"So, do we have to go and attend it?" Rocky asked.
"Yes, of course. Godly Geniuses must attend this festival. After all, this a chance for you to test each
other's strength. Well, with your current strength, I believe that no one among the other Godly Geniuses
could match you. But it is still a good opportunity for you and Valeria. Moreover, although the king
decided not to pursue the matter about the Purgatorial Tripod in the meantime, it doesn't necessarily
mean that it's over. If we do not abide by his wishes, he might find an excuse to make things difficult for
you again," Gilbert warned.
"Don't worry, you will find it interesting. You will also have a chance to subdue precious demonic beasts
during the festivities," he added.
"All right then. I guess we'll go and have some fun." Rocky eventually agreed.
"Good. I will send someone to the royal family and confirm our attendance." Gilbert nodded and
dismissed them.
A few days later, the day of the Beast-fighting Festival finally came.
Early in the morning, Rocky, Gilbert, Valeria, and Vivian set out and headed to the Royal Land.
Although the royal family and the entire Shura Race had been a bit jittery ever since Prince Enoch's
rebellion started, this kind of festival was actually helpful to divert the people's attention.
As soon as the four arrived at the square, where the festival was going to be held, they saw that the
place was already crowded with many powerful warriors of the Shura Race.
On the high platform in front of the square, the king, several elders, and Princess Layla sat side by
side. At the same time, the leaders of the other fiefs, and their Godly Geniuses also sat on both sides.
Lastly, some of the royal ministers also sat with them.
Strangely enough, Zain was the only important figure who did not show up.
Then, after Rocky and the others went to the high platform, they appeared before the king to pay their
respects.
"Gilbert, welcome! We were already wondering why you haven't shown up yet," the king happily
greeted. Although the royal family was faced with many problems, he seemed to be in a good mood
since it was a huge festival.
"We are sorry for our late arrival." Gilbert just smiled apologetically.
"Don't worry about it. Anyway, I was actually talking with the elders about Odin." The king suddenly
changed the topic.
"What about him, Your Majesty?"
"Well, right now, there are only five Godly Geniuses left. In terms of strength, I personally think that
Odin is the most powerful one. So, it might not be an exaggeration to say that the winner of the battle
among the Godly Geniuses of the major fiefs is already decided."
The king did not even say these words discreetly. Hence, the leaders of the other fiefs were obviously
unhappy to hear this. However, they could not disagree because they had also known Rocky's
accomplishments.
Just recently, during the quest in the Ghostly Demon Land, Rocky displayed an amazing performance
that even surpassed the warriors at the Shura Realm. Because of this, many were also convinced that
he would eventually emerge as the winner in the battle among the Godly Geniuses of the major fiefs.
"In the past, it usually took three to five years before the result was decided. But everyone can see that
this time, things are progressing much faster. Therefore, I plan to announce the nine Godly Geniuses of
the royal family in advance, so that they could join in the battle of the original Godly Geniuses," the king
suddenly revealed. Of course, the fief leaders who heard this were stunned to their core.
Previously, the battle between the Godly Geniuses of the royal family would usually begin after the
battle of the fiefs' Godly Geniuses was concluded. Then, the winner of the latter would join the former.
But now, the king suddenly decided to mix the two battles of Godly Geniuses. Obviously, the leaders of
the fiefs thought that this was unfair.
However, no one could blatantly reveal their thoughts and opinions. After all, they knew why the king
was so eager to advance the battle of the Godly Geniuses. The earlier the battles ended, the sooner
the victor could obtain the qualification to become a deity. For the royal family, this was what they
yearned for.
Prince Enoch could start a large-scale war against the royal family at any time. Therefore, thinking that
it would boost the morale of the people, the king decided to reveal the identities of the Godly Geniuses
of the royal family this soon.
"When are you going to announce it, Your Majesty?" Gilbert asked with hints of anxiety in his voice.
"Well, they are still cultivating in seclusion right now, but I already gave the order to summon them as
soon as possible. So, once they all return, I will make the announcement," the king answered.
Hearing this, the leaders of the fiefs could just look at each other and be rendered speechless.
"Anyway, enough of that. Now that Leader Gilbert has arrived, let's start the sacrificial ceremony!" the
king loudly declared.
Soon enough, a demonic beast was brought into the center of the square. Then, it was slaughtered in
front of the public, letting its blood flow out. As the ceremony began, some dancers also began to
dance along with festive music.
Right after the sacrificial ceremony, the beast-subduing contest was held.
During the contest, a few precious beasts would be selected and brought out. Then, the warriors
attending the festival would be given the chance to subdue these beasts. If they could tame them, then
they could take them.
Shortly after, a huge iron cage was brought to the square. Inside, a huge red beast with an aura
equivalent to that of a high-level Spiritual Emperor was imprisoned.
"That is the Flaming Blood Dragon!"
"I know! It is a rare demonic beast that is at the Emperor Realm. It should be on the top ten of the most
powerful Emperor Realm demonic beasts!"
"Then, if one can subdue it, it means that he will have a companion that is also as strong a Spiritual
Emperor!"
As soon as the demonic beast was revealed, the crowd burst into an uproar. Moreover, some of the
strong warriors present immediately expressed their interest.
Not long after, an enchanted barrier was set up at the center of the square in order to prevent the
Flaming Blood Dragon from hurting the audience. Then, the beast was eventually released from the
iron cage.
"The beast-subduing contest begins now! Which one of you is willing to be the first one to give it a try?"
the warrior in charge announced.
Without wasting any time, many powerful Spiritual Emperors scrambled to get to the center of the
square. However, since there were too many of them, it was decided that drawing of lots would be
necessary to determine the order of the participants.
The first one to come on stage was a middle-level Spiritual Emperor. He directly walked in front of the
demonic beast while moving his hands up and down as if invoking some spell.
However, before he could even finish chanting the spell, the Flaming Blood Dragon roared mightily and
slapped him hard as if it was just toying with him.
Seeing this, the crowd could not help but burst into laughter. Obviously, the warrior failed to subdue the
beast.
Then, the next warrior went to the stage. This one seemed to be more capable than the previous
warrior. As soon as he showed up, he engaged with the beast using hand-to-hand combat.
Unfortunately, the Flaming Blood Dragon was too powerful for him to handle. After just a few
exchanges of blows, the warrior was covered with bruises all over his body. In the end, he had to
retreat before his life was put in danger.
Afterward, more warriors went to the stage to challenge and subdue the dragon.
However, not a single one of them was able to successfully subdue the beast.
After a while, three masters at the Shura Realm lined up on the stage and wanted to try their luck to
subdue the powerful beast. But even with their strength, they still failed.
"Hmm. How about you, Godly Geniuses? If you are interested, you can also try," the king said as he
glanced at the Godly Geniuses on the high platform.
"No, thank you. I am not interested..." Valeria immediately refused.
"Let me have a go at it." At this time, Quentin suddenly stood up and entered the stage.
Thanks to Rocky, he was able to recover. Moreover, ever since his injuries were fully healed, he
became much stronger. In fact, he had now reached the premium stage of the Emperor Realm.
However, it seemed that he did not want to deal with the dragon directly. He just stood in front of it,
barely moving at all.
After quite some time, the Flaming Blood Dragon could not stand it any longer. Since Quentin would
not make the first move, the beast decided to take the initiative to attack.
In response to the dragon's movement, Quentin quickly activated his spiritual power to resist the attack
and protect himself.
The Flaming Blood Dragon repeatedly tried to break through Quentin's defenses, but it utterly failed.
Eventually, the dragon began to feel exhausted and out of breath.
Deeming that it was the right time to take action, Quentin launched a powerful blow, instantly knocking
down the demonic beast.
"Yield to me!" Quentin stood in front of the beast and stared down at it while demanding its surrender in
a stern tone.
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