Apotheosis

Fernandez looked at Zen and pondered for a while. He took a deep breath, then he said, "Zen, I will respect your decision to honor your oath and I won't force you to tell. But I must ask, who is the disciple who dragged you down that flood dragon's mouth? Is he really a Cloud Hall disciple?"

Zen knew that it was imperative that he told Elder Fernandez about the identity of the said disciple because it concerned the safety of the whole Cloud Hall.

"He said that he was from Cloud Hall and I believe it. But as to his real identity, I'm afraid he didn't tell much," Zen said as he shook his head.

Fernandez sighed and said, "You know that the Cloud Road is the place where our elite disciples are tested and selected. But I also believe that everyone has his own secret, and we must respect it. I will drop this matter, for the time being, Zen. But I hope you can give us an answer in the future."

Zen nodded and smiled. He was relieved that Elder Fernandez didn't push more about the issue for the time being. As he stepped aside, he swiped a look at Frank.

Frank was dismayed. He saw the proud look at Zen's face as Elder Fernandez politely dismissed the issue. Frank felt indignant seeing that Zen got away with it easily.

But what Frank didn't know was that Zen was now Elder Fernandez's apple of the eye. After the Cloud Road test, Zen's future potentials and importance had already surpassed Frank's. With this, Fernandez was unwilling to offend Zen by pushing him to tell the truth. For Fernandez, there was a time for everything, and that matter was none of his business for now. Moreover, now that Zen was a Cloud Hall elite, Elder Fernandez wanted to be on his good side.

Elder Fernandez's words were final. The topic was finally put aside for the moment, and no one would know what really happened to Zen inside the flood dragon.

After everyone had settled, the disciples stood behind their leaders and waited for the rest of the disciples to get back from the Cloud Road.

After a few hours, a dark figure suddenly flashed from a distant ruin. With its speed, no one could tell who it was.

Fernandez nodded when he saw the dark figure. He sm

it was only a disciple at the fourth grade of nature level and his name was Zen.

Watching from his position, Fernandez sensed that something bad was about to happen. He knew Emanuel's temper and that the latter was not a magnanimous person to allow others to outperform Frank. Fernandez was worried that Emanuel might try to embarrass Zen.

Kenneth had also noticed that, but as a steward of Cloud Hall, he had no say in Emanuel's presence. He had only hoped that Fernandez would intervene in time.

Then Frank whispered something to Emanuel, then everyone saw a subtle smile crossed Emanuel's face. He then made his way towards Zen with that smile on his face.

He could still not believe that the disciple who outranked his son was only with the fourth grade of nature level. It was the most ridiculous thing he had heard so far in his life. With what Frank had told him about the trial, Emanuel was now pretty sure that Zen won the first place with just mere luck.

"So, Frank told me that your name is Zen. Is that right? I owe you congratulations on winning the first prize. Now that you have become one of the elites of Cloud Hall, we will focus on training you," Emanuel said. "But my son has told me something about the Cloud Road that concerns me. And I believe, for the sake of the Cloud Hall, you should explain to us everything that has happened during the test and how did you become the first one out of the Cloud Road."