From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

"Is it over?"

Chris suddenly spoke.

His voice was unusually hoarse, sounding heavier than in days past.

Darren then realized that even someone like Chris, who seemed to have no emotions, still carried some inner weight in his heart. Thankfully, some of that "weight" would now be leaving him.

It would also be leaving Darren.

Yes, that was the source of the "sense of relief."

But what about beyond that? His own life had already accumulated too many "weights," and he, bearing them, would never be able to attain release, just like his father and grandfather had been.

They died because of it.

But it was also because of that inescapable "weight" that they lived on forever.

Darren nodded his head.

"Yes, at least today's battle is over," he said.

"At least..."

"Our fate with the Meyer family is about to come to a definitive end."

Compared to the burdens brought by so many "weights," he was prouder of them, and felt that as a "ship," he might actually be more like an unpredictable, ever-changing specter ship, probably even scaring the crew more aggressively.

"We have no way back; once we set sail, we must go forward to the end."

——

The Cyart army, led by the Fischer family, had already crushed the main forces of the three nations' Cyart people.

Moreover, they themselves had suffered almost no damage.

In fact, this was to be expected, because Karl's extraordinary power was extraordinary in itself, and the strength and influence owned by the Fischer family had been growing like a snowball over the past few decades, so their true might was far beyond what it appeared on paper.

In the following weeks, the Cyart people began sweeping the battlefield, and since the main forces of the tri-alliance had already been destroyed, the remaining routed troops were nothing more than easy prey, left to be hunted down and scattered.

It was like crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood.

The Cyart people broke through the enemy's lines with the force of a thunderbolt; with huge advantages in intelligence and morale, they swiftly occupied key strategic points, cutting off the remaining troops' retreat and supply lines. They also used air support from their monarch-level experts to launch fierce attacks on the scattered troops, further weakening their combat capabilities.

Under the Cyart's furious assault, the tri-nation's defensive line soon collapsed, the soldiers fell into chaos and panic, and they began to throw away their weapons and fled or surrendered.

With their organization lost, the remaining troops were quickly annihilated by the Cyart people.

This defeat was catastrophic, leading to a significant loss of life and material, which caused the troops' morale to totally collapse, unable to regroup for an effective resistance.

As the remnants were defeated, the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly.

The Cyart people began to occupy more territory and resources, further consolidating their strategic position, while the remnants could only retreat, eventually being completely expelled from Cyart territory.

Finally, Chris Fischer ascended to the Seventh Tier.

Yes, he completed the ritual.

Participating in the killing of three enemies that he could acknowledge... one of which was the Reforging Church's cardinal "The Destroyer," and another was the "Blood Flame King" Flamme Meyer of the Meyer family.

There was no doubt that both "The Destroyer" and the "Blood Flame King" were worthy opponents.

Their strength lay not only in their might but also in their mindset, with a deep-rooted tenacity and fighting spirit in their hearts, and a belief they were willing to give their lives for.

Some qualities are rarer than strength, yet true power often encompasses these traits as well.

However, what astonished Darren and the others beyond belief was that Chris had completed the third goal at some unknown time... there was even a third enemy he acknowledged.

Actually, the final sacrifice for the ritual wasn't even a monarch-level expert.

Chris didn't explain much. After encountering a somewhat special Rhea person and casually killing him, he disguised himself as that person and mingled within the Rhea army for some time, gradually coming to understand the Rhea person's past from the conversations of those around him.

Thus, a person who was originally already dead became one of the three targets of the ritual.

From a young age, that Rhea person grew up listening to his grandfather's tales of heroes and planted the seed of protecting Rhea in his heart.

Every time the night was deep and quiet, he would stand alone on the mountaintop, looking up at the starry sky, and silently muse to himself, "Someday, I'm going to be the hero who protects this land."

Opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. He didn't hesitate to answer the call of the "Blood Flames King" and set off on his campaign.

However, that Rhea person was just the most ordinary Beginning Extraordinary Exponent, with poor potential and very common power of Bloodline, a lower-level officer in the Rhea army, never truly taken seriously, just high-level cannon fodder.

On the battlefield, he was always the bravest, charging to the front lines, using his flesh and blood body to build an indomitable defense.

In one decisive battle, his Rhea troop encountered an unprecedented crisis—a Transmutation Level Extraordinary Exponent-led army pursued them, causing heavy casualties in an instant.

Faced with the enemy's overwhelming offensive, he made an astonishing decision—to single-handedly challenge the enemy's Transmutation Level officer by himself, buying time for his troops to retreat.

In that battle, with the help of a Mysterious rare artifact, he displayed extraordinary courage and wisdom and ultimately led his troops to break out successfully, though he himself was severely injured.

After the battle, that Rhea person was hailed as the "Light of Rhea's Border," and his deeds spread throughout the nation, becoming a hero in the mouths of many Rhea People.

In the many subsequent battles, he performed exceptionally heroic feats, even collaborating with allies to kill Transmutation Level adversaries.

Chris had casually killed this man, who had reached the limits of his strength level. Although the levels of combat he faced were not high, Chris still subconsciously acknowledged him.

"Let's begin..."

Chris shook his head slightly, retaining that bit of memory deep in his heart, and continued to look ahead.

Several days later, in the Grand Hall of the Fischer family.

Accompanied by the Priest's various actions and words, everyone's hearts grew increasingly tense and expectant.

The new ritual was now complete.

Within the excited gaze of all members of the Fischer family, a massive gray pillar of light shot into the sky, completely different from before, even visible to people in half a province!

"Finally, we have taken a new step," Christine murmured to herself.

The Seventh Tier of Path of Tranquility, "Reaper's Blade."

Its image in the Spirit Realm is a man surrounded by black shadows, only revealing a blood-colored pupil, looking extraordinarily mysterious and eerie.

The Extraordinary materials used are "Nightmare Horn" and "Black Dragon Blood," which would have been difficult for the Fischer family to collect without the support of Lorne citizens.

As for the Extraordinary materials needed for the next Transmutation Level, even for the Lorne people, they are considered extremely rare treasures...

After ascending to a higher tier, Chris's Spiritual Power and physical fitness each received a substantial improvement. According to the previous statistical method, it was equivalent to a 2000 increase in Spiritual Power and a 7000 increase in physical fitness, undoubtedly an exaggerated rate of growth.

As "Reaper's Blade," Chris also acquired two new types of Extraordinary power, namely "Soul Harvest" and "Double Destruction," while "Night Concealment" and "Night Shift" also evolved into "Death God's Concealment" and "Shadow Movement" respectively.

"Soul Harvest," as the name suggests, is a trait that targets the soul directly. Chris's close-range attacks will be able to deal lethal strikes to the soul, having great restraining power against various kinds of specters.

Because Extraordinary Exponents below Heavenly Enlightenment nearly have no defenses against the soul, they would suffer severe damage if they encountered Chris's attack.

And the ability of "Double Destruction" is such that if Chris attacks the same location twice, he could cause multiple times the destructive effect!

Such an ability requires strict conditions to trigger, but it indeed restrains those with high defense but slow movement.

The abilities of "Death God's Concealment" and "Shadow Movement," which evolved from "Night Concealment" and "Night Shift," have now become even more versatile.

Chris no longer needs to be in the dark to become invisible and move instantly. As long as there are shadows within his sight, he can become invisible and move instantly without limit, and it hardly consumes any Spiritual Power.

Although becoming visible again after each attack, if he remains unattacking in the shadows for more than two seconds, he will become invisible once more.

After using "Shadow Movement" for instant movement, he only needs to wait half a second before it can be activated again.