From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The sea surface sparkled, and a gentle breeze blew, bringing with it a hint of coolness.

Ian stood calmly on the beach at the edge of the island, surrounded by many followers of the Sea God Cult.

Gazing into the distance, he could see a swath of azure sea stretching to the horizon, with pristine clouds drifting across the blue sky, as if it was the most perfect palette between heaven and earth.

The followers of the Sea God Cult worshipped devoutly, yet none knew that their leader, High Priest Ian, was actually a core member of the Dawn Church.

That was truly the ultimate irony.

All they knew was that the living conditions of the residents of the White Sea had indeed improved significantly during this period: there were fewer outsiders calling for their deaths, and they had also obtained many resources through trade.

Although they were still far from a time when everyone in the White Sea could be well fed, the people were confident that this year, fewer would die of starvation in the winter.

Furthermore, High Priest Ian was the most divinely blessed priest of his generation.

Deities often performed miracles around him, and at least a few thousand natives of the White Sea had witnessed them with their own eyes, so people secretly called him "the man favored and loved by the Sea God".

With closed eyes, Ian pondered for a long time before suddenly opening them and turning to say to the surrounding followers:

"Hand over their relics to me, and you all may step back."

"I will return their relics to our Sea God."

The followers all stepped back, leaving only three people by Ian's side—on the surface, they were his personal guards.

But in reality, all three were Blood Receivers of the Dawn Church, including one who had reached Daybreaker status of the 3rd Rank.

"Let's go."

After a while, Ian led several Blood Receiver guards of the Dawn Church onto a wooden boat to set out to sea.

A few hours later, they arrived at a nearby island where Lilian had been waiting.

"Well done, Ian."

Lilian, with her hair dyed black, nodded. She calmly looked at Ian, who had grown up without her realizing it, and stretched out her hand as if to a child.

"With this great achievement, you should soon be able to rise to a higher rank."

"It's not my merit—it's all thanks to Lord of the Lost's blessing, as you know. All destinies are determined by Him."

Ian bowed respectfully to Lilian and then presented the seven Mysterious rare artifacts he had salvaged.

There were four of Treasure class status and three of Forbidden class.

They were a ring emanating a dark purple glow, an empty Dark Blue box, and a completely transparent short sword.

Seeing those three Forbidden rare artifacts caused some stir among those present. For any family, a Forbidden rare artifact was a highly valuable treasure.

Not to mention three of them?

Lilian was well aware that they had belonged to High Priest Sky Blue, Sage Dark Blue, and the unnamed foreign middle-aged man.

"Very good."

She nodded with satisfaction.

"The great Lord of the Lost will surely be pleased with the sacrifice to come. You have all done quite well."

Ian nodded, then took out two more items and said with a respectful bow:

"Oh, and Great Priest, we have also salvaged a waterproof letter and a special token, both of which I believe are quite important and need to be personally delivered to you."

"Oh?"

Lilian nodded, received them, and began to examine them, her brows furrowing deeply soon after.

The waterproof letter contained communication between the Sage Dark Blue and the Stars Embrace Order, who had conducted several transactions between them, with the Sea God Cult's Mysterious rare artifacts being taken away by the Stars Embrace Order on several occasions.

In the letter, both sides also mentioned another mysterious person.

"Her."—Words of Tranquility.

Sage Dark Blue and the Stars Embrace Order mentioned in the letter that "her" ambitions were immense, so the two sides should prepare in advance against Words of Tranquility.

"Ambitions of Words of Tranquility..."

Lilian sank into thought, recalling the followers of Words of Tranquility she had encountered years ago. In recent years, Words of Tranquility seemed to have suddenly vanished.

Had "her" ambitions come to an end?

As for the special token that had been salvaged, it was unfamiliar to her—an object that appeared to be a silver-plated disc with the word "Imperial Guard" inscribed on it. Continue your adventure at empire

"What is this?"

She froze for a moment, then suddenly remembered that the middle-aged man's accent leaned towards Seven Stars. Legend had it that there were twenty-five mighty "Emperor's Imperial Guards" by the side of the Seven Stars Emperor, each possessing the powerful strength of Monarch Level.

Not only were they exceptional in individual strength, but they were also masters of coordination, creating significant contributions in multiple wars, even inciting fear among the Lorne citizens.

Could it be that the middle-aged man was one of them?

"If he truly was an Imperial Guard of the Seven Stars Emperor, that makes the situation rather special."

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She took a deep breath and remembered the mightiest knight of the civilized world, the "Military God" of the Seven Stars Empire, His Majesty Miller Corsica, and couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation on her scalp.

The indisputable strongest being on the Ouden Continent.

If it weren't for that person who defied fate itself, the Lorne citizens would have long since completely conquered the Seven Stars.

"Since he is a member of the Seven Stars Emperor's Imperial Guards, why did he appear in Cyart... Traveling from the far north of the continent to the southeast, what exactly is his purpose?"

Lilian couldn't figure it out, as the information she had was simply too limited.

"But no matter what, fate is arranged by the great Lord of the Lost, and since He has arranged all this, there's no need for me to worry too much..."

She slowly shook her head.

"Ian, you did very well, this is all we need."

Lilian showed a smile, gently patted Ian on the shoulder, and said firmly:

"Don't worry, the great Lord of the Lost will surely guide the children of the White Sea through."

——

After returning to Fischer Manor, Lilian couldn't wait to start a new ritual.

"Oh great Lord of the Lost..."

Karl received the seven mysterious rare artifacts very quickly.

He felt an intense joy, for after having devoured a substantial portion of the Sea God, he was only one step away from breaking through the 5th Seal.

Now might just be the moment to break through the last barrier!

He absorbed the four treasure class mysterious rare artifacts in an instant, without even feeling anything special, Karl immediately understood that his threshold had become higher.

"Because absorbing them felt similar to consuming various foods, indeed, after absorbing high-quality 'gourmet food,' the threshold naturally increases, and the rune power condensed within them is quite ordinary and uninspiring."

"Indeed, it's time to look at the main attractions."

The three forbidden rare artifacts each had their differences.

The ring glowing with dark purple light was the "Ring of Telepathy," number 886.

The effect of the "Ring of Telepathy" was simple and yet extremely powerful: it could temporarily raise one's extraordinary power by a level! The duration was roughly around two minutes!

Some treasure class mysterious rare artifacts did have similar effects, but they were ineffective on Monarch powerful experts.

Only forbidden rare artifacts could allow Monarchs at that level to receive such a significant temporary boost in power.

The cost was ten years of one's lifespan!

In terms of cost-effectiveness, it was actually very high.

"Back then, Great Sage Sky Blue temporarily raised the toxicity by a level, nearly poisoning Chris to death... However, Lilian's 'Spirit-returning Tree' is indeed very effective."

The totally transparent short sword was "Sword of Assimilation," number 5821, from the middle-aged man who was suspected to be a member of the Seven Stars Imperial Guard.

Its effect was quite special; the user had to sacrifice two years of their lifespan and then stab the "Sword of Assimilation" into someone's body.

In the next month, the person who was stabbed would gradually become more and more like the holder of the "Sword of Assimilation". If the other person's willpower was not strong enough, they would eventually become a clone of the holder of the "Sword of Assimilation."

"But those who have ascended to Monarch have sufficient willpower, otherwise they wouldn't have been able to push open the gate... So it can only affect the weak."

"The middle-aged man didn't use it in the fight because it was simply not necessary."

Karl pondered, then checked the last forbidden rare artifact.

The strangest was that empty box, number 2241, which was named "Dying Words."

The user could leave a spell they wish to use in the box in advance, and if they were to die, that spell would automatically activate and its effects would be greatly enhanced.

After activating "Dying Words," even the most ordinary fireball could have the terrifying power to destroy a village. Unfortunately, there was still a limit to the enhancement; ordinary Monarch powerful experts could not rely on the power of "Dying Words" to affect those at the level of Heavenly Enlightenment.

It was with this that Sage Dark Blue successfully managed to awaken the Sea God, who was already close to awakening.

The cost of using this forbidden rare artifact was a portion of the user's soul.

"Indeed, forbidden rare artifacts are good stuff, and after my absorption, when they become rune power, the cost will become... free."

Soon, he was eagerly absorbing the three forbidden class mysterious rare artifacts, and a vast amount of Spiritual Power rushed into him.

"It's that feeling again!"

Karl immediately felt an extremely pleasant sensation, as if first the aroma from the "food" itself hit his nostrils, quickly arousing his appetite, followed by a wonderful stretch that filled him, the delicate texture and rich flavors made him unable to resist indulgence.

The last three courses of "feast" also reflected the tenderness of the meat, the freshness of the seafood, and the crisp, juicy freshness of the vegetables; each bite was like enjoying a banquet.

Immersed in this indulgent experience, Karl suddenly sensed something.

"It's enough!"

The surging Spiritual Power finally destroyed the tottering Seal!

The 5th Seal, broken!

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