Hell's Handbook

Chapter 410

“Don’t worry. You’re only left with a tiny bit of your soul, but thankfully you’re strong enough, so this little bit is of extremely high quality and you’ll recover soon. After that, you’ll be able to be reborn,” Su Jin said to Natasha.

Her soul rang out quietly in response. Su Jin hid her soul into the depths of his psychokinesis, then removed the psychokinesis screen he had put in place earlier.

Durand and Oscar immediately came dashing in. They were shocked to see that Su Jin was all by himself. Oscar narrowed his eyes slightly, then gasped, “All traces of Natasha’s powers… are gone!”

“Did she fail to fight off her attackers after all?” Durand sighed. “The first one to try has passed on, so… let me try next!”

“No, Natasha did not fail because of that,” said Su Jin quickly. He told them everything he had heard from that genius who took over Natasha’s body and they were too shocked to speak.

“I can’t believe something like that could happen!” Durand was in disbelief.

Su Jin sighed and said, “I’m not like you guys because I’m taking a completely different path. There are things that you can’t see, but I can see them very clearly. Natasha hasn’t been completely destroyed and I’ve been able to salvage a small wisp of her soul. But if you two just go ahead and attempt becoming gods now, I don’t know if you’d be as lucky as her.”

“Sigh… we’ve worked so hard to get all the way to this point, only to be told that someone else could just swoop in and take over everything. It really… it really makes me so mad!” Durand’s eyes were filled with violence and his anger was almost able to manifest itself physically. His powers had clearly grown during this time.

Oscar didn’t say anything, but he had the same expression on his face. Su Jin patted their shoulders, then hesitated for a moment before saying, “If there’s a chance, why don’t you guys consider joining my side?”

“Your side?” Durand and Oscar were both puzzled.

Su Jin smiled. “There’s a chance… just a chance… that I could make a new army of gods, that I could build up a new temple that could rival the Handbook.”

“Oho! If that day really does arrive, my brother, I’ll definitely be there to fight for you!” Durand broke into a big smile and Oscar nodded in agreement.

Su Jin was rather surprised. He thought high level fighters like Durand would be difficult to convince. Such people had been fighting to stand at the top of the owners’ ranking for such a long time and had finally gotten the chance to become a god. He thought that Durand and Oscar would have clung onto that chance.

“What’s wrong?” asked the two men when they noticed the expression on Su Jin’s face.

“I’m just thinking… if that chance materializes, you two would really be willing to join me?” asked Su Jin again.

Durand nodded without hesitation. “I’m quite done with the Handbook. If there’s a chance, I’m definitely willing to choose a place where I can live in peace and safety. Do you really think I’m someone who’s constantly seeking thrills and excitement at the expense of my own life?”

Su Jin paused and realized that he was right. The Handbook had helped them become stronger than they could ever have hoped to be, but they were constantly in danger of losing their lives in the process. If they were offered the option to live a quiet and peaceful life, most of them would not turn it down.

Su Jin had always thought very highly of the Handbook and felt that it was the most powerful thing in the world. There was nothing wrong with that, of course, but once you saw your opponent as an all powerful foe that you couldn’t possibly defeat, then you were doomed to lose right from the start.

“It seems I have thought too highly of Hell’s Handbook. Or perhaps I have looked down on myself,” said Su Jin with a bitter laugh. He pulled himself together and said to them, “I will build my own new temple and I’ll wait for both of you to come!”

“My answer’s the same – if you can really raise a force that can fight the Handbook, I’ll be there to fight for you!” Durand stuck a hand out.

Su Jin stuck his hand out too and they shook hands firmly. Oscar and Su Jin shook hands too, then the three returned to their own worlds. Natasha had created a perfect system for her own world, so even if she was not around, it could continue to operate normally. In fact, that almighty Jade Dragon King could very well come back one day and lead the people here once more.

After returning to his own world, Su Jin sent a message to Situ Jin, Chu Yi, and Xu Ran. After all, while Situ Jin and Chu Yi were his ex-teammates and he was obviously going to tell them everything he knew, he considered Xu Ran a friend too.

Situ Jin and Xu Ran came to look for Su Jin after reading the message. Xu Ran looked absolutely furious. He was the closest to attaining godhood among the three of them, so hearing about what happened to Natasha was a terrible blow to him.

“Do you really have to be this angry? When it comes to the whole thing about new gods, current gods, and the elder gods, you should know better than others about such things, Xu Ran,” said Su Jin.

Xu Ran yelled back angrily, “Knowing about them is one thing, but we will only be able to change the future after becoming gods! And now… if becoming a god seems almost impossible, how can I…”

“That’s quite enough,” Su Jin interjected. “Xu Ran, you’re not stupid. There are things that Situ Jin might not have thought of, but you’ve thought about them for a long time now.”

“Hey, have you ever thought about how I’d feel about such remarks? Do you really take me as an idiot?” snapped Situ Jin in annoyance. But when they turned to glare at him, he suddenly felt that compared to these two, he was indeed the stupid one.

“I… I understand, but… I don’t have a choice, do I?” Xu Ran suddenly became deflated after Su Jin had challenged him with these words. He slumped down on the couch with a tired look in his eyes.

“It’s true that I’m probably one of the first owners in our Handbook system to find out about some of these things, and I started laying the groundwork for what was to come. I wanted to become a god, to become a top tier god, then use the new cycle I had power over to accumulate, to fight for, to leave an escape route for myself. But now… but now you’re telling me that there’s a group of geniuses I can’t compare to out there, and these people are able to take over everything I’ve worked so hard for without doing anything? That’s really…” said Xu Ran angrily.

“You’re feeling helpless?” Su Jin shook his head and said to Xu Ran, “Xu Ran, I’m officially inviting you to join my temple.”

“Your… wha?” Xu Ran couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“I intend to construct a temple of my own that can fight Hell’s Handbook and the will of the universe. But I need help. Will you be willing to join me?” asked Su Jin in a serious voice. He was going into a new era, so he needed to gather as many powerful characters as he could in order to beef his army up. He wasn’t only looking for people like Daitengu and the other demons. Those who hadn’t attained godhood, those who had become gods, those who used to be gods – he was willing to recruit them all.

“You’re being ridiculous now. Su Jin, I thought you were an intelligent man, but now I realize you’re totally ridiculous. Yes, I know a lot about fighting against the Handbook. I know that many people through the cycles have tried to fight the Handbook, fight the will of the universe. And I know what happened to all of them. Those incredible people with such resolve, such ambition, and such strength. They fought to rise to the top of their cycle, but what happened to them in the end?” yelled Xu Ran, culminating in a roar, “They’re all DEAD! Not a single one survived! Thousands, millions of years have passed! From the beginning of time! Since time immemorial! Not a single one made it out alive, Su Jin! Not a single one!”

But Su Jin remained calm in the face of Xu Ran’s roaring. “And the next one to die could very well be me. If you join me, the next one to die could very well be you. So… are you joining me or not?”

Xu Ran panted heavily, his eyes burning like two flames as he glared at Su Jin. Then, he suddenly burst out laughing. “HAHAHA! Fuck, we’re both smart people, but you… you’re also a lunatic!”

“Isn’t that a good thing? Sometimes we’re too rational for our own good, so… it’s good to go a little insane from time to time!” said Su Jin with a grin.

“Fuck,” Xu Ran cursed again, then said, “I’m in!”

“Great!” Su Jin burst out laughing. He looked at Situ Jin and said, “Look! Our team has gotten stronger!”

“Uh… congratulations? I can’t believe you managed to recruit a soldier like this,” grumbled Situ Jin with a sigh.