Chapter 57

All of this happened in a flash. A tall, muscular man wearing a black iron mask appeared before Xue Man. Without even glancing at the hero, he waved his hand and said, "Get lost, don't dirty the sacred body of the young lady."

It was reported that if not for this meddlesome student who took the young lady away, she would not have been in danger.

The hero was flung away like a rag doll, landing next to a broken tree stump. The moment he hit the ground, the pain made him want to curse the masked man, but a mouthful of blood gushed out as he tried to speak.

"Miss, are you hurt?" the masked man asked Xue Man with concern.

Xue Man was still in a daze from the words that had no connection but were deliberately spoken. Although the affection had faded over the years, her heart, which had been forced to wait, had not grown cold with the fading affection.

All the past beauty had become a reason to force herself to wait.

The masked man did not know what had happened. Seeing the young lady in this state, he frowned and turned to the hero, asking, "I'll give you one chance. Tell me, what happened to the young lady? What did you do to her?"

The hero was stunned: "What the hell, I didn't do anything dirty to your young lady. Do you ask like this? I even risked my life to save your young lady, and now I'm getting a lightning strike for my good intentions."

But the hero, in his current state, didn't dare to have any objections to such a formidable person. He was about to make a sarcastic remark, but as soon as he opened his mouth, another mouthful of blood gushed out, scaring him into covering his mouth. The blood gushed out like tomato sauce.

The masked uncle didn't care about these things. If he didn't speak, he would have to be taught a lesson, even if it meant death.

"Fine, you won't talk, huh? I have ways to make you speak," the masked uncle said, stepping closer to the hero.

The hero finally understood what it meant to do good and receive no good in return: "I'm already this injured, and I spit blood when I speak. What the hell are you talking about?"

Faced with the approaching masked uncle, the hero, lying on the ground, could only inch backward.

It was a dark and stormy night, and the scene looked like a masked, colorful uncle was about to force himself on a young boy. The hero felt utterly frustrated.

At this moment, Xue Man spoke, her expression dim, "Enough, I'll go back with you, but I have one condition."

As long as she was willing to go back, the masked uncle would agree to any condition, even a hundred of them. He quickly agreed.

Xue Man said, "Don't make it hard for him. He saved me."

The masked uncle was a bit hesitant. The secret of the young lady having the key to the Mystic Mirror Realm had already been leaked, and some people might use tricks to win her favor and take her away.

Xue Man took out a jade token and threw it to the hero, saying, "I want to hire you as my Underworld Guardian."

As she said this, a natural aura of a supreme talent emanated from her, making the hero feel no resistance. Saying "hire" was just a formality.

The hero was stunned: "Why should I agree? What is an Underworld Guardian?"

But the masked uncle was shocked beyond measure. He knew the identity of his young lady. She could form her own Underworld Guardians, who, though not of high status in their sect, were not under anyone else's jurisdiction. Disrespecting an Underworld Guardian was the same as disrespecting the sect's Holy Maiden. Each generation of Holy Maidens could only have four Underworld Guardians, and he never expected the young lady to ask this weakling to be her first Underworld Guardian.

The Holy Maiden's mission was to protect the Mystic Mirror Key with her life. Her body was equivalent to a living Mystic Mirror Key.

The masked uncle did not dare to question the young lady's decision, but seeing the hero's shifty eyes, he coldly snorted, "I don't care if you know the young lady's identity, but now you have only one choice: either become the young lady's Underworld Guardian or die. The dignity of the Holy Maiden of Hell cannot be desecrated."

The hero felt utterly frustrated. What was a Holy Maiden of Hell? Saving someone had turned into a hornet's nest. If he didn't agree, he would be stung to death. If he agreed, he would be selling himself twice, once to Death and once to this Holy Maiden.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh: "Damn, this is really a mess. What the hell is going on?"

Between life and death, the hero picked up the Underworld Guardian token. The moment he grabbed it, it felt like a thunderbolt. A voice, as if from the depths of the netherworld, directly struck his soul: "I swear a great and solemn vow to follow the Holy Maiden of Hell for life, to protect her with my life, to shed my last drop of blood for her, and if I break this vow, may I be cast into the Avici Hell to suffer eternal torment and never be reborn."

This voice did not allow the hero any resistance, and it turned into a sigil branded into his soul.

The hero recognized what it was: a vow curse.

Aren't vow curses supposed to be effective only when the person makes the vow themselves? When did they become this ridiculous?

He was being spoken for!

The hero felt like a woman who had been trampled and was now in full bloom. After the vow curse was branded into his soul, the Underworld Guardian token also fused into his palm, becoming a powerful weapon for the hero!

It was a weapon that could transform at will. In one thought, the Underworld Guardian token transformed into a kirin arm guard in the hero's right hand, and in another thought, it transformed into a woman's underwear.

What is "form follows mind"? The masked uncle's expression was colorful. Having been through the same stage as a young boy, he knew exactly what young boys were thinking.

If it weren't for the hero becoming the young lady's Underworld Guardian, he would have eliminated him without a second thought. Even now, the masked uncle was a bit worried, but he couldn't point out the hero's flaws because the hero was now an Underworld Guardian!

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. If he could sell himself once, selling himself twice or three times was the same. There was no need to be overly dramatic. He was just a bit confused: If she was a Holy Maiden, shouldn't she be capable of controlling the heavens and seas?

As the hero was puzzled, information began to flow from the Underworld Guardian token. The hero finally understood what an Underworld Guardian was.

The depth of the world was beyond what the hero could comprehend. He was just a small shrimp in a small mud pond, not yet reaching a larger stream, let alone the vast and boundless rivers and lakes.

The five lakes and four seas, the great rivers and rivers, were all part of the world's rivers and lakes.

No matter how the wheels of history rolled, they were just waves in the rivers and lakes, with new waves covering the old ones. No matter how the times changed, the rivers and lakes remained the same, with new generations replacing the old. No matter how civilization progressed, it only made the atmosphere of the rivers and lakes more vibrant.

The rivers and lakes were vast and mixed with fish and dragons, each with their own territory. The supernatural abilities were divided into three major systems and countless sects, and the Hell Sect was one of the eight sects of the Destruction System and one of the Four Guardians.

The Four Guardians were ancient alliances that coexisted with China, formed by four powerful sects.

This was all the hero knew for now. He didn't know where the Four Guardians' base was.

With this, his understanding of the world's outline deepened a bit.