Di'ers

Across the boundless continent of the Infernal Realm, a purple figure flew through the sky at an unhurried pace, his spiritual power sweeping over the continent below from time to time, as though searching for something.

How vast was the Infernal Realm? The original novel had touched on it: it was truly without end. Just traveling from one continent to another, crossing the Star Mist Sea that separated them alone took fifty or sixty years.

And that was with a Metal Lifeform flying nonstop. Metal Lifeforms were extraordinarily miraculous as well. They clearly counted as living beings, yet they could be stored inside spatial rings.

He just did not know how long it would be before Metal Lifeforms appeared in the world.

Rhodes's divine sense constantly swept the land below, hoping to find the so-called "great" Di'ers. Even finding a living creature to show him the way would be good.

There were simply too few people in the Infernal Realm right now. If the populations of the great Overgod Planes remained this sparse, there would probably be no need to create the Planar Battlefield.

Whoosh.

Rhodes accelerated, and in the blink of an eye, he was hovering before a creature that resembled both a tiger and a bear.

"Stop. I need directions. Answer honestly, and I won't kill you." No sooner had Rhodes spoken than his God's Domain descended.

Sahanandis, who had been flying along, was utterly bewildered. Someone had suddenly appeared before him and rattled off a string of words so quickly that Sahanandis had not caught what he said. Unable to make out the words, Sahanandis was just about to raise a paw and swat him.

Then a God's Domain enveloped him, making his entire body tremble.

That familiar sensation was just like what he felt when paying homage to the great Di'ers.

Sahanandis immediately understood that the person before him was someone he could not afford to provoke at present, and promptly answered obediently, "My lord, please ask. So long as I know it, I will tell you everything."

The Saint-level creature before Rhodes suddenly looked much more agreeable. Having previously lived in a society where everyone was equal, when had he ever heard words like these? Rhodes had not intended to kill in the first place, and now he was even more certain that he would spare this Saint-level creature's life.

"Do you know where Di'ers is? I need you to point me in the right direction."

Hearing Rhodes's question, Sahanandis pointed slightly to the right. "Lord Di'ers is in that direction. About five days of flying should get you-with your divine might, my lord, you should reach him in less than five days."

From the look of things, this man is looking for Lord Di'ers, who rules the Ten Thousandfold Thunder Prison. I just don't know whether he's seeking revenge or hoping to join his command. Either way, that's a matter for the lords. It has little to do with a Saint-level like me. I'd better become a deity as soon as possible. There are more and more deities around, Sahanandis thought silently after pointing out the direction.

Rhodes looked to the right, then withdrew his God's Domain, thinking, Now that I have a direction, it's time to pick up speed! Even without using my Innate Divine Ability, my speed is beyond what ordinary people can match.

After waiting a while, Sahanandis looked up at the sky and only then realized that the figure was long gone. "Phew. Thank goodness he really didn't intend to kill me. Otherwise, I'd have been terribly unlucky."

Sahanandis had only come out during his secluded training to satisfy his appetite. He sped back to his cave and resolved not to set even one foot outside until he became a deity. If he ran into a deity who was not so easy to talk to, wouldn't he die for no reason?

"To encounter a foreign deity even within our territory, and fairly close to its center at that-I have to become a deity as soon as possible. This world is far too dangerous," Sahanandis muttered after returning to his cave.

Rhodes still had no idea that his appearance had spurred on a Saint-level magical beast. When they next met, however, this beast would make his eyes light up.

Time passed in a flash. Rhodes spent half a day flying to the location the Saint-level magical beast had indicated and looked at the castle ahead.

So castles in the Coiling Dragon World were already in fashion this early, Rhodes thought to himself above the castle.

"Di'ers, come out!" At Rhodes's shout, three figures swiftly shot out of the enormous castle below in short order.

Inside the castle, Di'ers stepped out of his room, looked at the three people approaching him, and asked, "What happened? Where did this deity come from?"

One of the three Lowgods, a bald man, immediately replied, "My lord, we don't know either. No new deities have emerged within our territory recently, so this man must have come from elsewhere. But since he didn't attack immediately, perhaps he isn't an enemy, or perhaps he's here for some other matter."

"Go out and ask him. If he's here to cause trouble, kill him outright. Does any random deity think he can see me?" With that, Di'ers headed back toward his room.

The instant the door opened, the furnishings inside could be seen to be extremely simple. There were no decorations at all, only the hide of some unknown Divine Beast spread across the floor. It seemed that Di'ers, too, was a deity who placed great importance on cultivation.

Of the three Lowgods who rushed out, it was again the bald Lowgod who had spoken earlier who asked, "Where did you come from, deity? What brings you to our castle?"

Rhodes looked at the three Lowgods before him. His divine sense detected another deity within the castle, and he immediately understood that the one below was the man himself, Di'ers.

"Tell Di'ers to come out. I only wanted to ask for directions, but a deity from your faction tried to kill me." As Rhodes finished speaking, a saber covered in pale purple spots appeared in his hand.

"What? That's Ahaner's divine artifact! Why do you have it?" The bald Lowgod realized the answer as soon as he spoke. With Ahaner's divine artifact in the other man's hands and Ahaner himself nowhere to be seen, it was all but certain that the young man before them had killed him.

The bald Lowgod immediately understood that this man had come to settle accounts, and deep down he cursed Ahaner over and over for being good for nothing but bungling things.

Lord Di'ers only sent him to patrol the territory, discover newly ascended deities promptly, and bring them into our faction. But he not only failed to recruit this man, he threw his own life away instead. It looks like this won't end peacefully.

At that thought, the bald Lowgod immediately sent a mental message to Di'ers inside the castle. "My lord, this man killed Ahaner, and now he's come to demand an accounting. Our strength is on par with Ahaner's. We probably won't be able to take him down quickly."

The bald Lowgod had barely finished his mental message when a figure shot out of the castle below. His aura alone made it clear that he was stronger than the three Lowgods who had flown out earlier.

Rhodes also turned his gaze toward the figure who had just soared into the sky: a powerfully built man in golden robes.

"I am Di'ers. What business do you have with me?" Di'ers, too, watched Rhodes.

Rhodes's aura gave him a faint sense of threat. This was a deity no weaker than himself. If they could avoid fighting, he would prefer to do so. His original purpose in establishing a faction had merely been to claim the Ten Thousandfold Thunder Prison so that he could cultivate the Lightning Law.

Looking at Di'ers, Rhodes repeated what he had just said, then continued, "I need an explanation. He tried to kill me the moment we met. If we don't settle this matter today, then let's fight."

Yet as soon as Rhodes finished speaking, Di'ers's aura began rising steadily, and a purple saber appeared in his hand.

Di'ers swept his hand, and with a swish, his saber pointed straight at Rhodes.

"If you want a fight, then a fight you'll have! I, Di'ers, have never feared anyone."

Rhodes looked at the four men poised with swords drawn and bows bent, thinking, I only came to demand an explanation. To put it plainly, you could compensate me with some money or something else. How did this turn into a matter of life and death right from the start?

Although he had already experienced combat and killed someone, Rhodes still needed to change his way of thinking. Clearly, he could not quickly adapt to the Infernal Realm's laws of survival as he was now. Rhodes would surely end up like the world's first living being, whose story had never been told in the original novel: even with Willpower bestowed by heaven and earth, that being had not survived until the story began.

In the Infernal Realm, the victor possessed everything. The loser would be all right if he had a Divine Clone; without one, he had better be prepared for everything he had to become another person's wedding gown.

And this was not true of the Infernal Realm alone. Were the Four Supreme Planes, the Seven Divine Planes, and the countless trillions of Material Planes any different?

Looking at Di'ers, whose fighting spirit soared, Rhodes himself instead felt no killing intent. Since that's how it is, let's fight. I'll beat you into submission before talking reason with you, Rhodes thought.

As the Tribulation-Breaking Divine Sword appeared in Rhodes's hand, the atmosphere between the two grew increasingly tense. The three Lowgods behind Di'ers had long since retreated some distance, making room for their leader to fight.

"Come on!" As Rhodes's words fell, Di'ers, wreathed in purple lightning, charged straight at him.

PS: Here's the first chapter, brothers. If you think it's decent after reading, please cast your recommendation votes and add it to your favorites. Thank you, everyone.