From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The drawing room was spacious and brightly lit. Byrne sat on the soft sofa under the crystal light, his heart shocked. Could the fat old man before him have already successfully reached the mid-level of Transmutation?

He knew that for traditional Extraordinary Exponents, starting from Level 2, it became increasingly difficult to grow stronger and reach higher levels.

Firstly, it required personal talent and persistence. Besides that, it also depended on resources and the support of legacies, and finally, even a bit of indispensable luck.

Baron Leander was someone who had hardly ever fought in his entire life, relying entirely on the Magic Potion's family fortune to pile up to the Transmutation Level, reaching the low-level Transmutation was basically his limit.

Could he have really advanced to the mid-level? According to Leander himself, it was because he had obtained some immense benefit from the Spirit Realm.

Byrne had heard something, the hidden organization named "Black Eyes" was spreading methods on how to stably enter the Spirit Realm in Cyart.

The sea merchant John had once mentioned that it was possible to obtain, that stable method of entering the Spirit Realm, it must be the same approach.

It seems that Baron Leander must have also purchased the intelligence from "Black Eyes". Byrne was sufficiently composed; his face did not reveal the slightest hint of his surprise and confusion.

"Baron Leander, congratulations! I believe you will not stop here and that there will come a day when you will take one more step, reaching the high-level Transmutation. By then, you will be able to sit as equals with those big shots of the East Coast Province!"

His words contained little sincerity, but Baron Leander listened with great pleasure, his eyes filled with uncontrollable glee.

"Heh, perhaps, who knows? There might really be such a day, after all, the world has changed from what it once was."

"The major churches and pillar families control almost all the resources and legacies, yet the Spirit Realm is full of endless opportunities. Our future is unpredictable!"

When Baron Leander said this, his tone carried a sense of anger at the large powers' monopoly on advancement opportunities.

Byrne was well aware of the situation described by the other party. The important resources and powerful legacies of the Eastern Four Kingdoms were almost entirely held by the Ten Great Pillars and the major churches.

Everyone knew that Monarch Level powerful experts were extremely rare and had always only been born within pillar families, major churches, and secret organizations.

For a hundred years, members of certain small and medium-sized families, even if they possessed exceptional talent, astonishing wisdom, and perseverance, had no chance whatsoever of reaching Level 3.

They either married into large families or were absorbed into the church's clerical system, henceforth, under the watch of the deities, they separated from the worldly powers.

"They must be afraid of the existence of the Spirit Realm," Byrne said in a deep voice, leaving Baron Leander at a loss for words.

He suddenly smiled and, looking at the puzzled Baron Leander, continued.

"For a hundred years, the total dominance of the Ten Great Pillars over the Ouden Continent's east will sooner or later be broken; the 'barriers' man-made have been breached by the existence of the Spirit Realm."

"Those who reach Monarch Level without the support of the pillar families, major churches, and secret organizations, but through the gifts of the Spirit Realm will inevitably emerge!"

Baron Leander gaped for a while, then burst into loud laughter.

"Exactly! It's an era of unprecedented change! Those who have long decayed should be the ones afraid!"

"And once there is a first, there will be a second. Sooner or later, everything in Cyart, even the whole Ouden Continent, will change completely!"

Byrne smiled without continuing the conversation, as he had just voiced Baron Leander's inner thoughts.

In fact, even if one day there emerged a Monarch powerful expert that didn't belong to the major forces, it wouldn't be Baron Leander or have anything to do with him at all.

But these words truly exhilarated and delighted Baron Leander, who had just had his power and status enhanced through a breakthrough in the Spirit Realm, and whose emotions were somewhat unstable.

As a result, he found himself warming up to Byrne, even developing a peculiar illusion that the other could understand him.

Baron Leander narrowed his eyes to discuss serious matters: "In fact, I came to talk about something, I'd like to take some people to the forest near Ourde Village."

That forest is now controlled by the Fischer family. Without their permission, outsiders cannot enter at will.

Although Baron Leander had improved his strength to the mid-level Transmutation, he clearly had no experience in stealth and hiding.

He also didn't know if the Fischer family had set up warning barriers in that forest and didn't want to rashly intrude, accidentally causing a big fuss and then being caught by Fischer's people, causing a misunderstanding.

Byrne smiled, neither immediately refusing nor consenting, but instead he countered with a question, "Why? I need a good enough reason."

Baron Leander hesitated for a moment, then continued:

"Actually, a mysterious creature has run into that forest. I had been chasing it, but accidentally lost track, allowing it to run into the Fischer family's territory in the end."

"Hmm, it's a 'gray horn deer,' and its horns and skin are Class 2 Extraordinary Materials. I can share a portion with you."

He paused, then added, "After it hid in the jungle near Ourde Village, it never came out again, and to avoid conflict with you, I came here to communicate with you in advance."

Byrne nodded, feeling that Baron Leander seemed to be lying.

If it were the Baron Leander of the past, no one would have easily detected his lies, but now his hands shook continuously and his gaze was erratic. His expression twisted a bit as he had spoken the words just now.

The old man's demeanor was odd. Quietly mulling it over, Byrne was certain that something had happened to him.

Seeing that Byrne didn't respond, Baron Leander fell silent for a while, then suddenly said:

"The Spirit Realm is a marvelous place, you know? I actually died there once."

Died?

Byrne was slightly taken aback, knowing that there were many outcomes for one's consciousness after death in the Spirit Realm.

But none of them were good.

Some people would fall into a coma for several months and wake up mentally scattered, needing a long time to recover, while others would suffer a mental breakdown and become completely insane. In the most severe cases, a person's soul could be utterly annihilated, ceasing to exist in any world at all.

There was also a special case where some people would wake up and suddenly undergo a very peculiar mutation, falling into some mysterious existence.

They not only just died but were also contaminated and parasitized by the "residents" of the Spirit Realm.

The Spirit Realm contained all things unimaginable and endless secret treasures but was also fraught with equally considerable dangers.

"That feeling... was truly peculiar..."

Baron Leander, speaking to himself as if muttering in a low voice, sounded strange, and even gave off a spine-chilling vibe.

"After experiencing a wondrous death in the Spirit Realm, I awoke to find my family and friends all saying I had changed. Some even said I had gone a bit mad, but I feel good, better than ever, in fact."

"Some repressed, restrained, even fettered things in my mind finally broke free, and I feel lighter all over, all the time."

He stared into Byrne's eyes, his smile carrying an unhidden madness.

"It is said, some people become crazy or even turn into terrifying monsters when they wake up from death in the Spirit Realm."

"I think it's not that they have changed, maybe those people were merely slumbering in a daze for decades, and it was only after that they truly awoke!"

Byrne, sitting on the sofa, quietly listened to Baron Leander's words, feeling a slight chill down his spine. The old man with a bizarre smile in front of him was very strange.

In that twisted smile, there was definitely some sort of inhuman characteristic that was bone-chilling!

Is he really Baron Leander?

Or is it that the real "him" has woken up?

Byrne took a deep breath and nodded, "I agree to let you go to the jungle near Ourde Village to pursue that mysterious creature, Baron Leander, I don't want any reward. Consider it a gift to celebrate your successful reach to a new level."

"Is that so? That's wonderful! Hahaha! Thank you, Mr. Byrne!"

The old man appeared extremely joyful, his whole being seeming ready to leap for joy.

Byrne felt increasingly uneasy; this man's intent to enter that jungle was surely not as simple as just pursuing some common mysterious creature.

Exuberant, Baron Leander left, ready to call others to go to the jungle of Ourde Village to hunt the mysterious creature.

Byrne remained silent for a long time before having Vanessa summon Chris from the manor.

After Chris arrived in the parlor, Byrne mentioned the strange feelings he just had, then whispered:

"Chris, let's head to Ourde Village first, then wait there quietly for a while to see what exactly Baron Leander is looking for, or what he intends to do."

Chris, dressed in gray, nodded silently without any intention to ask further questions.

"Prepare for battle, Chris. Baron Leander, he might be looking to perform some sort of nefarious ceremony. I am very aware that his mental state is a bit abnormal."

Byrne even suspected that Baron Leander might already be a dangerous heretic of a secret cult.

"Fortunately, we are equally dangerous."