Byrne looked up at the imposing bookshelves and myriad of books, feeling a surge of excitement deep within.
For a moment, he transformed into a true scholar, unable to resist making an inquiry.
"Is this all knowledge?"
However, against Byrne's expectations, Aldrich shook his head. Then the middle-aged man calmly extended his hand, and the books left their shelves in droves, swirling around the two men.
He watched the books circling in the air around him and spoke slowly with indifference:
"The tomes stored on those bookshelves, most of them are not the knowledge you imagine. They are primarily my various research works, as well as a lot of intelligence, rumors, and information."
Aldrich paused, then continued:
"I am indeed a scholar, but my most important observation is on people and nations, and I have little interest in knowledge that has no practical use. You might say that I'm a pragmatist."
"That intelligence and information are all things useful to the family and to me personally."
Byrne quickly grasped the other's meaning. So that was it—the "Dragon Taming Lord," the "Ring Scholar" Aldrich Romann, was in fact the intelligence chief of the "Dark Night" Romann family.
Then it struck him, no wonder Aldrich had the reputation of "never losing a duel," since achieving this required mastering two fundamental things.
One was not to provoke those who you could never beat, to prevent all your flashy preparations from ending in an instant defeat.
The other foundation was to always be prepared, to grasp all the enemy's intelligence in advance, only then could one truly be without fault in battle, winning with the weaker against the stronger.
"It seems you've understood."
The middle-aged man, who had always been composed and proper over the years, nodded gently, his hand now holding a wine glass that had been nearby, filled with fragrant red wine.
He looked at Byrne, his gaze pondering something.
Byrne immediately asked:
"So, Lord Aldrich, you have intelligence on that black dragon, right?"
"Did you kill Bast Leone?"
Aldrich suddenly asked a fatal question without any warning.
Mr. Byrne froze for a moment, then knitted his brows, shaking his head with a serious tone, "What are you talking about? I can't understand. Lord Aldrich, you very well know that Viscount Bast was killed by someone from the Stars Embrace Order."
"Lord Aldrich, we have been in close association for several years; why would you suddenly ask such a thing? Could it be that you do not trust me?"
"Please don't be upset, my apologies, His Excellency Byrne."
Aldrich immediately apologized with a gentle tone and continued with a smile.
"I just felt you had the motive and the opportunity, but regardless of the truth, I have no evidence, and our two families need to work together for many more years, so the truth doesn't matter anymore."
"It seems you still suspect me, Lord Aldrich. When you mention motive, are you referring to that special ability of mine?"
Byrne gave a wry smile, shaking his head and speaking solemnly, "I don't think I have any such motive. If I was willing to sacrifice my own lifespan to save Zayne, would I kill Viscount Bast just because I don't want to give up my lifespan?"
"Lord Aldrich, I have great respect for you, and I hope that you can respect me as well!"
Aldrich remained silent for a while, then nodded very solemnly.
"I understand. No matter what, I will not bring up this issue again."
Byrne nodded slightly, indicating he would no longer be angered by the matter.
His innermost feelings were in turmoil! Years had passed, and it was unexpected that Aldrich was still pondering the cause of Bast's death in secret!
Just now, he had thrown a question like a bombshell. If Byrne had shown any unnatural expression or reaction, it might have led to unfortunate consequences.
Nevertheless, the meaning revealed in Aldrich's words was also worth pondering.
Regardless of the truth, it seemed that he had already promised not to pursue the matter further, because Byrne's unique ability was extremely precious, and the alliance between the families was the most important issue at present.
"This is it."
Suddenly, Aldrich reached out and pulled two clean, smooth sheets of paper from a book floating nearby.
"All the intelligence you need about that black dragon is right here on these two sheets of paper. Byrne Fischer, the decision to seek revenge is yours to make."
Byrne was silent for a moment, but he couldn't help voicing his doubts.
"Actually, I'm quite curious, Lord Aldrich, why don't you agree with revenge?"
Aldrich looked at him again, seriously explaining his own philosophy.
"Well, to put it simply, I prefer to establish a kingdom with more order and law, whereas private vengeance is a representation of chaos, and chaos is the source of all disasters and destruction."
Byrne was slightly startled, then immediately asked, "A nation of order and law, are you a follower of the World Order Church?"
However, Aldrich immediately denied this, calmly stating his viewpoint.
"No, I am not a disciple of the World Order Emperor. I just share some similar ideals with them. In fact, the orderly state I want to build is very different from the type that the World Order Church wishes for, which completely serves the Extraordinary people."
The more Byrne listened, the more intrigued he became, and then he further inquired, "I am quite curious, what exactly are the differences between your envisioned orderly state and that kind of order?"
Aldrich pondered for a moment, then provided an explanation:
"I want to establish a dual-order state where Extraordinary people and commoners can coexist. Because of their power advantage, Extraordinary people will inevitably be the superiors, a fact no one can change. Yet, even commoners who hold no power should retain a certain dignity."
"Currently, the laws and order of Cyart are often only nominal. Byrne, let me ask you, if a member of a noble family wanders in the slums of a city and takes a fancy to an underage girl, then publicly takes her away and forceful rapes her—"
He paused for a moment, then continued:
"What punishment would he face?"
Byrne didn't even have to think, he answered very honestly, "If it doesn't cause too much of a stir and the matter isn't blown up, it's very possible he would face no punishment at all."
Commoners live like weeds, while nobles possess immensely great power, also controlling the military, legal, administrative and other powers of a region, and even the Church tacitly acknowledges the Extraordinary people's superior status.
Hence, when the Extraordinary nobility commits any wrongdoing against commoners, as long as it is not too excessive, then there is no chance of them being brought to trial.
The status of the extraordinaries is exceedingly transcendent, with no restraint or oversight.
As long as it is well concealed, not to mention raping an ordinary common girl, even human trafficking and massacring villages in private, are actually things that have been done by Extraordinary nobility.
Especially during war times, such atrocious deeds are even more frequent, Byrne has seen far too much already.
Aldrich nodded his head, saying:
"Yes, such vile acts are actually happening every day on the Ouden Continent, you and I are very clear about that. But what's more obvious to all of us is that even if we feel uncomfortable with evil deeds, if we wanted to intervene, we couldn't manage it fully, right?"
Yes, everything he said was correct, Byrne was silent for a long time, then inquired:
"Lord Aldrich, there is still something I don't understand, why do you care so much about the lives of commoners?"
"Good question, but it's also a question that doesn't need an answer. Why can't I care about them?"
Aldrich revealed a smile and drained the red wine from his goblet.
"As a Cyart person, I wish that all my fellow Cyart people can live a bit better, isn't that very normal?"
Byrne took a deep breath and continued:
"But as you've also said, even if we want to take care of it, we absolutely cannot manage it all; it's difficult even to discover crimes, let alone the subsequent trials."
"Hmm, that's why the country of Cyart needs reform."
Aldrich's words made Byrne contemplate internally, whether the Romann family remains loyal to the Royal Family.
"Moreover, I have always been searching for a ritual spell or similar power that can strictly monitor criminal behavior in various cities and villages, it's just that so far, I have found none."
Byrne listened quietly, his thoughts inevitably drifting to Bast's ambitions and ideals, thus he maintained a reserved attitude towards Aldrich's statements.
He felt one should not listen to what a person says, but rather watch what they do, only then can one see with clarity and understanding.
Of course, although that's what he thought deep down, on the surface Byrne still nodded and smiled, saying:
"I see, Lord Aldrich is a respectable idealist, truly wanting to change Cyart. I admire your thoughts from the bottom of my heart."
Then, he turned to look at the two pages that contained information about that black dragon, but after only a brief glance, he nodded and set them down.
"I've already memorized it, thank you."
The black dragon's name was "Black Ash," and it was a Monarch Level powerhouse...
Byrne took a deep breath; the most important thing now was to see which book Christine had found.
Did it contain any record of a way for them to leave this place?
At the final moment before they returned, Christine gave them a book at the last minute, which bore the title "Tranquility, White Bone, Path of the Dead" on its cover.
Author, Anonymous.
Unable to explain its specific origin, Byrne and Chris could only study this book privately, which was filled with occult studies, in another part of the canyon.
"You haven't read it?"
Chris looked at Byrne with a bit of surprise, an uncommon expression for him.
He knew how much Byrne loved to read, and Byrne should have read most of the books in the several libraries of the Fischer family.
And if he had read them, Byrne should have been able to remember them.
"Indeed, I have not."
Byrne slowly shook his head and said, "Just as you said, I have read most, if not all, of the books in the Fischer family's collection, so the answer is simple. This 'Tranquility, White Bone, Path of the Dead' must have entered the Fischer family in recent years."
"During the time we were trapped in the canyon."
He began to flip through the pages of the mysterious book in his hand, gradually furrowing his brows.
According to the contents of "Tranquility, White Bone, Path of the Dead," in the infinite multiverse, there were a total of twenty-four great otherworldly gods.
They possessed a terrible force unparalleled by other deities, capable of easily making heaven and earth repeat and worlds succumb!
The author of this book was a follower of one of these otherworldly gods.
The name of that otherworldly god was...
"Tranquility Songst..."
Just as Byrne was about to utter that name, the temperature around them suddenly dropped, as if everything had become very quiet, and all sounds had abruptly disappeared.
Chris's expression also became extremely grave; he did not dare to make frivolous movements, as if he might die at any moment.
What happened?
He inhaled sharply, not daring to continue speaking.
What's going on?
Byrne slowly shook his head at Chris, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly noticed that the terrifying atmosphere around them was gradually subsiding.
They finally exhaled in relief.
After pondering for a moment, Byrne muttered to himself,
"It seems that His complete name also contains a very strong mysterious power. We must not speak it aloud. Let's substitute it with 'Songster' for now."
He continued reading on, as the contents of the book were crucial for determining whether they could leave this place.
The Tranquility Songster was one of the twenty-four great otherworldly gods.
He was also an otherworldly god.
The time He represented was two o'clock in the early morning every day.
Furthermore, the Tranquility Songster represented death and stillness, being the absolute master of the world of the dead. In the deepest part of all living hearts, He was imagined as an elegant gentleman wearing a white bone mask.
It was said that whenever the Tranquility Songster descended into the world, the entire country would fall into a dead silence, everything would come to a halt, and people's souls would sink into the world of the dead.
The followers of the Tranquility Songster had one thing in common: they refused to speak unless necessary, and in their lives, they tried as much as possible not to make even the slightest sound.
Therefore, a person who talks incessantly and likes noise could never be a faithful follower of His.
The Tranquility Songster they worshiped possessed extremely powerful strength.
It was a force unimaginable to the living.
The Songstress' ballad was silent and still, and when He truly began to sing, the entire world would completely die in utter silence.
"Otherworldly god..."
Byrne and Chris exchanged glances; they both had a concept of the otherworldly gods.
Those beings called "otherworldly gods" were all extremely mysterious and possessed terrifying powers, and their followers were often mad, fearsome, and bizarre, filling people with dread.
The Stars Embrace Order's worshiped "Chaos Constellation" was undoubtedly also a fearsome otherworldly god.
If the contents of those books were real, they all had the power to destroy heavens and obliterate the earth.
However, most of the books exaggerated the descriptions of the deities.
Byrne and his companions were completely unable to discern whether these otherworldly gods were different from powerful mystical entities like the Sea God, which could also be called gods.
Was it that they were more powerful than the Lord of Salvation, the Tempest Overlord, and other deities, or were they weaker?
The one thing the Fischer family could confirm was that the great Lord of the Lost was the most powerful deity, and all other gods besides Him were nothing but false gods!
Byrne muttered to himself:
"The Words of Tranquility Order is a congregation that venerates songsters and spans various worlds. They worship death and silence, seeking 'peace of mind' as their ultimate pursuit."
"Peace of mind..."
He paused, feeling very strange, and continued disjointedly:
"They desire a peaceful death, which is odd, isn't it? It's strange that there are people who consider 'death' the ultimate goal in life."
After a long contemplation, Chris calmly said, "It's not necessarily that strange."
Byrne was taken aback, perhaps only someone like Chris could understand. Chapter Discover:
After all, he was one who walked the Path of Tranquility.
Byrne flipped through the book in his hands, continuing:
"This page records something about bones. Around three thousand years ago on the Ouden Continent, a Heavenly Enlightenment powerful expert known as the 'Lord of White Bones' was the founder of the Words of Tranquility Order in this Claud World."
"He would turn the bones of friends and foes alike into objects as exquisite as white jade, imbued with strange magic power."
"It is said that since the foundation of the Words of Tranquility, the Lord of White Bones never uttered a single word."
"He wielded terrifying power, once attempted to Summon the Songster through a sacrifice, completely destroying an entire kingdom, murdering millions. In the end, he died at the hands of the former Lord of Salvation, failing to complete the final ritual."
"..."
Byrne continued to sift through the records about the Lord of White Bones, hoping to find something related to White Bones Canyon, but he found no relevant clues.
Eventually, he found a few sentences that might be useful, concerning something called the 'Path of the Dead'."
This was a special trial conceived by the Lord of White Bones, and only those who had undergone this trial were eligible to become Priests of Words of Tranquility.
However, because the mortality rate of this trial was too high, after a thousand years, the 'Path of the Dead' was ultimately abandoned by successive Words of Tranquility.
Byrne pondered for a while, a hint of excitement in his analysis: "This valley we are in might just be a so-called trial ground!"
"We just haven't really started the trial, so we keep circling here with no way out."
"If we can initiate the trial, complete it, we will have a chance to leave this valley!"
Then came the problem.
Byrne was eager to know how to truly initiate the 'Path of the Dead' trial of the Words of Tranquility, but this book just happened to not contain a complete record of that part, only a few disconnected strange terms.
"Tranquility," "white bones," "fog," "walls."
Damn it!
Why wasn't the most critical content recorded in full?
He took a deep breath, starting to contemplate how to truly initiate the trial.
As Byrne thought, he also wondered how he could communicate the matter to Aldrich and the others. How exactly could he explain so that those people wouldn't suspect that he and Chris had just left the valley.
Chris, with folded arms, thought for a moment, then nodded lightly.
Byrne froze, seeing the confidence in Chris's eyes as if he already knew how to formally start the trial.
"What should we do?"
Chris extended a finger and made a "shush" gesture.
Byrne immediately fell silent, realizing that the first step to starting the trial was to remain quiet.
That would be 'Tranquility,' of course.
Chris nodded gently, then bit his finger and wrote a sentence on his pale palm.
"Wait, let them join us in waiting for the fog to appear next time."
Wait?
Byrne sighed; although he disliked waiting, they had been trapped for years, so waiting some more hardly mattered.
So they found Zayne and Marzo, and Chris made the silence gesture again, then showed them the sentence he had just written.
"Chris, what do you mean by this?"
Zayne was stunned for a while, then Aldrich also made a silencing gesture, signaling not to talk anymore.
So he nodded lightly, holding his peace.
Marzo and Aldrich also kept silent. They remained quiet for many hours, almost half a day, and then it became difficult to keep up. Everyone looked towards Chris, who reiterated the sentence, asking them to wait until the fog appeared.
Everyone's expressions changed; that might mean waiting for months!
Everyone ultimately decided that they couldn't just keep their mouths shut forever.
Because that really wasn't something a normal person could endure.
However, Chris could.
The others decided to wait for the fog to appear before they would start to keep silent, and Aldrich and the rest couldn't help but take the opportunity to ask Byrne and his companion why they would do this.
"Because this is the way to break the curse of the canyon, we might be able to leave this place by doing this."
After Byrne finished speaking, he fell into thought and then looked at Chris and immediately said, "This method was Chris's idea. He has basically figured everything out, it's just that he doesn't like to talk, so he won't explain to us exactly how he came to that conclusion."
He paused for a moment, then continued, "This valley and Chris's disposition are very well matched, perhaps we can trust him."
Aldrich and the others turned their gaze to Chris, who had no intention of speaking or explaining.
Yes, they all understood this man's character.
He really was a person too lazy to talk and explain, there was no need to force this stubborn guy.
Regarding the book, Byrne didn't mention a single thing.
Since he couldn't explain its origin, it was better not to let it take root in their hearts, just push everything off onto Chris.
If a reason couldn't be fully explained, one would just say "Chris is too lazy to explain." This excuse might not work for others, but it was completely sufficient for Chris.
After all, he was just that kind of odd person.
Aldrich murmured to himself:
"I see, remaining silent in the fog, and then, what else do we need?"
Byrne looked at Chris.
Then, Chris demonstrated exactly what needed to be done next.
He picked up a piece of white jade stone from the ground, then walked to the wall they had admired before, always holding the stone and pointed at the wall that seemed to be special.
"Hmm..."
Aldrich fell into thought, his brows knitted tightly, still somewhat puzzled, while Marzo and Zayne also couldn't make sense of it.
But Byrne, having read the book, suddenly had an epiphany.
It dawned on him!
Could it be that Chris meant they should maintain a tranquil silence, holding the white bone turned to stone, and when the fog arrived, finally enter the wall!
Although still not very clear or certain, he felt it was highly likely this was it.
Another month passed, and at last, everyone waited as the canyon was once again enveloped in dense white fog!
All fell silent immediately, picking up a piece of white jade stone transformed from a white bone off the ground, and then to avoid being transported away, they all joined hands in front of the wall.
They waited solemnly.
After a long wait,
in the fog, the light once again became hazy and soft, the clarity of their vision kept decreasing, and white enveloped everything around them in a dreamlike atmosphere.
The nearby wall was becoming blurrier by the moment, only the silhouettes of people faintly visible in the mist, while the various "white jade" was shrouded in fog, losing its edges and details gradually.
The world became mysterious and quiet once more, beautiful yet eerily strange.
Chris, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly lifted his head, carrying the piece of white jade stone, and walked toward the wall.
The next moment, he disappeared.
The rest of the group looked at each other, without hesitation, immediately followed, and one by one, they too disappeared in front of the wall.
Before completely entering the wall, Byrne thought for a moment, then left a bit of his clothing in the canyon.
In their field of vision, everything seemed to transform in an instant, and all that just happened felt like an illusory bubble.
Byrne even felt a dizziness like he wanted to vomit.
They had all arrived at...
Another world.
This was a world of white, where people seemed to be in an endless, pure canvas.
The white sky was incredibly pure, as if a snow-like sea of white flowers covered the earth. Distant trees, houses, and mountains were all adorned with clusters of white flowers, turning into a pristine whiteness.
There was apparently no sun in the sky, yet sunlight streamed down directly, and the white petals glistened with dazzling light, like countless diamonds scattered in every corner of the world.
In the silent environment, they felt the air was fresh and cold, as if they could find tranquility in their hearts amidst the boundless white.
Byrne's emotions stirred, for everything he was seeing was familiar to his mind; it was possible that where they stood was the legendary world of the dead!
In any era, people naturally had a strong curiosity about the world after death, the destination of the soul, always exploring, wanting to understand all the relevant information.
Therefore, many mystical books mention the world of the dead, with different descriptions, but indeed, many mainstream opinions suggest that the world of the dead is an extremely quiet and peculiar place, where almost everything is white.
Byrne couldn't help but look at the people around him and noticed that Chris and Aldrich were constantly gesturing for silence, warning those nearby.
It was clear that in this world, one absolutely must not speak; one had to maintain a state of tranquility.
They had stepped onto the Path of the Dead!
The group kept moving forward on the white Path of the Dead, trying to find the exit from this realm of the dead to reality. However, it seemed that their surroundings never changed; everything remained so peaceful and tranquil.
Suddenly, Byrne had a feeling. Since the Path of the Dead was the place for the trials of the Words of Tranquility Order, then there must be obstacles and dangers!
They might encounter some horrific monsters!
And in this silent place, creatures adept at stealth attacks were the most troublesome!
"Ah!"
Just at that moment, Zayne let out a startled cry!
He had been attacked by some invisible creature!
And after Zayne made a sound, his slim body vanished from sight, as if erased from this world! Chapter Your:
As expected, in the silent world of the dead, one must not make any sound at all!
The rest of the group immediately spread out, remaining fully vigilant in the white sea of flowers, for the attacking creature was invisible, which made it difficult to guard against, and one had to stay completely focused.
As for Zayne, surely he wasn't dead, was he?
No one was quite certain, and there was no way to be sure for the moment.
Byrne's brows furrowed tightly. Indeed, just as he had guessed, monsters appeared on the trial of the Path of the Dead.
Hmm, that's right, this is the Path of the Dead.
Perhaps many of the dead were there to hinder their progress?
Marzo's eyebrows furrowed as she suddenly saw many dead creatures emerging from all around, many of which resembled skeletons, pale all over, and they were moving steadily towards them.
She quickly took out her bow but was shocked to find that she couldn't summon the power of Nature at all.
Does this world completely reject the force of life?
Byrne, seeing the dead, knew the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Then he saw something very astonishing—a huge spherical monster suddenly appeared in midair. It was tens of meters tall, completely black, covered with terrifying red skulls and purple tentacles.
Marzo was stunned, trembling all over, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"Why?"
The elf made a sound.
The next moment, she disappeared.
Byrne and the others could feel it—the last-appeared spherical tentacle monster exerted an incredibly frightening pressure, wielding a power they absolutely couldn't contend with!
"Let's leave this place first!"
Byrne took a deep breath.
He had to make a sound, and then he too disappeared.
Aldrich stared at the many monsters, deep in thought.
Hmm.
Why did these creatures suddenly appear?
And, the expression of that emerald elf earlier was somewhat off.
She looked as if she recognized that creature.
Could it be?
Lost in deep contemplation, Aldrich conducted a mental experiment and, the next moment, his theory was confirmed.
"So that's how it is."
After speaking, Aldrich too vanished from sight.
At this moment, only Chris was left here, facing the approaching monsters alone.
After a long silence, he finally spoke, his words even slightly hesitant, for it had been a long while since he last spoke.
"Farewell."
Finally, they all returned to White Bones Canyon, enveloped in the thick white Fog.
Aldrich took a deep breath and, frowning, immediately asked, "Who just now couldn't help but let their mind wander?"
Byrne was taken aback and said, "Ah?"
The next instant, he had an epiphany, finally understanding what the trial of the Path of the Dead was all about.