"I did it! I finally did it!!!"

"After more than two hundred and twenty years in the Star Calendar, I have finally achieved Ascension to Divinity in the world that raised me!"

He raised his Divine Kingdom high, welcoming the radiant light.

The former Saint, Adelaide, had finally succeeded in his Ascension to Divinity.

High above in the Star Realm, beneath the network of rules laid by the Mana Will.

Another flash of light successfully embedded itself into this network.

At this moment, twenty-six Deities had long since gathered in the Star Realm to watch, along with a great number of Demigods and even quite a few Giant Demon Demigods.

These Demigods, whether they were Giant Demons or beings from the Star Empire, all looked at Adelaide with undeniable envy.

To this day, the available slots for Ascension to Divinity in the Karte World were gradually being filled within the Star Empire.

As the twenty-seventh being to achieve Ascension to Divinity in the Karte World, Adelaide’s journey had not been an easy one.

After all, within the Star Empire, anyone seeking Ascension to Divinity—with the exception of the Divine Favored—had to face a review process.

If you failed the review, you could not attempt Ascension to Divinity on your own, even if you were a Demigod at their Peak and had completed all preparations.

For a minor offense of unauthorized Ascension to Divinity, the Deities of the Pantheon would interrupt you at the very beginning of the process, and all your prior preparations would go up in smoke.

For a major offense, you would be interrupted mid-ascension, severely injured, and taken into the Empire’s custody.

’Illegal Ascension to Divinity... What a novel concept.’

But that was the reality of the situation.

This was because the number of slots for Ascension to Divinity in any given world was limited.

If a being who achieved Ascension to Divinity harbored ill intentions toward the Star Empire from the start, wouldn’t allowing such a Demigod to ascend be asking for trouble?

Furthermore, the slots for Deities were already a case of too many wolves and not enough meat.

If you took one, someone else couldn’t. Never mind the Divine Favored—even the native Saints and Demigods of the Star Empire would have something to say about it.

Therefore, while strength was certainly an emphasized component within the Star Empire, merits contributing to the Empire and even piety toward the Dragon God were also necessary parts of the review.

Fortunately, however, through the series of subsequent wars and resettlement affairs in the Crimson World, Adelaide had barely managed to accumulate the basic merits required for godhood.

To be on the safe side, after the basic unification of the Crimson World was complete, Adelaide even actively participated in the post-war re-education project for the native Human Race.

In other words, he became an instructor at an Advanced Extraordinary Academy.

By doing so, he finally received the Empire’s approval half a month ago!

Permission for Ascension to Divinity granted!

None of it had been easy.

After all, for over two hundred years, Adelaide had to focus on his cultivation while also accumulating merits for the Empire.

While the process wasn’t difficult, many of the tasks were meticulous and complex. Especially within the Empire’s administrative system, acquiring merits was a process of gradual accumulation, which even involved performance reviews held every five or ten years.

Even for Saints and Demigods, under a system like the Star Empire’s, there was never a moment of rest.

But it had to be said that it was precisely this system that gave the entire Star Empire an air of vibrant, competitive vitality, at least on the surface. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

A successful Ascension to Divinity was naturally followed by a banquet among the Deities, which was also an occasion to share insights on ascension and cultivation as a god.

By the time Adelaide saw the last of the Deities out of his Divine Kingdom, more than half a year had passed.

"They’re finally all gone."

Adelaide looked back at his empty Divine Kingdom.

With a shift in his expression, a misty, cloud-like gate opened on one side of the Divine Kingdom.

A woman then walked out.

This woman was none other than Adelaide’s fellow traveler, Sophie Sheffield.

"Congratulations, Adelaide, on your successful Ascension to Divinity."

The Sophie of today was already at the level of a Demigod at their Peak.

Unfortunately, her merits were still somewhat short of Adelaide’s.

It would likely take some more time before she could gain approval for her own Ascension to Divinity.

"It was just luck. To be honest, I never imagined I would succeed in my Ascension to Divinity on the first try."

"I had actually prepared for the worst-case scenario: if the Divine Kingdom had collapsed while I was raising it, even if I survived thanks to the protection of the other Deities, my Spiritual aspect would have been severely damaged, and my realm might have even dropped back to the Saint Tier."

"However, we were fortunate to have already succeeded in ascending to divinity once in another world. Retracing that old path made the whole process surprisingly easy."

Adelaide said with a smiling shrug.

"There’s no need to talk about the ascension process."

"We both know how Ascension to Divinity works. A person only gets one chance in their lifetime. The Empire just changes the ’nine-deaths-one-life’ situation into one where you can survive failure."

"Ascension is a process of moving ever forward. There’s no such thing as failing and then getting another try."

"After all, failing the Ascension means being branded a failure by the Mana Will. Getting a second chance is practically impossible."

"As for the Divine Favored, none who have attempted Ascension to Divinity have ever failed, so they don’t count."

Sophie said nonchalantly, her gaze turning sharp as she looked at Adelaide.

"Adelaide, you should know that I don’t want to talk about this right now."

"I assume that by now, you can communicate with your Half-Body in the other world without any hindrance, through your Divine Spirit, correct?"

"So, what’s the situation like?"

As Sophie’s words fell, Adelaide shook his head and chuckled.

"Well, how should I put it... The Half-Body’s situation is more or less what we predicted."