Apostle

Raymond shook his head; trust Jasmine to jump to conclusions. Although he pretended to walk away from the trio, he stayed back and listened in on what they were talking about.

After what Jasmine was planning in the Capital to reveal Lyla's identity, he had been extra careful with her. He didn't want to take any more risks by letting her be willful.

Thankfully, she wasn't up to something diabolical now. If anything, Raymond was glad that she was trying to befriend Vivian, though her approach was a bit extreme.

As for his thoughts on Vivian, Raymond didn't find her to be too annoying. If anything, she was cute with how naive and gullible she was.

The only thing about her that made him frustrated was her need for dramatics.

If she could learn to be more forthcoming with her real intentions rather than hiding behind the veil of haughtiness, she could be a great person in the future.

Raymond turned around and strolled towards his room. Along the way, he bumped into someone he was not at all pleased to meet.

Ronan was coming towards him with an amusing grin tugging his lips. Raymond's mood sank to the bottom instantly.

"Ahh, if it isn't Raymond Clover!" Ronan shouted as soon as his eyes landed on Raymond. "We meet again."

"Unfortunately, we do," Raymond said irritably.

"Haha, don't be so grumpy. People always line up outside my house to meet me and yet here you are, acting as though you stepped on horse shit."

"What do you want now?" Raymond didn't like arguing with the old man.

The geezer was good with his words and Raymond would be forced to use his brain to come up with something to annoy him.

"Nothing, I am just minding my business. It's not like I'm always spying on you or… something."

"Fine, have a good day," Raymond moved past the old man. That's when he stopped and turned towards him again.

Raymond noticed that he couldn't exactly gauge the old man's cultivation level.

"Old man, what is your cultivation? How are you hiding it?" He asked curiously.

Although Lyla was doing the same, he could easily see through her cultivation. But the old man was different.

Whenever Raymond concentrated on him, it always appeared like his cultivation was all over the place.

His aura was calm at times and chaotic at others. Raymond was intrigued by his novel way of using the elemental aura to fluctuate his mana and confuse the people into thinking he was a feeble old man.

He even hid his pointy ears for some reason.

"My, my, aren't you curious? What makes you think I will reveal my secrets to you?" Ronan crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows.

"Fair enough, I too have some secrets, but I am afraid they will be revealed soon enough. When the time comes, it will be too late for you to regret." Raymond snickered, thinking about his deal with Vivian.

"Have fun till then…" Raymond continued his walk and left behind the old man who was deep in thinking.

"Wait!" Ronan yelled, but Raymond didn't stop and kept his pace.

For some reason, Ronan had an ominous feeling about what Raymond had said about secrets.

"Hey, wait! Raymond… listen to me, will you?" Ronan was a powerful wind user, so he quickly caught up to Raymond who was 'supposedly' walking at his normal pace.

But it was anything but normal for others. By the time Ronan caught up to him, he had already walked halfway across the village.

"Tch, youngsters these days have no respect for elders!" Ronan tutted in disapproval. If not for his intention to hide his cultivation, he would've had no trouble chasing Raymond.

He was a stubborn and cautious old man. He wouldn't reveal any of his secrets even if his life depended on it.

"What do you want? Weren't you just minding your business? Go on… no one is disturbing you."

"Do you think I would be able to focus after what you just said?"

"Said what?"

"About some secret that I would regret not knowing sooner."

"Ohh, I must've misspoken in a hurry. I don't remember saying such things, old man." Raymond blinked.

"No, you're definitely hiding something. Tell me what it is…!" Ronan shifted his gaze from here and there; the street was full of people.

So, he came closer to Raymond and whispered in his ears:

"Alright, you win. I will reveal my cultivation in exchange for that secret."

'Well, that was easy!'

It seemed like the old man was really desperate to know everything. Then again, he was someone who spied on people and scammed them with his bullshit fortune telling business.

It must be frustrating for someone like him to be unaware of matters concerning himself.

"Hmph, knowing your cultivation isn't enough for me to reveal that secret!" Raymond flared his nose. His eyes darted towards the tea shop that was across the street.

"You elves suck at hospitality, don't you? I haven't received any proper welcoming here." Raymond was testing to see how far he could push the old man before he snapped.

"How about it, treat me to a cup of fragrant tea and answer some of my questions. Then we will talk about that secret!"

Raymond pointed towards the tea shop and the old man sighed in resignation and beckoned him to follow.

'Evergreen Herbal Tea Shop.'

"Welcome to Evergreen Tea Shop, Lord Ronan!" The maid at the entrance bowed and led them towards the VIP section without asking anything.

The old man must be a regular here.

"So, what is your cultivation?" Raymond asked as he sipped on his tea.

It was good; even if he didn't get any answers from Ronan, the tea alone was enough to make up for it.

Raymond got happier since he didn't have to pay for the tea.

Everything on this side of the Continent was too damn expensive. Raymond's wealth of half a million gold, which he had painstakingly collected so far, would be spent in no time if he wasn't frugal.

"I am a Martial Emperor," Ronan grunted, not at all happy about revealing his fake cultivation level.

Raymond rolled his eyes, the old man was still playing games with him.

At least, he admitted to having a Martial Emperor realm cultivation. That was good enough. It meant he was higher than that level and that's what Raymond wanted to know.

"Hmmm," Raymond nodded. "That's impressive, old man."

"Haha, it's nothing. Our Priestess is far stronger than me! I am nothing compared to her." Ronan beamed with pride.

Raymond's cheeks twitched. The old man was bragging, wasn't he?

These elves definitely liked to look down on others.

"Is that so… then I might as well ask her for help. I am sure someone with higher cultivation would be better suited to clear my doubts."

"NO! Definitely not! She is out of the territory for diplomatic reasons!" Ronan screamed suddenly, making the rest of the tea shop quiet down in a stunned stupor.

"Cough! I am sorry." Ronan apologised to the rest of the customers and fixed his gaze on Raymond.

"She is not here. Even if she was, she is too busy to meet with you. Just ask me what you want to know… I will answer it."

Raymond looked at him strangely. He couldn't even guess what was wrong with the old man.

Old age must be getting to him.

The old man was senile.

"There is no need to overreact. If you can give me answers, that's fine." Raymond shrugged. "Anyways, do you know anyone with dual elemental affinities? Or ever heard of it?" He asked.

"Ugh, that's it?" Ronan sweatdropped. He was recalling everything he had ever learned so that he could prevent Raymond from seeking out the Priestess.

"Yeah,"

"Hmm, it is possible to be born with a dual affinity but it's very rare. Your parents need to have complimentary affinities to begin with and even with that, it's highly unlikely that someone will be born with it.

"In all my life, I have never come across anyone with two elements… and believe me, I have travelled to far and wide corners of this world!

"You have a better chance at finding someone with an Innate Spirit like your assassin than finding a dual affinity wielder."

"I see…" Raymond said thoughtfully. Well, that was informative.

"Is it possible to 'bestow' elements to someone else?" He questioned curiously.

"Why do you want to specifically know if you can 'bestow'?" Ronan asked, his voice dipped in suspicion.

"For educational purposes," Raymond said flatly.

"Really?" When Raymond nodded seriously, Ronan continued. "Hmm, where do I start… see, it's a common belief that Martial Supreme is the apex of cultivation but… that is not true.

"There are many more realms after that which can give you unimaginable power. Sadly, we are stuck in this mortal world where Martial Supreme is the highest we can achieve through cultivation..."

"Please continue," Raymond perked up in his chair.

"Ahem, one of them is the realm of Demigods! When someone reaches that level they can appoint an apostle of their choice and bestow them with their affinity."

Raymond's eyes shook for a second, but Ronan, who had a faraway look in his eyes, failed to notice it.

"That's the only other way I know of…" Ronan finished with a drawn out sigh.

"Wha-what does it mean to be an apostle?" Raymond stammered.

"An apostle is practically like a disciple of that Demigod whose sole duty is to spread the word of that Demigod and gather followers.

"You might be thinking being an apostle is a godsent gift because of the dual affinity but it does come with its fair share of troubles."

"What do you mean?"

"The Apostle is forever bound to their Demigod. If the Demigod dies, the Apostle will die with them but the vice versa is not possible.

"And the Apostle will become subservient to their Demigod so much so that it's no better than a master-slave relationship."

-Crack!

The teacup in Raymond's hand cracked due to how tightly he was gripping it.

"Is there a way to break that bond?"

Ronan nodded solemnly.

"Death," He replied. "It is the only way."

"Ha…haha, I see…" Raymond mechanically stood up from his chair and bowed towards Ronan. "I will… I will take my leave. Thanks for helping,"

"Hey, wait! What about the secret?" Ronan asked hurriedly.

"Ohh, it's nothing serious! I fought a Puppet Maker in the forest near Cloud Village today. You might want to take a look at that."

Immediately, Ronan's face darkened.

"How is that not a serious matter? All hell will break loose if people find out about it." He hissed softly and stood up from his chair.

"Finish your tea before leaving, I am going ahead." Ronan placed the money on the table and left hurriedly.

The sooner he investigated this matter the better it was for his people.