Hou Yi collapsed from fatigue, but that didn't stop them from admiring his strength.

In one swift shot, he obliterated the fearsome ghost king.

​​

Zhong Kui flashed him a smile of pride, and proclaimed, "Now that he's dead, it's my turn to act."

Suddenly, a thick chain appeared in his hands out of thin air, and thousands of cloaked figures riding on winged skeletal horses flew appeared below them.

The demon hunter stood up, waved his hand, and sternly exclaimed, "Soldiers of the Underworld, gather all remnants of the ghost king's soul!"

The cloaked figures quickly moved around and did as he ordered them.

In a few moments, they all gathered around a specific spot in the sky, and they all had sickles in their hands.

"Alex, could you fly down there?" Zhong Kui politely requested him.

Alex nodded and led the dragon to the gathering of the soldiers.

In the center of this crowd, a misty humanoid figure flickered in and away from existence.

The demon hunter threw the thick chain and coiled it around the silhouette.

Then, a red slit appeared in the air, in which Zhong Kui swiftly threw the soul of the ghost king.

"Should I establish a connection with Yan Wang, or not?" Zhong Kui turned to them.

Alex nodded, "Yes, there are some questions I'd like to ask."

The former approved, and the usual portal-like screen appeared in the air.

Yan Wang had his eyes closed, and he was...yawning.

"Yan Wang-

"What do you want, Yudi!? I can beat you with my eyes closed and take the heavenly court!" Yan Wang exclaimed in response.

It looked like he was dreaming.

Hermes and Alex chuckled in a corner while a grimace appeared on the demon hunter's face.

"Yan Wang, it's Zhong Kui..."

"Zhong Kui? I finally found an excuse to throw that troublemaker out of this place...."

"Did you?" A scary smile gradually emerged on the latter's terrifying face.

Then, Yan Wang opened his eyes and interlocked stares with his underling.

"It's you, Zhong Kui! What a pleasure to see the commander of my well-trained armies!" His current words did not reflect his attitude in the dreamland.

"It's such a pleasure to see you too, Yan Wang...Hahaha..."

"Seeing as you've taken the time to call upon your saddened king, I presume you've defeated another ghost king?"

Alex interjected, "We didn't. This guy did."

He pointed at the sleeping Hou Yi.

Yan Wang followed his fingers, and then his eyes bulged outwards of his strangely-shaped skull.

"Why is that demon with you, Zhong Kui?!"

Zhong Kui cleared his throat and answered, "He's taken the peach of immortality, so his wife isn't going to pester us anymore!"

An accidental sigh of relief escaped from the Underworld King's mouth, clearly showing his apprehension and frustration with the archer.

As if his archer's intuition kicked in, Hou Yi opened his eyes and stood up.

"Yan Wang? Nice to see you again, I've missed the Underworld," Hou Yi chuckled and mocked the scary king.

Yan Wang held out the Book of Life and Death and opened it to a particular page.

There were many names on the page, but there was a gap between two names.

"And I was wondering why your name didn't show up anymore in the book, what a relief."

The two continued exchanging mockeries, but they had to move on soon, hence they halted their meaningless discourse.

Yan Wang looked at Alex, and said, "I'm not sure I can give you the reward, three of the ghost kings have been eliminated by other peo-

"I'll let Alexei-boy take credit for my victories," Hermes smiled and unexpectedly gave up on his achievement.

Hou Yi stared at the gorgeous longbow in his hand, and also intervened, "I think I'll relinquish my victory too."

"Thanks to this amazing weapon, I know what I'll commission from the divine blacksmiths in the future."

Yan Wang was surprised by this outcome, and said, "Well then, I shall store this accursed peach of immortality for a bit longer."

"Yan Wang?" Alex was curious.

"Hmm?"

"Is there anything we should keep in mind while visiting Longwang?"

Yan Wang contemplated for exactly a dozen seconds, and replied, "He has an extremely short temper and is also very stubborn, but his senses of justice and morality are strong, so he is a trustworthy individual."

'That's useful to know,' Alex thanked him and they all prepared to leave, but...

"However."

"Be careful not to touch upon his reverse scale, both metaphorically and literally."

"He will loathe you if you mistreat any animals, as he is the king of beasts."

"From the lowly piglet to the divine phoenix, and, avoid eating any meat in front of him."

'Oof, he almost left out the most important piece of information,' Alex listened attentively.

Alex did not think it was a problem, however, as he treated all animals fairly.

When Yan Wang finished his explanation, the screen slowly dissipated into light particles.

"Shall we go?" Alex caressed the dragon.

The divine beast roared and left off for the sky.

Below them, the flooding rivers were receding into their ordinary states, and though it fully exposed the hordes of damaged farmland, there was at the very least, no more danger to the mortals.

Alex felt a finger jabbing at his back.

Turning around, he saw it was Hou Yi.

The archer gave him back Prometheus, and said, "I apologize that my word wouldn't be enough to get amnesty for you in the imperial court."

'He's a good man,' Alex smiled and told him not to worry about it.

As he focused back on the ride, he noticed that the dragon had gotten more agitated.

"What's wrong, buddy?" Alex rubbed the dragon's head.

It made an earth-shattering roar and brusquely halted in mid-air.

"Is everything alright?" Hermes asked him.

Alex frowned and immediately established a Link connection with the dragon.

After a short interaction with the creature, Alex understood why it was so nervous.

"The dragon's wife lives nearby, he wishes to go back there."

Alex telepathically told the dragon, "Follow the direction back to your home, you've done a great job."

The dragon flapped its wings and changed the direction of its flight.

It led them to a lush forest, and above a gargantuan ravine, it began roaring.

The roar echoed out throughout the surroundings, and from the ravine, a loud chirping sound emerged.

Fire was spreading out of the ravine, and suddenly, a gigantic bird flew out.

The group was amazed at its appearance.

"So this is a Fenghuang...?"

It had three colorful peacock tails and a blue-feathered torso.

Its wings and head, however, shone with a red-yellow gradient, and searing flames ignited every time it flapped its wings.

"Let's get off!" Alex and the group jumped out of the dragon.

The dragon and the Fenghuang approached each other, and their bodies coiled together.

This was a divine couple of the phoenix and the dragon.

"Amazing," Hou Yi listlessly stated.

The cacophony of the two fused into an amazing melody, and they soon flew out into the wider world.

"The beauty of our fauna is one thing I miss about the mortal world," Zhong Kui reminisced.

Alex nodded and took out their much more underwhelming, but solid mode of transportation.

"It's been a while, chariot."