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The mumbling and roaring gradually blurred, the surroundings a dark gold, like chaos. Ren Yu felt a subtle pull, his spiritual intuition stirred. Following the pull, he seemed to break through a certain constraint, and accompanied by a loud cry, he opened his eyes.
What met his eyes was a circular hall covered in murals and elaborate decorations. A gentle blonde lady with a slightly pale face was looking at him, and a middle-aged man with a stern, naturally imposing face pushed aside the people dressed as servants around him and walked towards him eagerly. Beside him, an ancient-looking iron-black token split open from the center, but no one noticed.
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After midnight, Osel, bustling and prosperous during the day, fell into silence. Even with such good public order now, there were few pedestrians.
Aaron believed this was partly due to the existence of Beyonder powers in this world, containing too many unstable factors. For wild Beyonders, the nights in Osel might face stricter surveillance and searches. Even ordinary people who hadn't come into contact with Beyonder powers also gave up the idea of going out because of various folklore stories about strange disappearances in the deep dark night.
On the other hand, even though Emperor Roselle made many inventions and creations in the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, the cost of large-scale production and transportation of electricity was still huge. Even prosperous Osel could not provide lighting throughout the entire city all night; only the sides of the main thoroughfares would supply electricity all night, while the remaining sections could only use gas lamps for emergency lighting.
Standing on a tall building beside the top floor of a tall round tower covered in red copper rust and bristling with swords, spears, and halberds, Aaron withdrew his gaze overlooking Osel. He glanced at the tall round tower not far away, then looked up at the crimson blood moon in the sky, his thoughts racing.
"It's been 15 years since I arrived. In these 15 years, not yet having reached the appropriate age, I still can't participate in the family's advancement ceremony. Secretly collecting materials to concoct potions is easily suspicious and hard to explain. I can only learn the languages of the Northern and Southern Continents to be fully prepared for the future."
"Now, Loenese, Feysac, Intisian, and Highlander languages are basically mastered. Hermes, Jotun, and Dutanese languages have also been introduced. I'm just waiting to consume the potion and become a Beyonder. It is now April 30th, 1346. There are still over 3 years until the Cat Worm awakens in Sefirah Castle. I must hurry."
That's right, Ren Yu, or more accurately, his name should now be Aaron Weil. At the end of the slumber recovering from the backlash, Ren Yu, guided by his spiritual intuition, descended to become the eldest son of the current Duke of East Chester in the Loen Kingdom, the future helmsman of the East Chester family, and was named Aaron Weil.
Speaking of the East Chester family, one must mention the first Duke of East Chester, Varna Weil. He rose in the late Fourth Epoch, at the end of the War of the Four Emperors, with Osel, the current capital of East Chester County, as his base. Along with the four great noble families from the Tudor-Trunsoest United Empire era—Einhorn, Augustus, Sauron, and Castiya—he divided the Northern Continent, hunted down the Tudor and Trunsoest royal families, and pursued the nobles who supported Solomon and Tudor.
In the century-long Northern Continent conflict, Ancestor, the first Duke of East Chester, Varna Weil, was promoted along the Red Priest pathway to Sequence 2 "Weather Warlock," achieving the status of an Angel. This made him, and thus the East Chester family became an Angel family.
After the great war ended, the four great noble families—Einhorn, Augustus, Sauron, and Castiya—respectively established the Feysac Empire, the Loen Kingdom, the Intis Empire, and the Feynapotter Kingdom.
Due to the existence of Ancestor Varna Weil, the founder and protector of Loen, the first king, William Augustus I, signed a contract with Ancestor Varna Weil. East Chester County and its affiliated southern seas joined the Loen Kingdom, but retained autonomy and partial military power, and was granted the title Duke of East Chester.
Leaning against the wall, Aaron recalled the records in the family's ancient texts and couldn't help but sigh with emotion in his heart. East Chester County, which was almost non-existent in the original work, actually had an Angel family.
"Always remember this is a real world. Future actions must not be guided by empiricism. Be calm, be calm, and be full of reverence for the unknown," Aaron thought to himself.
"Tomorrow is May. The family takes the month when the ancestor was promoted to Angel as the month of Beyonder enlightenment for the younger generation. All eligible family juniors who aspire to walk the path of a Beyonder can come to this ancestral tower and consume the potion under the supervision of the family's Beyonders to become a Beyonder."
"As the eldest son of the Duke of East Chester, the future helmsman of the East Chester family, it is necessary to become a Beyonder to successfully inherit the title. The family mainly controls Sequences 2 to 9 of the Red Priest pathway, Sequences 4 to 9 of the Black Emperor pathway, Sequences 4 to 9 of the Arbiter pathway, as well as several other incomplete pathways."
"Interestingly, according to the family's ancient texts, the potion formulas and rituals for Sequences 4 to 9 of the Black Emperor pathway and the Arbiter pathway were obtained by Ancestor, the first Duke of East Chester, Varna Weil, at the end of the War of the Four Emperors in the Fourth Epoch, by slaying several Sequence 4 Fallen Counts and Law Magicians."
"Unfortunately, I have already merged with the Sefirah 'Nation of Disorder'. If I were to take the Red Priest pathway, I would likely lose control and go mad on the spot. I can only choose between the Black Emperor pathway and the Arbiter pathway."
"The subsequent potions and rituals for the Black Emperor pathway can be found in Backlund by locating the Black Emperor card, but the requirements for the Black Emperor's ascension ritual are too stringent, and it is equivalent to completely cutting off the hope of resurrection for my fellow countryman, Huang Tao, Roselle Gustav."
Aaron closed his eyes and recalled, "Moreover, the Black Emperor's ascension ritual requires possessing 3 portions of the Sequence 1 'Prince of Abolition' Beyonder characteristics and the Black Emperor Uniqueness, owning one's own kingdom, linking one's name with the title of Emperor, making it common knowledge among the populace, and furthermore, establishing a strict and complex set of rules that deviate from normal circumstances, including but not limited to architectural styles, laws and regulations, etc."
"Then, drive the populace, secretly build nine pyramid-like mausoleums, and then, enter one of them. In corresponding sacrificial rituals participated in by the vast majority of the populace, scattered across different cities, consume the Sequence 0 potion."
Aaron frowned. "Such an ascension ritual is simply impossible to achieve with the current state of the Northern and Southern Continents. Just having one's own kingdom, linking one's name with the title of Emperor, and making it common knowledge among the populace—this is nearly impossible now that the Northern and Southern Continents have been divided by various countries for a thousand years."
"Although the ruling class is corrupt, their grip on power is difficult to shake. To split off and establish one's own kingdom surrounded by various countries and under the gaze of deities is almost impossible. It's like facing an Outer Deity directly; it's like hitting a rock with an egg, courting death."
Thinking of this, Aaron looked up at the red moon in the sky, as if seeing pairs of indescribable eyes hovering in the vast cosmos, peering down at the earth.
"Hmph, Outer Deities, what immense pressure. Fortunately, my current soul has already merged with the Sefirah 'Nation of Disorder'. Even though I haven't stepped onto the Beyonder path yet and cannot significantly mobilize power while not within the Sefirah, relying on the status of the Sefirah and the 'Nation of Disorder's' instinctive distortion of rules is enough to shield and isolate the senses of Outer Deities."
"The conditions for ascension along the Black Emperor pathway are stringent and require a long time. Moreover, the whereabouts of the Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic and Uniqueness are also unknown. The apocalypse is approaching, there's no time to waste. Since that's the case, I can only choose the Arbiter pathway. The subsequent potion formulas and rituals can be searched for slowly." Having made up his mind, he no longer hesitated and returned to his bedroom to rest.
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