This world, utterly devoid of celestial starlight, was profoundly dark, lacking the warmth of sunlight, yet the flora thrived robustly, and the monsters hidden deep within the jungle watched their prey with cold intensity.

In that deep blackness, a sudden radiance erupted—a blinding, incandescent gold, the sole beacon in endless shadow. This fierce golden light quickly drew numerous nearby monsters, who crept forward, lying in wait.

Standing within this light, a spectacle so incongruous with the surrounding world, was a figure, tall and perfectly straight, clad in armor of dazzling brilliance. It was incredibly sturdy; no creature of this realm could pierce it to wound the heart beneath.

Thus, he strode forward boldly, moving through the jungle unchecked. Wherever he passed, the world transformed: rivers of blood flowed, chaos reigned, and corpse after corpse fell, cold and lifeless.

These corpses forged a path, leading to a tunnel of unknown destination.

Ye Chen walked slowly through the jungle, madly slaughtering every living thing he encountered, then draining their blood to absorb it into his own body, refining it into essence to strengthen himself.

Equipped with the Nine Palaces Secret Codex, the Heaven-Treading Song, and other powerful arcane arts, Ye Chen could traverse this dark world freely. All his eyes perceived was darkness, and within that darkness lay lethal ambushes.

So, though he advanced with great strides, his heart remained cautious, exceedingly meticulous; he would not misstep, nor would he take a single step carelessly.

This dark world had no sky, no starlight; it was as if a black cloth draped over everything, ensuring that all the creatures within were sightless, condemned to dwell only in the dark.

Puff!

Ye Chen lifted a hand and flicked a finger. The vast, boundless divine power within him surged out, condensing into a beam of light that pierced a monster. Foul blood streamed from the creature, staining the ground red, though no one could see the spreading crimson, for darkness enveloped everything here.

"One hundred thousand," Ye Chen murmured inwardly. "Three months have passed! Ten thousand killed on average per day!"

Ye Chen felt no pity, for since ancient times, life had either been the slaughterer or the slaughtered, and now, he was the butcher.

Strength was the cleaver.

Ye Chen lightly clenched his fist and lunged abruptly forward into the dark ahead, increasing his pace. As he passed, he carelessly unleashed his aura, attracting numerous beasts like hungry dogs scenting bone, causing them to charge madly.

These monsters did not employ siege tactics or understand unity; through countless ages in this place, they had become accustomed only to such solitary existence.

Puff! Swish! Puff!

Sounds of swift destruction occurred beneath Ye Chen’s fingers. Soon, the beasts in this region were provoked. More creatures rushed from the nearby jungle, their eyes gleaming with savage light.

Even though this blood belonged to their own kind, it could not temper the pull of the intoxicating scent, which stirred the inherent greed and bloodlust deep within their bones.

Ye Chen’s expression was icy, his black hair whipping wildly. He suddenly raised a hand and tapped once; the ground trembled slightly, and a magnificent Nine Palaces formation materialized—sumptuous, noble, supreme, entirely engulfed in roaring flames. In this pitch-black world, it resembled a divine temple!

Standing atop the Nine Palaces, Ye Chen surveyed the entire scene, swiftly deploying the Nine Palaces Guardians to unleash their onslaught.

Boom! Boom!

Explosions erupted one after another. Many monsters were blasted apart, yet even more kept charging, seemingly having lost all reason. They were utterly drawn by the alluring scent of blood, awakened by a primal, avaricious thirst.

Ye Chen’s demeanor remained cold as he mercilessly harvested these lowly, greedy lives. With a sweep of his palm, the True Dragon Art circulated, mastering his entire body. Streams of rich Demigod blood drifted up from the ground, the trees, and the rocks, flowing like whales through water, drawn along Ye Chen’s palm and into his body.

Refining! Refining!

Under the power of Devouring and the purification of the True Dragon Art, the impurities within the divine blood were stripped away. Waves of pure essence poured into his body, tempering his cellular structure, slowly strengthening his physical form.

"Level 210,000, Level 220,000…"

Ye Chen silently gauged the changes in his body. Refining each monster increased his physique by about two levels. As he grew stronger, the rate of increase gradually slowed, as if the energy contained in this blood could no longer satisfy his body's immense needs.

Ye Chen did not rush to utilize the corpses from the rune spaceship, nor the body of Zhu Feng. Time was critical; he needed to leave this shadowy world as soon as possible.

He took a deep breath, his spirit instantly energized. He took one step and plunged into the boundless darkness, initiating a new round of slaughter.

Time slipped by… Four months, five months, six months…

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

Hooom~~~

In a pitch-black stretch of jungle, a world-shattering explosion suddenly erupted, followed by a dazzling, piercing light stretching ten thousand zhang high, illuminating the entire world like a golden sun. However, following the blast, this sun slowly contracted until it finally vanished, dissipating completely.

Were it not for the scorch marks left on the ground, it would have been hard to imagine the fiercely tragic battle that had occurred there moments before.

Amidst the vast wash of blood-red light, a figure with disheveled black hair and a face covered in stubble emerged, draped in a thick, ineffaceable scent of gore, like an unparalleled demon walking out of the Netherworld.

He took a step, his eyes emitting a chilling, cold light. His aura was so palpable, so saturated with killing intent, that it rendered him unapproachable.

Bloodstains marred the Divine Flame Armor Ye Chen wore, as if it had been dyed crimson. In reality, during this period, the armor had been rinsed by blood thousands of times, yet blood was no dye. A mere flicker of divine flame could incinerate all residual blood particles, restoring the armor to its pristine state.

However, Ye Chen did not do this. Perhaps he had grown accustomed to the scent of slaughter swirling near his nose. His form flickered, and he stood upright, gazing up at the sky. Before long, that cold sky, like black fabric, slowly opened a window, allowing blinding radiance to pour in, like a white sun.

Ye Chen took a step and walked out, leaving the dark world behind him in complete severance.

The plaza was vast and spacious.

Ye Chen looked upon this familiar space, and the coldness in his eyes receded bit by bit. This was his true world, not endless butchery.

This year sounded simple in narration, but the day-and-night slaughter, had it not been for his steadfast will, would have surely turned him into a crazed demon!

Ye Chen approached the stone gate. He raised a hand, and a Water God Pearl materialized in his palm, emitting a brilliant glow that enveloped him entirely. Clear, sea-blue spring water dripped out, washing away the gore and residue clinging to his body. This blood, mixing with the clear spring water, immediately became murky and flowed down past his feet, staining a wide area of the plaza crimson.

Ye Chen frowned slightly. With a wave of his hand, he unleashed a scorching beam of light that transformed into fierce flames, instantly evaporating the blood pooling on the plaza, leaving no trace behind.

After cleansing himself, he felt entirely refreshed and invigorated.

Ye Chen clenched his fists, feeling the terrifying power coursing through him. His eyes shone brilliantly. By devouring one million Spirit Beasts, his physique had surged; in this single year, his progress had been rocket-like, leaping from Level 100,000 to Level 800,000!

He was only 200,000 levels away from breaking through to the Quasi-God Realm!

If not for the five-year covenant, Ye Chen would have remained inside, continuing the massacre... until every monster in that dark world was consumed. In that case, his physique would undoubtedly have reached the Quasi-God Realm!

With his current physique, devouring one High-Grade Spirit Beast only increased his power by about 0.5 to 1 level. Back when he was in the Ghost God Realm, consuming the corpse of one Demigod only boosted him by 1000 levels. This showed how astonishingly vast the energy required by the True Dragon Art truly was!

Furthermore, not all the blood from these million Spirit Beasts was absorbed by the True Dragon Art. Some of the remains served as nourishment, refined by Ye Chen into Quasi-God power to fill the internal consumption.

"I wonder how much physique it would take to increase by consuming the corpse of a Quasi-God?" Ye Chen pondered, though he did not immediately retrieve Zhu Feng’s body. Instead, he stood before the stone gate and said, "The assessment is passed. What is the next trial?"

The stone gate’s deep voice responded, "Assessment passed; the will was not corrupted. The first trial is complete. Now, the second trial begins!" With that, a dark aperture reappeared before Ye Chen.

Ye Chen frowned, sensing a vague, unpleasant premonition. The feeling flickered in his heart, and he crushed it utterly. Without hesitation, he strode into the dark opening.

Whoosh!

The scenery shifted abruptly, revealing a spacious, open area. This space was not gloomy like before; instead, it was brightly lit. The ground was white, the sky was white—everything was white, except for a single object suspended in the center. As Ye Chen approached, he saw it was a virtual helmet, causing him to pause.

The stone gate's low voice declared, "Wear the helmet and fulfill Condition One: complete one million matches in the battlefield stipulated within. An expert at the first level of the Demigod Realm will appear during every tenth thousandth assessment! At the five-hundred-thousandth match, an expert at the ninth level of the Demigod Realm will appear, and at the one-millionth match, the opponent will be an Early-Stage Quasi-God expert!"

"If all one million matches are completed, you will pass the assessment and receive the inheritance!"

"If you fail, all rights to the inheritance will be revoked permanently!"

"To fulfill Condition Two: proceed directly to the Ultimate Challenge Tournament, comprising ten thousand matches. Starting from the first match, opponents will be: Low-Grade Demigod, Mid-Grade Demigod, High-Grade Demigod, Peak Demigod, Demigod Level One, Demigod Level Two… through Demigod Level Nine, and finally, Early-Stage Quasi-God!"

"The time limit is ten years!"

As the stone gate finished speaking, the entire space slammed shut, leaving Ye Chen alone.