"Aah!..." Seraphiel tried to roar, but everything was meaningless, and in a matter of seconds he was crushed and annihilated without managing to utter a single word.

"Tch… not even a warm-up."

Apollo spoke calmly, his expression unchanged. Now, even a Second-Order Transcendent wasn't enough to pose the slightest challenge.

Lucifer and others who had just awakened were shocked as they saw something terrifying: an immensely powerful transcendent crushed to death without any struggle. It was like he wasn't a transcendent being but an ordinary person whose life and death were all under the control of Apollo.

Apollo, after crushing Seraphiel like a bug, looked at the broken altar and slowly disappearing runic formation that covered the ancient temple.

With its power source gone, everything was beginning to crumble.

But that wasn't what caught his attention.

Instead, his focus shifted beneath the altar.

It seemed… there was something more hidden there—something beyond the severed finger.

He quickly arrived at the centre of the altar and quickly searched the deep beneath it with his spiritual sense that had reached a supreme level.

And immediately he felt the ancient power, which appeared a bit weak, but he knew this hidden mysterious power from the fragment memories of the eclipse sovereign.

He stepped forward.

The ground trembled—then split apart. The earth opened, revealing what lay buried within.

At its centre rested a small, old, rusted cauldron, its surface worn and fragile, as though it might shatter at any moment.

But he knew what it was and knew its true value.

It was terrifying sovereign treasure or even beyond that, as the eclipse sovereign didn't know its true origin. Even when he found this, it was in such a condition which showed that this ancient cauldron was broken, and yet it possessed a terrifying ability that made the eclipse sovereign stand out among sovereigns.

Apollo reached out and picked it up.

Following the memories left behind, he softly chanted an ancient incantation. The moment the final syllable fell, the cauldron trembled—then began to glow.

In the next instant, it dissolved into light and vanished… merging into Apollo's body.

He felt its faint power, and a smile appeared on his face as he knew its power.

Although this small cauldron looked weak and could break at any moment, it has terrifying defensive ability, and using it, he can tank a sovereign-level attack at least once before he runs out of energy, but that's not all.

But that was not its true strength.

Its real ability was far more terrifying.

It could break down anything—reduce it to its most fundamental essence—and convert it into pure energy.

Energy that could deepen his understanding of the rules.

It could even… dissolve the very rules of the universe themselves, transforming them into a mysterious force that granted insight into their nature.

With it, he can increase his understanding of various things, as he had quite a lot of rules. If he goes with a normal pace, he will take hundreds or thousands of years for every single rule, which was very terrifyingly fast for other transcendents but for him was too slow.

Even if he combined both his current life and his past one, he wouldn't have a hundred years to spare—let alone the centuries required to cultivate each rule step by step.

But now, with this cauldron…

What once demanded centuries could be achieved in a single decade.

This was the greatest treasure to him right now. As now since ancient beings began to awaken, who knows? He might face the supreme and even sovereign in Rion, so improving strength is the most important.

Off to the side, Lucifer and the others watched as Apollo retrieved something from beneath the altar. Yet none of them dared to question him, nor did they attempt to interfere.

They were no longer in the same league.

Each time Apollo made a move, it shattered their understanding of power. And now… they could no longer even begin to comprehend where he truly stood.

Now, now, they wanted to just leave this place and just survive as the ruins became too dangerous for them.

"Alright, let's leave." Apollo naturally understood their thoughts, and he also wanted to leave. Because who knows what other dangers are hidden in these ruins?

Without hesitation, the group began to make their way out of the temple.

Along the way, they encountered hundreds of half-step Transcendents—remnants of Seraphiel's forces.

But to Apollo, they were insignificant.

With a single strike, he destroyed them all, like they were nothing.

Lucifer and others were numb seeing Apollo's strength, so they weren't shocked. They quickly then came out of the temple and made their way towards the outside.

There was still time before the ruins would fully open again, but for the sake of safety, they decided to wait near the entrance of the God Ruins.

Along the way, they encountered several dangers during their journey—but with Apollo's presence, they passed through everything unharmed.

Not a single drop of blood was shed.

But when they arrived at the exit of the god ruins, all of them were shocked from what they saw.

Groups of warriors from all different continents were gathered here, and it seems like them; they also had the same plan. But what was surprising was that aside from the warriors from Rion, many ancient warriors from the ruins also seemed to have gathered here.

This was completely unexpected.

According to the ancient scrolls of the Sacred Light Empire, those who belonged to the God Ruins should never have been able to leave. Yet now, everything had changed.

Just as Transcendents had suddenly begun to awaken, the rules governing the God Ruins seemed to have broken down.

What was once stable and predictable had turned into chaos.

Thankfully for now they all are calmly waiting for the opening and don't have any intention of fighting against the warriors from Rion.

But what would happen after the opening of the god ruins was another matter. With the appearance of ancient warriors, the already chaotic Rion would turn upside down once again.