This time, Noah appeared inside his rented apartment.

Without wasting any time, he headed straight to the trading market. There, he sold a Perfect grade item and earned fifty thousand merit points.

He still had quite a few Perfect grade items in his possession.

Not only had he obtained some from the Demon Infested World instance, but he had also acquired two more while clearing Trial Instances earlier.

Naturally, not all of these items were useful to him. Exchanging one or two for merit points was simply a better use of resources.

After that, Noah made his way to the Intelligence Pavilion.

...

At the Civilization Pillar, a large number of Awakeners had gathered.

Very few were there just to watch. After all, time spent in the Civilization Convergence Zone was limited, and no one wanted to waste it.

Most were searching for suitable allies, while some were on assigned missions, tasked with recording the changes on the Civilization Pillar.

These missions were usually issued by powerful civilizations or influential factions.

By completing them, the Awakeners could earn merit points.

The rankings on the Civilization Pillar changed frequently, making it a constant source of activity.

Every moment, civilizations were being wiped out and disappearing from the list, while new ones rose to take their place.

Near the top, the rankings changed only slightly. But further down, the fluctuations were intense and constant.

"Dozens more civilizations have disappeared."

"Star Sea Civilization is still ranked first."

"I heard they are about to pass the Human Level Calamity and advance to a Second Level Civilization."

"That’s insanely fast. It hasn’t even been half a year since Star Sea Civilization became a First Level Civilization, right?"

"Exactly. Two months ago, they broke into the top hundred. A month ago, they started dominating the rankings."

The Awakeners responsible for recording these changes could not help but voice their amazement.

It had to be said, Star Sea Civilization was nothing short of legendary.

Their growth rate was terrifyingly fast.

What was even more shocking was that while they were advancing at such speed, their ranking on the Civilization Pillar remained far ahead of others.

High ranking and rapid advancement were not necessarily the same thing.

Ranking depended on race potential and civilization index, which reflected the overall strength of a civilization.

Rapid advancement, on the other hand, could sometimes be achieved through shortcuts.

As long as a few individuals were strong enough to overcome the Human Level Calamity, a civilization could advance.

Because of that, it was not unusual for civilizations ranked in the hundreds or even thousands to reach Second Level faster than those in the top ten.

But civilizations like Star Sea Civilization, which combined both high ranking and rapid advancement, were extremely rare.

"Heavenly Dragon Civilization has climbed a few hundred more ranks."

"Their highest rank has already reached Five Order expert. Their momentum is incredible."

"I wonder how far they can go, and whether they can rival Star Sea Civilization."

"Hard to say. Heavenly Dragon Civilization has a relatively smaller population. Even though they are a Divine Grade race, they are at a disadvantage when it comes to Civilization Index."

"Their ranking might not be as overwhelming as Star Sea Civilization unless they sacrifice speed of advancement, but that is a different matter."

As a Divine Grade race, Heavenly Dragon Civilization naturally drew a great deal of attention.

Many were speculating about when they would advance to a Second Level Civilization and what rank they would ultimately achieve.

"Huh?"

"This Blue Star Civilization... its rise is incredibly fast."

Suddenly, one of the Recorders exclaimed in shock.

"Let me see how powerful it is."

Hearing this, the other Recorders also turned their attention to the Blue Star Civilization, curiosity lightning up their expression.

"It jumped more than seventy million places in just ten days?"

Shock spread among them.

A sudden urge in ranking was not unheard of. They were well informed and had witnessed even more extreme cases. Once, a civilization had leapt from beyond sixty million to over thirty thousand in a single rise, far more exaggerated than Blue Star Civilization. However, that had only happened because its Child of Civilization had not entered the Civilization Convergence Zone for a long time, leaving its ranking outdated.

But this was different.

In just ten days, it had climbed to rank five hundred thirty thousand on the Civilization Pillar. That Kind of growth was truly astonishing.

If it had been a Divine Grade Race or even a legendary race, they might have understood. Yet this was merely an Excellent level race.

It made no sense.

"I seem to recall something about this Blue Star Civilization," One Recorder said slowly, a hint of recognition appearing on his face. "When their Child Of Civilization was registering information on the Civilization Pillar, he was targeted by the Dragon Slayers."

"Now that you mention it, I remember as well."

Thought not all of them had witnessed the even firsthand, the incident had circulated within their circle for some time. Only ten days had passed, so it was still fresh in their minds.

"Dragon Slayers..."

"Breeder Civilization..."

Some of the Recorder’s expression changed instantly. None of them wanted to be associated with either of these names.

"Since the Blue Star Civilization is still listed on the Civilization Pillar, it means it has not become a Breeder Civilization yet," One of them said, trying to steady his tone. "At most, it shows signs of heading in that direction. Of Course, nothing is certain. Perhaps this Blue Star Civilization is somewhat special."

"The Dragon Slayers will not care about such details," another replied coldly. "Those mad dogs will definitely label the Blue Star Civilization as a Breeder Civilization."

"Why bother worrying about it? Matters involving those powerful figures have nothing to do with small fries like us."

The group fell into a heated discussion. No matter what conclusion they reached, one thing was certain.

The name Blue Star Civilization had already been deeply etched into their minds.