Sovereign of the Ashes

The battlefield of Divine Descendants World...

Mount Oligum, also known as the “Mountains of Origin, was where the navel of this large-sized plane was.

Sein had arrived here two years ago.

The navel of a plane manifested differently from world to world.

In Magus World, it took the form of an ocean. In Divine Descendants World, it was a vast mountain range.

Every hundred years, Mount Oligum naturally expanded outward, spreading across an ever-greater area.

After several hundred thousand years of continuous growth, the mountain range had become vast enough to rival an entire low-level plane.

The navel of Magus World, the Boundless South Sea, was even larger. Its territory alone could easily rival that of a medium-sized hydro elemental plane.

In fact, the oceans of Magus World were as vast as a large and prosperous plane.

And this was despite the Magus Civilization being dominated by terrestrial creatures.

Such astonishing growth was made possible by the Magus Civilization’s advanced alliance expansion system, along with the countless victories won by the leaders of Magus World.

Clad in a black magic robe, Sein flew at low altitude, passing through every corner of Mount Oligum.

Over the past two years, he had gathered and hunted a great deal of materials throughout this vast mountainous region.

The creatures Sein set his sights on were often those that had drawn considerable attention from the planar will.

As for determining how highly the planar will valued a target, one needed only observe the subject’s age, growth cycle, and strength.

Now that the war in Divine Descendants World had reached this stage, many weak creatures with immense potential, especially those favored by the planar will, had begun experiencing explosive growth within an extremely short period.

This was yet another sign that the plane was overdrawing its own potential in the face of impending crisis.

Sein’s decision to collect large quantities of specimens from these creatures was, of course, for his “overlord blood extraction” experiment.

The flesh and blood of the fallen Celestial Venerable Tianyang had scattered across Divine Descendants World, sparking fierce competition among the creatures of both warring sides.

By the time those remains passed through the world’s planar barrier, every fragment had already crystallized.

Through his research, Sein discovered that these crystallized remains offered him immense benefits.

After all, Celestial Venerable Tianyang had been an overlord-level powerhouse who wielded pyro and lumen elemental laws. The energy contained within his flesh and blood was exceptionally compatible with Sein’s own power!

Several years had passed since Celestial Venerable Tianyang’s remains first scattered across Divine Descendants World.

By now, nearly every fragment had been collected by the Dawn Empire, the Insectoids, and the demon legions participating in this Clash of Civilizations.

The native creatures of Divine Descendants World and the remnants of Myriad Manifestations World might have managed to seize a small amount as well, but whatever they obtained was negligible compared to.

As a result, the price of this “overlord blood” had already risen to an astronomical level.

This was also largely because the Arriba Chamber of Commerce operating on the Divine Descendants World battlefield had been purchasing these top-tier resources at almost any cost.

Of course, they resold them at an even higher price.

Sein had seen the price himself.

Even with his considerable wealth, he could only shake his head when he saw it.

However, very few powerhouses would willingly sell the overlord blood in their possession.

Only a fool would do such a thing.

A treasure of this caliber might only appear once in a lifetime.

Even Sein, who pursued the Path of Truth, could see in it the hope of reaching the peak of Rank Five, or perhaps even breaking through to Rank Six.

That was even more true for the Dawn Empire’s martial warriors and the Hell demons, both of whom followed the path of passive evolution.

Fortunately, Sein had acted quickly when the overlord’s blood first scattered across the battlefield. He had managed to secure several crystals, including one as large as a fist.

Later, when Sein returned to the planetary fortress to conduct his experiments, Fermera took it upon herself to continue hunting outside the fortress on his behalf.

She eventually brought back two more overlord blood crystals, each the size of a pigeon’s egg.

These crystals were already more than enough for Sein’s own needs.

He also planned to set aside a portion for his mentor, grandmaster, and the others when he returned.

The Clash of Civilizations was truly a stage where geniuses, powerhouses, and those blessed with immense fortune could grow at astonishing speed.

Even treasures as precious as overlord blood had begun appearing one after another across the battlefield.

The rewards far surpassed anything that could be found in an ordinary interplanar war.

And this was not the end. It was merely the beginning.

The resistance of the other two hostile overlords on the Divine Descendants World battlefield had also grown steadily weaker over the years.

This lackluster performance by the enemy’s top-tier powerhouses affected the morale and combat strength of the lower-ranking creatures beneath them.

Sein himself had not encountered a single new law-wielding enemy in more than half a year.

During the years he spent roaming Mount Oligum, the strongest creatures he usually came across were only demigods.

I wonder how Master Lorianne and Grandmaster Feylis have been these past few years. I’ve been so busy researching and experimenting on the overlord’s blood that I haven’t exchanged a single letter with them in a long time. If they’re also operating near the edge of an overlord-level battlefield, there’s a good chance they’ve gotten some overlord-level treasures or rare materials, right?

This Clash of Civilizations has been going on for so many years, and quite a few overlord-level beings have fallen on both sides. I wonder if similar materials are being sold or traded within the Magus Alliance.

Sein rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

However, considering the outrageous prices charged by the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce, the situation within the Magus Alliance was probably not much better.

The Capiche Business Alliance might oversee much of the Magus Civilization’s economy, but it was certainly no charitable organization.

Within the Verdant Flame Faction, perhaps only Grandmaster Feylis was wealthy enough to participate in a bidding war for overlord-level materials.

Just as Sein was pondering this, an alicorn entered his field of vision.[1]

His eyes immediately lit up at the creature that possessed demigod-level strength.

With only a single glance, and drawing on the hunting experience he had accumulated over the past two years, Sein determined that it was yet another rare creature deeply favored by the planar will of Divine Descendants World.

“With the support of a large-sized world’s planar will, and with this place so close to the navel of the plane, it was no wonder these creatures matured and evolved far faster than ordinary beings in the Astral Realm.”

The smile on Sein’s face widened.

“Excellent. Another perfect vessel for extracting overlord blood!”

As he extended his right palm forward, a massive fiery hand spread across the sky.

For a Rank Five being like Sein, subduing a demigod-level alicorn was a piece of cake.

The moment the vast curtain of flames appeared overhead, the alicorn panicked.

It struggled desperately, shedding countless white feathers that were immediately consumed by the surrounding flames.

The poor little creature had not even spotted Sein, who was wearing his Faceless Mask, before disaster descended upon it.

Such were the cruel laws of survival in the Astral Realm. The strong preyed upon the weak, and the weak preyed upon those even weaker.

Amidst a burst of cackling laughter, Sein captured the alicorn alive. He remained completely unfazed by its terrified expression.

The adorable little alicorn was still very young. It had clearly never experienced anything so terrifying before.

In its eyes, Sein was a strange masked figure radiating faint yet scorching pyro elemental law fluctuations from head to toe.

Just as Sein was admiring his newly captured prey, a violent surge of power swept in from the distant horizon.

He turned toward the disturbance and quickly realized that its source lay far beyond his current location.

There was no mistaking it. The surging power fluctuations had undoubtedly come from an overlord-level being.

In recent years, Sein had sensed clashes of this magnitude so often that they no longer surprised him.

He could not tell whether the disturbance had come from Venerable Muge’s battlefield or from the Divine Descendant Overgod Marduk’s.

As far as Sein knew, several bored demon kings among the Quatar Star Pirates had even started placing bets on the outcome.

They were wagering on which of the two overlords would hold out the longest.

Among them, Marduk was the favorite, as he possessed peak Rank Seven strength and was fighting within his homeplane.

Sein had no interest in such a pointless wager. However, during his last meeting with Sethem, he had purchased another batch of Blood Crystals.

He had not even used up the ones Sethem had given him before.

He had only bought more to add to his stockpile.

As a body-tempering mage, Sein would undoubtedly need plenty of Blood Crystals in the future.

Any surplus could also be given to Grandmaster Feylis and the others.

To their credit, the demon kings had never tried to rip Sein off in their dealings.

Compared with the prices listed by the Arriba Interstellar Chamber of Commerce, the demons’ asking price for the Blood Crystals could only be described as fair.

However, Sein had long since realized that the world was nowhere near as fair or just as he had once imagined.

Had he brought Tourmaline with him, he would likely have received the best possible treatment at the Arriba Chamber of Commerce as well.

“Why are those demons being so fair to me? Could it be because of the Spider Queen?” Sein occasionally wondered.

He cast one last glance toward the source of the overlord-level disturbance before setting off for the planetary fortress with his newly captured prey in tow.

1. Translator’s Note: An alicorn is a winged unicorn in case anyone is wondering. ☜