The Jade Disc Stirred

He went the whole night without sleep.

When sunlight dispelled the darkness, day arrived.

Roger stepped out of the stone house.

Allen was already waiting outside. "Come on, hurry! It's almost time to take our Fire Rhinos out to graze. If we're late, Shaluba will chew us out again."

"All right."

Roger knew this Shaluba. He was a Water Element Lowgod with a nasty disposition, and he often beat and berated the Sanctuaries under him.

Unfortunately, Roger and Allen were among his subordinates.

The Fire Rhino Tribe was not large.

With only a Midgod as its strongest member, it could hardly grow very large.

This was also something that puzzled Roger.

In Linley's era.

In the Infernal Realm, anyone who wanted to lead a tribe with a steady supply of resources had to be a Highgod at the very least.

And they had to have reached that level through their own cultivation.

Yet according to his memories.

Hagson, chief of the Fire Rhino Tribe, was genuinely only a Midgod, and so were the chiefs of several neighboring tribes.

Moreover, these tribes had existed for at least tens of thousands of years.

That gave Roger plenty to speculate about.

Could I have transmigrated to the dawn of creation...?

Only that could explain why a mere Midgod could rule a tribe in the Netherworld, a Higher Plane that should have been teeming with powerful beings.

With these thoughts in mind, Roger drove the wind battle aura within him at full strength to keep up with Allen, who was leading the way.

The Netherworld's restrictive force was indeed powerful. Even with his battle aura at full blast, Roger could barely stay airborne, never mind his flying speed...

Fortunately, the Fire Rhino Tribe was small.

A little over ten minutes later, Roger and Allen stopped on a broad stretch of flat ground.

A long row of stone buildings at its far edge housed a large number of Sanctuary Magical Beasts: Fire Rhinos.

"Roger, you're finally awake?"

A voice as cold and sinister as a venomous snake rang out, grating on the ears.

It was Shaluba, the Lowgod.

"Yes, my lord. I woke up last night."

Circumstances left him no choice. Though Roger deeply disliked the man, he still answered respectfully.

There was nothing he could do.

The gap between a Sanctuary and a Lowgod was simply too vast.

Even if every Sanctuary in the Fire Rhino Tribe attacked together, they would be no match for Shaluba...

"Hmph, at least you know your place. Collect your Fire Rhinoceroses and get going." Shaluba waved impatiently. "Remember to stay away from places where Deities are sparring next time. Otherwise, you'll have only yourself to blame if you die."

"Yes, my lord."

Allen answered loudly, then pulled Roger along toward the edge of the square.

They brought out the four Fire Rhinos in their care and flew north with them.

That was where the Fire Rhino Tribe kept its designated grazing grounds.

An hour later.

Roger and the others arrived in a valley.

"All right, we'll cut down Fire Cloud Trees here today. Once we've fed these four Fire Rhinos, we can head back and spend some time cultivating."

Allen took a huge axe out of his interspatial ring.

Roger did the same.

The Fire Cloud Tree was a signature species of this region, renowned for its toughness. Left to gnaw at one on its own, a Fire Rhino could spend an entire day without reaching the most valuable part, the heartwood.

With an axe, however, things were different.

These were standard logging axes issued by the tribe. Though they were not divine artifacts, they were made from black jade stone and were exceptionally hard and sharp.

Logging was simple.

Even someone like Roger, who had only just reached the Sanctuary level, could manage it.

Roger approached a Fire Cloud Tree whose trunk was thick enough for one person to wrap their arms around and swung his axe, chopping into it again and again.

Thock.

Thock.

Thock.

The axe fell repeatedly, sending fiery red wood chips flying.

Roger was very familiar with this work.

He circulated his battle aura and chopped away, stroke after stroke.

Allen was doing the same on the other side.

And his chopping speed was visibly faster.

Clearly, comprehending the Laws considerably improved logging efficiency as well.

Watching Allen work, Roger could not help feeling envious.

He still knew absolutely nothing about the Laws...

Right, my cheat!

As he continued chopping, Roger diverted part of his attention into the depths of his consciousness.

The Jade Disc, so damaged that only a tenth of it remained, lay quietly there.

How do I activate it?

Roger began to ponder.

His hands never stopped moving.

Half an hour passed.

Roger had come up with nothing, but he finally felled the Fire Cloud Tree, exposing its brilliant red heartwood.

"Eee~~~"

At the sight of food, the Fire Rhinos that had been waiting quietly behind him immediately let out excited cries.

"You've got it easy. We even have to wait on you."

Roger extracted the heartwood, several meters long and a meter thick, then went over to feed the Fire Rhinos.

Allen was feeding his on the other side too, except half the heartwood was going into his own mouth...

"Roger, I've got to say, this Fire Cloud Tree heartwood tastes pretty good. Have some yourself."

Allen spoke casually, completely ignoring the Fire Rhinos beside him as they rolled their eyes.

"..."

Roger was a little speechless.

Fire Cloud Trees were a rare species. Their heartwood contained the essence of the entire tree and could accelerate the growth of a Fire Rhino's horn.

Once a Fire Rhino's horn matured and fell off, it could be used as high-quality material for forging divine artifacts.

Thus, the heartwood contained a great deal of energy.

Naturally, its taste was not bad either.

In the past, Roger would have scorned eating the same food as livestock-like magical beasts of such dubious intelligence.

Now, however, some impulse made him shave off a piece of the essence-rich heartwood and put it into his mouth.

Crunch, crunch...

Unlike the hardness he had imagined, the crimson heartwood was crisp and smooth in his mouth, with a surprisingly pleasant texture.

No wonder Allen ate so much of it every time they came out.

"Heh, you should've tried this Fire Cloud Tree Heart ages ago. It tastes amazing."

Allen fed the Fire Rhinos while stuffing more into his own mouth.

He was even eating faster than the Fire Rhinos...

As Roger chewed the crisp heartwood, he felt a surge of pure energy emerge.

Roger swallowed without a second thought.

But something strange happened.

That pure energy did not flow toward Roger's dantian.

Instead, it surged straight into his mind!

The source of the suction was the Jade Disc fragment deep within his consciousness!

"Th-this...!"

Rather than alarmed, Roger was delighted.

He was not afraid of the Jade Disc reacting; he was afraid it would never react at all!

Roger sliced off several more pieces of essence-rich heartwood and stuffed them into his mouth one after another.

Sure enough.

All the energy produced by the heartwood surged toward the Jade Disc deep within his consciousness.

"Huh?"

The two Fire Rhinos that had been happily eating were utterly baffled as the heartwood practically in their mouths disappeared.

Roger paid them no mind. In no time at all, he devoured the rest of the heartwood.

His uninhibited eating even made Allen pause. "Haha, Roger, you used to act so prim and proper. Now you've had a taste, haven't you?"

Despite his teasing, Allen tossed his remaining heartwood to the Fire Rhinos.

Then he picked up his axe and began chopping down more Fire Cloud Trees.

If his buddy liked it, he could eat his fill!

By now, Roger had focused all his attention on the damaged Jade Disc within his consciousness.

After absorbing the energy from the Fire Cloud Tree Heart, the Jade Disc finally showed another reaction.

An indescribably profound aura spread through Roger's consciousness.