Lord: Sequence Master

Brilliant King City. Daisy sensed the vibrations of the Star Insignia and logged into the Deep Web of the Spirit Realm.

Seeing Sonia's message, Daisy immediately understood—she really had been driven into a corner.

But Sonia had clearly sought out the wrong person.

Others might not know who the real killer was, but Daisy did.

After all, the next person to be dealt with was her second persona.

Now that Sonia's protection was gone, her second persona was already preparing to flee human territory.

The moment she left Eternal Continent, Daisy would personally take care of her.

What she hadn't expected, however, was that Sonia would actually reach out to her and apologize.

Back in Godpaint City, Sonia had betrayed both her and Rosen, completely shattering their former friendship.

But at the same time…

It was also true that back then, when Daisy's main persona had fallen into slumber and she had been forced to create a third persona, Annika, it was Sonia who had taken her in and sheltered her.

Now, seeing Sonia apologize and beg for help, Daisy hesitated—a part of her still felt a bit softhearted.

But she also knew that this wasn't her decision to make.

Mysterious Study Room. Rosen was busy dealing with Sonia's two avatars.

With her true body dead, any of Sonia's remaining avatars theoretically had the potential to condense a divine core and become her new true self.

Killing Sonia outright was too much of a waste.

Completely controlling her and turning her into nothing more than a tool for painting—that was the true punishment she deserved.

Doing anything too much could become exhausting.

Even painting was no exception.

Rosen enjoyed painting, but he had no interest in endlessly churning out repetitive, mechanical artwork.

However, for the sake of power, many high-sequence painters had no choice.

If given the choice, how many painters would willingly spend decades doing nothing but painting day after day?

That was why Sonia was actually quite valuable to him.

As the only Sequence 0 painter, she could handle most of the tedious painting tasks on his behalf.

And now that his Sequence 2 troop lairs could handle the most resource-intensive unit illustrations, he no longer had to waste his own energy on them.

Going forward, he would only need to focus on painting unique, specialized artwork.

Receiving Daisy's message, Rosen was somewhat surprised.

Sonia's last avatar was actually delivering itself to his doorstep.

There was no reason to turn her away.

And from what he knew, among her three avatars, this last one was actually the most valuable.

Because each avatar carried a different portion of her divine essence and memories, one of them was always designated as the primary choice for resurrection if the true body was ever destroyed.

Among the three avatars, the one that had fled to Wendy's divine kingdom was the one that contained the largest portion of Sonia's original divine essence and memories.

It was also the easiest to reconsolidate into a divine core.

More importantly, that particular avatar was one that could still appear in public.

But the two avatars Rosen had captured in the True Realm of the Ancient God?

Those ones could never see the light of day again.

A few days later, Sonia, filled with paranoia and fear, finally arrived in Brilliant King City.

Throughout her entire journey, she was haunted by the constant dread that the mysterious assassin who had killed her true body would come back to finish the job.

After ruling out Wendy as a suspect, all remaining clues pointed toward the enigmatic painter behind Horror Park.

She had no idea how this person had managed to kill her so quickly—and even more terrifying, she didn't know whether he would let her go.

Ultimately, what truly forced her to submit was Rosen's terrifying ability to remain hidden.

Even when he wasn't even a demigod, he could elude Chinon's pursuit.

Now that he had reached demigod status, many in the World Government who were aware of his existence believed that he might possess a true god-level innate fate.

Combine that with his unknown yet powerful stealth abilities, and Rosen had become her only remaining lifeline.

In truth, if Sonia had been willing to lower her pride, she could have sought refuge under some other god—maybe even a true god.

But choosing that would mean a lifetime of subjugation.

Unlike Rosen, Sonia saw him as nothing more than a Sequence 3. Once she reformed her divine core and became a deity again, she was confident that she could free herself from his control—perhaps even turn the tables and manipulate Rosen for her own gain.

In Brilliant King Palace, Sonia looked at Daisy, who had returned to Sequence 1, and felt a mix of shock and delight.

The shock came from the fact that Daisy had reclaimed her Sequence 1 status, which meant Sonia needed to be even more careful moving forward.

The delight came from the realization that Rosen had the means to help Daisy recover to Sequence 1. The resources required for such a feat were immense—clearly, the Starcoin True God behind him valued Rosen far more than she had imagined. Otherwise, why would they help him establish a kingdom? Why would they provide him with such abundant resources?

Yet before that elation could fully settle in, pure terror took over.

Because the moment Rosen appeared, Sonia felt the presence of the Painting Law.

She instantly realized—she had walked straight into a trap.

Sonia turned to Daisy, pleading with her eyes, but Daisy only silently mouthed two words:

"Be good."

"...I understand."

Sonia closed her eyes in despair and began to remove her clothing.

Rosen was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected Sonia to be so willing to throw away her dignity.

But if she was offering herself up, there was no reason to refuse.

A Dragonbinding Rope materialized out of thin air, immediately restraining Sonia—he wasn't about to risk her attempting a sneak attack. Under the rope's suppression, Sonia lost all ability to resist, her last shreds of pride forcing her to bite her lip and endure in silence.

Hours later, the Dragonbinding Rope loosened, releasing the barely conscious Sonia.

Days later, Sonia relocated her divine kingdom.

Publicly, she claimed it was to avoid the unknown threat lurking behind Horror Park.

The World Government had no reason to stop her—after all, even they had been unable to determine how her divine kingdom had been attacked. With no answers and no ability to counter the threat, they could only allow Sonia to relocate.

From that moment on, Sonia vanished from public sight.

True Realm of the Ancient God.

Sonia stood before the massive World Tree, her jaw dropping in sheer disbelief.

The legendary World Tree—it actually existed.

When the Painting Law first emerged, many had suspected that it had originated from the World Tree.

Later, as Horror Park evolved into a True God-tier spiritual painting, this theory had been discredited.

Yet now…

The truth was that the World Tree was real all along.

Her divine kingdom had already become nutrients for the World Tree's growth.

Just like the other spiritual paintings, her divine kingdom had transformed into a fruit hanging from the tree.

She had lost absolute control over her own divine kingdom—but in return, its growth potential had vastly increased.

As the World Tree continued to grow, her divine kingdom could one day evolve into a World Fruit.

If a new, ownerless Law emerged within it, then she might be able to seize that Law and ascend to True Godhood.

The more she thought about this possibility, the more she found Rosen pleasing to the eye.

The resentment that had been festering in her heart for the past few days?

Gone.

Instead, she began contemplating how she could win Rosen over.

She absolutely did not want the Laws within her future World Fruit to be claimed by any of Rosen's other women.

Rosen, of course, had no idea that Sonia's mindset had shifted so dramatically.

Not that it mattered.

Until he had absolute control over Sonia, she would never be allowed to leave the True Realm of the Ancient God.

With her painting skills, the number of spiritual fruits growing on the World Tree would only continue to increase.

And the time needed for the World Tree to reach its next evolutionary stage?

It would be significantly shortened.

In the blink of an eye, months passed.

Rosen's Divine Domain had fully restored its dimensional structure, returning to its original state.

The connection to the Noble Sequence Tree had been completely severed, and the strength of his Divine Domain had once again increased.

But what excited him the most was the Ancient God's True Blood.

This single drop of Sequence 2 Ancient God True Blood was still reserved for creating a king's exclusive skill.

Since he now suspected that the King's Game was somehow tied to the struggle over the Law of Kingship…

The more Kingship abilities he mastered, the better.

Under the power of the Ancient God's True Blood, various skills from different Sequences were quickly fused, giving birth to a new Miracle Skill.

[Kingship Treasury: Miracle Skill]

[Passive Attribute: Suppresses Civilization Fortune and Innate Destiny]

[Active Attribute: Wields Kingship to seal and refine treasures, storing them in the Kingship Treasury]

[Miracle Traits: Void Scavenging, Kingship Plunder, One with Heaven and Earth, Eternal and Indestructible]

First, the ability to suppress national destiny was crucial for kingship.

Second, the power to seal, refine, and store treasures—even those already refined by others—meant he could steal artifacts mid-battle.

As for the Miracle Trait: Void Scavenging, it originated from the Scavenging Space, which served as the core structure of the Kingship Treasury.

After being transformed into an annex of the Kingship Treasury, the Scavenging Space inherited Void Scavenging's abilities, such as automatically collecting and refining supernatural resources, storing treasures to enhance divine perception, and even capturing artifacts directly from the void.

Finally, the most important Miracle Trait—Kingship Plunder.

This ability was somewhat similar to the Hunting Authority, but it was even more powerful. Unlike the Hunting Authority, which yielded random spoils, Kingship Plunder allowed him to precisely select his rewards.

Any enemy defeated by him would have everything they possessed stripped away at his discretion.

Of course, this didn't mean that Retribution Judgment would no longer generate loot spheres.

By utilizing Kingship Plunder, he could first strip away specific valuables and then allow Retribution Judgment to generate a separate loot sphere.

Essentially, every enemy he killed would now drop double the rewards.

Mastering two Kingship skills had cost him two drops of Ancient God True Blood.

For his Painter and Hunter Sequences, he would have to rely on his own efforts.

A golden, gleaming treasury materialized in Rosen's hand—the physical form of the Kingship Treasury.

This special Miracle Construct could expand or shrink at will, and it could even manifest projections of itself.

With a mere thought, Rosen dispatched a projection of the Kingship Treasury into the chaotic spatial currents of the Interlayer Realm.

Originally, the Scavenging Space, which was linked to Void Scavenging, had been limited to Sequence 4.

Even though Void Scavenging increased in level along with Rosen's Sequence progression, the Scavenging Space itself could not advance beyond that limit.

This was because, in essence, the Scavenging Space was merely an extension of the Void Scavenging skill, and a single divine skill alone was not enough to create a Sequence 3-tier Domain Construct.

In fact, because the Scavenging Space was only an auxiliary feature of the skill, he couldn't even enhance it with Soul Gems.

However, since its primary function was automatic collection, Rosen had simply let it be.

Now, with the Scavenging Space having been transformed into an annex of the Miracle Skill: Kingship Treasury, its limitations had been completely broken.

It had directly surpassed the Sequence 3 threshold, elevating itself to a Sequence 2-tier Miracle Construct.

As a result, the newly evolved Void Scavenging gained the ability to directly seize artifacts from the void.

As long as the Kingship Treasury was placed in an area with unclaimed treasures, it would automatically attract and draw them in through the chaotic void currents, transporting them straight into its vaulted halls.

Over the next few months, Rosen deployed projections of the Kingship Treasury across various locations.

He placed one in Storm Canyon, one on the outskirts of the Old Continent, and one in the Dragon Realm's oceanic regions—scattering dozens of Kingship Treasury projections across different territories.

As long as ownerless treasures emerged in these areas, the Kingship Treasury would automatically attract and collect them.

Though it couldn't pull in Sequence 2 and above supernatural resources, anything below Sequence 1 was still highly valuable.

Seeing that the turmoil had mostly settled down, Rosen turned his attention to helping Daisy eliminate her Second Persona once and for all.

Originally, he intended to do it himself, but Daisy insisted on reclaiming her own lost control.

He only needed to create an interference-free environment, and Daisy was confident she could defeat her Second Persona on her own.

Using Godslayer's Eye, Rosen effortlessly locked onto Daisy's Second Persona.

Currently, she had already left human territory.

She had fled into the Abyss via an Abyssal Rift and was now seeking an audience with the Abyssal Lord: Phantom Sovereign through various channels.

The Phantom Sovereign was a rare hermaphroditic incubus, originally from the Incubus and Succubus Clan.

Though not a True God and merely a demigod, the Phantom Sovereign had become the consort of over a dozen True God-level Abyssal Lords.

Because of this, despite being mocked within the Abyss, no True God dared to underestimate him.

Rosen locked onto the major Fate-bearers within Phantom Abyss using the Main God Network, then activated data transmission and descended into the Abyss.

The 69th Layer of the Abyss.

This place was vastly different from the 99th Layer.

Unlike the frontline Abyssal battlefields, this realm was far removed from open war.

However, this didn't mean the 69th Layer was peaceful—quite the opposite.

Here, the strong reigned supreme, while the weak were merely prey.

The Phantom Sovereign may have originated from the Incubus and Succubus Clan, but he never became their patron deity.

Not every powerful figure felt an obligation to protect their own race.

The Phantom Sovereign had used his unique abilities to breed countless offspring, and now, nearly one-third of all newly-born succubi in the 69th Layer were his descendants.

Yet, rather than granting them the privileges of being divine progeny, he treated them as mere commodities, selling them as slaves to the highest bidder.

Whether it was Abyssal demons, humans, or even angels and the Mechanoid race, anyone who could afford the price could purchase his offspring.

If a succubus fell into the hands of demons or humans, they at least had some chance of a decent fate.

But if they were sold to angels or the Mechanoids, their end would be unimaginably horrific.

Because the Phantom Sovereign ruthlessly sold his own children into slavery, his reputation was infamous throughout the Abyss.

Yet, ironically, his business ethics were impeccable.

As long as the price was right, he was even willing to sell himself—to a certain extent.

Succubi and dragons shared a unique trait—they were among the few races without reproductive barriers between species.

Pureblood dragons were notoriously fertile when breeding with other races, yet paradoxically, pureblood dragons mating with their own kind had extremely low birth rates.

Succubi had exceptionally high fertility with any species, but 99% of their offspring were female succubi.

However, on rare occasions, they could give birth to hybrid children of other races.

Since succubi fit the aesthetic preferences of most intelligent species, they were highly sought after—the higher their Sequence, the more valuable they became.

Despite the Phantom Sovereign's infamous reputation, rumors claimed that one-tenth of all divine offspring in the main world carried his bloodline.

As a hermaphroditic incubus, the Phantom Sovereign had truly spread his seed across all races and throughout the entire main world.

With such a terrifying background, even Rosen preferred not to confront him directly.

So, upon arriving at the 69th Layer of the Abyss, he obediently disguised himself as a shadow demon looking to purchase high-sequence succubi.

Phantom City, the metropolis personally overseen by the Phantom Sovereign's divine avatar.

As long as one paid enough, the Phantom Sovereign's divine avatar didn't mind personally offering services, regardless of gender or race.

Rosen strolled through the streets of Phantom City, the air filled with all sorts of strange, indecent sounds.

Soon, he reached the slave market at the city's edge, where cages of adult succubi were lined up, waiting to be selected and purchased.

At a nearby inn, Rosen checked in but didn't go to his room.

Instead, he quietly approached the room of Daisy's Second Persona.

As a human, she didn't dare roam freely in the Abyss.

So, using her Psychologist skills, she had already enslaved and manipulated several Abyssal demons.

In fact, she had begun secretly extending her control over the entire slave market.

Rosen activated his miracle skill—Kingship Dominion—and extended his divine perception over all of Phantom City, claiming it as part of his Kingship Dominion's territory.

Then, he enforced a Kingship Edict, temporarily suppressing all supernatural powers within the city.

Since the edict affected tens of thousands of supernatural beings at once, Rosen could only maintain it for a few seconds.

But that was more than enough.

Using his absolute control over the Kingship Dominion, he warped space, dragging all the city's demons—along with Daisy's Second Persona—into his Divine Domain.

Each of these Abyssal demons carried a fragmented consciousness of Daisy's Second Persona, but now, they had all been captured in one sweep.

With that done, Rosen immediately activated data transmission and extracted himself from the Abyss.

Inside the Divine Domain.

Daisy unleashed a Mindstorm, shattering all the psychic shackles that her Second Persona had planted inside the Abyssal demons.

Once freed, the demons instinctively turned against their former master—only to fall under Daisy's control instead.

Seeing this, her Second Persona instantly chose to self-destruct.

At the same Sequence level, she knew she stood no chance against Daisy's main consciousness in a direct fight.

On top of that, she had clearly been dragged into Rosen's Divine Domain—someone who could forcibly abduct an entire city's worth of supernatural beings was not someone she could hope to resist.

Rather than being captured and tormented, she chose a swift death.

She willingly erased her divine consciousness, ensuring that Daisy couldn't torture her for information.

Daisy felt a tinge of regret as she reabsorbed her Second Persona.

She hadn't expected her other self to choose death so decisively.

Luckily, the Second Persona only erased her divine consciousness—not her divine essence.

If she had attempted to erase her divine essence, Daisy would have stopped her at any cost.

Now that she had fully absorbed her Second Persona, it was time to find a way to advance to Sequence 0 as a Psychologist.

As Daisy absorbed the memories of her Second Persona, she realized she had still underestimated herself.

Her Second Persona had actually come to Phantom City to make a desperate gamble—planning to use every possible method to enslave the Phantom Sovereign.

If she failed, she would die without question.

But if she succeeded, she wouldn't just advance to Sequence 0—she would gain control over the Phantom Sovereign's vast network of connections.

Had Rosen not arrived in time, her Second Persona might have actually pulled it off within a few months.

Of course, Daisy didn't need to take such risks.

Now that she had reclaimed her other self, she had other, safer methods to reach Sequence 0.

However, during her Second Persona's time in Phantom City, she had discovered a major secret about the Abyss.

A secret so significant that she herself had no qualifications to interfere…

But Rosen?

He might just be able to reap an enormous reward from it.

(End of Chapter)