Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

Not to mention that the royal city itself was an extremely powerful piece of equipment, possessing the protection of the royal city would provide better shelter, whether facing a great catastrophe or enemy forces.

Especially considering the two family members he cared about, even for gods from the upper realms, they had the ability to break through world barriers and force their way into places like Earth, which was outside the Tanscendence world.

So, from the moment he exposed his identity, it became clear that he would need a truly impenetrable base of operations.

Moreover, the royal city housed various resources and treasures—this was the accumulated wealth of the Orichalcum Kingdom over countless years. If he could access these resources, they would be invaluable for personal use or for nurturing followers.

Furthermore, he had completely become an enemy of the Orichalcum Kingdom. If hatred could manifest, their enmity would have reached its peak, locked in a blood feud to the death.

Given this, Sterl certainly wouldn't hesitate to make life difficult for his enemies before the official battle began.

And besides, taking the royal city from the gods would not merely be an inconvenience—it would be a massive blow to the Orichalcum Kingdom, a crushing strike to their core.

"Ahem, my lord, according to the memories left behind by the ancient dragon ancestor, in order to master the creation left by the great gods, all one needs to do is find the core of the royal city and replace the will within it…"

Augustine hesitated, his voice faltering, clearly anxious.

He had initially said this out of excitement, but in reality, if the creation left by the great gods were that easy to master, the Orichalcum Kingdom and other divine-level forces would never have lasted for so long.

"Can you find the core of the royal city?"

Sterl didn't concern himself with Augustine's worries. Who left the will in the core was irrelevant; it was undoubtedly the will of the creator of the royal city—most likely the remnants of the great god's will.

Even though he was now at the level of a typical god, and not one of the most powerful Divine Power entities, no one would dare to touch such a powerful remnant of a god's will.

Below the great gods, everything was as insignificant as ants. Even though that will had lingered for a long time and may not be as potent as it once was, the sheer rank of the will still remained. This was not to be taken lightly—one wrong move and it could lead to eternal damnation.

This was exactly why Augustine had been hesitant. If Sterl discovered that the will in the core couldn't be replaced, would he be enraged enough to skin him alive?

"I… I can."

Under Sterl's threatening gaze, Augustine sighed deeply and lowered his head.

Soon after, Sterl and Augustine entered the royal city together.

According to Augustine, the core is usually located at the very center of the royal city, and it's not hidden or obscure at all. On the contrary, it is very obvious.

For example, in the Dragon Clan's Sacred Dragon Hall, the core is placed right in the center—an enormous Sacred Dragon Statue standing a thousand meters tall. The so-called "most dangerous place is the safest place" applies here. It is almost impossible for anyone to believe that this statue is the actual core of the Sacred Dragon City.

Of course, from the arrangement of the core, it's clear that the difficulty of infiltrating it is so high that there's no need for any concealment or protection. If one could replace the core, they would become another mighty divine-level powerhouse. For an existence like that, no protection would matter—there's no need to make unnecessary sacrifices.

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be the core of the royal city."

Augustine pointed to a humanoid sculpture in the Glory Square of the royal city.

Sterl paused for a moment before looking at the sculpture.

The humanoid sculpture was just over a hundred meters tall and made entirely from a rare and precious type of crystal stone. This crystal stone had no inherent power, but because it was extremely rare and durable, it was highly valuable and typically used for creating exclusive commemorative items.

This sculpture was said to be a memorial to the founder of the Orichalcum Kingdom, that great god who had long since disappeared, many years ago.

The statue had no facial features because that being forbade any form of Profane representation.

Sterl was somewhat surprised. When he had infiltrated the Orichalcum Kingdom earlier, this Glory Square had been the busiest place in the entire royal city. He never expected that the core of the royal city would be stored here.

"My… my lord, replacing the core is extremely dangerous. Please, think carefully. With your power, this royal city would only be a small addition to your strength."

Augustine urged him anxiously.

In his heart, Augustine was certain that something had been left inside his body. If Sterl were to perish by accident, he too would likely be buried alongside him.

Sterl shot Augustine a glance, then sensed the mark of his followers. There was no fluctuation in the mark, and it hadn't been detected. However, Augustine was different from the other followers; his assimilation process was very slow. If it weren't for that, he wouldn't be trying to dissuade him from any decision.

"Maybe it has something to do with ancient creatures…"

He could sense that Augustine's soul strength wasn't weak—actually, it was slightly stronger than Kun's. A slow assimilation was only natural.

Sensing Sterl's gaze, Augustine wisely chose to remain silent. His intuition told him that if he said anything further, he might very well be dead.

With the silence around him, Sterl turned his attention back to the sculpture, reaching out to lightly tap it. Nothing unusual happened.

This in itself was a dead object. The true core needed to be sensed through the mind and soul. Furthermore, one's soul had to reach a certain level, or they wouldn't even have the qualification to sense it. The minimum requirement for perceiving the core was an upper divine authority level.

Taking a deep breath, Sterl focused his mind and carefully extended his senses toward the sculpture. He was prepared to sever his perception immediately if anything went wrong to avoid his soul being corrupted.

His soul perception gradually enveloped the sculpture, delving deeper, with Dimension Perception also activated to its maximum, keeping a constant alert.

Before long, his perception seemed to touch a soft, thin membrane. This membrane felt like a barrier, preventing any further penetration.

"This should be it."

Without hesitation, Sterl focused his soul perception, turning it into a sharp needle, and gently pierced forward. A soft popping sound followed, and the membrane shattered instantly.

In the next moment, Sterl's perception was swept into a high-speed, spinning whirlpool, like being caught in the spin cycle of a washing machine. He immediately prepared to sever his connection.

However, this spinning sensation engulfed his entire consciousness, and without warning, his awareness was violently pulled into an unknown place.

Outside, within the royal city, the hundred-meter-tall sculpture flickered with a faint, ghostly light.

The glow flashed and vanished in an instant. Augustine, standing at the base of the sculpture, noticed nothing unusual. However, Sterl, facing the sculpture, remained in the same position as before, though the brilliance in his eyes had dimmed significantly...

Cough, cough, is this the core!?

Sterl staggered to his feet, suddenly horrified to realize that he was now in a pure soul state. This meant that his soul had been forcefully dragged into this place.

A chill immediately surged within him. With his soul strength, to be pulled in like this so easily... the danger of the core was far greater than he had anticipated!

But now, it was too late to turn back. He had to find a way to break free.

Sterl quickly regained his composure and began to observe his surroundings.

Before him stretched a vast golden space, with golden light swirling everywhere. There was nothing but the golden glow.

No, to be precise, there was also a golden sphere suspended in the sky, radiating blinding light.

"If I'm not mistaken, this must be the true core of the royal city…"

Staring at the glowing sphere, Sterl muttered under his breath.

Based on his perception and analysis, he realized that the space he was in was essentially a part of that very golden sphere.

"To replace the core, I need to use my soul's will to erode and transform the will within the core, changing it into my own soul's will. But…"

Sterl was somewhat bewildered. Compared to this golden space and the golden light sphere, for the first time, he felt that his soul was somewhat weak.

However, he didn't panic. In fact, he even felt a bit relieved.

In terms of size, his soul was far smaller, but a smaller size didn't mean weaker strength.

What was fortunate, though, was that there was no trace of the great being's consciousness remaining in this space. Or, to be more precise, the remnants of their consciousness had already been worn down by the passing ages. What remained now was only a trace of soul energy.

If that consciousness were still intact, and the soul power within the core were used to attack him, that would truly be dangerous.

"Let's try and see."

Although somewhat surprised, Sterl had already mentally prepared himself for this moment.

This was, after all, the creation of a great divine being, the very foundation of the Orichalcum Kingdom. If it were so easy to replace, then the great divine being wouldn't have been as powerful as the myths portrayed.

And the Orichalcum Kingdom wouldn't have lasted so long.

But now, he just needed to understand how difficult it would be to replace the residual soul power within the core.

If it was beyond human capability, then of course, he wouldn't stay here stubbornly. That would be foolish.

He extended his hand and placed it against the surrounding space. The sensation of his soul was clear, which brought him some relief.

This meant that the space around him wasn't infinite—it had boundaries.

Then, suddenly, Sterl's soul body trembled, and a powerful surge of soul energy was released.

His soul had already acquired the ability to influence reality long ago, and now, what he needed to do was to use his soul energy to wear down the soul energy within the core!

Purple mist-like soul energy began to spread from his hand, flowing toward the space barrier he had pressed against.

Soon, the golden light on the barrier began to dim under the impact of this soul energy!