"Well, if it isn't Dillan the tightwad," Esteban remarked as he stared at Dillan with contempt in his eyes.
"Ha-ha! You are still humorous as ever, Esteban. I may love money so much, but I am willing to spend
it when necessary. Calling me a tightwad is a bit too exaggerated," Dillan replied with an awkward
smile.
"Oh, is that so? Then, surely you won't mind paying up for the medical fees that you owe me from
before. That is ten thousand Shura Coins in total," Esteban said with a raised eyebrow.
"Ten thousand? Was it that big? Esteban, I think you are asking for too much!" Dillan retorted as his
expression changed drastically.
"If you think that it is expensive, then I don't want you asking me for medicines again later." Esteban
snorted coldly.
"All right. All right. I will pay up," Dillan answered hastily as he begged.
"Come to think of it. I've been quite short of several kinds of medicines recently, and it's actually quite
difficult for me to collect them. However, I guess you have the resources to get them for me," Esteban
insinuated.
"Well, I could do it. But how about the cost?" Dillan asked quickly.
"Fine. It will be deducted from what you owe me!" Esteban answered sternly.
"Okay! I will send whatever you need to the Ghost Palace later." Right after making an agreement with
Esteban, Dillan urged the driver of the chariot to leave in a hurry.
"Who is that guy?" Rocky asked Esteban as soon as the man in the chariot left.
"He is the Minister of Finance that works under Leader Gilbert. He is the one responsible for all
financial affairs within the leader's jurisdiction. Moreover, as you've heard what I say, he's well-known to
be a cheapskate. He always takes advantage of ordinary people, so obviously, many people dislike
him. However, because of his royal status, no ordinary citizen would dare to offend him. In fact, even
the leader turns a blind eye to his unjust schemes. Well, he is a very capable minister indeed. Even if
his ways are crooked, at least there is enough money to recruit more troops and improve the fighting
force," Esteban explained.
"I see. So, why did he come to you before? What was his illness?" Rocky asked out of curiosity.
"That guy is a lascivious man who often acquires sexually transmitted diseases. Because of that, he
asked me for help many times," Esteban replied with a scoff.
"Then, you must have gotten a lot of benefits from him," Rocky said.
"Humph! I am not that kind of person. Since he has many resources, I only ask him to help me find
several kinds of rare herbs."
Hearing that, Rocky just let out a faint smile. 'Of course, rare herbs would not come at a cheap price. If
that is not a benefit, then what is?' he thought to himself. However, Rocky didn't feel the need to point it
out. He just followed Esteban and moved forward to their original destination.
Before long, they came to a huge square in the shape of eight diagrams. At this moment, on the
periphery of the square, many people were already gathered, including the members of Gilbert's
mansion.
On the other side of the square, there were also dozens of members of the Shura Race that had
already reached the Emperor Realm. They all looked well-dressed for the event, but one could see that
they were all pretty arrogant.
"Esteban, aren't you going to stand with those people?" Rocky asked out of nowhere.
"No, of course not. Let's find a better spot where we can watch the fun. Those people came here
because they want to become the Godly Genius and pray for the gods' blessings. I'm not interested in
any of that," Esteban replied and eventually led Rocky to the corner of the square.
Soon enough, several beams of colorful light appeared in the sky. Then, several men landed at the
center of the square, with the lord of the Ghost Fief, Gilbert, taking the lead.
As for the other higher-ups, each of them seemed to have reached the Shura Realm.
"Today would be the decennial God-worshipping Ritual of the Shura Race. We shall pray together,
worship the gods, and beg them to descend towards our mortal world. Without further ado, I now
announce the beginning of the ceremony!" Gilbert declared loudly.
Immediately, some men and women that were dressed in beast clothing and ferocious masks came
dancing in the square. At the same time, various kinds of sacrificial offerings were presented one after
another.
After some time, a divine light suddenly paved the thick clouds. Then, a narrow beam of golden light fell
from the sky, landing directly at the center of the square.
In an instant, all of the members of the Shura Race that were present showed an expression of
reverence. Gilbert even led them to kneel on the ground.
"Hey, brat! What the hell are you waiting for? Kneel at once!" Seeing that Rocky was just staring at the
development of the events, Esteban quickly reminded him.
Only then did Rocky came to his senses and did as was told. However, there wasn't a hint of reverence
in his eyes. If anything, he was just curious to see these so-called gods.
In a flash, the beam of white golden light dissipated as a brilliant yet blurry figure made of light
appeared in the center of the square. The people could not really see its form, but they could definitely
feel its divine power.
"Is that one of the gods?" Rocky asked Esteban with furrowed brows. In his imagination, gods should
appear to be sublime, but this one did not look very special.
However, he also had to admit that the divine power it released was enough to shock the crowd.
"Of course not. That is just a part of the god's spiritual soul. It is said that no one in the Shura Race has
actually seen the true form of the gods. Even the royal family is no exception," Esteban mumbled softly.
"Why is that? Is he ashamed to show his face?" Rocky murmured to himself.
Out of the blue, Rocky felt an intense gaze. As he looked up, he realized that the figure was actually
staring at him. Hence, he immediately lowered his head to avoid its gaze.
Fortunately, the divine light only glanced at Rocky and soon took its gaze away from him.
"I, the leader of the Ghost Capital, take all of these members to participate in the ceremony. I pray that
the god will continue protecting the Ghost Capital, as well as make it prosper more. Please choose the
next appointed Godly Genius to help us."
As soon as Gilbert finished these words, the strand of light suddenly soared into the air and flew
towards the masters of the Ghost Fief that were gathered in the square.
Then, it hovered on top of their heads. These men were very hopeful that one of them would become
the Godly Genius and obtain the superior divine power. However, after the light circled their heads for
quite some time, it suddenly turned around and flew towards the other members of the Shura Race that
were standing on the periphery of the square.
Recognizing that they were not chosen, the masters in the square felt very pitiful.
"I can't believe this. There are so many powerful men in the Ghost Fief, but not one of them was
selected to be the Godly Genius? Does it mean that we wouldn't have a Godly Genius this year?"
Gilbert muttered to himself in surprise.
At the same time, the elders of the Ghost Capital behind him were also at a loss.
But unexpectedly, the strand of light continued to float in the air around the square.
At this moment, all of the members of the Shura Race fixed their eyes on it, especially the ones outside
the square. Their hopes were rising dramatically, wondering if they would be chosen to become the
Godly Genius.
After a long time, the light, which had been moving rapidly in the air, suddenly slowed down. It seemed
to have stopped at a certain area. Before long, it shone brightly and approached the crowd.
Consequently, the members of the Shura Race in that area were so thrilled. Any one of them could be
chosen at any moment.
They could not help but hold their breath, wondering who would be the lucky guy.
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