"More than one Dominator has noticed it?" Richard exclaimed softly.
The Curse Crown spoke with an unhurried tone, casually waving to block the remnants of the Power of Dimension waves caused by the Dominator of Mayfly devouring the dimension.
"The Civilization Devourer’s breaking of the seal has caused a disturbance in fate, enough for any Dominator in the World Community who studies fate to perceive it.
Wizards like us, who are nearby, can sense that wave of fate disturbance.
Even sealed for a million years, it remains so formidable.
It’s hard to imagine how the Supreme sealed this guy back then."
"It wasn’t just the Supreme," Richard suddenly spoke, "The one who sealed this... Civilization Devourer was an entire Civilization Alliance.
Our speculation about the alliance of Previous Civilizations was correct, indeed, there was a Civilization Alliance formed by three powerful civilizations.
"Oh?" The Curse Crown was slightly surprised, "Where did you learn this information? Did you find proof of the relics?"
Richard pointed to the distant dimension being devoured.
"The relic is over there, a Doomsday Spark Base built by a Civilization Alliance. But unfortunately, there’s not a single living person inside, only..."
"Technology! That damned insect!"
The Curse Crown suddenly swore angrily, being a wizard, his thirst for knowledge was instinctual.
Now that there lay a massive treasure trove of knowledge beside him, and he could only watch it get destroyed. The pain was like a knife twisting in his heart.
Suddenly, the Curse Crown sharply looked at Richard, the colorful pupils under the hood seemed to have fate flowing within.
"Child, how much technology did you take?"
Though just an avatar, the terrifying pressure of the Eighth-level Dominator still made Richard tremble all over.
"Thanks to you, I’ve taken out most of the technology in my technology warehouse."
"Most?" The Curse Crown was first stunned, then overjoyed.
"Well done! Well done indeed! With this technology, we..."
"Crown Throne, I haven’t finished speaking," Richard interrupted with a stiffened expression.
"Although I took most of the technology, many storage media of this technology are contaminated by the power of the Civilization Devourer.
No one knows exactly how much technology we can recover."
"A minor issue," the Curse Crown was not disheartened by the contamination of knowledge, "The technology of the Previous Civilization is crucial to us, contamination is just a challenge for us."
After speaking, the Curse Crown suddenly gave Richard a once over.
"It seems you’ve learned my notes well, using the Curse System powered by the Power of Faith? It makes sense; after all, the breakthrough uses the technology from the gods’ side."
"All thanks to your notes," Richard bowed slightly.
"Though notes are important, the crucial thing is the person," the Curse Crown patted Richard on the shoulder, "When you hand over this technology, it won’t be more than a few hundred years before your share rivals Jialong.
Until then... Never mind, just continue your research.
Fate is ever-changing, who knows how things will turn out."
Richard saw the Curse Crown was about to speak but stopped and suddenly asked impulsively.
"You don’t plan to let me take over the Curse School, do you?"
Though the idea that a school has two Crowns sounds outrageous, if Richard could achieve the truth, given the similarity of miracle and curse, the Curse Crown entrusting the Curse School to him wouldn’t be impossible.
But as soon as he said it, Richard regretted it.
The question felt strange.
Yet the Curse Crown showed no reaction to it, instead, he asked curiously: "What else did you think I wanted you to take the Curse Principle for?"
To most wizards, leading a school is an utmost honor and a tremendous power.
But once one becomes a Crown, this power is no longer as sweet as it used to be.
Leading a school brings a lot of mundane affairs, regular Truth Council meetings, collaborations, and exchanges between schools, all are tedious affairs.
To the Curse Crown, leading a school is just a bothersome chore, even though he’s already delegated most tasks to his students.
"This... might not be appropriate?"
For a moment, Richard didn’t know what to say.
Being an outsider, joining the Curse School wouldn’t win him over.
"What’s inappropriate, once you achieve truth, who will say what’s not possible?" the Curse Crown replied calmly.
"This time when you return, tell them all, I will come back after the End of Magic Era ends, to join in the grand counterattack."
Upon hearing ’counterattack’, Richard hesitated for a moment, and finally spoke, "Crown Throne, according to the messages left by the Previous Civilization, the Civilization Devourer... feeds on war.
All the defeated will become its food."
"...Then let it devour," the Curse Crown spoke slowly, "We’ve been hit for so long, not to negotiate with them.
Galaxy Mayfly has only two options, to submit or to perish.
As for the Civilization Devourer... it’s the enemy of the entire World Community. I’ve seen the Thread Of Destiny on it, it is doomed."
The Curse Crown did not finish the sentence, but Richard knew the unsaid second half.
Although the Civilization Devourer will surely die, it doesn’t mean that killing him comes without a price. This price might be several worlds, several Dominators, or even several civilizations.
"But, my lord, can’t fate really be changed?" Richard asked softly.
"The alteration of fate is merely the shift of a Thread of Destiny, but a single Thread of Destiny is not enough to be called destiny. Only when the Threads of Destiny suddenly connect to form a Net of Destiny can it be considered true destiny.
And the Thread of Destiny on the Civilization Devourer... is not connected."
The Curse Crown gazed into the depths of the Endless Dimension, as if looking for the Civilization Devourer hiding within.
"The line on his body is tied, and unless this line breaks, he is bound to die."
Having said, the Curse Crown spoke no more, and his figure, like a shadow, burrowed into the mark on Richard’s right hand.
Richard looked at the Dimension of the Ten Thousand Machines being devoured by the Dominator of Mayfly. In the Radiance of the Power of Dimension, countless automated fortresses waged a war with a foregone conclusion.
"What a resemblance." Richard murmured.
Back in the Material World, Richard did not immediately head to the Wizard Dimension to start the Truth Council.
Now is a great opportunity; taking advantage of discovering the Golden Pattern Melting Furnace, he can reasonably complete his Rule Melting.
In the Secret Realm, Richard leisurely drank Soul Essence, a remnant body of the King of Mayfly placed beside him.
[Material: Remnant of a Fifth Level King of Mayfly]
[Extractable Rules: Black Hole Rule (Second Level) (incomplete), Fire Element Rule (moderately incomplete), Swallowing Rule (moderately incomplete)]
[Refining Consumption: 220 Soul Power]
In the next moment, the body of the King of Mayfly vanished, and Richard’s upper limit of spiritual power began to drop. However, under the counteraction of the Soul Essence, his spiritual power cap rose back up like a roller coaster.
Soon, the refining was completed, and Richard’s thoughts moved, as the Miracle Furnace provided a new message.
[Material: Life Radiation Rule (Second Level), Transformation Rule (First Level), Death Rule (First Level)]
[Fuel: Sun Rule (Second Level) (incomplete), Black Hole Rule (Second Level) (incomplete), Wind Element Rule (First Level) (incomplete)...]
[Melting Difficulty: Fifth Level]
[Estimated Time: 364,290 days]
[Melting Result: Life Radiation Rule.Mod (Forth Level)]
The amount of Rule fuel needed to melt a Fourth Level Rule is astonishingly large. If Richard hadn’t fought fiercely on the front lines, obtaining numerous bodies of Kings of Mayfly, he would not have enough Rule fuel, merely gazing wistfully at a treasure mountain.
Without hesitation, Richard immediately chose to melt.
In an instant, Richard felt as if some power was extracted from his body, leaving his entire physique feeling feeble.
Once a Rule is incorporated within, it augments the body.
Now that the Rule has departed, Richard’s current state reflects his true physical condition.
"Not quite used to it." Richard remarked, waving his somewhat weak arms, discomfited by the sensation of diminishing strength.
"Haha, don’t get too used to it," Ulysses said nearby, his voice tinged with envy. "Once you finish melting, you’ll have to get used to the surge of power instead."
As someone who watched Richard grow, Ulysses once more experienced the frustration of comparison.
What he couldn’t achieve in two epochs, Richard accomplished in a mere few thousand years.
Moreover, it is expected that he would swiftly ascend to Dominator status in the future, his promotion speed faster than a rocket launch.
Richard chuckled: "Hahaha, just wait, when I return to the front line, you will also ascend."
Upon reaching a Six Rings Great Wizard, Rules cease to be significant. Besides obtaining some Rule Implants, Rules are essentially no longer useful.
By then, it would be perfect to enhance Ulysses’ strength, honoring a promise made in the past.
Upon initiating the melting process, Richard received a prompt from the Miracle Furnace.
[Use external fuel to accelerate?]
Without a doubt, Richard chose ’yes’.
In the subsequent moment, Holy Light radiated from Richard, and the soul stored in the Divine Country surged into the Miracle Furnace like a river.
Under the nourishment of the soul, the Fire of the Furnace grew vigorous, rapidly reducing the melting time required for the Rules.
Three hundred sixty-four thousand days, three hundred fifty thousand days... two hundred thousand days, one hundred ninety thousand days... eighty thousand days, seventy thousand days...
Time ticked by, as Richard’s soul reserves plummeted like a waterfall.
Ultimately, with the entry of the last Galaxy Mayfly’s soul into the Furnace, Richard’s required melting time was fixed at thirty days.
With just a month’s effort, Richard could satisfy the basic requirement for becoming a Six Rings Great Wizard.
At that point, he will be the youngest Six Rings Great Wizard of the Wizard Civilization.
Examining the Miracle Furnace’s information, Richard wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead and exhaled.
"Thirty days, just enough time to take this opportunity to review those remaining technologies."