Deep within the Steam Magical Castle, where a hazy steam mist flowed.

Inside a simple wooden cabin.

"The seventh one!"

Zorn’s eyes reflected the final Golden Magic Ring Source Fruit in his hand.

In just under half a day, he had already absorbed six of them in succession.

He was now personally experiencing the feeling of pay-to-win leveling from his time as a Player.

The six consecutive Golden Magic Ring Source Fruits had already brought his Sequence Experience to 98% of Level 4.

This final one would fill his Source Energy Experience to the brim, with even a little to spare.

GURGLE... GURGLE... GURGLE...

While absorbing it, Zorn’s thoughts turned to the current situation within the Ancient Ruins.

The Transcendents from Ogrande City garrisoned in the Ancient Ruins were all gathered in the Purgatory Mage World of the second layer. Learning that the World had been sealed, they had settled down to rest and recuperate, so they were fine.

But the Holy Fierce Sun Church and the Harvesters were a different story.

Their reaction was exceptionally fierce.

On the fifth and sixth layers of the Gray Mist World, the two sides had even joined forces, unleashing all sorts of methods, Secret Techniques, and Forbidden Curses in an attempt to tear the Layer Realm Gate to shreds.

However, how could a World reinforced by the Golden Magic Ring Tree be so easily torn apart by them?

After all, even top-tier powerhouses at Level 12 and Level 13 couldn’t open it.

Although they tried a great many methods, it was all for naught.

The same was true for the Garrisons outside of Split Mist Town.

After they noticed the rift in Split Mist Town was sealed, they immediately began using various methods to pry open the Gray Mist Rift.

But alas!

They couldn’t pry it open.

They couldn’t pry it open at all.

They could hardly even make it budge in the slightest.

The framework of the entire World was supported by the Tree of the Magic Ring.

Now, the power of the Tree of the Magic Ring had sealed this World shut.

Forget these Middle Rank Level Transcendents; even Upper Rank Level Transcendents would find it difficult to pry open.

The forces of Ogrande City were resting and recovering.

Meanwhile, the attackers were trapped here, and panic was spreading through their ranks.

Furthermore, we have the element of surprise.

A single Surprise Attack would be enough to shatter the attackers.

Before long, Zorn felt that his Sequence Experience was full.

Level 4, 99%.

Leveling up from Level 4 to Level 5.

Neither the high-quality combat required by the Fighting Master, nor the mass slaughter needed by the Evil Spirit Wizard, was suitable for the current situation.

Therefore, Zorn chose to use up his "Calamity Sacred Mark" to advance.

A Sacred Mark could not only be used to raise Skill Levels, but also to increase one’s own Sequence Level.

It had many incredible effects.

And this was one of the reasons why so many Transcendents wanted to write their own Sacred Mark’s trajectory into the tidal scroll.

Taking a deep breath, Zorn calmed his mind.

A marvelous scroll of Ogrande City, wreathed in Steam Grey Mist and leading to the future, now appeared in Zorn’s Perception.

One was the Immortal Calamity Sacred Mark in Ogrande City.

The other was the Immortal Calamity Sacred Mark in Bo’Er Town.

The Calamity Sacred Mark in Ogrande City was a full three times larger than the one in Bo’Er Town, and its growth rate was stable.

Zorn’s gaze fell upon the "Immortal Calamity Sacred Mark" in Bo’Er Town.

The outer two-thirds was an ordinary Calamity Sacred Mark.

The inner one-third was the "Immortal Calamity Sacred Mark."

As long as this ratio was maintained, the ordinary Sacred Mark would continuously transform into an Immortal Sacred Mark.

Once the ordinary Sacred Mark was consumed, the Immortal Sacred Mark would stop growing until it was replenished.

However, the Sacred Mark in Bo’Er Town was barely growing anymore.

Under these circumstances, the ordinary Sacred Mark on the periphery could be used.

Zorn captured a small amount of the Sacred Mark and slowly fed it into the framework of his Sequence Level.

The barrier holding back his Sequence Level weakened slightly.

After carefully sensing the change for a moment, Zorn began to continuously feed the ordinary Sacred Mark into it to push his advancement.

When about half of the ordinary Sacred Mark in Bo’Er Town had been consumed,

CRACK... CRACK... CRACK...

a strange, formless shattering sound began to emerge.

The moment for a breakthrough had arrived.

Zorn immediately tried to push his Sequence advancement.

With the Sacred Mark acting as a guiding force for the breakthrough, it was a natural success.

After about half an hour, Zorn’s Sequence Level successfully broke through, advancing to Level 5.

At the same time, his Fighting Master and Evil Spirit Wizard classes each obtained their own Level 5 Skill and Witchcraft, respectively.

Gang Dragon Hand: LV0.

Witch Spirit·Fast Casting (Passive): LV0.

’Gang Dragon Hand is one of the branching paths for developing a Fighting Master’s abilities.’

’And it’s a branch that leans toward a niche Sequence.’

’When a Fighting Master enters the Middle Rank Level, if they want to continue their dominant streak,’

’then they absolutely must take the "Gang Dragon Qi" path.’

’But as for the "Gang Dragon Hand" path...’

’It neither continues the [Fighting Master]’s dominance nor enhances the [Fighting Master]’s potential.’

’It’s basically a dead-end path that everyone and their dog hates.’

But the problem was, Zorn wasn’t purely a Fighting Master.

Zorn figured that it was his "Tarktos’ Hand" that had influenced the Fighting Master Sequence’s branching path to a certain extent.

Thus giving birth to this niche, yet perfectly fitting, Sequence.

’Whether combined with Skull-Splitting Fist or Gang Dragon Hand, the Golden Arm is immensely powerful.’

’Most importantly, Gang Dragon Hand can be enhanced with Sequence materials like Dragon Blood and Dragon Crystals. I guess that’s the only saving grace of this dead-end path.’

’If used well, it could be considered a stepping stone for a Fighting Master to access Middle Rank Level Transcendent methods.’

’Albeit a sewer-tier stepping stone.’

The [Evil Spirit Wizard] Sequence’s relatively strong [Witch Spirit·Fast Casting] was more standard, however.

This time, upon advancing to Level Five,

the acquisition of the Skill and Witchcraft was secondary.

The main thing was the advancement of his own Level.

From Level 4 to Level 5.

The strength of his big BOSS template had once again expanded in all aspects.

Whether it was the [Fighting Master]’s Gang Qi, the [Evil Spirit Wizard]’s Evil Energy, or his own Sequence template, everything had been comprehensively strengthened.

Previously, as a Level 4 Zorn, his own Sequence strength could hardly catch up to a Level Six Transcendent.

But now that Zorn had advanced to Level 5,

his own strength was completely comparable to a Level Six Transcendent, and perhaps even slightly stronger.

Although it was only a one-level difference, it represented the huge gap between the Lower Rank Level and the Middle Rank Level.

...

[Star Trace Fighter]

Level: Level 5 (2%)

[Talent]

Gangyi Iron Bone (SS-Level)

[Skills]

Shattering Spirit·Skull-Splitting Fist: LV2 (56%)

Vigorous Qi Mastery (Passive): LV1 (32%)

Thousand Streams·Gale Step: LV1 (52%)

Star Trace·Holy Armor: LV0 (26%)

Gang Dragon Hand: LV0 (0%)

...

[Evil Spirit Wizard] (World-level BOSS)

Level: Level 5 (2%)

Evil Witch Spirituality: Feeds on spirits.

Immortal Divinity: Resurrecting.

[Talents]

Mortality and Rebirth (SSS-level): Resurrection (4/5).

Evil Spirit Authority (SSS-level): Controls the Spiritual.

...

[Skills]

Life Absorption: LV1 (24%)

Forbidden Weaving: LV0 (72%)

Double-Ringed · Destruction Magic Ball: LV1 (45%)

Scythe of the End (Forbidden Technique): LV0 (33%)

Eternal Calamity Whip (Forbidden Technique): LV0 (24%)

Upper Rank: Ringed Snake’s Eye (Exclusive Forbidden Technique): LV0 (22%)

Tarktos’ Hand (Ancient God Forbidden Technique): LV0 (4%)

Witch Spirit·Fast Casting: LV0 (0%)

After carefully examining his current attribute panel at length, Zorn collected his thoughts and began to stabilize his Sequence.

After advancing to Level 5,

the great battle was about to begin.

...

「The Purgatory Mage World Layer.」

Atop a rock wall.

Albert and two other experts, plus Rosian, Mable, and two other Level Six experts, were gathered here.

Before them stood a Magic Ring Gate with a golden, patterned doorframe.

They were all quietly waiting for Zorn’s report on his exploration of the sixth layer of the Gray Mist World.

After nearly two days of rest,

everyone had recovered to their peak, perfected state.

And Zorn had also stabilized his Level 5 status.

The time had come to make the invaders pay the price.

Before long, Zorn, clad in a black hooded robe, emerged from the Magic Ring Gate and appeared before the group.

"How is it?"

Marquis Albert asked impatiently.

After a moment of thought, Zorn looked at Marquis Albert and spoke with caution.

"The many Transcendents over there are currently scattered, searching for possible ways out."

"Moreover, the two Level Seven Transcendents are doing the same, each exploring on their own."

"I have already used the gray mist to conceal the fluctuations from entering and exiting the Magic Ring Gate."

"In a moment, I will teleport all of you directly to the vicinity of the Dark Department Bishop named ’Leonard’."

"This Bishop Leonard possesses the Forbidden Sealed Object [Clockwork Knight] and is extremely difficult to deal with."

"But he is, after all, a Caster, a [Sun Divine Mage], and his close-quarters combat ability is weak."

"If we can heavily injure him in a Surprise Attack, or even kill him, we will have a huge advantage on the sixth layer."

"Once the Level Seven Leonard is dead, the others can be dealt with slowly."

"Even if the Surprise Attack fails, we can still kill Leonard by force."

"Before, their assault was too fierce for us to stop."

"This time..."

Zorn paused in his explanation.

"The initiative is completely in our hands."

Zorn’s analysis immediately brought expressions of joy to everyone’s faces.

Originally, under the joint attack of the [Harvesters] and the Holy Fierce Sun Church,

they had been beaten into a steady retreat.

But now, by dividing them, relying on the initiative, and gradually whittling them down, the once-hopeless situation had been revived.

Once the purge of the Transcendents on the sixth layer was complete, then even with that powerful Archbishop on the fifth layer,

Zorn and the others, working together, would still have a high chance of victory.

What’s more, as the mastermind of this plan, Zorn still had many powerful methods he had yet to reveal.

But judging by the current situation, these methods alone were already more than the invaders could handle.

Beside them, Marquis Albert pondered for a moment before raising his eyebrows slightly, a strange light flashing in his eyes.

"Let’s begin!"

He looked at Zorn, his voice exceptionally deep.

This time, Ogrande City had suffered heavy losses. If not for Zorn, they might have even been wiped out.

Now that he had a chance for revenge, he would naturally give it his all.

Led by Zorn, the group filed one by one into Zorn’s Steam Magical Castle.

"Baron Zorn, this Magical Castle of yours is truly wondrous."

"Not only can it attack and defend, but you can even establish your own personal space inside it."

After entering the Steam Magical Castle, Grand Duke Amalante looked around and couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement.

"Indeed! It seems that after this battle, we too must cooperate with the Witches and try to purchase a similar Magical Castle if possible."

Count Siers, who was standing to the side, also nodded in great satisfaction.

They waited for a moment at another Golden Magic Ring Gate.

"That Dark Department Bishop Leonard is coming. Go!"

As Zorn spoke,

Marquis Albert flickered and transformed into his chillingly grim [Netherworld Shepherd Soul] form, passing through the Magic Ring Gate.

The others followed close behind.

Zorn also arrived quickly.

The moment he landed, Zorn hurled the [Eternal Calamity Whip] Forbidden Curse he had prepared earlier at the roaring Dark Department Bishop, "Leonard."

Even if it couldn’t truly seal his abilities and Skills, just being able to interrupt whatever he was casting would be excellent.

Here in the depths of the gray mist, a grand hunt had just begun with a deafening roar!