"Humanoid illusory beast, named 'Chu.' Current initial strength unknown, estimated above nine-star. Reference target: Dean Fiorina of the Illusory God Division. When she first stood before this illusory beast, an overwhelming sense of danger surged from deep within her body, giving rise to an instinctive urge to flee. This was the innate awakening warning of her Valkyrie Battle Body, a sign that the creature possessed strength far beyond hers and was unimaginably dangerous.

"At the moment this 'illusory beast' was summoned, those with king-level and emperor-level potential all submitted in reverence, confirming its identity as the king of illusory beasts without doubt. The life aura radiating from it was vigorous and ninety-nine percent similar to that of a human. The resonance most likely came from its contractor, Amitya, proving the contract bond valid. Furthermore, when it entered the academy's core region, the Divine Calamity Pearl of the Illusory God Division gave no response, eliminating the possibility of an otherworldly invasion..."

Inside a spacious yet simple office, a woman with graying hair carefully examined the file in her hands, her attention especially drawn to the later notes and conclusions. Opposite her sat Fiorina, now dressed in a purple gown, leisurely sipping a glass of red wine.

After a long silence, Dean Carmanlinton set down the document with a faint sigh. "I didn't expect your Illusory God Division to deliver such a tremendous surprise this year."

Fiorina rolled her eyes. "It may look like a surprise now, but back then it nearly scared me to death."

She crossed her legs, clearly in good spirits. "Still, if this power can be nurtured, it might be enough to break into the Underground Palace of Evil Gods hidden deep within the maze.Haha... When that time comes, my Illusory God Division will once again shake the continent and reclaim its glory."

Watching the red-haired beauty unable to suppress her smile as she savored thoughts of the future, Carmanlinton shook her head. "It's not that simple, Fiorina. These past two years, countless adventurers have delved into the maze. Although they've cleared the demonic beings in the upper layers and reached the fifty-fifth level, casualties have been several times higher than in previous years."

"Only the fifty-fifth layer?" Fiorina was surprised.

Carmanlinton nodded gravely. "Yes. Only to the fifty-fifth. The reason is the sheer number of demonic beings that breed below. Kill one, and more appear. Whenever the main forces of an expedition return to the surface, the cleared regions are quickly overrun again, forcing them to reopen the path. So I intend to form an elite adventuring team centered around academy Valkyries, bringing in adventurers and plunging all the way to the lowest level of the maze in one strike. We must see what the lurking evil gods look like, understand the nature of their powers, and forge Valkyrie armaments accordingly. Conveniently, this year's trainees from your Illusory God Division show astounding potential. They can join the expedition as well. First, it will temper their minds and grant them combat experience against the demonic beings of the maze. Second, it will help their illusory beasts grow faster."

"That can be done," Fiorina agreed with a nod.

"By the way, what is the king of illusory beasts doing now?"

"Reading."

"Reading?" Carmanlinton was stunned.

***

Within the spiral library's second level, Chen Chu sat quietly in a corner, hundreds of books piled into a small mountain at his side. His goal, naturally, was to understand this world.

Half a day had passed since his summoning. Once Amitya had regained some strength, Chen Chu had asked her to lead him to the library. Even without relying on his divine soul will, he never forgot what he read. His eyes scanned like beams of light, copying every word.

According to the historical records, this was a vast world named Cescilles. Human history stretched back more than four hundred thousand years, a span even older than the ancient civilizations that had once risen from the Blue Planet.

More than four hundred thousand years ago, there had been no humans, no civilization; only colossal creatures roaming a primeval wilderness. Then one day, the Eternal Heavenly God descended. From that moment, humanity emerged and civilization began.

"Eternity... Heng[1]!" Holding a tome nearly a meter tall and half a meter thick, Chen Chu narrowed his eyes at the faint illustrations on the opening page.

At the end of the path to divinity, he had once obtained an embryonic principle left behind by an ancient emperor named Heng. As a result, Chen Chu was particularly sensitive to that word. Thus, when he read that the origin of this world's civilization stemmed from a god named Eternity who had descended from the outer heavens, he instinctively connected it to that same ancient emperor Heng.

Over ten thousand years ago, that emperor had mysteriously vanished, never to appear again. With humanity here having arisen hundreds of thousands of years earlier, all signs still pointed toward that emperor Heng, once the foremost powerhouse of the Ancient Civilization.

As for the difference between a disappearance of ten thousand years and an emergence hundreds of thousands of years ago, that too was easily explained by the differing flow of time. This world's temporal flow was dozens of times faster than that of the mythical world. If he could confirm this theory, Chen Chu would be nearly eighty percent certain that the Eternal Heavenly God was indeed Heng.

"I never expected to find traces of Heng here." A faint smile appeared on his face as he scanned the books even faster.

Pages rustled rapidly in the quiet library. In an instant he finished one book, set it aside, and picked up another. Across from him, a purple-haired girl watching from her seat couldn't help but grow curious, wondering what he was searching for. Of course, the mere fact that an illusory beast wanted to read was already astonishing. Even if he were only flipping through at random, it would still seem reasonable enough.

Haaa...

Amitya yawned. Her spiritual force had yet to recover much, and she soon grew drowsy, finally laying her head on the desk and dozing off. With Chen Chu's reading speed, the several hundred books before him were quickly finished, leaving him with a thorough understanding of this world.

Over four hundred thousand years ago, not long after world creation, the Eternal Heavenly God vanished. Guided by that god, the human civilization of this world's first era rapidly developed to its peak before plunging into ruin, nearly destroying the world itself. Afterward, humanity rebuilt amid the ruins. Through cycles of rise and fall, seven eras passed, bringing them into the present—the eighth era, the Valkyrie Era.

The world was divided into three great continents and nine vast oceans. Of the three continents, only the East Cloud Continent belonged to humans. Centered around World Trees, they had established six empires, dozens of kingdoms, and over a hundred principalities. The other two continents, along with countless islands across the seas, had long been occupied by evil and demonic beings erupting from underground.

At the same time, the world's power system was strange. Unlike the conventional path of cultivation, strength here came entirely as a heavenly gift. Slaying demonic beings within the maze would bring rewards granted by heaven and earth, bestowing power, transcendent materials, advancement of realms, and even divine weapons. Defeating an evil god could even bestow fragments of its authority, allowing one to become a legendary hero rivaling a true deity.

Put simply, it was leveling up through killing monsters. Such a game-like setting left even Chen Chu momentarily stunned. Yet the Sea of Chaos had birthed countless worlds, countless civilizations and races, innumerable powerhouses. For one or two strange power systems to appear was something he could reluctantly accept.

The name for the current era came from the fact that the strongest beings of this world were all Valkyries. Perhaps due to the nature of heavenly gifts, perhaps for other reasons, ordinary heroes could only grow to the nine-star limit, roughly equivalent to the Ninth Heavenly Realm.

Only young women with special innate abilities could harness the power of Valkyries to shatter their shackles, becoming god slayers who surpassed nine stars. They would serve as the main force against the maze and the evil gods lurking deep beneath.

However, the people of this world had very short lifespans. Even the mightiest Valkyrie capable of slaying evil gods could live at most 150 years. The lives of nine-star heroes seldom exceeded 100 years. The reason was likely that their power came not through cultivation and gradual evolution of the body, but through gifts of heaven and earth that bypassed the limits of life.

Chen Chu, however, found no information regarding the world origin that he sought. Still, after understanding the world's structure, he had already formed a rough idea of where it lay. The heavenly gifts gained from slaying the maze's demonic beings—the items, transcendent materials, and equipment—were, in all likelihood, fragments of the world's origin itself.

1. In Chinese, the word for eternity is 永恒"yong heng". That's where Emperor Heng is derived from. ☜

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