Ne Job — Chapter 181: "The Audit Warrior Awakens"
The Shard Court throne-light dimmed, as if Heaven itself needed a moment to process what had just happened.
Dreivery Spirit Bao exhaled steam, still upright, still one flaming knee from collapsing. The aura around him pulsed—two colors fighting for dominance: indigo courier fire and cold silver administrative qi.
The Judge flicked a sleeve. The golden circle vanished. Punishment complete.
Only the consequences remained.
---
1. The Silence After
Ne Job approached cautiously—not like the reckless intern who had punched a celestial desk last week, but like someone who had seen a mountain take a lightning strike and somehow stay standing.
"…Bao?"
Bao gave a low grunt. "Still here."
He leaned heavily on one knee, but his eyes kept scanning the Court, like a courier tracking multiple delivery routes at once.
Yue swallowed hard.
"There's no precedent. Punishment of substitute… followed by stabilization? That shouldn't be possible."
Princess Ling answered with her voice trembling.
"It's not supposed to be. That's why it was banned."
Lord Bureaucrat Xian massaged his temples like he was trying to prevent a divine migraine.
"Dual-State Flames are only wielded by the ancient Audit Warriors. They were the… enforcement branch during the first celestial bureaucracy."
Ne Job blinked. Audit Warriors?
Bao gave a sharp bark of laughter—dry, broken.
"No. Don't get excited. I'm not 'one of them.' I'm just… borrowing their damn technique so the kid doesn't get vaporized by cosmic HR."
He stood up. Barely.
The new aura flared—
And the Court changed.
---
2. The Audit Emblem
The Shard Court responded to Bao's altered state.
Scrolls stiffened. Ink lines moved. Law sigils pulsed against every marble surface.
Something ancient recognized him.
A symbol formed above Bao's pack—a circle divided by a vertical line, flanked by three hash marks.
Ling gasped.
"That is—" "The Audit Emblem," Xian whispered. "The sign used by Heaven's early enforcers. It appears only when…"
His voice cracked.
"Only when someone has the authority to correct Heaven."
Ne Job stared at Bao like he had never seen him before.
"You… never told me this."
Bao looked away.
"You're an intern. You don't start orientation with 'By the way, I might be a weaponized delivery god if things go sideways.'"
Taiyi Zhenren wheezed. "That would've helped!"
Ne Job ignored them. He walked right up to Bao.
"You shouldn't have done this."
Bao met his eyes.
"And you shouldn't have broken Heaven's filing system with your fists."
The two glared at each other.
Then Bao smiled—a slight crooked courier-smile.
"But here we are."
---
3. The Judge Breaks Protocol
Shard Court Judge descended, robes crackling with crystalline energy.
The voice was… different. Not ceremonial.
Not cold.
Heavy.
"DREIVERY SPIRIT BAO."
Bao straightened. Barely.
"YOU HAVE ACCEPTED COSMIC PUNISHMENT."
"YOU HAVE SURVIVED."
Fragmented tiles floated in the air, reassembling around the Judge's steps.
"THE COURT RECOGNIZES YOUR RESILIENCE."
A moment's pause.
"AND YOUR AUDIT FLAME."
Ancient. Loaded. Dangerous.
The Court's entire staff—scribes, recorders, paper imps—froze.
This was the kind of language that preceded wars.
Yue whispered, terrified:
"If Bao is recognized as an Audit-class entity… Heaven will panic."
Princess Ling nodded.
"They already are."
---
4. The Awakening
The emblem over Bao brightened.
Not because Bao commanded it.
Because something answered.
Above the Court's dome, swirling clouds cracked—like paper splitting under too much ink.
A sigil appeared in the sky.
Lines of white. Four curves. Two diagonal slashes.
It pulsed.
Ne Job's pulse skipped. He remembered it.
Not from training. Not from missions.
From the vision inside the Resonance Archive—the moment he had broken the protocol and glimpsed a fragment of the heaven older than the heavens.
A name spilled into his mind, unbidden:
Audit Warrior: QI-YUN.
A wave of pressure slammed into the Court. Everyone dropped to one knee except Ne Job and Bao.
Even Princess Ling.
Bao's expression went grim.
"He heard me."
Xian choked.
"WHO?"
Bao closed his eyes.
"The first Auditor."
A ghost of a smile.
"The one who started the doctrine that a child shouldn't be erased for breaking a form incorrectly."
Taiyi spat tea again.
"That's… absurdly specific!"
Ne Job swallowed.
"What does that mean?"
Bao answered:
"It means he's awake."
---
5. The Messenger Arrives
The sigil overhead shuddered— And a drop of silver light fell like a sword.
It hit the marble between Ne Job and Bao.
CLANG.
A scroll manifested.
Bound in metal rings. Sealed with triple wax.
Every clerk in the Court scrambled backward. Even the Judge retreated one step.
The seal read:
> AUDIT SUMMONS: SUBJECT — NE JOB
AUTHORITY — QI-YUN
COMPLIANCE — MANDATORY
Yue's face drained.
Ling covered her mouth.
Xian whispered the words that shut every throat in the Court:
"That is not a trial notice.
That is not punishment."
"That is a training order."
Ne Job stared.
Then he felt it—
faint, distant, like a hand on his spine:
Someone was calling him.
Not to judge him.
Not to condemn him.
To teach him.
Bao leaned in.
"Congratulations, kid."
His flame flickered.
"Welcome to the Audit War."
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End of Chapter 181.