Soon enough, the news that Rocky had easily passed the test of the Heavenly Demon Tower was
immediately reported to the king by a warrior that was guarding the tower.
Therefore, when Rocky and Layla arrived at the palace, they were welcomed with stares of awe
coming from the elders and ministers of the royal family. Even the king could not hide his shock upon
seeing that Rocky was already before him.
"Your Majesty, I have successfully gone through all the floors of the Heavenly Demon Tower. Now, as
we have discussed, please entrust me with the task of protecting the Purgatorial Tripod," Rocky said
directly right after saluting to the king.
"I actually did not expect you to pass through the Heavenly Demon Tower at all, but it seemed that I
underestimated your real strength," the king remarked. He was well aware that anyone who could
complete the test of the Heavenly Demon Tower should at least have a strength equivalent to the
premium stage of the Shura Realm. When he talked with Zain previously, his son mentioned that Rocky
had been hiding his real strength all along, and he even possessed a divine treasure. In fact, the king
did not really believe it until now.
The main reason why he asked Rocky to do this task was to test if he really possessed that kind of
strength. Now that he had witnessed this with his own eyes, the king even assumed that Rocky was the
strongest among the Godly Geniuses. But it seemed that Rocky was deliberately hiding his real
strength so that the other fiefs would not find out about it.
"Your Majesty, he has done what you have asked him. Please honor the agreement," Layla
immediately expressed her support to Rocky, fearing that the king would come up with another idea to
make things more difficult for them.
"Of course, I will. You have successfully come out of the Heavenly Demon Tower, so I can be
reassured that you can guard the Purgatorial Tripod. However, this is only temporary. The moment that
we settle the matter regarding Enoch, I expect that you will return the tripod so that it can be sealed
again," the king demanded firmly.
"I understand," Rocky immediately agreed. In fact, it should not be a big deal right now since he knew
that Phillip's soul wasn't really sealed in the Purgatorial Tripod. But of course, he could not let anyone
know about this secret. Otherwise, it would just create much bigger chaos and panic.
"All right. You are free to leave now," the king declared, waving his hand to dismiss them.
Afterward, Rocky and Layla left the palace.
"So, what are you doing now? Are you going back to Leader Gilbert's mansion?" Layla asked with hints
of reluctance in her voice. Rocky had only stayed in her palace for a few days, but she had enjoyed
their time together. Although they did not really spend much time talking to each other, Layla still got to
know Rocky in a better sense.
"Hmm. I have to visit the Genie Fief first before I go back to the Ghost Fief." "The Genie Fief?
What are you going to do there?" Layla asked with furrowed brows.
"Well, I'll just tell you when I successfully finished my business there," Rocky replied with a faint smile,
deliberately keeping Layla in suspense.
Then, he summoned Rubygon and left the Royal Land while Layla sent him off.
Just as Rocky said, he went straight to the Genie Fief to visit Adrian and prove his commitment.
According to their plan, even before the mission at the Ghostly Demon Land, Adrian pretended to
swear his loyalty to Zain. With this, Rocky could have a chance to split the prince's forces from the
inside.
After two days of traveling, Rocky finally arrived at Adrian's mansion. However, instead of paying a
public visit, Rocky sneaked into the mansion so that no one would see him.
With Rocky's stealthy skills, he was able to reach Adrian's study without anyone noticing him. There, he
saw the leader reading some documents.
As he entered the study, Adrian was obviously surprised by Rocky's sudden visit. Since he knew that
the young man's purpose for coming was pretty important, Adrian immediately ordered his men to shut
the mansion so that he and Rocky could talk in private.
"Congratulations, Odin! I heard all of your great contributions when the king asked the candidates to
enter the Ghostly Demon Land." Based on what Adrian just said, Rocky assumed that the news about
him obtaining the Purgatorial Tripod had already reached throughout the nine fiefs.
"Thank you. But I have to say that I have doubts whether this is a good thing or not…" Rocky said
wryly.
"You kind of lost me. What do you mean?" Adrian asked out of curiosity.
"I'm sure that you also heard that I brought out the holy treasure that sealed Phillip's soul. Am I right?"
Rocky openly asked, knowing that this piece of information must have been spread out already.
"Yes, I heard. But according to the reports, you only had to do it because of Prince Enoch's collusion
with the demonic race. Don't worry. I'm not someone who will judge you without being objective."
"However, do you also know that the king had forced me to hand the holy treasure over to the point that
we almost had a falling out?"
"I guess I understand what was running on the king's mind. The holy treasure has been guarded by the
royal family for several thousand years. You can't expect him to entrust this very important matter to
someone outside the royal family," Adrian reasoned with logic.
"I also understand that part. But have you ever suspected that the king might have another intention for
sending us to the Ghostly Demon Land? He said that it was to select the throne's successor, but isn't
this method already outdated and even banned years ago?" Rocky asked as if insinuating something.
"What exactly are you getting at?" Adrian asked with narrowed eyes. He knew that Rocky was trying to
say something, but he did not want to tell it directly.
"Well, after we entered the Ghostly Demon Land, the teleportation array was suddenly destroyed. It
turned out that a member of the demonic race was responsible for this. Then, inside that barren place,
almost all of us died. If you think about it, all of those unfortunate events would have never happened if
the king did not suddenly change his mind and turn the selection into that quest," Rocky stated, but his
point was still a bit vague.
"Didn't he say that he just wanted to select the most suitable successor, so he chose to do it that way?"
Adrian replied with a little hesitation in his voice.
"Yes. That is what he said before we entered the Ghostly Demon Land. But after I and Layla came
back first and presented Phillip's soul power to him as he requested, the king is still reluctant to declare
who the successor will be. If you ask me, it totally defeats the purpose of taking the quest to the
Ghostly Demon Land," Rocky directly pointed out.
"Now that you say that, I have to say that it is indeed weird. It is kind of unfair to the candidates,
especially to Princess Layla," Adrian admitted. In fact, when Adrian got the news that Layla's team was
the one that completed the quest first, he thought that the princess was undoubtedly going to be
selected as the next ruler. If only that happened, Rocky would have already fulfilled his promise to
Adrian.
"Right now, Enoch has already started his rebellion, which in turn puts the royal family in total chaos. At
this crucial moment, I think it's time for the nine fiefs to take sides. Let me be blunt. The reason why I
came today is to make sure that our agreement hasn't lost its effect yet."
"I am a man of my word! Of course, I won't turn my back on you. However, I also have to make sure
that you can keep your promise," Adrian suddenly remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, you are in luck because that is actually part of the reason why I am here. Just as I said, the time
is now ripe for us to make a move. As promised, I will eventually make you the leader of three fiefs,"
Rocky declared with confidence.
"For real?" Adrian's face instantly lit up upon hearing Rocky's words. If this came true, the Genie Fief
would become a superpower in the Shura Race.
"You have my word. But of course, I also need you to do your part. Don't worry, it's not something hard
for you. You just have to play a sympathy-getting ploy," Rocky said with a mysterious smile.
"Hey, what is this sympathy-getting ploy all about?" Adrian immediately frowned in confusion.
"First of all, I am planning to merge all the forces under Prince Zain's command. But in order to achieve
that, I will need your cooperation so that I can persuade the other two fiefs," Rocky briefly explained.
"So, what exactly do I have to do?" Adrian asked straightforwardly.
Then, Rocky leaned into him and whispered something. Shortly after, Adrian's eyes brightened, and he
began to nod repeatedly.
"As long as you can do what I said, all of the fiefs who support Prince Zain are going to be under your
control," Rocky strongly emphasized.
"I understand. Just wait for the good news. I won't let you down!"
"Then, I will expect that. By the way, is Gloria here in your mansion now?" Rocky suddenly asked.
"Oh, yes. She is actually cultivating in seclusion."
"Really? When did that girl become so diligent?" Rocky asked in a teasing tone, but he was actually
impressed with the sudden change in Gloria's attitude.
"Ha-ha! I guess she must have been too worked up after attending the Spiritual Emperor Contest back
then. As soon as she came back, that is all she did," Adrian recounted, slightly shaking his head.
"Well, that is good for her. She must have realized that there are more powerful warriors than her, so
she wanted to improve herself. Anyway, I shall take my leave now. I will wait for the good news soon
enough." After saying that, Rocky eventually got out of Adrian's study.
Then, he sneaked out of the mansion again without anyone detecting him.
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