In the majestic Golden Throne, high above the dark and silent Spiritual Realm.

Zorn quietly observed the movements of the few Lower Rankers around him.

Before he had established his Spiritual Realm, Zorn could only vaguely and imprecisely sense the location of his other Lower Rankers.

He still needed to use a ritual just to contact them.

But now...

With the consolidation of his Spiritual Realm, the silhouettes that appeared deep within the swirling clumps of Black Mist were each of Zorn’s Lower Rankers.

Not only could Zorn contact these Lower Rankers at any time through his Spiritual Realm,

he could also use it to spy on... ahem... to *supervise* the activities of his few Lower Rankers.

Zorn gazed out.

The Lantern-carrying Elder was guarding his Lantern, diligently cultivating the Flame Secret Technique.

The Merciful Witch, Vanessa, was deep in a basement, hidden in the darkness, silently digesting the Calamity Black Mist she had absorbed from Zorn.

Francis was moving through a small alleyway at high speed.

As for the Doomsday Shadow Stab...

Zorn’s first glance was one of satisfaction.

’He’s already broken through to Level 4 in just a few short days.’

But when Zorn took a closer look, his brow furrowed slightly.

It was two or three in the afternoon, yet Alvin was fast asleep.

If it were just sleeping, that would be one thing, but the man had two streetwalkers in his arms.

Judging from the alcohol, glasses, food, desserts, plates, and torn undergarments scattered about the room, the man had clearly been living it up.

’Looks like it’s high time I put some pressure on this one,’

Zorn mused.

The power of the Evil Spirit Authority was certainly immense.

But he couldn’t be too strict and force his Lower Rankers to follow his commands to the letter.

Being too rigid could cause a lot of trouble, and he might even be seen through.

Yet, without enough prodding and pressure, if he let them be, they would become lazy.

After a moment of observation,

Zorn began to use the power of the Spiritual Realm to record the message he wanted to convey.

He would deliver it to Alvin at sunset.

The main point of the message was to tell him to train hard. In a little while, they would need to prepare for the capture of the other two members of the Sanma.

Furthermore, he would have Alvin fight the Silver Horse, the Holy Healing Warrior, one-on-one.

This would be a test of his training progress.

Zorn knew about the grudges between the three members of the Sanma.

With such an incentive, Zorn was confident Alvin would have enough motivation to grow stronger.

...

「A few days passed.」

Zorn retrieved the new batch of Spiritual Statues he had previously commissioned from Miss Craftsman.

Spiritual Statues needed to be placed in the Black Hand Organization Alvin belonged to, as well as the Black Hand Organizations of the other two members of the Sanma that he planned to capture next.

After all, these Mafia groups also had some Transcendents.

Plus, the number of Mafia members was not small.

Once they were influenced by the Spiritual Statues, they could provide Zorn with a considerable amount of Fighting Essence.

Moreover, Zorn intended to have these Mafia groups collect as many Extraordinary Materials as possible to create more Transcendents.

Having Witches work in the "factory" was a good way to obtain Essence.

But he couldn’t rely solely on the Witches.

The "Transcendent Mafia Project" could also supply a good number of Transcendents, thereby providing Zorn with a decent amount of Fighting Essence.

Time flew by, and before he knew it, it was mid-October.

Finally, some good news arrived that made Zorn overjoyed.

Over at Split Mist Town, after more than a month, they had finally broken through the sixth layer and entered the seventh.

After receiving this news,

early the next morning, Zorn arrived at Split Mist Town.

The news that the seventh layer of the treasure in Split Mist Town had been breached had also alarmed the upper echelons of Ogrande City.

When Zorn arrived, more than a dozen steam cars were already parked outside.

Zorn, of course, was sensible enough not to push his way in.

He simply waited in his carriage outside, quietly meditating.

Many people seemed to have come.

But very few of them likely truly understood this treasure and how to utilize its resources.

The treasure site of the Legendary Ancient Mage had unique uses and corresponding resource outputs for each layer.

The resource Zorn currently needed was the Mechanical Crystal Cores from the third layer’s Mirror World.

These were the core components for constructing the Source Pool of a small Steam Lighthouse.

Every day, the Transcendent teams from Ogrande City would have some success.

Zorn, however, had long since made a private agreement with Madam Mable.

Every few days, Zorn would purchase a batch of Mechanical Crystal Cores.

Zorn used these Mechanical Crystal Cores to gradually build Steam Source Energy Furnaces, which he installed inside the Magical Castle.

Before long, the Steam Magical Castle would be born.

At that point, both its mobility and functionality would be maxed out.

It wasn’t until around one or two in the afternoon that the numerous steam cars began to leave one after another.

Only then did Zorn have the opportunity to enter Split Mist Town.

Although security in Split Mist Town was much stricter this time,

Zorn was still able to enter unimpeded.

Zorn silently moved the Magical Castle cottage to the seventh layer.

Although the Extraordinary Guards stationed on the seventh layer also noticed Zorn,

they didn’t pay him much mind once they identified him as Zorn, the Fighting Master.

The Transcendents on duty in Split Mist Town were all aware of Zorn’s identity and understood the outstanding contributions the Fighting Master had made to the town’s treasure.

After Zorn had the Magical Castle take root in the seventh layer, the "Magic Ring Tree Layer"...

Deep within the Magical Castle.

WHOOOOM... WHOOOOM...

The deep, heavy, and melodious sound of a steam whistle surged with powerful force, reverberating throughout the entire World.

’Hmm... not bad. The prototype of the Steam Magical Castle has already taken shape without me even realizing it.’

Zorn couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as he watched the thirty-plus Steam Furnaces inside the Steam Magical Castle all vent Source Energy steam in unison.

The Steam Magical Castle itself didn’t possess any particularly magical power.

But this was just the foundation, a basic vehicle.

If the lair of the "Zorn Corick" from the original timeline hadn’t been that damned graveyard Divine Kingdom,

but a mobile War Fortress Divine Kingdom instead,

then the outcome might have been different.

And now, this steam-venting Magical Castle...

...was clearly the prototype of a future, fully-armed, new-era Steam Divine Kingdom.

...

With the formal completion of the exploration of Split Mist Town’s seventh layer, and with Ogrande City continuously pushing for the creation of new Transcendents during this period, the tide of the era surged ever more fiercely.

Zorn could feel it from the accelerated growth of the two immortal Calamity Sacred Marks.

He could sense that the scroll of the Ogrande Poem Chapter was becoming increasingly vibrant and colorful.

More and more Transcendents were constantly getting involved.

The officials of Ogrande City had completed the excavation, development, and utilization of the deep underground treasure.

The Holy Fierce Sun Church had scavenged the numerous resources left behind by the Sun Church and had reaped considerable rewards.

Meanwhile, the Sun Church was secretly plotting that terrifying Miracle Ceremony, the Crying Blood Sun.

And the Blood Shadow Rose, which was cooperating with the Sun Church, had happily obtained a secret clue.

As they invested more resources into the excavation, they realized they were unearthing a great Divine Kingdom, a treasure of immense significance.

If the excavation was successful, their Blood Shadow Rose would gain unimaginable rewards.

They could even leap to become a powerful organization in control of the power of a Divine Kingdom.

Every faction was advancing toward its own goal.

But not every organization had a bright future.

...

「Early one morning.」

After breakfast, Zorn arrived at a corner of Geluo Long Street.

He had changed into a plain, thick gray coat and a slightly worn woven cap, looking like an ordinary person.

In late October, the weather had already turned a bit cold.

The passersby were all dressed in thicker clothing.

Zorn raised his hand and hailed a carriage.

Just as he was about to board,

not far away, a newsboy wearing a newsboy cap and carrying a heavy newspaper bag ran by, waving a paper and shouting at the top of his lungs.

"Extra, extra! Holy Fierce Sun Cardinal has defected!"

"Hundreds of innocent residents slaughtered overnight!"

"Terrifying Evil God ritual performed in the Saintisman Capital!"

"Extra, extra..."

As the newsboy shouted with all his might,

many pedestrians immediately stopped in their tracks and took out change to buy the freshly printed newspaper.

"Please wait a moment, I’m going to buy a newspaper,"

Zorn said to the coachman.

Soon, having bought a paper that still smelled of fresh ink, Zorn got into the carriage.

"To Number 64, Lakefront Manor, in the south."

"Right away, esteemed guest!"

Yesterday, Zorn had received a secret letter.

It had been delivered by a solid black owl.

It was likely the messenger of that Dark Wizard.

The letter’s contents instructed Zorn to go to the Lakeside Castle.

Although the letter mentioned nothing else,

Zorn understood that the Shadow Castle’s operation was about to begin.

He had just left the house and already seemed to have stumbled upon something extraordinary.

’A Cardinal’s betrayal?’

’An evil ritual for an Evil God?’

Inside the carriage, Zorn read the news from the Saintisman Empire in detail.

The report stated that around October 20th, the day before yesterday, in the capital of the Saintisman Empire, hundreds of ordinary residents were slaughtered overnight.

An entire residential building was covered—floor, walls, and ceiling—with blood and mangled flesh.

Horrifying, skin-crawling symbols were everywhere.

The air was filled with a nauseating, grotesque stench.

An investigation revealed it was the work of "Chuckman Blaze," a Cardinal of the Holy Fierce Sun.

When the investigating Transcendent team arrived at the residence of the elderly Cardinal,

they found Chuckman Blaze’s home looking as if it had been abandoned for a hundred years.

And Chuckman Blaze’s family, as well as the dozen or so servants who worked for him—the butler, stable hand, maids, cook, gardener, and so on—were all dead, their bodies withered like rotten wood.

The newspaper was filled with a series of speculative terms: "Corruption, mutation, loss of control, defection to an Evil God!"

’The Great Collapse... is about to begin!’

After finishing the paper, Zorn closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

As for the situation with the Cardinal, Chuckman Blaze,

Zorn knew it all too well.

In his early years, Chuckman Blaze had risked life and limb for the Holy Fierce Sun, earning great merit through his hard work.

This was the origin of his noble status as a Cardinal.

But the arduous battles of his youth had severely depleted his Life Force, bringing him to the end of his life just as the steam tide was beginning to swell.

Chuckman Blaze had repeatedly made offerings to the great Holy Fierce Sun, praying for the gift of a longer life.

But the god paid him no heed.

Resentful, Chuckman Blaze turned to other hidden existences, seeking a longer life.

The formless Upper Ranker, Torrasque, answered him!

After several years of communication between them,

Chuckman Blaze got his wish for a long life.

But he also paid a price for it.

And now, many more people would bear that price for him!

Lost in thought, Zorn looked out the carriage window at the street.

’If this isn’t handled well, even Ogrande City will suffer to some extent.’

’This time, it’s really not some Evil God causing trouble in the shadows.’

’This time... it’s the terrifying pollution of an Upper Ranker.’

’The landmark event that will accelerate the decline of the Holy Fierce Sun—Torrasque’s Pollution—is coming.’