A Sanctuary-Rank Existence!

A flicker of surprise flashed in Leo's eyes.

It was the first time he had encountered someone of the same rank as himself.

But his heart remained utterly calm.

Rank, to him, had never been a shackle.

"You know what to do, right, System?"

[Ding—Your ever-loyal System stands ready to serve, my esteemed host!]

[Would you like to proceed with an immediate rank ascension?]

"No need to rush that," Leo replied evenly, his gaze fixed in the direction of the disturbance.

"I am Leo Grey, President of Dalton Town," he said, his tone polite yet indifferent.

"If you're interested, you're welcome to visit Dalton someday."

The other party fell silent for a few moments, as though evaluating something.

"…I'll look forward to that day."

The mighty mental presence soon faded away.

Leo turned his eyes to the unstable void channel behind him.

He lifted his palm and aimed across space toward the far end—toward the Multiverse he once called home.

An overwhelming creative force surged forth, beginning to forcibly contract and contain the cosmic root of his home universe.

This channel could not be destroyed—it was the only hope for his home universe's future.

Yet leaving it exposed here would also be a great danger to that same world.

The only solution was to bring it completely under his control.

Before long, the fundamental laws and origin of the Multiverse were merged into Leo's will.

At that moment, he became the de facto sovereign of that cosmos—the living embodiment of its supreme consciousness.

With a single thought, a vast proclamation reverberated through the souls of every being within the Multiverse:

"All who reach the realm of Astral Lord may ascend to a higher world—Sakend!"

In an instant, the entire Multiverse erupted in celebration!

Hope ignited the hearts of countless powerhouses.

Though Dalton Town had already departed, its legacy continued to bless Aresia, turning it into a sacred land.

Those who had been left behind now possessed a new goal—to pursue higher ranks, to reach the greater world beyond.

A new golden age of magic dawned across the cosmos.

Meanwhile, under Leo's divine will, the entire energy level of the Multiverse began to rise—

laying the foundation for generations of future champions.

Yet after doing all this, Leo's expression grew even more grim.

Even now, he still could not sense Lilith's exact location.

That was… deeply abnormal.

"Lilith carries multiple immortal-grade relics I bestowed upon her—it's easy for her to mask her aura."

"But I am Sanctuary Rank. How could she possibly block my perception entirely?"

An ominous chill rippled through his heart.

"Unless… something's happened to her—or she's actively hiding to avoid an immense danger."

His eyes gleamed coldly.

"It seems my plan will need to change. First, I'm bringing Lilith back."

Right where he stood, Leo invoked Great Prophecy, manipulating the threads of fate and causality to forcibly divine her whereabouts.

Moments later, a name surfaced in his mind—

Snowhawk City.

There, he could still sense traces of Lilith's recent aura.

Leo glanced at the miniature Dalton Town in his palm, layered it with several tiers of powerful concealment and protection arrays, and cast it into the depths of an uncharted void at the edge of the Sakend Continent.

"You'll remain here for now. Once I find Lilith, I'll return."

The next instant, his figure vanished.

He was already heading toward Snowhawk City.

Snowhawk City

That day—

A crushing, godlike pressure descended without warning.

Leo's figure appeared above the city, radiating divine brilliance, like a god descending from the heavens.

"A God-Rank peak powerhouse!"

"And… human?!"

"How is that possible?!"

Countless beings across the city—of all races—trembled in disbelief.

Since when had the human race birthed such a terrifying existence?

Leo's gaze immediately locked onto a small flower-tea shop.

Within, he sensed a familiar aura—the old human shopkeeper who once interacted with Lilith.

In a single step, he crossed the distance and stood before the man.

"M-My lord… what do you command of me?" the old man stammered, shaking as he bowed low.

A human powerhouse… Could this be the return of the legends of old?

Leo had no interest in the man's thoughts.

Time was far too precious.

He waved his hand, manifesting an image of Lilith woven from starlight. His tone was sharp, urgent.

"This girl—where is she?"

The old man's eyes widened in shock.

"Her! I've seen her before!" he exclaimed.

"My lord, a hundred years ago she left with the City Lord—and I haven't seen her since!"

In his nervousness, he forgot to mention Lilith's wanted status.

But since the bounty posters had spread across the entire continent, Leo would discover it soon enough.

Without another word, Leo vanished—

and reappeared directly inside the City Lord's Mansion.

"City Lord of Snowhawk City," he said coldly, "come out and meet me."

Aquila appeared in the courtyard at once.

Sensing the unfathomable pressure radiating from Leo, he bowed deeply.

"Esteemed one, I am the City Lord."

Leo wasted no words—he simply projected Lilith's starlit image before him.

"Where is she?"

Aquila's pupils contracted slightly—an almost imperceptible reaction, yet Leo caught it instantly.

BOOM.

The next moment, a tangible, crushing force of pure will pressed down upon him, suffocating him instantly.

Leo's voice turned cold as steel.

"Tell me the truth, or I'll replace the ruler of Snowhawk City myself."

Aquila's heart quaked in terror.

The sheer weight of this pressure—

it was beyond anything he had ever felt, surpassing even peak God-Rank power by hundreds of times!

He dared not conceal a single word.

"P-Please, mighty one, calm your wrath!" he stammered.

"She left a hundred years ago with Lady Trisha of the Starborn Clan—headed for Eclipsera! But…"

"But what?" Leo's tone was frigid. "Speak."

Aquila hesitated for less than a heartbeat before forcing the words out.

"Not long after arriving among the Starborn, she was declared wanted by the entire clan!"

"The order came from the Starborn Elders themselves! Since then, there's been no confirmed sighting of her!"

"It's been a century, yet the bounty remains posted—no one's found her…"

Leo froze where he stood, his mind blanking out.

He didn't even hear Aquila's further explanations.

And then—

BOOM.

A boundless killing intent erupted from Leo's body like a crimson storm!

The skies above Snowhawk City turned blood-red in an instant—

as though the heavens themselves were weeping blood.

The murderous aura swept for tens of thousands of miles,

and every living creature within range trembled in soul-deep terror.

Within the City Lord's Mansion, Aquila bore the brunt of it.

He was flattened to the ground, head pounding in agony, trapped in a nightmare of despair.

Just my luck! he thought bitterly.

I tell the truth and nearly die for it—but if I lied, I'd be dead already!

And this human… How could a human reach such a level, when the race was all but suppressed across the realms?

Leo hovered beneath the crimson sky,

his gaze fixed upon the distant direction of the Starborn territory.

His next words rolled across the heavens like divine thunder—

a declaration of wrath and judgment.

"Starborn Clan! You dare issue a bounty on my daughter, Leo's child?!"

"Fine. Very fine. You must be truly courageous."

"Let's see if your bones are as hard as your arrogance!"

Starborn Domain

At that very moment—

In the ancient depths of the Starborn capital, within a grand, star-lit palace,

a pair of eyes snapped open.

The elder's body glowed with surging Starshine, and the immense mental pressure he exuded made the palace tremble.

It was Nisos, one of the Starborn Elders.

His old yet piercing gaze turned toward the distant horizon where the will had originated.

For the first time in centuries, his expression grew heavy.

"Elder Nisos!"

Moments later, Clan Chief Stahl rushed in, voice trembling with panic.

"You felt it too?"

Nisos didn't turn. His tone was low, grim.

"Such terrifying will… When did our Starborn Clan provoke a being like that?"

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