Dimensional Keeper: All My Skills Are at Level 100

Chapter 1243  No Shortcuts

Just as Max stepped into the secret chamber, a soft golden radiance gathered in front of him. The light twisted gently until it formed the familiar figure of the tower spirit.

"Master, you are here," Xolo said with respectful calm.

Max nodded once before asking his question. "Tell me something, Xolo. Do you sense the presence of something inside the Tower of Truth that shouldn't belong here?"

Xolo's glow flickered faintly, almost like a shiver of discomfort.

"I do sense it," the spirit replied. "It feels dark. Corrupted would be the correct word. But…" its voice lowered in confusion, "for some reason, I do not have access to the place where that presence is sealed. No matter how many times I try, I cannot enter that space or see within it."

Max absorbed those words silently.

"I see."

That confirmed everything he suspected.

Only he could reach the location where Mark's second soul was sealed. The tower had accepted him as its master, which meant the barriers that existed for everyone else—including Xolo—did not apply to him.

Yet something about this situation felt deeply wrong.

Even with his expanded senses, even with the Tower's absolute acceptance of him, Max could not see the exact place within the tower where the corrupted presence hid. His consciousness moved through every chamber, every hidden room, every formation in the structure. He could see all of them as clearly as if he stood in each one.

All except one.

There was a missing piece, a part of the tower that refused to be observed. Not invisible, but shielded by something only Mark's soul could generate.

And Max knew that if he pushed just a little more—if he fully extended his senses—he could break into that hidden area. He had felt it once before, when he first arrived at the Tower of Truth long ago. He had almost stepped into that forbidden place out of curiosity.

Almost.

If Lucien hadn't stopped him, Max might have unintentionally unsealed two of Mark's souls that day.

A mistake that would have doomed the world far earlier.

Now he stood once again in front of that invisible line, knowing he could cross it whenever he wished.

Knowing it was dangerous.

Knowing he would eventually have to cross it anyway.

Shaking his head lightly, Max shifted the topic.

"Xolo, do you know about the broken laws of this world?" he asked. "How no matter how hard someone trains here, they will always be limited to the fourth level of a concept unless they are chosen by the world or blessed in some way?"

"I do know," Xolo replied. Its golden light dimmed and brightened slowly, as if recalling ancient memories. "There was a time, long before the ascension tunnel broke, when the people of this world could ascend freely to the Divine Realm. At that time, many cultivators reached the fifth level in their concepts. They were much stronger than the current leaders of the Middle Domain."

It paused before continuing.

"But now, I rarely sense anyone with a fifth-level concept. Only one such being exists in this world at the moment… the one you visited in the Elven Kingdom. Aside from her, I have not sensed a single trace of a being who has comprehended that level."

Max smiled slightly, though there was a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Is there any other way I could be exempt from these rules? Maybe my title as a Primordial would help?"

Xolo's glow flickered with a dejected softness. "It would not work, Master. The comprehension of any concept is tied directly to the laws of the world. Since this world's laws are broken, incomplete, and unstable, they cannot support the natural rise of a fifth-level concept. The title of Primordial does not change that."

Max let out a long, low exhale. "I see."

Even though he expected that answer, it still disappointed him. A part of him hoped that the Primordial title—which had given him so many advantages, so many breakthroughs, and so much authority—might bend the rules here.

"Alright," he said, accepting reality with a resigned sigh. "I thought as much."

His expression steadied again as he gathered his focus.

If he wanted to reach the fifth level, he would have to do it the hard way.

Through force. Through will. Through tearing open a path by himself where the world offered none.

The Tower of Truth fell silent around him as Xolo waited for his next command.

"Stand guard outside," Max said in a steady and solemn tone. "I will be training here for some time. If anything unusual happens outside, you must call me immediately."

Xolo bowed its glowing head. "Understood, Master."

Its golden light faded as it slipped out of the secret chamber, leaving Max alone in absolute silence. The stone walls around him pulsed faintly with ancient runes that responded to his presence. The air felt weightless, almost as if the entire chamber had been carved out of stillness itself.

Max lowered himself to the floor and sat cross-legged. He closed his eyes.

"Fifth level concept of space…" he murmured quietly, letting the words slip into the still air.

He activated the Void Genesis Art.

A deep, unfathomable calm surged through his meridians. His mind traced back to the moment in the Heavenly Lord Secret Domain when he had met the Void Monarch—one of the greatest masters of space to have ever lived.

He remembered the Monarch's exact words.

"I have left something for you. A sphere of comprehension containing the seed of Spatial Dominion, the fifth-level concept of space. I have also left the complete comprehension of Spatial Collapse, the fourth-level concept, so you may grow without stumbling."

Max breathed slowly, letting the memory settle into him.

"I have three months," he whispered. "Three months here means thousands of years in the Dimension of Time."

He opened his eyes briefly.

Three months in the real world. Three thousand years in the Dimension of Time.

He tightened his fists slightly.

"I should be able to comprehend the fifth level concept through the Void Genesis Art."