"Madmen! They're all madmen!"
Those crazed eighth-level powerhouses at the absolute limit should have all perished during the Ancient Final War.
Of course, it was also possible that they had survived, hiding in the shadows to quietly lick their wounds and wait for another chance to strike.
After all, once one reached the seventh level, both vitality and adaptability would be amplified to an incredible degree.
The so-called feats of creating thousands of clones or rebirthing from a single drop of blood — for those who had walked to the absolute limit of power, these were merely very simple matters.
"Perhaps... among the beings I encountered this time, there are those whose ambitions haven't died, who wish to launch another invasion?"
Leylin rubbed his chin, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips: "But... I like it!"
"Advancement after becoming a seventh-level Wizard is far too slow — how could it compare to the speed of plundering?"
The Earth Mother had also shared a very important piece of news with Leylin this time — information about the gods of the World of Gods.
Those gods, though also seventh-level Wizards who had comprehended Rules, had walked a different path from Wizards like Leylin — one they called the Path of Faith!
By gathering the emotions of countless intelligent beings, even their dispersed soul power, they achieved a high-frequency fusion with Rules, then ignited the divine fire and embarked on the path of apotheosis.
Due to the differences between each world, the power systems varied greatly from one to another. Some were entirely inapplicable in other worlds — a point Leylin had already come to understand deeply.
Although their Path of Faith bore some resemblance to the Shamanic Path, there were fundamental differences between the two.
Of course, Leylin's focus wasn't on any of that. It was on another major revelation the Earth Mother had let slip — that the divine beings' Rule power could be easily seized by Wizards!!!
During the Ancient War, there had been many examples of Wizards who slaughtered gods, plundered their Rule power, and advanced at breakneck speed!
Furthermore, there were rumors that the other side could do the same — but only at tremendous cost.
"Seizing Rule power?"
Leylin smiled. On this point, he had known for a long time — he had even put it into practice!
Yes, that
Well, perhaps it's more accurate to call them devils. After all, over there, factions seem to be divided by good and evil, with lawful beings called gods, while the others are labeled as devils or demons.
But regardless of the external names, it cannot be denied that they wield immense power. They are so formidable that countless other intelligent beings can only worship them in reverence and fear.
"As a being who has also grasped the power of Rules, I was completely unable to seize the Rule power of Enoshita. Perhaps I'll gain that ability once I reach the eighth rank. But even then, it would require immense cost and effort, and that's on the premise that I've already mastered the Devouring Rule... But Beilu is different. During the last promotion, even with the assistance of the entire hellscape world's will and my prior schemes, the process was still far too easy..."
The opponent hailed from the divine world, making their Rule power far easier to seize. This was one of the reasons Leylin had chosen them as a target.
Otherwise, Leylin could have aimed directly at the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, but stripping her of the Rule power she commanded would have been an almost impossible task, undoubtedly introducing extreme variables to his last promotion.
"According to the Heart of the Earth Mother, the beings of Rules in the divine world all share this characteristic. Their power stems from a combination of divine portfolio, divine fire, and the power of faith. If you find the right method, stripping them of their Rule power is much easier compared to non-divine world entities... And this was also a primary reason why so many ancient Wizards agreed to wage war against them! The powerful ones would plunder the origin of the divine world, while other beings of Rules would hunt gods to obtain different kinds of Rule power and advance rapidly..."
"Of course... there were variables in this as well..."
Leylin pondered. After all, if everything were that simple, the divine world would have been conquered long ago.
"Those gods, while generally weaker in combat strength outside the Crystal Wall System, often receive tremendous amplification when fighting within their own divine world, frequently surpassing Wizards of the same rank!"
"In fact, within their self-constructed divine domains or demiplanes, this amplification often reaches inconceivable levels, enabling them to fight above their tier..."
The allied army of the Wizard World back then wasn't composed solely of Wizards from their own world. After all, it was during the most brilliant era of the ancient Wizard civilization, and many conquered worlds had birthed powerful Wizards who joined the great war.
Yet the final result was that the divine world nearly stood alone against numerous mighty worlds, ultimately fighting to a mutual stalemate.
This terrifying outcome left many Wizards thereafter pale at the mere mention of gods.
"After all, it is the power system of the most powerful world. The Path of Faith indeed always has its merits!"
A sharp light flashed in Leylin's eyes.
The more powerful the gods and the more terrifying the Path of Faith, the more they sparked his curiosity.
"Perhaps those ancient beings weren't wrong. Only by fusing gods and Wizards can one obtain power that transcends eternity..."
A multitude of flames danced within Leylin's gaze. "Ancient beings! The cause you could not complete, I shall inherit!"
To achieve transcendence and eternity, Leylin would not hesitate to conquer the entire divine world.
On his path, every stumbling block would be crushed without mercy!
"Furthermore... when it comes to conquering the World of Gods, I have an incomparable advantage!"
A smile crept across Leylin's lips, and a point of light resembling a star immediately flashed into existence in his hand.
It was a set of world coordinates, yet it rippled with some unique quality, carrying the weight of profound historical age.
"The coordinates of the World of Gods can be found right in Beilusebabo's memories! It saves me the trouble of having to trade with other Rule Existences..."
Leylin still preferred to conceal his intentions. Although the beings who had participated in the Ancient War of Ending certainly knew the location of the World of Gods, Leylin had no desire to trade with them.
Broadcasting one's goals for all the world to see was hardly a wise course of action.
Moreover, the previous failure at the Wizard World had already demonstrated that the path of brute-force invasion was not viable. A more covert approach was needed.
"The world coordinates are merely an entry ticket. Actually getting into the World of Gods presents a far greater obstacle..."
Leylin couldn't help but recall what he knew about the World of Gods.
Unlike other great worlds, the World of Gods had a highly peculiar structure: above the Primary Material Plane, a multitude of other planes were attached like the tightly packed cells of a honeycomb.
And beyond all these numerous planes lay the Crystal Wall, a barrier so terrifyingly sturdy that Leylin preferred to call it the World Membrane.
This Crystal Wall had once blocked the prying gazes of countless beings from other worlds.
In fact, after the Ancient War, the World of Gods had subconsciously reinforced the Crystal Wall's power even further. The resulting barrier of isolation would be exceedingly difficult to breach, even if the great Wizards of antiquity were to reappear.
Moreover, the moment the Crystal Wall came under attack, it would inevitably provoke the hostility and backlash of the entire World of Gods.
Leylin did not consider the remnant and newly ascended gods to be easy prey that he could handle alone. No matter how formidable he was, he could not compare to those gods who had survived the Ancient War.
Of course, that was the situation now. The future remained uncertain.
"In any case, the coordinates of the World of Gods are not the problem. The real challenge lies in breaking through the Crystal Wall's defenses... and in this regard, I clearly have an excellent teacher!"
Leylin smiled.
How to cleverly penetrate the Crystal Wall was undoubtedly a subject that other Rule Existences were also laboring to study. But so far, none had achieved a satisfactory result — otherwise, the Ancient War would likely have erupted again long ago.
The crystalline world barrier is like a fortress under siege. Those outside want to get in, while those inside wish to break out.
Obviously, the former Gluttony Monarch, Mister Beilusebabu, had successfully achieved this.
He had clearly mastered some flaw in the crystalline barrier system, allowing him to bypass its formidable isolationist forces and reach the outside world, where he could undertake a series of investments and spread his faith.
Under his concealment, although his several invasions were thwarted, he had evidently not been discovered in his true form by the Wizards. They merely regarded him as an entity from some other world.
However, though Beilusebabu was very careful to disguise his identity, his encounter with Leylin led to his utter downfall.
Not only did he himself become the cornerstone of Leylin's advancement, having most of his power of rules seized—leaving his main body severely injured and forced into slumber—but the very route into and out of the World of Gods would also fall under Leylin's control, making him an unwitting accomplice to his own demise. Clearly, if Leylin could successfully enter the World of Gods, his first act would surely be to slay Beilusebabu, seizing all of his remaining power in the process, which would allow Leylin to fully break through to the realm of the Seventh-Rank Wizard.
"Next comes conducting large-scale experiments within the Astral Plane. While consolidating my own strength, I must also fathom the method for clandestinely penetrating the crystalline barrier..."
Leylin had a very clear plan for his future.
Beilusebabu had mastered a route from the inside out, and since he was a native of the World of Gods, the difficulty was obviously lower than what Leylin faced.
What Leylin needed to do now was to delve even deeper into research upon the pathway his predecessor had pioneered, until he could achieve a perfect disguise.