Boundless Spire, Open!

In the Mage Tower's laboratory, Isaac reached out and plucked the Virtual Godhead that had solidified while floating in the air. A sharp glint flashed through his eyes as his mental power instantly merged into it. Soon, some information appeared in Isaac's mind.

Virtual Godhead · Evil Eye

Divine Power: Flesh Aberration, Line of Sight Domination, True Sight, Evil Flame

Divine Authority: Eye of Distortion

The information was simple, but it made Isaac narrow his eyes. The God Seed he had previously modified was indeed vastly different from genuine gods.

For one thing, Little Mouse had none of these abilities.

Evil Eye was a Divine Name with special power. It could serve as the foundational framework for certain rituals and could also be used to cast spells and divine arts.

Divine power was merely an attribute of power, yet it possessed strength comparable to an Authority, while consuming less than activating an Authority.

Divine Authority was the source of a god's power—their mighty Authority. As long as Divine Authority endured, divine power would never run dry!

Simple information, yet it revealed an ultimate set of values and mechanics!

Most importantly, only when these three were combined could a God Seed be considered to have embarked upon the path of godhood, awakening a power that was not the strongest, but was absolutely the core of the divine system—Saints!

Only after possessing these three powers and becoming complete gods could they create their own divine arts, spread them on a massive scale, and mass-produce extraordinary beings!

Ordinary God Seeds could also grant divine arts to believers, but firstly, the number was very limited. Secondly, the consumption of the divine arts used by those believers had to be borne by the God Seed itself. In every aspect, they were far weaker than normal extraordinary beings.

Saints, however, were different. Their power came from gods, yet remained independent of gods. Apart from being reclaimable by the gods at any time, that power was no different from that of ordinary extraordinary beings. It might even be stronger than other extraordinary beings due to its divine origin!

It was precisely through the power to mass-produce Saints that gods could establish such deep foundations in the real world, where they could not display their great might!

Even for Isaac, who was proficient in Flesh Modification and Dimension Apostle modification, this power was immensely precious!

After all, Dimension Apostles were fundamentally on the same path as Outer Gods. They were likewise rejected by the real world, and that rejection continuously intensified as the Dimension and Dimension Apostles grew. Those at Second Order and below were fine and could remain in the real world for long periods.

But once they reached Third Order, although they could still operate in the real world, their time of existence became strictly limited. Unless Isaac's Dimension World grew to the level of a true Dimension Demon God, that time would only grow shorter and shorter until they could no longer walk the world!

Flesh Modification did not have this problem, but biological modification involving Third Order creatures was by no means easy even for Isaac, and the costs were extremely high!

In fact, the experiment currently remained only at the theoretical stage. In theory, Isaac could accomplish it, but due to the cost, he had never actually carried it out.

The Saints of gods were different. As long as the extraordinary beings they created had not reached Fourth Order, they could move freely in the real world without the slightest effect!

And even at Fourth Order, gods could pay a certain price to allow them to appear in the real world, and their active time would not be short!

Even Outer Gods possessed this ability!

This was also the foundation upon which Outer God churches contended with the Orthodox Church in the real world.

However, because most Outer Gods could not control their desires and only wanted to drain the pond dry for fish, the price they exacted was absurdly high. As a result, they were no match for the Orthodox Church and had always been suppressed.

Although the Virtual Godhead Isaac had created was not a true Godhead, lacked the eternal concept of an authentic Godhead, and was merely Fourth Order, it possessed nearly all the other abilities. It was truly incredible!

It lived up to the name of a miracle!

Isaac lightly rubbed the gem-like Godhead in his hand between his index finger and thumb as he pondered in silence. The Virtual Godhead was even more powerful than he had imagined. Unfortunately, there was not enough time. Otherwise, he could have left a Virtual Godhead in the territory, and then there would have been no need to worry about its safety.

Unfortunately, although the remaining time was enough for him to create two more Virtual Godheads, this thing had only just been created. Whether it had any hidden dangers still required careful experimentation. Isaac did not dare let it leave his side for too long...

Shaking his head, Isaac stopped thinking about it. At this point, the plan could not be changed. The territory would proceed according to the original plan. It was time to test this thing's power...

Just as Isaac was thinking this, Lapis Lazuli appeared in the laboratory and said expressionlessly, "Master, news has come from the royal capital. They want you to go to the Imperial Capital and prepare to enter the Boundless Spire ahead of schedule."

"Hm? It's starting already?" Isaac's step toward the Dimension World paused slightly as he turned back to look at Lapis Lazuli in surprise.

He was not surprised that the Empire could interfere with a great creation like the Boundless Spire. After all, it was one of the top powers in the real world, and the Boundless Spire had existed for long enough. But making the Boundless Spire open ahead of schedule...

That was interesting. As expected of the Empire; its foundations were truly deep.

"Notify Smith and Rona. Have them come here."

"Yes." Lapis Lazuli respectfully lowered her head, then slowly withdrew.

Isaac examined the Virtual Godhead in his hand once more before putting it away. It seemed the detailed experiments could only be conducted inside the Boundless Spire. There had been a slight surprise, but fortunately, things had not yet slipped beyond his control.

After Isaac finished checking the supplies he needed to bring, Lapis Lazuli arrived with Smith and Rona.

"I'll leave the house to you. Act according to the plan. Whoever it is, avoid them if possible. If you can't avoid them, go find Caesar. Leave everything else until I return." As he opened a dimensional rift, Isaac gave Lapis Lazuli his instructions.

"Yes, Master." Lapis Lazuli nodded gently.

With that, Isaac led Smith and Rona into the dimensional rift, heading directly for the Imperial Capital. When they reappeared in the real world, they were already outside the Imperial Capital.

This time, Isaac did not bother following any noble etiquette. He transferred directly outside the Imperial Capital, then tossed out the Pumpkin Carriage. In the next instant, they appeared inside a secret palace within the royal palace.

The entire palace was forged from mithril, its surface covered with mysterious and profound magical runes. The magic power flowing within it was so dense that it was visible to the naked eye!

The entire palace was enormous, roughly the size of seven or eight football fields!

Spatial expansion? No, that doesn't seem right. This looks like a small world... Interesting. A Traveler's method? Isaac looked around the great hall in surprise.

This was not something the Empire should have been capable of creating. After all, it was a pure magical construct, and as everyone knew, the stronger a noble was, the fewer mages there were within their household. And for something this precious, judging others by himself, Isaac certainly would not trust it to someone else.

Likewise, judging others by himself, Isaac would never stay in a family and work for them. He would surely pursue truth as his eternal goal...

"Tut, tut~" In the end, Isaac could only describe the Empire as outrageously wealthy. Whether it had been outsourced or manifested through a magical artifact, the cost had to be enormous. In any case, it could not have been completed by the Empire's own spellcasters.

Of course, while Isaac was surprised, the others in the hall were also looking at him in shock.

They were not surprised by his presence. In fact, those who could arrive here at this moment were either the very core of the Empire or those who had major deals with it. They all knew of one another's existence.

As perhaps the most gifted, terrifying, and insane Mad Witch in the Empire—or even in the real world—for nearly a thousand years, they were not surprised that Isaac had received an invitation from the Empire. What shocked them was how Isaac had entered this hall.

This place was already akin to a small world in some respects. Neither spatial transfer nor high-speed movement should have allowed anyone to enter in an instant. Yet these experts, the weakest at Third Order and the strongest at Fifth Order, had all failed to see his method...

No, it was not that nobody had seen it.

Within the crowd, a priest in white robes exchanged glances with a knight beside him, who wore silver armor inlaid with a golden divine emblem. Both saw the horror in the other's eyes.

That was because they seemed to have sensed fluctuations of divine power from Isaac just now!

It was not the divine power Mad Witches had plundered from Outer Gods, nor was it the inferior divine power of God Seeds. It was the incomparably pure divine power possessed by true gods!

But how was that possible?

As a Mad Witch so insane that he would have been considered extreme even in history, Isaac might not have despised gods, but he certainly could not have held much yearning for them. How could he personally set foot upon the path to godhood?

However, no one present noticed the two men's shock. After all, divine authority in the Terra Empire was far weaker than royal authority. If the circumstances had not been so special this time, they would never have received an invitation from the Empire.

Ignoring the shocked crowd, Isaac casually put away the Pumpkin Carriage and led Smith and Rona toward them. Without needing anyone from the Royal Family to tell him, he directed Smith and Rona to stand in the proper positions.

Although his abilities were far from enough to construct a magical creation of this level, Isaac was still a Fourth-Order Wizard and could barely be considered someone at the forefront of the wizard's path. Combined with Authority Analysis and a brain already capable of barely processing divine data, understanding this thing's functions and operation was not too difficult.

The Royal Family's subsequent reaction also proved that Isaac's actions had been correct. Their positions were completely right.

Although Isaac had been the farthest from the Imperial Capital when everyone received the notice, he was not the last to arrive. On the contrary, he had arrived relatively early—even earlier than Noence Prince.

Thus, when Noence Prince entered the hall and saw Isaac, who had long since taken his place, even a man as deeply calculating as him could not help but darken his face.

He was Royal Family!

He was an established Fourth Order!

He was a noble aristocrat!

Yet Solomon, that innately evil brat, had arrived even earlier than him?

Those bastards in the Royal Family were not even pretending anymore?

Under Isaac's surprised gaze, Noence Prince walked to his position with a gloomy expression. The followers behind him, including the construct Remington, were guided by attendants to another location.

That position... Isaac glanced at Noence in surprise, then looked sympathetically at Remington and the others.

On one hand, Isaac was surprised that Noence Prince, at his age, was still so unable to contain himself, his face so dark. On the other hand, he was surprised by his boldness!

From where Remington and the others were standing, Isaac could tell that they were also going to the Wilderness Dungeon, a Fourth-Order tower!

With their strength, they would absolutely be cannon fodder there!

Among those people were not only expendable loyalists and subordinates like Remington, but also quite a few core members of the Noence Family. In theory, they should have formed a team to enter a First-Floor, Third-Order Boundless Spire, then concentrated their strength on helping the strongest among them complete the trial and stack up a Fourth Order!

That way, even if Noence Prince kicked the bucket inside the Boundless Spire, the Noence Family would still have Fourth-Order combat power. Even against a powerful enemy like Isaac, they would retain a sliver of hope.

But if they all entered the Wilderness Dungeon...

It looked like they intended to fight him to the death~

Isaac narrowed his eyes slightly, but then smiled softly. He did not alter his plan, still sending Smith and Rona to Golden Dragon's Homeland, a plane related to dragons.

That was good too. It would save him time. Wiping them all out in one go would be perfect.

As everyone waited with their own schemes, the final person smoothly took their position. There was no impassioned speech and no lengthy instructions. The moment the final person arrived, the Royal Family directly activated the magic formation engraved throughout the hall!

In an instant, all the magical runes carved across the hall lit up, and the terrifying magic power stored within them erupted at once!

A massive pillar of magical light rose from the center of the Imperial Capital and shot straight into the heavens!

At the same time, similar pillars of light rose in other places throughout the real world!

Clearly, the Empire was not the only one with a method to jump the queue.

But that had nothing to do with Isaac. At that moment, he was immersed in boundless awe for this great creation~

Even though he had already reached Fourth Order, even though he had activated Authority Analysis in advance, even though he had used the divine power of the Virtual Godhead to enhance Authority Analysis just as he had when driving the Pumpkin Carriage, he still failed to see even the slightest trace of the transfer...

It truly was a great creation!

In the gray, misty void, Isaac sighed in admiration.

Just then, a streak of starlight rapidly swept toward Isaac. Before he could react, it wrapped around him and carried him into the sky above a wilderness, where he transformed into a dazzling meteor and shot toward the desolate land!

At the same time, a message appeared in Isaac's mind, making him frown.

It was the trial assigned to him by the Boundless Spire. Only by completing it could he advance to Fifth Order.

And although he had long been mentally prepared, the difficulty of this trial still made him frown...

Could this really be completed?