From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

Irene's successful ascent to the 3rd Rank was, without doubt, a surprise to the entire Fischer family, and everyone was delighted by it.

The Fischer family held a small-scale banquet at the manor, with many from the four towns who were on friendly terms with the family in attendance, and the Lion clan, despite the distance, sent representatives to express their sincerity as soon as possible.

Upon seeing those who had hurried from the Lion clan, all the banquet attendees couldn't help but ponder a question anew.

"Why, in the end, does the Lion clan value the Fischer family so much?"

"Perhaps, it really is an illegitimate child, but even if that's the case, Viscount Bast's attitude seems excessively cordial."

According to the Fischer family's public claim, Irene was a spellcaster with healing spellcasting talent, and she had never revealed any other spells in front of outsiders.

Many guests who participated in the Fischer family banquet took the opportunity to exchange information and swap intelligence with other guests.

And just as the banquet was about to end, a tall and handsome young man from the family secretly ran out of Fischer Manor.

Although Darren was only fifteen years old, he was already over one meter eighty tall; the obesity that had plagued him for a long time was nowhere to be seen, and he even bore a seven-tenths resemblance to the young Byrne, only more robust.

Since Erik's death, Darren had been forced to accept Byrne's even stricter tutelage. The Fischer family had adopted a set of stringent family rules drafted by the Lion clan and hired several tutors.

Years of painful torments wrought significant changes to Darren's body, and while he still enjoyed sweets, he had successfully slimmed down.

However, compared to before, he had become fearful of his father, rather than simply admiring the man.

Darren sneaked out to the small grove outside, where a beautiful blonde girl was squatting under a tree, hugging her knees and waiting silently; she looked up to see him and immediately broke into a joyful smile!

"You finally came, Darren! It's so cold outside; I've been waiting for you for so long!"

"Hahaha, haven't I come? Here, for you."

Darren walked over and handed over sweets he had pilfered from the banquet, stuffed them into the girl's mouth, took hold of his sweetheart's hand, and then, laughing, lifted her into his arms.

"Hahahahaha!"

They spun around on the spot, and the girl couldn't help but laugh as well.

"Let's go!"

Darren quickly led the girl to an inn in Nasir Town, where they entered a room that the owner regularly reserved for Darren.

Two youthful bodies quickly heated up.

The battle was imminent, and tens of minutes later, when they finally ceased, Darren suddenly heard the girl in his arms lift her small face to ask:

"Darren, when can I go to your house for a banquet too? Umm, you've seen my father, haven't you? He said he got an invitation from your family."

Darren was slightly taken aback, fell silent, and deep inside he felt genuinely irritated by the question.

Their relationship couldn't be exposed carelessly; his father and Aunt Irene would definitely interrogate him, and the consequences were unimaginable.

Seeing that Darren didn't answer, the girl bit her lip and asked again, "Can you marry me?"

Darren's face turned completely dark, and he said unpleasantly:

"I'm busy every day in the family, learning all kinds of knowledge, undergoing swordsmanship training, and dealing with so many things. I barely get to see you, and just when we were getting happy, you have to bring this up?"

"Don't be angry, it's my fault."

The girl stiffened for a moment, then immediately softened her attitude and clung to Darren, not daring to say more.

Darren also felt irritated, as he knew very well that marrying her was not something he could decide; it was up to the family elders.

Moreover, the person she should be asking was actually her father!

If her father were a member of some viscount family, there would be no obstacle to their marriage. Unfortunately, her father was merely a somewhat wealthy merchant, who would be thrilled to even receive an invitation from the Fischer family.

There was something Darren had always been afraid to say.

His position within the family was not that stable. Darren had thought that with his father's connections, he would inevitably become the head of the Fischer family.

But he had recently realized that his father never mentioned anything about the succession of the next family head, and his peers were also gradually growing up, which instilled a growing sense of crisis deep within him.

Furthermore, Darren had received a very unfortunate Consecution two years ago during his blessing.

The Path of Shadow, "Scapegoat."

His physical constitution and spirituality both improved evenly, yet beyond that, the "Scapegoat" consecution only bestowed upon Darren a rather useless extraordinary trait.

Darren could activate "Scapegoat" to consume Spiritual Power and draw misfortune from others through physical contact, thereby becoming unlucky in place of others!

Damn it!

With such a crappy consecution power, how could he possibly become the head of a family?

What's more, Darren could distinctly sense one thing—that his father didn't particularly like him embarking on the Path of Shadow. After emerging from the basement that day, his father had simply told him with a complex expression.

"Darren, if you want to become strong, do more for yourself. Maybe stepping onto the Path of Shadow isn't completely bad... but remember, no matter what, never do anything that harms the family."

The more he thought about these things, the more upset he felt. He took a deep breath, his voice low.

"Turn over."

He slapped the girl's buttocks, mounted her, pinning her arms behind her back.

"Ouch."

Hearing the girl's cry, Darren could feel a slight digestion of the Magic Potion inside him. He maintained his silence and didn't respond to her feeble resistance.

When it was time for them to part, Darren could see a bit of dark aura on the girl's body.

After contemplation, he still caressed her face, discreetly absorbing that bit of misfortune, feeling a sense of inner balance—feeling rather good about himself for treating her quite well.

Then, on the way home, Darren was injured by a horse that had been spooked and ran wildly, feeling as though his bones had cracked, he bared his teeth in pain.

"I'm so sorry, Young Master Darren, so sorry!"

"Actually, it's not your fault, but I still want to scold you, remember to be more careful in the future."

He was hoisted up by the terrified coachman, his eyebrows tightly knit, clearly feeling the activation of his Destiny's Trajectory "Sufferer," as a hint of white aura emerged around him.

The Destiny's Trajectory of the "Sufferer" meant that when one encountered misfortune, they would accumulate some good fortune, which would burst forth when faced with a lethal crisis, neutralizing the deadly danger.

However, Darren had been accumulating good luck for several years and had not yet encountered a time when he needed to use that luck, while the constant misfortunes had become an unbearable daily routine.

Inside Fischer Manor.

Byrne silently made notes on mystical knowledge, mainly about the creatures re-summoned from summoning spells and their summaries.

Vanessa's spellcasting talent had developed further, reaching the high-level Beginning, enabling her to now cast an additional type of summoning spell and generally strengthen the effects of various spells she performed.

"Regrettably, it seems very difficult for me to advance further."

In recent years, Byrne discovered that he was unable to assimilate the power of the 3rd Rank "Mysterious Scholar."

"According to the mysterious knowledge bestowed by the Lord of the Lost, anyone stepping on to the first four ranks of the God Pantheon stairway shouldn't find it overwhelmingly difficult. Only when attempting to ascend to the 5th Rank will they encounter real hardship."

The reason might be simple, he was too distracted, having to deal with many family matters, and not being wholeheartedly dedicated to acquiring knowledge and researching mysteries.

"At this rate, I'm afraid it will take me ten years to fully master the Power of Consecution of the 3rd Rank 'Mysterious Scholar.'

"Then again, if I want to speed up my mastery of this power, I could, but only if I could eschew the backstabbing and family affairs..."

He shook his head, for it was only because his father had not died that he had the opportunity to devote himself entirely to knowledge.

How could the Fischer family possibly manage without relying on him now?

"If Irene could step onto the 5th Rank of the Path of Divine Sacrifice, her life would extend, but unfortunately, she's running out of time."

It was not just that Irene herself was short on time, but also because it was only in recent years that she had summarized an effective method to cultivate the devout, which had delayed her own progress for a long time.

Nevertheless, with Irene's experiences, the successors of the Dawn Church would find it much easier to ascend to "Preacher."

Chris's situation, however, was distinctly different.

Half a year ago, Chris had indicated that he was about to completely grasp the Power of Consecution of the 3rd Rank!

Just as when he mastered the powers of the 1st Rank "Hunter" and the 2nd Rank "Assassin," Chris was advancing unimpeded on his path to becoming stronger, as if he was born for the Path of Tranquility. Byrne and Irene found it quite astonishing.

A genius!

Byrne could only summarize the situation surrounding Chris like this.

"It looks like Chris will step into the 4th Rank before I do. He really is too suited for the Path of Tranquility. The more one fits the path's essence, the easier it is to grasp the Power of Consecution. There's no need to pay too much attention to the path's intentions themselves."

He felt no jealousy, only knowing how critical this was; the Fischer family sorely lacked a truly strong Extraordinary Exponent.

If Chris could step onto the 4th Rank, he would possess an extraordinary power on par with those at the high-level Transmutation, and the entire situation for the Fischer family in the East Coast Province would change!

"Coupled with Destiny's Trajectory and rune power, as long as Chris reaches the 4th Rank, the Fischer family will become a significant player on the East Coast Province, no longer just pawns in other people's games."

He was acutely aware that Viscount Garcia had always wanted to uproot the Fischer family completely.

But because a series of powerful Extraordinary Exponents had fallen at the hands of the Fischer family, Viscount Garcia developed doubts and wariness, which kept him from taking real action.

In fact, Viscount Garcia's thoughts were correct; if he truly ventured into Nasir Town, he would inevitably be killed by Irene, who would sacrifice her lifespan to do so.

Late at night.

In the quiet of the night, Byrne left the family manor silently and made his way to the Fischer family cemetery.

There were many tombstones there, not just for the core members of the Fischer family, but also ordinary family soldiers were buried here after their deaths.

He stopped at Lucius's grave, looking at the flowers placed there by various people, and added a bunch of his own.

"I feel more and more like you, father, but yet I can never fully become you."

Afterward, Byrne moved to Erik's tombstone, where there were few flowers placed. He also silently took out a bunch, calmly laid them down.

"I'm sorry."

Upon his return to Fischer Manor, Byrne saw Chris and Irene waiting for him in the hall.

The silver-haired Chris stood calmly, his face devoid of expressions, his slender body possessing a different kind of beauty, like an angel fallen from the heavens.

"Chris, you're back!" A smile spread across Byrne's face.

A few months ago, after Chris declared that he was about to fully master the Power of Consecution of the 3rd Rank "Disguiser," he didn't tell anyone and silently left the family.

Now, he had returned.

"Byrne, there is extremely important good news about Chris," Irene said with a smile, her eyes brimming with immense joy.

Just seeing her expression, Byrne immediately understood what was happening, and deep inside, was thrilled!

The moment for the Fischer family's transformation had arrived!

He couldn't help but feel moved, clenching his hands tightly, his voice excited as he said, "Even faster than I had anticipated, Chris, you truly are a person born for the Path of Tranquility."

Chris nodded slightly, having successfully mastered all the power of the "Disguiser."

Only lacking the ritual method to step onto the 4th Rank, once he completed the ritual, he would be elevated to a new stage, possessing a power that wouldn't be inferior to those powerful viscounts!