The Empire's Road to Salvation

Looking at the Miracle Wick on the list, everyone froze for a moment before nodding in relief.

Although its value had skyrocketed at a time like this, they had to admit that it was indeed the most suitable thing to use here. It seemed the Grand Princess had truly grown a great deal over the years—and in a positive direction, unlike Isaac, who had been racing full speed down the path of the Mad Witch.

The reason was simple. First, the prophecy said that it would be the third-order Isaac who destroyed the Empire, not the fourth-order one. So if he advanced to the fourth order, then in a sense, that would count as a way of avoiding the prophecy.

Second, while the Miracle Wick's effects were absurdly powerful, it was not normally all that tempting to a genius like Isaac. The fourth order was not much of a hurdle for him, but things were different now!

The Boundless Spire was about to appear. If he could enter it as a fourth-order being and successfully clear it, then he would emerge as a perfectly advanced fifth-order being!

The fourth order might not be much of a barrier, but the fifth order was definitely a formidable hurdle even for a genius like Isaac—especially since he was a Mad Witch!

Finally, the Empire and Solomon did have some grudges between them, but those grudges meant nothing before a fifth-order Legendary Wizard.

At most, they would have to admit fault and offer compensation.

Even if that fifth-order Legendary Wizard was someone they had personally sent away.

But there was no helping it. Reality was like that. Even the supernatural world had to observe social etiquette and personal ties.

Three days later, one luxurious noble carriage after another drove toward the Royal Palace. The meeting called by the summons was about to begin!

Three days later...

Yes, another three days had passed. For Isaac, they had been three extraordinarily boring days. For the other nobles, though, they were essentially just three days spent networking, building connections, and socializing in a different place.

For Isaac, meanwhile, it was simply a change of venue for eating, with a little casual thought given to new experiments while he waited for the Empire's arrangements regarding the Boundless Spire. Over those three days, some nobles were summoned individually by the royal family from time to time, clearly to receive special assignments.

Isaac guessed that he would likely receive a similar task.

Sure enough, three days after the gathering began, when Isaac once again came to the Royal Palace to "mooch a meal," a maid approached and gave him a respectful bow.

"Lord Isaac, this way please. Princess Filo wishes to see you."

Isaac glanced in the direction the maid indicated, nodded, stuffed the pastry in his hand into his mouth, and headed that way while chewing.

It's finally here... Is the moment of choice upon me?

Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly. His face remained calm, but he secretly gathered his magic power. If anything went wrong, he would immediately flee into the Dimension World!

A moment later...

Inside the room, Filo sat on a sofa, quietly drinking black tea. Isaac, meanwhile, stared at the parchment in his hand with an astonished expression. Come on, I was ready to risk my life, and this is what you tell me?

Isaac looked at the parchment, then at Filo. After a moment of silence, he casually circled the Miracle Wick and Soul Realm before handing the parchment back to Filo. "What do you want me to do?"

Isaac did not refuse, nor could he find any reason to refuse. After all, this was an opportunity to advance directly to the fifth order!

The difficulty might be immense, but it was worth taking a gamble!

Besides, even if he failed, Isaac would not lose much. At the very least, he would become a fourth-order Miracle Wizard. As for whether advancing by shortcut would make him weaker...

He would certainly be weaker, since it was a shortcut, but not by much. He was a Legendary Wizard. Knowledge was important, but legend was equally important. After advancing to the fourth order, he would awaken a Miracle Spell. It would be similar to Talent Wizardry: low consumption, fast activation, and ridiculously powerful.

The exact type of Miracle Spell would depend on his miracle.

Besides, he had Authority Analysis, something utterly absurd for a wizard. With it, he could learn a whole series of fourth-order spells in a very short time and thereby gain the standard combat strength of a fourth-order wizard.

This was the greatest difference between wizards and knights. For wizards, as long as one mastered offensive, defensive, and movement spells of the corresponding level and could cast them quickly, one basically possessed the fundamental combat strength of that level.

Knights were different. Beyond sheer power level, combat experience and mastery over one's own strength were also crucial. That was why shortcuts were more common on the wizard's path—only wizards could so quickly master combat methods appropriate to their current level.

"This... You should first take a look at this." Filo did not answer directly. Instead, she handed Isaac a book.

"Hm?" Isaac raised a brow and opened the book. He casually skimmed a few pages at first, but his expression gradually turned serious, his face growing increasingly grave.

Because the book contained nothing but information on the Boundless Spire!

Isaac raised his head and glanced at Filo. Seeing her calmly drinking black tea, he turned his attention back to the book and began reading it carefully. This was precisely what he needed most right now.

After a while, Isaac slowly closed the book. His fingers lightly tapped its cover, and he wore a thoughtful expression.

"Who do you want me to help advance?" After a long silence, Isaac lifted his head and looked at Filo.

Although he had phrased it as a question, Isaac already knew who that person was.

The Boundless Spire, this great creation of the First Generation, was even more magnificent than Isaac had imagined. Aside from the lavish reward of perfect advancement, its interior, like the Endless Sea, contained abundant resources. From magical combat techniques to divine dimensions, it had everything!

Unlike the Endless Sea, which required one to explore it personally, the Boundless Spire allowed one to obtain these things by completing specific tasks.

For example, the task the Empire had arranged for Isaac this time—or rather, their primary objective—was the Path of the Radiant Knight!

The so-called Path of the Radiant Knight referred to a special road within the Divine Path of the supernatural power system known as knights. A Radiant Knight possessed the rank of the fifth order but combat strength comparable to Tier 6!

By the standards of the real world, that meant... a demigod!

Radiant Knights, also known as Brave Heroes, were the first Divine Path to employ Faith Power and the earliest Divine Knights. It began when a fourth-order knight saved the world, established a vast kingdom, and sheltered countless people. Borrowing immense Faith Power, he stepped into the fifth order and successfully possessed power comparable to that of a god while still at the fifth order!

He was the first knight to earn the title of demigod at the fifth order!

However, the path of the Radiant Knight was not smoothly passed down. Its initial use of Faith Power was far less refined than it was today, and its efficiency in utilizing Faith Power was extremely low. As a result, it absorbed all three kinds of Faith Power.

For that very reason, every church opposed this path. In the end, it naturally faded away, leaving only a few traces behind within various great creations.

This was also one of the few ways the Empire currently had to break the deadlock!

Once the Emperor fell, the Empire would need a new demigod to step forward. Otherwise, with large numbers of elite third-, fourth-, and fifth-order fighters falling, there would be no way to stabilize the situation.

And becoming a demigod was not so easy, especially for knights.

The trials of the Boundless Spire were already difficult enough. Even if one somehow completed them, simply advancing to the fifth order—or even Tier 6—was useless for knights...

As for wizards...

Sorry, but the Empire did not have wizards of such a high level. Whether Legendary Wizards or Arcanists, once they reached the fifth order, or even the fourth, they would leave the Empire for wizard organizations large and small and would no longer concern themselves much with worldly affairs.