Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

After a brief silence, one of the players spoke up.

"Solomon claims to command 72 demon lords. He previously chose to refine the Archduke of Blood, which means he's likely trying to gather all 72 divine-level demons!"

"And since he's collecting divine-level demons, he must frequently enter and exit hell, which means he must have an efficient skill to connect to hell!"

"The Archduke of Blood died because other divine-level demons intervened. Solomon probably didn't know, and he sent his subordinates to investigate. It's reasonable that his subordinates possess skills to connect to hell!"

The players chimed in with their speculations.

It was true that their reasoning process was entirely flawed, but the conclusion they reached was surprisingly accurate. Sterl did have a connection to Solomon. In fact, he was Solomon himself!

…

"Let's report this."

"Our deity has said that any information related to Solomon can be exchanged for a chance to summon him."

"Alright!"

The player team was ecstatic. They didn't care much about Solomon's subordinates; what if those subordinates were incredibly powerful and could easily wipe them out? They felt it was safer to report back and grab the rewards.

…

Meanwhile, on the other side…

Slash!

The blade sliced through flesh and bone, creating a sound akin to fabric tearing.

Then, a decaying mammoth-like demon was brutally cut in half by Sterl's sword.

The surrounding toxins and various strange mists were all shredded under the effect of "One Sword Opens the Sky"!

"The blood is so thick!"

"And… the demons we encountered last time in the Principality of Florence didn't have this many additional passive skills."

"Does this mean that demons are weakened when they enter the main world?"

Sterl murmured. Nearby, the corpse of the mammoth demon rapidly transformed into countless threads, dispersing in all directions.

Sterl wasn't surprised; it was just the mechanism of hell.

When demons died, all their power and souls were decomposed into basic energy that replenished hell. That's why hell experiences far more chaos than the main world, yet it continues to give birth to powerful demons.

Sterl casually picked up the mammoth demon's remains and found a few golden orbs within, discovering several pieces of equipment. They were only third-class level with silver and gold quality, but the attributes and bonuses had reached platinum level, albeit with some side effects.

Additionally, there were some rare materials unique to demons. The experience gained was greater than that from monsters of the same level in the main world, and the blood force obtained was quite substantial.

"Even without events, farming demons is quite profitable," Sterl couldn't help but exclaim.

Following that, he wandered aimlessly through hell.

Sterl planned to activate the Blood Sacrifice Array once more to exploit a bug while also restoring his Fortune backlash status.

Now, in the layer of hell ruled by the Archduke of Blood, Sterl set out to collect some array materials and familiarize himself with the various situations in hell, preparing for future plans.

So, Sterl began his path of slaughter.

In hell, chaos reigned; it was entirely possible to encounter a third-class monster one moment, then face a legendary demigod-level boss the next.

…

An hour later, in a valley flowing with rivers of lava, Sterl unleashed an incredibly terrifying black sun. In an instant, the worm-like monsters surging toward him like a tide all dropped dead.

Hell's specialty equipment increased…

Specialty skills increased…

Blood force increased…

…

After another 15 minutes, at the edge of a ruggedly constructed temple, a demon, its entire body a fiery red with two horns sprouting from its back and wielding a massive axe, suddenly swung down from above!

Sterl casually condensed a blade and spotted the opponent's flaw. He sidestepped the axe's edge as the gale blew across his face, cutting him and drawing blood.

With a swift strike, he pierced the demon's heart, and with the Flowing Water technique, he shattered the legendary boss into countless needle-like fragments, killing it instantly.

Hell's specialty increased…

Blood force increased…

…

Sterl continued his harvest, leaving no demon standing in his wake.

As he opened up a plethora of loot orbs, he indeed gathered a significant amount of array materials.

Many vicious and intelligent demons roamed hell; they also tormented their foes, and some even descended into the main world to collect souls through torture.

Although the drop rate for array materials was low, Sterl's meticulous harvesting ensured that every demon he encountered was slain, and he quickly assembled the materials for a Blood Sacrifice Array.

And just then…

"What is this…?"

Sterl suddenly noticed over ten crimson dots appearing on his mini-map, constantly flashing.

Previously, even when he activated the faction mode, the mini-map only displayed red dart icons, indicating enemies.

Now, the flashing points seemed to be urging Sterl to go forth and kill, as if the [Transcendence] system was pushing him.

Without hesitation, he immediately enhanced his shadow shield with Stardust to extend its duration in the shadow world, and then he moved toward the glimmering points.

…

A few seconds later, in the shadow world, Sterl felt as if he were submerged underwater, surrounded by tiny bubbles.

His vision showcased the scenes of hell.

"Familiar faces?"

Sterl's expression remained unchanged.

Before him was a player team being besieged; it was the very same team that had given Sterl that potion to enhance attributes earlier.

At the same time, they were being attacked by another group of individuals who were clearly also "players."

These "players" appeared as various hellish demons, but the majority were in humanoid form, adorned with some rather grotesque "accessories."

For example, tusks, tails, and coarse fur.

As Sterl observed further, he noticed that the demon-like players, while besieging the team, suddenly began to speak.

"Gree-glee…"

The golden documents inside all the players present, including Sterl himself, began to shine brightly.

At the same time, a prompt appeared before Sterl:

[Hostile target detected—Swallowing Heaven player]

[Translation system loading…]

A progress bar rapidly filled from zero to completion.

However, Sterl had no interest in it.

"Swallowing Heaven player?"

He suddenly recalled the [Damaged Terminal] he had obtained earlier. The function of this item was not to be mentioned, but it clearly stated that there existed at least two types of players—

[Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven.

Sterl had previously speculated about Swallowing Heaven players, and now his guess had been confirmed: these players were indeed the ones in hell.

He furrowed his brow slightly.

If [Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven were two different games, why could their game worlds connect?

It could either mean that [Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven were two factions of a single game from his previous life before transmigrating, or…

Sterl thought of a more outrageous theory: [Transcendence] and Swallowing Heaven were merely ways for players to enter two worlds; they did not represent the worlds themselves…

Moreover, Sterl noticed that the activation of the translation function was accompanied by the golden document representing [Transcendence] continually shining.

"This means that this golden document likely symbolizes some sort of contract between [Transcendence] and the players…"

Sterl speculated in his mind. He suddenly recalled the scene from when he first logged into the game shortly after his transmigration.

While others logged in as infants and could hardly remember how they joined the game, Sterl entered as an adult soul.

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Upon entering [Transcendence], he had to create a character and agree to a game agreement. He hadn't thought much of it at the time; after all, various online games in his previous life also required agreeing to agreements.

Now that he thought about it—

Could it be that back then, I had already signed a contract with [Transcendence] that held extraordinary significance, which resulted in the golden document being embedded within me?

Sterl suddenly felt a sense of wariness.

However, he also understood that his conjectures were merely guesses, and he had no way of knowing the true situation…

Sterl's mind was filled with chaotic thoughts.

At that moment, the hellish players were grinning wickedly.

"Thanks for coming to deliver your heads."

"Just arrived to participate in the event and got a great start."

…

Meanwhile, the hellish players were discussing among themselves: "This round of kills is mainly for me; the next batch can go to you guys, sound good?"

"Why should it be you first?"

"Then let's do it the old way: we'll weaken these guys first, then hold a tournament?"

Despite having formed a team, the hellish players seemed extremely disunited. Even the distribution of loot was a contentious issue, and they were on the verge of coming to blows.

In the face of the hellish players' infighting, the [Transcendence] players were still being overwhelmed, unable to fight back at all.

The strength and numbers of both sides were actually quite similar.

After using Star Insight to assess the situation, Sterl found that the strongest on the [Transcendence] side were three complete-level demigods, while the hellish players had two complete-level demigods, with the rest being incomplete-level demigods on both sides.

However, the disparity in combat power was immense!

At this moment, on the battlefield, one of the [Transcendence] players, a complete-level demigod, wielded a scythe radiating a soft blue glow. As he swung it, the gusts of wind created by his movements caused the environment within hundreds of meters to change color.

Streams of auspicious energy rapidly converged toward his attack point.

The momentum was terrifying!

However, on the other side, the equivalent hellish player, wielding a crimson gauntlet, was crouching low, slowly gathering power.

His aura was extremely condensed. As he charged his power, the robust figure of the hellish player quickly became lean and emaciated, as if his life force was being drained.

Finally, over a hundred sharp energies gathered, and the hellish player suddenly launched a punch.

No frills, just a simple and brutal uppercut.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three muffled sounds echoed. At the first sound, countless sword energies were shattered!

The hellish player's Flame Fist shot forth and forcefully disrupted the [Transcendence] player's Platinum Skill.

At the second sound, the very fabric of space seemed on the verge of being shattered by the rapid impact.

The hellish player surged forward a thousand miles in an instant!

At the third sound, the hellish player's punch directly struck the [Transcendence] demigod in the chest, pulverizing his internal organs, and half of the body was scorched to ash.

Then, the [Transcendence] demigod activated a life-saving item, slowly reassembling his form.

But his face turned pale, and he knelt on the ground.