"If you hadn’t obtained the opening ritual for the Ancient Ruins, we would have been kept in the dark this entire time."

"Duke Mu Huo and the Church would have been the only ones to benefit."

Zorn’s mind stirred at his words.

"Thank you, Marquis Albert. I will do my best to help Madam Mable pioneer the world deep within."

Marquis Albert’s special permission meant Zorn could, to a certain extent, procure some of the treasures inside for himself.

’After all, isn’t the purpose of a Pioneer’s ruins—a Legendary Ancient Mage’s ruins, at that—to cultivate one’s own Transcendents?’

After Marquis Albert led Duke Mu Huo away under guard, Split Mist Town returned to peace once more.

Before long, Zorn joined Madam Mable in the steam car, and they set off toward Ogrande City.

Inside the steam car.

When the driver, Mr. Kane, told her about their reckless driving earlier, she didn’t say much.

’The Church’s Knight Order had blatantly invaded Split Mist Town. Running down one or two of them would have been letting them off lightly.’

’If a real conflict had broken out, the matter wouldn’t have been settled with just one or two deaths.’

As the steam car moved forward, Madam Mable detailed the current progress of the expedition inside the Ancient Mage Ruins.

She then looked at Zorn and spoke slowly.

"With the current progress, how do you think we should effectively handle these resources and the Extraordinary Knowledge?"

After a moment of thought, Zorn slowly laid out his plan.

"We should openly recruit from the universities in Ogrande City, then conduct detailed screenings and tests to select students who have a Talent for Extraordinary Studies."

"Incorporate them into Ogrande City’s Transcendent system."

"This is the most effective way to handle these Extraordinary Sequences."

"At the same time, we should establish an archive for Extraordinary matters to categorize and summarize the vast Extraordinary Knowledge from the Ancient Ruins."

"It would be best to further develop large-scale, systematic training programs for Transcendents, with a dedicated training base."

"The entire process should start with a small-scale pilot program before being slowly rolled out."

"This would build a Transcendent training system for the entire Autanston Republic."

"Besides homegrown Transcendents, I also suggest we accept some from the outside, for example, the Witches from High Mountain."

Madam Mable was slightly taken aback after hearing Zorn’s proposal.

’To have such a clear thought process and plan... he obviously didn’t just come up with this on the spot.’

She immediately began to consider it seriously. The more she thought about it, the more she realized just how good Zorn’s plan was.

’Why is the Church so powerful? Isn’t it because they have an effective system for training Transcendents?’

’If Ogrande City’s official forces want to grow stronger, we must also establish a formal process.’

"Your ideas are very good. I will consider them seriously and report them to my superiors."

"Also..."

Madam Mable paused.

"I’ve heard that quite a few Witches have joined your Steam Potion Factory."

"Yes!"

Zorn nodded.

"However, not all Witches are interested in brewing potions. There are also quite a few who are talented in combat."

"Allowing these combat-oriented Witches to enter Ogrande City’s official Transcendent system might be a good choice."

"Mm! I had similar thoughts. For now, find a group of Witches and send them over. I’ll see for myself."

Madam Mable said.

"Understood. I’ll send a batch of combat-oriented Witches over as soon as possible!"

’For Witches skilled in combat, joining Ogrande City’s Transcendent system would allow them to be put to better use.’

’It would also help me better integrate the continuous stream of Witches arriving.’

’In the future, the number of Transcendents is only going to increase.’

’The sooner a systematic training program is established, the greater our advantage will be.’

This was also why Zorn had suggested establishing the Transcendent system as soon as possible.

But at this moment, Zorn’s thoughts were not on cultivating Transcendents in Ogrande City.

Instead, they were on how to deal with the many treasures inside the Ancient Mage Ruins.

’Originally, with Duke Mu Huo and Madam Mable pitted against each other, it would have been quite troublesome for me to get my hands on the treasures inside.’

’But now that Duke Mu Huo has been kicked out, Madam Mable is in sole command.’

’And Marquis Albert gave me special permission to participate.’

’Since we’re all on the same side, even if I were to sneakily pocket a few things, Madam Mable would surely turn a blind eye.’

’After all, neither Marquis Albert nor Madam Mable have asked about the resources from the Mirror Witch on the third layer. They’ve clearly defaulted them to me.’

’The Legendary Ancient Mage’s ruins themselves contain countless top-tier resources.’

’On top of that, there are also a number of Hidden Resources, Special Routes, and Ultimate Treasures that only a Player can find and unlock.’

’With my free access, I can unearth all these treasures without anyone knowing.’

’The Ancient Ruins, constructed from numerous World Layer Frameworks, are a treasure in their own right.’

’Before, I definitely couldn’t have brought my Magical Castle inside.’

’But now, as long as I don’t go too far, Madam Mable will permit it.’

’Bringing the Magical Castle inside to absorb the properties of some of the smaller worlds can strengthen its powerful functions.’

The place Zorn wanted to visit most was the seventh and deepest layer: the Magic Ring Tree Layer.

’I need to absorb the Magic Ring Tree·World Origin from within.’

’Then I can cultivate my own Tree of the Magic Ring inside the Magical Castle.’

’This will drastically raise the Magical Castle’s potential and enhance its magical properties.’

’It will also further increase the strength of my future Steam Divine Kingdom: Magical Castle.’

’With Duke Mu Huo gone...’

The vast resources of the Legendary Ancient Mage’s ruins were slowly unfurling before Zorn’s eyes.

Ogrande City could draw a large amount of resources from it to nourish and strengthen itself.

Zorn could also use the resources of this Legendary Ancient Mage to further his own strength.

’We’ve already pioneered up to the fifth layer. It won’t be long before we reach the seventh.’

’The subsequent layers are more about reaping rewards than fighting.’

’And with my participation, I can slowly take care of the enemies on the remaining layers all by myself.’

Zorn already had a clear plan for harvesting the resources from the Legendary Ancient Mage’s ruins.

Although this was a huge win, some tricky problems were on the horizon.

The fact that Zorn, a Fighting Master, had killed the Rat King was now known to many.

This was bound to cause some trouble!

After all, when it was just a rumor, he had already attracted plenty of snooping.

Now that it was confirmed, the trouble would be even greater.

Of course, with trouble came opportunity.

For example!

There was a high probability that someone from the Sun Church would secretly contact him.

Although the Crying Blood Sun hadn’t risen yet, it wouldn’t be long.

The Crying Blood Sun would rise again.

It was just... this time.

Zorn Corick could engage in a deep cooperation with the Sun Church.

When the Crying Blood Sun rose, a powerful and influential Zorn would participate as a "harvester," not as a Sacrificial Offerer!