Gate of Purgatory's Eighth Level

The system selected Kasimir as Gu Ding's first opponent, a Six-Star Half-Step True God with strength extremely close to that of First Sequence True God. He was arguably one of the most powerful individuals in the Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory.

Kasimir was slender and slightly shorter than Gu Ding was today, with a sharp and capable appearance.

"Rumor has it that the Confinement Space in Death Mode is terrifying, and those who survive will experience a significant increase in strength. I'm lucky today; your first opponent after you come out is me. Let me see just how much you've improved."

Kasimir looked at Gu Ding with interest. Gu Ding had already fought on the arena of the Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory more than two years ago, and more than once. At that time, Gu Ding's strength in the Sixth Layer was not considered strong, at most only average, and his record was more losses than wins. Now, only two years have passed, and he felt that the possibility of Gu Ding being able to beat him was still slim, because he himself had been improving in the past two years.

"Then let's go." Gu Ding saw through his opponent's strength at a glance; the opponent's aura was already close to that of a True God of the First Sequence. In the Sixth Layer the Gate of Purgatory, he was indeed considered one of the top experts, but in front of him, he was really no match.

Gu Ding simply stood there casually, but suddenly released his fighting aura. The mountain-like aura spread out and instantly enveloped the entire arena.

The moment the aura of Fourth Sequence true god was released, Kasimir was instantly paralyzed, as if he were being suppressed by an endless mountain range. Every cell in his body felt as if it were enduring endless pressure. He only lasted for less than three seconds before collapsing to the ground, completely unconscious.

The Silver Order Keeper, acting as the referee, knew the outcome of the battle the moment Gu Ding released his aura, and he stared intently at Gu Ding through the gap in his helmet.

Gu Ding's progress is truly terrifying. In just over two years, his Combat Strength, which was not even at the level of a True God, has now risen to the level of a True God in the Fourth Sequence.

"Gu Ding wins!" But the referee was only slightly stunned before he came to his senses and announced the result of the match.

The group of people below the arena were baffled. Gu Ding's aura only enveloped the area covered by the arena and did not penetrate beyond it. Therefore, many people outside the arena had no idea what had just happened.

"What just happened? Why did Kasimir suddenly collapse?"

"We didn't see Gu Ding make a move at all. What exactly happened?"

"What exactly did Gu Ding do? Was it because he moved too fast that we couldn't catch him?"

Only a few people guessed Gu Ding's tactics from Kasimir's reaction.

The rest of the competition was completely one-sided; almost everyone who went on stage collapsed instantly. Gu Ding, however, remained standing still throughout, without even budging a finger.

At the True God level, each advancement in rank results in a ten-thousand-fold increase in Combat Strength. In the entire Sixth Layer of the Gate of Purgatory, aside from Gu Ding, the Combat Strength prisoner was only First Sequence True God, three ranks below Gu Ding —a difference Combat Strength that was practically incomparable. The sheer pressure of their aura was enough to easily end any battle.

By the end of the day, hundreds of challengers had collapsed and fainted, but Gu Ding still felt that the pace of the challenge was too slow.

So early the next morning, he contacted Warden Victoria and applied for Group Battle Mode. After reviewing Gu Ding's Combat Strength, Victoria approved his application. The difference in Combat Strength between Gu Ding and the people on the Sixth Layer was too great; a single arena match wouldn't be very meaningful, only differing in the speed at which points were awarded.

The next day, after receiving the application, Gu Ding activated his Group Battle Mode. His aura exploded instantly, suppressing all tens of thousands of people who were about to challenge him, and then he pushed open the door and entered the Seventh Layer of the Gate of Purgatory.

The Seventh Layer of the Gate of Purgatory imprisons powerful individuals ranging from seven-star Half-Step True God to Nine-and-a-Half Star Half-Step True God, with the strongest being comparable to Third Sequence True God.

However, Gu Ding still managed to suppress them all in less than a day and continued his advance, entering the Eighth Level of the Gate of Purgatory.

From the Eighth Level of the Gate of Purgatory onwards, all the prisoners possessed at least the Combat Strength of First Sequence True God, and the vast majority had already reached the Combat Strength level of First Sequence True God. As for the strongest individuals, their strength exceeded Gu Ding's expectations, all possessing the strength of Fifth Sequence True God. The strongest among them even possessed Combat Strength nearly equivalent to Sixth Sequence True God. Such powerful individuals were currently beyond Gu Ding's ability to provoke. In addition, there were hundreds of Fourth Sequence True Gods, and Gu Ding could easily deduce that their Combat Strength was likely no weaker than his own.

News of Gu Ding's survival from the Death Mode Confinement Space had spread to other levels, including the Seventh Layer and Eighth Level, prompting countless individuals to challenge him upon his arrival. Many were eager to know just how strong someone who survived the Death Mode Confinement Space truly was.

The number of people challenging Gu Ding on the Eighth Level was astonishing. Almost immediately after Gu Ding arrived at the Eighth Level, the number of challengers began to rise exponentially. In just over ten minutes, the number of challengers had reached more than 30,000.

However, after reaching the Eighth Level, Gu Ding did not immediately choose to challenge it. Instead, he chose to exchange his points for cultivation resources and began his seclusion.

His original plan was to finish all the arena matches in one go and then directly obtain the item that would allow him to escape. However, after learning the true number of powerful individuals at this level, he knew that this idea was unrealistic. Even those nearly at the Sixth Sequence True God level hadn't succeeded in obtaining it; with his current strength, the chances of acquiring it were slim. Furthermore, only consecutive wins in the arena would yield more points, and with his current Combat Strength, the hope of achieving a prolonged winning streak was slim. It would be better for him to go into seclusion and improve his strength first.

After exchanging a large number of Source Energy Crystal, Gu Ding entered the five-hundred-times-speed training room in the Cultivation Tower.

The reason he chose the highest level of 500x time acceleration was twofold. First, his current points were enormous, making such a expenditure unwarranted. Second, he was indeed in a hurry; there were less than four months left before the three-year agreement expired, and obtaining the escape item didn't seem to be so simple.

Due to the scarcity of cultivation resources, Gu Ding's cultivation level has remained at the Two-Star Peak-rank God for a long time. His strength has also not improved significantly for a long time due to the limitations of his cultivation level.

Inside the Cultivation Tower, Gu Ding sat quietly on a futon in the center of the room, while the Source Energy Crystal piled up in front of him began to be consumed rapidly.

In less than a few minutes, Gu Ding's cultivation level broke through from the Two-Star Peak-rank God level to the third-star. Then, after another ten minutes or so, his cultivation level broke through again, reaching the fourth star. Less than half an hour later, he advanced to the fifth star level.

The breakthroughs to three minor levels were achieved in less than an hour, something Gu Ding had never expected.

However, this isn't hard to explain. Over the past year, he had never stopped cultivating. Although his cultivation level hadn't improved, his foundation had become incredibly solid, and his body was well-prepared for a breakthrough. Now, with abundant cultivation resources, it was a natural progression, and he broke through three minor ranks in one go.

His physical and spiritual strength also increased accordingly, rising from the level of an eight-star Half-Step True God to the nine-star level. Gu Ding's Combat Strength finally advanced to the strength of Fifth Sequence true god.

However, Gu Ding did not intend to stop there. He took out a drop of True Blood from the Ninth Sequence true god from his Storage Space.

This drop of True Blood came from Celestine's Storage Space. Unfortunately, the enlightenment effect brought by True Blood can only occur once per sequence; a second dose is ineffective. Gu Ding only possesses True Blood from the Ninth Sequence and Tenth Sequence, meaning he only has two opportunities for enlightenment.

The reason Gu Ding took out his True Blood at this time was because each breakthrough in his cultivation level was extremely difficult. He had to break through the Gene Shackles within his body to achieve this, and those Gene Shackles could not be broken by ordinary attacks.

After swallowing the True Blood, Gu Ding quickly entered a state of enlightenment, and he almost saw all the insights of the original owner of that drop of True Blood.

In Gu Ding's Soul Space, a staircase appeared, but it was bound by countless black chains.

The terrifying energy contained in the True Blood, combined with the Source Energy Crystal absorbed by Gu Ding, surged like waves, crashing against the spiderweb-like black chains on the steps time and time again.

The white jade-like steps, as if washed away by the waves, had their chains broken one by one and then disappeared.

After an unknown amount of time, all the chains on the entire staircase were finally cleared away, and Gu Ding felt his body undergoing rapid changes.

Withdrawing his consciousness from the Soul Space, Gu Ding contacted the Sea Emperor, "Sea Emperor, look at my physical data!"

Name: Gu Ding

Gender: Male

Age: 19

[Cultivation Level: One-Star Half-Step True God]

[Physical Strength: First Sequence True God]

[Soul Strength: First Sequence True God]

[Divine Source Strength: Six-Star Half-Step True God]

"Your current strongest Combat Strength has already reached the level of Sixth Sequence True God," the Sea Emperor stated. "You have just broken through a major rank, and it is not suitable for you to break through again in the short term. You should consolidate your strength for a while before you go out. Your current strength is enough to deal with everyone on the Eighth Level of the Gate of Purgatory. With this 500-fold time acceleration, less than a day has passed outside."

"I understand." Gu Ding nodded, saying nothing more, and closed his eyes to consolidate his cultivation. (To be continued~^~)