Chapter 698: The Pendant and 11th Rank

Grey's fingers passed through the glow and touched something warm. Before he could take hold of it, the altar and the space around him disappeared.

A young woman stood before him with golden flames flowing around her. The fire covered much of the view, but Grey could still see the man standing beside her.

The woman placed a small object in the man's hand, and the power of the Sun spread between them. Grey wondered if he was looking at the First Sunbringer and the lover Lily had mentioned.

He tried to get a better look, but the image broke apart before he could see anything else. He found himself back above the altar with a pendant resting in his palm.

"Is something wrong, Lord?"

"Nothing is wrong, I just saw something when I touched it."

The pendant held the light that had filled the sky a moment earlier. Grey could sense the energy inside, though he could not draw any of it out.

His comprehension soon revealed why it would not respond. His Source needed to reach the 15th Rank before he could use it, and having the combat power of that rank did not count either.

"I can't use it yet. Looks I'll have to wait until the 15th Rank."

Grey put the pendant around his neck and let it rest against his clothes. He had found enough energy to reach the 15th Rank, only to discover that he was too weak to use it.

Below him, Lily was still receiving the inheritance. Removing the pendant had not disturbed the golden mark beneath her, so he landed a short distance from the altar.

"Let's wait until she finishes, I promised to protect her."

"Of course, and I should thank you for waking me."

The Chaos Emperor had been busy helping them since his awakening and had barely had time to examine himself. Now that the defenses were under control, he had found something within the source.

"The Paragons must have placed a seal on my remains, but you managed to remove it. I am really grateful for that. Lord Grey."

"What seal? I didn't find anything like that."

"There are still traces of it here, though the seal itself has been completely dissolved."

Grey thought back to where he had kept the fragments. They had spent plenty of time inside his Lesser Heaven space, where his Nexus Energy could have dealt with the seal without him noticing.

"My Nexus Energy might have removed it while the fragments were stored here."

"Then I owe you my thanks all the same, Lord."

"Don't worry about it, you already helped us get inside."

Lily showed no sign of finishing soon, which gave Grey time to do something useful. He found a clear place to sit while the Emperor continued checking the Source.

"I might as well reach the 11th Rank while we wait." Grey proposed.

"You haven't even reached the 11th Rank yet?"

As the Chaos Emperor said that, he frowned. He knew how powerful Grey was. He was exhibiting power at the level of the 13th rank. Yet he was only at the 10th rank?

It was unbelievable.

"To think you could reach this level so early, you really do defy all expectations." Chaos Emperor.

As expected of the man that held the power of the core within his grasp!

Grey gave an awkward chuckle and decided to begin before the Emperor found another reason to praise him. Having an ancient being call him Lord was already strange enough.

"I'll start now, so keep an eye on the altar for me."

"Leave it to me."

Grey entered the Creator Invocation Space and checked the 11th Rank method he had prepared. He had already anchored the completed six-stage method to his path and made sure it followed properly from the World Opening Realm.

Once it was set, he returned his attention to his Inner Universe and released part of his stored energy. This was the energy given to him by the Higher Realm's consciousness which was still missing in action and no one knew about it ever existing.

Soon, world Force spread through his universe and acted as the heat for the refinement art. It loosened the deeper structure without harming the stars or the people living inside.

Grey activated the revised Peerless Thousand Primordial Refinement Art, and rainbow lines appeared across his vision. He waited until the nearest one brightened before striking it with his energy.

The section broke down and reformed ten times under the technique's control. Its density increased while the worlds inside remained undamaged.

Grey followed the rainbow lights across his universe and struck each one at the right moment. His first fold needed to achieve as much condensation as two folds on an ordinary path, so the resistance rose sharply before he could finish.

He drew more energy from his stored supply and fed it into the World Force. The technique continued refining until the last section reached the required density and the first fold settled.

Power flowed back into his Source as he passed the limit of the World Opening Realm. He had reached the first stage of the 11th Rank with that single fold.

Grey checked the result and found its purity still at a hundred percent. His inhabitants were unharmed, and the space supporting their worlds had become far more stable.

He began the second fold once his new power settled.

The denser structure took longer to prepare, but the rainbow lights still showed him where to strike. Grey increased the energy feeding his art and worked through each section until the second fold was complete.

He had reached the second stage, though the amount of energy he had first released was almost gone. Without the supply from the Higher Realm's consciousness, he would have needed to stop there.

Fortunately, he still had plenty stored away.

Grey released another portion and began the third fold. Some sections resisted longer than others, so he let the World Force soften them before attempting to strike.

Forcing the process would only damage the quality he was trying to preserve.

The rainbow lines brightened as those sections became ready. Grey struck them in turn until the third fold settled and another surge of power entered his Source.

He was halfway through the realm, but his combat strength still remained within the first sub-level of the 13th Rank. The gap had become smaller without letting him cross it.

Grey began the fourth fold and used his increased strength to refine the denser structure. Each strike now carried enough power to handle sections that would have resisted him earlier.

As the fourth stage became stable, pressure spread from his body and swept across the ground.

The Chaos Emperor caught it before it reached the altar and kept it around Grey. Lily continued receiving the inheritance without being disturbed.

Grey started the fifth fold as rainbow light filled his vision again. The growing pressure had revealed small flaws that had not mattered at the lower stages.

He struck each marked point before those flaws could settle into the condensed world. The technique broke down the affected sections and reformed them without leaving any damage.

The fifth fold slowly closed, leaving one final stage before the peak.

Grey checked his world and found its purity still at a hundred percent. He had come this far without lowering its grade, and he intended to finish the same way.

He released more stored energy and began the sixth fold.

World Force spread through the dense structure, preparing it for the final round of refinement. Grey waited for the rainbow lines to brighten before striking them with his energy.

Each successful hit brought another section to its final density.

The remaining parts needed more time and power, but Grey kept feeding the technique instead of rushing. Rainbow light disappeared across his world until only one line remained.

He let the World Force work through that last section and struck when the light reached its brightest point. Ten refinements passed through it before the sixth fold finally settled.

As the sixth fold settled, Grey's Inner Universe began drawing inward. Layers of space folded tightly together as its World Force gathered into a smaller and far denser form.

The stars and planets remained safe within the folded space, while their combined light shone through the forming world's surface. Rainbow light passed across it as the refinement art removed the last flaws.

The shrinking stopped, leaving a complete world suspended within his Source. Its World Force flowed evenly through every layer, with its purity preserved at a full hundred percent.

His Inner Universe had become a fully condensed world!

Grey checked it t and confirmed that its purity and refinement had both reached a full hundred percent.

It was a Primordial Grade condensed world, completed through all six folds without losing its quality!

Not just that, he had reached the peak of the 11th Rank.

Power surged into his Source, and this time his combat strength crossed the gap that had held it back. It entered the second sub-level of the 13th Rank before finally settling at its peak. But the peak was just the baseline. If he used his continuum and overclock powers then it will be higher.

And he had also decided to call the 11th rank World Condensation Realm. It was simple but it didn't need to be complex. These were not that complex for him to give it complex names after all.

The Chaos Emperor eased his hold on the surrounding pressure as Grey brought his power under control. Before either of them could speak, golden light erupted from Lily's altar.