From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The Fischer family's ship gradually embarked on the homeward journey, and as they drew closer to the White Sea, the thick, black clouds that once enveloped the sky began to dissipate completely. The oppressive feeling of sailing under a dense curse slowly faded, and the unease deep within the hearts of those aboard receded bit by bit.

The large ship rocked gently beneath their feet, and within the simple-looking cabin, the rejuvenated Byrne placed the blood-stained Gold Coin on the table and said calmly, Continue reading at empire

"Now, I'll take you back to the Ouden Continent... 'Time Stasis Stone,' how does it feel to leave the island?"

"Huff..."

The voice of an old man came from the Gold Coin, trembling and shuddering, conveying an unmistakable excitement.

"I feel great, incredibly unbelievable, I even want to cry... Unfortunately, I can no longer weep."

"Anyway, Mithril, no, Byrne Fischer, I must thank you for saving me."

Byrne nodded slightly, smiling as he said, "There's no need for thanks, after all, bringing you out and promising to release you were both out of self-interest."

"Actually, I've been wanting to know something, Time Stasis Stone, how did you manage to enter the Alchemy Council, especially since you were trapped in such a place, what was the opportunity that allowed you to come into contact with the Alchemy Council?"

The old voice of the "Time Stasis Stone" came from the bloodied Gold Coin.

"I really didn't expect it, ah, your Fischer family turns out to be such a terrifying existence. After establishing 'The Oath,' you've shocked me all along..."

"Heh, the world is becoming crazier, isn't it?"

Byrne smiled, raised his hand, and said, "Nowadays, we are so-called 'fellow travelers.' Time Stasis Stone, you might as well be at ease and serve the Fischer family for a hundred years; you don't need to overthink."

"And, answer my question."

"Yes, yes, heh, alright, my master..." said the old man in the Gold Coin with a teasing tone.

The "Time Stasis Stone" had now fully accepted his predicament, not even finding it too terrible; after all, compared to an endless, indefinite hellish abyss, a hundred-year prison with an end in sight was not something unacceptable.

A mere hundred years were but a moment in time, and during these hundred years, he could come into contact with many things, no longer trapped in unending boredom.

"My Spiritual Body wandered around the ruins of that city for many years, especially in the first few decades, never resting for an instant..."

"Wandering, constantly wandering, not knowing how many years had passed, I encountered a very strange riddle."

A riddle?

Byrne's eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Then, the old man continued.

"Yes, a riddle... in the master bedroom of the city, there was a cellar, and deep within the cellar, there was a treasure."

"It was an extraordinary Gold cipher box, which I, though in the form of a Spiritual Body, could not pass through. Moreover, there were many blue runes on it, neatly and exquisitely arranged into thirteen rings; whenever I attempted to disturb them from the physical world, those runes would flash."

Hearing this, Byrne realized that it was an alchemical tool known as a "cipher box," and in recent years, followers of the Reforging Church had also invented similar devices, with mechanical locks and safes crafted for security.

Then "Time Stasis Stone" continued his tale.

"I found that each time I moved the runes, that ring would light up quickly, and then it was clear, all thirteen rings of runes had to be aligned with the correct answer to unlock the Gold cipher box."

"If I failed, it would trigger some kind of deadly trap..."

"Near the Gold cipher box, there were seven stone slabs with various strange stories painted on them. At that time, I quickly realized they must be clues for solving the riddle of the Gold cipher box."

"So, you solved the riddle through the stories on those seven stone slabs?" Byrne surmised and asked with a nod.

However, the answer from the "Time Stasis Stone" was unexpectedly unconventional.

"Not at all!"

Hmm?

Byrne was stunned, not expecting the turn of events.

The "Time Stasis Stone" said with nuanced emphasis,

"Normally, without solving the riddle or knowing the combination, aligning all thirteen rings of runes on the box would almost be impossible, and it would likely result in a death trap on the first failed attempt at decryption."

"But as you can see, my situation is a bit special, so I didn't fear the trap or the passage of time, thus I employed a simple and crude method... exhaustive search."

"..."

Byrne was left speechless and fell into deep contemplation; it made sense, perhaps for the "Time Stasis Stone," in that situation, solving the Gold cipher box too soon would actually lead to boredom.

Exhaustive search, huh...

The old man sighed and said,

"It's just that I'm a bit too lucky, alas, after merely a rough period of exhaustive search, I happened to open the Gold cipher box."

Byrne was curious to know just how long this "rough period of time" actually was.

It might have been even longer than the existence of the Fischer family.

"Time Stasis Stone" continued with some emotion, "Then the Gold cipher box crumbled on its own, vanishing without trace, leaving behind only the treasure inside it."

"Within that dissolving Gold cipher box, I found a dazzlingly brilliant blue gem."

"A blue gem?" Byrne committed this piece of information to memory.

"Yes, it was a special alchemical tool, and through the light of that blue gem, I came to that snow-capped mountain in spirit form, where I ended up meeting... the Chairman of the Alchemy Council."

"Time Stasis Stone," he said, and both he and Byrne fell silent for a moment.

For decades, Byrne had had numerous encounters with the Alchemy Council, but the chairman had always spoken very little, and his true identity was completely a puzzle. However, Byrne could very distinctly feel the oppressive presence of that entity, finding the power possessed by the chairman to be terrifying.

After ascending the 5th Rank, Byrne's perception of the chairman's strength became even more direct and clear.

He could feel distinctly that even a dozen of himself might not be able to defeat the chairman of the Alchemy Council.

Even after stepping onto the 5th Rank, he still felt like a naive child in front of the chairman's overwhelming pressure.

Byrne couldn't help but ask, "Time Stasis Stone, how much do you know about the chairman?"

"He has lived for at least a few hundred years, and his strength is quite possibly at the high-level Monarch, hmm, maybe even a step away from the Heavenly Enlightenment Level."

"Time Stasis Stone" paused for a bit, then continued, "Actually, it's more accurate to say that I can be sure his strength hasn't reached the Heavenly Enlightenment Level."

Byrne was stunned for a moment and asked with some confusion, "Why are you so certain?"

"Of course, it's because the gods have laid down rules, that no Heavenly Enlightenment powerful expert may come close to the territory of the Eastern Four Kingdoms, nor even make contact with the White Sea. I don't know the specific reasons, but such regulations have indeed been in place since my era."

Byrne had never directly heard such reasons, but he had long speculated about it since most regions around the world harbored Heavenly Enlightenment powerful experts, except for the Eastern Four Kingdoms, which had none for thousands of years.

The reasons given by "Time Stasis Stone" might very well be the real ones.

But why would the gods impose such a restriction?

He did not understand, nor could he figure it out.

If that was the case, the chairman's power was probably close to that of Heavenly Enlightenment; such a level of power was extremely terrifying within the bounds of the Eastern Four Kingdoms.

Even if all of Cyart's Monarch powerful experts were to stand against him together, it would probably be very difficult, and they would need to lead him into a trap and surround him before they could hope to succeed.

In fact, over the years, the chairman of the Alchemy Council had always been trying to create more powerful alchemical tools, but he never quite succeeded—instead, giving people like Byrne many useful cast-offs.

Could it be, as long as the chairman can create that stone, he would be able to break through to Heavenly Enlightenment?

After a long silence, he heard the old man slowly say,

"Not long from now, a new meeting will begin..."

"Actually, there are many extraordinary materials near the island, and I've conducted many trades with them, but henceforth, all those extraordinary materials will belong to the Fischer family. You've really reaped a vast harvest, which is quite enviable."

Byrne suddenly asked, "When it comes down to it, Time Stasis Stone, why have you always prevented us members of the Alchemy Council from setting you free?"

"You could have mentioned your plight at the meeting. Is it because of distrust?"

"Time Stasis Stone" gave a decisive answer.

"No, even with distrust, I would have seized any chance I could back then."

"In fact, it was because of the curse on that gold coin, which prevents me from making requests to anyone too far from it—an extremely sinister trap indeed..."

----

Several days later.

A new meeting of the Alchemy Council had already begun.

In the resplendent white palace, several people took their seats one after another.

"Mithril" and "Time Stasis Stone" were present at this meeting once again.

Byrne and the old man exchanged a glance, with an understanding that went unspoken.

Just at that moment, the youthful voice of "Moon River Stone" asked in confusion, "Eh, 'Solar Gold' isn't here?"

They realized that "Solar Gold" was conspicuously absent from the trade meeting.

The participants of this meeting were only the chairman himself, "Moon River Stone," "Spirit Essence," "Time Stasis Stone," and "Mithril."

No one knew the specifics of "Solar Gold's" situation, nor did they know if he would ever come back. The mysterious chairman revealed no information either.

"Perhaps he will never come back, and from now on, there will only be five of us..."

Byrne calmly looked at Spirit Essence, pondering deeply. The two others who had conspired with him to ambush the Tempest Bishop had already been dealt with, and she was the last one.

Someday, he would make Spirit Essence pay the price too.

Then he looked up at the chairman, high above, and at that very moment, that pressure seemed more palpable than ever.

Indeed, the chairman possessed an extremely powerful force, even making Byrne feel an oppressive sensation akin to facing a giant.

"All right, you may begin," said the chairman.

With the chairman's voice, the new trade meeting immediately commenced.

And by the time this trade meeting had concluded, the enigmatic chairman let all the others go but asked Byrne to stay behind.

Byrne furrowed his brows slightly and turned his head toward the mysterious person whose true face remained hidden.

The ethereal voice of the chairman reached his ears.

"Mithril, I would like to make a trade with you."