From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

"Great Lord of the Lost, please allow us to return to the Fischer family, we wish to offer You mysterious rare artifacts!"

Avoiding the likes of Aldrich and others, Byrne knelt on the ground, silently praying.

The two forbidden rare artifacts he had obtained from Bast had never found the opportunity for a sacrifice, but now, because of that black Fog, he finally had the chance to return to his family.

In Byrne's heart, he felt that he at least had to offer the mirror and the giant sword to the Lord of the Lost.

Afterward, he and Chris would also be able to obtain the rune power contained within them.

Having already stepped onto the 4th Rank, Byrne had long been able to obtain a second rune power, only he had never had the chance to do so.

He prayed again, from the depths of his heart.

Great Lord of the Lost!

Please let us return to the Fischer family!

Chris also knelt on the ground, closed his eyes, and silently prayed to the god who sheltered their family.

However, after their prayers, they received no response whatsoever.

"What's going on?"

"It seems the Great Lord of the Lost is not responding to us."

Byrne felt somewhat disappointed, and Chris also shook his head slightly, sighing.

In fact, Karl didn't feel that he needed to respond to every request, at least he felt deep down that he definitely should not let the people of the Fischer family think of him as a mere tool.

In fact, he could clearly feel that although the members of the Fischer family still maintained reverence and worship, the hearts of some Daybreakers had undergone transmutation.

A few Daybreakers were more simply worshiping the power itself, rather than maintaining sufficient awe of him.

These people indeed still had a faint faith, but their light points on the virtual map were dim and lightless, as if they might disappear at any moment.

For example, the merchant Colin who had embarked on the Path of Contract, and Inna from the news agency, both of their faiths had become very faint.

Perhaps one day, the faith of Colin and Inna will completely disappear.

If it really came to that, Karl would refuse to provide them with more power.

Although he had not always cared much about the strength or weakness of faith, providing power to those who had no belief in him at all was unlikely.

Lucius was an exception, after all, at that time, the Fischer family really had no other pillar of support.

However, Karl was also very clear that the white Fog usually came only once every few months; if they didn't resolve the issue this time and let Byrne and others escape their predicament, he would not know when the next opportunity would be.

The next moment, the black Fog appeared once again beside Byrne and Chris.

Only, it wasn't them who were transported away, but the forbidden rare artifacts they were carrying that disappeared; the mirror and the giant sword that Bast had carried were all transported by Karl to Lilian's side.

Byrne and Chris looked at each other and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Although they had not returned to their family, the Great Lord of the Lost had accepted the sacrifice of the forbidden rare artifacts.

"It seems the Great Lord of the Lost has His own plans!" Byrne earnestly said.

On the Fischer family's side.

Lilian, in the cellar, did not call for others, but immediately proceeded with the sacrifice, offering the giant sword and the mirror in entirety to the Great Lord of the Lost.

"Great Lord of the Lost, they must have been offered by my father and Chris, please rescue them from their plight!"

"Could it be that we have not done well enough, so You continue to give them trials and tribulations?"

She bowed her head, sinking into deep thought, appearing more helpless than ever before.

Here it comes!

Then, Karl greedily absorbed the Spiritual Power, fully consuming the Spiritual Power from the mirror and the giant sword, experiencing a thoroughly delightful happiness that reached every part of his soul, yet he did not feel any sign of the 5th Seal loosening.

Clearly, the more advanced the stage, the more Spiritual Power was needed, and he had long since accepted this fact.

Byrne and Chris didn't have to wait for long, the thick white Fog had not yet dissipated.

Finally, Byrne felt a new power emerging, no, not just one, but two!

Green and grey light swirled within his eyes, as he gained new rune powers!

Karl not only transferred the power of the meteorite but also extracted the power of the giant emerald sword and the Hand of Aging, passing the authority to Byrne.

Byrne's ascent on the God Pantheon stairway is the Path of Knowledge, which severely lacks stable offensive power for its Extraordinary Exponents. However, the Sword Qi of the giant sword's emerald wind, with a power close to that of the meteorite and capable of multiple attacks at a faster rate, is much better.

With Byrne's current Spiritual Power, he can unleash twelve strikes of Sword Qi in one battle, each with power equal to half the strength of a meteorite but much faster in speed.

As for the power of the "Hand of Aging," it is incredibly potent, able to strip lifespan with a touch—an extraordinary power no doubt well suited to be combined with "spatial-type" rune power.

As long as Byrne performs instantaneous movement, he can achieve unimaginable feats in combat through the "Hand of Aging" at close range.

Theoretically, even the legendary Duke Black Iron of the Cyart people would not dare to withstand a single strike from Byrne!

Byrne took a deep breath, deeply moved within his heart.

Everything for the Fischer family was bestowed by Him, and the family should return the favor as much as possible.

He looked towards Chris and said, "Speaking of which, do you find it strange that our Lord has not let us return to the Fischer family?"

"I think this may be a trial, a test, He hopes that we rely on our own strength and wisdom to escape this predicament!"

Byrne pondered deeply, when suddenly his eyes lit up.

"In fact, I've realized something. No matter how high the standing of a priest from the Words of Tranquility Order might be, their strength at best would be at the Monarch Level. An extraordinary exponent of that caliber could never defeat the skeletal dragon we just faced."

"Therefore, I think the last challenge of the Path of the Dead is not about strength, but wisdom."

Byrne understood more and more that the first challenge of the Path of the Dead was patience; one aiming to become a priest must be able to wait in the valley for the dense white Fog that comes every few months.

The second challenge was to maintain a tranquil mind, to prevent wandering thoughts on the Path of the Dead.

As for the last challenge, it was... wisdom!

The Path of the Dead, which only bred misfortune due to errant thoughts.

So that's how it is.

He took a deep breath, already confident in the precise answer to pass the trial.

Byrne nodded slowly and said to Chris while looking at him intently, "I've figured it out, let's head to the Path of the Dead quickly. Who knows how much longer this white mist will hold."

When they managed to return after much difficulty, they saw the elegant Aldrich looking at them and saying calmly, "I have found a way to get through the final challenge."

Byrne was slightly startled, then immediately said, "I have thought of it too."

Then the two looked at each other and nodded lightly, both realizing that they were thinking the same thing.

Just then, they suddenly noticed that the thick white Fog around them was beginning to dissipate, so they made their way to the wall without hesitation and in silence.

Finally, they arrived once more at the Path of the Dead.

They traversed the seemingly boundless sea of white flowers once again.

Finally, they saw the pristine skeletal dragon and its mighty white jade sword once more, still emanating a terrifying oppressive force!

Even the power possessed by a Monarch powerful expert seemed insignificant before that blade!

Aldrich and Byrne exchanged looks again, nodding to each other as they conceived their plan in their minds.

After a few breaths, two terrifying beasts suddenly fell from the sky!

One was like a black giant ape, its muscles throbbing like rock, while the other was a serpent monster with seven heads, extremely massive, stretching hundreds of meters from head to tail!

It worked!

In the imaginations of Byrne and Aldrich, these beasts were very hostile to humans, but even more so to dragons and the undead, which is why both creatures attacked the skeletal dragon the moment they appeared!

In the silent world, the three monsters fought frenziedly. The skeletal dragon wielding the greatsword was suppressed, but it could not be killed, as any "injuries" would automatically heal.

They took this opportunity to approach the gateway, and as Chris turned back one last time, he looked calmly at the white jade greatsword in the clutches of the skeletal dragon, deep in thought.

Now was not the time, but one day he would return to take that sword.

They entered the gateway together, leaving the Path of the Dead, the next moment feeling the world spinning, as if everything around them was collapsing and reconstructing.

Byrne felt as if everything in his perception had vanished.