NOVPUB"Huh?"
"Why is the Palace Lord here?"
Hearing the surprised voice, Alec turned to look at Lilith, equally astonished.
"If I didn't show up, you'd probably be ascending to heaven already!" Lilith took a deep breath, then questioned sharply, "Why did you pour that precious Star Essence all over the ground?"
"To cool the place down!"
Alec replied righteously, "It's scorching hot, and the dry floor might make the Titan Elder uncomfortable, so I used Star Essence to lower the temperature!"
"???"
The dry floor?
Then why didn't you just use ordinary water?
Since when do cultivators care about that sort of thing?
Lilith was on the verge of exploding from sheer frustration.
Cooling the ground? What nonsense!
This was no different from flaunting wealth like a lunatic!
Wait a second...
Flaunting wealth?
Lilith's expression shifted suddenly. A thought struck her. "Did the Titan Elder tell you to do this?"
After hesitating for a moment, Alec admitted, "To be honest... Last night, after you and the Amethyst Elder left, that bastard Lore was afraid we'd steal his Star Essence, so he just jumped into the entire barrel and took a bath in it!"
"Then today, after Stiegler tattled, the Titan Elder didn't even punish him. Instead, he rewarded us with five more barrels!"
"I've figured it out now. As long as you show off wealth and act like a spendthrift, the Titan Elder will reward you with unimaginable benefits!"
"So the idea to cool the ground with Star Essence was mine. After the Titan Elder found out, he immediately gave me more than enough in return!"
Lilith was utterly speechless.
This wild plan to waste precious resources and flex wealth… was actually Alec's idea?
Huh?
Suddenly, Alec realized he couldn't move.
"Alec, as a candidate saint, how can you be doing such menial work?"
"Leave it to me."
With a wave of her hand, Lilith levitated the massive barrel with her magic and walked off.
"???"
Excuse me?
I'm not supposed to do manual labor as a candidate saint, but you, the Palace Lord, are allowed to?
Watching Lilith's figure recede into the distance, Alec nearly lost his mind.
That was his meticulously planned opportunity to flaunt and gain favor!
Thinking about how the Phantom Moon Orchid was snatched from him yesterday, and now today's chance was stolen again, Alec was thoroughly disheartened.
Why had he even joined the Titan Tower?
Just to have his credit stolen by others?
Meanwhile...
As Lilith climbed up the floral trellis with the massive barrel in tow, the Amethyst Elder had already taken a different route and arrived at Velen's residence with Sivan in tow.
No kidding — when it comes to earning benefits, you gotta act fast!
"Sivan?"
"What's he doing here?"
Seeing Sivan standing beside the Amethyst Elder, Velen frowned with confusion.
By right, Sivan should've left after maintaining order during the recruitment ceremony. Why was he still here?
Bang!
Before Velen could question him further, Sivan suddenly dropped to one knee and said excitedly, "Thank you, Your Highness, for giving me this opportunity! I will serve with absolute loyalty from this day forth!"
"???"
Giving you an opportunity?
What the hell are you talking about?
Velen was completely baffled. All he did was let Sivan maintain order — how did it come to this?
"Your Highness, even though you say nothing, I understand everything clearly!"
"First, you allowed me to host the recruitment ceremony. Then you invested heavily in altering the assessment format. That entire evaluation was clearly tailored to fit me!"
"Who else could possibly afford one million advanced mana crystals besides me?"
"Your Highness, you've gone to great lengths to ensure I could join the sanctuary with full legitimacy. This immense kindness… Sivan shall never forget!"
Velen remained silent, stunned beyond words, as Sivan poured out his heartfelt beliefs.
He wanted to make sure Velen knew — he wasn't some clueless brute. He had figured it all out!
"By the gods…"
"How did you manage to make all that up and tie it together? Are you the god of imagination or something?!"
Velen was ready to lose his mind. That wasn't his intention at all!
Off to the side, the Amethyst Elder finally understood, nodding to himself. "It seems the Titan Elder values Sivan highly. This battle maniac already has the Fenrir Bloodline. Now, with the Titan Elder backing him as well, his future will be limitless."
"Just as discussed, those who offer a million advanced mana crystals in sacrifice will be accepted directly into Titan Tower."
"This man has fulfilled the criteria. If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."
With that, the Amethyst Elder turned and left.
"Sigh…"
"Did I just end up gathering all the Giant Wolf Bloodline talents?"
Looking at Sivan, Velen couldn't help but sigh, thinking of Nikola and the Darknight Sovereign from the lower plane universe.
"Get up. Since you sacrificed a million advanced mana crystals, you're now officially part of Titan Tower. I'll take you to meet the other three."
Just as Velen exited the room with Sivan, a scene stopped him in his tracks.
"Lore, what do you think you're doing?!"
"You're making the Amethyst Elder clean the yard while you stand there and watch? This is outrageous!"
Velen frowned and scolded Lore harshly.
"I didn't mean to, Your Highness!"
"I was immobilized! The Amethyst Elder insisted on taking over!"
Lore tried to explain, but with his body still frozen, it came out as a series of muffled grunts.
"Titan Elder!"
"Lore is a candidate saint. He shouldn't be doing manual labor. It's more appropriate for someone like me."
The Amethyst Elder smiled as he spoke.
Huh?
Looking at Lore who was frozen in place, then hearing the Amethyst Elder's words, Velen came to a sudden realization.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Amethyst Elder."
"But just so we're clear — no hardship fee will be given!"
"If I start compensating you for this, all eight Grand Elders and the Palace Lords will flock to Titan Tower! That's a line I won't cross!"
Velen decided firmly that no matter what, he would forgo the potential rewards from this display of luxury.
If all the top brass came running here, who would be left to manage the Endless Sanctuary?
"Grand Mentor Palace Lord?"
Just then, Velen spotted Lilith in the distance, magically levitating a giant barrel while cooling the floor.
Three stress lines appeared on his forehead immediately.
His concerns had been absolutely correct!
"Amethyst Elder! Palace Lord!"
"There's something I need to make absolutely clear — members of Amethyst Tower will be compensated for labor. But you two will not!"
Velen made his declaration loudly and clearly.
Stunned.
Both the cleaning Amethyst Elder and the floor-cooling Lilith froze in place instantly.
This wasn't how they had pictured it at all!
The road to fortune had ended before it had even begun?
"In the future, when there are actual requests or important tasks, you'll certainly be rewarded."
"But for chores like these, let the candidate saints handle them."
Seeing the dumbfounded looks on their faces, Velen smiled as he reassured them.
"Too intense…"
"My mentor always said the low plane universe fortresses are fiercely competitive, but I never imagined the Holy Sanctuary would be just as bad!"
"To think that His Highness would cause such a storm of internal competition in just two days!"
Sivan trembled inside.
He had just joined and was already witnessing a power struggle that even drew in Palace Lords and Grand Elders.
Not far away, Stiegler was on the verge of tears.
He never expected competition within the Titan Tower to be this cutthroat.
Even top-ranking officials were trying to grab the spotlight.
But what about him?
Didn't he deserve a chance too?
After Lilith and the Amethyst Elder departed, Velen gathered Alec, Lore, and Stiegler to formally introduce Sivan.
The moment Lore and Stiegler heard Sivan's name, their eyes nearly popped out.
This hulking new recruit was the legendary battle maniac who once defeated a Palace Lord!
"Stiegler, is there something else?"
Velen noticed that everyone else had left, yet Stiegler remained, standing silently in place. Curiously, he asked him...
