Chapter 265: Cards of Blasphemy

"Floren said that the history of the Sauron family exceeds two thousand

years, making it longer than even the Church of the God of

Craftsmanship's history. They witnessed all the cooperation and strife,

light and darkness, in the Fourth Epoch, and they have survived until

this very day. Other than the Augustus family of Loen, the Einhorn

family of Feysac, and the Castiya family of Feynapotter, the other

powerful families that have been deemed their equal, such as the

Antigonus family and the Zaratul family, have been relegated as vestiges

of history, or have turned to nothing but rats in the sewers, hiding

from the public as shady existences.

"He said that making me his subordinate---a subordinate of the ancient

and glorious Sauron family---is a gift to me.

"Back then, I wanted to f\\k all eight generations of his ancestors.

"However, for the Sauron family to have a history exceeding two thousand

years is indeed surprising. The Fourth Epoch is known as the Epoch of

the Gods. Be it the seven orthodox deities of the present times, or

Death, Primordial Demoness, Dark Side of the Universe, and the True

Creator, they all remained active in the real world. Legend had it that

they frequently did miracles. For the Sauron family to last to this day

and enjoy its current high standing, it's definitely not an easy matter.

"Their long history has given them far more than just arrogance. They

must be hiding many secrets, and perhaps even extremely terrifying

Sealed Artifacts.

"They are truly a colossus that stands tall above the earth, one that

people can't look straight at."

Upon reading this, Klein had a lot of ideas.

*For Roselle to be able to overthrow the rule of the Sauron family, he

must have experienced a horrifying and heart-stirring struggle. Even if

the Sauron family didn't have a Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts, they

definitely had no lack of Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts. Adding to the

possibility of having High-Sequence Beyonders, even if the Church of the

God of Steam and Machinery fully supported Roselle, it's unlikely that

any good outcome might come out of it... Could it be that before all of

that happened, the Sauron family was already beginning to wane and

weaken, and the Intis revolution was just an external manifestation of

this state?*

What did they experience during that period of time?

*Did they lose Sealed Artifacts? Did the High-Sequence Beyonders die?

Did that attract the attention of many ambitious people?*

*Hmm... Judging from this diary, the Augustus family of Loen is no

stranger to the Antigonus and Zaratul families. Internally, they should

have corresponding records.*

*The Sun had previously mentioned that the City of Silver has endured

for more than 2500 years in the Dark Ages. According to my initial

judgment, that's the date of the Cataclysm. In the past two hundred

years, the Sauron family claimed to have a history spanning more than

2000 years. I wonder if it will extend to the point before the City of

Silver... I'll try to find an opportunity to mention the Sauron clan and

see The Sun's reaction. If The Sun still has a look of stupefaction, it

would indirectly mean that the Sauron family only rose up after the

Cataclysm. Perhaps they had benefited greatly from the Cataclysm to

become nobles in the Fourth Epoch, and royalty in the Fifth

Epoch...*

*Well, even if the Sun doesn't know, it doesn't prove it completely.

Perhaps he didn't learn his history well.*

When Klein turned to the third page, he found that the content should've

been written in the early days of Roselle's appointment as Consul of the

Intis Republic.

*From the diary entries on this page, it can be seen that Roselle had

developed and promulgated a new Civil Code which encouraged inventions,

protected trade, and the incubation of the industrial revolution. It

wasn't him merely satisfying his own warped humor of acting as this

world's Napoleon and his ambition to change the world. What he did

allowed him to reconcile with the Church of the Eternal Blazing

Sun.*

*The Eternal Blazing Sun was also the God of Deeds, the Guardian of

Businesses. The closer to the times the Civil Code was and the more

prosperous trade was made it more in line with the needs of the

church.*

*Judging from this part of the diary, the relationship between Roselle

and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun was gradually thawing and

beginning to improve. When he brazenly claimed the title of Emperor more

than ten years later and called himself Caesar, it's likely that he

obtained the simultaneous endorsement of the two Churches. Otherwise, it

would've been too risky. Then, what resulted in his

assassination?* Klein cast his gaze at the fourth page in

puzzlement.

"11th August. That retard Floren is showing off again.

"He said that he's the most promising member of the Sauron family

generation to become a High-Sequence Beyonder because he's very similar

to his great-great-grandfather.

"Is there any necessary connection? I looked him up and down, left and

right, but I couldn't find any sign of talent.

"Moreover, in the field of Beyonders, is talent important? Well,

figuring out the essence to 'acting' can be a core element of talent,

but that's not necessary. As long as one knows the acting method and not

be stupid enough to misunderstand the meaning, or avoid doing things

that easily result in a loss of control, then one has a chance to

completely digest the potions. Which is to say, just a bit more time and

effort needs to be spent. In one's lifetime, it's not impossible to

become a High-Sequence Beyonder.

"The main obstacle to becoming a High-Sequence Beyonder is the

difficulty of obtaining Beyonder ingredients and the difficulty of

corresponding rituals. Of course, I have to admit that those born as

Beyonders have more time to prepare.

"Was Floren's great-great-grandfather a High-Sequence Beyonder? Does

looking like him imply talent?"

*It can be seen that at the time of writing this diary entry, Roselle

was still very young and that he wasn't aware of the two Laws of

Beyonder Characteristics Indestructibility and Conservation...*

Klein nodded indiscernibly.

With his current knowledge, he could probably understand the hidden

meaning behind Floren Sauron's words.

A High-Sequence Beyonder's Beyonder characteristic remains contained a

spirit mark. This was also one of the reasons why it was easy for people

to lose control when concocting potions with this ingredient.

And people who resembled the original owner could avoid this negative

influence to the greatest extent. Their chances of success were higher

than the average person, so they were considered gifted. How Holy

Artifacts recognized their masters probably shared the same conditions.

*This achieves the same goal via different approaches as the acting

method, but it can't be popularized... Once the advancement is

successful, one would still have to do the acting method required of the

potion to completely digest its characteristics...* While in

deep thought, Klein glanced at the two diary entries at the back of the

page and discovered how much Emperor Roselle enjoyed the liberalness in

Intis, but he was worried that his future wife would be equally liberal.

With the paper making some noise, Klein placed the fifth page at the

top.

"20th April. I participated in that ancient organization's secret

gathering once again. Those members still leave me shaking. It's hard to

believe that they're actually all members of this organization.

"This time, I learned some of the ancient organization's philosophy.

They believe that people will always lose some of their individuality

bit by bit until they 'sleep.' Hence, by trying hard to observe and

remember oneself, one can use the various types of information to

achieve the purification needed to face the final end of days.

"They've kept and passed down secrets for thousands or even tens of

thousands of years. They believe that dusk is inevitable, and that

doomsday cannot be avoided.

"They believe in the original Creator and believe that He is not truly

dead. When dusk comes and everything ends, He will wake up from His

slumber and let everything return to Him. He will create a new world, a

new history.

"All of the actions from this organization stem from this belief. It can

be said that they show great animosity to the True Creator. They aren't

stingy with their descriptions to describe Him as fallen and evil.

"They wield the second Blasphemy Slate and the twenty-two paths of the

divine, but they only allow members to choose a few of them, with the

exception of those who were already Beyonders when they joined.

"Are there any secrets to these pathways?

"I'll first jot it down and analyze it in the future. These pathways are

Bard, Sailor, Reader, and Spectator.

"Haha, I have to change my habits of calling these Sequence pathways in

the future. Using those names in that ancient organization makes me

appear quite uneducated.

*This is very similar to what I've analyzed from my hostile relations

and from Mr. A's request, with it being very similar to how the Bard,

Sailor, Reader, and Secrets Suppliant pathways can be exchanged at

Sequence 4... Is Manipulator a High Sequence of the Spectator pathway?

Why do many secret organizations declare that the apocalypse would

definitely befall us one day? For example, the Demoness Sect, this

ancient organization, and they themselves do not rely on this to

proselytize. Is it a requirement for brainwashing or would there really

be a so-called dusk?* Klein thought of many things, but due to a

lack of information, he was unable to come to a definite answer.

At the same time, he couldn't help but silently lampoon, *Roselle, can't

you just write down the name of that organization?*

Resisting the changes in his expression and body movements, Klein turned

to the last page which had relatively little content and read.

"1st Jan. A beginning of a new year. I happened to finish my first Card

of Blasphemy.

"I will hide the ultimate secret of the twenty-two paths of the divine

in these different Cards of Blasphemy and scatter them across the world.

If things fail, they'll be the best insurance that my children can fall

back onto.

"Haha, I'll disrupt the order they wish to have and spread the profound

mysteries of the divine!

"These Cards of Blasphemy will possess characteristics of being

anti-divination and anti-prophecy. Apart from the ones I'm giving my

children, the fated ones will receive it!

"I'm a person who makes sure to square accounts when it comes to

grudges, and after I die, who cares if floods deluge the heavens! Oh, I

didn't create that sentence.

"In short, the more chaotic the world is, the better it is!

"I have to consider how to name the Cards of Blasphemy that will form a

set. The paths of the divine number twenty-two. The Major Arcana tarot

cards also have twenty-two cards. They can match quite well, but there

are a few that don't meet the requirements. I need to make some changes

to match the original potion names.

"That ancient organization is my last and biggest insurance. I don't

know if they'll support me, or the manner in which they'll support me

in.

"I still remember the shock when I first saw the Blasphemy Slate."

"So it turns out that the Beyonder pathways are paths of the divine. It

really is true that the Blasphemy Slate is blaspheming the deities.

"Above every pathway's Sequence 1, there is still a Sequence 0! And

there's a corresponding potion and ritual!

"Each pathway can only have one Sequence 0!

"And Sequence 0 is the Sequence of a True God!

"For example, Sequence 0, Sun!"