From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

The Reforging Church provided considerable assistance during the railroad construction in Nasir City and, in return, made a few relatively reasonable demands.

One demand was the construction of a church for the Reforging Church within Nasir City.

Considering the request to be fair and sensible, Byrne thus represented the Fischer family in agreeing to it.

After Nasir City officially transitioned from a town to a city, several other churches also sent representatives and consecutively built their own churches within Nasir City.

Though the majority of the East Coast's populace worshiped the Tempest Overlord and the Lord of Salvation, every city in Cyart had a church for all the True Gods Church, considered standard configuration, so of course the Fischer family did not refuse them.

Even though Lilian was rather displeased, she did not reject the churches.

One could easily imagine that if one dared to refuse the True Gods Church, the so-called "suspicions of heresy" would skyrocket immediately.

----

The gloomy sky today seemed to be shrouded by dense, pitch-black clouds, and the glorious Blazing Sun had already disappeared amidst the dismal cloud cover, casting the whole world in a somewhat somber light.

"Pitter-patter."

Raindrops fell from the pitch-black clouds, landing in puddles and producing a gentle sound.

Black boots stepped on the ground as Felix raised a homemade black umbrella and, dressed in brown clothes, arrived directly in front of the Reforging Church, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

"This is it."

Here stood the false god's church. Though he had visited the Tempest Overlord's church and met with Lord Zayne previously, this was his first time setting foot in the God of Reforging's church grounds, harboring considerably "ill-intentions".

The style of the Reforging Church's architecture differed greatly from that of other True Gods Church buildings; it was a tall structure adorned with many gears, without any vegetation around, just smooth mud terrain, giving off an immediate and chilling sensation.

He looked up calmly to see the clock tower atop the church, a vast and precise mechanical clock slowly turning, possessing a unique beauty.

Then, Felix lowered his head, raised his hand, and saw the fully disguised marks on both sides of his hand.

"Lord of the Lost, please protect me."

"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

Dong!"

The mechanical clock struck seven times in a row, signaling it was seven o'clock in the morning.

Upon entering the Reforging Church's church, Felix immediately saw some worshippers of the God of Reforging murmuring prayers, most of them being workers, craftsmen, and scholars.

They were highly interested in the knowledge held by the Reforging Church, and most had not joined with the purest of intentions to begin with.

Furthermore, joining the Reforging Church meant receiving mechanical prosthetics for free, which also attracted many disabled people to join.

He saw a large dark gold gear placed at the very center of the church, constantly rotating in mid-air, from any angle exuding a beauty of motion while being utterly lifeless.

That was the sculpture symbolizing the God of Reforging.

Felix took a deep breath, suppressing his discomfort, walked forward, closed his eyes, and pretended to pray to the dark gold gear.

Deep down, he felt a bit scared too.

After all, this was the church of the God of Reforging! And he was facing the god's idol!

If his abnormality were detected by that false god, the situation would be incredibly dangerous!

No, he mustn't panic; everything had been ordained by the great Lord of the Lost! Having been bestowed with that mark, it meant that coming here to pray to the God of Reforging wouldn't trigger any dangers!

He would definitely be safe!

Felix firmly believed in this.

"Excuse me, are you Mr. Felix of the Fischer family?"

It was at that moment that the Reforging Church Priest, who had demonstrated what an automobile was with one arm replaced by a mechanical one, walked over with an eager look in his eyes.

"Yes, I am," Felix opened his eyes and nodded, acknowledging his identity.

In Nasir City, no one was unfamiliar with the members of the Fischer family.

The followers of the God of Reforging all looked at him with respectful eyes.

The priest with the mechanical arm nodded calmly and continued, "You should remember me, Mr. Felix."

"I am the priest of this church, my name is Gareth. May I ask why you have come to this church of the God of Reforging? I apologize, but to my knowledge, your Fischer family has always been followers of the Lord of Salvation."

Felix hesitated for a moment, then looked earnestly at Priest Gareth and said, "Priest Gareth, you might not know this, but the philosophy of the Reforging Church actually suits me better."

Priest Gareth nodded and responded:

"I've heard as much, I understand you're someone who's very fond of machinery."

That was indeed true; Felix had always been seriously dedicated to assembling and studying machinery, not just in pursuit of greater Power of Consecution, but also because of a genuine love for mechanics.

"Indeed, I do love machinery and am susceptible to those precise instruments. Their meticulous operation according to the laws of the world thrills me more than humans and other creatures do."

"Although many find machinery cold and lifeless, soulless even, I truly believe in my heart that they possess a unique charm."

His words were spoken from the soul, with absolutely no hint of a lie.

Usually, he would have to keep these thoughts to himself, and he certainly wouldn't dare to voice them out loud; at this moment, Felix felt incredibly refreshed.

After hearing this, Priest Gareth was dumbfounded for quite some time before snapping back to reality, and even the usually expressionless face managed to squeeze out an awkward smile.

"You are absolutely right, Mr. Felix! Those people simply don't understand the beauty of machinery!"

He nodded vigorously and said:

"Indeed, the Lord of Salvation does not suit you at all. The Reforging Church is where you truly belong!"

It seemed like a success.

Felix breathed a sigh of relief, gaining Priest Gareth's trust appeared easier than he had imagined.

However, deep down, he felt their mutual trust was not quite sufficient. Therefore, he took out a mechanical clock and calmly handed it to Priest Gareth.

"Priest Gareth, this is a creation I made in private. Please accept it as a gift from me. If it could be offered as a sacrifice to the precise God of Reforging, it would be an absolute pleasure for me!"

Priest Gareth trembled, taking the mechanical clock while nodding his head repeatedly and exclaimed loudly, "So it is, you really are a genius in mechanics, come on! I want to discuss more about machinery with you!"

He paused for a moment and smiled, "Moreover, there is much knowledge in the oracles of the God of Reforging that you may find interesting."

"They are destined to change, no, to reforge the entire world!"

——

Time quickly passed, and within half a year Felix visited the Reforging Church every day, earnestly exchanging ideas with Priest Gareth of the Reforging Church. Initially, he felt somewhat nervous about this process, but then all that remained were excitement and joy.

Firstly, he found the knowledge of the Reforging Church to be truly fascinating!

And most importantly, by conversing with Priest Gareth, Felix was able to further master the Power of Consecution of the Path of Forging!

At night, when sleeping and dreaming, he diligently assembled various mechanisms in his dreams, constantly improving his grasp of the Power of Consecution.

If there was anything within the Fischer family that Felix could be called the first at, it was probably his serious and strenuous diligence.

Hence, what would have taken years to master, Felix grasped the 2nd Rank Power of Consecution entirely within just half a year.

After a family ritual, he successfully advanced to the 3rd Rank "Sculptor," gaining the abilities of Barehand Blade and Stone Sculpting.

"Finally, I've reached this stage. It's a small Transmutation within the Extraordinary ecosystem of the Consecution," Felix thought, excited by the new powers he received after the ritual. Now that he had reached the 3rd Rank, he could finally have his wedding with Sunny of the Frosac family!

Inside the great hall of the Fischer Manor, Byrne and others looked at Felix with satisfaction, adding to his already joyful mood.

A few days later, inside the church, Priest Gareth of the Reforging Church found Felix in private and calmly said, "Mr. Felix, I would like to introduce you to someone. Meeting him would indeed be fortunate for you."

"He is a high ranking official from the Reforging Church!"