Free Web NovelChapter 677: Death Is the First Step
The next day arrived far too quickly.
Kaelvar was taken away by Garion early in the morning, and no one knew where they went.
The only thing everyone knew was that Kaelvar’s face looked strangely stiff when he followed Garion out, as if he already regretted volunteering to exist.
As for the rest of the group, they were ordered to gather at the training area.
Azton, Oriana, Feron, Iris, Varka, Loraine, Erlin, Slifera, and Elisa arrived one after another.
Rovak was already there with his arms crossed and a huge grin on his face. Alira stood nearby as well, clearly watching everything on Paren’s orders.
In front of them, Giselle stood with both hands on her hips.
The tiny girl looked over the group, nodded seriously, and said, "Come on, bugs. Let’s train your bodies."
The atmosphere immediately froze.
Feron’s mouth twitched. "Again with the bugs?"
Iris’s eyebrow jumped. "Kid, you really like saying that, don’t you?"
Azton remained silent, but his expression also looked slightly dark.
Even Loraine’s calm smile became a little strained.
Varka, however, grinned. "Hahaha! She has guts."
Giselle sighed like an old instructor disappointed in a bunch of useless students. "Fine, fine. If you don’t like being called bugs, then prove you’re not bugs."
She walked to the side of the training area and grabbed a dumbbell with one small hand.
Giselle lifted it casually, spun around, and suddenly threw it toward Feron.
Feron’s eyes widened. "Wait, what the..."
BOOOOM!
The dumbbell crashed into his arms, and Feron instantly dropped to the ground like his entire soul had been smashed out of his body.
The floor cracked beneath him.
Everyone froze.
Feron lay there, trembling. "What... the hell... is this thing?"
Giselle tilted her head. "That dumbbell?"
She pointed at the dumbbell crushing him. "That’s just a basic warm-up dumbbell."
Feron’s face turned pale. "Basic?"
Giselle looked at the others and sighed. "See? This is why I call you bugs."
Iris stared at the dumbbell.
Azton’s expression became extremely serious.
Oriana’s golden eyes narrowed slightly.
Loraine and Erlin exchanged quiet looks.
Varka’s grin widened even more, but even she did not immediately step forward.
Giselle placed both hands behind her back and lifted her chin proudly. "If even I, a child, can lift it, but you can’t even move it, then what are you?"
No one answered.
Giselle smiled brightly. "Exactly."
Rovak burst out laughing. "Hahaha! Good one, little princess!"
Alira rubbed her forehead.
Feron weakly raised one shaking hand from beneath the dumbbell. "Can someone... help?"
Giselle blinked. "Help?"
Her smile became even more innocent. "No."
Feron’s hand froze.
Giselle nodded seriously. "Training already started."
---
While the others were being tortured by Giselle in the training area, Garion led Kaelvar to another part of God Gym’s temporary base.
The place they entered was not the library.
It was a large hall built from dark metallic walls, glowing purple lines, and strange divine patterns that pulsed softly across the floor.
The entire room felt quiet, heavy, and sacred in a weirdly dangerous way.
At the center of the hall stood a single massive pod.
The machine looked like a coffin, a healing chamber, and a divine artifact had somehow been smashed together into one ridiculous object.
Kaelvar slowly looked around.
Even as an Ignis Dragon genius, he could feel his instincts screaming at him.
This place was not normal.
He turned toward Garion with a cautious expression. "Sir Garion, is this the hidden ultimate training?"
Garion nodded casually. "Yeah. Although, to be more accurate, the so-called hidden ultimate training is actually a hidden ultimate awakening."
Kaelvar frowned. "Awakening?"
Garion pointed toward the pod. "This is my specialized machine. I named this hall the Divine Awakening Hall, and that machine over there is the Divine Awakening Pod."
Kaelvar stared at the pod again.
The name sounded impressive.
Unfortunately, in the cultivation world, the more impressive something sounded, the more dangerous it usually was.
Kaelvar slowly asked, "What exactly do I need to do?"
Garion grinned. "Die."
Kaelvar froze.
For a few seconds, he honestly thought he had heard wrong. "What?"
Garion nodded calmly. "You need to die."
Kaelvar’s eyes widened. "Are you crazy?"
Garion laughed. "Probably."
Kaelvar’s expression darkened. "What kind of training requires someone to die first?"
"Mine."
Garion said it with such casual confidence that Kaelvar almost did not know how to respond.
Garion waved one hand. "Relax. The reason I said you need the will to die is because this awakening can only begin after death."
Kaelvar’s face became even uglier.
Garion continued, "You already know this, right? At your level, even if your body dies, your soul won’t disappear immediately. You’re already at the absolute peak of the Awakening Realm. The moment your soul detaches from your body, the Divine Awakening Pod will begin rebuilding you."
Kaelvar stared at him silently.
Garion pointed at the pod again. "Your body, bloodline, foundation, and everything useful will be awakened, refined, and trained inside that thing. That’s why I call it both hidden ultimate training and hidden ultimate awakening."
Kaelvar clenched his fists.
Death was not something cultivators casually accepted.
Even if Garion explained it calmly, even if Rovak had succeeded before, the idea of killing himself still sounded completely insane.
Kaelvar glared at Garion. "Rovak really did this?"
Garion nodded. "Yeah."
Kaelvar’s jaw tightened.
For a moment, the hall became silent.
The divine patterns beneath the pod continued pulsing softly, almost as if they were waiting for his decision.
Kaelvar slowly raised one hand and placed it over his own chest.
His fingers sharpened into dragon claws.
Garion watched him quietly.
Kaelvar’s golden eyes burned with anger, fear, pride, and determination all at once. "You better not be lying to me, Garion."
Garion smiled faintly. "I’m not."
Kaelvar took one deep breath.
In the next instant, his claw pierced through his own heart.
PCHHHT!
Blood splashed across the floor.
Kaelvar’s body stiffened, then collapsed forward.
Garion caught him before he hit the ground. "Good, good."
He carried Kaelvar toward the Divine Awakening Pod and placed his body inside.
The pod’s lid slowly closed, and black-purple light immediately swallowed Kaelvar’s figure.
HMMMMM!
Divine patterns across the entire hall lit up at once.
Garion stood there for a moment, watching the process begin.
Soon, he sighed. "Too bad there’s only one pod."
He glanced toward the door, thinking about the long line of candidates waiting outside. "This is going to take a while."
