Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 1449 A Bud!

"A bud?" Max whispered, his voice laced with utter disbelief.

Concentrating intently, he soon spotted an even more shocking detail. This bud was absorbing the golden energy much faster than the Chaos Tree ever had on its own. Thick flows of flame energy surged into his form, only to get sucked straight toward the bud, like it had its very own magnetic draw.

Those five leaves kept shining brightly, yet the bud fed with an even fiercer appetite.

Beyond that, the energy radiating from the bud felt utterly unique. It went past just flames. There was an eternal quiet to it, an endless expanse that stretched forever. The closer Max examined it, a peculiar sense of recognition flooded through him.

That energy reminded him of lingering at the entrance to his dimensions.

Tranquil.

Eternal.

Unyielding.

It lacked the scorching heat of fire. It held none of chaos's wild fury. It just was, like it had lingered eternally, patiently awaiting its moment.

Seriousness etched across Max's face.

This went beyond a simple upgrade for the flame branch.

The bud seemed like the early stage of something immensely larger than any basic idea.

For the first time ever, Max felt the Chaos Tree pushing toward a level he couldn't yet grasp.

"The speed this bud is gulping down the ninth layer's energy… it won't be much time before everything's swallowed up," Max whispered as the truth hit him hard.

The golden flows flooding his body stopped just feeding the flame leaves. Instead, they rushed to the fresh bud with insatiable greed. It was like the bud had unleashed a hidden whirlpool, hauling in all nearby energy without mercy.

The golden glow's thickness around him faded noticeably, as the chaotic flame laws started to lose their tight hold with their core being gradually pulled away.

Max wasted no time.

Seizing the brief chaos from the prior blast and the bud's nonstop feeding, he pushed ahead boldly, venturing further into the ninth layer.

The chaotic flame setups that once blocked like solid walls now lay broken and frail. Lacking their firm base, they failed to crush him with their former choking might.

He picked up his pace.

Flames bellowed nearby, but they didn't seem unbeatable anymore. Inside the Chaos Tree, the bud kept sucking energy at a jaw-dropping speed, easing the barriers that usually pinned him down.

Eight thousand two hundred miles.

Eight thousand three hundred miles.

Eight thousand four hundred miles.

His momentum held steady.

Every stride spanned what would've cost others hours in this layer. As he delved deeper, more power got yanked into him, causing the chaotic flame laws to wobble even more in his surroundings.

The route that formerly crushed like a seabed now split open like wild waves shoved back by a mighty flow.

Beyond the Path to Eternal Flames' barrier, no one missed the shift.

The display showing Max's image abruptly grabbed almost all eyes there.

"How's his speed that quick in the ninth layer?" an elder burst out, shock spilling over despite his efforts.

"I'm just as stunned," a second one chimed in fast. "Zain didn't move this quick crossing the ninth layer."

A bunch of disciples bent closer on reflex, eyes bulging as they tracked Max's form speeding ahead beyond what they thought possible.

"Going like this, he'll hit the tenth layer in no time," a voice whispered. "That'd put his feat on par with the trainee Saintess, Isabella Lumin."

Murmurs rippled out across the assembled group.

"But what's the secret behind it?" another elder pressed, forehead creased deep. "He crawled through the early layers, hours lost in meditation each time. Yet here in the ninth, with way heavier strain, he dashes like the chaotic flame laws can't hold him back. What's going on with him?"

Elders from the Thirty Six Halls traded puzzled looks. They couldn't figure out why Max seemed barely touched by the chaotic flame laws that stopped countless before. On the view, fire boiled fiercely near him, but it appeared to yield gently as he passed.

No burst of energy showed from him. No flashy show of power.

He just pressed on.

For those watching, it made no sense.

For Max, though, the reason played out deep inside him.

The bud on the Chaos Tree kept throbbing with timeless calm, consuming the core that shaped the ninth layer.

And every stride he made tipped the trial's equilibrium in silence.

"How's he moving that fast?"

The phrase escaped Isabella Lumin's mouth unbidden. She felt the deepest jolt and disturbance from the ninth layer events.

Her gaze locked on the overhead display, following Max's shape racing through the ninth layer. Flames churned wildly beside him, but he glided like the smothering force and thick chaotic laws meant nothing.

Her brain raced to make sense of the sight.

Crossing the ninth layer herself, each footfall dragged like hauling a peak on her back. The weight dug into her frame, chaotic flame laws building walls that made her halt often to grasp and hone her insights before pushing on.

She'd thrown all her resolve, heritage power, and insight into shattering that wall. Total burnout was the only way she'd entered the tenth layer.

But right now, right in front of her, Max charged ahead.

He wasn't stepping warily. No pauses for reflection in between. He flowed at a firm, nearly casual rhythm, spanning what cost her hours in seconds.

Her hands clenched tight without thought.

Such a gap hit her hard to square away.

It wasn't just raw gift. Nor a layer's edge. It was his advancing style that rattled her. His prior trek was sluggish, barely notable. He'd hung back in the base layers, deep in trance for long stretches. Folks figured he fought hard.

She'd figured the same.

But here in the ninth layer, where real trials emerged, he showed pace Zain never matched in that zone.

Her mind swirled in turmoil.

How does one so deliberate below explode like this above? How does he brush off the chaotic flame laws that almost stopped her like mere whispers?

The display caught him hitting another mark, flames easing back as he plunged further.

A keen ache twisted in Isabella's core.

She'd beamed over making the tenth layer. She'd seen it set a firm line between her and peers in her rank. But seeing Max blaze through the ninth shook that line loose.

She resisted owning it, even inwardly.

Still, the rising doubt gnawed at her.

Keeping that speed, he'd soon teeter on the tenth layer's brink too.

And picturing him cresting it sans the grind she'd borne was tough for her to swallow.