"Ah."


    Joseph let out a long sigh, his eyes catching a glimpse of reluctance in his mother''s gaze, which the ckwood n also noticed. He then exhaled deeply, "Mother, there''s something I must say. Do you know? Once, my uncle''s direct descendants tried to harm me, thinking I waspeting with them for the inheritance."


    The crowd looked at Joseph, frowning.


    Joseph continued, "What right do I have to im the inheritance? I''m from a different family. It was Grandfather who wanted me to rise. He gave me a drop of precious ancient god blood. After all these years, I can only sleep and meditate under the divine tree, trying to shield my fate from the heavens. Elders, why do you think that is?"


    The wind outside the hall tried to prate the magical barrier, chilling everyone to the bone. Betty''s eyes were red, and the veins on her hands were bulging.


    "He never truly sacrifices for anyone, let alone for ancient god blood. I''ve opened my third eye, even seeing things from after my birth. Back then, Grandfather didn''t try to drown me but to see if my life was tough enough to withstand the ancient god blood fortune he couldn''t ept."


    "He was waiting, waiting for me to fully absorb the ancient god blood, my talents far surpassing his. Waiting to take over as the head of the Martin family, then I would be him. Unfortunately, he miscalcted too much. He didn''t realize that the ckwoods are far more formidable than he anticipated."


    "Over the years, he kept sending people, not just to capture Katie, but looking for me. He never expected that I would stay indoors for decades, giving him no opportunity. He even sent beautiful girls, but my third eye showed me the past, and I trust no one."


    "Bang!"


    The always gentle Betty erupted in anger for the first time, smashing the table with a palm. Her eyes were bloodshot as she knelt before Nathan, "Great-grandfather, please take action!"


    Her tone was so resolute, even if the ckwoods didn''t seek revenge against Michael, she would fight alone!


    The ckwoods felt the same.


    They looked at Joseph, who had just calmly revealed all this. They didn''t know that Joseph had been through so much since childhood.


    But this guy, who seemed toozy to care, only sleeping all day, indifferent, never leaving the house, not fighting for power or love, was silently enduring Michael''s covetousness.


    "Brother, why... why didn''t you say anything?" Katie''s eyes were red, wondering how long her brother had lived in fear.


    "..."


    Joseph waved his hand, then patted Katie on the head, "I''m not like dad, who talks about everything. Don''t be like him; he always gets what he wants, and I almost fell for dad''s tricks."


    "You little rascal,e here!"


    "Ah! Dad, go easy, you dare do it but can''t let others talk?"


    Edward was furious, grabbing Joseph and hitting him, not using much force, his expression somewhat relieved.


    Everyone else looked at the father and son, and Betty on the ground also broke into a smile.


    Then Nathan looked grimly at Daniel, "Go, arrange everything. I want to see if he can outsmart us this time!"


    "Yes!"


    Daniel''s eyes shed coldly.


    Soon, Joseph went back to sleep, and everyone looked at his retreating figure withplex emotions. In Joseph, they saw a hint of Nichs.


    This guy, unassuming, was silently enduring.


    "Dad, Joseph... he probably didn''t dare say it before. Back then, we couldn''t provoke an opponent like Martin," Amelia said softly.


    It had been many years since they had returned, and the children of the house were all remarkable.


    On the screen.


    Ethan stared nkly at Joseph, unaware of these matters. He hadn''t even imagined that Michael''s moral bottom line was even lower than he could have imagined.


    Joseph, sleeping on the Primordial blood tree, curled up, his shoulders trembling.


    Then he finally fell into a peaceful sleep, breathing evenly, a smile on his face, seemingly sleeping more peacefully than ever.


    "Damn Michael!"


    ...


    In the grand hall of the Duke''s Mansion, Michael sat in the master''s chair, his face a mask of shock and disbelief. Outside, the servants and family members of the mansion were celebrating joyously, theirughter echoing through the corridors.


    "Hahaha, we won! We''ve driven all the Druids out of Cloudview County, and the empire has rewarded us!"


    "I knew it! It looked like the Duke wasn''t doing much, but he must have been working his strategies in secret."


    "We might even be able to unify Cloudview County andunch a counterattack against the Druids. Thends of Cloudview County will expand, bringing in a wealth of resources. I''ll earn my stripes in the Duke''s Mansion for this!"


    But Michael was far from celebratory. His voice trembled as he muttered to himself, "How is this possible? How could you possibly win?!"


    Unknown to others, Michael had grand ns for the future. He saw everyone—from the Oracle Chamber and the ckwoods to the Druids—as mere pawns in his game. He had known about Keh''s and Stephen''s true identities all along.


    With the major powers of Cloudview County wiped out, the Emerald Empire would still survive. Even after a great battle, Cloudview County would retain half of itsnds. With the ckwoods gone, he could have taken Joseph and, through him, possibly unlock the secrets that allowed the ckwoods to thrive for over a century. He could have gained Katie and powerful allies...


    Given enough time, he even dared to scheme against the entire Emerald Empire!


    But now, with the Druids driven out of Cloudview County, all his ns had crumbled to dust. The ckwoods had risen to dominate Cloudview County, just as it had been sung about thirty years ago. It was the era of the ckwoods.


    The ckwoods were ready to show their fangs and eliminate him through various means, just as Olivia had always found ways to thwart him in her spare time.


    "No, there''s still a chance," Michael muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Everyone is a pawn in my game, and I can..."


    Before he could finish, a messenger from the Martin family, a Developing Skill Psychic, rushed in from afar, his expression frantic. "Duke, the Druids... the Druids have pushed back in!"


    "What?!!"


    Michael stood up abruptly, his face lighting up. "The world is as unpredictable as the weather, full of opportunities, opportunities!"


    But his expression changed again.


    "Duke, there''s been a change. They aren''t here to attack. It''s good news! The ckwoods have captured them and brought them here to im their victory and discuss with us at the Duke''s Mansion about attacking the Druids!"


    The smile slowly faded from Michael''s face as he sank back into his chair, the familiar surroundings of the hall suddenly seeming so pale and colorless.