After all, the force of an attack on a Divine Kingdom would ripple out to other Material Plane Worlds.

With every attack, the Upper Rank Gods and Ancient Gods themselves would suffer a backlash from the Laws.

This was precisely why the Calamity Court Divine Kingdom had conquered this place and was building a War Fortress here.

After all, this location could genuinely help the Calamity Court Divine Kingdom fend off enemy invasions.

Upon returning, Zorn and Abigail wished to pay a visit to Lord Ossirion.

However, they received word that Lord Ossirion was in secluded cultivation.

Lord Ossirion had already ascended to the rank of Upper Rank God.

There wouldn’t be many problems with him now fully establishing himself as an Upper Rank God.

"Sigmund returned to the Black Star Divine Kingdom before we did. He’s also in secluded cultivation now. I’d guess he’s about to ascend to Middle Rank God soon."

The two conversed as they flew toward their cultivation residences.

"We can’t fall too far behind."

"Of course."

Zorn chuckled softly.

"I received intelligence from the Divine Kingdom that the other fortresses are still under construction. The next twenty to thirty years should be a relatively safe period for our cultivation."

"After those twenty or thirty years, this place will pretty much become the front lines."

"By then, we’ll have to face the immense pressure of the Jade Realm head-on."

"Indeed!"

Abigail nodded.

"Hopefully, in twenty or thirty years, we’ll both be powerhouses among the Middle Rank Gods."

"Haha... Let’s hope so!"

Zorn laughed heartily.

Jade Realm!

Zorn gazed toward the Jade Realm.

War!

He could feel the era’s Mythical Wave, catalyzed by war, surging ever higher.

This was both an opportunity for their growth and the crisis of the coming tide they would have to face.

......

Upon returning to his Steam Magical Castle.

Zorn entered his Calamity Divine Kingdom.

After a period of careful consideration, he took action.

First, he placed Sikes’ Divine Artifact into the Tree of the Calamity Magic Ring to let it gestate.

This newly acquired Divine Artifact needed to gestate for a while before he could wield it with ease.

Then, he calmed his mind and sensed the abundant resources within his Divine Kingdom.

’The last war left my Divine Kingdom with a rich accumulation of Time Essence, Spiritual Essence, and a large quantity of Fighting Essence.’

’All of this can help me drastically increase my Level after I ascend to Legendary Demigod.’

’I could even quickly raise my Level to 24, or perhaps even 25.’

’Although I destroyed numerous Trees of the Magic Ring and accumulated a vast amount of Magic Ring Essence, which can help me effectively comprehend the Rune Magic Ring, the most critical task right now is still to raise my Level and ascend to Legendary Demigod.’

[Legendary Demigod]

This was the current goal.

Zorn’s mind gradually settled.

With long, profound breaths, Zorn’s consciousness followed the Cosmic Magic Net, immersing itself completely in his Divine Kingdom and the vast Cosmic Demon Pool beyond it.

GURGLE... GURGLE...

A portion of the Cosmic Root Source continuously poured into Zorn’s Sequence, pushing him toward Level 21.

He already had a wealth of experience with ascension.

Coupled with Zorn’s astonishingly deep foundation...

After about half a year, the barrier to Zorn’s Sequence began to loosen.

After another half a year of battering against it,

through persistent effort, Zorn’s Sequence Level finally began to break through the barrier.

About half a month later,

Zorn’s [Time·Holy Crown Demi-God] Sequence successfully transformed into [Time·Legendary Demigod].

His Level successfully reached 21!

Having ascended to Level 21 and become a [Time·Legendary Demigod], Zorn began to stabilize his Sequence Level while simultaneously continuing to comprehend the Rune Magic Ring and cultivate several Ancient God Curses.

The [Rune Magic Ring] determines the foundational power of Divine Power, Forbidden Curses, and Ancient God Curses.

The standard for an Upper Rank God’s Rune Magic Ring is between 500 and 2,000 Rings.

Anything above 2,000 Rings is considered the level of an Ancient God.

Zorn currently had just over 450 Rune Magic Rings. This was considered very high for a Middle Rank God, but it was still a long way from the standard of an Upper Rank God.

Meanwhile, the many Ancient God Curses Zorn had mastered also began to consume Cosmic Essence, raising their maximum potential.

A large number of [Rune Magic Rings], combined with high-level Ancient God Curses, formed the basis for direct confrontation between top-tier Divine Spirits.

During his secluded cultivation, Zorn’s strength improved steadily.

Rings!

Rings!

Rings!

...

Thanks to the Evil God’s Ring Tree Ring Source Material Resources he had acquired, Zorn’s comprehension of the Rune Magic Ring advanced by leaps and bounds.

As year after year passed,

Zorn rapidly converted his accumulated resources into personal strength.

Before he knew it,

more than thirty years had passed.

......

「Within the Calamity Divine Kingdom.」

Amidst the heavy flow of time,

Zorn slowly awakened from the ancient river of time.

The very first thing he did upon waking was to check the time.

Another five years had passed.

’Seven five-year periods have passed, one after another, plus the year or so it took to break through.’

’This secluded cultivation has already lasted 36 years.’

As he mused, Zorn calmed his mind and reviewed the results of this latest five-year period of cultivation.

In their Player phase, Players could use a Time Shuttle to speed through time.

Hundreds, even thousands, of years would pass in the blink of an eye.

As a true Divine Spirit, Zorn could similarly immerse himself in the torrent of time. Lost in cultivation, time flew by just as quickly.

[Time·Evil Spirit Wizard] [Legendary Demigod]

Level: 24 (55%)

Tarktos’ Hand (Ancient God Forbidden Technique): Level 12 (85%)

Rift: Ancient God’s Curtain Robe (Ancient God Curse): Level 11 (22%)

Space-Time Disaster Thunder Echo (Ancient God Curse): Level 12 (15%)

Seven Phases·Star Trace·Eating Phase Worm Curse (Ancient God Curse): Level 10 (87%)

Calamity Rune Magic Ring: 1,256

...

After reviewing his current Level and his many abilities, Zorn nodded in satisfaction.

’Level 10 is the upper limit for the Ancient God Curses of most Ancient Gods, but for me, it’s just the beginning.’

’Reaching over twelve hundred Rune Magic Rings as a Legendary Demigod is considered respectable even among Upper Rank Gods.’

’Even though I’m only a Legendary Demigod, I’m already no weaker than an average Middle Rank God.’

’This tier of power already constitutes the main force on the battlefields of Divine Kingdoms.’

’More importantly...’

Zorn’s eyes narrowed.

’A Time·Legendary Demigod has an infinite lifespan, which means I’m now qualified to navigate the ancient torrent of time.’

’It’s about time I put my plan to eliminate the Ancient Gods into motion!’

As Zorn mused, his gaze fell upon the network of temporal torrents leading to ancient times, a construct of his Cosmic Time Magic Net.

The Jade Realm.

Besides the one that had fallen, the Jade Realm still had eight Ancient Gods.

And in hiding, there were three more.

What’s more,

these three hidden Ancient Gods were all exceptionally powerful.

Two were Level 32, and one was Level 34.

But they were all hidden in ancient times.

No one knew their temporal coordinates.

But Zorn knew.

Once these Ancient Gods, slumbering in ancient times, awakened, they would cause the Jade Realm’s power to skyrocket.

It would make them an almost invincible force throughout the entire Star Realm Cosmic.

This was a future Zorn absolutely refused to accept.

Thus, Zorn had long planned to eliminate those three Ancient Gods hidden in the depths of time.

Previously, however, Zorn’s power had been insufficient to travel back up the torrent of time.

But now, with his infinite lifespan, Zorn could travel back through time to find the coordinates of those three Ancient Gods.

Once he confirmed their exact locations, Zorn would have more than enough ways to eliminate those three Ancient Gods completely.

Before that, however, Zorn had one more thing to do.

He needed to properly prepare the Divine Artifact, Sikes’ Magic Wand.

After all, when traveling through the torrent of time, a Divine Artifact could help Zorn block the attacks of many Time Waves and Time Giant Beasts.

Although Zorn possessed the power of Resurrection and could try again, dying in the depths of ancient time would be exceedingly troublesome.