Mayor Dusty's expression was surprised and a little like laughing, he could see that Amon was looking for Xiao Gu's stubble, and he couldn't help but secretly wonder how bold this kid was. Amon does have a reason to find fault, Xiao Gu almost cut off one of his fingers last time, and Amon has never offended this priest, but after thinking about it, this kid actually did it!

Amun's claim to have found an unmined natural core in a stream washed out by a flash flood is not impossible, but it is very rare. If a townsman really picks up one or two of these cores, he will only take them home quietly, and it is impossible to register and report them, and of course the mined divine stones will be left by themselves, as long as I don't say it, who will know?

Amon did this, clearly wanting Xiao Gu to pay the taxes for him, who let this priest make such a promise in order to apologize?

Xiao Gu's face was ugly, but he couldn't say anything in public, so he had to ask: "Amon, you are really a lucky and honest child, can you show me the divine stone you mined?"

He thought that Amon had picked up at most one or two cores, and when Amon took out a sheepskin from his bosom and opened it, everyone around him let out an exclamation. I saw that Lord Xiao Gu's eyes were dark, and he fainted on the spot, if it wasn't for the servant next to him to quickly hold him, the back of his head would have to be smashed on the steps!

I saw that in this dirty sheepskin, there were not only twenty colorless and transparent standard divine stones, but also a special divine stone with a faint blue luster, like strange and mysterious water waves rippling in it.

The onlookers were speechless in surprise, but at this time, it was the town chief who was the calmest, and he was the first to come back to his senses, take a breath and ask, "Amon, this, this, these are really what you picked?"

Amon nodded without changing his face and said, "Yes, it should be that a certain year's flash flood happened to break away a vein, and a pile of ore cores were exposed in the dry stream traces, and I was lucky to find it." ”

Dusty swallowed a mouthful of spit, felt his lips a little dry, looked around and whispered, "Actually, you can ...... to do so...... ...... to yourself. ”

He only said half of every sentence, but the meaning couldn't be more obvious. In fact, Amon can quietly stay and say nothing to anyone, doing so is forcing Lord Xiao Gu to pay taxes, and it is not beneficial to Amon himself, because Lord Xiao Gu will definitely retaliate, how can Lord Xiao Gu's powerful position be offended by the son of a miner?

At this time, someone next to him said: "Lord Xiao Gu fainted, what should I do?"

Amon also replied, "Lord, I have to pay taxes, and you won't let me break the law in public, will you?"

Mayor Dusty sighed and said helplessly: "Wake up Lord Xiao Gu, we all know that he will pay the taxes of the Amun family this year!"

Only the mayor here knew why Xiao Gu had fainted. If there were only twenty divine stones, Xiao Gu would pay the tax of eighteen divine stones on his behalf, even if it was heartache like cutting flesh with a knife, he would not lose his temper like this. The key is the blue Divine Stone, the miners in this town do not know its value, if calculated according to taxes, it is equivalent to 200 standard Divine Stones.

In other words, Xiao Gu needs to pay a total of 198 divine stones for Amon, and the value of one divine stone is equivalent to 20 baht of gold coins, so Xiao Gu needs to pay a tax close to 4,000 baht of gold coins! Such a sum of money can buy a luxurious manor in the city-state of Syria plus a herd of slaves, cattle and sheep.

Xiao Gu was woken up by someone rubbing his chest, barely standing firm under the support of the two servants, and asked in a trembling voice, "Amon, do you really have to pay taxes?" When he spoke, his eyes seemed to be dripping blood, if his gaze could kill, Ameng would probably have been dismembered by the blade.

Amon actually met this gaze without dodging, just looked at Xiao Gu's eyes as if provocatively, and replied in a calm and clear tone: "Yes, is it possible that the clerk in charge of tax registration wants me to evade taxes in public?"

was forced to do this, and this tax had to be paid if it was not paid. Xiao Gu avoided Amon's gaze and said to Dusty with a pleading gaze and a pitiful tone, "Lord Town, I will accept this tax and register it as twenty-one divine stones. ”

The meaning of these words seems to be understood only by Dusty, it is a play on words, and the blue divine stone is also a divine stone, so there seems to be nothing wrong with registering it like this. But there is a secret here involving Xiao Gu and Dusty, and it is also the best way for these two nobles in the town to make money, and they will be ecstatic when miners have mined special divine stones in the past.

The townsfolk don't know how valuable the Special Divine Stone is, as long as it is mined, it will be confiscated, and it is impossible for it to appear in the market as a circulating currency like the Standard Divine Stone. I only know that this thing is rare, maybe one in the hundreds of divine stones will appear, if it is mined, the town elder will be happy to reward an additional divine stone for the craftsman.

The rest of the matter is that the mayor and the clerk are tired of it. A special divine stone can be worth 200 standard divine stones, and according to the law, you can keep 20 for yourself, and the miners who mined it only received one reward, and the remaining nineteen were swallowed by Dusty and Xiao Gu. This is not the most lucrative situation, if with the acquiescence of the mayor of the town, a play on words, the clerk only registers the Divine Stone and not the special Divine Stone, then they can privately share the benefits equivalent to one hundred and ninety-eight Divine Stones!

But the current situation is different, the more valuable the blue divine stone, the more taxes Xiao Gu has to pay for Ameng. Xiao Gu was suggesting that Mayor Dusty, as he had done before, should not register as the Blue Water Heart. He was even giving the mayor a look, hoping to hide the value of the Blue Water Heart and use the reward of the ordinary divine stone to trick it out of Amon's hands, so that not only would he not lose but he would also be able to make a fortune.

Mayor Dasty also hesitated, coughing and about to speak. Unexpectedly, Amon said in a loud voice: "Lord Priest, I'm sorry, don't forget that I am also literate! Please register truthfully, I can understand twenty standard divine stones and one blue divine stone." ”

This sentence was like an invisible miner's sledgehammer striking, Xiao Gu's body suddenly trembled, and then leaned softly on the servant's shoulder, not daring to look at Amon but only looking at Dusty. Dusty's face also became ugly, and he said to Amon in a deep voice: "The matter of paying taxes will be handled by the adults, and in short, you will not be allowed to pay taxes." Also, if you can give me this dark blue-blue divine stone, this town will give you a special reward. ”

Amon asked rhetorically, "If the taxes have been paid in full, then all the divine stones can be kept in my hands, right?"

Dusty's throat was a little dry, and he said in a deep voice: "If the special divine stone is handed in, it will give you an additional reward, and for you, there is no ...... to lose."

Before he could finish his sentence, Amon felt a hand on his shoulder, and he listened to the voice of the old madman and said unhurriedly: "Lord Town, I often see a thing where someone takes possession of things that should not belong to him, and over time forms habits, but forgets that those are not his. If one day he doesn't get something that doesn't belong to him, he thinks that the real master shouldn't have it, who do you say?"

Amon looked at Xiao Gu's pitiful appearance and begged the mayor, for some reason there was a nameless anger rising in his heart, almost unable to suppress it, so he wanted to take two steps forward and punch him all over the face, this thought stimulated Amon's body to tremble. The old madman appeared at this time, his hand pressed against Amon's shoulder, and an invisible force made him unable to move.

Mayor Dusty stopped talking, but the old madman continued to gush, "This is the devil!** It doesn't have to be a sin, it can encourage people to create and pursue more good. ...... But I'll tell you a story about someone who stole me a gold coin every day and no one held me accountable, and then I kindly told him that it was not good, but his heart was full of hatred and curse, and he asked me to encourage and praise him for continuing this behavior, otherwise it would be my evil deeds, and he completely forgot that he had received so much from me. ...... Whose wickedness is this, say?"

Mayor Dusty broke out in a cold sweat from the eyes of the old madman, unconsciously took a step back, turned his head and said to Xiao Gu: "Clerk, Amon's request is normal and legitimate, since he knows how to read, let him watch you register, write twenty standard divine stones and one blue divine stone, and you will pay the taxes." ”

As soon as these words came out, I saw Lord Xiao Gu's eyes roll white, his body straightened, he opened his mouth and spurted out a mouthful of blood, and then fell into the servant's arms. The servant carried him into the temple in a panic to give first aid, most people still didn't understand what was going on, it seemed that Lord Xiao Gu was sick, very sick.

The old madman watched coldly as Xiao Gu was carried into the temple, and then said to Dusty: "The clerk is unwell and can't continue to work, so the mayor will register it himself." ”

Dusty wiped the sweat from his forehead, nodded and said, "Okay, I'll register, you can take this child away!"

Amon had an irrepressible emotion, full of violent impulses, but when he saw Xiao Gu vomiting blood and fainting, as if he was more seriously injured than his own punch, and inexplicably calmed down, he suddenly felt that this noble priest was like a humble and pitiful worm. At this time, the old madman's hand on his shoulder was slightly forced, and Amon involuntarily turned around half a circle and followed him.

......

"Child, Xiao Gu deserves it, but are you suffering from yourself, do you understand the two sides of this body? Learn how to face it, just like learning how to use strength. ...... What you are doing today is dangerous, not calm enough, and if you don't learn how to face it in this kind of trial, I won't see your achievements in the future, and I'm afraid I'll see your corpse soon. ”

This is in the house of the old madman, and Nietzsche drinks while talking, but does not pour wine for Amun.

Amon asked, "Do you mean that Xiao Gu will take revenge on me?"

The old madman laughed: "Nonsense, you know the consequences! Of course he even has the intention of killing you...... You don't know the value of the Blue Water Heart?"

Amon: "I don't know, you didn't tell me, I think it should be worth a lot, right?"

Old madman: "The people in Duke Town have a different concept of money than outside, a dark blue water heart is worth 200 divine stones, equivalent to 4,000 baht of gold coins, and you can't buy it if you want to." Such a sum of money can cause a bloody conflict anywhere, let alone in the hands of a child like you. It's safe in Duketown for now, at least with me, but what about when you're alone?"

Amon lowered his head and said, "You seem to know what I'm going to do, but you don't stop it. ”

The old madman shook his head: "It is useless to persuade, I can stop you, but I can't replace you in the face of the rising desire, after this incident, you should understand how to master it, face it soberly and even enjoy it, but you can't let it control your thoughts and words and deeds." ...... Besides, I would also like to see you clean up Xiao Gu, he deserves it, but you have to pay attention to yourself. ”

Amon nodded and said, "I think I've understood." ”

The old madman stood up: "It's good to understand, now you can learn the most basic first-level divine arts." There are many kinds of divine arts, including elemental divine arts, spiritual divine arts, blessing divine arts, space divine arts, information divine arts, etc., and it is difficult for a magician to be proficient in all types of divine arts, and they often have their own strengths. I don't know what you're good at, but since you have a blue water heart, start with the water elemental magic technique. ”

Divine art was originally so mysterious and profound in Amon's mind, but the old madman told him that it was very simple to reach the standard of a first-level divine magician, it was a piece of ice!

Summoning the water contained in the environment, condensing it into ice, and quietly spreading a layer of ice on the surrounding ground is a success. Amon didn't know that these already meant three water elemental divine techniques, although they were all first-level divine techniques, but this combination of techniques was quite not simple, and it had to be completed at the same time in silence.

The old madman didn't tell him how hard it was for a beginner magician, only that it was the easiest place to start.

It was easy to condense water into ice, and according to the method taught by the old madman, Amon did it the first time. The water elemental in the summoning environment formed countless tiny ice crystals that gradually spread all over the ground, which was a bit laborious to do, but it was successful after a few days. The old madman smiled and said to Amun, "You can practice repeatedly, but when you cultivate by yourself, don't use the Blue Water Heart anymore." ”

When Amon didn't use the Blue Water Heart as an intermediary to cast his magic, he found it ten times more difficult to use the same magic technique. It was said that the old madman should give him a magic staff, but the old man seemed to have forgotten it intentionally or unintentionally, and actually asked Amon to use his own magic power without relying on any utensils.

Amon can't do it, in fact, many low-level magicians can't do this, including third-level magicians, they have to have a staff inlaid with ordinary divine stones! But Amon already knows very well in his heart what to do, and the skills have been mastered, he has already succeeded many times through the dark blue water heart, so he doesn't doubt that his method is wrong, it's just that his strength has not been reached, there are no doubts and frustrations, practice hard!

That's when the old madman explained to Amon the special features of the Blue Water Heart and how it should be used. The Blue Water Heart is not only helpful for awakening power, but also can greatly assist in the casting of water elemental magic. If Amon was allowed to perform such a magic technique with his own strength in the first place, he would not have succeeded, and using the Blue Water Heart was the way to take advantage of it.

But there is a principle of trickery, which can only be used in two situations: the first is to better grasp a certain divine art, to understand its methods and techniques in the most thorough way, and the second is to not retain any power when fighting with life and death. However, after mastering a certain divine technique, try not to use it in your usual cultivation, otherwise you will become dependent and complacent, which will not be beneficial to your own strength.

The old madman said so, and Amon did so. Without the help of the blue water heart, he could never do it, but he was not in a hurry. Amon also kept an eye on it, and every once in a while, he would quietly try it again with the Blue Water Heart to see how much his strength had increased, and the result was very satisfying to him, the speed of the ice condensation was getting faster and faster, and the range was getting bigger and bigger.

Of course, the old madman knew that Amon wanted to use his own strength to condense water and spread ice, and it was too difficult to do it quietly at one time, and if he could do it simply, he would be surprised, and there was a limit to what kind of genius! In addition, the old madman did not teach anything else, not even teaching Amun's physical arts.

Until one day, Amon spent an afternoon quietly condensing an almost imperceptible layer of ice on the threshold of the old madman's house, wanting to see the old madman fall, and he hid beside him to help him. As a result, when the old madman came home, the layer of ice disappeared inexplicably, but Amon behind the door slipped and fell on his back.

At this time, the old madman said to him: "Child, you are already a first-class magician, such a short time is of course a great achievement for others, but for you, I only hope that time will be in time." ...... Because disaster is coming soon, and then you have to be able to protect yourself, and you have to learn how to protect yourself. ”

Amon asked curiously, "What disaster?"

The old madman didn't want to say more, but just asked, "Do you still go to the cold spring every night to practice divine arts?"

Amon nodded: "Yes, I'm used to it." ”

The cold spring was no longer cold, it was just a cool pool, but Amon was used to calling it a cold spring, and he was used to going there every day to bathe and practice magic there. The place was secluded, the environment was peaceful, and Amon had a familiar and intimate feel to it.

The old madman didn't say anything more, just nodded and said, "Okay, you can go on." ”

Amon didn't know why the old madman said that disaster was coming, but on this night, Amon really encountered a catastrophic event.

**