Noah directly appeared on the 90th floor without stopping anywhere else.

The transition from the 90th floor to the 91st was not a climb. It was a rupture.

As Noah's foot touched the jade stairs, the mounting pressure, a weight that had been crushing the souls of princes and technarchs alike, simply vanished. It was replaced by an eerie, absolute silence.

Noah stepped onto the 91st floor and found himself standing in a space that was no longer a tower.

It was a garden of starlight.

At the center of this celestial garden stood a projection.

Unlike the Sentinel Dragon, which had been a roaring manifestation of power, this figure was terrifyingly still.

He was a man with a sage-like demeanor, dressed in robes that seemed woven from the dark matter between galaxies. His silver hair flowed like a slow-moving river, and his eyes, deep and calm pools of infinite wisdom, fastened onto Noah's wooden mask.

For the first time since returning to this world, Noah felt a genuine chill. It was not fear, but the instinctive recognition of a predator encountering an enigma.

"I cannot see through your power," the projection said. His voice was not loud, yet it carried the crushing weight of a dying sun. "Who are you? And how did you enter my trial ground?"

Noah did not reply immediately.

Noah had his own system interface too. He created for maintaining his power more precisely.

[Skill Activated: Universal Appraisal]

A screen of light, invisible to the sage, flickered within Noah's vision.

[Name: Albedos Sorus (Soul Projection)]

[Race: Aetherion (Primordial)]

[Realm: Early Immortal]

[Status: Echo of the Original Soul]

Noah's pupils contracted behind the mask.

Immortal.

In his current understanding, the World Realm was the highest realm he was aware of. He didn't know if the immortal realm was just one level above world level or many.

Even as a projection, the man emitted a frequency of being that threatened to unravel the laws of physics around him. If the World Realm was a king, then the Immortal Realm was the law itself.

"Come to the 100th floor," the projection continued, a hint of intrigue softening his gaze. "Let us speak properly."

The image dissolved into shimmering cosmic dust.

Noah did not hesitate.

He bypassed the remaining floors, moving like a streak of black lightning through the folded dimensions of the tower. Legendary artifacts lined his path. Swords capable of cleaving moons. Pills that could extend life by a thousand years.

To him, they were nothing more than trinkets.

He wanted the source.

The 100th floor was a cathedral of the cosmos.

There were no walls, only the vast, swirling nebula of the Trial Ground visible beneath a transparent floor of diamond-glass. At the far end, seated upon a throne carved from the core of a collapsed star, sat the true Albedos Sorus.

His presence was a physical assault.

The soul projection on the 91st floor had been a candle.

This was a wildfire.

[Name: Albedos Sorus]

[Race: Aetherion]

[Realm: Peak Immortal]

The appraisal had changed.

This was not merely an early Immortal. This was an existence standing at the absolute apex of that realm.

The man's face, more handsome and regal than any mortal could imagine, was etched with lines of profound exhaustion. His skin possessed a faint translucence, and beneath his regal robes, his chest rose and fell in shallow, labored breaths.

"It has been a long time since I last saw a living person," Albedos said. His voice echoed through the vast hall, tinged with a melancholy so deep that even the stars beyond the glass seemed to dim. "I never thought I would meet someone this powerful at your age. You must have come from the Realm of Infinity."

His gaze pierced Noah's wooden mask.

"Listen carefully. I do not have much time left."

Noah stood motionless, hands folded behind his back. He did not bow. He did not tremble. He simply observed the dying god before him.

"I am a Count of the Aetherion Primordial Empire," Albedos began, his hands gripping the armrests of his throne. "I governed ten thousand galaxies. I was a pillar of the stars. But I was betrayed. My adopted son, a boy I raised from the ashes of a fallen world, struck me with a Soul-Withering Blade. He coveted my seat, my authority, and my secrets."

A flicker of rage burned in the Immortal's eyes before being smothered by the cold inevitability of death.

"I fled. Using the last of my essence, I tore open space itself and arrived at this backwater planet. With what strength remained, I constructed this tower. I did not truly expect to find someone capable of avenging me. I only wished for someone to remember that Albedos Sorus once existed. To leave a legacy, even if it was among primitives."

He leaned forward, his eyes blazing with desperate intensity.

"But seeing you, my dying hope awakens. You possess a soul unbound by this world's limits. Your Will is a blade not yet fully forged. Will you become my disciple? Will you inherit my position as a Count of the Empire and avenge me? Answer briefly, traveler."

Noah remained silent.

The weight of the offer was immeasurable. This was not a kingdom being offered, but a sector of the universe itself. Yet Noah was not swayed by emotion.

"Two questions," Noah said, his voice cold and precise.

Albedos blinked, clearly surprised. "Ask."

"First. How many realms exist between the World Realm and the Immortal Realm?"

Albedos smiled, weary yet appreciative. "A scholar even at the threshold of godhood. There are three major thresholds. First is the Universe Realm, where one internalizes the vacuum and the stars. Second is the Domain Expansion Realm, where your will manifests as a territory that overwrites natural laws.

Third is the Dao Master Realm, where a cultivator grasps a fundamental truth of the cosmos. Only after mastering a Dao can one step into the Immortal Realm."

Universe. Domain. Dao Master.

Noah committed the names to memory.

He couldn't cultivate anymore, but he could become powerful nonstop. He just needed to know the power gap.

"And my second question," Noah continued. "Will you grant me your full authority? Not just a title, but the true power to command the Empire's resources?"

Albedos laughed, the sound dry and rattling. "You see through the illusion of 'discipleship' quickly. Yes. I will grant you my family insignia and my Count's Seal. Without the seal, my traitorous son can never officially inherit my position. He rules through fear and influence, but he is a usurper. With the seal, you become the legal heir."

His gaze hardened.

"But understand this. To accept the seal is to accept my karma. My enemies will become yours. The moment you enter the Empire, my son will hunt you across the heavens. Do you still wish to bear this karma?"

Noah turned his gaze to the nebula beyond the floor.

He thought of Earth. Of Naomi. Of the Archons who believed themselves gods.

If he wished to protect his world, he could not remain bound to it.

He needed to own the stars they traveled upon.

"I accept," Noah said.

"Good," Albedos whispered.

With his final strength, the Immortal raised his hand. A ring forged from white dwarf matter flew from his finger and settled onto Noah's hand, shrinking until it fit perfectly. At the same moment, searing heat bloomed on Noah's left hand as a golden insignia of a seven-pointed star burned itself into his skin.

At the center of the hall, space warped.

A slab of pure jade, the Count's Seal, manifested, floating within a shroud of crackling lightning.

As the items transferred, Noah felt an immense, invisible cord snap into place. A heavy metaphysical burden bound his soul to a distant, sprawling empire.

Karma, Noah thought.

He closed his eyes, sensing the tangled threads. He understood that survival on this path required more than brute force. Karma could not be crushed. It had to be mastered.

"I need to comprehend the law of karma and fate.", he thought.

"My path ends here," Albedos said as his body dissolved into glowing cosmic particles. "The rest is yours, Successor."

The Peak Immortal did not die with spectacle.

He simply became the stars he once ruled.

The particles of his body spiraled violently before slamming into Noah's forehead.

BOOM.

A tidal wave of knowledge flooded Noah's mind. Sprawling metallic cities spanning entire solar systems. Fleets tearing through warped space. The face of the betrayer, a sharp-featured Aetherion with cruel violet eyes.

These were the memories of his new master.

The Empire's geography. The politics of the Imperial Court. The secret techniques of the Sorus lineage.

When silence returned, the throne was empty.

Suddenly, blue spirit fire ignited in the center of the hall.

The Sentinel Dragon descended and lowered its head until its snout touched the diamond-glass floor.

"Greetings, my new Master," it spoke. Its voice was no longer a roar, but a perfectly synchronized, multi-layered frequency. "From this moment onward, I, Aetherion Intelligence Unit 7, pledge my utmost loyalty."

Noah looked at the dragon, understanding dawning through his inherited memories.

This was no biological creature.

It was an AI, a peak-tier technological marvel powered by a soul-matrix core.

"I want to go to the Empire," Noah said, his voice echoing through the hall. "When can we leave?"

"Master," the AI replied, its constellation-like scales shimmering. "The tower is anchored to this planet's coordinates. To depart, the Count's Seal must acknowledge you. Place your blood upon the jade. Once it recognizes your biological and soul signature, it will function as a key. Only the seal can open a portal through the Great Void to the heart of the Aetherion Primordial Empire."

Noah walked toward the floating jade seal.

He glanced down the tower, thinking of Naomi on the 50th floor, still fighting her own demons.

He was not ready to leave yet.

There was still a world to cleanse.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.