Apotheosis

After their last encounter, Zen was sure that Athemar tended to do things according to what his heart dictated.

With a smile, he asked, "How were you so sure that I'd choose the Flow Sword Sect?"

"Because I was waiting for you on the mountain. If you chose to join the Killing Sword Sect or the Unique Array Sword Sect, I would just have nudged you to choose otherwise." Athemar shrugged as though it was no big deal.

Such a blunt reply left Zen speechless. Finally, he said, "That means you are indeed from the Flow Sword Sect, right?"

"That's right." Athemar nodded, and then pushed the brocade box towards Zen. "You have chosen three truth swordsmanship manuals. I believe you have achieved something on all of them. But I hope you can focus on the Flow Strike."

"Why is that?" asked Zen curiously.

He knew he had a lot to learn.

The Thousand Annihilation Strike from the Godly Ways Blending Swordsmanship required constant training before any progress could be made. Now that Zen had the Eye of Will, he was looking forward to feeling the power of Sword Texture Technique. Although he had almost learnt all there was to it, he still needed time to master it.

Also, he wanted to further study the two Sanskrit words Geoffrey helped translate for him...

"Because we're running out of time," Athemar said in a suddenly serious tone. "You have to improve your cultivation base as soon as possible."

Improving one's cultivation base meant that one had to travel to the Other Shore. But what did cultivating have to do with this?

Observing Zen's confused face, Athemar continued, "To be precise, the Flow Strike is not a theurgy of sword skill, but a theurgy of mind cultivation. The most powerful thing about it doesn't lie in this world."

"You mean it is on the Other Shore?" asked Zen incredulously.

The Flow Strike was said to be training for the heart, but that was just an expression. In the past, people hadn't studied the secret of the soul thoroughly. They thought the soul was located in the heart, but in actuality, the soul was in the brain.

In essence, the test Zen received in the Flow Tower was a test on his soul.

"That's right," Athemar nodded in satisfaction.

"But why are we running out of time?" Zen asked.

"You are still in the first stage of the Other Shore Realm, so you have no idea yet..." Athemar paused, deep in thought. "First," he continued, "master the Flow Strike, then go to the O

p to this man! Everyone else was cooped up in their caves, hoping the worst was over.

The Nineteenth Cave Humans initially didn't want to get involved either...

However, this horrible man was a human!

Thinking that he might stop if they tried talking to him, they had sent two Nineteenth Cave Humans to the third cave. They had barely stepped inside the cave when a white light flashed, and their heads rolled out onto the soil.

Horrified by this scene, the Nineteenth Cave Humans decided to stay out of this fight.

The reason of this whole slaughter was the death of a Bull Lion.

The horrible man had tied his tamed Bull Lion by the road. The bat race, living solely on blood, couldn't resist the temptation of the tied up Bull Lion! Bull Lion blood was extremely delicious, after all!

But it turned out that they totally messed with the wrong Bull Lion.

The bat race was getting slaughtered. If no one stepped in soon, they'd be completely annihilated. With a sigh, the head of the Nineteenth Cave Humans decided he couldn't just sit and let that happen.

Once he reached the entrance of the third cave, he took a deep breath, and tried to take a cautious peek inside.

Just as he caught sight of the man, he was instantly knocked down by a tremendous force. When he finally realized what had happened, the man was already stepping on his chest, an evil smile plastered on his face. "I've been in this world for so long. There are all kinds of demons and monsters everywhere. I never thought I'd run into someone from the same race here! But! How dare you speak for those lowly creatures? You deserve to die!"