Hell

Several more decades passed, and Dinar and Korur's souls had long since reached their current limits.

After that day, Jie Ning told Korur his answer. His Earth God Avatar would go to Hell with him.

Korur was immediately overjoyed upon hearing the news. Once his soul growth reached its limit, he happily departed.

He needed to handle the imperial succession matters.

Then, one day, Dinar, who had heard that Jie Ning also planned to go to the Supreme Plane, seemingly could no longer hold himself back.

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

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

Dinar's eyes instantly lit up. "Then my lightning Divine Avatar will go to Hell with you, while my Water Element Divine Avatar will remain on the Bana Continent and follow your command."

Back then, when he and Korur divided the Divine Sparks, Dinar's original body had refined a water-element Divine Spark, while Korur had refined an earth-element Divine Spark.

Then, as though recalling something, Dinar immediately added, "Once my lightning Divine Avatar reaches Hell, I guarantee that I will obey your orders for the next five hundred years as well."

Jie Ning could only laugh helplessly at that.

Thus, Dinar also left afterward to deal with some matters in the Dinar Empire.

The two left one after another, leaving only Jie Ning behind to work hard at strengthening his soul.

Korur and Dinar returned to their respective empires one after another.

Then, a piece of news that nearly shook everyone rapidly spread throughout the Bana Continent.

The Korur Empire and the Dinar Empire had merged.

Although there were some voices of opposition within the two empires.

Under the firm will of the God-level experts from both empires, however, those voices could not have any real impact.

Thus, an entirely new super empire was established.

Then came another shocking announcement: the newborn empire had been renamed the Gru Empire, and it officially declared that its sole guardian deity would henceforth be the God of Fire, Lord Gru.

For a time, debates outside raged fiercely, with countless theories about the reason behind it.

Naturally, none of this had anything to do with Jie Ning, and even Life Duke's Territory did not change much.

Other than news brought by outsiders giving the people of the territory a few more topics for casual conversation, everything else remained as usual. The people here still lived as they always had and still believed in the God of Life.

He simply immersed himself wholeheartedly in cultivation.

"Is this the Teleportation Array to the Supreme Planes?" Jie Ning looked at the Teleportation Array before him and spoke with great interest.

When he touched the Teleportation Array with his divine sense, information about which Supreme Plane each array led to appeared in his mind.

Only four? As expected, the Divine Planes haven't appeared yet! Jie Ning felt both delighted and anxious.

"That's right. This is the Teleportation Array we'll be taking." Korur rarely looked so serious as he stared at the array before him. "These Teleportation Arrays have an incomparably ancient history. No one knows when they first came into existence."

"Then let's go." Jie Ning looked at the complex patterns on the Teleportation Array, feeling an urge to study them, but he restrained himself. I'll leave that to the Life God Avatar.

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

"More people have arrived. Oh, and there's even a Middle-God..." As soon as Jie Ning emerged from the Teleportation Array, he heard a voice by his ear.

Looking up, he saw a group of people in purple robes watching them. The weakest among them was a Middle-God, and their gazes were filled with appraisal.

On the other side stood another group of people. Most of them were Low-Gods, with only one Middle-God among them. They looked at the purple-robed people beside them with fear in their eyes.

Jie Ning's heart sank slightly. Hell's situation seemed even worse than he had imagined.

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

High-God! Jie Ning's heart tightened. Having just arrived in Hell, he had no desire to stir up trouble. He obediently led Korur and Dinar out of the Teleportation Array, approached the man, and respectfully replied, "My lord."

Seeing Jie Ning's attitude, Korur and Dinar immediately understood that the other party was an expert they could not afford to offend. They hurriedly followed suit and greeted him.

Seeing Jie Ning and the others behave so respectfully, the people around the gray-haired man all revealed disappointed expressions.

"This time, they aren't troublemakers."

"With Brother Beile here, these guys became obedient right away."

The gray-haired man, Beile, ignored the teasing from his underlings. He first looked Jie Ning over a few times, then casually glanced at Korur and Dinar. "Kid, you're pretty sharp."

"You only came to Hell after becoming a Middle-God. Not bad. You have the strength to join our Blade Army."

"Well? Interested?"

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

At that moment, the Teleportation Array behind them began to flash again, and several more people appeared upon it. Jie Ning instantly determined their strength. One Low-God and three Saint Realm experts.

One person from behind Beile stepped forward and headed toward those newcomers.

Seemingly thinking highly of Jie Ning, Beile smiled. "Our Blade Army is the strongest force within a million kilometers. So, do you want to join?"

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

Jie Ning was suddenly unable to gauge the other party's attitude.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but outwardly, Jie Ning quickly made his decision. He would settle down first and learn more about the situation.

Feeling that caution was best, Jie Ning decisively agreed. "My lord, I am willing. But may my two friends join as well?"

As he spoke, Jie Ning pointed at Korur and Dinar.

Hearing Jie Ning agree, Beile's smile deepened. "Of course. However, they are only Low-Gods, so they can only become reserve members of our Blade Army."

"But when the time comes, they can directly remain by your side."

"Thank you, my lord."

Korur and Dinar followed behind Jie Ning without daring to speak carelessly, afraid that they might provoke trouble by accident.

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

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

"Brother Beile, my name is Jie Ning."

Beile chatted briefly with Jie Ning. As people continued arriving, he had Jie Ning and the other two go rest among the other group first.

"Hello, Jie Ning. I'm Mosang." As soon as Jie Ning approached the crowd, the only Middle-God among them immediately came forward to greet him. He had already heard Jie Ning introduce himself earlier.

Jie Ning politely replied, "Hello, Mosang."

The two exchanged a few words, and the atmosphere between them became more harmonious. However, wary of Beile and the others, they chose to communicate through Telepathic Messages instead.

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

"How so?" Jie Ning asked, somewhat puzzled.

Mosang's face reddened slightly. "When I arrived in Hell, Lord Beile hadn't come here yet."

"So I got into a bit of conflict with some of the others."

Jie Ning understood. He did not ask about the outcome. Since Mosang was still here, wasn't the result obvious?

"Then, Mosang, do you know what exactly is going on with us right now?" Jie Ning was still completely confused.

"I only arrived today too, so I don't know much. I only got some basic information from the person I fought with. It seems they specifically come near the Teleportation Array to invite people to join the Blade Army." Mosang shook his head, his heart filled with doubts as well.

"Hell really is dangerous. We ran into something like this the moment we arrived," Mosang sighed.

Jie Ning felt the same. "Yeah. Who would have thought we'd run into something like this the instant we arrived in Hell?"

He had thought that at least the Teleportation Arrays had already been taken over by the Overgods.

Suddenly, Jie Ning sensed that Mosang seemed to hesitate, but he clearly adjusted himself quickly. He received a Telepathic Message from Mosang. "Jie Ning, let's join forces."

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

Mosang did not beat around the bush. From the beginning, this had been his purpose in approaching Jie Ning. "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 decisively agreed to Mosang's suggestion. After all, it was only a verbal agreement and could only be considered a proposal for cooperation.

This sort of alliance would cost him nothing, but if something truly went wrong, the two of them would at least have a foundation for cooperation.

Soon, time passed amid their conversation.

"All right, gather around." Beile came before the group.

"I imagine you all find it strange why you were 'imprisoned' here the moment you arrived in Hell."

"Perhaps many of you are now filled with hostility toward me." Beile smiled as he spoke, sweeping his gaze across the crowd. Many of those he looked at seemed to have seen something terrifying.

"However, before your strength surpasses mine, you'd better hold it in." As he spoke, an immense Momentum instantly enveloped everyone present.

For a moment, many people present turned pale.

"After all, this is Hell, a world of the strong. It is perfectly natural for the strong to dominate the weak. And to you, I am strong, so I naturally have the right to control you." Beile withdrew his Momentum and returned to his original smiling appearance.

"Also, I must now tell you another cruel truth, except for those two." Beile pointed at Jie Ning and Mosang.

"From now on, all of you belong to our Blade Army as 'slaves.' In other words, you are the so-called Reserve Army I mentioned earlier. Everything you have belongs to the Blade Army from this moment onward."

The expressions of the Low-Gods immediately turned ugly.

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

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

Jie Ning and Mosang walked to Beile's side.

"According to Blade Army rules, every Blade Army member may have two personal reserve members. Each of you can choose two."

"Yes, Brother Beile." "Yes, my lord."

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

Seeing that the remaining people were still behaving obediently, Beile nodded in satisfaction and continued, "It seems you have accepted this cruel reality. Then next, I should congratulate you."

Everyone felt as though they were being repeatedly conditioned.

"You should count yourselves fortunate that the ones you encountered upon leaving the Teleportation Array today were our Blade Army."

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

"Even a force as powerful as our Blade Army, whose Army Lord is a mighty Seven-star Demon—oh, you probably don't know what a Seven-star Demon is. You only need to know that our Army Lord is an absolutely extraordinary expert even among Hell's High-Gods." When Beile spoke of the Army Lord, his face was full of worship. Then he sighed. "But even so, each year we can only obtain ownership of this Teleportation Array for one day."

"And as far as I know, many nearby forces directly use soul control on weak God-level experts." Beile smiled again.

The crowd was half-convinced.

"But don't worry, our Blade Army does not." Beile spoke proudly. "As long as you are willing to join us, you are our brothers and sisters."

Then, Beile's tone abruptly changed. "Of course, that is only if you have a certain level of strength."

"Like them." Beile pointed at Jie Ning and Mosang.

"Of course, you need not despair either. Even if you are currently a reserve member, as long as you become a Middle-God—"

"Then you can directly become an official member of the Blade Army."

"I can tell you that the benefits of becoming a Blade Army member will absolutely exceed your imagination." Beile spoke in a highly tempting tone.

Listening to Beile, Jie Ning also felt somewhat fortunate.

He had guessed that the Supreme Planes were currently chaotic, but he had not expected them to be chaotic to this extent.

Judging by the situation, even the Teleportation Arrays had not yet come under the Overgods' management.

Jie Ning even suspected that many Overgods did not yet have enough subordinates.

Throughout Hell, even the most basic lower-level order had not yet been established.

If he had failed to restrain his impulse before and come directly to the Supreme Planes, the risk would have been far too great. Nor was it certain that he would have encountered a "suitable" force.

"All right, follow me." Beile's Divine Domain wrapped around everyone as he prepared to fly.

Seeing this, Jie Ning added in his heart, Metal Lifeforms haven't appeared either.

But since Seven-star Demons exist, it seems the status of Demons has already gained widespread recognition in Hell. Jie Ning recalled the Seven-star Demon Army Lord Beile had mentioned.

The group was wrapped up and swiftly taken away. Not far from their point of departure, Jie Ning saw several somewhat familiar corpses. One of them had its skull split open.

They were the Low-God and Saint Realm experts who had emerged after Jie Ning. They had chosen to leave, and the Blade Army truly had not stopped them from leaving, but that did not mean they were safe.

Jie Ning noticed that when many people in the group saw those corpses, their expressions immediately turned relieved.

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

To be honest, I somewhat regret having the earth-element Divine Avatar come to Hell. It feels like the Life God Avatar could have had more possibilities.

I wrote them together today. I was too lazy to split them up.

As always, please vote, everyone.