Chapter 711: The Best Place Is Hell
The next day, Garion brought Paren to the teleportation platform.
Paren looked down at the glowing formation beneath his feet before glancing at Garion suspiciously. "Where are we going?"
Garion looked far too pleased with himself. "Just follow me."
Paren frowned. "That answer is never reassuring."
Garion chuckled. "It’s not supposed to be."
Before Paren could argue any further, the teleportation platform lit up.
Silver-blue spatial light wrapped around both of them, and the scenery changed in an instant.
A moment later, Paren found himself standing on a massive floating island suspended in space.
In some ways, it looked like an island-sized version of the dangerous planet he had trained on before, except everything here felt even heavier, more unstable, and far more oppressive.
Paren’s face immediately darkened. "What the hell is this?"
Garion spread both arms proudly. "This is the place."
Paren slowly turned toward him. "Garion."
Garion looked back. "Yeah?"
Paren’s voice rose slightly. "Didn’t I specifically tell you that the environment couldn’t be too chaotic?"
Garion laughed. "Come on. Don’t look at me like that."
Paren pointed toward the massive floating island around them. "This entire place looks like a Celestial Realm cultivator’s nightmare."
Garion glanced toward the violent storms raging in the distance and nodded approvingly. "That’s why it’s good."
Paren stared at him as if he had just heard the dumbest explanation possible.
Garion continued confidently, "You’ve trained your body for five years. Your foundation is much stronger now. Chaotic doesn’t automatically mean bad."
He pointed toward the storm-covered horizon. "It means there are a lot of crazy good world laws constantly clashing with one another."
Paren’s eyes narrowed slightly. "Crazy good world laws?"
Garion clicked his fingers. "Exactly. Basically, all kinds of useful bullshit world laws packed into one place."
Paren looked toward the horizon again, clearly unconvinced. "Useful bullshit is still bullshit."
Garion ignored that completely. "Besides, this is [Divine Celestial Gym Island No.1]. This place is dangerous even to Celestial Realm cultivators and anyone below them."
He gestured toward the violent landscape around them. "If the environment here is strong enough to threaten actual Celestial Realm experts, then the world laws naturally have to be stronger and higher quality than what you’d find in some ordinary safe cultivation area."
Paren slowly inhaled.
The logic sounded insane.
Unfortunately, the longer he thought about it, the more annoying it became because it actually made a strange amount of sense.
Garion noticed his silence and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don’t worry. I’m here."
Paren looked down at the hand resting on his shoulder, then slowly turned his gaze toward the apocalyptic floating island surrounding them. "For some reason, that does not make me feel safer."
Garion looked even more amused. "Good."
Paren frowned.
Garion patted his shoulder once more. "A little fear helps cultivation."
---
Garion brought Paren deeper into [Divine Celestial Gym Island No.1], heading directly toward one of its [Disaster Zones].
Paren followed beside him with a stiff expression.
Every step forward made the pressure around them grow heavier, and even after five years of brutal training at God Gym, his body could still clearly feel the difference.
This island was genuinely dangerous.
That was not exactly surprising.
Bruno had originally given the place to Garion as payment for training his son, and considering Bruno’s status, there was no way the island would be some ordinary floating rock drifting through space.
Paren’s expression became increasingly serious as they continued deeper into the region. "This place is even worse than I expected."
Garion looked around with obvious interest. "Yeah. Pretty nice, right?"
Paren turned toward him with a flat look. "Your taste in training locations is horrible."
"Effective," Garion corrected.
Atlas’s voice suddenly sounded inside Garion’s mind.
[Keep moving northeast. The strongest suitable law convergence is located inside the third unstable disaster region.]
Garion gave a slight nod before pointing ahead. "This way."
Paren frowned. "You actually know where we’re going?"
Garion looked back at him as if the answer were obvious. "Of course. I own this place."
He continued walking. "And where we’re going should have the best world laws available for your breakthrough."
That explanation somehow did not make Paren feel any better.
A short while later, the two finally reached the edge of a massive disaster zone.
Paren stopped.
The land ahead had been shattered into countless enormous plates of black stone floating at different heights.
Between the cracks, silver-blue lightning crawled upward through empty space.
Invisible gravity waves constantly twisted the surrounding area, bending dust, energy, and even pieces of broken rock in different directions.
Several completely different types of energy collided violently in the air, creating bursts of light and distorted ripples that spread across the region.
At the very center of the disaster zone, a massive spiral of fragmented world laws rotated slowly through the air.
Paren’s expression changed the instant he sensed it. "This..."
Garion glanced toward him. "Good?"
Paren did not answer immediately.
As a Peak Star Realm cultivator preparing for the Celestial Realm, he could sense far more than just raw energy.
The world laws here were chaotic, but they were not meaningless.
They fused together, separated again, and continuously reformed into different structures.
The pressure coming from them was terrifying, yet hidden inside that chaos was exactly the kind of powerful stimulation his [World Seed] needed.
Paren slowly released a breath. "The laws here are extremely powerful."
Garion looked pleased. "Told you."
Paren gave him a sharp side glance. "They’re also unstable enough to kill me if anything goes wrong."
Garion nodded casually. "That’s why I’m here."
Paren stared at him for several seconds.
Somehow, that sentence managed to sound reassuring and terrifying at the exact same time.
Garion stepped onto one of the floating black stone plates and turned back toward him. "Come on. This is the best spot."
Paren looked toward the enormous spiral of world laws in the distance.
His hands slowly tightened into fists.
He had spent years preparing for this moment.
Five years of God Gym training had rebuilt his body, strengthened his foundation, improved his energy circulation, and pushed his endurance far beyond what it had once been.
There was no point hesitating now.
Paren stepped forward.
The instant his foot entered the [Disaster Zone], the [World Seed] inside his chest trembled faintly.
HUMM...
Paren froze for half a second.
Garion immediately noticed.
His attention sharpened as he looked toward Paren.
The breakthrough had not even begun yet.
Yet the [World Seed] was already reacting.