcoming appointment, so he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, sizing Xu Qing up from head to toe.

Although he had checked him out earlier outside, that was a look of scrutiny from the perspective of an outsider; now it was different. After scanning him, he looked again at Xu Qing's peerlessly delicate and handsome face.

"Kid, looking this good will make you suffer here. To those heinous criminals, your appearance lacks any deterrent power; you will become a plaything for them to mock and relieve their boredom."

The middle-aged jailer still wore a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Xu Qing did not speak; he raised his head to look at the jailer.

Meeting Xu Qing's gaze, the middle-aged jailer saw the calmness in Xu Qing's eyes, and so he smiled again.

"Interesting. Follow me." The jailer pushed off the wall with his back, stood up, and walked in circles up the stairs within the gloomy Prison Department.

Passing by one dark-green cell door after another, he would occasionally glance inside and curse a few times.

Yet no matter how noisy the criminals in those cells were, after the jailer's curses, they would instantly fall silent.

Xu Qing was lost in thought, while also noticing that in the massive space within each cell, there were basically hundreds of small cages, holding a motley assortment of criminals from every ethnic group.

There were many with strange appearances, and many were not humanoid. After scanning several cells, Xu Qing even saw a Sea Corpse clansman.

After observing the cells, Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and looked down at the stairs, toward the pitch-black abyss below.

Bursts of cold, sinister Qi rose from below, and low roars drifted up from far away.

"No need to look. Below the eighty-ninth floor is the C-Zone; that is not a place you can go. Even I don't have that qualification." The jailer in front spoke indifferently.

"Was this place once a ghost cave?" Xu Qing suddenly asked.

"You're quite knowledgeable. That's right, this place was indeed once a ghost cave. When the Prison Department was built, it was suppressed by people from the Imperial Capital."

"Oh?"

As the jailer was speaking, his expression suddenly turned gloomy. He kicked the cell door to the side, kicked it open, walked in, and slammed the door shut with a bang.

The door became blurred at this moment, making it impossible to see inside.

Xu Qing stood there waiting, his expression calm.

A moment later, the cell door opened. The middle-aged jailer walked out, grinning hideously while wiping the blood of the criminal from his face.

"There was a Horn Merchant clansman prisoner. It once slaughtered the small sect I belonged to. Later, after I became a jailer, I took leave to go out and captured it. It's never honest. Every time I see it, I can't help but go in and tidy it up, but I have to be careful not to kill it, otherwise there won't be any fun later."

Unlike when they arrived, the jailer was clearly more relaxed now. After saying this to Xu Qing, he even whistled and continued forward.

Xu Qing glanced at that cell. It was deathly silent inside, and a thick blood mist permeated the air. Clearly, this was not as simple as the other party claimed about "tidying it up."

However, this was also a common occurrence back at the Criminal Investigation Department, so Xu Qing didn't pay it any mind and continued to follow the man.

Along the way, Xu Qing saw more jailers. Most of them were inside the cells, clearly each having their own prison to guard and watch over; not many were out.

But unlike when they arrived, this time the middle-aged jailer would introduce him whenever he saw a colleague.

"A newcomer has arrived."

Whenever they heard this, those jailers, whose bodies were filled with intense, bloody, and baleful auras, would show interest. After sizing Xu Qing up, some even followed behind.

Until a moment later, after more than thirty jailers had followed behind, someone urged them on.

"Old Li, that's enough. This is already the D-Seventeen Zone. It's pointless to go any further up. Everyone has things to do; there's no need to drag this out just to watch the fun."

The middle-aged jailer grinned upon hearing this and stopped in front of a cell.

"Fine, let's do it here."

As he spoke, he kicked the cell door open with a bang, beckoned to Xu Qing, and walked inside.

Xu Qing turned his head to look at the thirty-plus jailers behind him.

Every one of these people had glowing eyes, like a pack of wolves in the night, all staring at him.

Xu Qing suddenly spoke.

"Are you all going to bet?"

As soon as his words fell, the jailers outside laughed.

"I bet on myself," Xu Qing said, taking out a pouch containing about a hundred spirit stones and placing it to the side.

He then turned around and stepped into the cell.

"Interesting." The dozens of jailers outside looked at each other, their interest piqued even further, and they all walked in.

The moment Xu Qing stepped into the cell, his vision blurred, as if he had entered another space, appearing in an open area surrounded by hundreds of massive cages.

The criminals inside were some ferocious, some gloomy, some grinning, and some with strange lights in their eyes, but no one spoke; they were all staring at Xu Qing and his group from within their cages.

The middle-aged jailer who had entered first scanned the surroundings.

"Your new plaything has arrived. You're lucky this time."

"The rest is up to your performance. The old rules: whoever tears off a piece of his flesh gets to leave their cage door unlocked for the next month, move freely within this D-Seventeen cell, and will not be retaliated against. This is the rule."

As soon as the middle-aged jailer's words fell, heavy breathing erupted from all the surrounding cages. Pairs of cruel and crazed eyes stared in unison at Xu Qing, as if they wanted to tear him to pieces with their gazes alone.

In their eyes, the tender-skinned Xu Qing was like a delicious snack, evoking a sense of cruelty from the bottom of their hearts. After all, they were incredibly eager for that relative freedom of not having their cage doors locked for a month.

Even knowing that those who could serve as jailers here were not simple, there was safety in numbers, and their courage naturally grew.

Moreover, these deep-sinners had all slaughtered many humans, and being locked here suffering day and night, their baleful energy had not been completely worn away.

Especially since Xu Qing was handsome, this excited them even more. Coupled with their hatred for the Sword Holders, all of this immediately caused the atmosphere of ferocity here to boil over, accompanied by increasingly rapid breathing.

Seeing this, the middle-aged jailer smiled at Xu Qing.

"Kid, this is the rule of our Prison Department. Every new jailer must suppress a zone. If you fail, you can only serve as an assistant to others and cannot qualify for the job of a jailer."

"Only those who succeed are qualified to guard a cell. I wish you a pleasant game. Let us see how many you can kill."

As he spoke, the middle-aged jailer walked to the side of the cell door and stood with the other jailers. He raised his right hand and waved it. Immediately, with a clattering sound echoing, all the cages in the cell opened instantly.

Also opened were the shackles on these criminals that suppressed their cultivation bases.

Waves of Core Formation auras erupted at this moment.

Most of those imprisoned in the D-Zone were Core Formation cultivators.

Although years of sealing had left their spiritual energy weak, the quantity of over a hundred, their individual methods, and the cruel, baleful auras emanating from them meant that unless one was a high-palace Sword Holder with a firm mind, anyone else would be intimidated by their ferocity.

Especially since there were all kinds of races inside, many skilled in physical combat, which made this battle very difficult in a conventional sense.

At this moment, these criminals, some grinning, some gloomy, some roaring, all charged out.

Some were fast, some slow; some were reckless and ready to strike, while others were skilled at observing; some had terrifying physical bodies, and others had astonishing magic arts.

It was like a dance of demons and beasts released from their cages, all rushing toward Xu Qing.

And Xu Qing, standing in the middle of the plaza, looked like a little lamb, as if he could be torn to pieces and toyed with in the next instant.

This scene made the jailers at the cell door look on with amusement.

Every one of them had gone through this, so they were looking forward to seeing the newcomer experience it all. Of course, if Xu Qing faced life-or-death danger, they would naturally intervene.

This was just a tradition, not bullying or slaughter among jailers.

"Kid, remember to beg for mercy if you can't handle it. If you're too late, we won't be able to save you in time," the middle-aged jailer said with a smile.

Xu Qing nodded and charged forward, heading straight for an alien covered in armor who was the first to arrive.

Closing the distance in an instant, amidst the alien's hideous grin, Xu Qing slammed into it with his body.

With a boom, the alien's smile froze. It felt a violent force rushing toward it, its body trembling as blood sprayed out. Just as its expression turned to one of horror, a dagger appeared in Xu Qing's hand in the next instant, and he slashed it fiercely across its throat.

The force was so great that the head flew off, and blood sprayed out like a fountain.

The next moment, Xu Qing's body retreated abruptly, slamming directly into another alien. Before that alien could react, the dagger in Xu Qing's hand stabbed backward repeatedly.

Then he slashed upward, cutting directly from the abdomen to the glabella.

Following that, he crouched down, dodging a magic art whistling over his head, and charged toward a third alien. He bent his knees, leaped up, and slammed directly into the other's face.

Amidst the other's shrill screams, its head collapsed.

The blood spraying all around made a gurgling sound, and the falling corpses echoed with thumping noises. All these sounds seemed to knock open the gates of Asura, releasing a demon of slaughter.

Xu Qing's previous strikes were too fast. Before anyone could react, Xu Qing's speed erupted, and he appeared in front of a four-armed alien with a crystal on its glabella.

This alien had a cruel expression and a powerful physical body. Its four arms were each clenched into fists, about to strike at Xu Qing.

But Xu Qing was faster. He grabbed one of the alien's arms, and his powerful physical strength erupted. Amidst the change in the alien's expression, its arm was pulled by a great force and slammed directly into its own body.

Blood sprayed out. In the moment of its horror, Xu Qing's right hand became translucent and stabbed directly into the chest of the burly alien, breaking through its four Heavenly Palaces along the way.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone around, four dim Core Formations connected to flesh and blood were pulled out by Xu Qing, crushed, and absorbed into his body.

As the burly alien let out a shrill scream, its body was swung by Xu Qing and thrown to the side. With astonishing speed, he charged toward another alien.

Two fingers like needles pierced directly into the other's throat. While punching a hole through it, its Core Formation was also taken out, crushed, and absorbed by Xu Qing.

Then came the eighth, the twelfth, the seventeenth.

The surrounding criminals felt Xu Qing's terror and realized how difficult he was to deal with. One by one, they began to coordinate with each other in the gloom, some closing in, others casting spells from the outside.

They formed a net of heaven and earth, intending to kill him.

But Xu Qing's speed was too fast, and his physical body was shockingly powerful. Seeing the magic arts descending from all sides, he manifested the Golden Crow behind him, which roared at the surroundings to resist the magic arts from dozens of criminals.

And his body charged through the colorful light of the magic arts, arriving in front of another alien.

This alien was one of the cultivators who had unleashed a magic art. It had wings, but it was not a Near-Immortal clansman; it looked more like a Crow-man.

Noticing Xu Qing's arrival, the Crow-man's eyes constricted, and it continued to retreat, but it was too late. Xu Qing grabbed its neck and pushed its body, slamming it directly into the wall to the side.

With a roar from the wall, the Crow-man's neck exploded, its head shattered, and its corpse fell to the ground.

"What a pity."

Xu Qing felt regret in his heart; he hadn't had time to pull out the other's Core Formation.

With a flick, he threw the Crow-man's corpse into the distance.

Looking at the surrounding alien criminals who were still ferocious, Xu Qing licked his lips and charged out again.

He didn't use poison; he felt it wasn't worth using his trump card here. He even used very few magic arts. In a flash, he arrived behind a criminal. The other's expression changed drastically, and just as he was about to dodge forward, it was already too late.

Xu Qing's right hand pierced directly through its back, grabbed the alien's heart, and crushed it violently. He also reached into the other's Heavenly Palaces, breaking through them all the way, and grabbed four dim Core Formations.

Just like that, shrill screams continued to erupt within this Ding Seventeen cell.

From beginning to end, they never ceased, growing ever sharper and more wretched.

The thirtieth, the fortieth, the fiftieth...

The faster Xu Qing killed, the faster he became, and the brutality of his strikes was shocking; his movements were incredibly agile, and at this moment, he was like a blood-shadow, directly grabbing an alien's neck and ripping out their Core Formation while the other party wailed in despair.

A criminal behind him attempted a sneak attack, but the moment they neared Xu Qing, his shadow flickered, and in the next instant... half of the attacking alien's body vanished, as if swallowed by an invisible, massive mouth.

The slaughter continued.

In the short span of one incense stick, the stench of blood permeated the cell, the ground was covered in corpses, most of which had their Tiangong shattered, their Core Formation ripped out, and their bodies reduced to dried husks as Xu Qing's Jin Wu devoured their blood and Qi; the state of their deaths was extremely miserable.

Others had their heads shattered or their bodies torn apart, a scene of utter carnage.

There were even a few special tribes whose flesh had been stripped away by Xu Qing, leaving blood all over the floor.

At this point, the remaining dozens of alien criminals here finally felt a terror that their own inherent ferocity could no longer suppress.

In their eyes, Xu Qing's expression had not changed in the slightest from start to finish, yet the feeling in their hearts had undergone a cataclysmic shift.

Before, Xu Qing had looked like a snack or a lamb to them, but now, he was a savage wolf that had torn off its sheepskin—even that description was inadequate; he was a walking hell!

All of this caused monstrous waves to rise in their hearts, their bodies trembling, and a sense of dread permeated their entire minds.

"He is absolutely not a jailer from the Ding District!"

"When Ding District jailers strike, there are emotional fluctuations, but he... he has none!"

"This is a baleful star; he is clearly injured too, yet he hasn't even frowned from start to finish. This kind of person... I give up, Lord Jailer, we give up!"

"

It was not that Xu Qing was uninjured; with so many criminals joining forces and Xu Qing not using his trump cards, he naturally sustained injuries.

Yet the more injured he became, the more brutal he grew, especially now as the criminals scattered in terror; he caught up to one, slammed his head into the other party's face, and forcibly smashed their skull into pieces.

This scene caused the remaining criminals to feel a constant chill rising from the depths of their hearts; these vicious, wicked men looked at Xu Qing with eyes that gradually grew terrified to the extreme, for in their eyes, Xu Qing's brutality surpassed their own.

Especially the few prisoners whose minds had been shattered by Xu Qing's slaughter; seeing the blood-covered Xu Qing turn his head and meeting his gaze, their resolve collapsed uncontrollably, and they trembled as they ran frantically toward the jailers at the cell door.

Also shocked were the jailers at the entrance of the cell; the scene today was one they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

They looked at the corpses covering the ground, at the viscous blood pooling on the floor, at the criminals scattering in terrified shock, and at the incomparably calm Xu Qing.

Everyone gasped, their minds stirred by violent waves, their expressions incomparably grave.

They had seen killing before, being men of slaughter themselves, so what shocked them was not the act of killing, but Xu Qing's expression during the slaughter.

Even though they were also vicious, they could not maintain an expression as still as an ancient well from start to finish like Xu Qing, without the slightest ripple.

After all, whether killing or being killed, emotions are hard to control and will naturally fluctuate.

The terror and despair of the victim, the excitement and enjoyment of the killer—these are almost impossible to fake.

Subtle expressions will always exist.

All the jailers of the entire Ding District were like this.

Only those who had reached the extreme of slaughter, or those who had experienced a human purgatory and turned killing into an instinct, could control their emotions to not show a single ripple in such a state.

And such people, they had seen.

They were the jailers who served in the Bing District below the eighty-ninth level, those of a higher rank than them.

Every single jailer there was this kind of person!

"The Bing District!"

These jailers instinctively looked at one another; in this gravity, the gaze they cast toward Xu Qing no longer held the playfulness from before, but had risen to a deep respect, revealing a intense light.