OBS Chapter 40, On the Law? Can I even get to the point where you doubt God's existence?
Chapter 40, On the Law? Can I even get to the point where you doubt God's existence?
In front of the First Yama's Palace, all was deathly silent.
The power gathered in the Heavenly Eye between Yang Jian's eyebrows, a rift powerful enough to tear apart the netherworld, caused the surrounding space to begin to distort.
Yang Xian, who was lying on the ground behind him, was muttering "negative assets." The giant spirit in the pit was stuck in the "illegally parked" position and could not move.
All the spirits and deities felt that this place would turn into ruins in the next second.
However, the world-destroying aura emanating from Yang Jian slowly subsided.
The third eye between his eyebrows closed the fatal gap, but the vertical mark throbbed even more violently.
He looked at Chu Jiang, who seemed calm and collected, as if he were strolling in his own backyard, and his voice carried a cold indifference that seemed to be re-evaluating him.
"I will not fight with you."
Everyone present, including the ghosts and gods, was stunned.
Not using force? Did Erlang Shen, the God of War of Heaven, come down here to cause trouble?
King Qin Guang held those few melon seeds, his palms sweating.
"I am the Heavenly Court's God of Justice, in charge of Heavenly Rules and Regulations." Yang Jian's gaze was sharp, as if he could see right through Chu Jiang. "Since you claim to have established a court and uphold the principles of law, then very well, I will discuss the law with you today."
"If you can convince me on legal grounds, I may temporarily suspend the arrest and report the matter to the Jade Emperor for a final decision."
"If you are in the wrong and have nothing to say..."
Yang Jian didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
The Yama Kings on the high platform breathed a sigh of relief.
It's better to discuss the law than to start a fight on the spot.
Although Chu Jiang is a strange fellow, Yang Jian is an old judge who has been in charge of the Heavenly Laws for tens of thousands of years. This kid is still too green to play the law with him.
To everyone's surprise, Chu Jiang's face didn't show seriousness after hearing this; instead, it showed excitement at the prospect of a business opportunity coming his way.
He snapped his fingers.
"Li the coder!"
"Here, boss." Li the coder's ghostly figure appeared beside him, the tablet computer already held up to his chest.
"Immediately launch a live broadcast across all platforms using the 'Three Paths Crossing' app, titled—'Exclusive Coverage! Heavenly Justice Deities Descend to the Underworld for a Passionate Online Legal Discussion with Our Court President!'"
Li, the programmer, added expressionlessly, "Boss, adding a 'Shocking' or 'You'll Regret Not Reading This' tag can increase traffic by 30%."
"Granted!" Chu Jiang waved his hand. "By the way, enable the tipping function. The top ten users on the tipping leaderboard will receive VIP front-row seats in this 'Trial of the Century' and get a close look at the True Lord's demeanor."
"puff--"
This time, not only King Yama, but even the Song Emperor next to him spat out his tea.
Legalism based on passion?
A trial of the century?
They even created a donation ranking?
Is this a legal discussion? You're just running a paid knowledge-sharing live stream!
Yang Jian's face visibly darkened.
He felt he wasn't there to enforce the law, but rather to boost the performance of the other party's app.
"Enough with the nonsense!" Yang Jian gritted his teeth. "The Heavenly Laws are the foundation of the Three Realms; everything under heaven is bound by them. You've set up your own court and tampered with the laws of the Underworld—this is an unforgivable crime. This is the law of the world. Do you have any objections?"
"Yes, there are huge objections."
Chu Jiang walked to the center of the square, and a judgment seat made of the power of order automatically rose beneath his feet.
He plopped down, crossed his legs, and gestured to Li the coder.
The huge water mirror on the side hall wall instantly switched to a live broadcast, with a constantly changing number of online viewers displayed in the upper right corner.
[Number of online views of Ghost: 125869]
"True Lord, when we discuss the Dharma, we must first clarify a basic concept called 'jurisdiction'," Chu Jiang said to Yang Jian, and also to the live broadcast camera, speaking eloquently.
"We respect the Heavenly Laws you mentioned, but those are the fundamental laws of Heaven. My Underworld has its own basic laws."
"It's like you can't take your neighborhood's property management regulations to our neighborhood and say that the shoe cabinets in front of our doors are placed illegally. It's the same principle."
Yang Jian frowned: "Absurd! How can the Heavenly Realm and the mortal world be compared? The Three Realms are one, with the Heavenly Court being supreme; this is ordained by the Heavenly Dao!"
"Determined by Heaven's Will? Which Heaven's Will?" Chu Jiang retorted. "Is there an official document? Did the Heaven's Will Committee stamp it? Show us the meeting minutes!"
Yang Jian: "..."
Below the water mirror in the live stream, the chat exploded instantly.
[Ghost A]: Hahahaha, it's an official document! The dean knows how to urge for more updates!
[Ghost B]: The Heavenly Dao Committee... Damn, this department sounds really awesome. Can you give me an internal recruitment link?
【Ghost-Programmer】: 666, I suspect the dean is using a modern corporate structure to manipulate Erlang Shen.
"Even if we take a step back," Chu Jiang said, not giving Yang Jian a chance to catch his breath, "there must still be 'procedural justice' to consider."
"You've come on the Jade Emperor's orders, but where is the imperial decree?"
Yang Jian's face stiffened.
Chu Jiang pointed to the side, where Bruhe was using the illegible "9.9 Yuan Shipping Included" decree as a negative example to train a group of newly recruited ghost soldiers.
"Even if the imperial edict is real, the procedure is wrong. According to the rules, you should first submit a judicial assistance application to my underworld, which we will review internally, file a case, and then summon you. What you did was not even give a summons, but brought people to our door. This is not law enforcement, this is burglary."
"You!" Yang Jian was so angry that his divine power surged. He had never been questioned like this before.
"What do you mean, 'what about me'?" Chu Jiang shrugged. "True Lord, we're all in this for a living, let's be professional, okay?"
The comments section is going crazy.
[Former Imperial Censor Wei Zheng]: Well said! Arresting someone without a summons is no different from robbery! I am willing to support the Dean!
[Golden Abacus]: Dean, you're awesome! Arrest that illegal immigrant too! Make him pay the fine!
[Meng Po]: (Gives 100 "Forget-River Latte") Girl, this young man is really something.
As Yang Jian watched the screen filled with scrolling "666" and "Dean is awesome," along with the constantly refreshing gift effects, the vertical line between his eyebrows throbbed wildly, and he felt his blood pressure soaring.
He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.
"Eloquent words! No matter how you try to argue, the Heavenly Law is above all local laws; this is fundamental!"
"Good, well said!" Chu Jiang slammed his hand on the judge's bench.
"True Lord, you've finally hit the nail on the head."
He stood up, walked up to Yang Jian, and looked him straight in the eye.
"Let's talk about this fundamental issue."
"I ask you, are rights and obligations equal?"
Yang Jian was taken aback, then nodded subconsciously. This was based on legal principles and could not be refuted.
"Very good." Chu Jiang smiled.
"Since you believe that the Heavenly Laws can govern our Underworld, it means that our Underworld is also protected by the Heavenly Court's legal system, right?"
"So, as 'citizens' who enjoy the protection of Heavenly Law, shouldn't we in the Underworld also fulfill corresponding obligations?"
Chu Jiang started counting on his fingers.
"For example, what is the Heavenly Court's annual budget? Does it allocate funds to our Underworld? Our Underworld generates a huge GDP for the cycle of reincarnation in the Three Realms every year, shouldn't we pay some personal income tax to the Heavenly Court?"
"Shouldn't the Heavenly Court reserve a few tables for our Underworld at the Peach Banquet? After all, we've contributed so many reincarnation quotas."
"If the Heavenly Court is recruiting celestial civil servants, shouldn't they also give some openings to the Underworld? They can't discriminate based on region, can they?"
"Furthermore, since we're all under the same legal system, shouldn't the ghosts of the underworld also be allowed to travel to and settle in the Heavenly Court? Shouldn't we open a high-speed rail line that connects the underworld directly to the Southern Heavenly Gate?"
With each question Chu Jiang asked, Yang Jian's face paled a little more.
All the ghosts and gods present, including the Ten Kings of Hell, were dumbfounded.
They looked at Chu Jiang as if he were a monster.
What kind of bizarre thought process is this? It turns the relationship between the underworld and the heavenly court into two multinational corporations that are about to merge?
"True Lord, answer me!" Chu Jiang pressed on relentlessly.
"If you say no, then that proves that Heaven and the Underworld are two independent jurisdictions, and your theory of the supremacy of Heavenly Laws falls apart on its own."
"If you say, okay..."
Chu Jiang grinned, revealing a set of white teeth.
"That's great. Li, the coder, immediately draft a formal report entitled 'Request for Funding from Heaven and Inclusion in Heaven's Social Security System,' and send it to the Jade Emperor now. Also, please ask him if our Underworld's investment now counts as initial public offering (IPO) shares?"
"puff--"
Yang Jian could no longer hold back.
He swallowed back a mouthful of divine blood, his handsome face turning a deep liver color.
Looking at the guy in front of him who kept talking about "GDP," "social security," and "initial public offerings," he felt that the legal worldview he had built up over tens of thousands of years was collapsing and shattering inch by inch.
He lost.
In full view of everyone, and watched by hundreds of thousands of ghosts in a live broadcast, he was completely refuted and rendered speechless by an unknown little ghost general with a set of twisted and heretical arguments that he had never heard of before.
On the live stream's water mirror, the chat was completely frenzied.
[Congratulations to 'Neighbor Wang' (Qin Guangwang) for sending 10 'Super Rockets'!]
King Qin Guang silently withdrew his hand from the reward.
It wasn't him, he didn't do it, don't talk nonsense.
Yang Jian's body trembled slightly. He slowly raised his head, his gaze passing over the Chu River and looking at the gold-plated plaque that read "Supreme Court of the Underworld" behind him.
He didn't speak again, and the third and most complete third eye between his eyebrows opened.
This time, there was no anger, no murderous intent.
Only a pure, cold, penetrating light of inquiry shines forth.
The beam of light did not strike Chu Jiang, but instead pierced through layers of obstacles, directly locking onto the one within Chu Jiang's body that was deeply bound to his soul...
system.