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

As the old man's voice echoed, the surrounding noise immediately quieted down considerably.

All eyes turned to the cell where the old man was confined, and a deep sense of wariness appeared in their gazes.

"That Ghost Old Man, he's at it again..."

"Keep quiet, be careful not to draw his attention."

"I don't believe he can still eat me from this far."

"Have you forgotten how those others met their end?"

The voices grew quieter, and Sterl could feel the few remaining greedy gazes fading away from him.

Twisting, chaos, seduction...

The old man was clearly using some kind of ability. After being targeted by him, Sterl felt a sensation similar to being dragged into an Otherworldly Dream.

His consciousness and perception were being slowly warped, and it felt even more intense than the sensation in the Otherworldly Dream. At this rate, if not for his terrifying regeneration speed and resistance, it would take about 135 years for his consciousness to be completely distorted.

A faint smile appeared on Sterl's face as he gradually walked toward the old man's cell.

Seeing Sterl being affected by his manipulation, the Ghost Old Man's face twisted into an excited and eerie grin. His black-and-yellow teeth stretched outward, resembling the maw of a Demon Garb ready to devour its prey.

If one observed closely, they would notice that all the cells surrounding the Ghost Old Man were empty.

It wasn't that the cells were unoccupied; they had all been consumed by him.

Even with thousands of piercing shackles restraining him, they couldn't fully limit his abilities. After all, he was a vicious spirit who had once devoured an entire Dream Spirit city!

However, as Sterl approached, the Ghost Old Man froze for a moment. His eyes had slowly adjusted to the light, and now Sterl's appearance became clear to him.

To his surprise, the sight of the man made him feel an intense sense of familiarity—he seemed to know him.

"You…"

The Ghost Old Man's mind suddenly sharpened, rapidly trying to recall someone he had encountered before.

Suddenly, a figure that sent a chill down his spine emerged from his memory, and just as it did, Sterl reached the front of the cell, smiling and staring at him.

In that instant, this Ultimate Evil Being, who had devoured countless Dream Spirits and even eaten dozens of fellow prisoners, suddenly felt the way a mouse would feel upon seeing a cat.

No! To be more precise, it was like an ant encountering an elephant!

A wave of helplessness and terror flooded him.

The grin on his face twisted into a grotesque expression, his mouth opening wide in fear, his eyes filled with panic.

"War! You are War!!"

The Ghost Old Man shrieked, quickly retreating to a corner, curling himself into a ball as if he had encountered an unimaginably terrifying presence.

"War? Ghost Old Man, what are you talking about?"

"This old fool, he must have taken the wrong medicine."

Hearing his scream, another round of voices echoed through the quiet prison.

However, in the next moment, those voices abruptly stopped, because they had heard a tone of fear in Ghost Old Man's voice.

Moreover, the words "War" continued to echo in their minds, gradually transforming into the image of a terrifying figure.

For a moment, the massive prison fell into complete silence, even quieter than before, so still that a pin dropping could be heard.

"Oh? It seems you recognize me."

The smile on Sterl's face grew even more amiable, but his eyes, glowing with red light, were deeply unsettling.

He then extended his hand, gently grasping the iron bars made of special minerals and etched with countless sealing runes, and exerted a burst of force.

Bang!!

The entire cell exploded like it had been struck by a meteor, shattering into countless pieces.

The prison that had trapped the Ghost Old Man for thousands of years vanished without a trace, leaving nothing but a pile of debris.

The Ghost Old Man stood frozen, his body involuntarily trembling. He wasn't relieved that the cell had been destroyed; rather, he felt an overwhelming sense of unease.

The place he had dreamed of escaping from every day had now become his only sanctuary, but unfortunately, what had been an impregnable prison for him was like a flimsy piece of paper in Sterl's hands, completely powerless.

After all, his current base strength was beyond that of an upper-tier divine authority.

"What are you afraid of?"

Sterl looked down at the Ghost Old Man, condensing his Law Power and pulling all the sealing shackles that extended from the upper layers of rock together with his Law hand.

The shackles were pulled toward him, and the Ghost Old Man involuntarily moved closer to Sterl. His power, in front of Sterl, was as fragile as a child's.

"No, no, please! Lord of War, I am willing to submit to you!"

"No, no, no! I have always revered you, I've taken you as my faith and direction. If it weren't for bad timing, I would have loved nothing more than to serve under you, to be your soldier, forever basking in your glory!"

The Ghost Old Man collapsed to his knees before Sterl, his mind—having been imprisoned for thousands of years—now functioning more clearly than ever before.

"You know me so well? Tell me, who am I?"

Sterl had originally intended to directly absorb the Ghost Old Man's soul memories, but the Ghost Old Man was likely the most powerful Ultimate Evil Being on the second level of Abyssal Prison. He might still be of use later, so Sterl decided to hold off for now.

Upon hearing this, Ghost Old Man felt a deep sense of dread and terror in his heart. He wanted nothing more than to turn and run, but he forced himself to suppress it.

His intuition told him that if he truly did that, the only possible outcome would be the same as the beings recorded in the past—his soul would be devoured by the War Demon!

So, after a moment of gathering his thoughts, he quickly began to tell Sterl everything he knew about the War Demon, leaving nothing out.

Listening to him, Sterl gained a better understanding of his current identity.

The War Demon he had replaced was an entity from tens of thousands of years ago. He had been the most powerful lord under the Nightmare Overlord, the sharpest blade in the Nightmare Overlord's hand, and the most radiant glory within the Nightmare Legion!

During the conflict between the Nightmare Overlord and the Dream Spirit Empire, the War Demon had led his legion deep into enemy territory. His terrifying strength and commanding ability had once pushed the Dream Spirit Empire to the brink of collapse.

In an attempt to eliminate him, Dream Spirit Empire set up a massive teleportation array, drawing him into a trap surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops. However, the siege failed, and instead, War Demon wiped out the entire army in a brutal counterattack.

After slaughtering the besieging legion, consumed by rage, War Demon, with nothing but his sword, went on to slaughter eighteen cities, becoming the eternal nightmare of the Dream Spirit Empire.

It could be said that his name alone was enough to stop a child's night cries within the Dream Spirit Empire!

However, by the late stages of the war, his prestige overshadowed the entire Nightmare Legion. All nightmare soldiers rallied under the War Demon's banner, basking in his glory, which was even greater than that of the Nightmare Overlord. His fame had grown so powerful that it began to cause unease for the Nightmare Overlord himself.

Taking advantage of this situation, the Dream Spirit Empire communicated with the Nightmare Overlord. While feigning submission, they secretly negotiated to have the War Demon sealed, for they feared that, with his influence, if the Dream Spirit Empire were to fall, War Demon would soon surpass even the ruler himself.

After considering the situation, the Nightmare Overlord surprisingly agreed to the Dream Spirit Empire's plan, believing that the Dream Spirit Empire was already on its last legs. Even without War Demon, he thought, victory was still attainable.

But the truth was that the Dream Spirit Empire had deceived the Nightmare Overlord. Not only did they cooperate with the Nightmare Overlord to seal War Demon, but they also opened the gate to the Eternal Light World, trapping the elite leaders of the Nightmare Overlord and the Nightmare Legion at the very bottom of the Abyssal Prison—forever suppressed!

With the loss of their ruler, their leader, and the elite forces, the Nightmare Legion was no match for the Dream Spirit Empire. They were completely overthrown and pursued all the way back to the Nightmare Legion's stronghold, where the war finally ended.

Now, after all this time, the once mighty Nightmare Army had been continually weakened by the Dream Spirit Empire, and it was on the verge of collapse, standing precariously, ready to fall at any moment.

Before the Ghost Old Man was imprisoned, the Nightmare faction had been desperately trying to open the gate to the Eternal Light World, break the seal on the Abyssal Prison, and free the War Demon.

However, with the powerful seal of the Abyssal Prison and the tight defenses of the Dream Spirit Empire, there was no way this could be accomplished.

Now, a thousand years later, it was uncertain whether the Nightmare faction still had any active forces left.

After hearing the Ghost Old Man's description of his own identity, Sterl fell into thought.

From the information provided, it could be inferred that the true Dreamland was most likely occupied by the Dream Spirit Empire.

And as for his own identity, within the Ultimate Evil faction, it was of the highest rank, rivaling even the Nightmare Overlord, and it was the eternal nightmare of the Dream Spirit Empire.

This aligned perfectly with the effect of the Dream Orb: upon entry, one could attain a very high status, but with that came the risk of great danger.

The War Demon identity was undoubtedly powerful, but its enemy was the entire Dream Spirit Empire!

If the Dream Spirit Empire were to discover that he had escaped the Eternal Light World, they would undoubtedly do everything in their power to eradicate him or reseal him once again.

Normally, no regular army would be able to do anything against him.

But from what Ghost Old Man had said, the armies in Dreamland were incredibly strong. The Ghost Old Man himself had been captured by a hundred-man army. If it hadn't been for some level of immortality, he would have likely been killed on the spot.

And in Sterl's view, the Ghost Old Man's strength was comparable to that of some powerful gods!

Thinking about this, Sterl narrowed his eyes. If such an army numbered over a million, it would pose a significant threat to him. If it exceeded ten million… even if he unleashed his strongest power, he might still be surrounded and killed!

Moreover, this was just the regular soldiers. After thousands of years of development, the Dream Spirit Empire had at least ten elite legions, along with countless powerful individuals. Such a force could not be countered by sheer brute strength alone.

However, Sterl's goal was merely to obtain Dream Power, not to dominate Dreamland. Therefore, he wasn't too worried. Even if he couldn't win, he could probably still escape.