Apotheosis

"It is our great honor to be joined by the newest member of the inner disciples. Zen has passed the assessment, thus promoted to an inner disciple of Drizzle Peak. Congratulations and welcome to the team, Zen!" said Yehudi with a smile as he clapped his hands.

Zen waved his hand and said, "Thank you, Yehudi. It's my pleasure to be part of this circle. I heard from Cleve that you are here to discuss the All Peaks Competition?"

Yehudi nodded, "Yes, as the saying goes, 'know the enemy as well as yourself'. Since you just joined the inner disciples circle, you may not be familiar with some things. So, I was instructed to discuss the strategy in the All Peaks Competition with you."

"What can our strategy be this time? The other peaks are obviously better than us, so how can we gain the advantage this time? I believe that the best we can do is to hold out for one day," said an inner disciple. These words were implied to satirize Zen's strength. The inner disciple wasn't convinced that Zen could help them bring Drizzle Peak to a good place.

Hearing those words, Yehudi frowned slightly and said, "Human effort is the decisive factor in the competition. I agree that our peak isn't strong, but if we don't try, we will never know. It's always better to try and fail, instead of not trying at all."

Hearing Yehudi's words, Zen nodded his head in agreement.

Yehudi was right. Aside from strength, the determination was also vital to any victory. In martial arts, one without a strong belief would not go further in his career. A martial arts cultivator would rather lose than give up without even trying.

Yehudi was two years older than Zen, and already at the consummation of the nature level. He had quite a good talent that played an important role in all his achievements. But aside from his innate talent, he also had strong determination to win.

Although the inner disciple's remark was intended for Zen, he didn't dare answer back after Yehudi refuted for Zen. After all, Yehudi was a well-respected disciple and considered as the leader in their circle.

"Can you tell me how strong the participants of the All Peaks competition are?" asked Zen directly.

The question was a little naive as expected from someone who just joined the circle.

The All Peaks Competition in Cloud Sect was held every three years. The information about all the participants was recorded and available for all the disciples to access. Nearly all the disciples were familiar with it.

Another inner disciple was ready to ridicule Zen for his stupid question when Yehudi stopped him. Yehudi then said, "Zen has just joined us here in Cloud Sect, so he probably doesn't know the details of the All Peaks Competition. That's why I asked him to join us today to discuss in detail the rules of the All Peaks Competition and our opponents."

Then Yehudi proceeded to share the details of the competition to Zen.

All the thirty-three peaks in Cloud Sect would participate in the All Peaks Competition. Each peak would send a certain number of participants. The Skytop Peak would send the most disciples, while the Drizzle Peak would always have the least number of participants.

Aside from the disciples of the thirty-three peaks, there were also specially reserved seats for personal disciples of some mas

reated as a disciple in the Cloud Hall and he had to show respect to every disciple in Cloud Hall.

"So, the Turbidity Clearing Pill and the Cloud Road will be awarded to the first place?" Zen asked again.

"The Turbidity Clearing Pill is for the first place only. The Cloud Road, on the other hand, will be a reward to the top 3 of the All Peaks Competition. They will be eligible to enter the Cloud Road for the trial," Yehudi answered. Though he didn't like that Zen seemed to be interested in the rewards more than the rank, he still explained everything patiently. He thought to himself, 'Is he only interested in the top 3?'

Basically, the top 3 were seemed to be reserved for the personal disciples. The disciples of the thirty-three peaks didn't even think that they could get to the top 10.

Thus, the disciples of the thirty-three peaks had no chance to enter the Cloud Road.

However, Yehudi was empathetic that he didn't want to break Zen's enthusiasm with the truth.

But the other black-robed disciples couldn't remain silent, so one of them stepped forward and chuckled, "Zen, do you really want to enter the Cloud Road?"

Zen looked at this black-robed disciple and replied coldly, "Yes. Is there any problem with that?"

"Hey, chill," grinned the black robe disciple. If Zen wasn't the top 1 amongst all the inner disciples, this black-robed disciple would burst into laughter.

The disciple could only flash a sarcastic smile.

Yehudi stepped in to thaw the atmosphere. He said gently, "If you practice harder, you will succeed."

Now Zen had the basic information of the All Peaks Competition.

To win the first prize, Zen would need to outrank all the thirty-three peaks' disciples and the personal disciples. That would be his tough mission.

Zen stood by the door of his room, looking at the stars in the sky. Yan was able to beat so many strong disciples on her own and led Lady Peak to the second place. As her brother, he must be able to prove himself as well.

"The Turbidity Clearing Pill will be mine, and I must enter the Cloud Road!"

His eyes were blazing with enthusiasm. His sheer determination was like a holy flame burning brightly in his heart