The Great Elders of the Zenith Clan, beings who had seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations, did not dare to speak. They stood in a semi-circle, their heads bowed in a display of absolute reverence that would have shocked the outside world. To see the most powerful cultivators in the Human Dimension offer such submission to a Level 50 youth was a testament to the fact that Austin was no longer just an heir—he was a localized phenomenon of the Origin Consciousness. The air in the hall was thick with the residue of his breakthrough; the frost from the Star-Graveyard had not yet fully evaporated from his shoulders, trailing wisps of white vapor that vanished into the high-density Qi of the palace.
Aurelius Zenith stepped forward, his eyes sweeping over the updated status readings reflecting in Austin's violet pupils. The Immortal Emperor could feel the change; it wasn't just the increase in numbers. It was the "density" of Austin's existence. "Level 50 in a single day," the Emperor whispered, his voice a mix of fatherly pride and the strategic calculation of a Hegemon. "And a Primordial-tier Domain. Austin, the Academy has seen many 'monsters' from the Five Emperor families, but they have never seen a Law-governing entity at such a low level. Usually, Domain-type skills don't manifest until the Soul Formation realm at the earliest, and even then, they are mere shadows compared to what you now possess."
"The numbers are just the surface, Father," Austin replied, his voice carrying a crystalline resonance that seemed to vibrate the very air. "The Origin Consciousness has granted me a foundation that doesn't just grow—it rewrites. I'm not interested in the grand welcoming ceremonies or the political banquets the Clan has prepared. I want to see the Academy's Tower. My Primordial Origin Root is still hungry, and I can feel the 'existence value' of the Tower calling to me from across the dimensions."
Aurelius nodded, understanding the relentless drive of a Primordial. "The Zenith Hegemony stands behind you. Every resource, every forbidden gate, and every dimensional bridge is yours to command." Within minutes, the Zenith Hegemony's resources were mobilized with the efficiency of a war machine. The Hegemony Gate, a massive ring of sentient liquid metal that bridged the Human Dimension to the Neutral Nexus, groaned to life. This gate was a relic of the First Epoch, powered by the core of a collapsed Metaverse. It was the only way to reach the Dimensional Academy, a place where the Absolute Realities of the Humans, Dragons, Demons, Angels, and Elves intersected.
As Austin stepped through the gate, the world dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colors. He felt the sensation of his soul being stretched across infinite points of light before snapping back into a cohesive whole. The Academy was not a building, but a floating Megacity-Universe, anchored in the space between dimensions where the laws of physics were merely suggestions. The sky here was a swirling canvas of all elemental colors—azure flames, violet lightning, and golden auroras—and the gravity was constantly shifting, dictated by the collective weight of the thousands of powerful heirs currently residing within its borders.
The moment Austin's boots hit the Arrival Plaza, the "System Feel" changed. In Elares, he was the center of the world. Here, the air was crowded with the auras of thousands of "Geniuses." This was the melting pot of the Absolute Realities. He walked past a group of Elven heirs whose lifespan already reached several millennia, and a cluster of Demon Princes whose skin was etched with runes of the Antiverse. Austin's Origin Insight flared, reading the data of those around him with cold, mechanical precision: a Human from a Great Family at Level 420, a Dragonkin at Level 510, and even a High Demon at Level 600.
To any observer, Austin looked like a statistical anomaly or perhaps a mistake of the system. In a place where the average student was Level 300 or higher, a Level 50 youth was a "tutorial-level" weakling. However, his Stage 9 Qi Refinement acted like a hidden anchor, making his aura as solid and immovable as a mountain. He walked with a rhythmic, measured pace, his eyes fixed on the distant spire of the Tower of Eternal Beginnings, which pierced through the swirling nebulae of the Academy's sky.
"Look at that," a sneering voice rang out, cutting through the hum of the plaza.
A group of youths clad in the ornate, golden robes of the Solar Emperor Family—one of the Five Emperor Families—approached. They moved with the practiced arrogance of those who believed they were the masters of the Human Dimension, unaware that the true Overlords had just arrived. The leader, a tall young man with sun-fire burning in his eyes named Lucius Solar, looked down at Austin with a mixture of pity and amusement. Lucius was Level 480, a rank that made him a god among men in the lower realms, but here, he was merely an elite student.
"A Zenith? I heard the Hegemony had produced a new heir after all these years of silence," Lucius chuckled, his lackeys joining in with sycophantic laughter. "But Level 50? Did your father send you here to study the history of gardening? This is the Nexus, boy. At Level 50, you aren't even qualified to be a footman for the Dragon Heirs. You'll be crushed by the gravity of the Tower's first floor before you can even draw your breath."
Austin didn't stop walking. He didn't even look at Lucius. To him, these "Empirical Geniuses" were nothing more than flickering data points, flickering lights soon to be eclipsed. His silence was not one of submission, but of absolute indifference. To a dragon, the barking of a dog is not an insult; it is simply noise.
"I am speaking to you, Zenith! Do you think your family's name protects you from the etiquette of the Academy?" Lucius roared, his Solar Qi flaring brilliantly, causing the temperature in the plaza to spike until the air shimmered with heat haze. He reached out a hand to grab Austin's shoulder, intending to use his superior level to force the 'Level 50 weakling' to his knees in front of the gathered crowd of various dimensions.
Austin's eyes shifted slightly, the violet mist within them swirling into a sharp, predatory point. He didn't use a skill. He didn't draw energy from his Dantian. He simply released a fraction—a mere leak—of his Sovereign Pressure.
THOOM.
The air in the plaza suddenly became as heavy as a collapsing star. It was a conceptual weight, a pressure born from a Tier that Lucius Solar's system couldn't even name. Lucius, whose hand was inches from Austin, felt an invisible hammer slam into his soul. His Mythical-tier class, the Solar Knight, screamed in primal terror, its spiritual essence recoiling as if faced with its own creator. Lucius's knees buckled with a sickening crack, the reinforced Star-Jade tiles of the Arrival Plaza shattering into dust as he was slammed face-first into the ground.
"Your level is 480," Austin said, finally stopping. He didn't turn around, instead looking down at the struggling, trembling 'genius' through the corner of his eye. "But your foundation is like sand. You have traded quality for speed, and your soul is hollow. Do not touch me again. I would hate to accidentally erase your existence before I find the entrance to the Tower. It would be a waste of my time to fill out the paperwork for a corpse as insignificant as yours."
The silence that followed was absolute, spreading through the plaza like a contagion. The Level 600 Demons stopped their sparring, and the Level 500 Dragons in the distance ceased their conversations, their reptilian eyes narrowing as they looked at the Level 50 Human who had just suppressed an Emperor-family heir with nothing but a glance. They could sense it now—the hidden, abyssal depth of Austin's power. He was a Level 50 who felt like a Level 5,000.
Austin continued his walk, the crowds parting before him like the Red Sea. He didn't care about the shock or the budding rumors. His mind was already calculating the experience gains from the Tower's floors. He needed to reach Level 100 quickly. The Origin Consciousness had promised another Class-Specific Primordial Skill at that milestone, and he intended to claim it before the sun set on the Nexus.
As he reached the foot of the Tower, he saw four other figures standing near the entrance, each surrounded by a void of empty space that no one dared to enter. These were the other Hegemony Heirs—the Princess of the Dragons, the Prince of the Demons, the Saintess of the Elves, and the Archangel of the Divine Dimension. They were the true elite, the only ones who didn't look at Austin with mockery, but with a sharp, wary curiosity.
Austin stepped past them, his gaze fixed on the heavy, runic doors of the Tower. "Level 50 is just the beginning," he whispered to the wind. "Let's see if this Tower can survive my ascent."
[UPDATED STATUS PANEL]
NAME: Austin Zenith
LEVEL: 50 (0.00% XP)
CULTIVATION: Qi Refinement (Stage 9 - Great Completion)
CLASS: Primordial Chaos Overlord (Rank: PRIMORDIAL)
LIFESPAN: 100 Years (Mortal Shell)
[VITAL STATISTICS]
HP: 3,500,000 / 3,500,000
PRIMORDIAL ESSENCE: 150,000 / 150,000
[ATTRIBUTES]
STRENGTH: 7,500
AGILITY: 6,800
INTELLIGENCE: 6,500
VITALITY: 7,000
[BLOODLINE & PHYSIQUE]
BLOODLINE: The Eternal Genesis Source (PRIMORDIAL)
PHYSIQUE: Myriad Realm Unfettered Body (PRIMORDIAL)
[POWERS]
MARTIAL SOUL: Chaos-Devouring Sovereign Dragon [Tenebris] (PRIMORDIAL)
SPIRITUAL ROOT: Primordial Origin Root (PRIMORDIAL)
[SKILLS]
CLASS-SPECIFIC (LVL 50):Chaos Domain: Absolute Zero (PRIMORDIAL)
ACTIVE: Void Erasure, Sovereign Command, Dragon's Breath of the End.
PASSIVE: Eternal Presence, Infinite Affinity, Sovereign Pressure (Class-Passive).
[GEAR]
Zenith Heir Robes (Immortal-Rank): Auto-repair, Temperature Control, High-Gravity Neutralization.