Chapter 178: Chapter 176: Hilia’s Gift of Gab

The newly reborn Star Spirit Tree, Rose, didn’t know much about these things.

According to the records, the original Star Spirit Tree would trigger a war among the strong every time it bloomed.

The main source of these wars came from those Tier Eight or Tier Nine Holy-tier Mages who hadn’t yet become gods.

Sometimes, even the rare Tier Ten who hadn’t ascended would join in.

They yearned desperately to condense a Divine Format to prove their way, and there were two requirements for condensing a Divine Format: one was faith, the other authority.

These people either lacked faith or lacked authority.

Faith depended on the individual, while authority was condensed through the Star Spirit Tree.

At least, most of the records about the law of authority said it was condensed through the Star Spirit Tree. Only a few individuals managed to do it on their own.

But that was all background info. By the time Rose arrived, the Star Spirit Tree had already changed from golden to crimson, the Abyss was corroding the land, the tree had permanently stopped growing and flowering, and it was releasing endless Demonic Qi, polluting everything around.

"The old Star Spirit Tree wasn’t a forbidden place, it used to be a sacred site for pilgrimages. Now it’s seen as a forbidden zone and there’s only one explanation: the area around it is shrouded in pollution, and powerful demons are being birthed inside."

Is this pollution carried by the new generation of the Star Spirit Tree, or is it a leftover from the previous one? Rose needed to find out.

But there was no rush. Today, it was best to let Hilia catch up with her adoptive mother, and maybe glean some fun stories from Hilia’s childhood through Vanessa.

The Star Dust Divine Hall only had three clergy members: Vanessa, and two Assistant Priests—a man and a woman, around twenty-five or twenty-six, much older than Hilia.

Hilia herself had once held the position of Assistant Priest at the Divine Hall, but that post was canceled after she was chosen by the Holy Court as a candidate for the Holy Daughter.

At that moment, the only two remaining Assistant Priests looked at Hilia with curiosity, trying to see what had changed for her over the past year.

A year ago, Hilia was still quite naïve; now she seemed a little more mature and much more confident.

"Vanessa Mom, I’m home! School doesn’t start until March, so I plan to stay and help out until then."

Vanessa shook her head with a laugh. "You don’t need to do anything here. This is a small place, we’re not that busy. If you want to do something, go for it! I heard that even during breaks, candidate Holy Daughters have to keep working hard, or else the others will outshine you."

Then Vanessa paused, asking, "So, what have you done at school to make the Holy Court think so highly of you?"

Hilia scratched her head and lowered it sheepishly. "Nothing much, really... just blew up one heretic base, helped my mentors wipe out two other bases... and by the way, reported three High Priests from the Divine Halls and sent them for trial."

At first, Vanessa nodded along, but when she heard the last part, she paused, surprised. "Reported High Priests?"

Hilia nodded. "Yeah, I went to three different places, and the High Priests in all three were up to no good—one ignored the lives of commoners for the sake of his career, one was collaborating with a sect, and one was illegally cultivating pearl rosemary. I reported them to the Law Enforcement Knights and the Judgment Priests, though I don’t know what kind of trials they’re getting."

The female Assistant Priest was stunned. "You went on missions in three towns and got all of their High Priests kicked out?"

The male Assistant Priest blurted out, "You’re not going to report High Priest Vanessa next, are you?"

Hilia’s smile vanished and she snapped, "What are you saying? Vanessa Mom is so gentle and kind, why would I ever report her?"

Vanessa laughed, "But what if I did the same illegal things those High Priests did?"

Hilia was stumped.

After a long moment, she said hesitantly, "I’d try to talk you out of it... but I really believe Vanessa Mom would never do such things."

"Why?" Vanessa’s smile didn’t waver.

"Because Star Dust Divine Hall is so poor," Hilia answered seriously. "If Vanessa Mom had done those things, she wouldn’t be wearing faded clothes and stubbornly refusing to replace them. The Assistant Priests wouldn’t be replaced every year or two, either."

As soon as the words left her mouth, not only did Vanessa’s smile fade, but the two Assistant Priests’ as well.

Even Rose nearly broke character with laughter.

Hilia, you really have a way with words.

Vanessa tapped Hilia gently on her forehead, "What are you saying? Are you suggesting that only those who break the rules can be prosperous High Priests?"

"Not always, but mostly, yeah." Hilia rubbed her forehead, still stubborn. "So that’s why I believe you would never do such things, Vanessa Mom."

Vanessa didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, you got me. I really can’t do those things, or I would have made your childhood way richer already. Looks like Star Dust Divine Hall will have to rely on little Hilia for support in the future~!"

"There’s no need to wait for the future, we can start now."

With that, Hilia rummaged through her bag and dumped out her coin pouch, spilling a cascade of Gold Coins all over the table.

The glittery pile left both Assistant Priests wide-eyed and speechless.

Even Vanessa was taken aback.

"Where did you get all that gold?"

"I made it selling scrolls and upgrading Hearts of Magic Puppets, and also from clearing ancient ruins—the school gave me rewards for that."

The pile contained 240 Gold Coins in total.

Hilia put aside 12 Gold Coins into another wallet; she’d meant to use them on the road, but nothing happened so she didn’t touch them.

These coins weren’t the school’s reward—those hadn’t arrived yet. These were given to her by Benovia.

Vanessa picked up a Gold Coin, rubbing its surface, feeling the faint anti-counterfeiting Magic Power inside. It was definitely freshly minted currency.

She exclaimed, "You get this much for clearing a ruin?"

"It was a ruin no one had cleared in a hundred years—the Lost Lighthouse. We happened to clear it during trials just a few days ago, so the school gave out rewards. Ista’s also going to give rewards, and I heard it’s several hundred Gold Coins more."

Hilia grinned as she spread out her Gold Coins.

"So, Vanessa Mom, our family is rich now!"

Vanessa shook her head. While the two Assistant Priests looked on in agony, she picked up the Gold Coins one by one, put them back in the pouch, and said, "You worked hard for all this. The Divine Hall doesn’t need it. We rely on the Holy Court’s grants and believers’ donations. That’s enough to get by."

"It’s fine, Vanessa Mom. For me now, earning Gold Coins is easy! I can make two hundred of them in a month or two, so you don’t have to scrimp for my sake."

Hilia waved her hand, refusing to take back the Gold Coins.

Suddenly she thought of something and said, "Oh right, Vanessa Mom, you told me you’re a Tier Three Mage. If I can easily earn this much at Tier Two, shouldn’t you get even more? So why is Star Dust Divine Hall so poor?"

"..." Vanessa shot her a look and said, not so patiently, "Let me ask you, how did you get these Gold Coins?"

"Two hundred from the school as a reward, forty from upgrading magic puppets for mercenaries and selling scrolls."

"Most of that is one-off reward money—High Priests don’t have chances like that very often."

"But I still made forty Gold Coins selling scrolls—doesn’t that count as steady income?"

Vanessa was both amused and helpless. "Making scrolls isn’t nearly as easy as you think. If I drew one hundred, I’d be lucky to get one decent one."

"Huh?" Hilia was stunned. "But how come I succeeded with over ninety out of a hundred?"

"That just means you’re amazing, Hilia." Vanessa gently stroked Hilia’s hair. "Your Vanessa Mom just doesn’t have that kind of talent, and neither do most people. Otherwise, scrolls would cost twenty Copper Coins, not twenty Silver Coins."