Apotheosis

"It's me, Zen Luo. I want to speak with Martin, if I might, please?" stated Zen as he neared the door.

As the light from the torches shone on Zen, the two soldiers could see it was him, and there was a look of shock on each man's face. With a grateful tone, one of the guards said, "Hey brother! I can't believe it. You're alive! Thank goodness!"

The two were soldiers of the Green Haze group, or more accurately, surviving members of the troop!

Usually, Martin's battle plans were impressive, and he took many precautions, so he never jeopardized the lives of soldiers in his platoon, and there was rarely a death under his command.

However, in the battle that day, dozens of soldiers perished, which was a terrible blow to the Green Haze group.

The survivors knew that if Zen hadn't drawn the queen blade locust away, none of them would have survived.

If Martin were the only one to have drawn the queen away, she would've caught up to the troops after killing Martin.

Thus, it was Zen's sacrifice that saved the rest of them.

So, the survivors would be eternally grateful for what Zen did!

Until just now, they all thought Zen died. So, they were astounded at his safe return!

The soldiers knew that Zen was an outer disciple from the Cloud Sect, and although he was only at the marrow refining level, Zen was stronger than other disciples at that same level. Even with his strength though, the gap between his power and that of the queen blade locust was immense. They didn't know how Zen escaped.

"Zen, the captain isn't at the camp," one of the soldiers informed Zen.

Wondering why, Zen asked, "Wait, you mean he hasn't come back?"

"Oh, no, he came back, but...?" the soldier broke off his reply, not sure whether or not he should disclose the truth.

Seeing the soldier's concerned look, Zen was confused and asked, "But what? What happened?"

"Zen, the captain was... locked up!" announced the soldier in a sad tone as he bowed his head.

Zen frowned and in a deeper timbre asked, "Locked up? But, why?"

"Yesterday, someone changed our regular marching route. It must've been someone who intended for us to travel a more dangerous trail," the soldier stopped relating what had occurred, inhaling before he suddenly furrowed his brows indignantly and with an inflection of resentment in his voice said, "Captain Martin went to the higher-ups and complained, angering his superior officer. So, he was arrested. I'm afraid they will punish him for insubordination accordingly, by martial law..."

'How did this happen?' speculated Zen. What the soldier had conveyed to him, irritated Zen.

Someone had intentionally changed their route, endangering all of the troops in the Green Haze platoon, and almost succeeded in getting them all killed! The disciples from the Cloud Sect, Roger, Sun, and Zen almost died, while a single slash from the queen blade locust brutally destroyed poor Tank!

Examining the events in his mind, Zen became infuriated!

Granted, Zen had only known Martin for a short time, but, he appreciated Martin's leadership skills. On top of that,

any given situation.

It was okay if Roger helped Martin as long as it didn't lead to trouble for him, but, it was stupid to provoke anyone from the Zhuge Clan just to assist Martin.

Zen's dare was transparent. How could he think Roger wouldn't know his true intentions?

Warily, Zen chuckled and pleaded, "Roger, help me this one time, please. I'll remember the kindness from you and the Meng Clan!"

Shaking his head, Roger Meng responded, "Zen, I'll admit, you're talented, but, that isn't enough of a reason for me to help you."

In all honesty, Roger wanted to befriend Zen, who was an uncommon genius even for Cloud Sect and might very well be an influential figure in the future, but, the future was far off, and after weighing the pros and cons Roger decided he couldn't help Zen.

Offending Fren for Zen's sake would be a stupid move in Roger's opinion.

Sure, if Zen were an invincible master already, Roger would help him, but Zen wasn't.

Despite Zen exhibiting an exceptional talent for refining, he could end up in an abyss for offending anyone in the top seven noble clans.

Just then, a look crossed Zen's face, and he reached into his space ring and pulled out the crystal core he had gotten from the queen blade locust. He waved it in front of Roger and Sun, exclaiming, "Roger, no one saved me yesterday. The queen blade locust is dead, because of me. That loony Fren tried to get me killed several times until now, and yet, I'm still alive! I'm bound to rise higher in the future! I'm confident I'll be in a position to help the Meng Clan, one day!"

The fist-sized crystal core gleamed brightly in Zen's hand, reflecting light onto Zen's proud, young face!

Zen's words sounded impertinent, but exuded confidence.

Seeing the crystal core in Zen's hand shocked Roger.

It wasn't that Roger cared about a crystal core, but, the fact that Zen had it meant the queen blade locust was dead! While it wasn't clear whether or not Zen killed the queen blade locust himself, it was obvious that Zen was somehow connected to her demise!