Chapter 2194: New Codex

He was somewhat puzzled, having previously thought he possessed only around six hundred thousand merit points, earned by ferrying numerous souls across the River of Oblivion. He hadn't expected the amount to be so vast.

Then, Mi Li's voice echoed in his mind: "Have you forgotten how many times you've saved the world? You not only saved billions of lives from slaughter but also prevented the world from falling into the hands of demons. This accounts for most of your merit. An additional portion was gifted by a certain individual. As the current Emperor of the Underworld, it would be a mockery if you lacked the merit needed to control the grand ceremony."

Zu An rejoiced: "Empress Master, you're awake?"

"Hush, your every word and action are currently being watched by billions of departed souls," Mi Li cautioned.

"That's simple," Zu An thought, and with a flick of his mind, he disconnected the "live broadcast." He had a feeling that, in his current state, he could control everything in the underworld.

Seeing the light and images disappear from the sky, billions of departed souls sighed with lingering regret. In the City of Wrongful Deaths, the headless ghost murmured, "Brother Zu is truly amazing. Alas, unlike me, who became a headless ghost..."

Beneath the Bridge of Helplessness, the woman bit her lip, wanting several times to pursue the figure in the vision, but the shimmering divine light around her prevented her from leaving.

Meanwhile, Zu An was chatting with Mi Li. Mi Li said, "How could I have been asleep after such a monumental event? It was simply inconvenient to emerge before."

Zu An's heart stirred: "Are you worried about that Feng—"

Mi Li quickly interrupted, "Watch your words. You are not in those special spaces now; there is no protection. Mentioning certain excessively powerful beings can invite disaster."

Zu An felt a headache coming on: "I'm the Emperor of the Underworld now, and I still can't mention those names?"

Mi Li explained, "In a way, your current state is somewhat… deformed. Your status is very high, but your strength hasn't reached a matching level. Of course, there's no need to worry; now that you are the Emperor of the Underworld, the world's essence is stronger, and you can also travel to other worlds in the future. With your talent, you should grow rapidly."

Zu An nodded, indeed feeling his cultivation increasing without the suppression of the world's essence.

"By the way, I seem to feel that this world of the Underworld is a bit…" Zu An thought for a moment, finally finding the right word, "…incomplete, as if this world is fractured."

Mi Li hummed, "Indeed. There are other Underworld realms among the various worlds of the cosmos. In the future, as you collect and merge those world fragments, not only will the entire Underworld become more complete, but your strength will also increase accordingly."

Zu An curiously asked, "Will those worlds have other Underworld Emperors or similar figures?"

Mi Li gently shook her head: "No, they won't. You have obtained the *Great Tome of Life and Death*, making you the sole supreme ruler of the Underworld. Of course, this doesn't exclude the existence of other Underworld deities in other worlds."

Zu An nodded. He had briefly sensed that this world was severely fragmented. There were no Five Ghost Emperors, Ten Yama Kings, Judges, or even Black and White Impermanence. The figures he had seen before were mere illusory remnants from the trials of Emperor Fengdu—likely a complete version of the Underworld from some point many years ago. Thinking of the Black and White Impermanence and Ox-Head and Horse-Face he had befriended, who might have long since vanished into the river of history, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

"Wait, why do you know all this?" Zu An suddenly realized something.

"I know many things. I also know that your keyboard system has obtained a new secret tome. Do you want to absorb it?" Mi Li suddenly said.

Zu An was stunned and quickly looked inward, indeed seeing the F8 key on his keyboard system flashing, with a prompt: "New secret tome detected, absorb?" Seeing this, Zu An was astonished: "You even know this?"

Mi Li snorted, "We have a soul contract, sharing life and death. Is it strange that I know these things?"

Zu An felt a bit frustrated: "But there are so many secrets about you that I don't know. I feel like I'm losing out."

A hint of a smile entered Mi Li's voice: "You'll know in due time."

Zu An looked at the flashing F8 key, somewhat hesitant: "What if this *Great Tome of Life and Death* is absorbed by the keyboard, causing me to lose my authority over the Underworld?"

"Don't worry, this won't affect your authority over the Underworld," Mi Li replied.

Zu An: "How are you so sure?"

"I just know. Do you believe me or not?" Mi Li said, her expression firm.

Zu An chuckled: "Of course I believe what my beautiful Master says."

"Master is Master, no 'beautiful Master.' You're being disrespectful," Mi Li scolded, though her tone seemed to hold a hint of pride, perhaps due to 'beautiful' or 'Master.'

"Okay, beautiful Master," Zu An said as he agreed to absorb. Soon, the *Great Tome of Life and Death* transformed into a stream of light and flowed into the F8 key, leaving only a miniature thumbnail image on the button.

At this moment, the keyboard system's voice resounded: "New secret tome collected, unlocking a new system—the 'Skill System!'""From now on, for any item or entity you touch that possesses learnable skills, you can instantly acquire them by spending a certain amount of Rage points.""Note: The required Rage points are related to the skill's level and grade. More powerful skills require more Rage points, and some skills might even demand astronomical amounts.""Note 2: Of course, if you already master some prerequisite skills or necessary fundamentals for a given skill, the required Rage points will be significantly reduced."

Upon seeing the system's prompt, Zu An's breathing quickened. This new system seemed incredibly powerful; he could learn new skills just by touching things! Many skills, he knew, often required cultivators to spend a lifetime comprehending them. Having this system now, what was the difference from using a cheat code? Though aware of the Rage point limitation, he wasn't too concerned. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and being able to learn skills by spending mere Rage points was already a huge gain.

"You look like you've gained quite a lot?" Mi Li's voice chimed.

"Aren't our souls connected? You should know," Zu An retorted grumpily.

Mi Li snorted, "I'm not constantly monitoring your every move. I only probed a bit more just now because the matter was so crucial. Ordinarily, I don't want to know about your messy affairs. Otherwise, if you're doing something intimate with a confidante, must I be there to wash my eyes?"

Zu An thought, *This woman is getting more venomous with her words.* Worried that his recent thoughts might have been overheard, Zu An quickly said, "Indeed, I've gained a lot. I didn't expect this journey to the Underworld to also be an unknowable realm. That means I've collected six secret tomes now. I wonder what will happen once I gather them all." A normal person might not even collect one secret tome in their lifetime, yet he had gathered six within just a few years—a feat unprecedented. Yet, Zu An himself still felt the pace was too slow. It seemed he needed to accelerate his collection efforts from now on.

"You'll know when the time comes. Since there's nothing urgent now, you should go back quickly to prevent any issues with your physical body. I also need to continue my recuperation," Mi Li said, stretching, then returned to her elaborately prepared bed and went back to sleep.

Zu An thought of Shang Liuyu guarding him on the other side and felt a pang of worry. There were simply too many powerful beings in the Myriad Dragon Tomb; he wondered if Shang Liuyu would be in danger. As for his own safety, he wasn't too concerned. After all, he was now the Emperor of the Underworld; if he died, this would be his own territory... Of course, he still preferred being human for now and didn't wish to continue living as an undead spirit.

Now holding the *Great Tome of Life and Death*, he could freely traverse the Underworld, and returning to the human world was also easy. With a thought, a swirling portal of light appeared before him. He only needed to step through it to return to the cliffside near the Myriad Dragon Tomb. As he lifted his leg, he suddenly stopped mid-air. He frowned. *Wait, have I forgotten something?*

For some reason, a wave of unease suddenly welled up within him, as if leaving now would cause him to miss something precious. His foot remained suspended in mid-air as he began to review the entire sequence of events in his mind. With his current cultivation, such an intuitive premonition would never be groundless; he must have forgotten something important. He started from the final arena competition, meticulously tracing his steps back, not missing a single detail. It wasn't until he returned to the moment just before he jumped into the abyssal chasm that he finally recalled a sentence: Emperor Fengdu's colossal statue had told him, "In the River of Oblivion, there is someone deeply connected to you."