Categorically, diabolic beasts and spiritual beasts on the Supreme Ether Land could only reach the
Emperor Realm. It was highly unlikely for them to reach the Shura Realm, so everyone found Rubygon
to be an utterly incredible existence in this regard.
Clinton never thought that Rocky's treasure beast was a diabolic beast at the Shura Realm, so he
stood there looking totally stunned.
"Please, go ahead," Rocky said calmly to Clinton as he gestured that Rubygon was ready.
The moment Clinton realized how powerful his opponent was, he was at a loss for what to do. Of
course, he did not want to start a fight against Rubygon, but he also did not want to stand there and do
nothing, knowing all those present would deem him a coward if he backed out. Left with no other
choice, he mustered all his courage and decided to fight.
"Enjoy your fight, Rubygon," Rocky playfully cheered.
In response, Rubygon immediately roared and shook its body. The next second, its overbearing aura
surged out, swiftly rushed to Clinton at lightning speed, and launched a series of attacks on him.
Despite the intensity, Clinton faced Rubygon head-on.
Soon, the man and the beast caused a fierce rumble in the square in front of the hall.
At the outset, Rubygon and Clinton seemed evenly matched. Gradually, however, the innate advantage
of being a diabolic beast led Rubygon to gain the upper hand.
Recognizing that the beast was already pulling ahead, Clinton felt so embarrassed that he turned livid.
"That's it! I'm demonizing now!" He took the next second to rage so he could try to save face.
Apparently, Clinton forced himself to enter a demonic state to greatly boost his strength.
The demonizing ability was unique to the Shura Race. While it was impressive, it had a certain side
effect on the user's body. When the royal members, including the king, saw that Clinton tried to use this
skill, they all frowned and shook their heads in disapproval. They thought that he was taking this fight
too seriously by using such a powerful yet double-edged skill during a play fight.
Immediately after setting off the demonizing skill, Clinton grew quite ferocious, and his overall strength
had also increased to the medium stage of the Shura Realm.
Seeing that the Godly Genius stepped up his game, Rocky ordered Rubygon to do the same.
Now, they had both increased their power. As a result, a violent airwave instantly stirred up.
"Wait, what? It even reached the medium stage of the Shura Realm?" The king and the royal members
were dumbfounded to find that the strength of the spiritual beast could still increase that much. After all,
normal beasts would have to go through an arduous path before they could reach the Shura Realm, yet
Rubygon's strength had already reached this far. Naturally, they were beyond surprised.
They could not keep themselves from guessing where Rocky got this beast. Eventually, they came to a
suspicion that he might have subdued it back in the Ghostly Demon Land.
Upon arriving at this thought, the three Godly Geniuses of the royal family wore dark faces. They
realized that they might have been deeply humiliated without even knowing it.
Of course, none of them compared to how gloomy Clinton looked. When he increased his power, he
had thought that he would be able to regain some dignity by beating Rubygon hard. To his dismay,
Rubygon still managed to increase its strength and prevail over him, which meant that using his
demonizing skill was futile.
At this point, Benjamin, one of the four Godly Geniuses of the royal family, finally snapped, "That's
enough, Clinton. Stop the fight."
"But I..." Clinton wanted to say something more, but he immediately nodded when he saw how serious
Benjamin seemed. He then replied, "Alright, alright. I admit defeat."
The sudden withdrawal made Rocky shift his gaze to Benjamin. With one look, he could tell that this
guy was the leader.
"Odin, right? I can't believe you have such an enviable beast. It's amazing! By the way, my name's
Benjamin." Benjamin then looked at Rocky with a mischievous smile.
"Thanks! I'm flattered." Rocky smiled and replied with modesty.
"You know, I've been hearing a lot how unique you are in every aspect. They also say you have
extraordinary abilities. It's nice to see that you're actually living up to your reputation," Benjamin
continued, his wicked smile unfading.
Perceiving that Benjamin was the shrewdest one of the four Godly Geniuses, Rocky did not say a word
and just smiled politely.
All of a sudden, the king spoke up and made an announcement to the public. "Listen up, everyone. I
have some important declarations. Firstly, the five Godly Geniuses of the major fiefs shall all be
promoted to royal members. From here on, they shall be treated equally with the four existing Godly
Geniuses of the royal family. Secondly, the nine Godly Geniuses will continue the battle. If anyone has
any objections, speak now."
Hearing this unexpected announcement, the royal members in attendance looked at each other with
puzzled faces. It was so sudden that none of them had seen it coming.
On top of that, the king announced it in public. This only meant that his mind was made up, so no one
dared to say a word.
However, Gilbert and the other fief leaders still wore grim faces. It was true that the king gave the
promotion an impression that it was a good thing, but they knew that he only elevated their position into
becoming royal members just so he could make them obey him. Unfortunately for the fief leaders, this
meant that they had lost their great helpers.
This just proved that they had quite a scheming king, but the leaders did not breathe a word about it.
"That is all." Once the king achieved his goal, he motioned the people to take their leave and went on
his way.
Not long after, Benjamin and the other three Godly Geniuses of the royal family also left.
"Let's go, then!" Princess Layla called Rocky and the others.
Without delay, they followed the princess to her palace.
When they arrived at Princess Layla's palace, Gilbert sat down and pounded the table. He was about
to lose his temper. "What an insidious king!"
It was clear to him that the king had intentions hiding behind the seemingly kind gesture.
"I'm sure he did it just for the sake of the interests of the royal family. When he invited a lot of other
royal members to join him after Prince Enoch's rebellion, great disagreements inside the royal family
arose. If the king doesn't take any remedial measures, it won't be long before he loses more men. Now,
he just provoked many others when he made that announcement. He really seems to be testing these
fief leaders," Flora remarked, sharing almost the same sentiment as Gilbert.
"Actually, I don't think it's such a bad thing for us to be promoted. It's true that we're Godly Geniuses of
the major fiefs, but it's only glorious within the fiefs. At least, now that we're Godly Geniuses of the royal
family, we won't be regarded inferior to others, and the other fiefs won't try to offend us. They'll have to
show us respect instead." Rocky voiced his thoughts with an assuring smile.
"I agree. It would be quite beneficial to us that we're now sharing the same status with the Godly
Geniuses of the royal family." Valeria followed as she nodded in agreement.
"You're both right, but we can't forget that there's clearly a gap in strength." Gilbert acknowledged their
attitude, but he could not shake off his concern.
"Yes, that is also true."
"Things being what they are right now, the only one who can contend with them is Odin." Flora then
turned to look at Rocky.
"The dual cultivation method of the Flower Fief is uniquely powerful in the Shura Race, correct? With
Odin's current strength, he can help Valeria improve hers if they cultivate together." Princess Layla
suddenly came up with a proposal.
Rocky shifted his gaze to Valeria. If truth be told, they had been pretending to be a couple but had
never cultivated together.
Hearing the sensible plan, Valeria slowly lowered her head out of guilty conscience.
"Well, the effect of the dual cultivation could not be achieved quickly. They're going to need more time,"
Flora promptly explained.
"Oh, sure. That makes sense."
"I think it would be best if we speed up the cultivation, so Valeria and I should probably cultivate in
seclusion soon," Rocky suggested as he smiled faintly at Valeria.
"That's a good idea. Since Prince Enoch hasn't made a move yet, it seems that he doesn't want to
completely part ways with the royal family just yet. That means we still have time if you want to go into
seclusion," Gilbert replied.
"Alright, then."
After their discussion, Rocky and the others left Princess Layla's palace. Flora went on her way alone,
while Gilbert headed back to his mansion in the Ghost Capital with Rocky and Valeria.
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