Nourished by the Black Mist and sustained by the flesh, blood, spirituality, and life of the gray rats.

After more than half a month.

The Evil Spirit Divine Mage, Francis, had recovered. He had also been completely refined by Zorn.

Beside a dense cloud of Calamity Black Mist.

The now-awakened Evil Spirit Divine Mage, Francis, curiously surveyed the strange new world before him.

He opened his palm and, with a calm and natural expression, began to absorb the Calamity Black Mist.

The moment he awoke, he knew who his master was.

He understood to whom he owed his allegiance and for whom he would lay down his life.

Zorn didn’t mind him absorbing the Calamity Black Mist. In fact, he was pleased to see it.

The absorbed Calamity Black Mist would enhance their abilities and overall strength.

At the same time, it would become the chains of a cage, binding them firmly within Zorn’s Sequence of Lower Rankers. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

They would become Zorn’s little anchors, helping him slowly leverage more of the Black Mist.

The four Guardians were Zorn’s original Lower Rank Sequence.

Through the Calamity Black Mist, Zorn could also imprison other Sequences and convert them into his own.

The Evil Spirit Divine Mage, Francis, before him,

was perfectly suited to become one of Zorn’s Lower Rank Sequence.

With only a tenth of Egunus’s flesh and blood remaining, the Evil Spirit Divine Mage’s power had been drastically reduced.

Although he no longer possessed the might of a major boss-level Sequence,

he was still at the level of a minor boss.

In fact, his Sequence was considerably stronger than those of Alvin and Vanessa.

As Zorn and Vanessa arrived,

the Evil Spirit Divine Mage remarked with feeling as he absorbed the Calamity Black Mist.

"I never knew this miraculous Calamity Black Mist could be drawn from the Calamity Origin Land into the real world."

"Master, your methods are truly beyond comprehension."

"The Master is full of surprises!"

Vanessa said softly from the side.

"Master, what’s the situation outside? And my steamship stronghold?"

The Evil Spirit Divine Mage, Francis, asked as he continued to absorb the mist.

"During that gathering, the vast majority of the Sun Secret Cult’s Transcendents were captured or killed."

"The Cardinal was severely wounded, but he escaped."

"Bishop Yula escaped as well."

"Afterward, the Church conducted a thorough purge. Many of the nobles who collaborated with the Sun Church were also killed."

"As for that steamship of yours, I took a look when I had a moment. It’s already been excavated, and the entire vessel has been towed away."

Hearing this, Francis couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh.

"That’s a shame. On that steamship, I used the Great Prophecy Technique to awaken the Spirit of Steam. If it were still there, it would have been quite useful."

Hearing this, Zorn, who was standing nearby, slowly began to speak.

"Actually, your approach wasn’t quite right."

"Hm?"

Francis paused, looking at Zorn in confusion.

"That steamship was too large, and its Steam Furnace wasn’t in a state of continuous operation."

"Therefore, the Enlightenment effect of your Great Prophecy Technique wasn’t very effective."

"These surrounding Steam Furnace lighthouses, on the other hand, absorb Source Energy, burn it, release steam, and light the towers."

"They operate with very stable efficiency, a complete life cycle."

"They are perfect candidates for your Great Prophecy Technique’s Enlightenment."

A pensive Francis looked toward the Steam Furnace lighthouses.

He immediately had a new goal.

Using the Great Prophecy Technique for Enlightenment was his favorite thing to do.

After a moment of thought, Zorn looked at Francis and asked slowly.

"Francis, do you know the specific locations of the Golden Skeletons within your Sun Church?"

The Sun King’s Golden Skeleton was one of the resources the Sun Church was most fond of collecting.

As a core member groomed by the Sun Church, Francis was naturally aware of such resources.

After a moment of careful thought, Francis looked at Zorn and replied.

"Replying to you, Master, I do know of them, but both strongholds are major ones."

"With so many Sun Church members captured this time, the resources there have either been moved or already seized by the Holy Fierce Sun Church."

"It’s basically impossible to obtain any Sun King’s Golden Skeletons from the Sun Church now."

Hearing this, Zorn couldn’t help but rub his temples.

The Sun King’s Golden Skeleton was incredibly valuable; it wasn’t something one could obtain easily.

’I already got lucky once; I can’t expect to strike gold every time.’

"Then..."

With a flick of his wrist, Zorn produced several pieces of parchment with drawings on them and handed them to Francis.

"Have you ever seen any of these Sealing Gates?"

’According to the original timeline, in several of the Sun Church’s small-town strongholds around Ogrande City, there should be three to five special Sealing Gates. Behind these gates, aside from some Extraordinary Knowledge Books and a few Gold Coins, there was a chance of finding a Sun King’s Golden Skeleton, or other valuable items.’

After a moment, Francis’s gaze fell on a drawing of a sheep skull staff with Demon Horns.

He then carefully handed the parchment back to Zorn.

"Master, I have seen this Sealed Land."

"It’s deep within a small valley town west of the Old Town District."

"However, the Sun Church members researched it for a long time with no results. They just used it as a small stronghold for recruiting Believers."

As he listened to Francis’s explanation,

Zorn’s eyes narrowed, a strange light glinting in them as he studied the "Sheep Skull Demon Staff."

’I can’t believe such a treasure hasn’t been discovered yet.’

’Now... it’s going to be all mine.’

Behind the gate marked by the sheep skull with Demon Horns lay a top-tier Upper Ranker item of Authority: the Sun King’s Golden Scepter.

The Golden Scepter contained the power of the Sun Authority.

When placed in the Calamity Black Mist, not only could it effectively leverage more of the mist, but once Zorn obtained the Sun King’s Golden Scepter and advanced to Level Four, he could begin to construct the foundation of his Spiritual Realm.

With this in mind, Zorn immediately sent a message to Alvin, the Doomsday Shadow Stab, through the Calamity Black Mist.

He ordered him to scout the valley town to the west, to see if the Church had discovered the location and to report on the number and strength of any Transcendents they had deployed there.

Having done all this, Zorn turned to the Evil Spirit Divine Mage, Francis, and spoke slowly.

"Next, you need to find a suitable place to lay low in Ogrande City."

"Then, you will hide your identity and wait. When the time is right, you will join me in unleashing an Evil Spirit Calamity and direct it at the Sun Church."

Francis replied at once with a pious expression.

"As you command, my great master!"

Zorn could feel that Ogrande City was far from calm.

There was the Sun Church, which had just suffered a heavy blow.

Then there was the Holy Fierce Sun Church, which had suffered a setback at his hands.

And finally, the officials of Ogrande City, who controlled vast Transcendent resources and were on the verge of a boom in Transcendent numbers.

Undercurrents were stirring, and a major event was about to unfold.

And while Zorn had to make numerous preparations,

his most urgent task was to raise his Level to Level 4 as quickly as possible to better face the coming wave of a new era!