But if Tia really could beat Mist to her knees with her own strength, then Truth would probably be thrilled to death.
Anyone who could defeat Truth these days would at minimum have to be a Level 120 God Rank, which meant that one of the hard requirements for Tia to defeat Mist was to break through God Rank and become a God.
Otherwise, she would have no way at all to deal with Truth.
And she truly never expected Tia’s obsession to run this deep, but in that case Truth also felt rather reassured. At least this way she would not go kill herself right at Mist’s gate or something.
“Tia, don’t get excited yet. I haven’t finished talking.” After sensing Tia’s slightly extreme thoughts, Truth soothed her a little, then said with some regret:
“About the matter of you being abandoned by the Hidden One, I also find it somewhat unacceptable. After all, Tia, you are so excellent and loyal, and you treat me so well. I didn’t want to let you leave at all.”
“Wh… what?”
With just two sentences, Tia was moved by Truth. Her whole body instantly froze. What did this mean, Truth didn’t want her to leave?!
Truth continued:
“Do you remember that I previously promised you I would put in a good word for you in front of the Hidden One? So when the Hidden One revealed to me that they were going to give up on you, I also tried my utmost and said many good things about you. It’s just a pity the Hidden One was not moved by what I said…”
“But in the end I also stated directly that if Tia really was going to be driven out, then I would voluntarily give up my identity as a Mist Favored One too! How should I put it… this counts as me threatening the Hidden One a little, I suppose. After that, the Hidden One softened a little and said they could give you some time to prove your value to them.”
The meaning Truth revealed to Tia was very simple: Tia had now entered her true “internship period.” Only if she did well during the internship would she be able to continue staying in Mist.
“What? You… you actually did all this for me?”
After carefully listening to Truth’s words, Tia’s nose immediately tingled, and then she began to sob softly… She never expected Truth would choose to directly defy the Hidden One for her sake!
She was willing to go this far for her, yet just now Tia had been doubting whether she feared losing the Hidden One’s favor and was secretly making things hard for her behind her back…
“Really? Is this real? Is the Hidden One really willing to give me one chance to prove my value?”
Tia leaned forward again, urgently wanting a definite answer, and then her full breasts pressed against Truth’s face once more!
Fortunately, this time Truth was prepared in advance and held her hands in front of herself:
“Really, really! There’s no need for me to lie to you. Also, can you get off me first? Why do you keep pressing down on me? Careful, or I’ll report you for bullying the Saintess!”
“No! I won’t get off you until we’re done discussing this!” Tia still pressed down on Truth:
“Then… what happens next? What do I need to do to prove my value to the Hidden One? You have to at least give me some goals!”
“Goals, huh…” Truth thought for a moment, then answered:
“The Hidden One did not state any specific goals, but based on my understanding of them… if you want to gain their acknowledgment again, you must at least do the following. First of all, raise your own level. Although you are only a Priest, as long as your level is higher, your status in the Hidden One’s heart will be higher! Because the Hidden One only likes disciples with high levels.”
Even a Nine-Rank Priest still did not have much combat power, but the powerful teammates around a Nine-Rank Priest were another matter…
The higher a Priest’s level, the more high-level Adventurers they could attract, and the more resources they could mobilize, so raising her level had everything to gain and nothing to lose.
“Second.” Truth continued:
“Although for a long time after this you may no longer be a disciple of Mist, helping Mist develop is definitely something you must do. And with Mist’s protection, you can still manage. After I leave Deya City, I may not have much time to oversee Deya City, so you will also need to find a way to raise your status to keep this side under control. The higher your status, the less obstruction Mist’s development will face.”
“How high does my status have to be to count as high?” Tia asked.
“Hmm… how high…” Truth thought about it:
“Just like level, the higher the better, I suppose. For example, completely controlling Deya City or completely controlling the Dea Plateau or something.”
After Truth left Deya City, Tia would soon find it difficult to use the excuse “this is the Holy Maiden’s order” to summon wind and rain.
So by then those nobles would definitely stir up a bunch of trouble again.
In addition, the poor cities around Deya City had very little contact with each other, belonging to a state where, as long as the Saintess was not present, they mostly each occupied their own territory, making it very difficult to mobilize the resources of the entire plateau.
So if Mist wanted to develop rapidly, integrating the resources of the entire plateau was indispensable.
But Truth actually did not care about these things. She was simply doing this to get back at Tia.
“Completely control… the Dea Plateau…”
Tia heard these two keywords. She needed to raise her level as much as possible and also raise her status?
Tia thought seriously. For her, a Priest, these two things could be described as extremely difficult.
But in order to regain the Hidden One’s acknowledgment, no matter how difficult it was, she had to do it!
And while doing it, she also had to think of every possible way to show Mist Lord her unique value, and she was only allowed to succeed, not fail. Otherwise, all of Truth’s sacrifice and effort for her would be wasted!
Thinking of this, Tia’s nose tingled slightly, and she hugged Truth tightly again.
This time she paid a little more attention and did not press Truth so hard that she could not breathe:
“Thank you, Truth. I definitely won’t let your effort go to waste. In my heart, you are simply the second best in the world!”
“Who’s first?” Truth asked, puzzled.
“Of course it’s the Hidden One!” Tia sobbed a few more times, making Truth suddenly feel somewhat speechless, and then she frowned:
“Hey! If you dare wipe your snot on me, I’ll punch you all the way to the ceiling! Also, don’t rush to cry. I still have other things to tell you!”
“Is there still a third thing?”
“That’s right, it’s about my little sister!”
“Little sister?!” After hearing the words “little sister,” Tia’s heartbeat sped up again. Could it be that the matter between her and Zhendi had already…
“That’s right, don’t think I don’t know. Actually, my little sister already confessed her identity to you long ago, right? Hmph, and you even kept hiding it from me and refused to tell me!”
“Uh…” Tia was rendered guilty by Truth’s words.
She wanted to quibble, but when she thought about how great a favor Truth had done for her, if she quibbled now it would truly be too unfair to Truth… So Tia honestly nodded:
“Yeah, that’s right… Sorry, I only did it because I thought she was pitiful…”
“Alright, alright, no need to quibble. Listen carefully. Since my little sister will have no one to take care of after I leave Deya City, and that girl is full of rebelliousness, I must find someone trustworthy to take care of her. In the end, after thinking it over, it could only be you, Tia.”
“Huh? I… I’m going to take care of her?” Tia never expected that not only would Truth defy the Hidden One for her sake, but now, even after learning she had hidden something from her, Truth still chose to believe in her…
Compared with Truth, she had truly lost completely…
……
“By the way, what do you mean by Zhendi being full of rebelliousness?” Tia tentatively asked.
“How should I put it… Just like me, she is also a perfect vessel for the Hidden One, but unlike me, all she thinks about is how to replace the Hidden One and become Mist’s sole master.”
“What?! There’s still this kind of thing?! Then you… actually still kept her?!”
After hearing the sentence “wants to replace the Hidden One,” it took only an instant for the pitiful image of “Zhendi” in Tia’s heart to shatter completely!
No wonder that guy was always bullied by Truth in Mist and treated differently by the Hidden One. So that was the reason!
Beat that bastard!
“Listen to me first. Don’t get so excited. Although my little sister is full of rebelliousness, she is still my little sister, and she is also a backup vessel acknowledged by the Hidden One.
So the Hidden One said we must dampen her spirit and let her know just how treacherous this world truly is!
And this task… will be handed to you, Tia. This is the Hidden One’s request, you know.”
At this point, Truth could not help but reveal a sly smile. Compared with physical punishment, Truth’s punishment for Tia was psychological punishment.
As long as Tia did not regain her acknowledgment one day, Tia would remain trapped in long-lasting worry and anxiety.
Heh heh, laying a hand on Little Mist is laying a hand on me. This is your punishment for laying hands on me!
As for Little Mist… it just so happened that she could use Tia’s anxiety and her desperate desire to prove her value to give that turncoat a good beating.
Truth believed Tia would definitely make Little Mist grow quickly, and Truth’s only requirement was that Little Mist not be beaten to death. As for everything else, she believed Tia would know her limits…