Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

Sweeping his gaze around, Sterl saw only scattered remnants of ruins. It was nearly impossible to tell that this had once been a complete layer of Hell, once teeming with the endless Sea of Magma.

"What a pity. This layer of Hell has lost all value. It can't even be reshaped. Even if it's rebuilt, it will only be a brand-new Hell."

Sterl sighed with a trace of regret.

But he couldn't be blamed for this. The true culprit behind this devastation was that mysterious intruder. He had merely acted in self-defense.

Fortunately, in the crucial moment, he had used his small world to absorb all the Lava Giants. Otherwise, these formidable warriors would have been buried here for nothing.

He then turned his focus inward, assessing his current state. The clash with that droplet of water had consumed an enormous amount of energy—and a significant amount of time.

However, the Soul Power Enhancement was still active, with three seconds remaining!

During these three seconds, he retained the invincible might of a celestial god. Even if his body was shattered to the point where only an arm remained, he could still regenerate completely in an instant.

Three seconds might seem fleeting, but in this state, he could accomplish far more than most could in a lifetime.

"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Just two Matriarch Souls, and they nearly killed me? This humiliation... will be washed away in blood."

Sterl growled viciously. With the Soul Power Enhancement still active, he would strike swiftly, catching them completely off guard.

Not that it would matter even if they had time to prepare. Hadn't their carefully orchestrated trap just been obliterated like dust in a storm?

Perhaps it was the sheer power coursing through him, but Sterl no longer felt his usual caution or wariness toward these monstrous beings. Instead, he was filled with an overwhelming dominance and absolute confidence.

Without hesitation, he swung his palm, tearing open a gaping void before him. Without a second thought, he plunged headfirst into it.

This was a passage leading to another layer of Hell. With the immense infusion of soul power, he could now perceive the state of other Hells with perfect clarity—and travel directly between them, completely bypassing the Will of Hell's control.

Only after Sterl vanished did the long-silent Will of Hell dare to timidly emerge.

Staring at the utterly annihilated world before it, the entity remained in silence for a long time. Only after an eerie, chilling pause did it finally utter a terrified whisper—

"What… in the name of all creation… is this monster?"

This layer of Hell was destroyed—completely and utterly obliterated.

And the cause?

Not some grand celestial catastrophe. Not the will of an ancient deity.

Just the aftershocks of this monster's battle.

The realization sent an eerie chill through the Will of Hell.

Unknowingly, things had spiraled far beyond its control. And that mysterious droplet of water—even it had felt an overwhelming sense of threat from its presence.

In that moment, the Will of Hell made a decisive judgment.

Sterl was now classified as the highest level of existential danger.

An absolute nightmare.

The level of destruction he caused was far more terrifying than even the Matriarchs' devouring. If the Matriarchs were digging at its roots, then what Sterl had done was akin to chopping off its head!

Yes, it was done in battle against an enemy, but the implications were clear—this being possessed the power to completely erase Hell itself.

The thought sent an uncontrollable shudder through the Will of Hell.

And yet… deep beneath that fear, a flicker of relief surfaced.

At least, at the crucial moment, it had chosen to appease Sterl, expending a great amount of resources to earn his goodwill. Otherwise… its very existence would have already been erased.

Casting one last glance at this annihilated layer of Hell, the Will of Hell sighed.

By all calculations, it would take at least ten thousand years of slumber before enough material resources accumulated to rebuild it.

Which meant…

Of the one hundred and eight layers of Hell, one was now permanently gone.

Without hesitation, the Will of Hell shifted its presence to the Thirty-Fourth Layer of Hell.

And what it saw sent another wave of dread through its formless being.

Sterl had forced open the dimensional passageway, breaking into the Thirty-Fourth Layer. Upon arrival, he had single-handedly wiped out the entire Silver Legion with overwhelming force.

The entire process took less than half a second.

In another half-second, he had already arrived before the Matriarch of this layer.

Sterl's brows furrowed slightly.

This Matriarch… was offering no resistance.

Instead, she was actively channeling her energy and soul elsewhere, as if she had already been abandoned.

Yet in such a short amount of time, how much could she possibly transfer?

Without hesitation, Sterl activated Phantom Purgatory—erasing her entirely.

But this time… he made a different decision.

He did not choose to refine her soul into a puppet.

The memory of that mysterious droplet still loomed in his mind. That unexpected encounter had left a lasting impression, a shadow of caution.

And with only two seconds left in his Soul Power Enhancement, he wasn't entirely certain he could endure another similar attack.

So instead, he absorbed all the soul energy from the Matriarch's core—then released her crippled soul.

The moment he did, her soul shattered into nothingness.

Sterl did not pause.

With no hesitation, he immediately moved on to the Thirty-Fifth Layer of Hell.

And just before the Soul Power Enhancement ran out—

He conquered it.

Standing amidst the vanishing Matriarch soul of the Thirty-Fifth Layer, Sterl exhaled deeply.

The gray void created by its collapse was already fading.

Finally, he allowed himself a moment of relief.

The next moment.

The Soul Power Enhancement came to an end.

In an instant, all of Sterl's overwhelming strength vanished, receding like a retreating tide.

"Hu… So this is how weak I actually am."

Without the augmentation of soul power, Sterl reverted to his original state. A deep sense of emptiness washed over him, leaving behind a lingering feeling of unfulfillment.

It was like experiencing the raw power of a multi-million-dollar hypercar, only to be thrown back into a beat-up second-hand junker worth a few grand.

The difference was beyond staggering.

It took him a long moment to adjust, to pull himself out of that hollow sensation.

"One day… I will truly reach this level on my own."

After regaining his composure, determination burned in Sterl's eyes as he spoke, his voice steady and resolute.

Only then did he finally take the time to assess his gains.

Inside his Purgatory Space, the sheer number of soul puppets had reached an astronomical level—hundreds of millions!

Of course, the vast majority of them were nothing more than weak insect souls. The number of true Hellborn souls was around fifty million.

Even so, this was already a tremendous amount.

If he refined them all, he would obtain five hundred thousand Soul Power—enough to activate Soul Power Enhancement once again!

However, soul power was incredibly precious.

Unless absolutely necessary, he would never waste it so carelessly.

Sure, using it would temporarily elevate him to an unimaginably terrifying level, but it would do nothing for his long-term growth.

Besides, in the Thirty-Fourth and Thirty-Fifth Layers of Hell, every single god and demigod had already been marked as his followers.

With Soul Power Enhancement, the difficulty of branding gods with his mark had plummeted dramatically.

It had only taken one attempt, and the imprint was successfully planted.

That said, these two layers combined only had ten deities in total—nothing compared to the Lava Giant race.

But his greatest harvest…

It wasn't these gods.

It wasn't even the massive number of soul puppets.

It was something far more valuable—

The two Matriarch Puppets inside his Purgatory Space! Read new chapters at My Virtual Library Empire

At a mere thought, he released the two Matriarch Puppets from Purgatory Space.

Since they had been fully refined, their true spirits were permanently fixed in place. There was no risk of some hidden force secretly undoing the process.

These two Matriarch Puppets were identical to the first one.

With just a single mental command, he ordered them to begin soul reproduction.

Immediately, the two Matriarchs began to writhe and shift, initiating the process.

Roughly ten minutes later, two hundred fresh souls had been born.

"It works! This is an absolute jackpot!"

Sterl's eyes gleamed with excitement.

With this, he had officially entered the era of three Matriarch Puppets!

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before he accumulated enough high-level soul power to break through his second limit!

Moreover, with the highest level of Soul Power as his ultimate trump card, the effects were astonishingly powerful!

Without hesitation, he immediately refined twenty million souls, and the two hundred thousand soul power gained from this refinement was injected into the bodies of the two Matriarch Puppets.

Once the Soul Power infusion was completed, the breeding capacity of the two Matriarch Puppets increased dramatically, now matching that of the first Matriarch.

This meant that, with all three Matriarch Puppets continuously breeding souls, Sterl would gain 120 points of high-level soul power every day!

In ten days, that amounted to a full 1,200 points. In a month, that would be a staggering 3,600 points!

Even though the resources required to break through the second limit were far more than those needed for the first, 3,600 points of soul power would certainly be enough.

Furthermore, this speed was only temporary. Once Sterl gathered more soul power, he could continue improving. This would result in exponentially increasing production over time!

Thinking about how the three Matriarch Puppets would eventually reach an incredibly powerful level, where they could breed vast amounts of souls every single moment, Sterl couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Souls meant Soul Power.

For Sterl, this was even more important than Dream Power. Even the breakthrough to Legendary status didn't hold the same weight in his mind as the enhancement of his soul power.

Reflecting on the Matriarch's pure physical strength and his now transformed body, Sterl knew soul power enhancement was a completely different path from regular growth.

Even in the later stages, this path would be less restricted, and the levels it could reach were far higher than conventional means.

At that moment, the sky suddenly began to glow with dazzling, radiant light—it was the blessing of the world.

Aside from the destroyed Thirty-Third Layer of Hell, all the accumulated blessing power from the Thirty-Fourth and Thirty-Fifth Layers of Hell had been gathered by the Will of Hell and bestowed upon Sterl.

However, for Sterl in his current state, the accumulated blessing power from these two layers of Hell was simply too insignificant.

After absorbing it all, his vitality increased by only 3%, and his energy rose by just 4%. It could only be said to be better than nothing.

After all, even the smallest of things, like a mosquito bite, can still provide something—if accumulated over time, it would still be a worthwhile gain.

Next came the gift of The Authority of Hell. It wasn't long before the power of authority that Sterl held increased by two more layers.