With a thought from Hans, the armor on his wrist instantly activated.

Layer after layer of metal plates suddenly extended outward, wrapping around his entire arm first, then half his body, and finally his whole form.

At this moment, his entire body was covered in a cold metallic sheen.

Helen had seen the transformation sequence of the first-generation armor before, but compared with Model III, the third generation was undoubtedly far more stylish, sharper, and more intimidating.

"Holy shit! That’s so cool!"

Helen praised from the bottom of her heart.

Hans’s voice came from within the armor.

"I’ll take you to see the Sacred Spring of Rebirth!"

Whoosh!

He picked Helen up and shot through the air.

...

Sacred Spring of Rebirth!

That was the sacred land where mortals crossed the boundary between humanity and divinity.

Anyone who completed the baptism here could truly step into the legendary-grade realm. From then on, they would no longer need battle armor or mechas to soar freely across the nine heavens.

At this moment, hundreds of players were lined up in a long queue in perfect order.

Each of them held a number plate in their hands. Their eyes burned with anticipation as they silently waited for the moment when their destiny would be overturned.

Whoosh!

Hans brought Helen down near the Sacred Spring of Rebirth, stopping at a distance. He did not dare approach even half a step closer.

Those who could wait here for rebirth were all peak experts.

In terms of strength, status, and wealth, they were far beyond what he could compare with.

Although Hans was already close to the threshold of Level 180, he still did not have the qualifications to bathe in the Sacred Spring.

Those qualified to undergo rebirth here were all top-tier players who had long since reached the summit.

Helen stared at the scene before her, her mouth slightly open. Her heart was filled with indescribable shock.

She had never imagined that there were already so many powerful players that even rebirth required lining up in a long queue.

Yet one question still lingered in her heart.

"Brother, what was that war machine just now? The one even bigger than the Skyborne Dreadnought?"

"That’s an Astral Warship."

When Hans said this, his tone was filled with admiration.

"That thing has supreme-grade combat power. Even now, the entire Aerial Realm has only built five of them. I heard that with one shot, it can instantly kill a low supreme-grade enemy."

Instantly kill a low supreme-grade enemy!

Helen’s mind went completely blank when she heard that.

Good heavens.

Wasn’t that far too ferocious?

It could blast even a supreme-grade being to death with one cannon shot?

She remained stunned for quite a while before finally coming back to her senses. Then she asked again, "Then... what’s that circular city called?"

"That’s the Star-Ring Fortress."

Hans smiled as he spoke.

"You can call it a city too, but that thing isn’t ordinary. It has several different forms."

"Most of the time, it’s just a livable city. But if it switches into flight mode, it’s about as powerful as an Astral Warship. And if it activates combat mode, its firepower isn’t any weaker than an Astral Warship’s either."

Helen was dumbstruck.

The shock in her heart was beyond words.

"Look over there."

Hans suddenly pointed toward the Sacred Spring of Rebirth.

Helen followed his hand and looked over.

By coincidence, a player had just walked out of the spring.

The moment he reached the shore, he began fusing with a divine spark. Immediately afterward, a blinding light erupted from his body!

He shot into the sky, flipping and spinning excitedly through the air, performing all kinds of flashy movements. He was so happy he looked as if he might go mad.

"Hahaha! I’ve become legendary-grade!"

"From today onward, I’m a legendary-grade powerhouse too!"

"This Strength, this feeling... this is too amazing! Praise Boss Faustus! Hahahaha!"

The players waiting in line for rebirth all raised their heads and looked excitedly at the newly advanced legendary-grade player.

Not a single person was jealous.

Not a single person was envious to the point of resentment.

Because very soon, it would be their turn.

Legendary-grade.

They would be able to step into that realm as well!

...

"Number thirty-nine! It’s your turn!"

Beside the Sacred Spring of Rebirth, volunteers were maintaining order. Most of them were legendary-grade experts who had already completed their rebirth and were working part-time here.

After all, working here for a single day could earn them quite a lot of guild contribution points.

These points could be exchanged not only for weapons, equipment, companion eggs, and skill books, but were also required to purchase arcane equipment.

More importantly, even divine sparks themselves had to be exchanged with contribution points.

Because of that, there were never enough points to spend.

So even legendary-grade experts would fight fiercely for opportunities to earn more contribution points.

...

Hans took his sister around for a while. Then he left her inside the Star-Ring Fortress and hurried toward the gathering point himself.

He could not let the brothers in his hunting party wait too long.

The gathering point was located inside one of the Star-Ring Fortresses.

The moment Hans arrived, his brothers immediately began shouting.

"Hans, you finally showed up! Jack was about to explode from waiting!"

"Hahaha... enough nonsense, hurry up! Today, we have to burst down that supreme-grade boss no matter what!"

"After this run, once I get the boss drops, I’ll be able to use my guild contribution points to exchange for purchase authorization and buy a brand-new Model III armor set!"

Hans quickly formed the party.

He also needed the boss drops badly. He was already close to max level now, so it was time for him to start preparing for his divine spark.

The more contribution points he had, the better the divine spark he could exchange for.

Besides, monster drops from the Aerial Realm could not only be exchanged for contribution points, but also sold for money.

Many big shots had made their fortunes in the Aerial Realm.

Although the monsters in the Aerial Realm did not drop experience or gold coins, the materials on their bodies were already a considerable fortune in themselves.

And the person who had determined the value of these materials was none other than Faustus!

Ordinary players might not understand the reasoning behind it, but Faustus knew very well.

The monsters of the Aerial Realm were treasures from head to toe. Their bones and scales could be mixed into Arcane Machinery to create all kinds of war machines.

Their energy cores had extremely high reserves and could continuously power war machines.

In the Arcane Age, energy was king!

...

Aerial Realm.

[Ding! The World Tree Seed has grown and taken shape! Current stage: Sapling stage — complete pocket world.]

[Ding! Class change mission [Complete Pocket World] has been completed!]

[Ding! Mission rewards obtained: [Sacred Spring of Life] ×1, [forbidden-grade Archer Class Awakening Scroll] ×1.]

Faustus listened to the notifications ringing beside his ears and stopped what he was doing.

While the Aerial Realm was still in its growth phase, he had rarely found the time to train his secondary class.

During this period, he had derived a large number of high-quality manufacturing blueprints.

New war machines such as the Astral Warship, Star-Ring Fortress, and Skyborne Dreadnought, as well as upgraded versions of the Elemental Arcane Cannon, battle armor, mechas, and more—these were all results of his work during this time.

The results were quite impressive.

Faustus had turned Aetheria into an iron-barrel defensive position.

Forget legendary-grade enemies. Even if groups of supreme-grade powerhouses attacked together, he would not need to take action personally to make them suffer so badly they would not be able to leave with their lives intact.

As for the Aerial Realm, his main base, he had developed it to an unparalleled degree.

It was no exaggeration to say that anyone below Divine-grade who came here would die, no matter how many arrived.

Faustus felt that his greatest achievements were two things.

First, he had cultivated tens of thousands of true legendary-grade experts.

These were genuine legendary-grade powerhouses who did not rely on arcane equipment, but had broken through purely through their own experience and strength.

Moreover, he had established a complete system for players to ascend to godhood.

One had to understand that divine sparks were not cabbages that could be found everywhere. The consumption required by the Sacred Spring of Rebirth was also terrifyingly immense.

But Faustus possessed an endless stream of resources, enough to allow every max-level player to successfully break through to legendary-grade.

These peak players would become the pillars of the human race in the future.

In the foreseeable future, they would step into supreme-grade, and perhaps even advance into Divine-grade.

Second, he had allowed millions of players to put on Arcane Armor and pilot mechas.

That was equivalent to adding millions of legendary-grade combatants to the human race out of thin air.

This was foundation!

Power was the foundation of a race.

It was the support a race relied on to survive.