Chapter 1 The Daru Clan's Inheritance

Suren watched the entire process of the Daru clan's ceremony, also witnessing the magical scene of their collective advancement.

It wasn't just a promotion in rank, but also a continuation of their heritage.

From this moment on, the Daru people had regained the protection of their god.

Which also meant that the Daru clan's lineage had been reconnected.

With power bestowed by a god and the protection of faith, the experts of the Daru clan would become more and more numerous. It was foreseeable that in the near future, the Daru clan would gradually regain its former glory.

Now they had sixth-tier professionals, and in the future, there would be seventh-tier, eighth-tier, and even higher Grand Druids born.

They had truly gained their own foothold.

Suren was genuinely happy for them from the bottom of his heart.

…

Suren looked at the light gate thoughtfully.

Were deities high-level life forms, similar to "high-dimensional beings"?

He had always thought so.

But feeling the descent of a wisp of the Nature God's will, he felt it wasn't that simple. Although he couldn't understand what he saw just yet, this experience gave him a sense of enlightenment in the depths of his being.

Mr. Mirror, who was beside him, also wore a thoughtful expression.

Standing at her height, she had obviously grasped even more.

…

The anomaly in the Sacred Lake plunged the entire Emerald Holy Land into an atmosphere of jubilation.

After a long time, the brilliant seven-colored glow gradually dissipated, and the mysterious will also disappeared behind the heavenly gate. The Daru people continued to pray devoutly for a long time.

After the ceremony, everyone came to the vicinity of the altar.

There was a black stone slab engraved with oaths.

This was a stone monument commemorating the alliance signed by Sir Isaac and the ancestors of the Daru clan a thousand years ago.

A thousand years ago, that demigod stood personally in the position where Suren and Mr. Mirror were now, and signed the oath with the Daru clan.

Now, Chieftain Deer, representing the Daru people, and Mr. Mirror and Suren together, offered flowers in front of the stone slab, proclaiming the everlasting friendship between humans and the Daru clan.

Before long, all the sacrificial rituals were completed.

Chieftain Deer and Granny Wolf led a group of elders away from the Sacred Lake.

Mr. Mirror also left.

Only Yuta and Suren remained.

Suren was here for another matter, which was to draw a totem to suppress spiritual distortion.

Without others around, Yuta excitedly beckoned Suren to the altar, "Mr. Suren, come here!"

As soon as she said this, the solemn atmosphere immediately dissipated.

Suren also felt that without the Daru elders around, the atmosphere suddenly became much lighter.

But when he walked to the altar and saw Yuta reaching out to pull him up, he still asked, "Is this... alright?"

Before, Chieftain Deer and the others couldn't get close to the altar, and he also felt that as a human, it seemed a bit inappropriate for him to go up.

It was said that only Grand Druids summoned by the gods were qualified to step onto this altar.

Yuta naturally understood what he meant, and said with a smile, "The gods won't mind. Besides, it was originally permitted by divine decree."

After a pause, she blinked her eyes again and said, "However, you have to take off your shoes."

Hearing this, Suren looked at Yuta's bare feet, and then confidently took off his shoes and walked up.

The white stone altar was carved with various patterns of mysterious styles.

In the center was a human-faced sun totem, surrounded by flowers, birds, fish, trees, beasts, mountains, rivers... and all things in the world.

Barefoot on it, it was slightly rough.

Suren looked at Yuta's restless little feet and knew that her sacrificial dance on it just now probably wasn't that easy either.

Yuta pulled Suren to sit on the altar, her pretty face no longer as solemn as before.

She breathed a sigh of relief, "Huff... I was so worried that something would go wrong during the ceremony just now. But thankfully, it didn't. Otherwise, I'd probably get scolded by Granny Wolf again."

Suren didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

She was already the highest-ranking "Grand Druid" in the Daru clan, but she still looked afraid of Granny Wolf. Childhood memories were indeed profound.

The altar was right by the lake, and from above, he could clearly see the emerald-like lake.

He hadn't seen it clearly from a distance before, but now here, Suren realized that the lake seemed bottomless.

He found it a bit unbelievable and casually asked, "Yuta, how deep is the Sacred Lake?"

Yuta thought for a moment and said, "I heard the elders in the clan say that the Sacred Lake has no bottom. It seems to be connected to another dimension."

Another planar passage?

Hearing this, Suren couldn't help but take another look, but he couldn't see anything special.

He then asked, "Are we going to start drawing the totem now? What do I need to do?"

Without the elders around, Yuta seemed very relaxed, smiled lightly, and casually said, "Just take off your top."

Then she took out the prepared materials, placed them on the altar, and said, "I'll be borrowing divine power to draw the Eclipse Sun (Shi Ri), so it might take a long time. And it might hurt a little. Mr. Suren, you need to be prepared."

"Okay."

Suren nodded and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Yuta looked at Suren sitting upright and couldn't help but giggle, "You don't have to be so serious. The gods can feel the sincerity of their believers, so they don't really mind many formalities..."

Before she could finish her words, a rare playful look appeared on her face. She was probably a bit resentful of Granny Wolf's painstaking training these past few days, those complicated sacrificial procedures...

As she spoke, she had already prepared the necessary materials and then began to pray.

Before long, a gap opened up again above the heavenly gate, and a seven-colored ray of light shone down.

But this time it was different from before. There was only one beam of light, like a spotlight, illuminating only Suren and Yuta on the altar.

As the seven-colored light shone down, Yuta's aura became ethereal again.

Suren also felt warm and comfortable.

However, as Yuta moved the rune pen across his body to draw the totem, Suren immediately felt a slight burning pain.

Fortunately, it wasn't too intense. He calmed down and closed his eyes to meditate.

…

The totem drawing lasted for an entire day.

When Suren was still immersed in meditation, he suddenly heard Yuta's triumphant cry in his ear, "Done!"

Suren opened his eyes and saw the finished product. His gaze was immediately drawn to it.

The totem on his chest was the Eclipse Sun (Shi Ri) from before, a black sun pattern.

But it felt completely different now.

Before, it was just an ordinary tattoo-like pattern, but now, he felt like he had sealed a burning sun inside the pattern. The black lines looked like raging flames, so magical.

Suren carefully felt it and expressed his feelings, "I feel like this totem is alive. Is this what Chieftain Deer called the 'Totem Spirit'?"

"Yes! Just like my totem~"

Yuta nodded.

She also seemed very satisfied with her craftsmanship, gently stroking the outline of the totem with her fingers, and said, "This is a sacred rune totem, it already has spirituality. In the future, if you nurture it with your spiritual power, it will grow with you."

Hearing this, joy appeared in Suren's eyes.

With this totem, wouldn't his use of the Death God's phantom be unlimited?

Yuta suddenly changed the subject and said, "However, after all, it's all negative spiritual power overflowing from distortion, so there are some hidden dangers. In the future, the totem's spirituality will become stronger and stronger, and if you can't control it when it reaches a certain limit, it might usurp your role. But to be precise, those negative emotions are actually a part of you, they're just beyond the scope of what you can control right now. If you can make good use of them, like what the clan leader said, they can also be a great help..."

"Okay."

Suren didn't pay too much attention to it.

This was already an ideal situation.

With this totem, he wouldn't have to worry about spiritual distortion for at least a long time.

This time was enough for him to find other ways to completely solve the problem.

For example, the Daru clan's other lost sacred object, the Holy Grail of Fal, or the Spring of Youth on the overseas island that Mr. Mirror mentioned. Or other things with magical abilities. There seemed to be many options that could completely solve the problem of spiritual distortion. This world was far more wonderful than it seemed, with too many magical existences.

If all else failed, he could come back to the Emerald Holy Land and retire.

Enjoy the scenery, and have Yuta, this beautiful girl, to keep him company. That would be nice too.

However, witnessing the Daru clan's divine miracle this time had brought about some changes in his mindset.

If possible, Suren wanted to go further in the field of alchemy.

He wanted to stand at the pinnacle of this world and see the scenery.

Even, if possible, he wanted to see other planes.

To see the complete picture of this wonderful world.

…

After the pilgrimage to the Sacred Lake, the entire Daru clan was immersed in an atmosphere of joy.

They, who had originally prepared to migrate, no longer planned to leave. The various tribes of the Silent Forest sent young descendants to be trained as the new generation of druids.

And Yuta, who had been promoted to "Grand Druid", had been very busy every day since coming down from the Sacred Lake.

As the only person who could communicate with the gods, she needed to convey divine decrees to the clansmen and teach them the knowledge bestowed by the gods.

Only when she rested at night did she have time to sneak out to see Suren, have a chat, and be affectionate for a while.

Mr. Mirror was also very busy. The slave-catching activities in the Silent Forest wouldn't be completely extinguished just because of the Whale Shark Pirates' setback.

In the following half-month, several tribes received information about being attacked by slave-catching groups. Mr. Mirror would personally go to various places to intimidate and kill those slave-catching groups.

Therefore, she also learned from the information that several major slave trading companies in the Luyin Empire had offered a reward, inviting one of the "Ten Great Bounty Hunters" to deal with her.

However, Suren didn't need to worry.

Mr. Mirror wasn't in a hurry to leave, not only to protect the Daru clan, but also because the Emerald Holy Land had a better environment for recovery.

Her current strength meant that breaking through to the eighth tier was a matter of time. It didn't matter who the bounty hunter was.

Moreover, the current Daru clan truly had the protection of the gods. They weren't the weak clan that could be bullied and pushed around like before.

In the Emerald Holy Land, with the protection of the gods, and Yuta with the Magic Hair Pot, her battle prowess couldn't be judged by common sense.

Even Mr. Mirror bluntly said that she was very strong.

If those Luyin slave traders really assembled a large army to come, they would most likely be taught a lesson and start over.

During this time, Suren had also been listening to Yuta's lectures in the village, learning about the Daru clan's divinely transmitted techniques and cultural heritage.

Although the Way of Nature and alchemy were two different fields, the principles were interconnected at certain law levels.

After listening for a while, Suren gained a lot. He drew inferences and benefited greatly from his own cultivation.

However, Suren didn't plan to stay in the Emerald Holy Land for a long time.

His rank was too low, and he couldn't understand many things even if he heard them.

Advancement was the most urgent need at the moment.

He needed to find the inheritance of the "Rune Warlock" lineage, and then refine the replica of the Primordial Rune into advancement materials, and then prepare to advance to the fourth tier.

Suren had almost no threshold for advancement below the sixth tier. With Isaac's Alchemical Heart replenishing dark spiritual power, he was already in a state of overflowing energy. As long as he prepared the advancement materials, he could advance at any time.

Moreover, he also wanted to try his luck at Pirate City, to see where the Void Colossus of the King of the North Sea came from. If he could find some space-related materials or a suitable alchemical colossus for himself, it would be a great opportunity to improve his combat strength.

…

On this day, Suren met Mr. Mirror, who had just returned from outside.

He was also waiting for his senior sister to say goodbye in person before he prepared to leave the Emerald Holy Land.

The two walked in the forest of the Holy Land, with the chirping of birds in their ears.

"You plan to go to Pirate City? Well... it's good to go and see. This world is not just the Luyin and Mafa Empires. The North Sea has a large sea area, with many human territories and some other intelligent races. Alchemists should always see more, observing all things in the world..."

"When you leave the Silent Forest, you can contact Qian Tiao. She's been active in the sea area near Blizzard City recently. I heard it's quite lively there, and she has a fiery temper. You can take care of each other."

"..."

Mr. Mirror wasn't surprised that Suren was leaving, and instead supported him to travel around and see the world.

As they talked, the two walked to the edge of the forest.

Mr. Mirror suddenly thought of something, looked at Suren, and brought up an old topic, "I've thought carefully about your proposal for a 'Revolutionary Army', and I think it might really be necessary. Without the support of strong military force, a truly neutral land is just an ideal state. So you have to work hard to become stronger. You are my mother's personally taught disciple, and we need to work together to rebuild Dawn City in the future."

Hearing these earnest words, Suren showed a wry smile, "Okay."

Mr. Mirror continued, "So, I've also been thinking about future plans recently. I've made some changes to the plan. I sent Emily Kich to the Luyin Empire, and the people of the Reyes family followed. With the wealth accumulated in Old Lindon and some of my bloodline's background, they should be able to recreate a chamber of commerce quickly. Rebuilding Dawn City in the future will also require a lot of financial support..."

Hearing this, Suren roughly understood Mr. Mirror's plan.

The Reyes family was able to become a top chaebol in the harsh environment of Old Lindon, so the family head, Carnegie, definitely had strong skills. That kind of top business talent would quickly gain a foothold in the ground world as well.

Moreover, there was Mr. Black.

Suren thought of the old man who had helped him many times, and his mind was always filled with his deep eyes full of wisdom.

Mr. Black was the most impressive wise man Suren had ever met, and his strength was also very strong.

He was even the number one person in the Mirror Organization other than his senior sister.

"Oh, and one more thing."

Speaking of this, a rare hint of playfulness flashed in Mr. Mirror's crystalline eyes.

After a pause, she said, "Emily Kich asked me to tell you that your succubus maid also went to the Luyin Empire with him. Emily Kich also praised her as a genius in intelligence. So... what I want to tell you is that your people are also my people now."

"..."

Suren's expression was slightly strange as he listened.

He himself didn't really have any long-term plans before.

It was Shabina who said she wanted to play a role and wanted to build an intelligence network for Suren like the Umbrella organization.

It was originally just a casual move, but now it happened to be in line with Mr. Mirror's plan.

Now that Mr. Black and the others were traveling with her, he didn't need to worry about her safety either.

Suren thought it was just right.

However, his senior sister's tone seemed to be a bit teasing?

…

"Alright, I'll send you here."

"Okay."

"Be safe."

"Okay. Take care too, senior sister."

"..."

Mr. Mirror sent Suren to the edge of the Holy Land, and the two had finished talking.

At the end of the forest path, there were several Daru youths who had been waiting for a long time.

Since Suren was leaving, Chieftain Deer naturally had to arrange for someone to see him off.

The leading White Wolf clan youth was Yuta's younger brother, Aku.

Looking at Suren, his first sentence was, "Mr. Suren, my sister said that she has classes during the day, so she won't come to see you off."

Hearing this, Suren looked back at the direction of the Holy Land village to the north, his gaze slightly deep.

As if sensing something, the wolf claw necklace around his neck warmed slightly.

At the same time, in the Holy Land tree house, Yuta was giving a lecture to a group of young druids. Standing in front of the blackboard, she suddenly sensed something, and the pen in her hand stopped. Then she walked to the window, looked at the glow of the southern sky, and a gentle arc rose on the corner of her mouth as she murmured softly, "Mr. Suren, take care... See you next time."

Suren nodded to Aku, "Okay."

A group of people quickly traveled through the jungle.

…

During Suren's time in the Silent Forest, a "major event" that could be said to have shocked the world occurred in the North Sea.

That was, the Mafa Empire suddenly recognized the legitimacy of the King of the North Sea's kingship and announced the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

This originally sounded like an outrageous thing.

Because on that map of the "Kingdom of the North Sea", the vast majority of the land marked was the territory of the Luyin Empire. If it was really going to be conferred, it should be the Luyin royal family's business. However, Luyin would never recognize some barbarians and pirates as legitimate forces.

Also because of this secret order, the situation in the North Sea suddenly became chaotic.

Although Luyin didn't recognize it, it didn't prevent the pirates from celebrating.

The aristocratic class of Luyin had become solidified, and almost no new top aristocrats would appear.

But now, an exception had appeared.

Oleg suddenly transformed from a pirate leader into a top aristocrat of the "King" level. This allowed countless great pirates and conspirators to see a "new route".

Encouraged by this, countless new pirate groups were formed, and pirate rookies rushed to board ships and poured into that blue sea...

They looted passing merchant ships and attacked various Luyin territories in the North Sea.

With advanced military equipment secretly supported by the Mafa Empire, the King of the North Sea's fleet even annihilated several official Luyin navy fleets that came to suppress the rebellion.

For a time, they were unparalleled in glory.

With the North Sea stirring up trouble, even the pirates in the West Sea and the South Sea began to revel.

The "Great Pirate Era" in the mouths of the pirates had arrived.

…

A few days later, Suren returned to Blizzard City.

This only human city "Blizzard City" on the edge of the Silent Forest had also been completely occupied by pirates.

As soon as he entered the city, he heard another shocking news: the King of the North Sea's Ninth Fleet had been completely annihilated!

And what was surprising was that the Ninth Fleet was annihilated not by the official Luyin navy, but by Duke Raphael's fleet.

With Oleg claiming the title of King of the North Sea, the Northern Lands were in chaos.

Duke Raphael, a previously unknown sea area lord, revealed his hidden and powerful combat strength for the first time!