Apotheosis

Over ten enormous balls of light appeared in the air, flashing brightly. Suddenly they stopped.

Fergus remained floating, the Wild Snow Sword by his side.

Moments after he launched his fierce attacks, he had to stop, gasping for air. His physical body, overweight and weak, could not withstand the strain of his own attacks. He was fatigued.

Zen stood across him, expressionless, a sword clasped in one hand. Tilting his head, he said, "Is that all you have?"

"Who...who are you?" Fergus asked, still wheezing.

He faced Zen and pretended to be unfazed, but a trace of fear had entered his heart.

Not even the best and most extraordinary young men in the Oneness Sky Palace were as powerful as this man.

"Why should I answer that?" Zen asked, shaking his head.

Fergus ground his teeth, frustrated.

Whatever else they might be accused of, the members of the Oneness Sky Palace were not foolish, and Dragon City was not just a tourist spot.

The Dragon City had been carefully planned. Everything in that bewitched city was designed to attract the most talented humans, and the rules set in place were intended to develop their abilities and identify out the most worthy among them.

Fergus knew all this very well, as he had been an inhabitant of the Dragon City for many years.

And he knew that a man possessing even half of Zen's strength would surely have been chosen by the Oneness Sky Palace immediately. It was impossible that such talent would go unnoticed for too long in the Dragon City.

Fergus realized he might just be outmatched, but there was no way for him to retreat.

Staring at Zen, he clenched his jaw and tapped the top of his own head. A white bone appeared above him.

It was the unique Frosty Jade Bone on Stage Five of the Other Shore.

As soon as the Other Shore Token appeared, gleaming white frost began forming on the Wild Snow Sword in Fergus's hand.

"You are quite strong, especially for someone who has just reached the Other Shore Realm. Warriors like you are rare even in the Oneness Sky Palace." Fergus' voice was low and cold, with a tone that had caused many a young man to tremble with dread.

"But you are not wise. Far from it." As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed the Wild Snow Sword at Zen. He wore a strange, cruel expression. "You should have cultivated to develop your powers properly. Maybe in a year or so, you'll be able to defeat me, but right now you can't!"

Fergus was not nearly as confident as he pretended to be, but he set his misgivings aside.

He had already decided to keep fighting Zen. He had always enjoyed defeating and suppressing young talents.

"Frigid Sword Prison!" he shouted.

The Truths of Godly Ways and the swordsmanship manuals had

aunch a final blow.

This was his best and only plan. He had already exhausted all his strength in this attack, and he had to finish Zen off right now.

'This strike is strong, and troublesome for me, '

Zen thought. Even as he twisted and turned among the icy sword shadows, he kept an eye on the hundreds of fat figures reflected in the shards around him, wondering in which direction Fergus would attack.

In terms of force alone, Zen believed that he was at least evenly matched with Fergus. But the nature of this attack was unusual, and difficult to overcome. He honestly couldn't tell which one among the figures floating around him was the real Fergus.

If he didn't figure it out as soon as possible, Fergus would be able to kill him.

Zen made a decision. As the shards closed in on him, the images of Fergus drew closer and closer. He narrowed his right eye. A ray of red light formed in his pupil, growing brighter and brighter.

Fergus saw that Zen was squinting his right eye, and his heart skipped a beat. He did not understand what power this was, but he could sense the great threat hidden in the depths of that eye.

However, there was no chance of backing down at this point. He had already deployed the Flow Strike.

There was a loud bang.

As Fergus drove forward, brandishing his Wild Snow Sword, the icy sword shadows splintered into shards.

In the same instant, Zen fully opened his right eye, emitting a beam of vivid red light.

Fergus saw the red light and he faltered in his lunge, his entire body trembling.

Fergus was not the only one affected. Everyone present had seen the red light in Zen's eye, and everyone was affected by it. They felt as though they had seen something dreadful and unbearable. Even the most courageous among them would be unable to look into Zen's terrifying eye.