Chapter 1 A Frank Discussion

Hao Ren's words were candid, and King Rudolph III and Grand Duke Luen clearly knew that time was of the essence. There simply wasn't time to send an envoy to other countries to test the effects of the Source Blood on the Sunburn Tower—this would not only require a lot of troublesome diplomatic procedures, but also explain the origin and function of the Source Blood to neighboring countries, and then there was the testing time. After the test, the results had to be brought back, and if it worked, the Source Blood had to be sent to other countries, which would involve more hassle. Two trips back and forth like this, and the most optimistic estimate was that everyone on the continent would be dead by the time the dust settled...

Now, the power of chaos had sealed off the entire world. Each orderly kingdom was like an isolated island in the darkness. All the inter-kingdom teleportation arrays were closed, and the magic net communication was intermittent. The only way for countries to exchange information was almost to send out thousands of troops in a reckless charge, hoping a few would make it through. People like Veronica, who encountered lucky opportunities and managed to cross the chaotic land with just over twenty people, were rare. The vast majority would die halfway through the reckless charge—the King and his brain trust pondered this and felt that sending people to neighboring countries to test this thing was too damn nerve-wracking.

But they obviously couldn't put aside the precious "ancient relic" contributed by the "Guardian". Worrying was worrying, but to be honest, Grand Duke Luen was quite tempted by the Source Blood: what if it worked?

"Let me say something," Princess Veronica said at this moment. "The Guardian has helped us more than once. If he had malicious intentions, he'd have plenty of opportunities to act. He could have simply stayed out of the way at Mount Karsuan, and Taros would have lost its last bloodline heir. The Sunburn Tower would naturally go out then. So, Uncle Luen, if you still doubt what he's brought out at this point, it would really be unbecoming."

Grand Duke Luen frowned. "I don't doubt the Guardian himself, but I've never heard of this thing called Source Blood..."

Hao Ren deliberately glared. "The Sunburn Tower is Saint Domain technology to begin with. I've already said there's no problem, what other results can you discuss?"

After saying this, he gave himself a thumbs up in his mind. This feeling of lying through your teeth was really quite enjoyable.

"Better to try," Rudolph III stepped forward, interrupting the meaningless argument. "Circumstances force us to do so, and we can't worry about so much. Frankly, Veronica isn't the best choice to light the fire in the first place. I'm not referring to her talent as a king, but rather that she's more suited to the battlefield. She's a natural commander—if she lights the fire, the kingdom won't gain a wise ruler, but rather lose a future general."

His Majesty's evaluation of his daughter was relatively tactful...

Seeing that no one present had any further objections, Hao Ren stopped talking and directly placed the one-meter-high metal container next to the pool.

Before this, he had learned about the process of the ignition ceremony from Anina, knowing that the most important part of the ceremony was actually for the bloodline heir to stand next to the sacred white crystal and shed blood into the pool. The various magical formulas set up in the Sunburn Tower would naturally complete the subsequent steps of transformation and power extraction. During this process, the bloodline heir needed to stand on the "altar of sacrifice" at all times, not only maintaining the supply of blood, but also allowing the magic array to continuously draw power from their body until the tower's flames were fully restored to their full state.

But now he would directly pour the "energy source" into the pool, and the whole process should be simplified.

The Source Blood container was opened, and the fresh "blood" surged like a soft-bodied animal, pushing and shoving towards the valve. Just as the liquid was about to fall into the pool, Hao Ren suddenly remembered something. "Hey, by the way, how much blood do you usually use for one ignition?"

Rudolph III casually replied, "Only twenty drops."

"What the?!"

Source Blood with a 100% concentration had already been injected into the pool. This was a direct inheritance of power from the Creator Goddess, far stronger than the power in Veronica's bloodline. And Hao Ren estimated that he had poured in about half a washbasin of this awesome stuff...

The last thing he saw was a dazzling light, a light that burst forth from the pool, instantly engulfing the sacred white crystal above, followed by a deafening roar, and a temperatureless silver flame erupted. In that instant, only one thought remained in his mind:

Holy crap, it exploded.

A flash of light, a flash of light from White City, the capital of Taros, was destined to be a marker in the history of the world of Collow. This light, later hailed as the "Pillar of Dawn," not only illuminated White City, but also crossed the boundaries of space and time. In an instant, its light was simultaneously observed by all the kingdoms in the entire world of Collow, as if symbolizing the end of darkness, tearing apart the night sky.

In the Beaconfire Nation, "Desert King" Olaf was standing on the terrace with his queen, watching the vast desert gradually sink into darkness, pondering the equally dark and chaotic future. The "accident" suffered by his children and the shocking conspiracy of the Annihilation Cultists had already overwhelmed this emperor, who was known for his bravery. His eyes reflected the towering silhouette of the Sunburn Tower. The sacred tower of the Beaconfire Nation had dimmed, and the new igniter was unable to light its flames. It seemed destined to go out in a few days, plunging the country into complete destruction.

But at that moment, a pillar of light entered the Desert King's eyes. He raised his head in surprise and saw that it was in the direction of the Black Marsh and the Barren Wilderness, opposite the vast chaotic land, towards the mountainous and forested Kingdom of Taros.

At the same moment, the ruler of the Frost Kingdom in the Eternal Winter Continent also left her throne. The crystal ball in the Witch Queen Constance's hand emitted a dazzling white light, and then shattered under the impact of the powerful force. In the surge of magic, the queen saw a vision, and she almost ran down the steps—completely destroying her usual elegance and icy image. She stood in the hall and shouted loudly to her servants, "Open the windows! Open the south windows!"

The light had already shot into the hall through the cracks in the windows. The servants quickly pushed open the magnificent window panels, and Constance saw a beam of light piercing the sky...

The Magic Emperor of the Violet Empire stood before the sacred white crystal of the Sunburn Tower. He dismissed all his servants, leaving only his children standing before him. The old emperor took off his gorgeous and heavy crown and sacred robe, and walked step by step into the silver flame burning pool in his ordinary clothes. The agitation of magic made Emperor Hector's hair glow with a layer of blue light. He took a deep breath, preparing to ignite all his life force.

His children, who had lost their power, stood before him, some biting their lips, some looking ashamed, and some with tears in their eyes.

"Remember, the Violet Empire has stood firm in the Chaos Tide for twelve centuries. We did not become the oldest and most glorious country in the world by living a life of ease and putting things off," the old emperor's eyes shone with the light of magical energy. "We possess the most powerful magic in the world, and this power can be used to protect the kingdom and the people. Our ancestors did so, I do so, and you should do so as well."

Arcane power began to surge in the emperor's blood vessels, and his remaining bloodline power was about to burn, but just before this power completely went out of control, the old emperor suddenly stopped.

It was not that he stopped on his own initiative, but that the sacred white crystal suddenly became filled with energy. The energy system of the Sunburn Tower seemed to be injected with power out of thin air, and the powerful divine power of order directly cut off Emperor Hector's magic.

The emperor looked stunned, and his children also looked at each other in confusion. No one knew what had happened.

At this moment, the gate of the Sunburn Tower suddenly rumbled open—the imperial guards who were guarding outside the tower violated the emperor's order and opened the gate in advance, but the emperor had no time to investigate the responsibility of those guards at this moment.

Passing through the opened tower gate, he saw a light rising beyond the dim horizon. The light was bright and solid, as if it was close at hand, yet also far away in the sky. This beam of light seemed to be tearing through the barriers of space, and it descended majestically at the end of everyone's vision.

Various facilities in the Sunburn Tower started to operate with a roar, and energy, from who knows where, suddenly filled its core...

The same scene was playing out in every corner of the world of Collow.

The pillar of light released by the complete combustion of the Source Blood distorted certain rules of the world of Collow. It simultaneously appeared in the eyes of everyone outside White City, and could even be observed in the distant space far away from the land of Collow. Observing it from any distance would reveal a light source of the same size and brightness. This attribute was exactly the same as the Star of Creation back then.

The dazzling pillar of light lasted for more than ten minutes before gradually dimming. Perhaps this level of energy release was still not enough to dispel the chaotic erosion that permeated the entire Collow. After the pillar of light dissipated, darkness reoccupied people's vision. But that light was a signal, and when the light came on, all the countries in the world had been completely shaken.

On the southern border of Taros, the Black Crow Fortress had just recovered from the chaos.

Lili was previously discussing the Taros Kingdom and the Chaos War with Ulysses. The husky girl felt that if she wanted to find the landlord, she had to figure out what kind of place she was in, so she listened to these topics with particular attention, but the beam of white light that suddenly lit up from the sky caused great chaos, throwing the entire fortress into a mess—all the guards and magical beasts witnessed that spectacle.

After the white light ended, the mages of the Black Crow Fortress discovered that the Lifefire Tower at the top of the fortress had inexplicably returned to its full state.

Before Lili could figure out what was going on, her strategist—the high-ranking monk Karasul—hurriedly ran over.

"Head Wolf, the monster we caught is acting strangely!"