Hell’s Handbook

As Shen Wu attained godhood, his eyes were filled with a godly light and his aura was strengthened several times over, like a baby turning into an adult.

“It’s meaningless. An increase in strength cannot change the essence of your being,” said Su Jin.

“We’ll know only after we try.” Shen Wu let out a furious roar and the temperature around him started falling rapidly. He was actually making a huge part of the universe he was in freeze. The fact that he had been able to extinguish a star in seconds earlier was already incredible enough. But the area he was freezing now had at least a few thousand stars.

“Damn it!” Su Jin didn’t have to worry about the effects of the falling temperature on himself, but his friends wouldn’t be able to take it.

He immediately used his power to create a space that was unaffected by the laws of the universe and made sure it contained that planet he was on. He quickly located his friends and they were happy to see him, but they also looked rather worried.

“This is clearly a trap. Can’t you tell?” asked Ye Yun with a frown.

“Even if I have to climb a mountains of knives or swim through a sea of fire, it’s worth it! Anywhere where you are is the best place to be! Even if it turns out to be a trap, I’m happy to leap straight into it myself!” said Su Jin with a big grin. He had never said sweet nothings to Ye Yun before, and he wasn’t giving up any chance to do so.

“Teehee! What a glib tongue you have! I don’t think I would have liked someone like that in the past, but now… I love him to death!” Ye Yun hugged Su Jin tightly and had such a blissful smile on her face.

“AHEM! Nothing good comes from taunting the single, you hear me?” snapped Xu Ran.

“Someone in this group is still single?!” Chu Yi looked surprised. He was now a couple with Wu Jingru, Situ Jin and Bo Ya were also a couple, while Wu Chen was excellent at picking women up. He didn’t think there was still someone without a partner.

“Watch your words! I’m a Daoist priest after all!” Xu Ran glared at Chu Yi.

“Don’t bother with what he’s saying, he’s just been very unlucky with girls, and he keeps complaining about anybody who takes a fancy to him. Also… I remember clearly that you’re just a Daoist priest in name,” Situ Jin immediately exposed Xu Ran.

“Alright, alright, I’m very happy to see everyone having so much fun, but let’s save this conversation for after we get out of here, okay? We’ve got a crazy man out there trying to freeze the entire freaking galaxy,” said Su Jin.

“Are you referring to Shen Wu? You mean he’s powerful enough to do that?” asked Xu Ran in surprise.

“For some reason, he managed to become a god just now and he’s become a lot more powerful,” said Su Jin with a sigh. Shen Wu’s power was really terrifying. It wasn’t as if Su Jin hadn’t come into contact with gods before. Jing Hua and his companions were all geniuses who were more powerful than top tier gods. Yet, they seemed just a little weaker than Shen Wu. The prowess that Shen Wu was displaying right now was much greater than theirs.

“How do we get out of here?” asked Xu Ran.

“I’ll take you guys away. Hold hands, everyone,” said Su Jin. The group quickly held hands and the colorful maniacal power shone in Su Jin’s eyes as they were immediately brought to a space that contained six large planets in a chain formation.

“These planets are…?” asked Ye Yun curiously as she stared at the six planets. All six of them were extremely beautiful, filled with life and were ginormous compared to Earth.

“This is our home, my temple!” said Su Jin proudly.

Meanwhile, Shen Wu’s powers continued to extend. A huge part of the universe was frozen and all the planets were covered in a thick layer of ice. Anything that entered this area was frozen instantly.

Shen Wu had gone into a frenzy and did not care about how much of his godly power was being consumed. The planet he targeted had become several times bigger from the sheer amount of ice around it.

Just then, a flame appeared in the frozen universe. The small flame slowly began to burn brighter and melted the ice in the universe. And when the flames grew to its brightest, Phoenix appeared.

“Gosh, I hate cold places the most.” Phoenix was frowning in disapproval, but she continued making her way toward Shen Wu anyway. When she came closer, she got a huge shock as she murmured, “That’s really powerful. Surely he has exceeded the limits of the laws of this universe, right?”

Shen Wu sensed Phoenix’s presence and instantly sent a stream of cold air her way. But her entire body was covered in blazing flames, so not even Shen Wu’s icy winds could freeze her.

“That’s enough! I’m not your enemy! Snap out of your daze!” Phoenix shouted at him.

Shen Wu quickly realized that Phoenix wasn’t Su Jin and snapped out of his enraged state. He suddenly also realized that Su Jin was no longer within this universe, so his icy tantrum was meaningless.

“You’re one of those fellows by the will of the universe’s side. He promised not to interfere in my matters,” said Shen Wu expressionlessly.

Phoenix frowned and said, “Of course, the Great One will not go back on his promises, but he sent me here to remind you that this excessive use of your energy is meaningless.”

A rage burned in Shen Wu’s eyes, but he knew that she was right. He glanced at her and said, “You’re able to disregard my Spirit Power.”

“Yep. Everything in the world has something that perfectly opposes it. I’m afraid I’m your natural nemesis,” said Phoenix with a faint smile.

Shen Wu did not refute that. Phoenix was indeed like a nemesis to him. His icy powers could not freeze her, and using heat to attack her would only empower her. That annoyed him greatly.

“Leave this place! You’re a pretty impressive character, so I think the Great One will help you become even stronger,” said Phoenix.

Shen Wu hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded. He did want to become even stronger, since his opponent, Su Jin, had become so much more powerful now. There was no reason to turn down a chance to become stronger.

Back at Su Jin’s temple, Su Jin sat above one of the giant planets. This was the planet made from the last shard he had found and it was the largest planet of the seven, so Su Jin transferred The Beginning and the temple grounds over to this planet.

Ye Yun sat next to him with a sad look in her eyes as she murmured, “Why did Mai decide to become the core of The Beginning? She’s… she’s definitely not the type of girl who would resign herself to fate.”

Su Jin sighed and responded in an equally grieved voice, “Right? But the fact that she wouldn’t resign herself to fate is exactly why she decided to become The Beginning’s core. After I took over management of The Beginning, I discovered it has some special abilities that it didn’t have before. When I think about it now… Mai chose to become the core only after she knew that I had become an insurgent who could break free of the laws of this universe.

“And I think that when she became the core, she started making preparations for me. She purposely locked up some of these functions and set it such that they would only be activated after I was given full permissions.”

This was just his guess, but he had a feeling that he was right. It seemed like Kano Mai’s consciousness no longer existed, but the closeness he felt to The Beginning made him believe that there was a tiny bit of consciousness left that was waiting for him.

“Is there really no way to release her?” asked Ye Yun.

Su Jin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t have one at the moment, but I’ll definitely think of a way. I’ll find a way to let Mai return to our team. Team Boning Knife will be complete someday.”

Ye Yun always believed what he said, so since he promised to do so, she didn’t have to think about it anymore. She leaned against his shoulder and asked, “What happens next? What should we do?”

“You guys need to become gods,” said Su Jin without skipping a beat. “The temple is complete, and with The Beginning’s help, I’ve begun the process of perfecting the laws of this place. The temple is also equipped to help anyone become a god, so the next thing I need you guys to do is to become gods. That way, you guys will be able to protect yourselves better.”

“Protect ourselves better? I don’t think being a god is of any use if we’re faced with people like yourself or the will of the universe,” said Ye Yun in an annoyed voice.

Su Jin nodded and said, “That may be true, but this battle is not going to be only between myself and the will of the universe. Many other factions will be involved as well, so by becoming gods, you guys will be able to fight off these other factions.”

“But we’re not at a level where we can become gods yet,” said Ye Yun.

Su Jin nodded and said, “That’s right. So for the time being, I can only get the ones at that level to become gods first. People like Xu Ran, Durand, and Oscar. The rest of you have to continue working hard.”

“Oh man! Sounds tiring already! By the way, since we’re now a part of your temple, what should we do when the Handbook summons us to start a Challenge?” asked Ye Yun.

“You have two choices. Either you continue accepting the summons, or I help you to cut ties with the Handbook and you won’t have to worry about it ever again,” said Su Jin.