Chapter 266: The Blasphemy Cards

"Florent said the Solomon family's history spans over two thousand years, longer even than the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery. They witnessed all the alliances and conflicts of the Fourth Epoch, the light and the darkness, and have endured to the present day. Besides the Augustus family of Loen, the Einhorn family of Fosac, and the Castilla family of Feynapotter, the other great families that once stood alongside them—like the Antigonus family and the Zaratul family—have either turned to dust or become rats scurrying in the sewers, hiding from the light."

"He said that having me serve as his subordinate, as a servant of the ancient and glorious Solomon family, was a great honor bestowed upon me."

"I wanted to screw eight generations of his ancestors right then and there."

"But it's quite surprising that the Solomon family has over two thousand years of history. The Fourth Epoch is also called the 'Age of Gods'—whether it was the current seven orthodox deities, or Death, the Primordial Witch, the Dark Side of the Universe, and the True Creator, they were all still active in the real world, frequently performing miracles. For the Solomon family to have survived to this day and maintained their lofty position is no easy feat."

"Such a long history has given them far more than just arrogance. They must be hiding countless secrets, and perhaps even extremely terrifying sealed artefacts."

"This is truly a colossal entity standing upon the earth, one that no one dares to look at directly."

Reading this, Klein's mind immediately filled with numerous thoughts:

For Roselle to have ultimately overthrown the Solomon family's rule and proclaimed himself Consul and Protector, he must have endured a brutal, terrifying, and harrowing struggle. Even if the Solomon family didn't possess a Grade "0" sealed artefact, they certainly wouldn't lack Grade "1" ones. Add to that the potential high-Sequence powerhouses they could field—even with the full backing of the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery, the outcome might not have been favorable... Could it be that the Solomon family had already declined and weakened before that, and the turmoil in Intis was merely an external manifestation of that state?

What happened to them during that period?

Were their sealed artefacts lost? Did their high-Sequence powerhouses perish? And that attracted the attention of one ambitious schemer after another?

Hmm... from this diary entry, the Augustus family of Loen should be quite familiar with the Antigonus and Zaratul families. They should have corresponding records in their archives.

The Sun had mentioned that the City of Silver persevered for over twenty-five hundred years during the "Dark Age." Based on my preliminary assessment, that corresponds to the time elapsed since the Cataclysm. The Solomon family was already claiming a history of over two thousand years nearly two hundred years ago—I wonder if their lineage extends back before the Cataclysm... I'll find an opportunity to casually bring up the Solomon family and gauge The Sun's reaction. If The Sun still looks completely bewildered, it would indirectly indicate that the Solomon family rose to prominence after the Cataclysm. Perhaps they seized tremendous benefits from the Cataclysm itself, which allowed them to become nobility of the Fourth Epoch and royalty of the Fifth Epoch...

Well, even if The Sun doesn't know, it's not conclusive proof. Perhaps he simply didn't study history well enough.

Klein flipped to the third page and found that the contents recorded there must have been written during the early period of Roselle's tenure as Consul of the Intis Republic.

From the several diary entries on this page, it was clear that Roselle had formulated and promulgated a new Civil Code, encouraged invention, protected trade, and nurtured the industrial revolution not merely to satisfy his own perverse amusement at role-playing Napoleon or his ambition to change the world—he was using these measures to reconcile with the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun.

The Eternal Blazing Sun was also the God of Contracts and the guardian of commerce. A more comprehensive, more era-appropriate Civil Code and more prosperous trade perfectly aligned with the needs of his church.

"Judging from this portion of the diary, Roselle's relationship with the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun was gradually thawing and improving. When he brazenly proclaimed himself emperor over a decade later, titling himself Caesar, he must have received the endorsement of both major churches simultaneously. Otherwise, it would have been far too reckless. So what exactly led to his assassination?" Klein turned his gaze toward the fourth page with a hint of puzzlement.

"August 11th. That idiot Florent is showing off again."

"He claims he has the best chance among his generation of the Solomon family to achieve a high Sequence, because he resembles his great-great-grandfather."

"What does that have to do with anything? I've looked at him from every angle—up, down, left, right—and I can't see where this fellow has any talent."

"Besides, in the Beyonder domain, does talent really matter? Well, being adept at grasping the essence of the Acting method is certainly a core talent, but it isn't strictly necessary. As long as you understand the Acting method, aren't stupid enough to misunderstand its meaning, and don't do things that could easily lead to losing control, you have hope of fully digesting the potion—it just takes more time. Within one's lifetime, becoming a high-Sequence powerhouse isn't impossible."

"The main obstacles on the path to high Sequences are the difficulty of obtaining Beyonder materials and the trouble of performing the corresponding rituals. Of course, one must admit that those who are born as Beyonders have more time to prepare."

"Florent's great-great-grandfather was a high-Sequence powerhouse? Resembling him means having talent?"

It was evident that when Roselle wrote this diary entry, he was still quite green and didn't yet understand the two great laws—the Law of Beyonder Characteristics' Conservation and the Law of Beyonder Characteristics' Indestructibility... Klein gave an almost imperceptible nod.

With his current knowledge, he could roughly understand the hidden meaning behind Florent Solomon's words:

Beyonder characteristics left behind by a high-Sequence powerhouse carry the spiritual imprint of their original owner. This is one of the reasons why potions refined from such materials easily cause people to lose control.

However, someone who closely resembles the original owner can largely circumvent this negative effect, giving them a significantly higher probability of successful advancement compared to ordinary people. Hence, they are called "talented." The phenomenon of a "sacred artifact" recognizing its master likely falls under a similar principle.

This is remarkably similar to the Acting method, only it can't be widely applied... After a successful advancement, one still has to act according to the potion's name to fully digest the characteristic... Klein thoughtfully glanced at the two diary entries following this page and discovered that Emperor Roselle greatly appreciated the open customs of Intis, yet was very worried that his future wife would be equally open-minded.

With a faint rustling sound, Klein placed the fifth page on top: