Li Wei returned to the Mage Tower.

"Master, Bishop Dicks said he couldn’t sense the Evil God Curse at all. We performed the expulsion ritual, but there was no reaction."

He recounted what had happened to Torresta to see what he thought.

Torresta said, "It seems the Evil God Curse on you isn’t a simple one. You might have to take a trip to the Divine Hall of Light."

"You’ll be going to the Elemental Tower in a few days. It isn’t far from the Divine Hall of Light, so you can pay them a visit."

Li Wei nodded. "I suppose that’s my only option."

He asked, a little worried, "But what if even the Divine Hall of Light can’t find the problem?"

Torresta said, "Then I’m afraid it would require a true Divine Spirit to intervene."

"Don’t worry too much. If the Divine Hall of Light can’t find a curse, perhaps there isn’t one to begin with."

Li Wei trusted his panel more.

Torresta paused for a moment before saying, "There is one other possibility."

Li Wei looked up at him, waiting.

Torresta said, "If what you received wasn’t a curse but a blessing, an expulsion ritual would have no effect."

Li Wei was speechless.

’As if I can’t tell the difference between a blessing and a curse?’

’Besides, why would an Evil God give me a blessing?’

’Did it take a liking to me? Choose me to receive its divine favor?’

’That would be an even bigger problem!’

Li Wei said, "Well, I won’t disturb you any longer, Master. I’ll be on my way."

"Mm."

「That night, in the study.」

Li Wei looked at his Shadow Attendant and said, "Watch me. In one minute, wake me up. Use any means necessary."

"Yes, Master."

’Hiding from it forever isn’t an option.’

’The more I run, the more I fear.’

Li Wei decided to face his fear head-on.

He cast the Great Dream Traveling Skill and arrived at his safe house in the Dream World.

He glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief.

’At least the safe house is still normal.’

He looked out the window. The boundless River of Dreams still stretched out before him.

A crimson giant star rested at the far end of the River of Dreams.

It was as if all the waters of the river flowed into the crimson star.

Li Wei looked up. One hundred and seven stars of various colors hung high in the sky.

’Nothing seems to have changed.’

Suddenly, his gaze fixed on a purple-black star in the sky, and he stared at it for a long time.

The purple-black star was the same Star Demon Eye that had appeared over Cyan Maple Slope.

As he watched, the purple-black star remained unchanged.

’Is that really Yubis?’

Li Wei wasn’t sure.

’It’s good news that the Dream World seems normal.’

WHOOSH!

The safe house shook violently, and he felt a powerful pulling sensation.

Li Wei yielded to the force and returned to the real world.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw the Shadow Attendant shaking him relentlessly.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

The Shadow Attendant stopped.

"Put me down."

The Shadow Attendant, which had been holding Li Wei up, set him down on the floor.

Li Wei stared at it, speechless. "I told you to wake me up, not pick me up and shake me!"

The Shadow Attendant tilted its head, a look of confusion in its eyes. "But didn’t you say to use any means necessary?"

Li Wei could feel the genuine confusion in the Shadow Attendant’s gaze.

He waved a hand dismissively and sat down in his chair.

"That’s enough. Go back."

The Shadow Attendant slipped into his shadow and vanished.

TAP. TAP. TAP.

Li Wei’s fingers tapped lightly on the desk as he thought.

’Even though I have this Evil God Curse, it doesn’t seem to be affecting me at the moment.’

’But that might not be the case later.’

’I’d better get rid of this thing as soon as possible.’

Li Wei decided that until the Evil God Curse was resolved, he would limit his trips into the Dream World to cultivating Magic inside his safe house.

’Everything looked normal from inside the safe house... but that didn’t mean it actually was.’

「October 3rd.」

Jimmy invited Li Wei to the Xinghuo Literature Society.

"Couldn’t you have just brought the royalties to me? Did you really have to make me come all the way over here?"

Jimmy just smiled, pushed open the door, and invited Li Wei inside.

"Mage Li Wei, you’ll understand once you’re inside."

Li Wei walked inside.

POP!

A party popper exploded.

The inside of the Xinghuo Literature Society was festively decorated.

A banner celebrated the massive sales and huge profits of the novel *Dragon Knight*.

’Simple and to the point, I guess.’

Gus led the applause to welcome Li Wei, and the other members of the Xinghuo Literature Society joined in, smiling and clapping.

Li Wei was a little surprised. "What’s with all the fanfare?"

Gus laughed. "Of course, it’s because there’s terrific news."

"Jimmy, quickly, take Li Wei inside."

"Mage Li Wei, follow me."

The group headed toward the office of the Xinghuo Literature Society’s president.

Merson and Monis were already waiting there.

The two of them had heard the commotion outside. When the door opened, they smiled and said, "Congratulations, Mage Li Wei."

Li Wei looked at them in surprise. "What’s the good news? You’ve certainly made a big fuss."

Merson and Monis exchanged a glance, each grabbing a corner of the red cloth that covered the table.

WHOOSH!

The red cloth was whipped away, revealing a table piled high with glittering Gold Coins.

Merson said with a smile, "These are all your royalties, Mage Li Wei."

Li Wei was taken aback.

He quickly put two and two together. "The traveling merchants from the Treasure Basin Commerce Association are back?"

Monis chuckled. "As sharp as ever, Mage Li Wei."

"Your September royalties were 22 Gold Coins and 53 Silver Coins. Your share from the Treasure Basin Commerce Association’s sales is 586 Gold Coins, 47 Silver Coins, and 66 Copper Coins."

"That’s a total of 609 Gold Coins right here!"

Li Wei was stunned. He hadn’t expected his cut from the Treasure Basin Commerce Association to be so large.

Gus remarked with a sigh, "I never imagined we’d make this much money either."

"According to the Treasure Basin Commerce Association, next year’s revenue could be even higher. They’ve already started partnering with local commerce associations and literature societies in other towns to establish stable sales channels."

"A few days ago, the Treasure Basin Commerce Association even held talks with the Quicksand Commerce Association. The Quicksand Commerce Association has agreed to take the novel to Central Earth for sale."

Li Wei knew that the Quicksand Commerce Association was the one run by Bas.

He was surprised; he hadn’t realized the Treasure Basin Commerce Association’s appetite was so large.

Even the Northern Territory couldn’t satisfy their ambition.

’Now they’re even trying to get a piece of Central Earth.’

Naturally, Li Wei was looking forward to it.

He said with a laugh, "In that case, I certainly can’t give up this Money Tree."

Hearing this, Merson, Monis, and Gus all burst out laughing.

"Hahaha."

They all knew Li Wei would soon be leaving Maple City.

That was precisely why they had put on such a big show for him; they were hoping for exactly this.

They were even more reluctant to give up on their Money Tree, Li Wei.

The explosive popularity of the *Dragon Knight* novel had spurred significant growth for the Xinghuo Literature Society.

Many other popular novels had already emerged.

They were still a long way from matching the runaway success of *Dragon Knight*, but their future was promising.

The Xinghuo Literature Society’s revenue this year was ten times that of the previous year.

No one was willing to give up a Money Tree like that.

Merson took the opportunity to invite Li Wei to lunch.

After they all had lunch together, Li Wei returned to the Mage Tower.

He glanced at the Contribution points on his Magic Badge and found someone to exchange them for cash.

Contribution was only useful within the Magic Tower.

Once he left the Magic Tower for the Elemental Tower, Gold Coins would be far more practical.

After converting all of his Contribution, the number of Gold Coins in Li Wei’s possession jumped past four digits.

Li Wei did a quick count and found his total assets now amounted to 1,530 Gold Coins.

’This time, at least I’ll have a wealthy start.’