Chapter 418 The Aftermath of a Failed Promotion

These light points greatly promoted the growth of flora and fauna within the space. At least within that time, powerful animals had already emerged from the bottommost altar. Although these animals had not yet evolved into magical beasts, their formidable strength allowed them to dare challenge the king of this place—over a dozen Giant Beasts. Of course, they ended up being devoured by these giant beasts. The giant beast controlled by Shaoke's soul also frequently participated in such battles. However, these giant beasts never suffered any harm.

The loss of a small piece of his soul left the mage mentally exhausted. When Mage Roman and the others returned in the evening and found Shaoke curled up resting on a lounge chair, they knew he had suffered some harm. "What's wrong?" The female mage Roman walked straight behind Shaoke and began to massage him. "Did something go wrong with your practice?" As she spoke, the White-robed Cleric conducted a detailed examination of Shaoke and thus learned of the loss of his soul.

Shaoke carefully recounted what he had done in the meditation space, and then peacefully enjoyed the treatment from the White-robed Cleric. "How is the situation within the alliance now?" Shaoke asked Mage Roman.

"Everything is fine, except that Hegel now intends to advance to an Eighth-order Practitioner." Mage Roman glanced at the White-robed Cleric and then delivered her news. When Shaoke looked at the White-robed Cleric, the female Cleric also nodded, confirming that what Mage Roman said was correct.

The mage thought for a moment and said, "Let Hegel come to me later; I will explain some techniques to him."

Shaoke thought for a moment and decided to use all his strength to help Hegel. "Let him prepare an heir. If no one is capable of ruling the family, then let Anling do it," Shaoke added after a moment's thought.

"But Father, I want to..." Anling was about to say something, but Shaoke stopped her. He knew what she wanted to say. "Lan Wei'er will govern the Roman Family in the future. Once my condition is completely stabilized, we will begin establishing the Roman Family." The mage said this, then closed his eyes to rest. Moyu'er, at the request of the White-robed Cleric, went to brew medicine for Shaoke.

The next day, Hegel met Shaoke again. Although the mage had been stationed at this location for decades, they could not meet often due to their busy schedules. Hegel looked older now, with more white hair at his temples. Fine wrinkles had crept onto his forehead, indicating that family affairs had caused him great worry. Perhaps this was because the family had just been established.

"Are you really planning to advance to an Eighth-order Practitioner?" Shaoke gestured for him to sit down, thought for a moment, and then asked. "You should know that your talent is not that great. Even with your mother's help, it's not certain that you can fully advance to an Eighth-order Practitioner."

"Father, as you once said, there are many things we must face. I have prepared everything now and have no right to delay any further. Moreover, when advancing to Eighth-order Practitioner, the worst outcome is merely death." As he spoke, Hegel stroked his white hair, looking very tired.

Shaoke nodded. He felt that this son of his still had some ability. "Have you chosen the family's heir?" the mage asked.

"Yes, Father," Hegel nodded. "It is one of my sons, Hei Luode. I taught him for a period of time." He thought for a moment and added, "Although he did not choose to become a Spellcaster, but instead became a painter, during my time ruling the family, his performance was quite good. I believe he is fully capable of making the family stronger." He then detailed some things about his child for the mage's reference, while Shaoke listened quietly.

"If he cannot further develop the family, I will have your sister Anling replace him," Shaoke said after a moment's thought, revealing his prepared plan. Of course, if Hei Luode could completely strengthen the family, the mage did not care whether he was a powerful professional or not.

"Wait a while longer; after you have dealt with family affairs, come here to undergo the advancement," Shaoke said. He knew there was nothing more worth explaining to him. He only finally told him to go to Mage Roman to retrieve the family genealogy. From now on, only he and the Ruler he designated would be qualified to possess it.

In just one short month, Hegel finished handling family affairs. Then he came to the mages, and with the help of the White-robed Cleric, began his advancement. The outcome was extremely bad. After a long year, Hegel's advancement failed, just as he had said before—the worst outcome was merely death. Holding Hegel's body, the White-robed Cleric wept uncontrollably, while Shaoke stood silently by. He did not weep, just stood there quietly. Finally, Mage Roman and the others comforted the grieving White-robed Cleric. At Shaoke's request, the women returned to their rooms to rest, while he alone carried his son's body to the family estate. Here, he would personally bury Hegel. Hegel became the first deceased member of the Snow Night Family.

At the mage's request, the family's artisans built a luxurious tomb here, and Shaoke personally carved some magic arrays inside. Finally, with the White-robed Cleric's consent, Shaoke cast a spell, permanently freezing Hegel's body. At this time, all the family members came to attend the funeral.

"My children, Hegel, who ruled the family for three hundred years, failed in his advancement to Eighth-order Practitioner. But I do not wish to see you shrink back because of one person's failure. I simply tell you: there is no outcome that our Snow Night Family cannot bear. The worst outcome is merely death. We have already lived much longer than ordinary people!" With these words, the mage began to chant a spell.

One by one, magic scripts were branded onto the tombstone, and then the entire cemetery's defensive spell was activated. The operation of this cemetery would continue until the day the family perished.

Many family members were extremely sad, but one person's death could not be undone. After comforting Hegel's three wives, the mage had all the family members leave, including the grieving White-robed Cleric. He asked Mage Roman to console her, after all, the White-robed Cleric's emotions were not to be easily agitated, otherwise it could greatly harm her body. The mage stood alone in the cemetery, silently thinking of everything that had happened with Hegel back at the station.

Shaoke stood there for a full day and night, finally arriving at the family estate. Having not been here for many years, the estate was now more fortified than before. The mage took the family genealogy from the new ruler, Hei Luode, and carefully recorded the events of Hegel's past. But for the later family affairs, Shaoke had them recorded by the Scribes, since he didn't have a complete understanding of everything that had happened while his son was ruling the family.

"Hei Luode, I think you should be even more clear than I that the strength of a family requires not only a powerful ruler but also a powerful successor. I believe Hegel's choice was without error." With these words, the mage blessed him and blessed all bloodline members of the family. Although they had never truly met Shaoke before, relying on the family portraits, they understood that this powerful mage before them was the founder of the family. Thus, these young children held great respect for the mage.

After handling some trivial family matters, the mage returned. By this time, the White-robed Cleric had managed to control her grief. Of course, Mage Roman's contribution was enormous in this regard.

"Xueye, is there a better way to increase the success rate of family members during advancement?" The White-robed Cleric leaned in Mage Roman's arms and asked Shaoke with some sobbing. "The family now has three Seventh Order Mages who all face advancement. I don't want them to lose their lives like Hegel did because of advancement." As she spoke, the female mage tilted her head up, trying not to let tears fall.

Shaoke patted Moyu, who was equally sad beside him, because she had a very close relationship with Hegel, and his death was a huge blow to her. "The advancement method used by the family is already the best. I cannot find a better method," Shaoke said calmly. Then he stood up and walked to the fireplace, saying, "I think after a few more generations, when the family's bloodline becomes stronger, their success rate for advancement will be much higher." After speaking, Shaoke sighed softly.

After resting there for a while, everyone returned to their rooms.

However, Shaoke instructed his three daughters to help in the family, assisting in the training of the young children. After all, Hei Luode had just fully taken over the family, and many things would keep him busy for a long time. During this period, having three Eighth Order Mages backing him up would quickly stabilize the situation. Of course, at Shaoke's request, they also took on the task of assisting the Blue-robed Female Mage's family development. After all, the Blue-robed Mage had been missing for over a hundred years, and Shaoke was worried that something unexpected might happen to her family.