The first thing Michael did after confirming the Emperor was dead had nothing to do with the surviving citizens, the surrendered experts, or even the countless rewards he had yet to examine.

Without hesitation, Michael stepped directly into the void. The surrounding experts were confused but none of them could have guessed his true objective.

Corpses. Rank 4 corpses.

The moment Michael entered the void, his eyes immediately swept across the shattered battlefield left behind by the High Drake and the two serpent ancestors. The battle had been unimaginably destructive.

Fortunately, Michael found what he was looking for quickly.

The first and second ancestors. The enormous serpent corpses floated silently within the void. Neither possessed any signs of life. Their heads had both been separated from their bodies, but both remained relatively complete.

Michael's breathing became slightly heavier.

Rank 4 corpses. Two complete Rank 4 corpses.

Without wasting time, he immediately summoned the Damaged Coffin of the Forgotten. The gigantic corpses disappeared inside, making the already tight space even tighter. Only after both had been secured did Michael finally relax. A smile slowly appeared on his face.

Together with Shojo's corpse, which he had yet to revive, that made three. Three future Rank 4 undead.

The number might seem small, but Michael knew exactly how terrifying it truly was. Once all three were successfully revived, that would give him seven Rank 4 combatants, excluding himself.

Seven.

Even Michael felt slightly dazed thinking about it. Just a year ago he had been struggling to kill slimes. Now, even many established powers throughout the universe could not match the strength he commanded. Some entire realms would struggle to gather seven Rank 4 combatants.

The thought caused Michael to chuckle softly.

For a moment, he simply stood there in the void. The endless darkness stretched in every direction.

At this point, Michael realized that like many other powerful beings, it was time to consider ascending into the third layer of the void in search of opportunities.

After all, his current problem was no longer strength. At least not directly. It was resources. Items capable of accelerating his growth and the growth of his undead. The most direct form of resources for him remained the corpses of supernatural beings.

The Land of Origin provided many opportunities, but it was far from the only source. The void itself was filled with them. Many powerful experts had spent significant portions of their lives wandering through the void. Michael had never truly understood the appeal before. Now he did.

Somewhere out there existed ownerless realms. If he were lucky enough to find one populated only by monsters, aside from evolving all his undead and advancing them to Rank 4, he might even accumulate enough for a Rank 5. He could also use such a realm to conceal the advancement phenomenon of his undead. If he discovered a realm rich enough in resources, it could support his growth for years. And even if it could not, the academy or Federation would pay handsomely to purchase the information. Any sufficiently valuable realm possessed tremendous strategic value, and selling information alone could earn unimaginable wealth.

The more Michael thought about it, the more attractive the idea became. Perhaps it truly was time to step beyond the boundaries of ordinary exploration.

Of course, not immediately. He still needed to revive the new Rank 4 corpses and deal with the Black Serpent Empire.

The only reason the urge to enter the void had grown so strong right now had everything to do with his Advancement Quest.

Thinking of what he had seen a few hours ago, Michael could not help but give a bitter smile.

[Rank Advancement Quest]

Comprehend A Domain [0% Progress]

A Death's Heir is the future sovereign. Even young, every supreme has been stated to be special. Be Renowned.

[Influence Levels: Realmic, Multi-Realmic, Sectoric, Grand Sectoric, Galactic, Multi-Galactic, Cluster Sovereign, Supercluster Sovereign, Cosmic, Universal]

[Current Influence Level: Multi-Realmic]

[Progress: Complete]

Own an entity on the level of your Personal Influence. Not less than three levels below. [0% Progress]

Have Five Hundred Rank 4 Subjects [Progress: 4/500]

Time Limit: 5 Years.

Rewards: 15 Level Ups, 400 Attribute Points, 500 Attribute Points in all stats, Three Random Epic Grade Treasures, One Random Gift, A Title, A Random Trait, and One Random Legendary Grade Item.

Failure: Cannot attempt Advancement for 10 years.

Just as Michael had suspected when the Origin Will first informed him that every future advancement would be tied to the highest possible limit-break path, it had truly meant what it said. At least, that was his conclusion after seeing the requirements.

None of them were simple. Not even one.

Compared to his previous advancement quests, where the requirements had largely revolved around obtaining stronger undead and completing specific milestones, things had become far more technical, far more troublesome, and far more ridiculous.

"…You have got to be kidding me."

The first requirement was not too bad, but that was only in relation to the others.

Comprehend a Domain.

At first glance it looked reasonable. But one had to understand that for most supernaturals, advancing to Rank 4 did not require possessing a complete Domain. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Rank 3 existences advanced with nothing more than a prototype for their domain. After advancing, they would spend time gradually perfecting it until it matured into a true Domain. That was the normal path. The common path.

Michael had personally encountered numerous Rank 4 existences already, and he believed not one of them had needed to fully comprehend a Domain before advancing.

Yet there it was. Comprehend A Domain: 0%. No mention of a prototype. The Origin Will wanted a complete Domain.

Michael's eyelid twitched. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

Finally having a moment to himself, Michael could not help but vent a little. Unfortunately, he had no one to blame but himself and his past actions. He was simply paying the price now. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Like the first, the second requirement was also strange. But at least it was already complete.

Truthfully speaking, Michael had encountered similar requirements before, though not personally. He had read about them through other classes. Classes like the Merchant or the Chef, for example. Many unusual professions required fame, reputation, influence, or recognition. He had even read about a Rank 4 Advancement Quest belonging to a chef, the requirement being to create an entirely new supernatural dish.

With examples like those, seeing a renown requirement attached to Death's Heir was not completely shocking. After all, according to the Origin Will, a Death's Heir was supposed to be a future sovereign.

What surprised him was the level. Realmic made sense. Multi-Realmic did not.

Michael could understand reaching the first level. Months ago, his college entrance examination had been broadcast across Aurora. That alone had given him a ridiculous amount of attention. Currently, one of his social media accounts had ten million followers. The number still felt unreal. The strangest part was that he had not posted anything in a very long time, yet the number continued growing. Michael still did not fully understand why. Perhaps people simply enjoyed following someone who never spoke. Or perhaps they were merely curious. Either way, he had stopped paying attention long ago.

Realmic influence? He could accept that. But Multi-Realmic? That was where things became confusing.

Michael frowned. "How exactly did I reach that?"

His best guess was that it had something to do with his time in Hell. After all, he had fought alongside multiple races against a common enemy, and afterward had traveled to the Elven Realm and fought their princess as well.

If these counted as having influence in other realms, then reaching the Multi-Realmic level made sense.

As for the other levels listed after Multi-Realmic, the system had provided a brief explanation on each.

Realmic meant one's name and deeds were known within their home realm. Multi-Realmic extended that further, meaning recognition had spread across at least two realms. Sectoric referred to influence spanning an entire sector, a collection of hundreds of realms sharing proximity. Grand Sectoric was simply that, but across multiple sectors simultaneously. Galactic and Multi-Galactic were self-explanatory, influence measured against the scale of one or several galaxies respectively. Cluster Sovereign and Supercluster Sovereign represented influence over groupings of galaxies, the former covering a single cluster and the latter spanning multiple. Cosmic meant recognition felt across the universe.

Universal was the final level. The system offered no elaboration.

Michael was not entirely sure, but he suspected that reaching the Universal level would require standing among the top figures of the strongest races in the universe. Perhaps being at the levels of their leaders to be specific. In other words, completely unreachable by any normal standard.

Michael was only nineteen. He had been a supernatural for less than a year. The Origin Will truly had no concept of moderation.

*

A/N: Sorry for the bad update rate dear readers. Exams have started but don't worry. I'll try my best to keep up!!!