Sovereign of the Ashes

Monotonous yet fulfilling experiments were a constant part of every spellcaster’s life.

After once again leaving Fermont’s body, Sein declined all visitors and threw himself back into the pursuit of profound truths.

This time, his goal was to reach the peak of Rank Five.

Inside the laboratory, a deep blue flame gave off a faint, eerie glow.

Beside it floated two other flames, one pale gold and the other crimson.

The laws contained within the three flames differed greatly in both nature and intensity, rising in clear succession.

The deep blue flame was the Cobalt Flame, which Sein had obtained from Enrique Gustavo.

The pale golden flame had been painstakingly extracted from Venerable Tianyang’s overlord blood. Sein had named it the Heavenly Sun Flame.[1]

As for the crimson flame, Sein had extracted it from several pyro-attribute secondary divine relics belonging to Marduk that were currently in his possession. He named it the Divine Descendant Flame.

At present, only the Cobalt Flame had integrated relatively well into Sein’s existing flame system. His research into the other two flames, as well as their fusion with his Ashen Flame, was still in its early stages.

The three differently colored flames intertwined within Sein’s laboratory, complementing one another as they burned.

The gray Ashen Flame quietly ignited across Sein’s skin.

After activating his elemental form, Sein paused for a moment before reaching toward the Cobalt Flame.

The instant he looked at the flame with sealing powers, everything he had learned about its properties and origins over the years surfaced in his mind. He had studied it so thoroughly that he could already break the seemingly ordinary flame down to its molecular structure within his thoughts.

Once the Cobalt Flame had fully merged with him, Sein slowly reached toward the Heavenly Sun Flame with his right hand.

The searing, explosive flame immediately clung to his body, forcing him to hunch over.

At the same time, the spell models related to the Heavenly Sun Flame, long engraved into his sea of consciousness, began activating one after another.

Integrating such a powerful overlord flame into his own power was no easy task, even though Sein had extracted only a few traces of pyro-elemental particles from an overlord’s blood.

His true demon form activated on its own. Yet even his formidable demonic body struggled to withstand the violent fusion. Under the flame’s explosive force, Sein could already feel his physique beginning to break down.

He immediately activated the Ashen Law he had mastered while gulping down a vial of restorative potion refined from the life mucus.

To advance to a higher rank at a relatively young age, one had to endure pain, loneliness, and torment far beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

Even then, a stroke of fortune was still indispensable.

Sometimes, talent alone was simply not enough.

The process of integrating the Heavenly Sun Flame alone took Sein a full twenty-one years!

After that came Marduk’s divine relics, which proved even more difficult. The pyro elemental laws contained within them were far more varied and complex...

***

“How long do you think he’ll stay holed up in the lab this time?” asked Mel, who had stopped by Sein’s laboratory that day.

Fermera, usually a robot of few words, did not answer, while Yuri simply turned her back on Mel.

Every sentient being was a unique individual. Although Mel and the others worked seamlessly together during Sein’s experiments, they still had their own little dramas behind the scenes.

Yuri was somewhat unhappy that Mel had taken over a large portion of her duties as Sein’s assistant in his body tempering and pyro element research.

And it was not just Mel. Fermera had previously taken over Yuri’s assistant duties in the field of mechanical art as well.

Looking back, when Sein first began delving into mechanical arts, his original goal had been to help Yuri develop a new type of mecha.

This also revealed a simple reality—as Sein continued growing stronger, the role of his experimental assistant could no longer be handled by just one person.

Sein’s time and energy were limited. He needed more people to help him carry out his increasingly specialized and advanced projects.

One could not help but wonder how other law-wielding spellcasters managed research that grew more complex and demanding with each passing year.

In Lorianne’s laboratory, aside from Lorianne herself, there were also several plant elves cultivated within the world laboratory. They helped her with minor tasks that fell within their capabilities.

***

This time, Sein remained secluded in the laboratory for a shocking 156 years.

Not only did he deepen his mastery of the pyro element, but he later made progress in the mechanical arts and body tempering as well.

Sein had no intention of changing his focus.

Furthermore, advancing all these three areas of study in parallel would better prepare him for his future attempt to reach Rank Six.

When Sein finally stepped out of the laboratory, violent elemental flames continued to burn behind him.

He had already reverted from his demonic form to his ordinary human appearance.

Although he made no deliberate effort to release it, the aura of a peak Rank Five being naturally radiated from his body.

And this was merely the strength of his true form.

If he were to harness his two world-class secret treasures, or fuse with Fermera or a fortress, his strength would undoubtedly rise even further!

“Knowledge is power. To be precise, I’ve only completed thirty percent of my exploration and analysis of the Heavenly Sun Flame and Divine Descendant Flame. There’s still a long road ahead, including figuring out how to advance to Rank Six. As soon as I return, I must seek guidance from Grandmaster Feylis,” Sein mused.

For spellcasters, one of the greatest blessings was having predecessors to guide them.

It was always easier to enjoy the shade beneath a great tree. At the very least, until Sein reached the peak of Rank Six, Feylis would still be able to offer him plenty of guidance.

Of course, the path ultimately had to be walked alone.

Sein had never been overly dependent on others. All he needed was for a predecessor to occasionally point him in the right direction.

Most of the time, he had climbed steadily upward through his own efforts, one step at a time.

After spending more than a hundred years cooped up in the laboratory, Sein had only just completed this minor breakthrough when a whole host of matters unrelated to his experiments came flooding in.

The first was a message from Gongsun Wudi. Sein had no idea how she had been so certain that his minor advancement would succeed, but her congratulatory letter was the first message to arrive.

She also informed him that the Dawn Empire planned to depart for the main battlefield between the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation in 312 years.

One of Sein’s responsibilities was to facilitate military cooperation between the Magus Civilization and the Dawn Empire.

Therefore, he had to promptly report any war-related decisions made by the Dawn Empire to the Magus Civilization.

Learning that he would have to remain in Divine Descendants World for another three hundred years came as something of a surprise.

After all, the Dawn Empire and the Insectoids were both external forces reinforcing the Magus Civilization. In certain respects, they could be viewed as one single entity.

Since the Dawn Empire intended to remain in the Divine Descendants Star Domain for another three hundred years to plunder its resources, the Insectoids would most likely do the same.

What puzzled Sein was that he had previously sensed both the Dawn Empire and the Insectoid legions intensifying their assault on Divine Descendants World.

Even the Empress of Blades had personally entered the fray, bringing the war across this large-sized star domain to a swift conclusion. Their intention had clearly been to reinforce the Magus Civilization’s main battlefield as quickly as possible.

Yet now, both the Dawn Empire and the Insectoids seemed to have lost that sense of urgency.

“Could something unexpected have happened on the main battlefield?”

Sein gazed toward the distant star domain where the Magus Civilization and the Gallant Federation were locked in battle, voicing the first doubt that had crossed his mind since advancing to the peak of Rank Five.

1. Translator’s Note: Yep, that was named after Venerable Tianyang. Tian = Heavenly, and Yang = Sun! ☜