"Splat!"
Crimson blood splattered against the grayish-yellow cliff face, and shredded flesh tumbled from midair.
"Every last one of you—die!" Bei Bei's face was twisted with fury. Dozens of phantom copies appeared all around him, and through the Shadow Clone Art, Bei Bei flickered from one spot to another, carrying out a frenzied slaughter. Madness burned in his eyes. "That bastard Salomon, he's nothing but a bastard!"
"If Salomon hadn't deliberately caused trouble, would Nini have left me?" The thought raced through his mind, yet the dagger in his hand continued its work—it sliced clean through one of his opponent's divine artifacts, cleaving it in two, then split the enemy's skull apart in a burst of gore.
"Nini, Nini!"
Her image filled Bei Bei's thoughts—Ninis, Salomon, all of it—and the speed of his killing only accelerated.
Slaughter. Bei Bei vented everything he had. How desperately he wanted to be with Ninis. Every time he saw Lin Lei and Dilia together, he thought of himself and Ninis. But this Hell was vast beyond measure, and on top of that, Ninis had to travel to the Bifu Continent.
Who knew when they would ever meet again?
"Kill, kill!!!" Bei Bei slaughtered wildly, holding nothing back.
"Run, run!" The surviving bandits screamed in terror, scattering in every direction. The bandit leader, his face deathly pale, had never imagined that a Mid-tier God could be this terrifying.
Sweeping them aside like nothing.
"It's over. My men are all gone." Grief welled up in the leader's heart, but even through his sorrow, the mere sight of Lin Lei and Bei Bei—those two agents of death—sent a shiver through him. "No matter what, I need to save my own life first."
He abandoned the rest without a second thought and bolted.
By the time Lin Lei and Bei Bei dispatched the enemies before them, the other bandits had already scattered in every direction. Lin Lei couldn't be bothered to give chase, but Bei Bei, still surging with killing intent, let out a furious roar. His piercing cry rang across the heavens.
A spectral projection of the Godsdemon Devouring Rat materialized behind Bei Bei. He opened his mouth and locked his gaze on the fleeing bandit leader and the man beside him.
"Ahh!" The bandit leader, who had been trying to escape, suddenly found himself unable to move. And it wasn't just him—the Mid-tier God beside him was frozen as well.
In the next instant, divine cores floated out from both of them. Two divine cores emerged from the bandit leader's body, while only one flew from his subordinate's mind. The three divine cores shot straight into Bei Bei's mouth.
The two corpses plummeted from the sky.
Lin Lei watched Bei Bei with some concern. It was obvious that something was off with him.
"Bei Bei?" Lin Lei flew over.
Bei Bei turned his head, shook it, and then grinned. "Boss, don't worry. I'm fine. I was just feeling suffocated earlier—needed to vent all the frustration. It's much better now. Those bandits were blind, coming to rob us. They were just asking for death!"
Seeing Bei Bei's expression, Lin Lei finally relaxed.
"Those bandits probably won't dare trouble us again," Lin Lei said with a smile.
In truth, Lin Lei had long anticipated this day. Everywhere in Hell, some faction held dominion. Desolate areas were typically home to ordinary bandits, raiders, and tribes, while more prosperous regions were claimed by major powers.
The mountain range Lin Lei had chosen was thoroughly unremarkable.
He estimated that no real powerhouses lived here. After today's lesson, no one in the surrounding area would dare cross them.
"Oh right, I forgot to grab the spatial rings from some of those corpses. No matter how little money there is, it's still a waste to leave it behind!" Bei Bei dove straight downward, and Lin Lei chuckled. Seeing Bei Bei in good spirits lifted his own mood. "Bei Bei, wait for me!" Lin Lei streaked down after him.
This slaughter had indeed deterred everyone in the vicinity. The bandit gang, originally eighty-two strong, was reduced to fewer than thirty. That small outfit spent its days warily absorbing what remained of other groups, but they didn't dare so much as approach Lin Lei's territory.
And so, amid the tranquility of cultivation, year after year flowed past like water…
Hummmm~~~
In the sixteenth year of their cultivation here, the Laws of the World descended.
Inside the cave dwelling, Dilia and Bei Bei watched the spectacle with a mixture of excitement and anticipation. Lin Lei hovered in midair, enveloped by the strange energy of the Laws, while intense fire elements gathered above him and condensed into a Fire Element divine core.
"Boss has achieved godhood in the Fire Element too," Bei Bei said joyfully.
Dilia was equally thrilled and delighted.
Cultivation talent was crucial. Without aptitude in a particular element, no amount of training would lead to success. Lin Lei's talent in Earth and Wind was exceptional, allowing him to advance rapidly. In the Fire Element, his talent was actually quite decent—just not as outstanding as his Earth and Wind.
However, his soul was now immensely powerful, and after more than twenty years of cultivation aboard the metal lifeform, his fire element comprehension had finally borne fruit.
The simplest of the Fire Element Laws—the Fire Element Mystique—had reached completion.
Once again, Lin Lei chose to split his soul in two. After all, he now possessed a vast quantity of purple crystals and considerable wealth—strengthening his soul was not difficult.
Hsss~~~
A Lin Lei clad in a crimson robe, with crimson hair, materialized from thin air—his Fire Element divine clone.
Moments later, the Laws of the World dissipated, and the fire divine clone merged back into Lin Lei's original body. Within Lin Lei's soul ocean, powerful soul undulated gently like ocean waves, and a faint, seven-colored sword-shaped soul hovered above the surface.
Below that seven-colored sword-shaped soul, three figures of Lin Lei floated upon the surface of the soul ocean.
One radiated a hazy earthy-yellow glow, another a pale cyan shimmer, and the third a fiery crimson light. The three "Lin Leis" formed a triangle, positioned directly beneath the sword-shaped soul.