Beyond that profound resonance, Roger also sensed a mysterious energy emerge from the Jade Disc and merge directly into his soul.
As the mysterious energy flowed in, Roger felt as though his soul were floating among the clouds.
An indescribably wonderful sensation filled his heart.
He had no idea how much time had passed.
When Roger came to, Allen had already felled another Fire Cloud Tree and was handing him its core.
"Thanks, Allen." Roger took it and began gulping it down again.
The pure energy of the tree core was absorbed by the Jade Disc once more, then converted into mysterious energy that transformed Roger's soul.
Seeing how much his brother liked them, Allen laughed heartily and continued chopping down trees.
Their antics left the nearby Fire Rhinos dumbfounded...
After that.
Roger also began chopping down trees himself. After he had eaten several whole tree cores, the Jade Disc deep within his consciousness finally stopped absorbing their essence.
By then, Roger could feel that his soul had undergone a tremendous transformation.
The most obvious change was that his perception of a certain edict within heaven and earth had become much clearer!
"Allen, you can stop chopping. I think I've grasped something..."
With that, Roger immediately went off to the side and sat cross-legged, following that elusive spark of inspiration to deepen his understanding.
"Huh? You can have an epiphany just from eating?"
Allen was a little bewildered, but Roger had already reached the late stages of cultivating "force" some time ago.
It was only natural for him to gain some insight now.
After scanning their surroundings warily and finding nothing unusual, Allen continued chopping trees to feed the Fire Rhinos while keeping watch over Roger.
Within his sea of consciousness.
A wealth of profound insights into the edict emerged.
Roger was like land that had been parched for decades, ravenously soaking up those insights.
Unbeknownst to Roger, the Jade Disc fragment deep within his consciousness was glowing faintly, imperceptibly bringing him into closer contact with the surrounding world.
Time slipped by.
As nightfall approached, Roger finally emerged from his epiphany. "So it was the death edict I was comprehending..."
At that moment.
Roger was absolutely certain that what he had grasped was the death edict-and specifically its aspect concerning "soul attacks."
"Roger, did you really have an epiphany, or were you just slacking off?"
Allen, who had finally managed to feed all four Fire Rhinos to their satisfaction, shouted as soon as he saw Roger open his eyes.
"Ahem, of course it was a real epiphany." Roger felt a little embarrassed, but they were brothers who had risked their lives for each other. Something this trivial hardly mattered.
Sure enough.
When he heard that Roger had truly gained some insight, Allen jumped up in excitement.
"I knew you had it in you!" Allen rubbed his large hands together, his eyes shining. "This is great! We've both crossed the threshold of comprehending the laws. Life's going to be a lot easier now."
In the Fire Rhino Tribe.
Deity-level experts stood high above everyone else. Ordinarily, they did little besides patrol the territory and cultivate.
As long as no hostile tribes came to harass them, they lived carefree lives and could claim nearly all the tribe's earnings.
The thousands of Sanctuary experts who did the actual work were at the very bottom, performing the most grueling labor while receiving the poorest treatment.
Among those Sanctuary experts, only a small minority had crossed the threshold of comprehending the laws-roughly a hundred or so.
After all, anyone who comprehended a law could be considered to have reached the Saint Domain Peak.
Although comprehending the laws was much easier in the Netherworld.
Whether someone could truly grasp them still depended on their aptitude.
That was why there were not many at the Saint Domain Peak.
On top of that, the "attrition" among Sanctuary experts was high, and most replacements were people who had only recently entered the Sanctuary realm.
As a result, the number of Saint Domain Peak experts in the tribe had always remained low.
Now that Roger had reached the Saint Domain Peak, joining forces with Allen really would make their lives in the Fire Rhino Tribe much more comfortable.
"Haha, tell me which laws you comprehended. Was it the laws of wind? You already had a pretty good foundation in those." On their way back, Allen could not hold back his curiosity.
"No." The corners of Roger's mouth lifted. "What I comprehended should be the death edict."
"The death edict?"
Allen's eyes widened. "You actually comprehended an edict? Nicely done!"
Although the Fire Rhino Tribe was small, it was still in the Netherworld, and its members had some knowledge of the seven elemental laws and the Four Edicts.
It was common knowledge that edicts were harder to begin comprehending than laws, but once someone crossed that threshold, they offered greater power and more varied abilities.
Not to mention that the death edict was the most lucrative of the Four Edicts.
Allen's parents had both been Lowgods.
They had known quite a bit about the death edict.
Among the deities who cultivated the death edict.
A small number could refine Soul Gold Beads!
A single Soul Gold Bead required only the souls of several thousand Sanctuary humans or Sanctuary Magical Beasts.
In the Netherworld.
Sanctuary beings were everywhere!
They were practically worthless!
Yet a single Soul Gold Bead could easily be traded for many Lowgod Godheads!
It could even be traded for Middlegod Godheads or the legendary High Godheads, provided you had enough Soul Gold Beads!
"Brother, tell me—was what you comprehended the Soul Refining aspect of the edict of death?"
Allen asked eagerly.
If Roger had truly comprehended that aspect, he would immediately become the tribe's most treasured asset!
Soul Gold Beads.
They were treasures that could greatly strengthen an ordinary Sanctuary expert's soul with just one bead.
Whether for strengthening the soul or speeding up cultivation, they were genuinely valuable.
And "rare talents" like that received absolute protection in any tribe!
After all, even Midgods and Highgods needed large quantities of Soul Gold Beads to strengthen their souls.
"Ahem, what I comprehended was the soul attack aspect..."
Although he did not want to dampen his brother's enthusiasm, Roger knew this was not something he could lie about.
With edicts, you either understood something or you did not.
"Ah, so it was soul attacks."
At Roger's words, most of Allen's excitement immediately faded.
"Well, that's fine too. Soul attacks are pretty good. At least we'll be a lot stronger in battle from now on."
Through his parents, Allen also had a rough understanding that even many Midgods who cultivated the death edict could not refine Soul Gold Beads.
Conversely, some Saint Domain Limit experts who cultivated the death edict could extract soul essence because what they had comprehended concerned refining it.
Although it was a little troublesome to absorb, it could still strengthen the soul.
Once such Saint Domain Limit experts became deities, they could easily refine Soul Gold Beads!
"Don't sigh." Roger patted Allen on the shoulder. "I comprehended the soul attack aspect of the edict today. Who knows? Maybe another day I'll grasp the aspect concerning refining soul essence."
"Heh, you're right." Allen's eyes lit up again. "For the sake of our future, brother, you've got to work hard at your cultivation!"
"From now on, I'll handle all the chores-chopping trees, patrols, night watches, everything!"
Allen thumped his powerful chest, his eyes filled with a hunger for strength.
Indeed.
As long as Roger could refine even the most basic soul essence, they could easily obtain Godheads from the tribe and become deities, even if they could not become Lowgods on their own.
As for the Godheads their parents had left behind after dying in battle?
Sanctuary experts without the protection of a deity-level expert had no right to possess Godheads.
Before you continue