Sovereign of the Ashes

Aside from military progress, Gongsun Wudi was also quite interested in the experiments Sein had been conducting in the Kales Star Domain over the past few years.

At first, Sein assumed she would ask about his experiment to activate the colossal war fortress and transform it into a robot.

To his surprise, however, Gongsun Wudi brought up another experiment instead—the one where he had ordered the followers of the God of Black Mist to resume industrial operations.

Whether she fully understood the details or not, Sein briefly explained some of his research and the future vision behind it.

He had not expected a martial cultivator like Gongsun Wudi to take such an interest in his various research projects.

When Sein spoke about stimulating productivity and creating value among the lower classes, Gongsun Wudi seemed to resonate deeply with the idea.

“In our Martial Civilization, a great deal of potential among the lower classes is also being wasted. Even today, whether in the military or among the noble clans, most martial cultivators are still men. Female martial cultivators make up less than thirty percent.

“On top of that, the Dawn Empire still has countless commoners at the grassroots level who have no access to martial arts training at all. Because of this, their contribution to the empire’s growth remains far too limited.

“If there were other ways to increase national strength and make use of that untapped potential, it would certainly be worth exploring,” Gongsun Wudi remarked thoughtfully.

Sein had not expected her perspective to be so broad.

“You are right.” He nodded in agreement. “This model can certainly work for many cultivation-based civilizations, but implementing it in most planar worlds would be difficult. The God of Black Mist using faith to control his subjects is indeed a clever tactic, but I feel this approach has certain drawbacks.”

“What happens if those so-called believers are exposed to too much one day? What if, after seeing more of the wider world, they begin to question the deity they once worshiped? That could spark a revolution capable of shaking the very foundation of his rule.

“Even in Magus World, this concept might not be widely accepted. I still need to refine it as much as possible,” Sein added.

Hearing this, Gongsun Wudi smiled.

“I look forward to the results of your research, Master Sein.”

***

After leaving Gongsun Wudi’s presence, the Phantom Thief looked at Sein with open admiration.

Even if he could not fully grasp the profound truths and mysteries Sein had spoken of, he could still recognize power when he saw it.

“Master Sein, do you know just how strong the Invincible General we met earlier is?” Kigard asked.

“I am not exactly sure.” Sein shook his head. “How strong is she?”

“She is the strongest below the overlords, only a hair’s breadth away from reaching the Overlord Realm! I’ve heard that some top-tier peak Rank Six powerhouses in the Astral Realm can briefly hold their own against overlord-level beings in direct combat.

“Judging from the pressure the Invincible General gave me, which was far stronger than any peak Rank Six being I have ever encountered before, she is very likely at that level!” Kigard exclaimed in awe.

Sein glanced back at Gongsun Wudi’s imperial chariot and could not help muttering, “No wonder she said she only used ten percent of her strength when we sparred last time.”

“So it was true after all,” he added gloomily.

Seeing Sein’s reaction, Kigard was not quite sure what to say. After a brief moment of thought, he stepped closer, his tone becoming a little ingratiating.

“Master Sein, I am terribly sorry for interrupting your experiment earlier and causing you losses. I don’t have any other treasures on hand to compensate you right now, but would this do?”

As he spoke, a handful of blood-red crystals appeared in his white-gloved palm.

Sein had already raised his hand to refuse, but the moment his gaze fell on the blood-red crystal, he stopped.

He swallowed the refusal that had almost left his mouth, but still hesitated. “Isn’t that... a bit too much?”

“It’s fine. I have no use for these blood crystals anyway,” Kigard said.

“Master Sein, your vital energy is so abundant. These blood crystals would be perfect for further refinement,” he added, pushing the handful of blood crystals into Sein’s hand.

Kigard was right. These blood crystals would indeed benefit Sein, especially for body tempering.

The last time Sein had crossed the shattered space-time passage, his body had endured severe strain. In the end, however, that ordeal turned out to be a blessing in disguise, pushing his body-tempering progress even further.

Although these blood crystals were not enough to directly advance his body tempering beyond its current rank, they would certainly help refine his constitution and vital energy.

Who knew? They might even help him reach the peak of Rank Five body tempering ahead of schedule.

This was nothing short of a generous gift!

Clutching the faceted blood-red crystals in his hand, Sein could not help asking, “These things... they were created by demons, weren’t they?”

Kigard nodded. “These crystals were condensed after they annihilated a medium-sized world. What I have here is only a very small portion of the total.”

Hearing this, Sein could not help marveling at the scale of the demons’ operations.

Others might only go as far as killing the chicken for its eggs, but these demons went even further. After slaughtering the chickens, they would devour them whole—bones included.

Gazing at the blood crystals in his hand, Sein marveled at the demons’ bloodthirstiness and brutality.

At the same time, he began considering when he should contact the demons of the Quatar Star Pirates to acquire more blood crystals for his body tempering experiments.

Fortunately, Sein’s research into soul studies was not particularly deep. Otherwise, he would have had to deal with the devils as well.

If demons could produce blood crystals, then the devils, who specialized in harvesting souls, surely had high-quality soul energy on hand too.

Recalling that his wife, Natalya, had yet to awaken, while the souls of Leena and her mentor remained entangled, Sein realized he would inevitably have to deal with the devils sooner or later..

This was truly a dark world...

***

Black Fortress City, Twilight Plane...

In just a few short years, the smoke of war had faded, leaving Pique with the strange feeling that he had been transported into another world.

A rumbling whistle sounded as the old black-iron train pulled into the station, and Pique hurriedly boarded the last train of the day.

Unlike eight years ago, Pique was now married and even had a daughter, who was two years old.

The pressures of life left him with little time for anything else. Aside from finding a small measure of comfort in his daily prayers to the god, Pique spent most of his days rushing through his busy workdays.

He had married three years ago, and his daughter had been born the year after.

By then, the war around Black Fortress City had already ended, and everything seemed to have returned to normal.

Every now and then, Pique would think back to the faint dragon roars he had heard during the war, or the terrifying plant monsters that had descended upon the city’s outskirts and toppled many temples.

This world was not as peaceful and beautiful as people imagined.

It was only thanks to the great God of Black Mist, who had driven away those terrifying enemies, that the creatures of this world could now enjoy lasting peace and stability.

Since the war ended a few years ago, the devotion of the God of Black Mist’s followers had surged once again.

The number of fanatics and devout believers had also risen sharply in a short period.

The only thing that left Pique with some regret was that Jeda, his friend and supervisor, had never returned. No one knew where he had gone.

He had even promised to promote Pique!

The rumbling black train carried Pique and countless other creatures of Twilight Plane toward the factory where they worked.

Sometimes, the truth of the world might not matter to them.

Life was fleeting.

For lesser beings, simply living their own lives could sometimes be a form of happiness.

Above them, the pitch-black clouds pressed lower and lower.

Deep within those clouds, a storm seemed to be brewing.