Apotheosis

But now, the man in front of Zen was far from the Owen back then. He exuded more strength, and had actually stepped into the late stage of the Internal Elixir Realm. Very soon, he might be able to reach the Virtual Tribulation Realm.

Owen possessed great talent. He was an independent warrior, but he had incredible luck, and it seemed as if opportunity favored him. On top of this, he only came slightly weaker than Zen and Brent in terms of strength. It would not be far from possible for him to become a powerful independent warrior in the future.

"Did you join the World Commercial Alliance?" Zen asked.

Owen nodded and spoke with a smile, "I see that you have already stepped into the middle stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm!"

To this day, the two men still shared similar goals. One of them was to save his sister from Eddie, and the other wanted to rescue his lover.

Owen was visibly delighted to see Zen. "Come with me," he said quickly. "You have just arrived at the Oracle City, so you might not be clear about the current situation."

Zen nodded his head and took Margaret's hand as they left the transmission array along with Owen. Then the three of them flew towards the World Commercial Alliance's headquarters.

"Are all the members of the Cloud Hall in the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance?" Zen asked.

Fernandez had already told Zen about the general situation, but he did not know the details.

Owen's eyes flashed. Then, he said, "All the warriors of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance have been mixed up. Only a few members remain in the headquarters. The majority of them have already left the city."

Zen knew that the war between the sects was intense, but what he saw in the city exceeded his expectation by far. The leaders from both sides had not yet engaged in battle with one another, but blood had already been flowing like a river, painting the streets of the city in red.

Two days ago, in order to fight

aring what Owen said, Zen felt confused, slightly frowning. Anxiousness crept inside of him as he thought of the warriors from the Cloud Hall who were fighting in the battles.

Owen sighed and said, "Even we think so. A technique of this level and power is something that would take years to develop. Our leaders are speculating that it might have come from the four divine kingdoms."

"The four divine kingdoms!" Zen said, his eyes widening, "Could it be that..."

Owen met his eyes steadily and nodded. "Yes. There might be a divine kingdom behind the Heavenly Evil Sect," Owen said with certainty.

Zen suddenly remembered the Holy Maiden and the prince of the divine kingdom in Mist's celestial tomb. He had killed the prince, and the Holy Maiden had sworn to get vengeance. Now, her words as she vowed to take revenge on him echoed in his head.

Back then, Simon had helped the Holy Maiden to dispel the curse she had received, and the old man of the divine kingdom had promised to give Simon the internal version of the Scripture of Five Poisons as a symbol of gratitude.

Zen began piecing the puzzle together. There was a Chaotic Ocean of Stars between the Central Region and the four divine kingdoms. Could it be that there really were some members of the four divine kingdoms entering the Central Region?