Chapter Thirteen — Begin the Hell Training
There was nothing.
No sky.
No horizon.
No sound.
An endless void stretched in every direction, empty and silent, as if existence itself had been erased.
My body felt… light.
Too light.
That alone sent a chill down my spine.
Bad omens never announced themselves loudly. They whispered.
Then I noticed it.
Surrounding me, far beyond the limits of sight, was a colossal energy barrier—an immense shield spanning thousands of meters in every direction. Beneath my feet, a hundred meters below the hard black ground, an enormous formation array glowed faintly, its runes layered upon runes, complex beyond comprehension.
Instinctively, I spread my senses.
The moment they touched the space beyond the barrier—
My heart nearly stopped.
An overwhelming gravity pressed down on my perception, vast and merciless, like a god placing its foot upon an ant. My senses screamed in alarm as if they were about to be crushed outright.
That shield…
It wasn't trapping me inside.
It was protecting me from what lay beyond.
Cold laughter echoed behind me.
I turned to see my grandfather watching calmly, his sharp eyes gleaming with amusement at the fear that had flickered across my face.
But the fear didn't last.
Excitement replaced it.
Challenge.
A fire ignited in my eyes.
With my Fifth Transformation, I could withstand that gravity—at least for a time.
My grandfather noticed.
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, pleased that I hadn't frozen or shaken.
SNAP.
Reality warped.
In an instant, a massive iron suit materialized around my body through the power of creation itself. It encased me completely—like a fusion of a knight's armor and something far more ancient—leaving only my face and hair exposed.
The weight hit me like a collapsing mountain.
My muscles screamed.
Sweat drenched my body within seconds.
This wasn't normal weight.
This was over one hundred thousand tons.
I clenched my teeth, forcing my body to adapt, every fiber tightening under the pressure.
Then—
As if that wasn't enough—
Gravity surged.
My legs buckled.
I slammed to one knee as an unimaginable force crushed down on me, trying to grind my bones into dust.
This gravity was at least a million times what I had trained under before.
Back in the clan, gravity training had been gradual—merciful even.
This?
This was execution.
Every nerve burned with agony. My Dragon God and Beast God physique prevented my body from collapsing completely, but pain flooded my senses, threatening to overwrite my consciousness.
"You have five minutes," my grandfather said coldly.
"To rest."
I ignored him.
Instead, I regulated my breathing and activated the Beast God Breathing Art, followed by several others I had mastered.
My body began absorbing ambient energy like a starving beast.
Then my heart sank.
There was barely any energy to absorb.
This place was barren.
The five-minute countdown felt like a scythe hovering over my neck.
Powering up crossed my mind—but I dismissed it.
If I relied on raw strength, this training would become meaningless.
Then a darker idea surfaced.
Break my body.
Again.
And again.
And again.
I forced myself upright, activating the Flame Burst Breathing Art, detonating my physical power internally.
The weight and gravity ceased to be the immediate problem.
The environment became the enemy.
The air compressed into something resembling molten plasma, searing my lungs with every breath. Temperatures fluctuated violently—scorching heat one moment, bone-freezing cold the next—forcing constant adaptation.
I activated the Demonic Breathing Art.
Unlike orthodox techniques that emphasized efficiency, demonic arts demanded excess—pushing the body beyond its limits for explosive power.
Without monstrous regeneration, one would simply die.
In ninety seconds, I stood.
Twenty seconds later, my breathing stabilized.
My grandfather watched silently.
"This is hell training," his voice echoed.
"In two minutes, you adapted to the gravity."
He paused.
"If you increase your energy or transform, the armor will grow heavier. The gravity will rise. The environment will worsen."
"The air will feel like molten metal. Plasma and violet radiation will tear at your body."
Then—
"Now… we begin."
A portal opened a hundred meters ahead.
A figure stepped through.
The temperature skyrocketed.
The ground beneath his feet melted, sinking inward with every step.
The air screamed as it turned into raging plasma.
Burnt earth and magma filled my senses.
Diiing!
> System Upgrade Complete
A blue window appeared.
> Opponent: Thragun
Age: 412 Cycles
Realm: Divine Realm — Peak Third Stage
Path: Flames & Body
Laws: Hellfire, Earth, Magma, Space
Title: The Unbroken Wall of Flames
Note: Subordinate of your grandfather. Veteran of the Neraphyx Breach.
A Cycle…
One galactic orbit.
Over two hundred million years.
I dismissed the screen and focused.
Thragun towered over me, his body resembling molten stone forged into muscle. Obsidian metal reinforced his armor, radiating lethal heat.
Before I could adjust—
BOOM!
The ground imploded.
Too fast.
A fist slammed into my chest, launching me backward.
Pain exploded through my body.
Before I could recover—
He vanished.
BAM!
A blow to the back of my head.
An uppercut followed, lifting me inches off the ground before gravity dragged me back down.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
A merciless barrage.
My armor shifted, exposing flesh deliberately—forcing me to endure the strikes directly.
The weight redistributed, concentrating on my limbs and neck.
Movement became hell.
The beating continued.
Years passed.
My body blackened with scars.
The armor grew heavier.
Gravity increased endlessly.
Energy was sealed, reduced to droplets.
Then—
BBBBBOOOOOM!
A full-force hell blast engulfed me.
The world exploded.
I sank into magma.
Crushed.
Burned.
Consumed.
A giant magma hand lifted me, squeezing.
I was seconds from annihilation.
Then—
I snapped.
Demonic Breathing erupted fully.
Red lightning tore through my body.
Devourer and Flameborn arts activated simultaneously.
Blackness spread across my skin.
A singularity formed within me.
BOOOOOOM!
Everything vanished.
When Thragun looked again—
Only a crater remained.
Then—
A crimson egg rose from the abyss.
Cracked.
I emerged.
Fully restored.
Eyes blazing red.
Lightning dancing.
I locked my gaze onto Thragun.
My voice echoed like judgment.
"Round two begins now."
The abyss repeated my words.
Hell training had truly begun.