Chapter 339: Realization

“You’re here?” Rod smiled gently at Ada, feeling relieved. Being with her always brought a sense of ease—free and comfortable.
“Mm, was the trip to the Death Battlefield smooth this time?” Ada asked, her gaze complex as she looked at Rod.
“Pretty fine!” Rod replied, gazing into the distance as if recalling the past half year.
“The pro-war faction has allied with the Wolf Clan, along with the Mi Jiao tribe and some smaller families! Things might get tough from now on—the opposition will bear the brunt!” Rod frowned slightly and sighed, looking at Ada with concern.
“Yeah, some actions have already been taken. But in the short term, the pro-war faction can’t overwhelm us yet. Darknight City’s thousand-year legacy won’t collapse so easily!” Though she spoke to Rod with a smile, worry still showed in her eyes.
The pro-war faction was on the rise, leaving the opposition with no way out. Others might not know, but as a princess of the opposition and future heir, Ada understood the situation better than anyone. The opposition was in grave danger, but…
Thinking of her sister Eileen, a cold look appeared in Ada’s eyes. She had gathered quite a bit of information lately, and Eileen’s behavior had disappointed her greatly.
“Is there any trouble? Can I help?” Rod asked, sensing Ada’s concern and wanting to assist her.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry—the opposition won’t face major problems. I’ll handle it. As for you, if you have any troubles, tell me. Though we can’t control everything yet, I can still offer some help! Trust me, the opposition will be useful to you in the near future!” Ada took a deep breath and spoke firmly, her determined gaze growing stronger as she looked at Rod, feeling resolute.
“Any progress on the Troll tribe?” Before Rod could respond, Ada continued.
She naturally knew about the Troll tribe and could even guess many things—especially after learning Rod’s identity. She understood how much burden rested on his shoulders as a descendant of the Trolls.
“The Troll tribe?” Rod seemed distracted, sighing and murmuring to himself before exuding a sigh. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. It’s time for the Troll tribe to step forward!”

Rod’s words made him freeze for a moment, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, followed by a bitter smile. He should have expected this outcome—how could such a powerful race as the trolls be destroyed? As expected, they had merely hidden themselves. It seemed his guesses were quite accurate; the trolls were waiting to reappear.
The Dark Source region was now destined to be completely in chaos, with no family able to stay untouched.
At a loss for words, he slowly walked over to Rod and said, “May I rest my head on your shoulder?”
Rod didn’t speak, which amounted to agreeing to Aida’s request, though hesitation flashed in his eyes.
Feeling Aida rest her head on his shoulder, the two sat side by side, letting the cold winter wind blow, enjoying the coolness. The winters in the Mountain of Darkness were indeed much warmer than elsewhere.
Yet no one noticed that, just dozens of meters away, a figure stood frozen, staring at the two of them. After a long while, that figure disappeared into the night with a look of desolation.
The next day, members of several major families gathered in the Black Phoenix clan’s hall to discuss how to resist the war faction and the Wolf Clan. Rod didn’t participate in this discussion; it was better for the families to negotiate among themselves. Instead, Rod was already thinking about what he needed to do next.
There were still many matters to deal with in the coming time. With chaos approaching, his mood inevitably grew gloomy.
It was time to get in touch with the Scorpion King clan to find out what their relationship was with the trolls.
On another note, the Nether Realm would reopen in half a year, and he still hadn’t collected one of the required materials—the one held by the war faction. He needed to find a way to obtain it as soon as possible.
Naturally, it was also time to contact the Nightingale group. After nearly four years, he wondered what progress those people had made. It was time to seek information from the Scorpion King clan, hoping they could offer some help at this critical moment.
As for the issues on the continent, Rod wasn’t too worried. He had heard more or less from that guy, Sognar, about the situation outside—it seemed the demon race was in quite trouble.

Sure enough, thousands of years are enough to change many things. Today, the vast continent has billions of people—far beyond what it was a thousand years ago. Although there are internal turmoil and strife, in such a critical moment of survival, everyone unites.

Some previously unknown powerful beings have emerged! Divine-level? Perhaps they were once among the top-tier fighters; the continent’s top ten strongest were just ten divine-level fighters, with some even at the early stages of divine power.

But now, that’s nothing. It is said that there are already hundreds of divine-level fighters visible, and even many who surpass divine level. Such strength has taken the demons by surprise and caused them great losses. However, after establishing a small kingdom, they could no longer make any progress. That’s why they allied with the wolf tribe—likely with little effect in the short term.

A cool breeze blew, and these past two days, Rod had been able to focus fully on his cultivation in the Abyssal Mountains.

Truly, it’s a great place—especially for him. The abundant fire element here greatly aided him. After all, his elemental essence was still fire, so cultivating here was twice as effective! Faintly, Rod could sense a massive energy at the peak of the Abyssal Mountains—perhaps what was known as the Abyssal Hellfire. Rod felt it could be very helpful to him, so he was planning to visit soon, hoping to gain unexpected benefits and advance further.

Light footsteps came to his ears, prompting Rod to look behind him. It wasn’t out of concern for danger—if danger could exist in the Abyssal Villa of the Black Phoenix Clan, then perhaps there was no safe place in the world.

“Elder Locke!” Seeing who it was, Rod said with a wry smile.

Sure enough, whatever he thought about would happen. There he was—Elder Locke from the Scorpion King Clan, arriving here.

“You kid, you disappeared for half a year without a trace. Damn it, have you forgotten what I told you? When are you going to visit the Scorpion King Clan? Isn’t there anything you need to know about the Netherworld?” Locke complained, looking at Rod in confusion.

“As I thought~!” Hearing Locke’s words, Rod smiled slightly, thinking to himself that the Scorpion King Clan was indeed not ordinary and seemed well-informed about matters within the Netherworld.

“Never mind, I’m too busy to talk to you kid. I need to hurry. You don’t need to go to our clan either; someone will come for you tomorrow. Hehe, be prepared mentally then—don’t get scared!” Lock revealed a sinister smile at Rod, making him shiver involuntarily.
“You’re leaving?” Though he didn’t know who would come tomorrow, Rod could tell that Lock was leaving, and he was somewhat surprised.
“Yeah, time to go. Hehe, see you again when you have time!” With that, Lock turned and rushed outside, as quick and decisive as ever, leaving Rod puzzled.
Gazing at the darkness, he felt something was off about this whole situation, but he decided not to overthink it. He would find out tomorrow anyway.
Back in his room, with nothing to do, he continued practicing. As time passed, Rod felt he was getting closer to that barrier, which filled him with joy. During these two days of practice, he noticed subtle changes in his internal Dou Qi, though slight, they were still detectable.
As the Fire Element grew, he made further progress. Back in the Death Battlefield, his Dou Qi had surged to the later stage of the Yin Yellow realm due to the Death Valley, but later, the death energy and malevolent aura offered no help at all, which was why he left the valley early.
Now, here, the absorption of the Fire Element finally gave him a sense of evolution. Could it be…?
Rod’s heart skipped a beat. Vaguely, he sensed the key—yes, he caught a hint. His Dou Qi was now extremely unique; no one knew exactly what was going on. Just as that elder in the Netherworld had told him, he could only move forward by exploring on his own. It might propel him to great heights or hold him back, like a double-edged sword. Used well, the benefits were obvious; used poorly, it would harm him.
His current Dou Qi contained killing intent, Fire Element, Lightning Element, Dark Element, as well as malevolent and death energy. To improve his abilities, he might need to balance all aspects. Improving just one aspect might trap him at a certain level.
With this realization, Rod felt a sudden clarity, as if enlightened. Yes, balance was essential.

In the Mountains of the Netherworld, the elements here are rich in lightning, fire, and darkness. The Netherworld Hellfire is a combination of darkness and fire! The absorption of these three elements has reached a state of balance to some extent, coupled with the killing aura from the battles in the Field of Death over this period of time—this has led to signs of his breakthrough.
Thinking of this, Rod was overjoyed. He turned his head toward the mountain peak, realizing that he must go there no matter what.