’Rumor has it there’s been a change in the Tomb Star Realm?’
Ron frowned.
The location of the Tomb Star Realm had long been sealed away by those "New Gods." It had mysteriously vanished from the Star Sea, and not even the Sovereign of a Cosmic Country like himself was qualified to learn its exact coordinates.
And even if one reached the realm of the "New Gods" and learned the coordinates, they couldn’t physically enter without a Divine Rune.
They could only monitor it from afar.
Ron possessed the skill [Destiny] and was highly sensitive to fate. He immediately understood that if there truly was a change in the Tomb Star Realm, it must be related to the Divine Rune that had appeared earlier. This was excellent news for him! Now that the Tower King was dead, besides Shi Ming, he was the only one who knew the whereabouts of the Divine Rune!
This was his chance!
A once-in-ten-thousand-year opportunity!
If he failed to seize this gift from destiny, he would surely face divine retribution.
And the price would likely be never getting such a great opportunity again in this lifetime, dooming him to mediocrity—just an ordinary Sovereign of a Cosmic Country.
Ron’s body vanished from the True King Hall.
’I must seize the Divine Rune before those New Gods notice. And didn’t that Shi Ming take the Divine Spinal Marrow that belonged to the ’Angler’ from the depths of the Star Crypt? I’ll take that as well. With it, I can ascend to become a New God and have a much better chance of success in my future plans.’
Swift and decisive, using any means necessary.
This Sovereign had always been this way.
...
...
...
After returning to the Endless Ocean from the Earth Core, sharing the story of his subterranean journey with Elder Zhou and the others, and announcing that the crisis of the Unceasing Water was officially resolved, Shi Ming declined the invitation to the celebration banquet and returned to Dayun at the first opportunity.
He was too tired...
Even with a body and will of iron, it was hard to remain energetic and lively after sixty-seven days of high-intensity spiritual battle. A long, deep rest was what he needed most right now.
’Everything else unimportant can wait...’
On his soft bed, Shi Ming fell asleep in a second. The Life Origin fused within Zero continued to operate ceaselessly, and new vitality slowly seeped into his parched Sea of Spirit. Meanwhile, the Colorful Insect suppressed beneath the Heaven-Reaching Tower could finally catch a moment’s breath.
However, having barely recovered a sliver of its power, it sorrowfully discovered that the Heaven-Reaching Tower, which originally had only ninety-nine floors, now seemed to have one more. This repaired the tower’s only weakness and loophole... If it had been at its peak right now, it might have been able to seize this final chance, fight for its life, and secure a last hope of escape.
A pity...
Forget ninety-nine floors; with its current strength, it couldn’t even break out of ten.
It could only watch helplessly as the final floor of the tower suppressing it solidified bit by bit, severing all chances of escape.
...
Shi Ming awoke at sea. The midday sun filtered through the holographic canopy, transforming into a gentle light that slanted across his body.
"Hmm?"
’The Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower is perfected?’
He woke up feeling refreshed and invigorated. Not only had his Spiritual Power completely recovered, but his entire body was also brimming with inexhaustible strength. It gave him the urge to find that Pillar Stone-level expert, Ron, and fight him again. Moreover, the secret tome *Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower*, which he had obtained from the great stone monument, had also reached perfection after this experience. The towering 100-floor edifice now stood guard over his Sea of Spirit, and now, not even the spiritual attack of a pseudo-god could harm him in the slightest.
*Burning Soul Poem*, *Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower*, *Nameless*...
These three secret tomes, according to the Earth Core Divine Remnant Thought, were all left on the great stone monument by a pseudo-god who arrived here six thousand years ago.
Among them, the first two were investments.
The purpose was to create a tailored vessel capable of fusing with Zero, a being upon which a ripe, harvestable fruit could be cultivated...
As for the last one, *Nameless*, not even the pseudo-god knew how to begin cultivating it. He had carved it onto the monument with the faint hope that the natives here might stumble upon its introductory method by chance.
From the god’s final remnant thought, Shi Ming also learned that after carving the monument, the pseudo-god had left behind five "Firebearers." He taught them how to interpret the Civilization Prologue and spread the light of civilization. The Female Warlock recorded in the Scorpion King’s Pyramid was one of them. However, for some other reason, all five Firebearers died mysteriously within a hundred years of his departure. One was even devoured by the Abyss Lord, allowing that ancient being to acquire partial knowledge of the divine-inspired prologue.
Because of this, the pseudo-god’s preparations were delayed by six thousand years.
Of course, having lived for countless ages, he didn’t care much about the loss of six thousand years. It was just a matter of leaving a seed behind. If it bore fruit, everyone would be happy. If it didn’t, it wasn’t unacceptable either.
The only outcome he could not accept was—
The fruit ripened, but it became someone else’s!
...
’With Zero and the Hundred-Floor Celestial Tower, even if I run into Ron again, I have nothing to fear fighting him with my current base stats!’
Shi Ming stretched lazily.
With the Unceasing Water resolved, the heavy burden on his shoulders finally lightened. Although the divine remnant thought had warned him at the end about a so-called "Catastrophe" crisis in the Star Sea, tens of millions of years had passed just like this. The Catastrophe couldn’t possibly invade in the next few hundred years, right? It’s not like Shi Ming was a jinx who brought misfortune everywhere, or a Conan who stumbled upon a new case wherever he went...
No matter how much the tides of fate pushed a person forward,