For mortals, hell's gates were a natural disaster. Yet, similarly, a new door opens to thousands of opportunities.

Also, the same is true for tribulators and constellations.

Thanks to Hell's gates, they were able to test the potential of mortals below the paths of ascension. Should they meet the requirements, these mortals would go on to be citadels, which would spread their tribulations and teachings.

And to set a proper hierarchy, they'd sometimes select Daoists to execute their will from the heavens.

Alas, many who couldn't walk the paths of ascension entered hell's gates with hopes of getting recognized by the tribulators and constellations, craving their blessings, only to die under the indifference of those so-called Tribulators, who were once mortals.

For those who had seen the world and the heavens above in their entirety, a mere mortal would be worth less than a penny to perish in their eyes.

As such, only a few mortals would pass, whether through luck, fate, or coincidence.

But there are two ways…

Firstly, to walk the path of ascension

And lastly, it was to demonstrate overwhelming talent.

Nightcrawler was confident any tribulators who were interested in her would have this train of thought.

They'd never expect 'Dark Dao Heiress', a Dao walker that walks the path of ascension for 999 playthroughs, destroying any Dao cultivator and tribulator in her path, to appear as a beautiful, dazzling teenager.

Even to those who see traits and characteristics of the soul essence rather than the changeable physical appearances, the current Nightcrawler would be completely different from the 'Dark Dao Heiress'.

She quietly glanced at the lines of information that filled the center of her retina.

'Scribe of the Heavens…'

'This bitch that beat out the Path 958 playthrough, I got so bored of it…

Her becoming a tribulator is very unexpected. That pondering made Nightcrawler sigh lightly.

‘This is good enough for a rookie who’d just drawn the attention of her first tribulator.'

Caressing her hair bangs to the back.

'In hindsight, it's a jackpot.'

Her real name was Vixian Bell-Dharam. Palms and swords—for hunting demons—also a very famous Dao known for her unique cultivations despite being a Scribe as a mortal.

However, the real reason why Nightcrawler considered this a win was because of her father, Vehement, 'The Vampiric Spider.'

More so, it was not until a few steps to the top that she came to Vixian's father in the 'Thousand Steps of Nebula.'

'Who'd have guessed that such a fucker with a big-shot father would show interest in me so early into the game?'

'I guess she likes my swordsmanship.'

The sword is one of the most basic things one has to utilize while hunting demons; she is probably just interested because she was bored.

Since she had an obsessive personality with a lot of ups and downs, if one left her obsession zone, they'd fall instantly apart.

Of course, Nightcrawler was confident that wouldn't happen.

[An Immortal tribulator, 'Scribe of the Heavens,' is curious about the sword techniques you might show her.]

"Alright, all will be within your expectations."

From the second on, a goal of using the Tribulators and constellations to increase her aid in walking the path of ascension

Like a puppet master.

* * *

'The first section of the inner hell sanctuary is filled with Hell's poison; flaming toxin. Most of the Demons residing here must be emanating flaming poison as well. Should we go with... Plan D, then?'

Nightcrawler had different plans depending on the type and difficulty of the non-programmatic gate she'd fall into.

She was in a state where she had a detailed, basic plan for what to do in every situation.

And for this theme, she intended to go with the 'Walker' concept.

A Walker who specializes in demon subjugation.

Kaa!

Kyaaa!

From 'Hell Yunnan' to 'Double Fang Tiger', the number of demons attacking Nightcrawler kept increasing as she moved toward the center of the Inner Hell Sanctuary.

Ordinary Mortals had a disadvantage because of their fear of them, but to Nightcrawler, they were nothing more than delicious EXP.

Paaaaa!

Swish!

['Skill: Low-Grade Swordsmanship.

Description: Freely help novices handle all types of swords.

Skill Level: 1

Type: Basic Passive Skill

Effect: Skill accession.]

The skill she just used was a basic one that all Novices had. More so, her short sword was so rusted that she wondered if she could even cut anything with it.

Yet, every time the short sword was swung, a mutilated corpse fell from Hell Yunnan to Double Fang Tiger.

[From 'Hell Yunnan' to 'Double Fang Tiger' had been defeated by using 'Skill: Low-grade Swordsmanship'!]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[From 'Hell Yunnan' to 'Double Fang Tiger' had been defeated by using 'Skill: Low-grade Swordmanship'!]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Both her levels and stats rose at a steady pace.

[All senses are getting sharper!]

[Concentration had increased in Combat mode!]

[From 'Hell Yunnan' to 'Double Fang Tiger, which dominated the first Mazy section of 'Inner Hell Sanctuary', they are exterminating at a fast pace!]

['Both Hell Yunnans' and 'Double Fang Tigers' instinctively begin to identify you as their natural enemy.]

[Successful in making 'Hell Yunnans' and 'Double Fang Tigers' fear you.]

[The title 'Hell Yunnans Butcher' has been created!]

[Title: 'Double Fang Tigers' Hunter has been created!]

[Both titles had emerged, creating something new.]

[Title: 'Slaughterer of the Wild' has been created!]

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[Skill: 'Butcher of all Null life'.]

Description: A title given to Walkers who had defeated 200 or more hell Yunnans and double Fang Tigers.

Type: Title.

Effect: Strength +10. Stimulate fear in Null-like creatures.]

"Already, I still feel like killing more demons."

Slain and Slain again

Swing and Thrust again.

All chained movements precisely and elegantly. Hot magma splashed like a fountain.

Although sweaty fiercely and difficult to breathe. Nightcrawler was thrilled by the rush of adrenaline she felt during the last playthrough.

This thrill, this pleasure... Could these sensations ever be enjoyed without countless playthroughs of battle?

Back when she decided to walk the path of ascension, this feeling terrified her, but simultaneously, it was euphoric.

After failing each and every time to ascend beyond the 3,450 thousand universal steps to immortality, She almost lost the will to fight.

She is a bitch who lives to fight.

Fight to pave the way to immortality

A path of blood and gore.

The Immortal Road to the Constellation—the realm of war.

That's why they kept making her fail, installing more obstacles in her way, caging her in a realm of a thousand regressions, and saying she might bring harm to the heavens.

Just nothing but cowardly excuses.

They were just afraid of having a powerful bitch standing so far above their heads.

Nightcrawler didn't even ponder doing these things in the first place.

'If you deem it necessary to cross my path, that's what you'll get.'

Thust!

Swish!

Slash!

[Skill: Low-Grade Swordsmanship had reached the highest threshold. The higher threshold skill will be awarded.]

[Skill: Intermediate-Grade Swordsmanship has been acquired!]

[An Immortal tribulator, 'Scribe of the Heavens,' exclaims admiration for your excellent short sword techniques.]

'It seems that it caught your eye, then…'

Nightcrawler didn't stop there.

[Your stamina has been depleted!]

[You are exhausted. Please move to a safe zone and rest.]

[Path of Dao: Shadow Short Sword has been activated!]

[The Shadow Eater has been activated, and you have successfully obtained the ashes of 'Hell Yunnans' and 'Double Fang Tigers'.]

[Your stamina has been restored by 6%.]

[You are no longer in a state of exhaustion.]

Since her body is that of her very past, her stamina was quickly depleted.

But on each of these occasions, Nightcrawler made good use of the Dao that her past self had.

A shadowy haze rose over the Hell Yunnans and Double Fang Tigers' dark carcasses and was completely absorbed by her. Concurrently, her fatigue was washed away like sweat.

[An Immortal tribulator, 'Scribe of the Heavens,' tilts her head in confusion as she fails to identify what category your ability falls under.]

Each time she did so, 'Scribe of the Heavens' would throw question marks.

She'd never even considered that this novice cultivator who'd been chosen by Hell's Gate had obtained her past-life path of Daos.

She clearly regarded her path of dao as a 'trait' or skill' that a walker gains when first awakened.

'Expected from a dumbass I fought a lot of times, from her point of view, it should be a cultivation drain skill with shadow skill.'

By mortal standards, the tribulators and constellations would appear omnipotent, but Nightcrawler knew very well that they weren't.

'They were once mortals after all.'

'So it's hard to glance into a walker's data in detail unless big walkers are walking the path of ascension.'

Of course, to do that, an appropriate price must be paid, or if the tribulator or constellation they belong to could tolerate the side effects, if those two ways are allowed, it's sufficient to bypass any security details of a walker.

'But doing that just to read a novice's date? That would be awkward.'

And if that happened, Nightcrawler wasn't all that worried.

After all, the shield that that 'person on the sacred throne' had given her was quite sturdy.

'Otherwise, the tribulators would have discovered what's written on my status window.

Thrust!

Swish!

Splat!

Shortly, the heads of the last Hell Yunnans and Double Fang Tigers that carried poison flames flew into the air.

Red and purplish magma spilled on the ground and melted as hot air and a strong acidic scent rose with the hell wind.

Swoosh!

Like Previously, a shadowy haze rose over their bodies as proof of [Shadow Eater]'s activation.

[Successfully defeated the last 'Hell Yunnans' and 'Double Fang Tigers'.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Achievement Received!]

[The Slaughterer of the Wild, who hounded 777 Hell Yunnans and Double Fang Tigers]

[Reward: Strength stat +7.]

[Low-grade Hell's Venom Resistance.]

[Ding!]

[Ding!]

Nightcrawler opened her status window upon hearing the pleasant notification.

"Open Status Window."

[Nightcrawler Noelle Graham

Ascension Path: Dark Dao Heiress (Unusable)

Title: No

Affiliation: Nebula Sanctuary of the High Heavens

Level: 7

Strength: 16 (+10)

Agility: 18 (+10)

Stamina: 15 (+10)

Ether power: 0 (+10)

Skills Possessed

Intermediate-Grade Swordsmanship, Level 3

Enhancement possessed

Low-Grade Hell's Venom Resistance Lv.1 (New!)

Dao possessed:

Soul Devourer Lv. 1 (New!)

Shadow’s Short Sword, Lv. 1 (New!)

Special Note: Currently, one tribulator is curious about you. Show a bigger performance to win her favor.

Additional stats: 58]

‘Level, stats, skills, Daos… Everything is steadily rising. Vixian-Bell-Dharam’s Curiosity has also increased to being Interested. Excellent.’

‘Five additional stats are given upon each level up. And since I’ve been collecting them at a steady pace, I can use it as a workaround whenever something unexpected occurs.’

However, the thing that caught Nightcrawler’s eye the most was her ether power stat. It was displayed as ‘0’, despite it actually being 5 due to her achievements.

‘If you have ether power, you can use skills in earnest. Plus, there’s a large difference between someone who applies ether to their weapons and someone who doesn’t.' And since I have lost my cultivation level, Ether is mostly used in the mortal realm!

Until now, she deliberately overworked herself to wash off the effects of her past self. And now that she had Ether, she didn't have to push herself as hard. More so, this should help her level up faster.

'Now that I've killed all the Hell Yunnans and Double Fang Tigers, the next is... the Shamna gorilla and the Titan of Hell spirit, eh?'

Even the Hell Yunnans and Double Fang Tigers flames are so hot and venomous that one bite and overheating could kill a walker in less than 3 minutes.

However, the Shamna gorilla and the Titan of Hell spirit are hotter and more poisonous than that. Any Walker could get toasted and poisoned just by exposure.

Even if it's low-grade, Hell's venom resistance could easily hold her on both.

That's why Nightcrawler checked her status window before moving deeper into the inner hell sanctuary.

'I must hunt the Shamna gorilla and the Titan of Hell spirit, regardless of what their traits are.'

Shamna gorillas and Titan of Hell spirits are classified as boss demons of their domain, controlling their species.

It's absurd for a Novice who isn't a registered walker and hadn't reached level 10 to hunt such demons, yet Nightcrawler the regressor aimed to take them down in a solo raid.

This was a golden opportunity to win the tribulators' attention, and their corpses were materials that could be used to create all sorts of artifacts.

Furthermore…

'Shamna gorilla Liver and Titan of Hell spirit muscles... are the shortcuts to [Thousand poison immunity and Gitantification].'

One of the reasons 'Dark Dao Heiress' failed her last playthrough after she took every lesson learned from 1 to the 998th playthrough into consideration was her helpless incapacitation by 'Seven Heavens Posion' and 'Cursed Arms Of a Thousand of Heruma.

'I need those flaring and poisonous materials to overcome it.'

Nightcrawler was about to move on to Mazy's next section while organizing her mind.

Clang!

Shatter!

‘Huh?’

['Rusty Short Sword for Amateurs' durability has been depleted and has been destroyed!]

The Short Sword in her hand shattered and was scattered into powder.

'Honestly, the fact it's endured this much is quite sacred as it is.

Fortunately, it didn't break amid the battle.

Nightcrawler spawned out her spatial ring, which was invisible until called, to see if any dropped items could replace it.

Then, unexpectedly, From the seven heavens above, something dropped, and she lifted her head to glance.

[An Immortal tribulator, 'Scribe of the Heavens,' sends a present to you, who entertained her!]

‘What?’

Clank!

A thin, double-edged short sword (the Dao of Dawn Katana) fell in front of Nightcrawler's feet.

Short sword with a blade length of 27 inches (about 69 centimeters). Even with hard material and a thin slit, it doesn't look like something that anyone would just hand to a Novice.

Momentarily, she saw the 'inscription' embedded in the side of the blade, and Nightcrawler's eyes shone sharply.

'Spider and its web inscriptions...? Doesn't that mean it's a weapon from Vehermet? Why is she suddenly handing this to me as a gift?'

Nightcrawler knew this: Nothing in the seven heavens and seven earths was an unpaid favor, let alone a favor given by the daughter of the 'Vampiric Spider.'

More so…

[An Immortal tribulator, 'Scribe of the Heavens,' offers you this gift with a bet!]

[If you fail, the 'Scribe of the Heavens will kill you for wasting her time.]

'Damn, really bitch...!'

Nightcrawler could feel the bitch smiling ominously at her.