The Increasingly Outrageous Rumor

"Let me see the Divine Sparks!"

Hermes handed over the Divine Sparks he had selected to Aiken.

These were all Divine Sparks outside of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind—keeping them was useless.

"Alright~!"

The Divine Sparks were equally small.

But seeing three Space Rings filled to the brim with Divine Sparks at once was still a spectacular sight.

"Still all Earth Crystals?"

Compared to his previous wealth, the wealth exchanged for these Divine Sparks was still astonishing, but with the precedent set, this trillions of Earth Crystals no longer seemed like much.

"Right~!"

Hermes had decided that whenever he saved up enough Ink Stones for ten trillion, he would exchange them all for Earth Crystals.

He still didn't know how many Divine Stones were needed to refine a single drop of Sovereign Power.

Earth Crystals were better in abundance, no matter what.

"Hey, he's out~!"

"Taking that long, he must have been selling treasures."

He had strolled in leisurely, but left in a hurry.

Hermes needed to get back quickly.

He wanted to test whether the Golden Space could refine Sovereign Power.

In the blink of an eye, Hermes' figure vanished from the Demon Castle's entrance.

What remained were the whispers of a group of Demon experts and endless wild speculation.

A piece of news spread along with it.

Hermes had unexpectedly obtained a precious treasure and sold it to the Demon Castle for an immense fortune.

The rumor was told with vivid detail, and some even embellished it.

For instance, where Hermes had found the treasure, and how many Ink Stones he had sold it for.

And more!

How highly the Demon Castle valued the treasure, even sending someone overnight to deliver it to the Prefect City.

Handing it over to the Prefect Lord himself.

Countless Intelligence Dealers, like sharks catching the scent of blood, lurked in wait, selling the intelligence to other cities.

"Damn, someone actually believes such an absurd rumor, and they even helped us flesh out the details."

When Aiken heard this news, he quickly sent someone to inform Hermes.

Telling him not to leave the city anytime soon.

Aiken intended to build a good relationship with Hermes, so naturally, he had to show his support.

At the very least, he had to make his stance clear—protecting Hermes' interests.

First, he had to distance himself!

He couldn't let those damned Intelligence Dealers drag him down.

A Middle God's Five-star Demon, or even stronger, meant they had fused multiple profound mysteries.

Once he broke through to High God, Hermes would surely become a major power.

Aiken wanted to build a connection—this was also an investment in goodwill.

If it failed, so be it!

But if it succeeded, the returns would be billions of times over.

Connections, especially those of super experts, were built little by little like this.

Of course!

If one had Grand Perfection strength, there was no need to cultivate connections at all.

Grand Perfection itself was the greatest connection, with countless super experts eager to befriend such a person.

"Is it real or fake?"

"This Hermes sure has stirred up a big story!"

Countless rumors spread in all directions, and of course, some wise men could smell the scent of conspiracy within them.

But whether or not rumors stopped at the wise, Hermes had returned.

And they knew, Hermes' return would inevitably stir up a new storm.

Yilan City, West District.

Bamer's residence.

"Boom~!"

Boulder-sized blocks of Azure Stone were directly swallowed into the Golden Space by Hermes.

Earth-yellow wisps of energy, barely visible, began to gather.

Ten trillion, twenty trillion...

In the blink of an eye, over ninety trillion Earth Crystals had been devoured into the Golden Space, yet the Talent Panel gave no prompt.

Hermes had no idea

whether this barely perceptible energy was Sovereign Power.

The Ink Stones and Earth Crystals he had devoured before, due to the long intervals between them, had long since dissipated without a trace.

"One hundred trillion!"

He counted silently, just as he thought his refinement had failed.

Countless earth-yellow specks of light, like bacterial flagella, converged from all directions.

No, they were even smaller than bacterial flagella, but within this Golden Space, he could still sense them.

Hermes stood quietly at the center of the Golden Space, feeling the tiny earth-yellow specks gradually coalesce.

In reality, this was merely his consciousness.

The Golden Space and Talent Panel that had accompanied him through his transmigration and rebirth, though miraculous, had never granted him the ability to physically enter.

At this moment, all his attention was fixed on the seemingly endless specks of light within the Golden Space.

If one were to count them, there might be a hundred trillion.

"Could this be..."

Within the Golden Space, although the command to devour Earth Crystals had been issued by Hermes, he was now more of a pure observer.

"It looks like, it looks so much like it!"

Countless specks of light spread across the Golden Space like billions of stars.

Though these specks were minuscule, the energy they contained was vast and pure.

It should be exactly the Sovereign Power Hermes had been dreaming of.

Though confident in his heart, until the matter was settled, he could not rest easy.

Within the Golden Space, his consciousness was absolutely supreme over all things; though his actions were limited, he had a completely omniscient perspective.

Nothing could hide.

Hermes could sense the infinite energy contained within the earth-yellow specks.

As the specks continued to gather, an ancient and mysterious aura began to permeate the space.

He knew that whether he could refine Sovereign Power depended on what happened next.

Hermes took a deep breath and began to mobilize his Spiritual Sense, actively guiding these specks to gather along a specific trajectory.

He tried to make them rapidly condense into true Sovereign Power.

"Boom~!"

Time seemed to freeze at this moment, the energy fluctuations within the Golden Space growing more and more intense.

The earth-yellow specks began to spin violently, like countless tiny fireflies.

The specks first formed tiny vortices, and at the center of each vortex, a speck of light gradually appeared.

It was brighter and more solid than the surrounding specks.

Just then, Hermes felt an unprecedented pressure, his consciousness nearly collapsing under its weight.

"So this is the difference between actively guiding and standing by."

Hermes thought to himself.

But recalling the countless Ink Stones and Earth Crystals he had devoured that had all vanished, he dared not give up.

A hundred trillion Ink Stones, Hermes did not care about.

But this concerned whether he could master the ability to refine Sovereign Power, so he could not help but be tense.

The pressure generated by the Golden Space only sought to expel his consciousness, or perhaps it was merely the instinctive reaction of the Golden Space operating on its own.

Like the celestial bodies moving naturally through the starry sky, it had its own laws.

It could not be interfered with by external forces.

Though difficult, Hermes did not give up. Instead, he became more resolute in maintaining the stability of his Spiritual Sense, continuing to guide the condensation of the specks.

He had a vague feeling that if he didn't intervene, either the Sovereign Power refinement would fail, or most of the Earth Crystals would be lost during the process.

This was entirely possible.

Just as energy conversion incurred losses, refining Sovereign Power should follow a similar principle.

Hermes didn't want to gamble. For now, he only had a few tens of trillions of Ink Stones, not enough for many attempts.

If they all failed, what was the point?

He might as well find a Sovereign to pledge allegiance to, obediently play the role of a dog.

Why bother striving?

Why act so proud?