"So satisfying..."


    Watching as the five gods disintegrated into ash, Sterl nodded in satisfaction. While he hadn''t sustained any injuries from their earlier ambush, the experience had left him feeling a bit unsettled. Now, not only had he yed with them, but he had also eliminated thempletely, and naturally, his mood was elevated.


    This was the mindset Sterl had now adopted—he could no longer tolerate any annoyance or interference. If something upset him, he would simply destroy the source of it.


    But this relentless pursuit of strength had always been for this very moment, hadn''t it? To do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without constraint. His fate was now fully in his own hands!


    Of course, he could only im partial control over his fate for now. The higher he climbed, the broader his perspective became, and he began to realize that the world wasn''t as simple as he had once believed.


    Whether it was [Transcendence], or the recently discovered Endless Void, which had even made the Orichalcum kingdom wary, what secrets did it hide? And what of the mysterious Dreand, the origins of his cheat, and the true nature of the impending catastrophe?


    Until he had fully uncovered and resolved all of these mysteries, he couldn''t truly say he hadplete control over his destiny. After all, the unknown was the greatest source of instability, and it could destroy everything he had built at any given moment.


    With that thought in mind, his expression turned to one of anticipation. While he could have used the Followers'' Mark to capture these five gods, pretending to let them go, he had instead chosen to eliminate them all. One reason was for his own satisfaction, and the other was to see how much soul power the Soul Devourer Sphere would extract from refining the gods'' divine souls.


    It was true that most gods didn''t ce much value on strengthening their souls, and their soul levels were generally quite low. But one thing was certain—the souls of gods were entirely different from those of mortals.


    Even if a god perished, as long as their divine soul wasn''t annihted, they could eventually revive. Just like the mysterious will Sterl had encountered when he gained the human race divine authority, or Felicia, who had been absorbed into Faye''s body. These had been gods who should have fallen, yet because of the unique nature of their divine souls, their will could persist, waiting for the chance to awaken.


    Soon, he felt a sudden burst of terrifying suction from the Soul Devourer Sphere in his hand. The next moment, in a ne of existence where no one could see, on the soul level...


    The five divine souls, each radiating with a multicolored aura, were pulled into the Soul Devourer Sphere by its terrifying suction. These five souls were, unmistakably, the souls of the God of Space and the other four gods!


    "No! What is this? What is this!?"


    "Please, no! Spare me! I will forever submit to you and be your most loyal servant!"


    "Why? How could you capture our divine souls!?"


    The five divine souls screamed in terror. From their current perspective, they could only see one thing: in Sterl''s hand was a terrifying object, one that resembled a ck hole, pulling them toward it with unstoppable force. They didn''t know what it was, but their divine instincts screamed that this object was extremely dangerous. If they were sucked into it, their souls would be destroyed, utterly obliterated, with no chance of resurrection!


    Unfortunately for them, once the Soul Devourer Sphere activated, as long as the wielder could withstand the bacsh from the soul, no divine soul could resist its pull.


    With cries of agony and terror, the five divine souls were dragged into the Soul Devourer Sphere and began to be swiftly refined.


    "Ahhh!!! No! I don''t want to die!"


    "It hurts so much! My body... my body is melting!"


    "Who are you? What kind of monster are you!?"


    The five gods'' souls were utterly consumed by despair. As they entered the Soul Devourer Sphere, it felt like being cast into a purgatory filled with hellish divine mes, and there was no exit. They could do nothing but watch as they were slowly annihted.


    "Hades! I curse you! I curse you!!"


    "One day, you too will fall, and you will suffer the same fate as us!"


    Sterl, however, remained calm as he listened to the screams and curses echoing from the sphere.


    "Oh? Is that so..."


    "If that day everes for me, it will only prove that I wasn''t strong enough. This world is a ce where the weak are preyed upon by the strong, and I... will only be the strongest."


    Having already embarked on this irreversible path, Sterl had long since prepared himself for the possibility of his own fall. After all, every mission he hadpleted, every precious artifact he had obtained, hade with risk and danger.n/?/vel/b//in dot c//om


    A greenhouse can never cultivate true strength—only weakness. Sterl understood this all too well. As much as his cheat had shaped his path, it was more of a reflection of his will and determination than any mere advantage.


    Without the cheat, he might not have reached this height, but he never would have settled for mediocrity.


    Following a chilling scream, the five divine souls werepletely refined. At the same time, a powerful shockwave suddenly surged into Sterl''s soul. Fortunately, though the bacsh was strong, the number of souls resisting him was far fewer than he had anticipated. With the strength of his own soul, he managed to endure it without much difficulty.


    Sterl took a deep breath. Though his soul remained mostly unharmed, the resistance and struggles of the five divine souls had still left him feeling a bit ufortable. After a brief moment of recovery, he immediately turned his attention to the Soul Devourer Sphere to check on the soul energy.


    Inside the Soul Devourer Sphere, to his surprise, the soul energy reserve still read as 0. But there was a new entry disyed, and it caught his attention:


    [High-Level Soul Energy Reserve: 50]


    [Normal Soul Energy Reserve: 0]


    "Divine souls... refined into high-level soul energy?" Sterl was taken aback. He looked at the Soul Devourer Sphere in his hand. The dark purple glow on its surface seemed to have deepened, as though something was subtly changing within it after the refinement of the divine souls.


    However, no new information emerged, so Sterl didn''t know the full extent of the high-level soul energy''s potential or how it would affect him.


    What surprised him even more was that from just five divine souls, only 50 units of high-level soul energy had been refined. That was far from insignificant. This item was certainly no simple object, though now was not the time for experimentation. After all, he didn''t know how absorbing such potent soul energy might bacsh against him, or whether there would be any restrictions in the process. Until he could ensure his environment waspletely safe, he wouldn''t risk trying it out.


    In addition to the unexpected gain of high-level soul energy, there was another monumental benefit: the Space Divine Authority!


    With the death of the God of Space, the shattered Space Divine Authority naturally became his to absorb. This boosted his understanding and control over space, bringing him closer to mastering Space Law. He could feel hisprehension and application of thew bing sharper and more effortless.


    Meanwhile, the others were just beginning to realize what had transpired. They stared at Sterl with a mixture of shock and fear, as if they were witnessing a doomsday god in person.


    Due to the influence of Temporal-Spatial Law, the other gods had assumed that once the five gods had dealt with the falling meteors, they would teleport away. Instead, they inexplicably found themselves before Hades, only to witness a brilliant burst of light.


    This was no ordinary disappearance—based on the feedback from the world''s will, it was clear that all five gods had perished.


    This tyrant-like man, in the blink of an eye, obliterated five gods, one of whom wielded Space Divine Authority. Yet, despite such power, not even he could escape death''s grip.


    To the ordinary soldiers watching, it felt as though a fleeting moment passed and those five gods were gone. In the sky above, blood began to rain down, signaling the Tragedy of the Gods. The glimmer of hope they had clung to was crushed in an instant, reduced to ashes, and they fell back into the endless abyss.


    "He… he really isn''t an upper-tier god?"


    A voice—uncertain and filled with disbelief—echoed in the minds of all the gods. Indeed, this mysterious being called Hades, could he really not be an upper-tier god?


    He was powerful enough that thebined Divine Power of five gods couldn''t even wound him. His strength was such that he could massacre gods as easily as ughtering chickens. All of them were gods, all of them were chosen ones, with talent, insight, and fortune standing at the pinnacle. Yet, in the face of this Hades, these exalted gods seemed like mere ants on the roadside, easily crushed underfoot.


    The stark contrast was enough to make everyone question their very existence. The gods of Orichalcum and Eterna were filled with mixed emotions, both relieved and terrified. They were deeply thankful that Hades had chosen to join them—otherwise, they would now be the ones sinking into despair and questioning their ce in the world.


    As for these thoughts, Sterl had no intention of paying them any mind. A vague sense of unease grew within him, for it was clear that the fighting power he had just disyed had exceeded the limits that Ashen''s side could endure. The powerful beings from the Upper Realms could no longer sit idly by—they were surely about to make their move.


    Thus, he had to seize every moment and continue harvesting souls, refining his soul energy!


    Now that there were no more obstacles in his way, he would kill without hesitation, killing to his heart''s content!


    "Celestial Stars!! Fall!!!"


    He raised his hand high, as if trying to capture a star, and immediately, the dark sky lit up with dozens of zing fireballs. Upon closer inspection, they were all massive meteors, burning with terrifying me!


    Sterl did not care about the consumption of his power. He continued to cast Celestial Stars frantically. Even with his current energy, he could feel the strain. Yet, the sky above now held no fewer than fifty enormous meteors!


    Such a terrifying number—a true Sky Cover blocking out the sun. Even if those five gods were somehow revived, they would never be able to stop them all, no matter how hard they fought.


    Sterl exhaled slightly, his breath heavier than before. He had expended quite a bit of energy to summon this onught!