Chapter 550: 506: The 7th Step "Lord of Fear

In a compact and slightly crowded room within Fischer Manor.

At this moment, several members of the Fischer family were seated around a table, their faces serious and focused, their eyes revealing an unmistakable sense of urgency. The air in the room was filled with a subtle tension, as if even breathing had become cautious.

Christine, the head of the White Fischer family, sat in a wheelchair, her hands crossed on the table, her gaze piercing as she scanned each person present.

Beside her, Felix’s face was resolute, his brow furrowed, occasionally tapping the tabletop lightly with his finger, producing a low, rhythmic sound.

Although he was one of Darren’s lineage, he often came to Nasir City. His eyes revealed his determination and resolve, as if he was brewing an important decision.

Sitting opposite him was a young man, High Priest Archer of the Dawn Church, whose eyes were also filled with an undeniable decisiveness.

His hands were clasped together on his knees, clearly also nervously contemplating the topic that was about to be discussed.

Several documents lay on the table, their edges slightly curled from frequent handling.

Christine pondered for a moment, picked up the documents, and suddenly said, “Recently, there have been too many incidents around Cyart. Now, not only do the Lorne citizens see us as a thorn in their side, but almost all powers are interested in us.”

“Some fear us and want to eliminate us, others are greedy for power and want to possess it… Of course, there are also those who choose to convert to the Lord of the Lost, although most are not out of true faith but still due to the temptation of the Power of Consecution. However, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, no matter what, we need to become stronger.”

Felix nodded, then asked, “The Dawn Church’s influence is expanding, so, how many people can we actually provide with the Power of Consecution?”

Christine quickly answered, “Actually, it’s impossible to give every person the Power of Consecution since the number of magic beasts is limited, and therefore, the amount of Extraordinary materials is limited as well…”

“Mainly because, after breaking ties with the Lorne people, we are extremely restricted in terms of diversity and high-quality Extraordinary materials. Previously, as long as we wanted to trade with the Lorne people, no matter the quantity, it was obtainable. Now, some materials, even if we have the money, we can’t manage to trade for them, and they aren’t available natively in the Eastern Ouden Continent.”

She paused, then continued, “We absolutely can’t satisfy everyone who covets the Power of Consecution.”

Archer suddenly said, “As long as we don’t speak of it externally, who would know?”

“Next, more and more people who desire power will come to Cyart to become members of the Dawn Church, and those people will become our strength.”

Christine nodded, “The number of entrants has been increasingly growing, even three Extraordinary Exponents at Monarch Level have come to visit, there are also spies from other forces, all kinds of ill-intentioned people have visited.”

“Fortunately, our Listeners can catch those guys; they can hear the inner voices of people with hostility around.”

Archer smiled and said, “Of those three Monarch Level Extraordinary Exponents, two are considering whether or not to join the Dawn Church… I believe I can influence them.”

“Because they all crave more powerful strength.”

After revealing the grand presence of the Lord of the Lost, Archer easily reached the 5th Rank.

And the 5th rank of the Path of Divine Sacrifice is the “Ascetic.”

The “Ascetic” in the Spirit Realm is an old man sitting cross-legged, his eyes closed, his expression exceedingly devout.

To reach the “Ascetic,” Extraordinary Exponents need to perform the ritual of “prolonged devotion,” a stable yet time enduring ritual, but maintaining “devotion” is something that is simple yet difficult…

It can only be said that those who are not devout will never reach the 5th Tier on the Path of Divine Sacrifice.

The “Ascetic” has a ratio of physical qualities improvements and Spiritual Power enhancements divided as forty-sixty.

And each “Ascetic” receives different Extraordinary powers, each receiving distinctly different “Ascetic Blessings” based on their personal experiences.

The “Ascetic Blessing” Archer received was the “Key of the Soul.”

Nasir only needed the name of a person to be able to send his thoughts to that person anywhere, anytime, and he could hear them if they responded. Then, Nasir could instantly pinpoint the person’s location regardless of where they were, even if they were not in this world.

Moreover, “Key of the Soul” consumed very little Spiritual Power.

Though this ability lacked combat power, it proved extremely useful.

When Nasir preached to his many followers, he could simultaneously speak to hundreds of people in his mind, and even when they went back home, they could still hear his whispers. When they were confused, they could also converse with Nasir through their minds.

Now, he could even directly communicate with those experiencing Heavenly Enlightenment… as long as he knew their names.

However, the voices of those undergoing Heavenly Enlightenment could not be transmitted back to him. Clearly, even the mere thoughts of the legendary enlightened ones carried Extraordinary Power.

Over these years, Darren and others had also ascended higher tiers.

The 7th Tier of the Path of Shadow was the “Lord of Fear,” involving a ritual that required spreading sufficient fear and branding one’s name as a “symbol of evil and terror,” akin to “Cyart’s demon.”

In terms of physical and Spiritual Power enhancement, the former accounted for three, and the latter for seven.

Its form in the Spirit Realm was a constantly changing shadowy figure.

The “Lord of Fear” possessed two types of Extraordinary Powers – the “Fear Aura” as a control mechanism and the more peculiar “Fear Embodiment.”

“Fear Aura” was a Passive Extraordinary Trait that activated without consuming Spiritual Power.

Anyone who saw the “Lord of Fear” needed to use their will to combat it; those with weaker wills would fall into states of panic and fear.

“Fear Embodiment” was an interesting ability that also required being seen to activate, consuming a substantial amount of Spiritual Power.

It could transform into— the most feared figure deep in the heart of the beholder!

This was a rather random special ability; its strength could vary greatly depending on the case, but of course, the base level of strength would adjust according to one’s own power.

If the beholder’s deepest fear was merely a mouse, then upon activating “Fear Embodiment,” an Extraordinary Exponent would become a mouse, indeed weaker than usual but not as feeble as an actual mouse – just substantially reduced in physical vitality.

However, some beholders’ innermost fears involve indescribable, tremendously powerful beings, even reaching the realm of otherworldly gods.

An Extraordinary Exponent transformed into such a powerful being through “Fear Embodiment” would naturally become much stronger, even potentially multiple times more powerful than originally!

However, this method would never render them as powerful as the original form, nor would they truly possess invincibility or the kind of undying body seen in nightmares.

Without doubt, “Fear Embodiment” was a wildly random and rather insane ability… Darren was extremely excited when he acquired it, experimenting secretly numerous times, each transformation manifesting a distinct Fear Embodiment.

In terms of the power of Bloodline, Darren had finally reached the mid-level Monarch Tier, rendering him invincible beneath those with Heavenly Enlightenment.

His son Felix reached the 6th Tier “Repairman,” and his daughter Helen had completed the ritual “Leaving Enough Renown” and reached the 5th Tier “Legendary Poet,” even fully mastering the powers of the “Legendary Poet,” though she had not completed the ritual to ascend to the 6th Tier yet.@@novelbin@@

The “Legendary Poet” of the Path of Wholeheartedness favored Spiritual Power over physical vitality, the ratio being nine to one.

Its representation was a female poet wandering through the wilderness.

The “Legendary Poet” could obtain a unique Extraordinary Trait “Legendary Name,” and three spells: “Flame Poem,” “Healing Poem,” and “Exile Poem.”

The power of “Flame Poem” and “Healing Poem” was evident from their names, while “Exile Poem” was a spell specifically for otherworldly beings, used to send some demons or oddities scurrying back to their origins, serving as a rather niche, restraining type spell.

As for “Legendary Name,” it was a peculiar wide-reaching Domain capability. If a significant number of people in the current region had heard the “Legendary Poet” title, all “Poetic Verses Magic” would become stronger, and the Spiritual Power consumed would be lesser.

Fortunately, Helen was extraordinarily gifted; over the decades, she smoothly became a famous painter in Cyart, her name even widespread in the artistic circles of the Eastern Three Kingdoms.