Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100 Chapter 2045 Ascension Seals!

Max's expression stayed calm as he kept reading. Then his eyes suddenly stopped. One title caught his attention.

Ascension Seals.

Max narrowed his eyes slightly. This was the first time he'd seen that term since entering the Godslayer's Pilgrimage.

The devil had explained marks in great detail, and had talked about Bloodstone City, the outer layer, the inner layer, and the core layer, but he'd never once mentioned Ascension Seals. Whether that came from ignorance or a deliberate dodge, Max couldn't say yet.

Curious, Max opened the information entry and started reading. A few minutes later, he finally understood why entering the inner layer was so hard.

To enter the inner layer, a participant needed something called an Ascension Seal. Only one Ascension Seal was required. At first glance, that sounded simple. But the real difficulty lay in getting one.

Ascension Seals ranked among the rarest things in the outer layer. Unlike marks, you couldn't earn them by killing beasts, completing ordinary tasks, robbing other participants, or exchanging resources in cities.

They never showed up randomly in shops, and no one could buy them through normal mark transactions. Even powerful factions in the outer layer couldn't produce them on demand.

There was only one known way to get an Ascension Seal.

The Ascension Trial.

Every few years, the Ascension Trial would descend somewhere in the outer layer. Its location was never fixed, and once it appeared, word of it would spread through the cities like wildfire.

Nearly every powerful genius in the outer layer would rush toward it, because the Ascension Trial was the only recognized path to obtain an Ascension Seal and earn the right to step into the inner layer.

Max kept reading, and his expression finally shifted slightly. Every time the Ascension Trial descended, it carried only ten Ascension Seals.

Ten. That number sounded almost absurdly small.

Max slowly leaned back and looked at the glowing information screen in front of him. The outer layer stretched enormous. It held many cities like Bloodstone City, countless wilderness regions, beast territories, ruins, trial grounds, and race bases.

Every time the Godslayer's Pilgrimage opened, geniuses from all five universes poured in. Some stayed for years. Some stayed for decades. Some never managed to leave the outer layer at all.

If Max's math was right, the number of participants in the outer layer could easily surpass one or two million. Yet every few years, only ten Ascension Seals showed up.

No wonder Anna had said that out of every thousand people, maybe only ten had a real shot at entering the inner layer. Honestly, even that estimate might have been generous.

The Ascension Trial wasn't merely a trial. It was a bloodbath. When only ten seals appeared in front of countless geniuses who'd spent years struggling in the outer layer, the competition couldn't stay peaceful.

Every genius who wanted to advance would fight for them. Every race would send its strongest outer layer participants. Every hidden expert's disciple, every Primordial, every devil, every angel, every dragon, and every spirit confident enough would gather around the trial.

Those ten seals weren't opportunities handed out to the talented. They were prizes that had to be ripped away from a battlefield.

Max's gaze deepened. Now he understood why so many participants stayed stuck in the outer layer despite already reaching the 8th, 9th, or even 10th level of the Divine Lord Realm.

Their cultivation might be strong enough to survive here, but survival alone wasn't enough to enter the inner layer. They needed an Ascension Seal, and getting one meant beating countless opponents who were just as desperate, just as prepared, and often far more experienced.

The difficulty was terrifying.

For most participants, the outer layer wasn't a temporary stop before the real pilgrimage began. It was a cage. A massive cage filled with marks, trials, beasts, cities, and endless competition, where only a tiny number of people could ever break through the ceiling and move forward.

To Max, the outer layer was starting to feel less like a simple starting region and more like an enormous filter. It was a place built to throw countless geniuses from all five universes into danger, pressure, competition, and uncertainty.

Those who lacked strength would die. Those who lacked caution would get hunted down. Those who lacked persistence would stay trapped here for years. Only a very small number, those strong enough to seize Ascension Seals away from countless rivals, would ever get to step into the inner layer.

The Godslayer's Pilgrimage wasn't guiding geniuses forward gently. It was forcing them to prove they deserved to move forward at all.

After reading about the Ascension Seals, Max shifted his attention to another section of the information screen.

Bloodstone City Rankings.

The ranking only recorded the top one hundred geniuses in Bloodstone City. Beside each name sat the race or faction they belonged to, which made the list more than just a measure of individual strength. It also revealed the balance of power within the city.

Max's gaze moved down the names slowly. Soon he spotted Daniel's. Daniel sat at seventh, and beside his name was written one word.

Primordial.

Max wasn't surprised. Damian and Revona had already reacted strongly when Anna mentioned Daniel, and now Max understood why.

Ranking seventh in a city where geniuses from all five universes gathered was no small feat. It meant Daniel wasn't just strong among Primordials. He was one of the strongest figures in Bloodstone City overall.

Max kept reading.

First place belonged to Greyon of the Dragon Race. Second place belonged to Hemilin of the Angel Race. Third place belonged to Raymond of the Primordial Race. Fourth place belonged to Drevor of the Devil Race. Fifth place belonged to Shreya of the Spirit Race.

Looking at the top five, Max got a clearer picture of the power structure in Bloodstone City. Each of the five great races had at least one terrifying genius near the peak of the rankings.

The Dragon Race held first, the Angel Race held second, the Primordial Race held third, the Devil Race held fourth, and the Spirit Race held fifth. Just from that lineup alone, it was clear no single race completely dominated Bloodstone City.

The balance here ran delicate. Every race had powerful representatives. Every race carried enough strength to keep the others cautious.

Max's eyes moved further down the list. As expected, the five great races took up many of the higher spots. Primordials, devils, angels, dragons, and spirits kept appearing throughout the ranking, proving they were the main powers of the Godslayer's Pilgrimage.

Their bloodlines, inheritances, bodies, souls, and foundations gave them an edge most other races couldn't easily match.

But they weren't the only ones on the list. Max also spotted humans. He saw elves. He saw demons. He saw names belonging to other lesser races he'd never even heard of before. Some ranked low, but a few had climbed surprisingly high. That made Max's eyes sharpen slightly.

The five great races dominated, sure, but the so-called lesser races weren't without their own monsters. Any genius who could force their way onto the Bloodstone City Rankings while competing against the five great races couldn't be ordinary.

That realization made Max take the list a lot more seriously. The Bloodstone City Rankings weren't just some display of fame.

They were a warning. Every name on that list belonged to someone who'd survived the outer layer, built up enough strength, beaten enough opponents, and earned enough recognition to be feared or respected in Bloodstone City.

Some of them were enemies. Some might turn into temporary allies. Some would stay neutral unless there was something in it for them. But none of them deserved to be underestimated.