The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

“That’s right, because we need to obtain the remaining four elemental spirits. Perhaps only they can fully contain my magical power.”

"Then why don't you go yourself? With your strength, it's not impossible for you to conquer the underworld all by yourself, right?"

"I'm sorry, I can't go there in person." Su Qi sighed softly, "Because the spell requires a lot of witch power and is very difficult to use, you probably won't be able to learn it in a short time."

That's what they say, but the real reason is actually... his soul is bound to the system, so he can't go to the hell of this world at all.

Recalling his previous deaths, ordinary people in this world who have deep obsessions after death will remain in the mortal world, while those who have shallow obsessions will directly return to the hell within the great soul. However, every time he died, he was directly pulled into the pure white space, making it impossible for him to carry out this task.

As the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined, and there are gains and losses. With the cheat of unlimited reloads, he will probably never have the chance to have anything with similar requirements in the future.

"Alright, it seems only Dao Lian and I can try." Dao He sighed softly. "There's no other way; I'm already in a thief's den. So, what's next?"

"Let's leave the house and go to the yard first." Su Qi glanced at the clean tatami mats under his feet. "It wouldn't be good if you bled a lot and dirtied someone else's room."

"Now that you say that, I don't want to die anymore."

Despite saying that, a moment later, Daohe followed Su Qi and Daolian into the courtyard and sat down in the shade of a tree.

"Wait a minute, let me try it out first."

As he said this, Su Qi found an ant nearby, carefully killed it, and then used a spell to revive it. And as it turned out, his skill was very reliable; he successfully brought the ant back to life.

"Very good, now you have nothing to worry about." Saying this, he glanced at Dao Lian and Dao He, "Do you want me to do it, or do it yourselves?"

“You come here,” Dao Lian answered without hesitation.

"You should do it," Daohe said. "I'm afraid my hands will shake, and I'll be in more pain than I'll die right away. Remember to be quick and nimble later."

"This is a rare opportunity. Would you like to experience seppuku, the world-famous Japanese method of suicide?"

"Alright, if you're going to kill me or torture me, just give me a quick death."

"Then I'm going to insert it."

Without saying anything more, Su Qi manifested a super-spiritual longsword and casually slashed twice, accurately piercing the hearts of the two men.

……

Meanwhile, the Asakura family also gathered for a meeting.

The "Super Divination Manual" was placed on the tatami mat in the center. Asakura Yomei sat at the head of the table, glanced at Anna and Asakura Yomei, and said seriously, "Yomei, Anna, the 'Super Divination Manual' has been unsealed. You must learn all the spells on it as soon as possible in order to fight against King Yomei."

"Fight against Hao? That's our Asakura family's ancestor, isn't he? Didn't he die a thousand years ago?"

Yoh Asakura was unaware of Yoh's situation. He had previously assumed that the Taoists had come only for the "Super Divination Manual" and was unaware of their true purpose.

"Ye, you're almost grown up now, it's time to tell you the truth."

"the truth?"

"Listen carefully, this is the thousand-year-old feud between the Asakura family and Hao Asakura..."

Then, Asakura Yomei told Asakura Yo in great detail about Yo, and finally said, "The current Asakura Yo is a madman who wants to destroy all mankind and leave only psychics to rule the world. As the successor of the Asakura family, Yo, your mission is to stop his delusions once again, just like your ancestor five hundred years ago, and send him to hell!"

After saying that, he carefully observed the latter's expression and saw that he frowned slightly and remained silent for a long time. After a while, he exhaled and said with some curiosity, "It's really surprising that I have an older brother. What kind of person will he be?"

Ye Ming frowned. "Ye, don't treat him like your brother. He is Asakura Ye, the great enemy of our Asakura family. He is an enemy you must kill."

"Eh? Um... is it okay if we don't kill him?"

"Of course not!" he said, then suddenly jumped up and smacked Asakura Yoh. "What are you thinking, you idiot grandson? That's our most dangerous enemy, and you actually want to show mercy?"

"But I still believe that people who can see ghosts aren't bad people. Okay, he must have had some reason for doing that."

"So what do you want to do?"

Yoh Asakura scratched his face, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "I'm sorry, but if possible, I'd like him to understand everyone and become friends."

"Become...become friends?" Ye Ming's eyes widened in disbelief that his grandson would have such a bizarre idea, then he flew into a rage, "You idiot grandson!"

The roar shook the house, and Yoh Asakura was hit by another flying kick before being sent away to reflect on his actions.

There's no other way.

After Yoh Asakura left, Yoh Akira Asakura sent Tamao away again, and then said to Konno Asakura and Anna with a serious expression, "You saw it just now. Yoh is too naive now. This will definitely not work. I think... perhaps we can try the suggestion that person gave us."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: For Love and Justice

"That person's suggestion?"

Anna frowned slightly. "Who is that person?"

"You've met him before, he's the current head of the Taoist family, the one who easily killed the first and second ghosts just now."

“Him?” Recalling Su Qi’s appearance and demeanor, she said coldly, “He looks like a ‘clever’ person with ulterior motives. I don’t like that person.”

Ye Ming sighed softly, "If Ye hadn't been born into the Asakura family, it wouldn't be so bad to stay the way things are now, but there are no 'ifs' in reality. So rather than being killed by Ye Wang in the future, I'd rather Ye become smarter like that person."

Anna gave a soft snort, crossed her arms, and said, "So? What was that clever man's advice?"

"Help Ye recognize reality." Asakura Ye Ming's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Things will work themselves out. There will always be a way... This world isn't that kind of gentle, and such naive ideas won't work... We need to make Ye clearly realize this, and then prepare him to fight against Ye Wang."

"So what are you planning to do?"

"Let's put on a show, a show about the downfall of the Asakura family. Over the years, the Asakura family has been Yoh's safe haven, and it is because of this safe haven that he developed his innocent and carefree personality. Now, it's time for him to go out and experience the real storms."

He looked at Anna and said seriously, "After that, he will need someone to guide him, and Anna, you are the most suitable candidate."

The girl's face instantly darkened. "You want me to help you deceive Ye?"

“Anna, we’re doing this for Ye’s own good. He may suffer some pain because of this, but without the push of profound pain, given his personality, he can’t truly grow.”

“Impossible.” Anna Teng stood up abruptly and said coldly, “I would never do such a thing, no matter what.”

After saying that, he walked straight towards the door.

"Wait!" Asakura Ye Ming also stood up, his expression grim. "Anna, would you rather Ye go and die than suffer temporary pain?"

Anna stopped in her tracks, didn't turn around, and said without hesitation, "Ye won't die."

"He's just going to his death in this state."

“I believe in him.” Her tone was unwavering. “He is my fiancé, Anna Kyoyama, and the man destined to become the Shaman King. He will never stop in front of King Ye.”

After saying that, he opened the paper door and went out.

Asakura Yeming paused slightly, then immediately picked up the "Super Divination Manual" from the ground and quickly caught up to stop the former, "Wait, Anna, take this away."

"The Super Divination Strategies?"

"A promise that cannot be kept is nothing but empty words. No matter what you want to do, it can be of great help to you."

"In that case, I'll accept it."

Anna pondered for a moment, then decisively put away "Super Divination Secrets" and turned to leave.

"The scheduled guide is refusing to cooperate, what should we do next?"

Back in her room, Asakura Yono, who had remained calm and composed throughout, took a sip of tea and asked a question.

Asakura Ye said expressionlessly, "The plan continues. Anna is too emotional. We can't be like her and put all our hopes on Ye's potential."

"Heh, that sounds just like something the head of the Asakura family would say. But what if Anna tells Ye about it first? What should we do then?"

"I will use shikigami to monitor her movements. If she really does that, we'll think of other ways later. Anyway, as long as we have a clear idea, there are plenty of ways to make Ye suffer. If she doesn't say anything, then everything will remain the same."

"And what about the guide?"

"Let's prepare a suitable candidate. I just thought of one."

……

Anna strolled leisurely down the old wooden corridor, flipping through "The Super Divination Manual" in her hands.

“Anna… Miss Anna.”

Standing by the aisle, Yu Xu watched Anna approach, hesitated for a long time, then finally, with a hint of fear, called out to her softly.

"what's up?"

Anna stopped walking, but her gaze remained fixed on the pages of the book.

"Um...that..." Yu Xu stammered for a while, her face flushed, before finally saying, "Actually...last night...when I went to deliver bathrobes to Lord Ye and the others...I overheard Lord Ye seemingly...doing...doing intimate things with those boys..."

As she finished speaking, her voice became barely audible, and her face turned bright red. If this were an animation, steam would surely be rising from her head.

Anna paused slightly as she turned the pages, then said, "Ye would never do such a thing. You must have misheard."

"Huh? Is that so? But..."

"There are no 'buts'." Her face was icy, and her tone was full of murderous intent. "If he dares to betray us, I'll castrate him myself."

After saying that, he ignored Yuxu, who was trembling with fear, and continued on his way, flipping through the book as he left.

……

An hour later, in a courtyard of the Asakura family home.

Under the shade of the tree, Su Qi, who was guarding the two corpses, calculated the time in his mind by moving the shadows. When he felt it was about time, he placed his hands on the nearest Dao and the corpse, preparing to activate the Curse Restriction Meditation.

First, the residual magical power within the corpse is used as a guide to summon the deceased's ghost. Then, using the corpse as a medium and the ghost as a temporary holding spirit, magical power is injected to form a super spirit body, forcibly reversing the state of the corpse. Finally, the wounds are repaired, the body's vitality is restored, the super spirit body is released, the ghost of the deceased is placed back into the body, the connection between the spirit and the body is repaired, and the resurrection is completed.

The above is the basic process of incantation and meditation. It doesn't seem very difficult, but each step requires superb magical power to control, as well as Ye Wang's unique techniques, and consumes a lot of magical power. Ordinary spiritualists would have a problem not only completing it, but even understanding it would be a problem.

However, for Su Qi, all the above conditions could be easily met, so Dao He and Dao Lian were able to come back to life smoothly.

How was your first trip to the underworld?

Daohe didn't answer immediately. Instead, he sat up, looked around at the scenery, and after a moment of stunned silence, sighed, "This is terrible! The Yellow Springs Road, the Looking-Home Terrace, the Golden Rooster Mountain, the Evil Dog Ridge, the Wild Ghost Village... there are ghosts everywhere. We've been fighting and killing for over ten days, and I'm almost going crazy."

"But the training was very effective." Dao Lian remained calm. "Although I died several times, I felt it as soon as I came back. My witch power has become much stronger."

“Very good. You will continue this training until you pass through Hell and obtain a fragment of a great soul.” Su Qi said, “The flow of time in the spiritual world is different from that in the mortal world. The first time was to let you adapt, so I resurrected you in one hour. Later, I will extend the time and freeze your bodies until you encounter danger over there, at which point I will resurrect you again.”

The two were accompanied by the ghosts of two previous Taoist patriarchs, and could be contacted through the method of summoning their souls, so he was not worried that the two would have their consciousness erased by the ghosts and gods of the underworld and die there.

"Going through hell? We haven't even seen the faces of the Ten Kings of Hell yet. We don't know how long it will take to complete our goal."

"It's alright, time will pass quickly over there anyway, we can wait." After saying that, Su Qi conjured the long sword in his hand again. "Alright, you've rested enough, I'll send you on your way once more."

"Wait, wait, wait! We've only been back for less than five minutes."

"Why linger in life when you're dead? You can rest there in peace. There's plenty of time over there; you can rest as you please."

"Rest my ass! Even a flower by the roadside there bites, and there are eerie and terrifying man-eating monsters everywhere. When do we have time to rest? Dao Lian, don't you think so?"