The Pope stared at Kei, utterly baffled. Risking his life just for the sake of a challenge—how childish could he be?
But Kei stepped forward toward the magic circle. Just entering it would teleport him directly into the Gate of Hell.
"No one has ever returned from there. Please think carefully," the Pope warned, shaking his head helplessly as Kei vanished in a flash of light.
The demon's left eye opened.
Inside the Gate of Hell — Sublevel One.
After a moment of brief dizziness, Kei found himself inside a pitch-black cavern. But with his ability to perceive darkness, he wasn't affected.
"My energy is completely suppressed. Even my body strength is weakened. Impressive cage."
Everyone who entered the Gate of Hell had their power capped at the divine level. Kei was no exception now.
He began walking through the dark tunnels to explore the area.
Rustle, rustle—
He sensed something swiftly approaching. Moments later, countless pale arms came flying toward him.
At their ends were long, sharp claws. Upon spotting Kei, they lunged at him.
"These things... must be the so-called 'Hands of Control.' Once they slap your head, they mark you with the word 'Mine.' Other than that, though, they're weak."
Kei released his aura. Without even raising a hand, his pressure alone crushed the grasping hands into a pool of minced meat.
After clearing the monsters, he continued onward. Soon, he noticed the surroundings went eerily silent.
"No… not silent—there's simply no data coming in. My senses are blocked from all external feedback."
After some analysis, Kei realized the interference wasn't from within—it was that the outside world was completely cut off from him.
In the darkness, an armored figure stared intently at Kei.
"What's with this guy?! He obliterated the hands without even lifting a finger. And even after I blocked all perception, he's still calm?"
Then it dawned on the observer that Kei was staring directly at him!
"No way—he can see me? My sensory-blocking field should completely erase all information! How can he see me?!"
Panic set in. The figure—called the Perception Bird—backed away quietly, preparing for his next move.
SLASH!
In the next instant, a blade of sword energy slashed through him, cutting his armor and body clean in two.
Kei stepped out of the perception-blocking field, grabbing the halved Perception Bird by the neck.
"Blocking perception's a neat trick."
"But useless on me."
"You underestimated me, didn't you, humanoid! I don't die that easily—!"
The Perception Bird suddenly exploded into action—but failed.
"I—I can't activate my ability! What did you do to me?!"
He had planned to parasitize Kei, but his body was completely frozen—even his natural gifts were sealed!
"I'll give you a choice: take me to your base… or die right now. Choose."
Kei ignored his desperate questions and presented the options.
The base of the first underground layer was controlled by the 'Matriarch of the Grasping Hands.'
"I—I'll never betray the Matriarch! Never!"
"Then die."
"Wait! Wait, we can talk! I-I can take you there!"
Reluctantly, the Perception Bird agreed—pretending to comply while secretly scheming.
"This is my plant-based humanoid breeding site. With so many green plant warriors, we can definitely kill him!"
He led Kei to a greenhouse-like battlefield, where human-shaped plants charged in waves.
Kei swept his sword.
All gone.
"Too weak. Next spot."
"Y-Yes, right away…"
The Perception Bird grew increasingly terrified, truly reevaluating Kei.
"He looks like a low-level human from a primitive planet… but how is he this strong?! Was that sword energy some innate ability?!"
He realized no ambush would work and led Kei to a den of subterranean dragons.
They looked like enormous electric worms—powerful, capable of regeneration and multiplication even when sliced apart.
"Not bad. Their splitting ability is cool. Roasted one tastes good, too. Next."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
Watching Kei devour a poisonous dragon without flinching, the Perception Bird was horrified.
"What is this freak?! Even their blood is toxic! He just ate it like chicken!"
Running out of options, he led Kei back to their true base—a massive underground cavern.
As they entered, Kei looked up and noticed the ceiling was covered in the Grasping Hands.
Now it all made sense.
"I thought it was just coincidence I ran into you so soon. Turns out, you sent your hands to find me."
Those dismembered Hands of Control had been scouts. The Perception Bird was harvesting anything they found.
But now his usefulness had ended.
Kei casually killed him.
"You… you said you wouldn't kill me if I led you—!"
"I never said that. I said I wouldn't kill you right away."
He understood the look in his enemy's eyes and clarified the fine print.
With that settled, the true boss appeared.
The Matriarch of the Grasping Hands—one of the universe's strongest parasitic species.
She was massive, several stories tall, with four arms and four eyes—abstract and grotesque in design.
"What a delicious scent… if I eat you, I can definitely break out of this prison!"
She showed no reaction to the Perception Bird's death. She had no concept of kinship—her spawn were merely tools.
"I've never met anyone who wanted to eat me before."
Kei stepped forward.
In the next second, the battle was over.
So much for "dangerous creatures in the Gate of Hell." This was it?
The Matriarch had already been cut into hundreds of pieces by a single sword strike.
"I'd kill you in a flash if not for this stupid gravity field suppressing me."
Even torn apart, she wasn't dead yet—her vitality was tremendous. But Kei was already inspecting her with scientific curiosity.
"She's strong… but just like Gourmet Cells, she eats everything indiscriminately to evolve. Her method's too crude."
Her body absorbed and fused with strong genes to evolve. It looked efficient, but in truth, it was a dead end.
"You dare look down on me?! You'll regret this!"
But Kei had already sealed her regenerative points. If not for his research interest, she'd be dead already.
"Yes, I do look down on you."
"Your method of merging genes to grow stronger is just a shortcut. Have you never thought of surpassing your limits on your own?"
"If your entire evolution depends on fusion, you'll never truly become supreme."
Though both were divine-level, the gap in actual strength between Kei and the Matriarch was immense.
A few moments later, her life force faded. Her last sight was of Kei, staring back with black hair and yellow skin.
In her final moment, she seemed to remember something—but it was already too late.
While Kei was studying her corpse, he discovered something odd—an angel and a demon, both with wings, still alive.
"The Matriarch didn't manage to parasitize them?"
He slapped them both awake. The moment they opened their eyes, they began fighting.
"Despicable demon!"
"Hypocritical angel!"
Their battle intensity surpassed even the Matriarch.
"Quiet."
Kei casually struck them both with a sword, sealing their bodies and dropping them to the ground. They stared at him in shock.
"You first," he said to the angel. "Tell me how your kind grows stronger."
"We should be allies, human! Help me defeat that demon!"
"Answer my question first."
"What do you mean?"
"How do angels grow stronger?"
She paused, confused.
"Our strength is fixed by birth. Two-winged angels, four-winged Archangels, six-winged Seraphs… as we absorb more energy and mature, we gain power."
"Another stat-based race…"
Kei sighed.
These races had high innate potential but never truly researched how to break limits.
But humans were different—fragile by birth, they created intricate paths of cultivation through trial and error.
The Flame Nation's martial arts were born this way.
First, internal energy was used to nourish the body. As the body grew stronger, it could host more energy.
From human rank to heavenly rank, until the body reached its limit.
Breaking that limit required transformation—becoming something beyond human. That was the challenge.
Kei had read countless books and discovered the next stage: breaking through the divine level.
Ordinary humans, even at the peak of heavenly rank, lived at most 120 years.
But divine-level humans could live to 300, or even 500 with the right longevity methods.
The secret to this transformation was the fusion of Essence, Energy, and Spirit.
You couldn't break the limit with just raw power—you needed balance and perfection in all aspects.
That's why some like Ye Wumian, who had the talent, never broke through—his body had flaws from a youthful injury that left his heart damaged.
Even when Kei healed him, age had already weakened his vitality. It was too late.
When Kei asked the demon about her kind's training, the answer was similar to the angel's—fixed growth, gain energy, get stronger. No real method.
"Looks like Flame Nation's path is still the most refined. But how do I break through the divine ceiling?"
All records mentioned just two words: Enter the Dao.
But what did that even mean?
"Kill the demon already, human!" the angel yelled. "She's an evil space pirate! She must be destroyed!"
"You angels aren't much better. You fight us just for resources and pretend it's for peace. What a joke."
The demon shot a seductive look at Kei. "Blue Planet boy, kill her for me and I'll give you whatever you want~"
Kei said nothing. He casually killed her.
Then turned to the angel.
"Being too strong is annoying. I can't even find a way to grow anymore."
"Ordinary training doesn't exhaust me. I don't feel growth."
"I haven't tasted the fruit of progress in a long time…"
Kei was too strong. The old methods—running, push-ups, fighting in dangerous places—meant nothing now.
He wanted to struggle, to work hard—but couldn't.
"After this, come with me into space. There are plenty of powerful beings there. But first, could you release my bindings?"
"Oh, right. I forgot about you."
He promptly killed the angel too.
"Sorry, I'm from the Flame Nation. We don't believe in angels or gods."
He turned and left.
In a nearby pool, he found a passage to the upper level.
Upon reaching it, he took a deep breath.
"Much better than that dark basement. These green man-eating plants sure grow well."
One tried to attack—he sliced it, tasted it. Not bad.
He kept walking, munching anything that looked edible. No fear of poison—his body was immune.
"Tastes plain, but full of energy. Too bad it's all greens…"
He wasn't picky—just really preferred meat.
(End of Chapter)
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