Spatial teleportation felt utterly different from passing through the passage to the Necropolis of the Gods. It was not simple tearing and compression, but a dizzying, dislocating sensation of his entire existence being scattered and cast into a surging torrent of laws. Had Lin Yinuo's soul not mutated, giving him spiritual power far beyond others of his rank, and had he not gained an initial understanding of the profound mystery of space ripples, he would likely have lost consciousness the instant teleportation began.
He had no idea how much time had passed. It seemed like an instant, yet also an eternity.
"Buzzz-"
A dull tremor came from deep within his soul, and the omnipresent tearing force abruptly vanished. Lin Yinuo felt solid ground beneath his feet. An indescribable gravitational pull, countless times heavier, instantly bore down on his entire body, making his knees bend slightly before he regained his footing.
At the same time, an overwhelmingly dense aura of destruction, savage and pure, mingled with the smell of sulfur and some ancient bloody scent, surged forcibly into his nose and mouth, battering his senses. The surrounding elemental energy was astonishingly active, but also astonishingly violent, nothing like the docile energy of the Yulan Continent.
He opened his eyes.
A dark red sky greeted him, with neither sun nor moon, only twisted, dark red clouds that writhed like blood vessels and gave off an ominous glow. The ground was scorched black, covered in cracks and traces of hardened lava. In the distance, jagged black mountains thrust into the sky like crouching colossal beasts. A faint red mist permeated the air, a manifestation of highly concentrated fire elements and the Edicts of Destruction.
Desolate, vast, and cruel, yet containing a heart-stopping immensity of energy.
This was the High Plane-the Infernal Realm!
What a powerful restraining force! The gravity here must be more than a hundred times that of the Yulan Continent! Ordinary Saints would probably struggle even to fly here. The elemental energy is so violent, too. No wonder the inhabitants of the High Planes are generally so powerful.
He immediately checked himself. His magical power circulated somewhat sluggishly, but remained within his control. Supported by the dragonblood factor and repeated enhancements, his body barely adapted to the terrifying gravity. The range of his soul perception had been greatly compressed, but it had become more concentrated.
Just then, the system notification that had fallen silent for a short while finally sounded in his mind again, carrying an unprecedentedly grand and ancient resonance:
[Host's arrival in the High Plane, "Infernal Realm," detected. Environmental energy level transition... System version upgrading...] [Upgrade complete! Hongmeng Sign-In System (High Plane Edition) activated!] [Sign-in mode updated: "Daily sign-in" changed to "Weekly sign-in." Reward quality and variety will increase substantially according to the host's strength, surroundings, and relevant fate events.] [New feature: Increased chance of triggering "Fate Missions," with more generous mission rewards that may include high-level law fragments, divine abilities and spells, divine artifact embryos, and more.] [Welcome to the Infernal Realm, where the powerful abound. Host, please begin your conquests!]
Weekly sign-ins! Improved reward quality! Just as I thought, the High Planes are the stage where the system can truly come into its own!
He firmly suppressed the urge to perform his first weekly sign-in immediately. His most urgent priority was to establish his location and ensure his safety.
He looked around and discovered that he stood at the center of a huge black stone platform covered in complex, profound engravings. The platform sat on a barren plain. Scattered nearby were figures who had likewise just completed teleportation and were adapting to their surroundings. They belonged to various races: humans, beastfolk, elves, and even some bizarrely shaped abyssal creatures. Most had Saint-level auras. A few radiated faint divine might, but they were only Lowgods.
This seemed to be a fixed teleportation point.
"New arrival?" A slightly hoarse voice sounded beside him.
Lin Yinuo turned and saw a burly human man approaching, dressed in tattered leather armor, with a savage scar across his face. His eyes held scrutiny and a trace of barely perceptible greed as he sized up Lin Yinuo, who looked young and seemed to have only a Saint-level aura. In the Infernal Realm, lone newcomers, especially those who appeared weak, were often the best targets for robbery.
"Tsk, tsk. Such delicate skin. A mage, too? Boy, hand over your interspatial ring, then tell me which Material Plane you came from. If I'm in a good mood, I might point you toward a way to stay alive." The scar-faced man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. He released the divine might of a Lowgod of the Earth Element, attempting to pressure Lin Yinuo.
Among those nearby who had also just teleported in, some watched indifferently, while others showed sympathy, but no one spoke up. The law of the Infernal Realm was that the strong preyed on the weak.
Lin Yinuo regarded him calmly. Having only just arrived, he had no desire to stir up trouble, but since trouble had come to him, he would certainly not back down. This was also a good opportunity to test where his strength, which had stood at the pinnacle of the Yulan Continent, ranked here in the Infernal Realm.
"Scram."
He uttered the single word flatly.
The scar-faced man froze, then flew into a rage. "You're courting death!" With a furious roar, he unleashed ocher divine power and threw a punch. Dense earth elements condensed into the phantom of a small mountain, smashing down at Lin Yinuo's head with tremendous force! This attack could easily crush an utmost-limit Saint of the Yulan Continent!
Yet in Lin Yinuo's perception, though the attack was powerful and heavy, its use of divine power was crude, and its profound mysteries of the laws were pitifully shallow. The man had probably failed to comprehend even one percent of a single profound mystery of the laws.
He did not even use magic.
He merely raised his right hand and extended his index finger. At its tip, a highly concentrated point of dark red light appeared, containing a trace of the Fire Element's "heat" and "profound mystery of explosion"-the improved Fire Condensation Finger!
"Whoosh-!"
Though released later, the dark red light arrived first. Like a red-hot needle piercing tofu, it easily penetrated the ocher mountain phantom and, under the scar-faced man's utterly horrified gaze, struck his fist in an instant!
"Pfft!"
There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a faint, muffled sound. The instant contact was made, the scar-faced man's fist and half his arm were reduced to ash by extreme heat and an implosive force!
"Aaargh!" The scar-faced man let out a piercing scream, clutching his severed arm as he staggered backward. His eyes were filled with terror and disbelief as he looked at Lin Yinuo!
An instant kill! He had almost killed a Lowgod in an instant!
Though this was only the most ordinary, weakest kind of Lowgod, it was enough to intimidate everyone present!
The surrounding onlookers, who had been watching with all manner of expressions, instantly paled and instinctively stepped back several paces. Their eyes filled with wariness and awe as they looked at Lin Yinuo. Who could have imagined that this young man, whose aura seemed to be merely Saint-level, possessed such terrifying strength!
Lin Yinuo did not even glance at the screaming scar-faced man, as though he had merely swatted a fly. He assessed the expenditure and effect of that last strike, forming a rough estimate.
Lowgods in the Infernal Realm really aren't strong if they haven't comprehended the profound mysteries of the laws. Though the quality of my magical power falls short of divine power, my advantage in comprehending the laws is enough to make up for it, or even overwhelm them. Still, I can't be careless. Lowgods here who have comprehended profound mysteries, as well as Gods and Highgods, are the real threats.
He paid no further attention to the commotion at the teleportation point and set off. Thanks to his adaptation to spatial ripples, although he could not fly, he moved extremely fast. In a few flickering movements, he left the area and sped toward the distant black mountains. He needed to find somewhere secluded and safe to perform his crucial first weekly sign-in and plan his next move in the Infernal Realm.
On the desolate plain of the Infernal Realm, only one unlucky man remained howling over his severed arm, along with a group of shaken onlookers.
Though the name "Dragonblood Asura" had yet to ring out, the prologue to his legend had quietly begun in this remote corner of the Infernal Realm.
Before you continue