In a distant galaxy, the Antimatter Legion was rampaging as always, laying waste to civilizations in the name of the Path of Destruction.
Countless voidrangers, doomsday beasts, and fleets of menacing-looking spaceships swarmed across the stars, forming a vast army.
At the rear of that army floated a beautiful woman clad in white, her long, silky, silvery-white hair trailing gently behind her.
Her name was Celenova—one of the Lord Ravagers, Emanators of Destruction who followed the Aeon of Destruction, Nanook.
At this moment, Celenova was, as usual, commanding the Antimatter Legion to annihilate the civilizations in the galaxy.
Under her control, every unit moved with perfect uniformity and coordination, so much so that even the most ordinary voidranger could unleash 200% of its combat strength under her command.
Among the Lord Ravagers, Celenova could be said to be the one most skilled at fleet warfare.
"Strange, what was that just now...?"
Celenova, suddenly faltering, muttered to herself, making the entire Antimatter Legion pause with her.
Just now, a fragment of memories suddenly surfaced in her mind—she seemed to see someone, someone who had obliterated her million-strong Antimatter Legion in a single stroke.
More importantly, that person was actually a follower of the most flamboyant Path—Abundance.
"Where...? Who...?"
Celenova could not remember in which battle it had occurred, nor could she recall the enemy's face—she only remembered that the last message from one of the voidrangers had described the enemy as a black-haired young man who looked like a native of the Xianzhou Alliance.
"Xianzhou… seems I should pay them another visit..."
Celenova decided on her next move, planning to make time to stir up trouble in the Xianzhou Alliance.
Meanwhile, as for the culprit who had unsettled her mind, he was, at this very moment, chatting leisurely with a beautiful woman.
===
On the outskirts of Belobog, Lucian was still sitting with Jade, chatting with each other.
Even though he found her to be a decent woman, she was unfortunately far too business-minded, always trying to recruit him into the Strategic Investment Department at every moment, which made him a little stifled.
"If you're willing, join the Strategic Investment Department. Starting at P35, with your talent, I'm sure you'd catch up to my rank in no time."
"Haha, maybe later." Lucian chuckled lightly and gave a perfunctory answer.
Work?
No way in this lifetime.
Even if they offered him a P46 position, he would still have to think twice about it.
P35?
A worthless rank.
If he ever entered the IPC, it would only be as a board member—otherwise, he would never work for them.
In fact, considering Jade did not know Lucian's identity as an Emanator, offering him a P35 position was already remarkably generous.
It should be noted that the IPC enforced a strict hierarchy.
Given there were so many civilizations across the universe, and countless people yearning to enter the IPC, the competition was, of course, unimaginable.
"I sincerely hope to work with you." Jade said with a smile. "I believe we'd get along well. If the day comes when you change your mind, just tell me and I'll arrange it at once."
It was impossible to tell if her smile was genuine or not, but surely, for a seasoned businesswoman, every one of her smiles was an act.
Lucian returned her smile with a nod, and just then, a System message suddenly popped up in his mind.
[DING! Follower Tribios requests to borrow Disarm. Approve?]
'Tribios? She must be in trouble...'
Lucian thought seriously for a moment before he approved the request without any hesitation.
[DING! Follower Castorice requests to borrow the Godly Bandage. Approve?]
'What? Even though blessed by me personally, they still need two abilities? Looks like something big has happened.'
Lucian approved the request once more.
For matters so dire that even his two wives—who were at their peak, plus having his blessings—still ended up forced to borrow his two conceptual abilities, the trouble they faced had to be extremely serious.
Of all the dangers he could imagine, he ultimately arrived at the one that could make his two wives' situation this dire—most likely something concerning the Flame Reaver.
In Amphoreus, aside from the black tide, only the Flame Reaver could drive them to such desperation. Bearing hundreds of millions of Coreflames, he made Titans and Chrysos Heirs alike seem like nothing but vermin on the roadside.
Two conceptual abilities would surely suffice to deal with the Flame Reaver—it was only a matter of how well his wives used them.
Using Disarm to strip the Flame Reaver of all his Coreflames—the thought alone made Lucian chuckle.
'I'll need someone from the Garden of Recollection... Only those memetic brats know Amphoreus's coordinates.'
'And the Astral Express...'
'If I find Black Swan, then with Trailblazer, Herta, and Screwllum, I'll definitely be able to get into Amphoreus.'
Lucian even considered infiltrating the faction of Destruction, not only to find some clues about Amphoreus but also to win over the Lord Ravagers.
Celenova and Phantylia—what a waste for them to serve under the indifferent, cold Nanook.
Nevertheless, since they were utterly devoted to the Destruction and unafraid of death, recruiting them wouldn't be easy.
===
Back to one hour ago in Amphoreus.
At this moment, several Chrysos Heirs had gathered at the Vortex of Genesis, awaiting Mydei's trial of strife.
"It's alright, Snowy." Tribios gently consoled the disheartened Phainon. "If Strife isn't for you, then you're surely destined to be the Demigod of Worldbearing."
"I'm fine, Lady Tribios..." Phainon responded with a strained smile.
Just as Tribios had said, he had undergone the trial of strife only to fail.
He had believed he could gain the strength to save the world by becoming the Demigod of Strife, yet he was met with bitter disappointment.
Several minutes later, Mydei finally returned to the Vortex of Genesis, showing that he had successfully inherited the Coreflame of Strife, becoming the Demigod of Strife.
"At this rate, it won't be long before we gather all the Coreflames and complete the Era Nova."
Aglaea couldn't help but speak with high spirits, which was quite rare.
In the past, claiming Coreflames had been excruciatingly slow and a hard endeavor, but now things were different.
With the Demigod of Passage, two Death Titans, the Demigod of Romance, and the wondrous power of Abundance, the pace of the Flame-Chase Journey had increased manyfold.
In just a few days, they had defeated Nikador and seized the Coreflame of Strife—even the disasters brought by them had been quelled.
"For now, the Coreflame of Time can wait." Aglaea explained the next step. "Our next goal is to seize the Coreflame of Reason from the Grove of Epiphany. Once we create another demigod, we can move on to claim the Coreflame of Sky."
Aglaea felt that everything was going very smoothly, mainly thanks to Lucian's blessing — it was as if they were playing with cheats.
Surely, the Era Nova would be completed swiftly this time.
"Yes, let's head to the Grove of Epiphany—the sooner, the better." Polyxia nodded with a faint smile.
At present, her elder sister, Castorice, was working in the nether realm to manage the dead, and because Lucian was not present, they could only rotate monthly.
In the end, after some discussion, only Tribios, Polyxia, Mydei, and Phainon departed together to claim the Coreflame of Reason at the Grove of Epiphany, while Aglaea was bound to remain in Okhema to manage its affairs.
Tribios opened a Century Gate, bringing them directly to the entrance to the Luminary Throne in the Grove of Epiphany, at the top of the Sacred Tree, where the Coreflame of Reason slumbered.
In history, only a handful had ever reached this place.
As the group arrived, they saw a green-haired man with an eye patch walking from the entrance to the Luminary Throne, his expression serious as he looked deep in thought.
"Professor Anaxa!"
Phainon was the first to greet the green-haired man.
"Hm?"
Anaxa immediately turned sideways, scanning the group with surprise until his gaze settled on Polyxia, who curiously took in the surroundings.
"You..." Anaxa paused and frowned. "I've never seen you... Why do you look so much like Castorice?"
Polyxia, remembering that her teacher in the previous cycle was now the Reason Titan, tried to sense the Coreflame of Reason, but then paused upon hearing the question and her sister's name.
"Because I'm her twin younger sister." Polyxia replied with a polite smile. "Nice to meet you, my name is Polyxia, the current Death Titan, Thanatos."
"Death Titan? Castorice's sister? Are you joking?"
Anaxa's face remained expressionless, but his tone was proud and sharp.
Not wanting to waste time with pointless talk, he immediately turned to Tribios, his expression hardening.
"Senior Tribios, care to explain what's going on?"
===
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