Hell

Decades of leisurely time passed, and the souls of Dinar and Korur had long since reached their current limits.

That day, Jie Ning told Korur his reply—his Earth God Avatar would accompany him to Hell.

Korur was overjoyed at the news and, once his soul growth hit a limit, cheerfully took his leave.

He needed to handle the affairs of the empire's succession.

Then, one day, hearing that Jie Ning also planned to go to the Supreme Plane, Dinar seemed unable to hold back any longer.

"Jie Ning, can I go with you?" Dinar's eyes were full of longing, but his tone was cautious.

Jie Ning said naturally, "Of course you can."

Dinar's eyes lit up instantly. "Then my Lightning Element Divine Avatar will go with you to Hell, and my Water Element Divine Avatar will stay on the Bana Continent, following your orders."

Back then, when he and Korur split the Divine Sparks, Dinar's main body had refined a Water Element Divine Spark, while Korur's was an Earth Element Divine Spark.

Then, as if remembering something, Dinar quickly added, "My Lightning Element Divine Avatar going to Hell—I guarantee that within these five hundred years, I will also obey your commands."

At this, Jie Ning could only shake his head with a wry smile.

So Dinar also left to handle some matters concerning the Dinar Empire.

The two departed one after another, leaving Jie Ning alone to focus on strengthening his soul.

Korur and Dinar returned to their respective empires.

Then, a news that nearly shook everyone spread rapidly across the entire Bana Continent.

The Korur Empire and the Dinar Empire had merged.

Though there were some dissenting voices within both empires.

But with the firm will of the two empires' God-level powerhouses, those voices couldn't cause any real effect.

Thus, a brand-new super empire was established.

Then, another shocking piece of news came—the new empire was renamed the 'Gru Empire,' and it was officially declared that from then on, the empire's sole guardian deity was the God of Fire, 'Lord Gru.'

For a time, the outside world buzzed with heated debate, and speculation about the reasons ran wild.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Jie Ning, and even the entire Life Duke's Territory saw little change.

Aside from news brought by outsiders giving the locals something to chat about over tea, everything else was as usual—the people here still lived their daily lives, still faithful to the God of Life.

He simply immersed himself in his own cultivation.

"Is this the Teleportation Array to the Supreme Plane?" Jie Ning looked at the array before him, speaking with interest.

He touched the Teleportation Array with his divine sense, and information about which Supreme Plane each array corresponded to flooded into his mind.

'But only four? So the Divine Planes haven't appeared yet!' Jie Ning felt a mix of secret delight and urgency.

"That's right, this is the Teleportation Array we need to take." Korur rarely looked serious as he stared at the array. "These Teleportation Arrays are incredibly ancient—no one knows when they first appeared."

"Then let's go." Jie Ning gazed at the intricate patterns on the array, tempted to study them, but held back. 'I'll leave that to the Life God Avatar and the others.'

The three stepped onto the Teleportation Array leading to Hell, infused it with divine power, and with a flash of light, they vanished from the array.

"More people coming. Oh, and a Middle-God..." As Jie Ning emerged from the Teleportation Array, a voice reached his ears.

He looked up and saw a group of people in purple robes watching them. The weakest among them was a Middle-God, and their gazes were full of scrutiny.

On the other side stood another group, mostly Low-Gods with only one Middle-God, and these people looked at the purple-robed ones with a hint of fear in their eyes.

Jie Ning's heart sank slightly—Hell seemed even harsher than he had imagined.

"Hey, kid, you three, come here." Suddenly, a gray-haired man among the purple-robed group called out to Jie Ning.

'A High-God!' Jie Ning's heart tightened. Not wanting to stir up trouble so soon after arriving in Hell, he obediently led Korur and the others out of the array, stepped before the man, and replied respectfully, "Sir."

Seeing Jie Ning's attitude, Korur and the others immediately understood that this was a powerhouse they couldn't afford to offend, and quickly followed with their own greetings.

At Jie Ning's deferential behavior, the people around the gray-haired man all showed disappointed expressions.

"This time, they're not troublemakers."

"As expected, with Brother Beile here, these guys fall in line right away."

The gray-haired man, Beile, ignored his underlings' teasing. He first gave Jie Ning a few looks, then glanced at Korur and Dinar. "Kid, pretty sharp, huh."

"Coming to Hell only after becoming a Middle-God—not bad. You've got the strength to join our Blade Army."

"So, how about it? Interested?"

"Sir, may I ask what the Blade Army is?" Jie Ning asked cautiously.

Just then, the Teleportation Array behind him flickered again, and several people appeared on it. Jie Ning immediately assessed their strength: 'One Low-God and three Saint Realms.'

One of the people behind Beile stepped out and walked toward the newcomers.

It seemed he thought highly of Jie Ning. Beile said with a smile, "Our Blade Army is the most powerful force within a million miles. So, how about it? Want to join?"

"Of course, if you choose not to join, we won't make things difficult for you. You're free to leave on your own."

Jie Ning was suddenly uncertain about the other party's attitude.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but on the surface, Jie Ning quickly made a decision—first, settle down and learn more about the situation.

Jie Ning believed it was safer to be cautious, so he decisively agreed, "Milord, I am willing. But can my two friends join as well?"

As he spoke, Jie Ning pointed at Korur and the other person.

Hearing Jie Ning's agreement, Beile's smile deepened. "Of course they can. However, their strength is only at the Low-God level, so they can only become reserve members of our Blade Army."

"But they can stay directly by your side."

"Thank you, Milord."

Korur and the other followed behind Jie Ning, not daring to speak freely, afraid of accidentally causing trouble.

Perhaps because Jie Ning had readily joined them, Beile's attitude became warmer. "Since you've chosen to join our Blade Army, we're family from now on."

"You can just call me Brother Beile from now on." Beile said magnanimously. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Brother Beile, my name is Jie Ning."

Beile chatted with Jie Ning for a bit, but as people kept arriving, he told Jie Ning and the other two to go rest with another group.

"Hello, Jie Ning. I'm Mosang." As soon as Jie Ning approached the group, the only Middle-God among them immediately greeted him, having already heard Jie Ning's introduction.

Jie Ning replied politely, "Hello, Mosang."

The two exchanged a few words, and the atmosphere between them grew a bit more harmonious. However, still intimidated by Beile and his men, they chose to communicate privately through telepathy.

"Jie Ning, you're really lucky," Mosang said with some emotion.

"What do you mean?" Jie Ning was puzzled.

Mosang's face flushed slightly. "When I arrived in Hell, Lord Beile wasn't here yet."

"I got into a bit of a conflict with some other people."

Jie Ning understood. He didn't ask about the outcome—seeing that Mosang was still here, the result was obvious.

"Then Mosang, do you know what's really going on with us?" Jie Ning was still completely in the dark.

"I only arrived today myself, so I don't know much. I just got some basic information from the person I fought. It seems they're specifically stationed near the Teleportation Array to recruit people into the Blade Army." Mosang shook his head, equally full of confusion.

"Hell is truly dangerous. To run into something like this right away," Mosang sighed.

Jie Ning felt the same. "Yeah, who would've thought you'd encounter something like this the moment you arrive in Hell?"

He had assumed the Teleportation Arrays would be under the control of the Overgods.

Suddenly, Jie Ning sensed that Mosang seemed to hesitate for a moment, but he quickly composed himself. He received a telepathic message from Mosang: "Jie Ning, let's join forces."

Jie Ning's heart stirred. "What do you mean?"

Mosang didn't beat around the bush—after all, contacting Jie Ning from the start had been for this purpose. "Let's form an alliance. That way, even if we end up in that 'Blade Army,' we'll have a better chance of handling unexpected situations."

Jie Ning naturally had no objections and readily agreed to Mosang's proposal. After all, it was just a verbal agreement, essentially only a proposal for cooperation.

This kind of pact cost him nothing, but if something unexpected happened, they would at least have a foundation for working together.

Soon, time passed as the two continued talking.

"Alright, everyone gather up." Beile stood before the group.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why you've been 'imprisoned' here the moment you arrived in Hell."

"Perhaps many of you are full of hostility toward me right now." Beile said with a smile, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. Many who met his eyes looked as if they had seen something terrifying.

"But until your strength surpasses mine, you'd better hold it in." As he spoke, a powerful aura instantly enveloped everyone present.

For a moment, many in the crowd turned pale.

"After all, this is Hell—a world of the strong. It's only natural for the strong to dominate the weak. And to you, I am the strong, so I naturally have the right to rule over you." Beile withdrew his aura, returning to his earlier smiling demeanor.

"Also, I need to tell you a harsh truth now. Except for these two." Beile pointed at Jie Ning and Mosang.

"From this moment on, all of you are 'slaves' belonging to our 'Blade Army'—what I earlier called the reserve forces. Everything you have now belongs to the 'Blade Army.'"

The faces of the Low-Gods turned ugly instantly.

"Of course, we'll guarantee your basic safety." Beile still wore a smile.

Ignoring their grim expressions, Beile beckoned to Jie Ning and Mosang. "You two, come here."

The two walked over to Beile's side.

"According to our 'Blade Army's' rules, each Blade Army member can have two personal reserve troops. Each of you, go pick two."

"Yes, Brother Beile." "Yes, Milord."

Jie Ning naturally chose Korur and Dinar, while Mosang had his own targets in mind.

Seeing that the remaining people were still obedient, Beile nodded in satisfaction and continued, "It seems you've all accepted the harsh reality. Now then, I still have to congratulate you."

Everyone felt as if they were being repeatedly broken in.

"You should be grateful that the Teleportation Array you came out of today encountered us, the 'Blade Army.'"

"In Hell, there are seven such Teleportation Arrays in total, and each one is fiercely contested by many major powers." Beile pointed at the Teleportation Array behind him.

"Even as strong as us, the 'Blade Army,' our Army Lord is a powerful Seven-star Demon. Oh, you probably don't know what a Seven-star Demon is yet. Just know that our Army Lord is an absolutely remarkable expert even among the High-Gods of Hell." As Beile spoke of this Army Lord, his face was full of admiration, then he added with some emotion, "But even so, every year we only get the right to use this Teleportation Array for one day."

"And as far as I know, many nearby forces will directly soul-control weak God-level beings." Beile's smile returned.

The crowd was skeptical.

"But don't worry, our 'Blade Army' doesn't do that." Beile said with great pride, "As long as you're willing to join us, you're our brothers and sisters."

Then, Beile's tone immediately shifted, "Of course, that's on the condition that you have some strength."

"Just like them." Beile pointed at Jie Ning and the other person.

"Of course, you don't need to despair either. Even if you're just a reserve soldier now, as long as you can become a Middle-God."

"Then you can directly become a full member of the 'Blade Army.'"

"I can tell you, the treatment of becoming a member of the 'Blade Army' far exceeds your imagination." Beile's tone was full of temptation.

Listening to Beile's words, Jie Ning also felt a bit fortunate.

He had guessed that the current Supreme Plane was chaotic, but he hadn't expected it to be this chaotic.

Given this situation, even the Teleportation Arrays hadn't been managed by the Overgods yet.

In fact, Jie Ning suspected that many Overgods still didn't have enough subordinates.

The entire Hell hadn't even established a basic order at the lowest level.

If he hadn't held back his impulse before and had come directly to the Supreme Plane, the risk would have been far too great, and he might not necessarily have encountered a 'suitable' force.

"Alright, all of you follow me." Beile's Divine Domain enveloped everyone as he prepared to take off.

Seeing this scene, Jie Ning added a mental note, 'And Metal Lifeforms haven't appeared either.'

'But with a Seven-star Demon existing, it seems the identity of demons has already gained widespread recognition in Hell.' Jie Ning thought back to the Seven-star Demon 'Army Lord' Beile had mentioned.

The group was swiftly carried away. Not far from the starting point, Jie Ning saw several familiar-looking corpses, one of which had its skull cracked open.

They were precisely the Low-Gods and Saint Realm beings who had come out after Jie Ning. They had chosen to leave, and the 'Blade Army' hadn't stopped them, but that didn't mean they were safe.

Jie Ning noticed that many in the group, upon seeing these corpses, suddenly looked relieved.

At the front of the group, the corners of Beile's mouth curled up slightly.

To be honest, I kind of regret sending the Earth God Avatar to Hell. I feel like the Life God Avatar could have more options.

I wrote it all together today, so I'm too lazy to split it up.

Finally, as always, I'm asking for votes. Please, everyone.