The massive Star Realm battle, which had lasted for a full week, slowly came to a close.

The fighting was particularly fierce for the first two days; the rest of the time was mostly spent wrapping up and clearing the battlefield.

The Middle Rank God Orwell sat steadily deep within the Star Realm Void.

His gaze swept across the vast Star Realm battlefield, his expression betraying neither joy nor anger, his majesty naturally restrained.

This war, planned for over three years, had finally begun.

His original plan was to lure out the Evil Gods to fight so he could counterattack.

But those Evil Gods would rather be slowly bled dry than come out for a desperate, life-or-death battle.

The Divine Kingdom had originally ordered him to conquer these few Material Plane Worlds as quickly as possible.

But judging by the current progress, if those Evil Gods continued to hide deep within the Material Plane Worlds, this war of conquest would likely turn into a hundred-year war.

And that was something his superiors absolutely did not want to see.

Moreover, he had learned from the Upper Rank Gods that a shocking Mythical Wave was surging up from the depths of the cosmos.

This would have a tremendous impact on all Divine Spirits like them.

If he could conquer these important Material Plane Worlds, then when the Mythical Wave swept through the Star Realm, he might be able to use the resources and power of these worlds to break through and become an Upper Rank God.

But... judging by the current situation, that was looking highly unlikely.

These Evil God Worlds were each more cunning and cautious than the last.

He slowly withdrew his thoughts from the current complicated situation.

’This battlefield’s situation wasn’t a total loss, though.’

’That little guy’s Talent is incredibly impressive.’

’And most importantly...’

The Middle Rank God Orwell’s eyes narrowed slightly.

’This fellow is a potential—Evil God.’

Others couldn’t sense it, but as a Middle Rank God, he could perceive the faintly blooming, awakening Evil God Divinity.

’When it comes to fighting Evil Gods, this guy will be one of a kind.’

’Since that fellow Ossirion threw this Evil Spirit Wizard under my command,’

’I should make a point to cultivate him.’

’If he can really help me break this stalemate within a decade or so, then this batch of invested resources will be more than worth it.’

...

Atop a tower on a Star Realm half-plane.

WHOOSH...

With a long exhale, Zorn slowly opened his eyes.

’The Star Realm Source Energy here is scarce, so the recovery rate is quite slow. It took a whole week just to barely recover from my injuries.’

’If the Source Energy were abundant, I could have recovered in a day or two.’

’Of course, if there were other Level 14 or Level 15 Upper Rank Transcendents for me to devour, absorb, and digest, I could recover in an instant.’

The Level 10 Transcendents Zorn currently controlled couldn’t possibly withstand his devouring.

He kept them as devout Believers.

This provided Zorn with Spiritual Essence and a small amount of Faith.

The former allowed Zorn to slowly raise his Level, while the latter accelerated the revival process of his Evil God Divinity.

’It’s already been a week since the battle ended.’

’My war contributions should be distributed by now!’

’After all, I’m waiting on this batch of contributions to exchange for resources!’

As Zorn was lost in thought, BUZZZ! His Divine Kingdom Ritual Bracelet vibrated slightly. It was a call from the Female Blade Master Reya.

He answered, and a projection of the Holy Crown Reya’s upper body appeared.

"Lady Reya!"

Zorn greeted her.

"Zorn, the war contributions are about to be distributed. Your total this time is 3,950,000."

Zorn was stunned.

"3,950,000? There must be some mistake!"

Reya chuckled.

"There’s no mistake."

"For your kills on the front lines, you received a gift of about 600,000 war contributions from Lord Karem."

"During the two days or so of battlefield slaughter, you earned around 350,000 war contributions."

"Among the Upper Rank Transcendents, your contribution total is at the very top."

"And the other 3,000,000 are a reward for you from Lord Orwell, the Middle Rank God."

A reward from a Divine Spirit!

A smile immediately spread across Zorn’s face as he spoke.

"Thank you very much for Lord Orwell’s reward!"

For Upper Rank Transcendents like Zorn, who didn’t yet have many opportunities to develop and harvest resources on their own, investments and rewards from the Holy Crown and Divine Spirits were extremely important.

They could directly accelerate the growth of Transcendents like him.

"Divine Kingdom war contributions are basically equivalent to Star Trace Coins."

"You can use your Divine Kingdom Ritual Bracelet to access the Divine Kingdom’s war contribution store and purchase the resources you need."

"A Traveler will deliver them."

"It’s similar to being in the Divine Kingdom itself, but since this location is remote, you’ll have to wait an extra two days."

"Understood!"

Zorn nodded in agreement.

’3,950,000 war contributions... This is enough to raise my strength to another level,’ Zorn thought to himself, gently rubbing his palms together.

After ending the call with Holy Crown Female Blade Master Reya, Zorn logged into the Divine Kingdom’s war contribution store.

The 3,950,000 war contributions were already in his account.

’The first thing I need to buy is... the Magic Ring Spirit Fruit.’

Back when Zorn fought that powerful Ancient God Messenger, Zorn’s foundation was no weaker than his opponent’s, but that Ancient God Messenger had cultivated for an extremely long time.

The opponent had at least 35 Magic Rings.

If Zorn also had over 35 Rune Magic Rings, he definitely could have won with ease.

Soon, Zorn found the "Magic Ring Spirit Fruit."

One Magic Ring Spirit Fruit cost 50,000 war contributions.

Zorn exchanged for 20 of them in one go.

Just like that, one million war contributions were gone.

After searching for some other resources, Zorn shook his head and closed the Divine Kingdom’s war contribution store.

The Divine Kingdom had plenty of good things, but their prices were not cheap at all.

For Zorn right now, however, the best resource was still the "Magic Ring Spirit Fruit."

’I’m different from others. In the early stages of comprehending and mastering the Calamity Rune Magic Ring, my efficiency is astonishing, and I face almost no bottlenecks.’

’Although, as the number of my Rune Magic Rings gradually increases, the difficulty of comprehending and forming new ones also continues to rise.’

’But... my Divine Kingdom and Tree of the Magic Ring are constantly absorbing the source of the Cosmic Demon Pool.’

’This will allow me to attune more deeply with the Rune Magic Rings, further enhancing my comprehension efficiency and formation speed.’

’And as the number of Rune Magic Rings increases, it strengthens the Tree of Calamity Magic Ring, which in turn will further accelerate my absorption of the Cosmic Demon Pool’s source.’

’Investing all possible resources into Magic Ring Spirit Fruits to increase my number of Rune Magic Rings is the most correct choice at this stage.’

Zorn’s thoughts turned to this batch of nearly four million war contributions.

’Even if I use them sparingly, I’ll need one Magic Ring Spirit Fruit per week. That’s four a month, for 200,000 war contributions.’

’In a year, I’ll need 2,400,000 just for Magic Ring Spirit Fruits.’

’This batch of resources is barely enough for two years of cultivation.’

’There might not be another large-scale war like this within the next two years.’

’Besides that, I also don’t know if Fedor’s Dark Gate will be able to open in the next two years.’

’If it can, that would be fantastic.’

’Once I enter the Dark Cosmic Realm, the resources inside are incredibly abundant.’

’A brand-new, unexplored map is a treasure trove for a Player!’

Several days later, the 20 Magic Ring Spirit Fruits Zorn had purchased were delivered to him by a Level 15 from the Wanderer Sequence.

After receiving this batch of Magic Ring Spirit Fruits, Zorn applied to use a Source Pool for his cultivation.

Here in the Star Realm Void, applying to cultivate in a Source Pool came at a considerable cost.

However! Zorn was a genius being cultivated by the Divine Kingdom.

During his Upper Rank stage, he could enjoy a free supply of the Divine Kingdom’s Sequence Essence all the way until he reached Level 15 Peak.

This was a cultivation term established when Zorn signed his training contract with the Divine Kingdom.

...

Fedori Star Realm, Half-plane Source Pool Floating Island Area.

In the past, the number of Transcendents here was scarce.

But with the distribution of a new batch of war contributions and the prospect of no battles for at least the next six months, or even one or two years, this Half-plane Source Pool floating island area was now packed with people.

Many people wanted to use the rich Sequence Essence within the Source Pool area to achieve a breakthrough and advance.

Even the Upper Rank area had numerous Cultivators waiting to enter the Source Pools.

A silver meteor streaked across the Star Realm Void.

On the floating island, many Middle Rank and Upper Rank Transcendents turned to look.

A silver meteor!

They had a vague idea of who that powerful lord was.

In the previous battle, Zorn had cut down five people in a row.

He had made a bit of a name for himself in the Fedori Star Realm Fortress.

Many people now knew that a powerful Evil Spirit Wizard from the Divine Kingdom had arrived.

When he flew using his Divine Kingdom - Angel Armament, he looked like a silver meteor, incredibly brilliant and dazzling.

Zorn’s figure emerged from the silver meteor. After landing in the service area outside the Source Pool tower, a pretty, Level 5 Female Knight attendant immediately came forward to greet him.

"Lord Zorn! Are you here to apply to use a Source Pool for cultivation?"

"Yes."

Zorn nodded.

"The top-tier Source Pool, for one year of cultivation time. The Divine Kingdom has already approved it!"

As he spoke, Zorn presented the credentials on his Divine Kingdom Ritual Bracelet.

The Female Knight receptionist immediately reported to her team’s supervisor.

Before long, a Level 13 Upper Rank supervisor arrived and led Zorn toward the top-tier Source Pool area high up in the tower.

As Zorn and the supervisor flew directly up the tower, the surrounding Level 11, 12, and 13 Transcendents were all filled with envy.

They were ordinary Upper Rankers.

Although they weren’t weak by any means, and were even considered experts among their peers on their own Plane Worlds, an expert on one Plane was just an ordinary Upper Rank in the vast Star Realm.

At that moment, these Upper Rank Transcendents began to murmur among themselves.

"The top-tier Source Pool area costs fifty thousand war contributions a month! I wouldn’t dare be that extravagant even when I’m trying to break through to the next level. That Lord Evil Spirit Wizard actually requested a full year’s worth?"

"A full year... that’s 600,000 war contributions."

"I might not be able to earn that many war contributions even if I worked here for twenty years!"

"You just don’t get it!" someone nearby explained.

"For top-tier geniuses of the Divine Kingdom like him, cultivation in the Source Pool is free!"

"Hiss... Free?"

"That’s right, free. The Divine Kingdom provides these geniuses with a free supply of Sequence Essence to help them raise their Level to 15!"

"I heard... that what these top-tier geniuses pursue are Rune Magic Rings! And higher Ancient God Curse Levels!"

"Ancient God Curse... that’s way too far out of our reach. Just one Forbidden Curse Secret Technique is enough to keep me in Ascetic Practice for a long, long time."

"The gap is too big. We’re not even on the same level!"

"Indeed!"