The next two months passed without a hitch. Damien spent his time binding uninhabitable worlds, conversing with Zara, and fighting the various space beasts that attacked him.
His route was a relatively safe one. He mostly traveled around the edges of the Divine Realm, only moving inward a few times either for his own benefit or for the convenience of his route.
It was only due to this that Damien didn't encounter any extremely powerful existences or major worlds. The Divine Realm was structured like a grand kingdom with the strongest powers in the middle and weaker powers in the outskirts. In the center of the Divine Realm was the floating castle city, Luxurion, visible from any corner of the Divine Realm. The only outliers to this structure were major sects that took protector roles, shielding the Divine Realm's borders.
Death Emperor Star, however, was different. While it was located in the Divine Realm, its entire presence was a mystery. Accompanying this mystery was the fact that Death Emperor Star had some sort of connection to the Abyss that had yet to be uncovered to this day.
Its location was in the middle of nowhere. It was quite literally the most isolated location in the entire Divine Realm, with the closest inhabitable worlds and influences present several millions of kilometers away. Reaching Death Emperor Star from these locations required the use of a teleportation array.
Damien stood in a world called Aroath. This world was ruled by a subdivision of Blood Asura Holy Land, one of the universe's Demigod influences.
Blood Asura Holy Land was one of many peak influences that stationed sub-divisions on these worlds. Through them, individuals from their sects could freely arrive at Death Emperor Star with ease. While many of them didn't actually gain entrance into the world, it was far easier for them to try.
Nevertheless, there wasn't a particular reason Damien chose this star. When he arrived in the area, it was merely the closest one.
His steps took him through a bustling city. The sight of mortals going about their day-to-day lives was something Damien hadn't seen in a very long time. He stopped by a nearby street stand and bought a pastry, slowly savoring it as he walked to his destination.
The portal center was the most inaccessible place in the entire world. To enter, one either needed a certain level of status within the Blood Asura Holy Land or an invitation to Death Emperor Star.
This was mainly to prevent random challengers from attempting to enter Death Emperor Star. Not only would they waste the presiding experts' time, but they would also risk killing themselves.
As for external threats…it was a joke to think anyone or anything could force their way into Death Emperor Star. Many practitioners, even Demigods, unsuccessfully attempted to do so in the past. Death Emperor Star seemed to be protected by the universe itself.
Damien arrived at the portal center with only a few minutes of walking. He entered the building while finishing off his pastry and walked over to an attendant.
"Hello. I would like to enter Death Emperor Star."
The male attendant looked him up and down suspiciously. "Not just anyone can enter Death Emperor Star. If you have the necessary qualifications, please provide them and I will grant passage. If not, I will have the guards escort you out."
Two burly men around the middle stages of 4th class appeared out of thin air. They stared down at Damien intimidatingly as if daring him to mess around.
Damien shook his head wryly. For them to be so blunt, this portal center must've received plenty of opportunists in the past. As someone who'd worked a service job in the past, he really couldn't complain about their attitude.
Without a word, he took out one of the jade slips Atticus left for him. This was precisely the invitation he needed.
The attendant read over the jade slip's contents with an increasingly astonished look on his face.
"This…this…a real invitation…? From…the Holy Son of Fallen Star Holy Land himself?!"
The attendant's body shook. Thankfully, while he'd been rude in his tone, he hadn't demeaned Damien at all.
"S-sir, right this way. I shall have them open a portal for you as soon as possible."
Damien nodded in affirmation. "Is it rare to see people with invitations around here?"
The attendant tilted his head curiously. "Not particularly. All of the Death Emperor Star candidates are invitations. Those from our sect can use the portal without an invitation, but 99% of them return empty-handed. It's basically a mechanism in place for the sect's greatest geniuses. Other than that, it is merely a status move."
He gave Damien as much information as possible without giving away anything secretive. While it was true that every Death Emperor Star candidate was an invitation, they still had different classes amongst themselves.
Death Emperor Star had more recruiters than one could imagine. Their entire goal was to train the universe's young elites into heroes who could fight for its survival. Naturally they wouldn't allow a genius to go unattended merely because nobody could recognize their talent.
Each and every recruiter was an individual with amazing vision and outstanding character. However, their strengths and statuses still differed.
For instance, a normal recruiter would've at most reached the 1000s or 10000s on the Dimensional Leaderboard in their prime. These people were geniuses in their own right, but their names weren't known at all.
Then there were assorted elders with eccentric personalities who liked to wander the universe and pick up talented seedlings. They had much more value than normal recruiters, but their personalities made it so their judgement was occasionally questionable.
While there were various other breeds of recruiters, the rarest were those peak geniuses of Death Emperor Star, the Paragons.
There weren't many Paragons to begin with, around 20, and of them, only a few were willing to be recruiters.
Getting a recommendation from them was a true fear of wonder.
And among these Paragons was none other than Atticus Flamesworth.
Just his name alone was enough to give Damien considerable standing amongst those in the outside world. If Damien wanted, he could act however he pleased on this star and get away with it, regardless of what he did.
But Damien didn't take this borrowed power to heart. After all, it was only useful in the outside world. The second he crossed through that portal…
Everything became meaningless except strength.
Voom!
A fluctuation of spatial power spread from further inside the portal center. Feeling it, the attendant stood up and bowed.
"Sir, your portal has been prepared. Please maintain caution while traveling through the spatial tunnel, as the space around Death Emperor Star is extremely chaotic. When you reach, keep your senses heightened at all times. Of those I've seen enter Death Emperor Star…rarely any come back."
Damien stood up and smiled. "Thank you for the warning. I'll be sure to not drop my guard. And don't worry. I'll come see you in a few years so you can add one more to your list of success stories."
The attendant smiled slightly, never releasing his bow. As he remained in the same position, Damien walked over to the portal. He gazed at it for a few seconds to admire its complexity, and then, he stepped through without an ounce of hesitation.
In the portal center, the male attendant's smile slowly faded. His indifferent eyes glanced at the two guards.
"Go inform his highness. Holy Son Atticus' recommendation has arrived."
