The endless march stretched on.
"Walk faster!"
A thunderous voice rang out, sharp and cruel. A towering demon soldier, his **face twisted with malice**, snapped his **lightning-fast whip**, lashing the spectral bodies of the dead. The ghosts shuddered under the impact, their once-proud souls trembling like leaves in a storm.
"You've already died and become a ghost. Faster!"
Among them, a spectral figure, his translucent form flickering beneath the dim Samsara sky, stepped forward in quiet contemplation. **Di Tian** walked among the lost, his gaze sweeping over the **thousands of wandering spirits**, all swallowed by the boundless void of reincarnation.
"You are a prince? You ruled over tens of millions of citizens and thirty thousand armored horsemen? In Samsara, human princes are nothing!"
Smack! Smack!
The whip **struck again and again**, slicing into the ghost who had been **arrogantly boasting** of his past life. The blows rained down with merciless precision, breaking apart his **ethereal form** until his soul barely held together. His screams faded into the vast procession of **nameless ghosts**, his former **glory reduced to nothing**.
Di Tian observed in silence.
"I should've died... So this is Samsara?"
The realization settled in, heavy and undeniable. He wasn't **just dreaming**—he had truly stepped into the **realm of judgment**, where souls were **sorted, condemned, or reborn**.
His gaze flickered toward the broken prince.
"Ten million citizens? Thirty thousand armored horsemen? Where in the wild lands would such an army exist?"
A phantom doubt lingered, but before Di Tian could dwell further, a massive, glowing **minotaur demon** turned its piercing gaze toward him.
"Faster!"
Its deep, guttural bray left no room for defiance.
Di Tian followed the others, blending into the endless stream of souls.
The long line of white-clothed spirits **flowed through Samsara**, stretching beyond sight like a **serpentine dragon winding through the abyss**.
At the tail end of the procession, new souls **appeared without warning**, emerging into this **gray, forgotten world**. Some sighed, their faces filled with melancholy. Others wept for what was lost. Some cursed the heavens, unwilling to accept fate. Others boasted—still **clutching remnants of arrogance**, refusing to acknowledge their **fall into nothingness**.
"My father is the Demon King of the Great Snowy Mountain! How dare you strike me!"
"I'll eat you! Grrr!"
"Stop hitting me!"
"Ahhh!"
Their protests were met with **whips and beatings**, forcing them into **submission**. But soon enough, the truth settled in. They had **died**. No matter how glorious their past life had been, in death—they **had nothing**.
Di Tian remained **wordless**, walking through the void, keeping his gaze low. He had walked for what felt like an eternity, **uncertain and cautious**, unwilling to provoke the wrath of the guards. Ghosts did not hunger. Ghosts did not thirst. Ghosts only **drifted toward judgment**.
Then—he saw it.
A painting.
Di Tian's gaze locked onto the image before him. A woman, **her feathered robes adorned with celestial elegance**, stood within the delicate strokes of the painting. Her lips carried a **mysterious smile**, more profound than the **silent Buddhas of forgotten temples**. Her presence alone stirred something **deep within his soul**.
"Oh?"
A blue-robed man lifted his gaze, noticing Di Tian's **intense focus**.
"I didn't expect one with such perception… so he was supernatural when alive."
The words lingered, cryptic and unsettling. Before Di Tian could ponder further, a **dark-robed ghost-like figure** beside the Judge spoke.
"Wake up."
The chilling command **shattered his trance**.
Di Tian **blinked**, consciousness returning as he stood before **Lord Judge of death*.
Lord Judge **closed his ancient tome**, his expression unreadable. Di Tian **glanced downward**, his pulse freezing as he recognized the book's title—**The Book of Life and Death**. The tome that dictated **fate itself**.
Lord Judge's piercing gaze settled upon him.
"I've just finished reading your life."
A tense silence followed.
"You are quite the scam… a human who lived only three hundred years, yet your karmic sin equals that of a **ten-thousand-year devil**, while your merit amounts to nothing more than that of an **eighteen-year-old human**."
The decision came swiftly.
"You will go to hell for punishment."
Di Tian's heart turned cold.
Before him, the **mist thickened**, swallowing souls into the abyss. No one returned from the **Portal of Hell**.
"Go on."
A nearby **minotaur soldier gestured**, his voice devoid of sympathy.
Di Tian stepped forward.
Then—**chaos erupted.**
**BOOM!**
The **skies shattered**. The **earth quaked**. The mist **tore apart**, exposing countless souls. Ghosts **vanished into dust**, their screams fading into oblivion.
Above, **millions of black dragons** descended, weaving through the broken heavens. Their **colossal forms** loomed over Samsara, each scale brimming with **primordial malice**.
Then, in unison—
The dragons **vomited forth black lightning**, the trillions of bolts **piercing through existence**, rending the heavens, and obliterating the **Six Paths of Samsara**.
A **divine voice** roared through the destruction.
**"Primordial Devil Dragon! How dare you attack Samsara? You commit a grave sin!"**
Di Tian lifted his gaze.
Above, **Earth Emperor**, the Ruler of reincarnation, had ascended—his divine radiance colliding with the black dragons.
The battle shook **all existence**.
The **River of Forgetfulness surged**, drowning thousands of ghosts.
The **Bridge of Despair shattered**, sending spirits into the abyss.
The **Six Paths quaked**, their tunnels **unstable and chaotic**.
Di Tian **froze in terror**, but then—the invisible bindings upon his soul **dissipated**.
This was his chance.
Di Tian **ran forward**, eyes locked onto the **closest reincarnation portal**. The tunnels were unraveling, but this was his **only escape**. He **leapt into the unknown**, abandoning the path to **hell**, seeking only **survival**.
As his body disappeared into the reincarnation cycle—he **defied fate**.
This moment would become the **catalyst for the rise of an anomaly**.