Rise of The Anti God

"Our ancestors called it the 'Gateway of the Gods'," Reva said with a ruminative glint in her eyes.

Damien leaned forward as Reva continued, "It was called so because it was indeed a gateway that seemed to send people to different worlds. They didn't know for sure if the place they went to was really a different world or not. But they assumed it to be since the place they witnessed was completely foreign to them and had no semblance to the lands of the Rising Sun Continent, nor were they able to get to their own empires no matter how much they traveled."

Damien nodded with a thoughtful expression trying to make sense of what all this was. In his perspective, it seemed like a portal that could transport people from one place to another. But the interesting thing was that the other end of the portal seemed to be totally foreign to these people.

However, thinking about the term their ancestors coined for this portal, Damien asked, "But why name it as the Gateway of the Gods, or why did they think this gateway was the doing of the gods?"

Reva answered, "Have you ever heard of anyone having the ability to open up gateways that connect different worlds? Or even if it was just an artifact's doing, we don't have such advanced or powerful artifacts with us. It's said that the skies tore open, and a powerful light beam hit the earth, opening up a gateway. And the most interesting thing was how vastly different that world was compared to us. It was said that our ancestors even spotted dragons!"

"Dragons?" Damien thought that it was just a myth in this world, but he didn't think there were really dragons like the ones he read about in fantasy novels in his previous life. He wondered if they were really as powerful and flashy as the ones he saw in movies.

"You seem surprised," Reva said as a strange light flashed past her eyes.

Damien said as he pinched his chin, "A little. I had read about dragons going extinct in this continent, but most of them recorded them as myths. So, I guess they really existed here as well, huh."

Reva nodded, "Of course. Myths originate from something existing, after all. Dragons indeed existed in this land millenniums ago but very less in numbers and were dying out. But those dragons were still lesser dragons who were not that powerful nor intelligent. But our ancestors who spotted the dragons said that they could talk and think like humans, especially take human form. Moreover, the power they displayed was heaven shattering, forcing our ancestors to escape with their lives."

Damien suddenly found it funny that the image of these powerful ancestors in his mind was shattered as he imagined many skinny old people running away from humongous dragons.

'No wonder there was no mention of these things in history books,' Damien chuckled inwardly.

Reva added, "It's said that over a million practitioners entered those lands, but only 1% of them returned. Dragons were not the only ethereal beasts out there but other monstrously powerful beasts also present."

But jokes aside, he realized how perilous that world was considering the number of survivors. And also the fact that these dragons must be at least at the Noble Ethereal Realm!

He remembered Luna telling him when he met Valentina for the first time that ethereal beasts who manage to breakthrough to the Noble Ethereal Realm were capable of assuming human forms.

'Phew!' Damien gulped, thinking how these ancestors even escaped from such terrifying beasts. The only reason he could think of was that the dragons considered it beneath them to kill these weaklings and was satisfied to just scare them away.

Reva continued, "But the reason they still regarded that world precious was because of how concentrated and rich the ethereal energy was in that world. Everyone who went there experienced a drastic increase in their cultivation speed, and those who came back were way stronger than their peers. And that's not all; our ancestors also came upon precious treasures that couldn't be found in this world, including ones that seemed to have miraculous powers or effects.

"And in the end, in spite of the various dangers and terrifying beasts that roamed those lands, our ancestors couldn't help but think that world was a place where the gods once walked. They couldn't fully explore that world, but whatever they found and explored left them sufficiently satisfied even though many died, especially the younger ones in that world. In the end, the benefits outweighed their losses."

Damien felt that it made sense since he knew these kinds of people only cared about benefits and wouldn't even hesitate to sacrifice their family just to get their hands on some treasures.

But he had to admit that he was extremely fascinated to learn more about the world on the other end of this Gateway of the Gods and explore it. The reason he was so interested was that he had a chance to increase his cultivation faster and probably have some fortuitous encounters.

Even though his current cultivation speed was enough to leave everyone in the dust and make people die with envy, it still was not enough for him, considering how short the timeframe available to him was.

Three months had already passed out of the two-year timeframe he was given. He was only at the Spirit Ethereal Realm. At the same time, the powerhouse in this world were leagues above him, considering their cultivation at the Profound Ethereal Realm.

Even if he cultivated with his head upside down for the rest of the available time frame, he would only barely breakthrough the Sky Ethereal Realm based on his most optimistic calculations, and even that possibility seemed bleak enough.

The higher his cultivation, the more time he needed to breakthrough, and no matter how talented he was, that fact would never change.

He already confirmed it with Luna, but still, he never let that bring down his hopes as he chose to optimistically think that he would come upon opportunities that could help him increase his cultivation fast.

If he became depressed thinking about his future, how could he hope to save Lily? He was the only source of strength for her, and if he becomes down, then Lily would get affected as well.

But if he rushed his cultivation too much then, he would only end up destroying his ethereal core and end up like Arthur's mother. He wasn't a fool to take such foolish and desperate actions that didn't give any benefits at all. It was better to have at least his current cultivation than having none at all.

So, even if Reva told him that entering the Gateway of the Gods was likely suicidal considering the dangers that lurked there, he felt like he had no choice but to take that chance.

He already learned that when one embarks on the cultivation journey, they are bound to take risks or be forced to face dangers to walk further in their cultivation path.

Without taking risks, they are bound to remain stagnant since, obviously, no gains were free. One has to work for it, especially when it involves making themselves more powerful to the point they even dreamed of having god-like powers.

"Are you thinking of entering it?" Reva questioned as she observed that Damien was interested in it.

Damien realized that he was getting ahead of himself, thinking that he could simply waltz in through the Gateway of the Gods that all these emperors were interested in. What if they limited entry to only certain people to monopolize the benefits they might get.

With a dry chuckle, he asked, "Can't I?"

Damien felt that such a phenomenon couldn't go unnoticed by other empires and surely they would be taking interest in this as well. It was not like the Xeton Emperor would be willingly to offend all the other empires.

Reva's eyes formed into beautiful crescent-like slits as she said, "You can, especially when your name is already on the Eternal Hall of Fame rankings. This event is said to take place in the Rong Empire, so it's not like my father can monopolize it. The other emperors already know about this Gateway of the Gods, as their ancestors also witnessed it. Surely, they would rush towards this gateway once they get the news.

"So, my father already informed them of the predicted time it would be appearing again to avoid any conflicts at the time of the event. And now some discussions are going on, I think between themselves and only after that would they make the announcement. But I heard that geniuses like you would be allowed to enter since all the empires would obviously want their prodigious practitioners to become more powerful and become an asset to them.

"Since your name is in the Eternal Hall of Fame rankings, your slot should be guaranteed," Reva asserted.