"What?" Creed exclaimed in shock as he probed the third interspatial ring. And when he finally confirmed the treasures inside, he stared at his son in disbelief, as if he was seeing a ghost.
All the treasures, especially those in the third ring he had inspected, were impossible to ignore. These were things that would surely be coveted by any Adventurer in the Sacred Dragon Kingdom—even those from the Royal Clan.
"Th-they're actually real…" Creed said, still unable to believe it as he examined the rings' contents.
In the entire Sacred Dragon Kingdom, who possessed wealth like this?
Millions of gold coins, thousands of different soul-enhancing Pills, and above all, more than two hundred armaments—including nine Excellent Armaments and even a single Epic Armament that they had only ever read about in books. Perhaps, apart from the Epic Armament, only the Royal Clan and the Seven Great Factions possessed such abundance. Even the Four Noble Clans did not have this much.
In the Azure Wood Family, there was only a single Low-tier Rare Armament owned by Neleos. They had a few Common Armaments as well, but only those in positions of authority could possess them.
To fully unleash the power of an Excellent Armament, the Adventurer wielding it had to be at least Profound Rank. A Scarlet Gold Rank could use it too, but it was extremely dangerous because every activation consumed an enormous amount of soulforce, enough to completely drain the user.
Creed looked deeply into Finn's eyes. He desperately wanted to ask where all these riches came from, but he forced himself to hold back. He decided it was better to remain silent while he took in the sight of each ring's contents.
'Our clan is rich now!'
But for the moment, this had to remain a secret—if word got out, it could bring calamity upon their family.
"Father, I'm entrusting you with distributing these items," Finn said earnestly. "And Father, if possible, please remind everyone in our clan not to leave the territory for now. It's too chaotic and dangerous outside."
"Yes, yes. I'll take care of it right away. But…isn't this too much to give the clan? What about you? Why not keep some for yourself?" Creed asked seriously.
This was an overwhelming fortune, enough that almost every member of the clan would receive a share.
Finn gently shook his head. At his current level and rank, these items held little value to him. Besides, within his Myriad World Mirror, he still had mountains of similar treasures—many times higher in grade and quality.
Then, suddenly remembering something, Finn turned to his father and asked, "Father, may I visit our grove of trees tomorrow?"
"Of course! Even if you cut down every Azure Wood Tree we own, I'm sure the clan's elders wouldn't dare complain," Creed teased with a smile.
Finn chuckled softly. Naturally, he had no intention of cutting the trees down. There was simply something he wanted to inspect and confirm.
"Thank you, Father." Finn bowed, then added, "It's late, so I should probably return to my hut."
Creed only nodded in reply. The entire day had been exhausting, and he knew his son likely wished to rest as well.
Before leaving, Finn smiled at him and began walking out of the house. Creed followed him to the door, watching him go.
Finn returned to his small hut and quietly sensed the surroundings for anyone spying on him. When he felt certain no one was near, he focused his attention on opening the portal of the Myriad World Mirror.
A few minutes later, the gateway fully opened, and he stepped inside to continue his cultivation and meditation.
While he meditated in the thick, expansive grass, the small black creature reappeared, quietly observing him as he trained.
He ignored it and carried on with his training.
--
The next morning, the entire Sacred Dragon Kingdom was thrown into an uproar over a shocking piece of news.
The announcement about the annulment of the marriage had spread like wildfire across the kingdom, reported in great detail. Everyone secretly ridiculed and despised the Nine Ice Family's shameless schemes. But there was another astonishing announcement as well.
The Sect Mistress of the Ice Feather Sect, one of the Seven Great Factions, declared that Tiffanya Frois possessed the Ice Sky Pathway. She also formally announced that the Nine Ice Family had betrothed Tiffanya to her personal disciple, Hyon Pierceval.
Everyone was stunned to learn that Tiffanya had the Ice Sky Pathway. Every influential Adventurer knew exactly what that soulforce pathway meant—with enough resources and regular training, she could attain Sky Rank in a very short time.
This revelation made it clear why the Nine Ice Family had resorted to their disgraceful acts. Even so, it didn't change the truth that they were ungrateful traitors. Creed had helped the son of their leader, and in return, they had repaid him with harm.
Yet while most people scorned their deeds, who would dare challenge them openly? They were no longer just a Noble Clan—now they had the backing of a great faction. Who would provoke a faction of that magnitude?
Besides, Tiffanya was now betrothed to Hyon, and once they reached the proper age, they would marry—further strengthening the Nine Ice Family.
Hyon was the most treasured personal disciple of the current Sect Mistress of Ice Feather Sect, Sheeha Orobus.
At age thirteen, he had already become a Gold Rank Adventurer. By fifteen, he had reached 9th Level Gold Rank. And at his current age of eighteen, he was a full-fledged 5th Level Scarlet Gold Rank. He was considered the most talented individual in the entire Ice Feather Sect.
When this news reached the Azure Wood Family, they were overwhelmed with dread. Even though they knew the Nine Ice Family wouldn't stir trouble for now—since Finn Doria had exposed their use of the Black Tiger Family—it still wasn't enough to ease their worries.
A meeting was held with all Silver Rank to Scarlet Gold Rank members of the clan. There, Creed distributed the treasures Finn had given him, except for the gold coins, Excellent Armaments, and the single Epic Armament. Those were too dangerous to reveal yet, since no one in their clan was strong enough to wield them properly.
Everyone was shocked and could hardly believe what was happening. But soon after, they were overjoyed—at last, they would receive priceless treasures they had thought they'd only ever dream about.
To prevent news of this distribution from leaking, every member of the Azure Wood Family—whether Elder or ordinary member—swore an oath to the heavens that this would remain a secret within the clan.
No one dared break their promise, for they feared heaven's wrath. According to legend, there had once been a powerful Adventurer who broke such an oath—and was struck dead by a mighty bolt of lightning.
--
While the rest of the Azure Wood Family celebrated their newfound fortune, Finn stood in the grove of Azure Wood Trees. After exiting the Myriad World Mirror, he had gone there at once to verify what he'd learned from the game system.
The Azure Wood Family owned thousands of Azure Wood Trees planted throughout their territory. As he thought about this, he couldn't help but sigh.
He was about to get started when he spotted two familiar figures. A quick idea came to mind, and he walked over to them.
"Finn?!" one of the young men called out in surprise as Finn approached.
As fellow clan members, they already knew Finn's 'true' level and rank. And as they looked at him, they couldn't help feeling a deep sense of fear.
"Sig, Damian," Finn greeted them with a smile.
Indeed, the two young men were Sig and Damian, who had once taken the entrance examination for the Sacred Dragon Institute alongside Finn.
Even then, they had been close friends. Though rivals, they had always respected each other. And ever since returning, defeated, from the Institute, their bond had grown even stronger. They often trained and spent time together in this very place.
"Finn, do you need something?" Damian asked.
Smiling faintly, Finn said, "I'd like to ask the two of you for help. Could you gather all the young Adventurers in our clan and bring them here? I need your assistance with something."
The two were startled by this request. They didn't know why he needed so many people.
Gather all the young Adventurers? If this had been the old Finn, they might have ignored him or even laughed in his face. But the current Finn was a 9th Level Gold Rank! Even their fathers' ranks couldn't compare to his.
"Of course! It may take us an hour to gather all the young Adventurers, but we can do it," Sig replied excitedly.
"Thank you. I'll wait here," Finn said. "And don't worry—everyone who helps me will receive a reward I'm sure you'll all appreciate."
They didn't think too much about his promise. They simply nodded and hurried off to gather the others.
Finn returned briefly to the Myriad World Mirror to prepare gifts for those who would help him. He took out several Low-tier and Mid-tier Common Armaments and gathered pills effective for Bronze Rank Adventurers. He placed them all in an interspatial ring before exiting again.
A few minutes later, he waited patiently—and soon, to his surprise, a large crowd of youths gathered there. At their head, Sig and Damian smiled at Finn.
He noticed that many of the young Adventurers were staring at him with shining eyes.
"Finn! I can't believe every young Adventurer in our clan wanted to come help you," Sig said with a grin. "They all said they wanted to assist the person they admire most."
Finn looked over them all. When his gaze landed on the young women in the group, he noticed that many of them blushed brightly.
Who wouldn't admire a talented Adventurer? In this world, respect was earned through strength and power.
Finn gently shook his head and surveyed the hundred or so young Adventurers.
"My fellow members of the Azure Wood Family," he began with a smile. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Perhaps Sig and Damian have already told you why I asked you here. I need your help."
"Anything, Finn! You're the most talented Adventurer in our clan's history—we'll help you however we can!" a young man shouted.
"Yeah! We all look up to you!" others chimed in.
"Thank you, all of you. But of course, I wouldn't ask for your help for nothing," Finn said with a smile. "Everyone who takes part will receive three Rank 1 and two Rank 2 soul-enhancing pills, plus one Low-tier Common Armament. And whoever finds what I'm looking for will get six Rank 1 and four Rank 2 soul-enhancing pills. The more you find, the bigger your reward."
Everyone was stunned by his words. They couldn't believe Finn had such treasures.
Soul-enhancing pills and Common Armaments? None of them had ever touched such things—they'd only seen them in training demonstrations by the Elders.
While everyone stood in silent awe, Damian finally spoke up, "Finn, are you serious?"
Finn smiled and showed them his interspatial ring. Everyone froze in shock.
An interspatial ring!
Only the Elders of their clan owned items like that. And if seeing the ring alone wasn't enough, their eyes nearly popped out of their heads when Finn poured out a mountain of treasures before them.
These were exactly the items he'd promised.
While some remained speechless, Sig managed to stammer out a question, "W-what…do you want us to look for, Finn?"
"It's simple," Finn said calmly. "I want you to look for the blue leaves of the Azure Wood Tree."