Chapter 23 Callum Mercer, the Suspected Second Destined Clan Member!

Chapter 23: Chapter 23: Callum Mercer, the Suspected Second Destined Clan Member!

More than a decade ago, Edmund Mercer’s son, Callum Mercer, and Soren Wycliffe, the eldest young master of the Wycliffe Family, had forged a deep friendship during a dangerous trial. They had faced life-threatening situations together, repeatedly risking their lives to protect one another.

Eventually, their bond grew so strong that they became sworn brothers despite bearing different surnames.

Later, Callum and Soren each inherited the position of Patriarch of their respective families. To strengthen the relationship between the two clans, they arranged an engagement between their children while they were still infants.

Callum’s son, Ethan Mercer, was betrothed to Soren’s daughter, Elara Wycliffe.

In the years that followed, Ethan displayed extraordinary cultivation talent. Before reaching the age of ten, he had already advanced to the peak of the Bone Tempering Realm, with the Meridian Opening Realm seemingly within his grasp.

Seeing the boy’s remarkable aptitude, the Wycliffe Family was extremely satisfied with the engagement.

Everything appeared to be proceeding perfectly.

Then, three years ago, an unexpected disaster struck.

For some unknown reason, no matter how much Spiritual Qi Ethan absorbed, the energy that entered his body would mysteriously disappear.

At first, his family assumed it was a temporary problem. However, the situation rapidly deteriorated.

Without sufficient Spiritual Qi to nourish his body, Ethan’s blood and Qi gradually weakened. His cultivation began to decline, and no matter what methods the Mercer branch tried, they couldn’t discover the cause.

They consulted practitioners, searched for rare medicines, and exhausted every available means of treatment.

Nothing worked.

As Ethan’s condition continued to worsen, Callum made a desperate decision.

He was the only cultivator in the Briarford City branch who had reached the Heavenly Origin Realm. As the branch’s strongest expert, he had always been its greatest source of security.

Yet he was unwilling to watch his son waste away without doing anything.

Callum relinquished his position as Patriarch and left the family alone, heading toward the Imperial Capital in search of a solution.

That departure had lasted three years.

To this day, the Mercer branch had received no news of his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Ethan’s cultivation continued to deteriorate until he had fallen to the level of an ordinary mortal. All his former strength had vanished.

His circumstances were tragic enough, but the contrast with his fiancée made them even more bitter.

Elara Wycliffe, by comparison, had flourished.

Thanks to her exceptional aptitude, she had reached the fifth layer of the Meridian Opening Realm and become an Inner Disciple of the Aldercrest Order.

She had also established a close connection with Kieran Wycliffe, the only son of the Order’s Sect Master.

With Elara’s rising status and her growing relationship with someone so influential, Soren had begun to regret the engagement.

He was no longer willing to marry his daughter to Ethan, whom he now considered a useless young man with no future.

Elara herself had publicly expressed her disdain for Ethan, making it clear that she had no intention of marrying him.

Despite this, Soren had not immediately severed the engagement.

Remembering the friendship he had shared with Callum for more than a decade, he decided to notify Edmund in advance that Elara would soon visit the Mercer branch to annul the arrangement.

He hoped this warning would allow the Mercer Family to prepare itself and avoid an embarrassing confrontation between the two clans.

However, if the matter had ended with the cancellation of the engagement, Edmund would never have traveled all the way to the main Mercer Family to beg for help.

After a brief pause, the elderly man continued explaining his concerns.

"According to information we learned by chance, Kieran Wycliffe intends to accompany Elara when she visits our family."

Edmund’s face tightened with worry.

"I’ve heard that Kieran has an eccentric temperament, a narrow mind, and a habit of taking revenge over even the smallest offenses. If something goes wrong during their visit, I’m afraid our entire Mercer branch could be destroyed."

He lowered his head.

"Unless absolutely necessary, I would never have dared to trouble the main family over this matter. But the danger is simply too great. I cannot gamble with the lives of our clansmen."

Edmund knew perfectly well that the main family was his branch’s only hope.

Unfortunately, the Aldercrest Order was a formidable force. Even though the Mercer Family now possessed two Purple Mansion cultivators, it wasn’t certain that Julian would be willing to offend the Order for the sake of a distant branch.

Edmund kept his head bowed, his heart filled with anxiety as he waited for Julian’s response.

But Julian’s expression had gradually become rather peculiar.

Something about this story felt strangely familiar.

A talented young man who suddenly became unable to cultivate.

A mysterious condition that no one could diagnose.

A once-promising genius reduced to being the family’s useless burden.

An engagement that was about to be annulled.

Julian raised an eyebrow.

Wait a minute.

Could this Ethan Mercer have an ancient master living inside a ring?

The thought immediately caught his interest.

He looked at Edmund and spoke in a calm, reassuring voice.

"Don’t worry. Whether you’re part of the main family or a branch, your bloodline is still the bloodline of the Mercer Family. How could I stand aside and watch one of our own branches face the threat of annihilation?"

His expression grew slightly colder.

"And what if the enemy is the Aldercrest Order? If they intend to destroy the bloodline of the Mercer Family, do they really think their reputation alone will frighten us into submission?"

Julian’s tone was decisive.

"They don’t have that qualification."

Edmund abruptly raised his head.

His eyes widened as he stared at Julian, hardly daring to believe what he had just heard.

He had explained the dangers one by one and prepared himself to offer every possible argument to persuade the main Patriarch to intervene.

Yet Julian had agreed without the slightest hesitation.

The entire conversation had proceeded so smoothly that Edmund almost wondered whether he was dreaming.

After several breaths, he finally managed to compose himself.

"Patriarch... are you truly serious?"

Although Julian’s answer had been perfectly clear, Edmund still found it difficult to believe.

Julian’s gaze shifted toward the doorway, as though he could see the distant headquarters of the Aldercrest Order.

"Rest assured. I’ll handle this matter personally."

"Thank you, Lord Patriarch!"

Edmund’s heart finally settled.

An expression of profound relief and joy appeared on his aged face.

During his journey to Wexford City, he had heard countless stories about Julian’s extraordinary strength. The destruction of three major families and the rise of the Mercer Family had spread throughout the surrounding region.

With such a powerful figure personally handling the matter, perhaps Kieran Wycliffe would think twice before acting recklessly.

At least, Edmund hoped he would.

"Get up," Julian said.

He reached out, took Edmund by the arms, and helped the elderly man to his feet.

"Once this matter is settled, you can leave Briarford City behind and bring your family here to live in Wexford City."

Edmund froze.

"Patriarch..."

Tears suddenly welled up in his eyes and streamed down his weathered cheeks.

He had traveled here intending only to beg Julian to protect his family from an approaching disaster.

He had never imagined that this journey might also give his branch a chance to return to the main family.

For a hundred years, returning to their ancestral home had been the greatest dream of the Mercer branch.

Many elderly clansmen had carried that wish throughout their lives. Some had even expressed the desire to be buried in Wexford City rather than remain in a distant land after death.

The separation had never erased their longing to return to their roots.

Yet the mistakes committed by their ancestors had forced generation after generation to bear the consequences.

Now, that long-standing burden might finally be lifted.

Julian looked at Edmund’s emotional expression and spoke firmly.

"Enough time has passed. Whatever mistakes your ancestors committed have long since been paid for. Your descendants shouldn’t have to carry that burden forever."

He paused before continuing.

"From this day forward, the main family and its branches will no longer be treated as separate bloodlines. We will stand together, share our fortunes, and face every enemy as one."

Julian had another reason for making this decision.

The Strongest Clan System calculated the combined strength of the entire Mercer bloodline. Its benefits were not limited to the main family alone. The branch families scattered across other cities were included as well.

If he wanted to maximize the System’s benefits, concentrating resources solely on the main family would be an inefficient strategy.

The branch families needed to develop too.

The stronger the entire Mercer bloodline became, the greater the cumulative benefits Julian could obtain.

With that in mind, he quietly made a decision.

Once the current troubles were resolved, he would begin locating the scattered branch families and bringing them back into contact with the main family.

If they could gather together, pool their resources, and strengthen their connections, the entire clan’s development would accelerate considerably.

The benefits would extend far beyond numbers. A united family would possess a wider network, greater manpower, more resources, and the ability to respond to threats that might otherwise overwhelm an isolated branch.

Standing nearby, the Grand Elder listened to the exchange in astonishment.

In the past, Julian had rarely shown any sympathy for the branch families. He believed that those who had committed offenses deserved whatever consequences followed, and he had never been inclined to intervene in their affairs.

Yet after emerging from seclusion, the Patriarch seemed to have undergone a complete change of heart.

The Grand Elder couldn’t understand what had caused such a transformation.

Nevertheless, he welcomed it.

Those branch families shared the same blood as the main family. Their suffering reflected upon the entire Mercer lineage, and their weakness represented a loss of potential strength.

If the scattered branches could be reunited, the Mercer Family would become far more powerful.

The main family had also lost many clansmen during its prolonged conflicts with the Rourke Family and the other rivals. Reintegrating the branches would help replenish its numbers and rebuild its foundation.

For the first time in many years, the Grand Elder felt that the future of the entire Mercer bloodline might be brighter than he had ever imagined.