Illinois Fortress.
Several hours had passed since the battle against the dragon race had ended, and although the humans of the United States of America had managed to survive one of the greatest tests that fate had put in their paths since the arrival of the Soul Record on planet Earth, the after-effects were still being felt.
The number of casualties had yet to be fully confirmed; but everyone knew in their hearts that they would hardly be able to get back on their feet with the same intensity as before. The general level of everyone who had survived had risen enormously, everyone had risen at least 5 levels during the war; even so, the numbers were necessary in specific cases such as the need to cover a large extension of land to protect more people.
The losses in terms of armament were so high that the American faction would surely need at least 2 months of peace to recover, and the number of ammunition expended exceeded 70% of the total stockpile of the entire faction.
They had even been forced to launch an intercontinental missile!
Had it not been for the battle between the unknown young human warrior and the Leader of all dragons, the radiation would have remained not far from the base for at least 100 full years rendering that ground completely useless even for something as simple as travel.
Even the interior of the base had suffered varying degrees of damage, with the most affected part being the outer northern area closest to the walls.
Some dragons had managed to hit the base with their dragon breaths or their giant bodies fell to the ground and shattered everything after being knocked out of the clouds by the attacks of the human soul evolvers. Fortunately, Leader Angelo had pulled back all humanity within 20 kilometers near the north wall which meant that only the structures suffered.
The problem was that even in the center of the base there were murders and damage to private property; all this was caused by rebels who instead of remaining obediently calm and waiting decided to cause even more problems than the soldiers already had.
... Sitting inside the living room of his private villa, Angelo rubbed both temples as he closed his eyes at the report his best friend Jack was reading in front of him.
After finishing reading the preliminary report, Jack looked at Angelo and said with a sigh, "Angelo, it's going to be hard to keep fighting what's coming with our current forces..."
Angelo leaned back on the couch and grunted with a mixture of frustration at all that was happening and relief as he felt the gentle hands of his two concubines working tenderly on his tight shoulders.
After a moment of silence, Angelo said in a clearly exhausted voice, "Jack, what about Eleanora?"
Jack frowned slightly and said in a puzzled voice, "Eleanora... that brat. I have no idea what's going on in her head, but she's been acting kind of weird ever since she got back from China... Hey, Angelo, do you think that Bai Zemin dude did something to her?"
Angelo was still blind but his eyes were pointed to the ceiling and for several seconds he was silent as if he was thinking about something.
"Jack, could you call Eleanora and ask her to come here please?"
"Ah? Yeah... sure."
Jack nodded and walked out. ...
-In a suite located in the best building in the entire fortress where a single night cost enough for a normal family to survive for 1 whole month.
The suite was extremely luxurious with decorations clearly planned and prepared by someone with a lot of class and style. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms with the master having its own Jacuzzi, a large living room connected to a small kitchenette with a mini fridge, and a large balcony with a small private outdoor pool.
This large room was currently unoccupied, and the only strange thing was the small antique pocket watch resting on the couch covered with the leather of some high-level mutant beast.
Few people would pay attention to an old and broken-looking watch, but if someone touched it they would receive the shock of their lives upon discovering from the object's records that this old watch was worth more than the entire fortress put together!
-Collector's Pocket World.
After fighting the 9-Headed Immortal Dragon and chatting a bit with Angelo to update him regarding the Higher Existences, as well as what was to come, Bai Zemin requested a spacious room for him and his team before leaving saying that they needed some rest.
Although it was evident that Angelo still wanted to chat more as he was flooded with questions, he couldn't refuse knowing that Bai Zemin was probably tired after fighting such a scary monster for over three hours so the two agreed to have a better conversation the next morning.
Sitting in the living room of the only human building, Bai Zemin looked at the small pearl of different colors in his right palm while using his left hand to stroke the soft silver hair of the sleeping beauty in his lap.
"What will you do with the records of that dragon?" Lilith whispered sitting to his right as she looked at the small pearl in Bai Zemin's hand. "You need to think about it carefully. Remember that not only will you be creating a soul evolver at the peak of the Third Order but you will also be creating an extremely terrifying soul evolver if the 9-Headed Immortal Dragon's regenerative ability is successfully assimilated."
Seeing that he remained silent, Shangguan Bing Xue added, "If I'm not mistaken, you also have the records of Leviathan and Thao Zhi, don't you? Those are two more Third Order evolvers who will join our ranks... Considering the situation we are in they are definitely needed."
Fire Sorrow was sitting in one of the single-seated armchairs. Her purple eyes were completely focused on Bai Zemin, and it could be seen from her posture and the way she occasionally bit her lips that she wasn't feeling particularly comfortable.
Even though she had spoken to Bai Zemin and he assured her that he understood, Fire Sorrow could still tell that the odds of him seeing the Demonic Army as a possible ally were practically 0 due to Lucifer's actions.
Even now it was hard to understand the reason why Lucifer would do such a thing despite knowing that he might be facing the reincarnation of an old friend.
"All right." Bai Zemin nodded as if he had decided something, drawing everyone's attention immediately. He looked at Nangong Lingxin, who was looking at him with eyes filled with admiration, and said in a serious voice, "Nangong Lingxin, do you know what level your brother is at the moment?"
"My brother?" Nangong Lingxin blinked in confusion at the sudden question before quickly replying, "The last time I saw him was shortly before I came to America, but the last time we talked about our levels was half a month ago so my information is definitely out of date. Is that okay with you anyway?"
Bai Zemin motioned for her to continue and she did so.
"Half a month ago, my older brother was at level 121."
"121... It probably hasn't changed much even after two weeks." Kang Lan pointed from across the room. She was leaning against the wall as she looked at everyone trying to read their thoughts based on their expressions and movements.
"Kang Lan is right." Nangong Lingxin nodded after thinking about it for a moment. "Our faction already captured the entirety of China, and although there are still enemies left they are not strong enough to give big level trouble. My brother's level is unlikely to exceed 123."
Bai Zemin kept the pearl with the records of the 9-Headed Immortal Dragon in his storage ring and took out the one with the records of the Leviathan, "I will give these records to Nangong Yi."
"Ah?" Nangong Lingxin was as startled as everyone else. "B- But, Bai Zemin... My brother is already a Third Order soul evolver so..."
"Do you think it's a waste?" Bai Zemin asked as he looked at everyone.
Kang Lan and Nangong Lingxin nodded immediately, but Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head.
She explained in a serene voice, "Nangong Yi seems to be a user of a class closely related to dragons. In theory, his Dragon Transformation skill should have stopped growing after the Second Order, and yet Dragon Transformation is currently a Third Order skill. In addition, Nangong Yi also has other skills such as Radiant Scales, which for a short period of time doubles his defense against magical attacks and makes him immune to any kind of poison below a certain level."
Lilith made use of the silence to speak her thoughts, "While it is true that Zemin can create soul evolvers at will after stealing the records of his enemies, it is true that he can also bestow those records on already established soul evolvers to strengthen them further... It will depend on what he sees as the best option as there is no single path open thanks to Record Devastation."
Bai Zemin nodded, "That's right. It is true that by using the records taken by Record Devastation I can make even the weakest survivor become a powerful warrior, thus swelling the numbers of our ranks. However, I feel that wasting high-quality records on someone who never had the courage to fight or without much of a future is no different from sin."
"Bai Zemin could use Leviathan's records to turn a low-level soldier into a powerful Third Order warrior, but bestowing the records of a beast with dragon traits and records to someone like Nangong Yi will not only make his level rise enormously but could also provoke some kind of favorable mutation not only in his skills but also in his innermost records." Shangguan Bing Xue remarked as she looked at him with a faint smile.
It was only then that those who could not see the diverging path before them understood how important Record Devastation was.
"Besides." Bai Zemin took out a small object from his storage ring and looked at it seriously as he calmly said, "If it's numbers we want, we don't really have to worry about it."
As Shangguan Bing Xue's eyes lit up as she recognized the object in his palm and a beautiful smile automatically formed at the corner of her lips, Lilith and Fire Sorrow were greatly surprised.
"Zemin... that pagoda is different from yours..." Lilith softly sucked in a breath of cold air as she said with wide eyes, "R- Right... Those enemies of the sea race..."
"Yep." Bai Zemin played with the small wooden pagoda in his hand and with a flash of his storage ring his Limitless Pagoda appeared next to the Corruption Pagoda, "With my Limitless Pagoda I can restore the deepest records of a modified living being back to their roots, and with the Corruption Pagoda I can use Soul Stones to change the deepest records of a living being to turn them into my minions."
Fire Sorrow's pupils contracted to the size of a needle as she looked at the two pagodas and her heart thudded loudly as she slowly stood up with her eyes fixed on his palm.
She knew that Bai Zemin had a pagoda, and that was why unlike the others she already considered his breakthrough to the Fifth Order a success... but, two pagodas? As far as she knew, there was no Leader with two pagodas!
It was then that something incredible happened. A flash of white light enveloped both the Limitless Pagoda and the Corruption Pagoda, soon spreading throughout the room and blinding even the two Higher Existences present.
A few moments later, everyone opened their eyes and Bai Zemin could hear the voices of Kang Lan and Shangguan Bing Xue asking what had happened. However, he was too surprised to reply to them.
Even before his eyesight cleared completely, Bai Zemin could already feel that one of the pagodas had disappeared from his palm, and when he finally saw the small wooden pagoda in his hand he realized what had happened.
The Limitless Pagoda only had 1 floor open of all, but as Bai Zemin looked at the small piece of wood in his hand he noticed that there were more glowing runes compared to the past, and from the small window where the second floor was, there was a faint ominous red light that glowed for a few seconds before it flickered out.
<o>,m Bai Zemin was surprised as he had by no means expected that putting both pagodas together would produce such a peculiar result, but he was not the only one as this was the first time that even a being as primordial as Fire Sorrow had seen two pagodas together in the hand of the same soul evolver.
* * * * * * * A/N: I will upload the second chapter after reset. So don't worry, you won't have to wait that long >.< busy with something else now.
Really thank you very much to all those who send gifts to the novel and support with valuable Golden Tickets. I hope we can all keep it up <3

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