Apotheosis

The Purification Pool was also a place to gauge the strength of martial artists of the thirteen palaces.

In the previous few hours, thousands of cultivators had jumped into the pool and made a show of their abilities.

The pool was an important aspect of Passing the Torch. The leaders also informed the warriors of their own palaces to exhibit their strength.

Among the warriors of the thirteen palaces, Layla from Mist Palace had previously sunk into the bottom of the Purification Pool the fastest and the most effortlessly.

In just a few seconds, she had quietly sunk twenty feet into the depths of the Purification Pool. The resistance of the water in the Purification Pool seemed not to hinder her in any way.

Zen was also from Mist Palace but he had arrived late. In the end, he had not put up an extraordinary show.

Whether or not Zen used his full strength, he was floating at such a shallow depth right now that he could only be ranked below average with his current performance, or even among the most incompetent martial artists of the thirteen palaces.

"I was wondering what kind of an extraordinary talent he was. It seemed I have waited in vain!"

"The boy could not be so intelligent since he actually believed the mystery left behind by Supreme Lord Sword."

"All right, we can seal off the path of Passing the Torch now!"

"I still want to check on how the little ones in my palace are doing?"

Some of the leaders of the palaces were dissatisfied when they heard the announcement.

The voices passed through the clear pool of water and reached Zen's ears, but he looked calm and indifferent. It was then that he noticed Yolande looking at him. He grinned at her.

The two of them smiled at each other knowingly at the same time, neither of them knowing what the other was so amused about…

After that, Zen turned back to what he had to face. Immersing himself in the water of the pool, Zen felt his spirit become more refreshed. He became quicker in thinking.

As Zen left the Purification Pool, the old man in the cotton clothes clapped his hands. A huge word—'seal'—appeared in the sky.

When the word appeared, it immediately locked them out from the Orange Sea World on the outside. It was as if an independent space had formed within the scope of the word.

'What a powerful technique!' Zen was somewhat surprised to see the old man's skills.

This old man in cotton clothes must be halfway into becoming a world lord, or at least had the strength equivalent to that of one. The great theurgy he had displayed through his cultivation amazed Zen.

After the path to Passing the Torch was sealed off, Zen followed the crowd and entered a square. A few square stones were placed in the square.

Each of the stones was about two feet in length and was engraved with densely packed words the size of mosquitoes or flies.

At the end of the square were thousands of warriors sitting on the side. They held a square stone carving in their hands, con

ed half of the square to reach Zen's side. She gently lifted up the hem of her dress and sat with her knees on the ground. After placing the stone carving beside her, she asked him, "I'm talking to you, can't you hear me?"

"I heard you," Zen replied indifferently as he read the laws of the stone carving.

"So then why didn't you respond?" Layla persisted.

Zen shrugged. "No reason. I just didn't feel like it."

"Why? I don't remember doing anything to irritate you!" Seeing Zen's perfunctory attitude, Layla did not relent.

Zen suddenly felt a headache coming. He just hoped that she would not make a commotion just to disturb him, but he was not a man who could be rude to a woman. He exhaled and stared at Layla. "All right, what do you want to ask me?"

Layla rolled her eyes at him before asking with a smile, "What did you figure out from the words Supreme Lord Sword left behind?"

Zen shook his head. "There are people who haven't comprehended anything after having meditated for tens of thousands of years. What secrets can I figure out?"

"You haven't figured out anything, yet you have stayed there for so long?" Layla continued, baffled.

She would not stop nagging him.

Zen could not help but roll his eyes heavenward. "Could you stop talking, please? I still need to contemplate on this stone carving!"

He had already been late here for a few hours, and now that Layla kept pestering him non-stop, Zen was unable to contain his frustration any longer.

"Oh…" Layla wore a resentful look on her face. "In fact, if you want to comprehend the six kinds of Law Power on the stone carving, you need plenty of time. The Law Storm is a fusion of many different Law Powers, so the more you comprehend now, the further you will go…"

"Law Storm?" Hearing this, Zen raised his head.

Layla knew that he would be curious about that, so she smiled, choosing to keep him in suspense. "Don't you wish to figure out the stone carving by yourself? Why are you asking me?"