Chapter 103: A Supergod-Level Existence

“Hmm, this kid’s strength is indeed weak!” Hearing Lilith’s words, Xuanfeng agreed. Yet inwardly, he wondered why the trolls would send someone like this to the Void Space. Could there be some reason behind it? On the other hand, he was also amazed by Rod’s age. It seemed he was only in his twenties, yet he had already reached the later stage of the Saint level. With just one more step, he could enter the God level. Although the trolls had exceptional talents, achieving such a level at this age was still truly remarkable—proving that the younger generation always surpasses the older.

Of course, Sognar couldn’t help but complain about Lilith’s arrangements. In his view, wasting time like this meant he didn’t know how long it would take to escape the Void Space. The gravity ahead was as high as 20,000 times normal. Without reaching the quasi-god level, it would be extremely difficult to resist such gravity!

Ever since leaving his territory with Lilith and Rod that day, Sognar had longed desperately for the outside world. Having stayed in this desolate Void Space for nearly a thousand years, he didn’t want to waste any more time there. He wished he could fly out right away. If it weren’t for his dragon soul being absorbed by the Dark Dragon Art, he might have already escaped by now.

Amidst his complaints, the group entered Xuanfeng’s cave to settle down temporarily. For Rod, pressure was immense at the moment. Driven by this pressure, he didn’t want to waste a single minute and immediately began practicing. The fact that he had become a burden filled him with frustration and heaviness. But as someone who never accepted defeat, he turned this pressure into motivation and started practicing frantically.

At the very moment they entered Xuanfeng’s cave, thousands of meters away in another cave, an old man slowly withdrew his mental energy. “Hey, it seems it’s time to get these old bones moving again!” he murmured with a sigh. He was well aware of everything that had happened recently, including what was going on here. In fact, not even the slightest movement within the entire Void Space escaped his observation. At this level, doing so was as easy as reaching into one’s pocket.

At the moment that this mental force retreated, a faint smile appeared on Lilith’s lips: “Old fellow, you saw that, right? I wonder if you still remember our original agreement?”
…
“That old guy isn’t easy to persuade. What do you plan to do?” One day, after resting for nearly half a month, the group set off again. Looking at the dark forest ahead, Xuanfeng frowned and asked Lilith.
Rod spent over ten days in Xuanfeng’s cave. During that time, he was utterly dedicated—using every spare moment aside from necessary meals for cultivation, not wasting a single second! This made the others marvel at his perseverance. Xuanfeng finally understood why this guy had achieved such success: with natural talent and such relentless effort, it was hard not to progress.
Though he still couldn’t fully overcome the immense pressure after this period of cultivation, he could barely hold on. Moreover, Rod made a startling discovery: under the terrifying pressure and at the limits of his endurance, his combat energy seemed to be compressed and merged under that pressure, and he faintly sensed some progress!
There was no doubt that a day of cultivation here was equivalent to dozens of days outside. Although his combat energy seemed reduced after compression, its concentration had greatly increased—definitely at a higher level than before. The density of the vortex in his dantian was now as thick as rice paste, on the verge of solidifying. Vaguely, he could sense the threshold of the quasi-divine realm.
To reach the quasi-divine or even divine realm, a crucial requirement was to continuously compress combat energy to an extreme degree, eventually turning the vortex in the dantian into a combat energy crystal. The formation of this crystal marked entry into the quasi-divine realm!
Once this combat energy crystal formed, all of his combat energy would flow around it through the meridians, generating continuous effects. When the crystal fully solidified and developed crystalline patterns, it would signify his entry into the divine realm.

Naturally, the formation of combat energy crystals is extremely difficult. This is why, over the years, there have been many saints, but those who reach the divine level are as rare as phoenix feathers or unicorn horns! The formation of crystals requires a high level of compression and concentration of combat energy.

What Rod didn’t know was how much benefit he had received in this forest. Although the pressure was terrifying, it unknowingly helped him complete this most difficult step, constantly compressing and condensing the energy without him even realizing it, with remarkable results. In this void space, it was essentially a shortcut to the divine level!

Over these days, Rod gradually became more harmonious with Lilith and the others. Sognar also stopped complaining idly all the time, though the look he gave Rod whenever he saw his Furnace Sky form made Rod shudder with fear—it seemed as if he wanted to devour it. As a dark-type dragon, Sognar could consume the essence of any other type to enhance his own power, so Furnace Sky was undoubtedly a huge asset to him.

Releasing all his combat energy and, even under such heavy gravity, incorporating Lilith’s advice to form a combat energy avatar, the group slowly moved forward. Rod’s exceptionally magnificent combat energy avatar sparked jealousy and envy in Sognar and the others! Indeed, this set of armor looked truly majestic! As for the Black Flame Armor, Rod had quietly put it away the day he met Sognar—he didn’t want to lose something he had just obtained.

With the help of his combat energy avatar, the 15,000-fold gravity no longer seemed so burdensome. Due to the massive consumption of combat energy, the group accelerated their pace forward.

There was still 5,000 meters left. After that distance, they would reach their next destination. It was said that there was a being beyond the divine level there—a fire-type dragon. So, at Lilith and Xuanfeng’s suggestion, Rod put Furnace Sky back inside his body to avoid unnecessary trouble.

The 5,000-meter distance took the group nearly ten days to cover. With the help of their combat energy avatar, the journey wasn’t as difficult, but the consumption of combat energy was enormous, especially under such heavy gravity. Often, after traveling a certain distance, they needed a day or even two to recover. The group, having gotten used to this, no longer complained.

“Well, this is the old guy’s territory!” On this day, as they reached the foot of a massive hill, Lilith and the others finally stopped and spoke slowly.

Twenty thousand times the normal gravity—such immense pressure made it difficult even for Sognar to remain composed; Rod, too, felt extremely uncomfortable. Rod was already fighting hard against the gravity. Without the help of his Combat Qi avatar, he likely would have given up by now.

Under such heavy gravity, Rod’s Combat Qi continued to condense and compress. The cyclone within him moved much slower. Yet Rod didn’t notice that solid substances had begun to form within his cyclone. If anyone had observed carefully at that moment, they would have been shocked—this was a sign that he had reached the advanced stage of the Sacred level and was beginning to transition toward the quasi-divine level. With just one more step, he might be able to successfully form a Combat Qi core, allowing him to ascend to the divine realm that so many dreamed of reaching.

“Have you guys finally arrived?” Before Rod could observe the hill more closely, an aged voice suddenly came from within it. Though old, the voice was strong and resounding!

Soon, a red light appeared atop the hill. As the light continued to condense and merge, it gradually became clearer and took on a tangible form.

In less than a moment, a figure appeared before them, stepping forward toward them one by one. With each step, the figure became more solid. After eight steps, it had fully taken shape as a normal human being! This sight shocked Rod greatly. Lilith and the others wore complex expressions, with a hint of envy in their eyes—this was a characteristic sign of surpassing the divine realm and entering that higher state: the solidification of nothingness.

As the old man drew closer, an invisible pressure grew stronger, making it hard for the four of them to breathe. Rod, in particular, felt suffocated, as if a towering figure of nothingness was pressing down on them.

“Lord Gary, I never expected that after thirty years apart, you’ve made such great progress!” After taking a deep breath, Xuanfeng said with a bitter smile as he looked at the old man. Though only a thin distance separated them, it felt as vast as the ocean. He was still far from being able to reach him.

“Descendant of the trolls… The aura from that day must have been emitted by that person. I didn’t expect him to be so punctual—exactly thirty years. I thought no one would come, but here you are!” Ignoring Xuanfeng’s words, the old man turned to look at Rod, his expression complex as he gazed into the distance, seemingly recalling something.

“Lord Gary…”

“Enough, Lilith. You’ve made quite progress. I understand what you want to say. As for this kid, Sognar, he’s still at the intermediate stage of the divine level. It seems you haven’t put in much effort over these thousand years!” The old man interrupted Lilith with a sigh.

“Kid, you’re about to reach the divine level. Not bad. Truly his descendant—he hasn’t disgraced his reputation!” Turning to Rod, the old man spoke slowly. His words shocked both Rod and everyone present—about to reach the divine level? This was something even Rod himself hadn’t realized.