Lord: Sequence Master

The Abyssal Blood River carried the Flesh Abyss downstream from its source, its speed increasing rapidly. At first, it moved at about the speed of sound, but as the river's flow accelerated, the Flesh Abyss eventually reached near-light speed.

It was well known that the greater the mass of an object, the harder it was to accelerate.

For a world moving at such velocity, a direct collision would be enough to seriously injure any true god standing in its path.

Intercepting the Flesh Abyss was no small task—stopping it would take at least three to five true gods working together.

However, abyssal sovereigns rarely left their respective abyssal planes unless they were left with no other choice.

Under these circumstances, only their divine incarnations could be deployed for interception.

For true god-level abyssal sovereigns, this wasn't a major issue—their divine incarnations could still maintain Sequence 0 strength even outside their abyssal domains.

But for abyssal sovereigns at the godhood level, it was a different story.

Once their divine incarnations left their abyssal planes, they would only retain the strength of Sequence 1.

Fortunately, since both the Abyssal Blood River and the abyssal planes existed within the same abyssal world, even if a divine incarnation lacked sufficient strength, it could serve as an anchor to open the Abyssal Gate. This allowed the true body of an abyssal sovereign to act through the gate from within its own domain.

Although some power would be lost in the process, nearly a hundred abyssal sovereigns working together could easily halt the Flesh Abyss.

The ideal place to bring it to a stop was undoubtedly the Ninety-Ninth Layer of the Abyss.

As the Flesh Abyss traveled along the Abyssal Blood River, it was undergoing a transformation—from a nascent world into a fully formed one.

If pushed to its limits, it would instinctively draw more energy from the Abyssal Blood River's source, continuously converting it into world essence.

Because of this, in the past, abyssal sovereigns had always intercepted the Flesh Abyss at the Ninety-Ninth Layer.

But this time, the sovereigns hesitated—wondering whether they should intervene earlier.

They had noticed that the Flesh Abyss was prematurely withering.

A world's decay signified the loss of its essence.

They hadn't even begun siphoning its world essence, yet it was already depleting on its own.

This meant that something inside the Flesh Abyss was actively consuming the world essence.

If they continued to delay, there was a real possibility that the Flesh Abyss would be completely drained of its world essence.

A sudden loss of world essence could mean several things.

One possibility was that the Flesh Abyss had given birth to a native abyssal demon—a being directly gestated by the world at the cost of its essence. Such native abyssal demons were born as Sequence 0 gods from the moment they emerged.

A few of the current true god-level abyssal sovereigns had originally been such native demons.

A newly born native demon had immense potential—far more valuable alive than dead.

If captured early enough, an abyssal sovereign could parasitize its divine essence and refine it into an extension of themselves. Given time, this avatar could even surpass the original body in strength.

The problem was that only one native demon would be born at most.

With ninety-nine abyssal sovereigns competing, there was no fair way to divide it.

If this were the only possibility, the sovereigns would rather destroy an indivisible native demon than let it exist.

After all, if a native demon evolved into a full-fledged true god, an abyssal plane could end up with two true gods ruling over it.

The mere existence of the First Layer of the Abyss already made the other abyssal sovereigns uneasy.

None of them wanted to see a second anomaly emerge—so the native demon had to die.

However, there was another possibility.

If the one consuming the world essence was not a living being but rather a treasure formed by the world itself, then it would undoubtedly be an item of extraordinary rarity.

More importantly, such a treasure would be perfectly suited for abyssal sovereigns to wield.

Destroying something so valuable would be a terrible waste.

Living beings were difficult to divide, but treasures had countless ways to be shared. 

With a joint seal, the abyssal sovereigns could ensure that the treasure remained accessible to all of them. Whoever needed it could borrow it as required. 

If the world essence was in the process of forming a treasure, forcibly breaking open the Flesh Abyss would undoubtedly damage or even stunt its development. That would be an unfortunate waste. 

Of course, there was also the possibility that a true god had infiltrated the Flesh Abyss to steal its world essence. 

But which true god would be reckless enough to attempt such a thing inside the Abyss? 

World essence was not something that could be taken so easily. Even with ninety-nine abyssal sovereigns working together, extracting it was a grueling task. 

The deep-dwelling abyssal demons who had perished in the Flesh Abyss were not just fighting over their share of world essence. 

They were also sacrifices, meant to bear the backlash of the world's destruction. 

On the surface, such backlash seemed harmless. But in truth, it meant being forsaken by the Abyssal Will—shunned by the Abyss itself. 

After much discussion, the abyssal sovereigns agreed to first determine the cause of the world essence's loss before deciding their next course of action. 

However, figuring out what was happening inside the Flesh Abyss was not an easy task. 

When the Flesh Abyss had still been intact, entering it hadn't been particularly difficult. 

If the abyssal sovereigns joined forces, they could even force it to condense its world essence. 

But now, with the Flesh Abyss on the brink of collapse, none of them dared to interfere lightly. 

First, they feared the world's final backlash, which could cause them to be rejected by the Abyss. 

Second, the Flesh Abyss, now pushed to its limit, had instinctively gathered all its remaining power—making this the moment when its defensive and retaliatory capabilities were at their strongest. 

In the end, it was the Phantom Sovereign who took action. 

Using his vast network of connections, he borrowed a special Sequence 0 miracle artifact. 

With this artifact's ability to see through world barriers, he was able to peer inside the World Essence Sea and spot a peculiar tree root. 

The other abyssal sovereigns were still trying to determine what exactly that root-like thing was. 

It didn't resemble a native abyssal demon, nor did it look like a treasure. Was it some kind of unique plant born from the Flesh Abyss? 

As they speculated and debated, only the Abyssal Vice-Sovereign, Anatole, recognized the root's true nature. 

Though it was relatively weak, he could not mistake the roots of the World Tree. 

Without any hesitation, Anatole took out a crimson leaf. 

The moment he crushed it, the leaf disintegrated into a swirling red vortex that engulfed the Flesh Abyss. 

Before the other abyssal sovereigns could even react, the Flesh Abyss vanished from the Abyssal Blood River before their very eyes. 

At the same time, every abyssal sovereign surrounded Anatole. 

Barriers to block space, sever karma, and even seal time were activated simultaneously. 

Even a true god's real body might not have been able to escape such a complete entrapment—let alone a mere Sequence 0 divine incarnation like Anatole. 

Though they had successfully trapped Anatole, none of the abyssal sovereigns looked pleased. 

The Flesh Abyss was valuable—of course, it was. But its worth had limits. 

If Anatole had stolen it while offending just three or five abyssal sovereigns, they might have considered doing the same. 

But to openly provoke ninety-eight abyssal sovereigns at once? 

Either he had suffered some kind of mental collapse… or the Flesh Abyss contained something so valuable that it was worth making an enemy of them all. 

Even a true god's miracle artifact wasn't enough to drive Anatole to such madness. 

The only possibility was that the Flesh Abyss contained a treasure on the level of a Great True God—something valuable enough for Anatole to snatch it right under the noses of every abyssal sovereign. 

"Speak! What exactly did you take?" 

"We're giving you a chance—hand it over. We know how powerful the First Layer is, but don't think we're weak…" 

"Do you think ninety-eight abyssal sovereigns can't uncover the truth behind the First Layer?" 

"Screw it, let's just flatten the First Layer! I've been sick of that place for a long time!" 

Faced with the threats of countless abyssal sovereigns, Anatole remained completely unshaken. 

"You dare to defy the will of the Abyss?" he countered coldly. 

At that moment, all the abyssal sovereigns fell silent, staring at him with suspicion and hesitation. 

Anatole sighed inwardly. He knew that without proving himself, these abyssal sovereigns wouldn't back down. But from now on, they would never trust him again. 

He stepped toward the Abyssal Blood River, reaching the shore. As he extended his will, the blood river reacted like a living creature, writhing at his command. 

The moment they saw this, every abyssal sovereign turned and left without hesitation, retreating to their respective domains. 

Anatole let out another sigh. This was precisely why the First Layer of the Abyss had to remain sealed off. 

No one wanted to be stepped on—especially abyssal demons, creatures of chaos by nature. 

Survival of the fittest, the strong preying on the weak—these were instincts ingrained in every abyssal demon. 

The abyssal sovereigns feared the Abyssal Will, but they would never willingly serve as its loyal hounds. 

A slumbering Abyssal Will was the best kind. An unintelligent Abyssal Will was barely tolerable. 

But the moment the Abyssal Will displayed intelligence—and worse, if someone could wield its power—it would exceed what any abyssal sovereign could accept. 

Because every abyssal sovereign knew that, ultimately, their authority over their domains belonged to the Abyssal Will. 

If the Abyssal Will possessed true intelligence… if someone could exercise its authority… 

No one understood better than the abyssal sovereigns what it would mean to be enslaved by the very power they had sought to control. 

For this reason, nearly all abyssal sovereigns had been preparing exit strategies to escape the Abyss. 

Now that trust was broken, the future development of the Abyss would suffer greatly. 

But Anatole had no choice. He could not let the existence of the World Tree be exposed. 

If the Great True Gods lurking in the main world ever learned that the Abyss concealed a World Tree, they would stop at nothing to invade the Abyss. 

The devastation such an invasion would bring far outweighed the consequences of the abyssal sovereigns' disloyalty. 

In the First Layer of the Abyss, Anatole's true body stood before the Flesh Abyss, holding a crimson leaf. 

The Flesh Abyss, which had rejected all abyssal sovereigns until now, suddenly reached out and pulled Anatole inside. 

The moment something felt off, Rosen reacted instantly, retracting the World Tree's roots back into the Primordial God Realm. 

He even recalled his Calamity Apostle on the spot. 

He didn't know why the abyssal sovereigns had taken so long to arrive, but it didn't matter—by now, the World Tree had already absorbed eighty percent of the Flesh Abyss's world essence. 

With this, combined with the World Tree's natural growth rate, it was now capable of bearing a second World Fruit. 

For the foreseeable future, Rosen planned to remain inside the Mysterious Study Room. He had no intention of stepping outside. 

Anatole searched tirelessly but could not find the slightest trace of the World Tree's roots. 

With no other leads, he could only turn his suspicions toward the three thousand Sequence 1 abyssal demons inside the Flesh Abyss. 

Even for a true god, subduing so many Sequence 1s at once wouldn't be easy. 

So at first, Anatole had intended to handle things peacefully. 

As long as these Sequence 1 abyssal demons were willing to surrender and submit to an inspection, they would be allowed to leave if nothing was found. 

Of course, that was just a lie. Now that they had arrived in the First Layer of the Abyss, there was only one outcome—death. 

However, things didn't unfold the way Anatole had expected at all. 

He had assumed that, faced with a true god, these Sequence 1 abyssal demons would obediently comply. 

Instead, every single one of them—except for those from the First Layer—reacted as if they had been set on fire. They immediately realized they had been taken to the First Layer of the Abyss and outright demanded that other abyssal sovereigns be present for any inspection. 

The problem was, no other abyssal sovereigns could enter. The lie was exposed from the very beginning. 

Then, as soon as the three thousand abyssal demons fully grasped that they had been brought to the First Layer—and that Anatole would not allow any abyssal sovereigns to come—the truth was clear. If even the sovereigns couldn't set foot in this place, yet they had been dragged here, then surrendering was as good as waiting for death. 

Most abyssal demons were all brawn and no brains, but that didn't mean there weren't some shrewd and cunning ones among them. 

Realizing that not resisting meant certain doom, all the abyssal demons joined forces and launched a desperate assault toward the edge of the Flesh Abyss, attempting to break free. 

Anatole was forced to suppress every demon that tried to flee, all while summoning the Sequence 1 abyssal demon soldiers from the First Layer. The chaotic battle lasted for a full two months before the last of the intruding abyssal demons perished in the Flesh Abyss. 

The losses on Anatole's side weren't light either—at least a thousand of his Sequence 1 soldiers were slain. 

His true body remained largely unscathed, but the Flesh Abyss itself had been utterly wrecked. 

As the Flesh Abyss died, its final moments were filled with hatred toward Anatole, and this resentment directly led to the Abyss beginning to reject him. 

In truth, Anatole wasn't particularly worried about the lingering rejection of the Flesh Abyss. As the Apostle of the Abyssal Will, all he needed was for the Abyssal Will to awaken, and the instinctual rejection from the Abyss would be wiped away instantly. 

What he was truly concerned about was failing his task so miserably that the great Abyssal Will would deem him incompetent and useless. 

After all, the sacrifice made this time had been enormous. They had exterminated every living thing in the Flesh Abyss, flipped it upside down, and yet, in the end, they hadn't even caught a glimpse of the World Tree's roots. 

Anatole didn't need to think twice to know that once the Abyssal Will awakened, it would definitely see him as a failure. 

That was unacceptable. So, he desperately exhausted every possible method to search for a clue. 

In the end, he found nothing, and he even started to suspect that he had been set up by the Phantom Lord. 

The miraculous artifact that had supposedly revealed the World Tree's roots had been borrowed from the Phantom Lord. If the Phantom Lord had tampered with it, then everything he had seen might have been an illusion. That would explain everything. 

Of course, Anatole knew deep down that this was somewhat unfair to the Phantom Lord. 

The Flesh Abyss's world essence had indeed vanished—something had definitely absorbed it. 

It had just hidden itself far too well, beyond even Anatole's reach. 

So the only choice left was to pin the blame on the Phantom Lord. That was the only way he could rid himself of the label of incompetence. 

Unbeknownst to Anatole, he had already been spied on more than once. 

Rosen sat comfortably in front of the World Window, watching every development in the Flesh Abyss unfold. 

It wasn't hard to guess that all of this had something to do with the World Tree's roots. 

As expected, the Abyss did have some connection to the World Tree. Otherwise, it wouldn't have produced an imperfect, mutated World Fruit like the Flesh Abyss. 

Anatole had set his sights on Rosen's World Tree, but Rosen had also locked onto the World Tree hidden within the Abyss. 

The Flesh Abyss was ultimately devoured by the First Layer of the Abyss, and with that, the World Window before Rosen was completely unobstructed. 

Seeing part of the true face of the First Layer of the Abyss with his own eyes, he finally understood why it was so heavily sealed off from both the inside and the outside. 

At the core of the entire plane was a massive wooden pillar that reached from the ground to the sky—without a doubt, a segment of the World Tree's trunk. 

Even though it had no crown or roots, the trunk itself was still alive, with some branches growing from it. 

There were exactly one hundred branches, with ninety-nine of them extending into the void and disappearing. 

Rosen immediately understood—the ninety-nine layers of the Abyss were, in essence, ninety-nine World Fruits. 

The entire Abyssal World was actually the domain formed by this segment of the World Tree's trunk. 

As for the Abyssal Blood River, it was the result of the Ancient God's Heart's blood mixing with the sap of the World Tree. 

With just a glance, Rosen could tell that this section of the World Tree's trunk had already been deeply polluted. 

Suddenly, he felt a bit of sympathy for the abyssal demons. 

It seemed that the Abyssal World had created their entire race solely to help bear this mysterious pollution. 

In essence, all abyssal demons were nothing more than living filtration devices and captive livestock. 

As Rosen continued his observations, he also discovered a massive number of unit nests in the First Layer of the Abyss. 

There were nine Sequence 1 unit nests alone, and the remaining lower-sequence nests added up to ninety—matching the exact number of Abyssal layers. 

Clearly, these unit nests had most likely originated from the different Abyssal layers but had all been intercepted by the First Layer. 

No wonder the First Layer refused entry to any outsiders—if this information ever got out, it would cause widespread panic among the major races of the main world. 

Nine Sequence 1 unit nests… Over countless years, there had to have been at least a million or more Sequence 1 abyssal demons produced. 

As for why the visible Sequence 1 abyssal demons in the First Layer numbered fewer than a thousand, that was simple—abyssal demons were living beings, and as long as they were alive, they consumed resources every single day. 

If there were a million Sequence 1 demons, the Abyssal World would have been drained dry trying to sustain them. 

Most likely, the vast majority of Sequence 1 units were immediately sealed away after being created. 

This would have minimized resource consumption while allowing for an instant mass deployment of troops in times of war. 

Among the abyssal soldiers that had besieged the Flesh Abyss earlier, some were clearly among the weakest of Sequence 1, while others were stronger than ordinary abyssal demons. 

The weak ones were obviously those that had been unsealed from storage, while the stronger ones were the elite few that had been carefully nurtured. 

Rosen thought it over for a long time before ultimately deciding to keep the First Layer's secret—for now. 

If the truth were exposed at this stage, true gods wouldn't be enough to break into the First Layer of the Abyss. 

But if it attracted great true gods, then his hopes of exploiting the situation and stealing power from the World Tree's trunk would be impossible—there was no way he could pull off a heist under the watchful eyes of great true gods. 

A few months passed, and the World Tree sapling in the Ancient God Realm had grown significantly. 

The second World Fruit had finally been born, and Rosen's mastery over the World Authority had increased to 36%. 

Even the Ancient God Realm and the World Tree had both advanced in sequence level, rising from Sequence 1 to Sequence 0. 

However, unlike the first World Fruit, which had allowed him to choose its law, this second World Fruit had naturally developed its own complete and independent Flesh Law. 

The problem was that in the main world, there was already an existing Flesh Law—Mother of Flesh was its current master. 

Did this mean the claim that laws were unique was actually false?