"Kid, the three-year period is up. You're free now!"
A prison guard patted Tang San's face. At this moment, Tang San no longer looked human; he resembled a ghost, or perhaps something even more terrifying than a ghost.
His face was gaunt, his eyes hollow and lifeless, his hair white and disheveled.
Hearing these words and the voice, Tang San showed no reaction.
The torment of "over a thousand years" amounted to twenty or thirty times longer than the combined lifespan of his two lives.
The erosion of time is something ordinary people cannot withstand.
Even though this world does not suffer from the curse of divine retribution, decades of memories are still insignificant when faced with a millennium of time.
Seeing this, the prison guards shook their heads. One of them tilted his head and pointed at Tang San with his right index finger.
"Hey, he's gone mad."
"Not mad, but he's forgotten who he is after three years of torment, or perhaps he's just become utterly confused."
"Humans, after all, are just humans."
The one who spoke was also human, and this was merely his lament.
If he had endured the same torment as Tang San, he might have fared even worse.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before the group, and they quickly clasped their hands in respect.
"Greetings, King Yama!"
"Hmm, you may leave now."
The newcomer was none other than the former Slaughter King, now King Yama.
"Yes!"
The guards dared not say more, as their role here was done.
Tang San had suffered three years of torment, but they too had exerted themselves in tormenting him for three years.
The force was mutual; while Tang San was in agony, they wore smiles but were equally exhausted...
After the guards left, King Yama looked at Tang San. To be honest, he barely recognized him.
"Kid, I know there's still a trace of clarity in you. Of course, this isn't your doing but a measure set by that Asura."
At this point, King Yama paused, walked to a nearby seat, and sat down before continuing, "Now that the three-year period is up, if you don't wake up, the promise I made to Asura will be void."
King Yama spoke expressionlessly, as if discussing a trivial matter. Over the past three years, he hadn't paid much attention to Tang San because he was too busy to focus on a "lucky" kid.
Yet, three years had passed in the blink of an eye, and this kid had actually endured it all. There was indeed something to him.
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of life gradually appeared in Tang San's hollow eyes.
After a long while, he finally uttered his first word...
"Tang..."
The light in Tang San's eyes slowly gathered, and in a daze, he seemed to see many elders, their cold gazes and scolding words directed at him.
He reached out as if trying to grasp something, but it was like catching at moonbeams; his hand found nothing but air.
"Tang Sect..."
As soon as these words fell, a voice rang out.
"Oh, you traitor who betrayed your master and clan, the first thing you remember is your previous life's sect?"
King Yama couldn't help but tease upon hearing this.
Such a traitor still thinking of his sect left him at a loss for words.
Tang Sect?
Didn't everyone in the Tang Sect want to kill Tang San?
"I, Tang San... am not a traitor!"
"They were incompetent, unable to craft the Buddha's Fury Lotus, but I could!"
"They couldn't cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Skill to its highest level, but I could!"
"In life, I am of the Tang Sect; in death, I am a ghost of the Tang Sect!"
"I, Tang San, am the one most fit to be the Sect Master of the Tang Sect!"
Tang San's words, initially hesitant, grew more fluent, and the emptiness in his eyes was gradually replaced by rationality.
Slowly, he remembered who he was, he recalled the Mysterious Heaven Record, and he remembered where he was...
"I feel like three years was too short. I wish I could have added two more."
Tang San: "..."
At this moment, Tang San fell silent.
The person before him was someone even a deity had to compromise with, a testament to his extraordinary nature.
When Tang San lowered his head, his whole body trembled, and he looked down at his hands in bewilderment.
If his eyes weren't deceiving him, these hands resembled those of someone over ninety years old.
Yet, these hands belonged to him, Tang San!
Not only that...
"My voice?"
Tang San was stunned. This hoarse voice, did it belong to a young man?
"Tang San, you should actually thank the rules of hell for letting you live over a thousand years longer."
Tang San fell silent, feeling overwhelmed.
He was trying to think, but King Yama's words were simply meant to disgust him!
Yes, King Yama was just trying to disgust Tang San, with no other purpose.
"King Yama, if I remember correctly, you said..."
"Right, you remember correctly."
"To be honest, I'm not even sure how I managed to possess the body of your great-grandfather."
"???"
Tang San was stunned, his mind filled with questions, his emotions a tangled mess.
There were many things he wanted to think about, as he had forgotten some things and needed to recall them.
But King Yama's words forced him to abandon these thoughts.
What did King Yama mean?
What did he mean by not knowing how he had possessed the body of Tang San's great-grandfather?
"Back then, I never thought I would succeed because your great-grandfather was simply too powerful, but I somehow managed it."
"The inheritance you need lies within this body I possess."
"So you're saying this body is actually my great-grandfather?"
"What, as a possessor, would you really acknowledge the relatives of this body?"
King Yama patted Tang San's shoulder, his expression unchanged.
"I never intended to possess a child. When I woke up, I was already in this body."
"Since I inherited this body, I naturally took on its responsibilities."
"King Yama, you have committed a capital offense!"
Tang San's eyes turned red as he glared at King Yama, his voice filled with venom.
King Yama: "..."
Tang San was still Tang San. Even after such torment, he hadn't changed one bit.
"Nine Heads, that's enough!"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in the minds of both Tang San and King Yama, filled with anger, as if the speaker was extremely furious.
"Call me King Yama. This title was acknowledged by that great being!"
King Yama showed no fear. Though he knew he shouldn't provoke Asura, he no longer groveled as he once had.
Asura was taken aback. He naturally knew who "that great being" was, and it was precisely because he knew that he found the situation very tricky.
This King Yama truly had a death wish!
"King Yama~"
Though Asura's face couldn't be seen, King Yama knew that on the other side, Asura was looking into a mirror, and the reflection resembled a masked clown.