Sovereign of the Ashes

Far removed from the flames of war, the time spent exploring the subspace ruins was both fascinating and deeply fulfilling.

Since Sein was a curious learner, he had scarcely had a moment to rest during this period.

The happiest of all, however, were Black Oblivion and his cousins.

They had been drinking their fill of potions refined by Sein from genetic mucus.

Hanliu’s injuries had also been healing at a remarkable pace.

Perhaps it was the potent potions Sein had obtained from Lorianne. Perhaps it was the overwhelming effects of the Black Merlot Civilization’s gene mucus. Or perhaps it was simply the powerful dragon bloodlines flowing within Hanliu and the others.

Whatever the reason, Hanliu had nearly made a full recovery in just a few short months.

Black Oblivion and Qixiu were almost back to their peak condition too.

That said, when it came to the Black Merlot Civilization’s gene mucus, Sein repeatedly warned Black Oblivion and the others not to consume too much.

The full range of the mucus’ side effects had yet to be thoroughly studied. If they indulged in it solely for momentary pleasure, they might pay a heavy price in the future.

Given Black Oblivion and Hanliu’s questionable self-control, Sein ultimately confiscated all of the remaining gene mucus.

Black Oblivion even whined about it on more than one occasion.

Sein had no choice but to do so. After all, White Stella knew that he had brought Black Oblivion and the others into this secret realm.

If anything were to happen to them, how could he possibly face White Stella and Tourmaline?

Moreover, Black Oblivion’s family background was anything but ordinary.

White Stella’s strength was comparable to that of a Rank Six being, and rumors claimed she had two older brothers who were even stronger.

And then there was their father... and their paternal uncles...

The knights of Magus World placed such importance on bloodline for a reason.

Cross one member, and an entire clan might come knocking!

Mages, unlike knights, did not place emphasis on bloodlines. Instead, they placed great importance on factions.

Take Sein, for example. He had the support of the Verdant Flame Faction’s members.

The subspace secret realm was vast.

Even upon first entering it, Sein had realized that its scale rivaled that of a large-sized plane.

So far, Sein had not visited many large worlds.

Both Beastmen World and Faeloria qualified as such. Beyond those, the Knight Continent he had visited during his early Rank One days was also said to rival a large-sized plane in size.

Sein asked HALL-E how long it would take to reach the place where it had once worked and lived.

The robot’s answer was half a year.

Back then, it had taken HALL-E roughly that long to follow a special resonance and arrive near Sein’s group, observing them from the shadows.

Of course, given that Sein and his group frequently stopped along the way to explore newly discovered ruins, the actual journey would inevitably take longer than HALL-E’s original pace.

Not a single member of the group regretted this.

Because soon enough, they received their first “surprise” since entering this subspace ruins.

***

“This is definitely the fragment of a world-class secret treasure!” Roth exclaimed, pointing excitedly at a broken piece of domino before him.

This ruin belonged to the Black Merlot Civilization.

In terms of scale, it was not particularly large. In fact, Sein and his group had already encountered two larger ruins earlier.

Their entry into this Black Merlot Civilization ruin had originally been to collect some genetic mucus.

Sein had not even planned to come inside.

It was Black Oblivion who insisted that Sein enter. He likely figured that they might not get another chance to access this subspace secret realm, so it was better to take whatever they could while the opportunity lasted.

Sein was not the one who first discovered this broken domino. Rank Four mage Roth had somehow pried open a hidden chamber, uncovering the object, which still emitted faint and elusive fluctuations of law energy.

Such were the benefits of exploring the secret realm of a top-tier civilization.

A treasure might just suddenly fall into one’s lap.

As for exploring the ruins of most medium-sized or small civilizations, one could forget about casually stumbling upon world-class secret treasures or even their fragments.

Only within the secret realms of top-tier civilizations could such treasures be this common.

Naturally, Sein had no intention of seizing the domino by force.

It was only right for the discoverer to be its rightful owner.

Take HALL-E as an example. Sein had discovered it first and had maintained consistent communication to nurture their relationship.

If Sein were ever to bring HALL-E out of the secret realm ruins, the robot would undoubtedly be his.

“This domino appears to be the fragment of a secret treasure related to summoning-type laws,” Valerie commented after examining it closely.

Having dabbled in summoning magic during her youth, she possessed considerable knowledge in this area.

Prolonged erosion and the damage inflicted during some ancient war must have reduced this domino to nothing more than a fragment by the time Sein and his group discovered it.

The Magus Civilization maintained an exceptionally rigorous valuation system for world-class secret treasures.

Given its relatively high level of preservation and the trace of the Black Merlot Civilization’s summoning law it likely contained, this domino could fetch more than thirty million magicoins if auctioned on the Magus Alliance market.

What kind of profit could a low-level plane invasion and conquest campaign possibly offer a Rank Four mage of Magus World in comparison?

If it had been a microplane, the profits from war would have been even lower!

After obtaining the domino, Roth’s net worth skyrocketed almost instantly.

“That guy has some ridiculous luck,” Grethel could not help but remark sourly.

Black Oblivion and his cousins were even more excited. Dragonkins like them were particularly drawn to treasures.

Although they were far wealthier than Roth, Grethel, and the others present—and they already possessed world-class secret treasures—no one ever complained about having too many valuable artifacts.

“Fragments of acquired spiritual treasures like this are priceless even within the Immortal Realm Civilization. If one were to purchase it using Immortal Jades, the price would be at least one hundred thousand,” Hanliu remarked.

The monetary system of the Immortal Realm Civilization differed greatly from that of Magus World.

However, judging by this comparison alone, Immortal Jades clearly held greater purchasing power than Magus World’s magicoins.

That said, the two currencies were not directly comparable.

Magus Civilization used magicoins to extract resources across the alliance, while Immortal Jades functioned solely as an internal currency within the Immortal Realm Civilization.

Moreover, the Immortal Realm’s monetary system extended beyond Immortal Jades and included several lower-tier currencies.

Immortal Jade itself was a high-tier medium of exchange, primarily used by “Immortals” of Rank Four and above.

Through Hanliu and Qixiu, Sein had already gained a considerable understanding of Immortal Realm Civilization.

What intrigued him even more, however, was the term they used to describe the domino.

“What exactly is an acquired spiritual treasure?” Sein asked.

Hanliu, currently in human form, scratched his head before explaining, “It refers to treasure crafted through acquired means that reach the level of what you call world-class secret treasures.

“Beyond acquired spiritual treasures, there are also innate spiritual treasures, though those are far rarer. I have only ever seen one, and it belonged to my father.

“Innate spiritual treasures are world-class secret treasures formed naturally through the convergence of a world’s essence and cosmic spiritual qi. They are something one can only encounter by chance, not deliberately seek out.

“Although many acquired spiritual treasures are more destructive than innate ones, the latter are considered far more valuable within our Immortal Realm Civilization.”