There weren’t any major events after that, and Sokram spent the rest of the night joking around with his teammates and guests. anwhile, their families’ elders indulged in the liquors Brunhild had brought out from her private collection.
The atmosphere was lively, filled with laughter and animated conversations as glasses clinked together in celebration.
Margiory also took the opportunity to introduce Alain to Amber’s family, explaining that he would be responsible for training her parents moving forward.
Once the Andronys learned that Sokram had discovered more descendants of the Primordial High Humans, they were once again flabbergasted.
This discovery would count as a significant contribution to the family, given the importance of fully awakening their bloodline’s gifts.
Amber’s family would join the Andronys as a secondary or adjunct family, with Alyssa, a pure-blooded High Human, holding a respectable status within the family.
Amber’s siblings would receive the sa top-tier education as any other family mber, with marriages arranged to other secondary or adjacent families when they ca of age.
For Sokram, this ant he had barely entered the succession race and was already one of the top contenders in terms of contributions.
Once he succeeded in his business venture and wrested the Eastern Gate Stables from the Steelhearts, he would likely rank among the top three candidates for Margiory’s position.
However, Sokram wasn’t satisfied with rely being counted among the favorites.
Though joining the succession race so soon hadn’t been part of his original plan, Margiory clearly had other ideas.
Still, Sokram saw an opportunity there, a chance to advance his own goals while simultaneously strengthening Eversnow.
While entertaining his guests, a new strategy began forming in his mind.
Once the gathering concluded, Sokram’s guests departed, leaving behind promises to provide answers or deliver signed contracts soon.
They all agreed to keep the discussion confidential until the following day’s assembly.
After seeing them off, Sokram resud cleaning and reorganizing the backyard. A task that took re minutes thanks to magic and spatial rings.
He then devoted the remainder of the night to deep cultivation.
By morning, he had progressed one-quarter of the way toward reaching Tier 2.
However, his cultivation was hindered by a lack of focus.
The idea of taking the lead in the succession race kept intruding on his thoughts as if his instincts were screaming at him not to miss such a golden opportunity.
The opportunity to win this succession race in one fell swoop.
Still, he only stopped cultivating when Savannah, Lucy, and Amber arrived for their training session right after sunrise.
They spent the rest of the day training under Sokram’s guidance.
Since they were quick learners, Sokram found himself with so extra ti to focus on his own cultivation.
By late afternoon, as their training session was about to wrap up, Hannah suddenly appeared beside her grandson, who was ditating in full concentration.
A glint of astonishnt, and perhaps a touch of jealousy, shone in her eyes. She eagerly anticipated the day she, too, could begin cultivating Chaos Energy.
Sensing the shift in energy in the environnt around them, the girls erged from their ditation and turned their attention to Sokram. Monts later, the rest of his family had gathered in the backyard as well. They watched intently as energy swirled around Sokram, a clear sign of a tier advancent occurring.
While there were no ways to detect a person’s Level of Existence at lower levels, one could determine another being's tier.
One thod involved reading their energy flow.
Upon awakening, individuals beca beacons of energy, attracting the energy they had mainly cultivated toward them.
That energy would then form layers around them.
These layers orbited their bodies in circles, with the number of circles corresponding to their current tier.
Right then, Sokram’s family could sense a second circle forming around him, though its intensity surprised them.
Even though they knew he was already at the True Existence level, the intensity of his energy flow neared that of soone at the Reford Existence level.
The reason lay in his Galactic title:
[Galactic Title: Pioneer of Chaos
As the one who leads the Path of Evolution through the cultivation of Chaos Energy, your Energy Core (Chaotic Dragon Heart) condenses Chaos Energy two tis more than the norm, granting three tis its benefits but also amplifying its consequences by the sa margin.]
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This ant that Sokram could cultivate three tis faster during the initial stages but would face bottlenecks three tis steeper at advanced levels.
Moreover, instead of a standard two-level increase in combat prowess, he gained four.
Thus, upon reaching Tier 2, he was now as strong as a Tier 6 True Existence, a Tier 8 Uncommon Existence, and a Tier 10 Common Existence.
From the beginning, Sokram knew Chaos Energy was a double-edged sword, its true nature only revealing itself at Transcendence, where anyone cultivating it would learn the true aning of stagnation.
Suddenly, a gust of wind erupted while energy ripples ford around Sokram, pushing the air outward with a force that made the nearby lanterns sway.
He opened his eyes, his gaze locking onto his loved ones. The pride in their eyes, especially Hannah’s, filled him with a sense of accomplishnt.
She had a promise to fulfill, and he was ready to hold her to it.
Hilda was the first to speak. "Congratulations on your first Tier-Advancent, dear."
"Thanks, Mom." Sokram’s smile was radiant, his handso features and genuine warmth making the three girls blush and the won in his family feel their hearts flutter.
After a round of congratulations, he turned to Hannah.
"Now, you don’t have any more excuses not to teach alchemy, Nana."
Hannah smirked, her expression devilish as she leaned in closer.
"Well, be ready then. Since I know how fast you learn, I won't hold back," Hannah said, her voice dripping with playful nace. "But don’t think for a second that I’ll go easy on you just because you’re my grandson."
Sokram mirrored her grin, unfazed. "Good."
The ominous aura surrounding Hannah and Sokram as they exchanged looks of deep understanding while grinning evilly made it clear to everyone present that sothing significant would co of their collaboration.
Sokram chuckled softly before turning to the girls. "Alright, let’s wrap this up. We’ve got a feast to attend tonight!"
The group dispersed, each heading off to prepare for the evening ahead.
However, he asked Hannah and Margiory to stay behind.
When Sokram finally broke through his cultivation earlier, a wave of clarity washed over him.
Whatever he intended to discuss with his grandmothers seed urgent enough to warrant secrecy.
Hilda, though she didn’t like Sokram keeping secrets from her, trusted Hannah implicitly.
Still, curiosity got the better of her as she watched from a window inside. The discussion appeared intense.
Margiory’s eyes lit up with excitent, her hands trembling slightly as she leaned closer to Hannah.
anwhile, Hannah’s brow furrowed, her lips pressed into a thin line.
It was clear that whatever Sokram had shared carried imnse weight. After a few minutes, they seed to reach an understanding.
Sokram excused himself to get ready, leaving the two grandmothers behind.
Hilda noticed Margiory speaking earnestly to Hannah.
Though she couldn’t hear the words, whatever was said transford Hannah’s expression from worry to relief, followed by unbridled joy.
An unmistakable look of complicity passed between the two as they walked into the house side by side, clearly plotting sothing together.
anwhile, the girls had brought everything they needed to prepare for the feast at Sokram’s residence.
The real reason for getting ready there, however, revolved around Lucy. The Purple Pavilion and the Silverfang family weren't on the best of terms at the mont.
However, since Lucy was now one of Sokram’s people, he insisted she attend the feast with him.
At formal gatherings hosted by renowned or noble families, attendees typically wore their Sigilcrest Mantles.
These garnts consisted of long, flowing outer robes that extended to the ankles, and wide, billowing sleeves lent an air of grace and authority. Beneath the mantle, individuals wore outfits matching the mantle’s hue. Always crafted from the finest fabrics and usually dyed a single color.
On their backs, bronze, silvery, or golden sigils representing their respective families or factions adorned the mantles, along with the family na embroidered in elegant script.
A bronze sigil indicated a servant or mber of a secondary family; silver denoted a mber of the main family; and gold signified the family head or main successor.
Savannah wore hers proudly, a light gray mantle featuring a silvery Crystal Flower emblem on her upper back, accompanied by the na Chrystalia cascading down in ancient Aefhery letters.
Beneath it, she donned a strapless white ball gown.
Lucy’s attire consisted of a tallic purple mantle bearing the silver castle sigil of the Purple Pavilion.
The words Purple Pavilion were engraved in the common tongue, shimring faintly against the rich fabric.
Amber, though not from a prominent family, looked stunning in a mantle prepared by Sokram.
Hers mirrored the attire worn by the won of the Dracnakrid family, except her sigil was bronze.
Coincidentally, the Androny, Dracnakrid, and Dracony families shared similar colors for their mantles and outfits, an obsidian black mantle paired with a dark gray ensemble underneath.
Amber, like the other won in Sokram’s family, wore a sleek, form-fitting dark gray dress crafted from Arachne's Steel Silk, one of the most luxurious materials available.
Though simple in design, the dresses exuded elegance.
The only distinction among them lay in their sigils.
Hannah’s mantle bore the Dracony family sigil, a crown of dragon horns, with the na Dracony inscribed in ancient draconian golden letters.
Astrid remained an Androny, despite choosing her mother’s side after Hilda and Adulwulf divorced.
Their sigil depicted a sword pointing upward over a human hand, symbolizing their High Human heritage.
The na Androny was written in the common tongue.
The Dracnakrid Sigil was different from all others.
Having once belonged to the banner of an empire, it had a very profound aning.
The sigil was a circular emblem with a strikingly balanced design. At its heart lay a solid central circle, known as the Core, symbolizing the family’s core values as defined by the current head of the family, the foundation of its identity.
Surrounding the Core were six evenly spaced dots, referred to as the Supporting Pillars, representing the backbone that upheld the family. Between each pair of dots, sharp, wedge-shaped black markings, called the Main Pillars, pointed inward toward the Core, signifying the essential foundations on which the family stood.
Encasing the entire design was the Circle, a bold outer boundary symbolizing the family’s duty to safeguard its values and mbers, ensuring harmony and unity on the Path of Evolution.
Cascading down the mantle, the na Dracnakrid was inscribed in ancient draconian letters.
However, Sokram’s mantle was unique.
Margiory and Hannah had insisted it feature the sigils of all three families. Thus, his mantle bore three sigils: on the right, the golden sigil of the Dracony family; on the left, the silver sigil of the Andronys; and in the center, the golden sigil of the Dracnakrid, with all three nas cascading down his back.
Such a display was rare but not unheard of, often signifying the formation of a new Clan through the unification of powerful families.
Beneath his mantle, Sokram wore a simple yet elegant gray suit with a black shirt.
As they paraded through the streets, Sokram’s mantle attracted considerable attention.
He knew that even with the Purple Pavilion protecting his information, the Kingdom of Dracony’s spies in Eversnow would soon learn that Hannah had nad him her heir.
Margiory, however, seed unbothered by this.
What truly concerned Sokram was the ancient dragon cultivating in seclusion in an underground lair, the true powerhouse of the North.
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