Lord: Sequence Master

"Avenger Watcher..."

Izana, who had barely escaped death, spoke with lingering fear.

Every Divine Lord who knew about the Avenger Watcher felt a sense of dread because it was one of the Elven race's most terrifying Sequence beings.

To become an Avenger Watcher, one must first be a regular Watcher. Then, their entire elven clan must perish, leaving them as the sole survivor. In such a state, the final Watcher absorbs the hatred of the Ancient Tree of Life and their fallen kin, ascending into an Avenger Watcher.

It was a figure no less fearsome than a Godspawn or a Beast King. No wonder it could instantly kill a Sequence-6 Gourmet.

Rosen was confident he could deal with the Avenger Watcher, but he hesitated.

He was only Sequence-5. Killing a Sequence-4 Avenger Watcher would be an overly conspicuous display of power.

He didn't want to end up like the nameless demigod painter who vanished silently after attracting too much attention.

"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind." Rosen had no patron to shield him from the inevitable backlash.

If he shone too brightly and became a target, the consequences would far outweigh the benefits.

Moreover, killing it wouldn't even yield any loot. There was no reason for him to draw unwanted attention.

But since his district had encountered an Avenger Watcher, he couldn't just stay holed up on the hotel rooftop.

It had only been a few years—how could he endure another forty years like this?

Rosen took out his identity card and requested aid from the Star Palace.

The Star Palace had a few Sequence-3 mobile forces specifically tasked with rescuing districts that couldn't hold out. At the very least, they would evacuate artists to safer regions. Without this emergency force, many Divine Lords would have long abandoned their posts.

In densely populated cities, one might argue about the grand duty of protecting humanity.

But the City of Stars was populated entirely by extraordinary individuals. Ordinary people lived safely in spiritual realms and could be relocated with ease.

Here, what was being protected was not humanity, but the countless spiritually-infused artworks of the City of Stars.

A few hours later, three demigods descended from the sky, passing through the spatial fractures caused by the fusion of the two realms.

Moments later, fierce combat erupted near the hotel.

On the rooftop, all the Divine Lords joined forces, activating their elemental barriers from their Divine Territory castles. They fused the barriers into one cohesive shield, reinforced by the near-indestructible Metallic Slimes, holding back the aftermath of the demigods' battle.

It took two full hours and several coordinated attacks before the three demigods departed.

Before leaving, they left behind a small supply of Spiritual Crystals.

Rosen resumed his endless hunt. Truth be told, this war was still profitable for him.

While he couldn't harvest spiritual resources from killing Spirit Realm creatures, he could still extract Time Power.

This was thanks to the combination of his divine authorities, Gluttonous Stomach and Greedy Hand, enhanced by the Tower of Time. These allowed him to infuse Time Power into Spiritual Crystals. Although the process incurred significant losses, the resulting Time-Attribute Spiritual Crystals were far more valuable.

Of course, harvesting Time Power from Spirit Realm creatures came with a price. Rosen occasionally had to 'feed' the Spirit Realm with Spiritual Crystals to avoid rejection.

In recent years, extraordinary resources and treasures produced by humanity had plummeted in value on the Main Temple Market.

Clearly, powerful figures from other races had realized that no amount of Spiritual Crystals could satiate humanity's current hunger for them.

They tacitly manipulated the market, buying resources and treasures from humanity's great fate-bearers at artificially low prices.

However, genuinely valuable items were still rare. After all, those considered great fate-bearers usually weren't short on Spiritual Crystals.

Two more years passed. Through relentless killing, Rosen's spiritual strength had grown to 53 points.

Gaining two points in just seven years was enough to make most Sequence-5 individuals green with envy.

But Rosen still wasn't satisfied. If he ventured out to hunt larger Spirit Realm beasts, he could gain even more.

His tireless defense of the City of Stars was primarily motivated by the opportunity to hunt Spirit Realm creatures and earn merit. No other place offered such an endless stream of creatures to hunt.

Rosen could still hold out, but the other Divine Lords in his district were reaching their limits.

In the past two years, supplies from the Star Palace had dwindled significantly.

More and more Divine Lords from neighboring areas had fled to his district. If this continued, the City of Stars wouldn't last another fifty years.

Rosen didn't need to guess—he knew that something catastrophic must have happened at the Star Palace, suspended 100,000 li above the city.

That explained the declining support. At this rate, Rosen knew he would have to consider fleeing within a year or two.

To be honest, he was reluctant to leave. In seven years, he had accumulated enough merit to be granted a hereditary Count title.

If he spent all his merit, he could gain access to the Miracle Treasury and claim a Sequence-5 treasure.

But sometimes, success is only one step away from disaster.

That day, Rosen and Shadiya were hunting Spirit Realm creatures as usual.

Over the years, he had deliberately concealed part of his strength to avoid drawing too much attention.

But he also didn't want to lower his efficiency, so he and Shadiya had developed a perfect partnership.

Shadiya, despite her arrogance, had extraordinary talent as a musician.

When she performed symphonies with her orchestra, Rosen's summoned units saw their combat power more than double.

It even made Rosen consider maintaining a long-term alliance with her.

But that alliance was fated to end today.

Rosen looked up at the sky. With his Hunter's Demon Eye enhanced by extreme magnification, he could normally see someone's facial features even 100,000 li away. But for years, he couldn't see anything of the Star Palace battlefield.

The reason was simple. The spatial fractures caused by the fusion of realms distorted the space. Sequence-1 combat further warped reality, blocking his sight.

But today, Rosen saw something. The Star Palace was disintegrating.

He immediately realized that the Star Palace had fallen.

This meant that the City of Stars was no longer defensible. Everyone would soon face the divine might of a Sequence-1 being.

Rosen instinctively decided to flee, but the Star Palace was collapsing far faster than he had anticipated.

Its fragments were descending toward the city, scattering across various fused regions—including the area where Rosen's hotel was located.

At the same time, his identity card flashed with a red warning.

The fall of the Star Palace was not because of an external attack but internal betrayal.

The Miracle Treasure, a Sequence-2 artifact born from the palace's unique fusion with the Spirit Realm, had been stolen—by none other than the Star Emperor's only son.

Along with it, he had taken nearly all of the palace's Spiritual Crystal reserves.

The palace had only been sustained by the Emperor's personal assets.

Now, the Emperor could hold out against Sequence-1 entities for less than a month. That month was the evacuation window for everyone.

The breaking apart of the Star Palace was the Empire's final act of compensation.

What could be salvaged depended on individual ability.

But the cost would not be free—along with the palace fragments, the spiritual realms housing ordinary people were also falling.

When leaving with the spoils, one must also carry these spiritual realms away.

However, after the disintegration of the Star Palace, these realms had become prime delicacies for the Spirit Realm. Taking them away would undoubtedly provoke rejection from the Spirit Realm, leaving behind potential hazards.

Therefore, one had to act within their means. But those who had the ability would certainly not let such treasures slip away.

Artists drive humanity's spiritual and cultural needs.

However, not all art is universally appreciated. Many works are incomprehensible to ordinary people without foundational artistic knowledge.

In such cases, one must either leave it be or cultivate the public's appreciation of art.

The City of Stars was said to have a population of 300 billion ordinary people—far surpassing the empire's upper limit and exceeding all other cities. This was because, for the past 20,000 years, the Star Empire had focused on nurturing the artistic appreciation of ordinary citizens.

This vast population, cultivated generation after generation, was said to provide an endless source of Artistic Faith.

While other empires produced Sequence-2 titled demigod emperors, the Star Empire's emperor was a Sequence-1 Architect.

Other empires aimed to nurture Sequence-1 individuals; the Star Empire aspired to create a Sequence-0 entity.

Rosen placed his identity card back in his pocket, returned to the hotel rooftop, and quietly waited.

Descending from 100,000 li above couldn't happen too quickly.

It took three full hours before a cluster of starlight, about a mile in diameter, landed in the nearby forest.

All the Divine Lords on the rooftop eagerly rushed toward the falling starlight.

Rosen flickered through the void and approached the cluster. Passing through the starlight, he saw a small courtyard with a garden.

The garden was filled with Sequence-4 extraordinary plants, and at its center, there were even a few Sequence-3 plants.

This was a first-come, first-served situation. There was no time for hesitation.

However, as Rosen entered the garden, he realized that the extraordinary plants around him were mere illusions. The actual plants had likely been harvested long ago, and what he had seen was merely a projection created by Stellar Force.

But as Rosen reached the center of the garden, he spotted one real Sequence-3 extraordinary plant.

It was a tree surrounded by starlight, standing no more than three meters tall, rooted in a hexagonal flower bed.

Without hesitation, Rosen expanded his Void Shadow Realm and swiftly stored the tree away.

Rosen continued scanning the area and immediately noticed an intricately carved water urn, water cascading within yet never spilling.

This urn was undoubtedly the masterpiece of a sculptor, and its Sequence level was at least Sequence-4.

Using the Void Shadow Realm, Rosen stored the urn away in an instant.

By this time, other Divine Lords had arrived at the courtyard.

At first, they were overjoyed, but upon stepping inside, their excitement turned into disappointment.

Frustrated, they began dismantling everything—the soil from the garden was dug up, the tiles were pried loose, and the artistic, exquisitely designed structures were reduced to rubble in no time.

Soon, only a few items remained:

A Spiritual Realm Painting

A Spiritual Realm Master Tape

A Spiritual Realm Novel

The painting and the novel were part of a set. Both the Spiritual Realm Painting and Master Tape contained vast human populations within them.

However, these items had already been marked by the Spirit Realm. Taking them away would result in severe rejection unless one was willing to offer an equivalent amount of Spiritual Crystals.

Without such payment, carrying these realms would provoke the Spirit Realm's wrath, making even entering the Spirit Realm after fifty years nearly impossible.

Without sufficient Spiritual Crystals, no one dared to take these items.

But if they were left behind, all the people within those spiritual realms would perish.

The Sequence-6 Divine Lords turned away immediately, leaving only eight hesitant Sequence-5 individuals.

They first attempted to collect the spiritual realms but quickly felt the intensity of the Spirit Realm's rejection.

After pooling their resources and calculating the cost of appeasing the Spirit Realm, they decided to jointly claim the Spiritual Realm Master Tape, dividing the population within it to enrich their own Divine Domains.

No one invited Rosen to join—not even Shadiya.

This was because Rosen was already struggling to maintain the Water Urn he had taken earlier.

No one believed he had the surplus resources to claim the painting and the novel.

A day later, Shadiya and the others successfully ransomed the Spiritual Realm Master Tape and departed.

Only then did Rosen reveal his true cards.

He frantically poured out his reserves of Spiritual Crystals, even selling his stockpile of Life Water and Life Essence on the Main Temple Market.

He parted with a portion of his Time-Attribute Spiritual Crystals as well.

Finally, after exhausting his resources, Rosen managed to secure the Water Urn, the Spiritual Realm Novel, and the Spiritual Realm Painting.

Rosen carefully checked the area one last time for anything he might have missed.

Satisfied, he activated his Void Phase and disappeared into the distance.

Tens of thousands of li away, Rosen hid in his Divine Library and began inspecting his spoils.

[Thousand Lakes Urn: Spiritual Realm Sculpture]

Level: Sequence-4

Range: One thousand lakes, each ten li in diameter

Life Capacity: 200,000

Specialties: Various aquatic extraordinary creatures and plants

This was another production-based spiritual realm, capable of generating tens of millions of Spiritual Crystals annually.

After placing the Thousand Lakes Urn in his Ashen Castle, Rosen immediately began refining the Spiritual Realm Painting.

[Artistic Empire: Spiritual Realm Painting]

Level: Sequence-4

Range: Ten thousand li in diameter

Population: 5 billion

Specialties: Artistic Faith

As he refined the Spiritual Realm Painting, Rosen realized he had truly stumbled upon an extraordinary treasure.

The spiritual realm within the painting lacked extraordinary power, which was why it could be so vast and accommodate such a massive population.

The fifty billion inhabitants of the Artistic Empire were completely unaware of the World Government or the existence of extraordinary Sequences.

Rosen finally refined the Spiritual Realm Novel, which was entirely an auxiliary extension of the painting.

[Origin of Art: Fate Novel]

Level: Sequence-4

Attribute: Can manipulate the fate of every inhabitant within the Artistic Empire.

Specialty: Artistic Faith Crystals

Rosen revisited his analysis of the Artistic Empire painting and finally understood why the two artifacts were a set.

Previously, he had been puzzled by how fifty billion people could be confined within a spiritual realm painting, isolated from extraordinary powers. Normally, the World Government would never allow such a thing.

Now he understood. These fifty billion people were not real humans in the conventional sense.

They had not been migrated from reality but had instead been painted into existence by the artist.

Much like how Rosen had revived people in Ironwood Town by tracing the historical imprints of their existence, these fifty billion inhabitants were recreated from traces of people who had died long ago.

Because of this origin, their rights as individuals were limited, and the artist, in collaboration with the novelist, had created the Origin of Art: Fate Novel.

This novel allowed the manipulation of the fate of all fifty billion people in the Artistic Empire. Under its control, every person's life was dedicated to the pursuit of art. Their artistic appreciation levels were exceptionally high, providing an endless supply of Artistic Faith.

Rosen carefully stored the book and the painting away. In the future, if he ever aimed to ascend to demigod status, these two treasures would undoubtedly become critical assets.

He then examined the tree he had dug up from the garden and discovered it was a Stellar Fruit Tree.

This Sequence-3 extraordinary plant could absorb stellar energy to produce Stellar Fruits. These fruits were not only top-tier stellar materials but could also significantly accelerate spiritual growth when consumed.

The Star Palace had possessed only ten such trees.

The courtyard that had fallen near the hotel must have held significant status within the Star Palace.

Rosen sat by the window, gazing toward the ruins of the City of Stars.

It was deeply regrettable—he had not even had the chance to fully admire the city before it was destroyed.

A month later, Rosen personally witnessed the final fragments of the Star Palace being captured by the Spirit Realm deep in the sky.

At the same time, he learned through the Spirit Realm Deep Web that the current Star Emperor had perished.

The emperor had chosen to perish alongside a Sequence-1 Spirit Realm entity, making him the first Sequence-1 casualty of this war—but certainly not the last.

For beings of such power, escape was rarely an issue. To perish in such a manner indicated extraordinary circumstances.

Out of curiosity, Rosen hacked into the Star Empire Intelligence Bureau on the Spirit Realm Deep Web.

The truth was startling: the Star Emperor had been attempting to ascend to Sequence-0. Such an attempt was a gamble with life itself, a step that could either lead to transcendence or utter destruction.

The rapid fall of the City of Stars wasn't merely due to the Spirit Realm's assault—it was because the emperor had failed his ascension and suffered severe backlash.

This failure had left him grievously injured, ultimately forcing him into a desperate battle that ended with mutual destruction.

This was also why the World Government had not sent reinforcements—they had abandoned the emperor after his failure.

Rosen shook his head.

Earlier, he had considered the Star Emperor a commendable figure, given the immense benefits he had gained from the disintegration of the Star Palace.

But now, Rosen saw the truth—the Star Emperor had recklessly gambled the entire City of Stars on his ascension to Sequence-0.

Two days later, Rosen had decided on his next destination.

He would continue hunting Spirit Realm creatures, but this time he would hide his true identity.

Only by doing so could he fight without restraint. Otherwise, he would always have to hold back, hesitant to confront powerful enemies like the Avenger Watcher head-on.

His next stop would be Mountain River City.

He had always liked that city. If he could contribute to defending it while hunting Spirit Realm creatures and earning merit, he would gladly do so.

Using Void Phase Transmission, Rosen teleported to the outskirts of Mountain River City.

Sure enough, the entire city was partially fused with the Spirit Realm.

The Star Empire Virtual Network was still operational, allowing Rosen to quickly gather information about the city's status.

Compared to the City of Stars, Mountain River City was faring significantly better.

The Spirit Realm creatures appearing here were capped at Sequence-4.

For Rosen, this was an ideal hunting ground. He could unleash his full strength and accumulate merit without any reservations.

(End of chapter)