Sovereign of the Ashes

As an alchemist, Sein naturally understood that anything beyond the level of a world-class secret treasure was known as a civilizational treasure—artifact found only in a top-tier civilization.

Sein’s current level was still too low, and his understanding of civilizational treasures remained extremely vague.

That said, throughout his growth, Sein had encountered many world-class secret treasures, including the large number of fragments he had recently discovered within this subspace.

In his understanding, every world-class secret treasure embodied the power of a particular law, developed to its absolute extreme.

So then, what exactly was a civilizational treasure?

With Grethel present, Sein quickly began scanning through the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s documentation before him.

After years of exposure to the civilization’s complex script, Sein had developed a solid grasp of its language.

Mages were naturally studious and learned. Although Sein lacked a formal background in archaeology, he had made considerable progress in this field over the past few years.

From the descriptions found within these relic records, Sein learned that the device known as Infinite Energy was a special power supply unit used across nearly all cutting-edge fields of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

True to its name, this device could output almost limitless energy within an extremely short period of time.

Even more astonishingly, that energy appeared to materialize out of thin air, as though it were created from nothingness.

This realization alone left Sein stunned.

“What kind of device is this Infinite Energy? Does its operating principle not fundamentally violate the Law of Conservation of Energy—the most basic law of the Astral Realm recognized throughout Magus World?”

Sein found himself unable to comprehend it.

The Ashen Law that Sein currently wielded was an extreme manifestation of pyro elemental power.

Yet even the Ashen Law could not be considered a foundational law of the Astral Realm.

They, too, were built upon the Law of Conservation of Energy.

If something that truly defied the fundamental laws of the Astral Realm were to exist, many mages of Magus World would likely have their worldview overturned.

Sein himself was already feeling this way.

Fortunately, he had not fully accepted the technological achievements of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization as fact.

Not yet... Unless he could see the actual device with his own eyes.

“Many worlds or races that once achieved glorious civilizational accomplishments tended to exaggerate their achievements in various fields, hoping to win the admiration and reverence of future generations and other world civilizations. The Eiyurant Papillon Civilization before us is likely no exception. I mean, how could something that violates the fundamental laws of the Astral Realm possibly exist?” Grethel commented with a smile, though her eyes continued to drift toward the documents spread out below.

Did the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization really just make up a device capable of breaking the Astral Realm’s balance and its foundational principles?

If this were merely a boastful fabrication, then why did such detailed documentation exist?

Moreover, in many of the records Grethel had uncovered, the most common application of this so-called Infinite Energy was to power the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s vast fleet of overlord-class vessels...

That was just crazy!

Could this be the true reason the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization had emerged victorious in their war against the Black Merlot Civilization?

Beyond this infinite energy, did the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization possess other technologies that defied conventional understanding?

Taking a deep breath, Sein said, “What is real is rational. We can’t simply dismiss the possibility of a device that violates the fundamental laws of the Astral Realm. Either it truly existed, or it was not as exaggerated as the descriptions suggest. Beyond its supposedly infinite power output, I’m inclined to believe it has other flaws that we simply haven’t uncovered yet.”

“I firmly believe that the Astral Realm governs itself through balance!” he declared solemnly.

Although Grethel and the others had lived longer than Sein, who was the highest-ranking life form present, their grasp of certain laws and principles still fell far short of Sein’s depth of understanding.

Sein’s firm response gradually brought Grethel, whose thoughts had grown somewhat muddled, back to clarity.

She looked at Sein and said, “Then I’ll compile all available information on this Infinite Energy device, along with other technological details of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, and submit it to the higher levels of the Magus Civilization for their judgment.”

Sein nodded in agreement.

After Grethel returned to her work, Sein could not help but glance once more at the description of the Infinite Energy device she had presented.

What exactly this device was remained unclear in the reading materials before him. Sein did not even know what it looked like.

Yet the repeated references to it, combined with the surrounding evidence, made him suspect that such a device might truly exist.

Something akin to a perpetual motion machine?

Sein felt his brain burning. Some things were simply beyond his current ability to comprehend.

Sein had grown sufficiently powerful; a Rank Five being was by no means weak in any star domain of the Astral Realm.

Yet when it came to fundamental questions concerning the Astral Realm’s basic rules...

Sein could only sigh deeply and set those thoughts aside for the time being.

“Grandmaster Feylis should have arrived at this subspace battlefield by now. I’ll ask for her perspective on this matter when the opportunity arises,” Sein mused.

Sein and his group had already spent a considerable amount of time within this strange space.

The interconnected veins of inert crystal ore had spread across hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of floors within the tower.

In effect, exploring this region was equivalent to climbing hundreds of levels in vertical height.

Gilbert and Master Valerie were assigned to analyze and catalog the interconnected inert crystal ore deposits.

Grethel and Roth focused primarily on gathering data related to the ancient civilization within the skyscraper.

Black Oblivion and his cousins, meanwhile, were mainly responsible for treasure hunting.

The skyscraper still contained a vast number of relics.

These included not only fragments of world-class secret treasures, but also numerous “antiques” left behind by the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization, along with other technological artifacts.

Having lived in Magus World for many years, Black Oblivion naturally understood the interests of its mages.

He had collected a large collection of technological artifact fragments, planning to sell them in bulk to the mechanics of Sky City or Steel City once they returned.

After spending some time in this peculiar space, Gilbert, who had been working tirelessly, finally found an opportunity to speak with Sein.

That day, he handed Sein a single top-grade inert crystal.

Sein had no idea when the old man had managed to excavate it.

When he asked if there were more, Gilbert replied, “Nope. I only managed to get this one by begging that Rank Four dragonkin to dig it out. Even then, it took him tremendous effort.”

“The inert crystals here are all fully formed ore deposits. Their hardness and mining difficulty far surpass those of ordinary mineral veins. Without specialized cutting and mining equipment, even Rank Four or Rank Five beings struggle to extract them,” he explained.

Qixiu immediately proved Gilbert’s point by holding up his damaged claws for Sein to see.

“What in the world is going on here? I’ve never broken this many claws in my life,” Qixiu muttered.