CHAPTER 494: 01 PAST AND FUTURE

The Star Realm is boundless, spanning all dimensions! Transcendent beings from countless worlds, upon reaching a certain level, step into the Star Realm to explore the unknown. In a certain part of the Star Realm, an insignificant Divine Domain Fragment quietly floats, concealed within the void. Even if Star Realm Creatures occasionally swim by, they subconsciously overlook its existence.

"Is this the Divine Domain Fragment?"

Carl sat cross-legged in the void, looking down at the Divine Domain Fragment below him, his expression a mix of surprise and curiosity. As his power had increased, so had the size of the Divine Domain Fragment, which was now nearly a thousand square meters. Having surpassed a spiritual power of twenty and having become a Second Circle Wizard, Carl was now able to briefly remain within the void of the Star Realm. Viewing the Divine Domain Fragment that had accompanied him for years from the outside for the first time was a very special feeling.

"So..."

"I have obtained a part of the authority of an Otherworld’s War God?"

Having had the experience of a Legendary Knight advancing to a Holy Knight, his transition from the First Ring to the Second Circle was quite smooth. There were some surprises along the way. The Divine Domain Fragment in his Spiritual Inner Sea seemed stimulated by something, sending him a memory. That was ’its’ memory.

War God!

The Divine Domain Fragment originated from a War God from an Otherworld. In the prophecy of the Fate Goddess, the War God would one day slaughter all Gods, causing the end times of the Gods. To prevent the prophecy from coming true, a group of Gods stormed into the Divine Domain of the War God and ’beat him to death’. Only a bit of the Divine Domain Fragment escaped into the void, serendipitously merging into Carl’s Spiritual Inner Sea.

"Tsk tsk..."

Carl shook his head lightly. "Other Gods’ authorities are mostly related to water, fire, or life, yet you increase your cultivation through slaughter."

"The more you kill, the stronger you become, slaughtering Gods..."

"You are the sole sovereign!"

"Even without the Fate Goddess’s prophecy, the Gods would never allow a War God with the authority of slaughter to exist..."

"No!"

Carl whispered, "The prophecy is probably just an excuse."

"For the Gods to join forces, even the Father of Gods to intervene, the War God must have threatened all the Gods."

Rubbing his forehead, he gained some understanding of the past interactions between the Gods of the Otherworld.

The War God’s Turmoil!

A mere Middle-Level God, ’War God’, at the Fifth Order, became the scapegoat for the end times of the Gods in the prophecy of the Fate Goddess. Fearing the future, the Gods collectively invaded the Divine Domain of the War God. Little did they think. ’War God’ had secretly reached the Sixth Rank, a rare Upper God among the Gods. Moreover, he used this massacre to slaughter the Gods, accumulate Divine Power, and ascend to the position of a Seventh Order Main God, compelling the Father of Gods to intervene.

In the end.

The War God fell.

The Divine Domain Fragment transcended time and space, merging into the Spiritual Inner Sea.

The fall of a Main God!

Through the War God’s Turmoil, even the Father of Gods was grievously injured, forced to retreat and heal, which provided an opportunity for the scheming Moon Goddess. The Moon Goddess made contact with the ancient survivors and obtained from them the God Slaying Spear they had forged to rebel against the Gods.

Then...

She stabbed the Father of Gods to death with the spear!

Subsequently, the Moon Goddess assumed the position of the Main God of the Otherworld, becoming the sole True God.

The end times of the Gods.

As Heavenly Spheres converged and the Evil God invaded, Chronos, the Death God loyal to the Father of Gods, launched a sneak attack on the Moon Goddess. His sneak attack did not kill the Moon Goddess; instead, he met his end at her hands. But the severely wounded Moon Goddess was also powerless to resist the Outer Realm Evil God, and the Gods of the Otherworld suffered heavy casualties through successive calamities.

Reluctantly,

The Moon Goddess directly sacrificed the Gods, transforming her Divine Domain into a Barrier that enshrouded the entire world, completely isolating the Outer Realm Evil God.

Then...

There was Carl, possessing a trace of the War God’s Divine Domain Fragment, who used the power of the Divine Domain Fragment to arrive in the Otherworld.

At this time,

The Otherworld was nearing its apocalypse.

"Finally, it all makes sense. In that case, the origin of the end times of the Gods was the War God’s Turmoil."

Touching his chin, Carl said with a half-smile, "Saying that the War God would bring about the end times of the Gods is not entirely incorrect."

"Heh..."

"It seems that even for Gods with infinite lifespans, fate is inevitable!"

Gathering his thoughts, he slowly drifted into the Divine Domain Fragment. A Second Circle Wizard cannot linger long in the void of the Star Realm—even a Three-Circle Wizard has certain limitations.

As for the Gods of the Otherworld...

It’s all in the past. Dwelling on it is pointless.

Carl, having just advanced to the Second Circle, still needed to adjust his witchcraft and reconstruct his new Magic Model.

* * *

「One year later.」

Name: Carl

Constitution: 23

Spiritual Power: 21

Source Material: 0.8

Level: Second-Order Holy Knight, Second Circle Wizard

Abyss Bloodline Fusion: 56%

Carl sat on a stone chair, scanning the few people in the room.

Evgeny: his most loyal servant, a not-so-competent subordinate, a First Circle Early Stage female Wizard.

Harvey: Carl’s former apprentice, a Legendary Knight. However, ever since Carl killed his aunt Nina, causing the Walker family to completely withdraw from the Dream Market, their relationship had become complicated. Nina had a strong character, and Harvey disliked her as well, probably not planning to exact revenge for his aunt. But he definitely could not gain Carl’s trust. Over the years, he had been living on the margins of the Dream Market with his wife and children, helping Evgeny with trivial matters.

Brin: known as ’the Eyeless’. Owner of a shop in the Dream Market. One of the few to remain after the four major families left the Dream Market and the Six Rings Tower blocked the entrances and exits.

Anglie: a mysterious roaming Wizard. In less than a decade, Anglie advanced from an Advanced Wizard Apprentice to a One-Circle Late Stage Wizard. His progress was simply terrifying! Carl possessed the resources of an Otherworld and was practicing the Meditation Method of the Six Rings Tower, yet he couldn’t achieve results this quickly. According to speculation, Anglie must have been possessed by something while exploring a secret realm, causing a huge increase in his cultivation. And his personality had changed as well.

These four people were all the manpower Carl could currently muster, barely qualifying as his subordinates.

TAP. TAP. Tapping the armrest, Carl spoke slowly, "Five years!"

"It has been a full five years since we offended the ’Six Rings Tower’ and they came knocking on our door."

"Yes," Evgeny said with a sigh. "Time passes so quickly. Five years have flown by, and it all feels like it happened just yesterday."

Carl rolled his eyes.

This woman is sometimes very smart, but at other times very slow, just like she’s lacking in intelligence.

"It’s not about time."

He said exasperatedly, "Ever since five years ago, business in the Dream Market has been getting worse, and now there are almost no people left."

"Continuing like this is no solution."

He had not called these people here to catch up on the past five years. Planning for the future was the goal.

"Tutor," Harvey looked up, "do you intend to reopen the Dream Market?"

"Is it possible?" Evgeny blinked. "With a Wizard Tower watching over both ends of the market, others will likely not dare offend the Six Rings Tower."

"Yes," Old Brin nodded. "Even if we release the news and reduce the commission, considering the influence of the Six Rings Tower, I guess no one would dare to come."

"Moreover..."

He glanced at Carl and continued, "I feel we shouldn’t stick our necks out to avoid attracting the real masters of the Six Rings Tower."

"Correct," Anglie chimed in. "Even if it’s possible, it’s best not to do it."

Their opinions were unanimous. Carl had offended the Six Rings Tower, and it was best for him to stay quiet and follow the rules. Protected by the rules of the Dream Market, unless one was a Three-Circle Wizard, they couldn’t touch him. And currently, the Six Rings Tower did not have a Three-Circle Wizard positioned in the Magic Forest, so it was relatively safe.

But...

Just because the Six Rings Tower didn’t have a Three-Circle Wizard in the Magic Forest didn’t mean it didn’t know any Three-Circle Wizards there. If Carl became too conspicuous, the Six Rings Tower might still invite other Three-Circle Wizards to take action. With the resources of the Tower, this would not be difficult. Previously, Carl, being weak and obedient, had kept quiet for five years, so they had never made a move.

A Three-Circle Wizard?

Carl’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Even if a real Three-Circle Wizard came, with my current power, I’m not necessarily afraid here.

However, after thinking it over, he eventually shook his head.

I have just advanced to the Second Circle, and even with the aid of Wizard Towers and the Dream Treasure Bead, I can only protect myself at most, not defeat a Three-Circle Wizard.

Better to stay cautious!

"Tutor," Harvey thought for a moment and said, "without making a big splash, quietly inviting a small number of people to trade should not be a problem."

"The Dream Market is so large. Merely blocking the two ends won’t cut off other people’s access."

"That could work," Old Brin nodded. "We could send invitations to some First Circle Wizards, allowing them to trade here at specified times."

"As long as we ensure safety, and with enough rare materials to attract them, some Wizards will definitely be willing to come."

Carl’s eyes lit up.

This model is somewhat similar to a trade fair, with me as the organizer, taking a cut from the transactions.

"Feasible!"

"I have the materials for constructing two Wizard Towers, which should be sufficiently attractive to most Wizards."

Wizard Towers!

Old Brin’s eyes lit up, and even the usually expressionless Anglie couldn’t help but twitch his eyebrows. Back then, Carl had monopolized the Dream Market, driving out the four major families. It’s important to know. Each of the four major families possessed a complete Wizard Tower and additional building materials. Later, Carl dismantled the four Wizard Towers to construct a Second Order Wizard Tower, and there were definitely materials left over. Many Wizards’ lifelong dream was to own their own Wizard Tower.

"Apart from building Wizard Towers, I’ll also bring out some rare materials, Potions, and First Order Dharma Seals," Carl said. "I’ll make a list shortly, and you can check it."

"Yes!"

Everyone agreed.

"Tutor," Harvey spoke, "what do you want to trade?"

"Wizard heritage, High-level Potions..." Carl thought for a moment and added, "And Divine-related items."

Divine-related items?

The faces around him showed surprise. For Wizards, things related to ’the Divine’ were not exactly poisonous but were utterly useless.

"The reason my Knight Path has led me ahead of others is that I once gained a Magic Door for cultivation from a Divine item," Carl had to lie. "So I’ve always been very interested in Divine-related things. If any of you have such items, you can also bring them to exchange for materials."

"That makes sense," Anglie nodded. "The Knight Path is almost extinct in the Wizard World; only the Divine still need Knights to fight for Them, possessing a complete Knight heritage."

"However..."

"Ultimately, the Knight Path is not as manageable as the Wizard Path," Carl sighed.

The Wizard Path isn’t that easy either.

He possessed the Source Sea Meditation Method of the Six Rings Tower, which theoretically could allow him to cultivate continuously up to a Three-Circle Wizard. But in reality, after advancing to the Second Circle, he had already felt that this Meditation Method was of low tier, and progress was exceedingly slow.

Plus, without a complete Third-tier heritage...

The hope of becoming a Three-Circle Wizard was slim.

Second Circle Wizards seemed to be the limit for many Wizards in the Magic Forest; without special opportunities, advancing to the Third Ring was nearly impossible. If one became a Three-Circle Wizard, they could harness the power of the Star Realm to explore unknown areas or be invited by forces like the Tower to go to the Kaliem Continent.

On the other hand, the Knight Path...

The Holy Demon Transformation directly leads to the Fourth-tier!

The Ten Thousand Buddha Hands is also a Fourth-tier Magic Door.

There are also other Holy Skills, none of which are low in tier, at least giving hope of becoming a Third-tier Taboo Knight.