Apotheosis

Seeing that Zen had received a purple Cloud Hall Token, the disciples from the five grade two sects reluctantly accepted the unfairness. The disciples from Cloud Hall couldn't.

"Zen? Who the hell is he?" "That bumpkin from Cloud Sect who won the first place?" "The disciples of Cloud Hall used to win every time. Why didn't any of the participants who won previously get a purple Cloud Hall Token?"

As the crowd's complaints got louder, a Cloud Hall steward snapped at them, "Shut up! If anyone makes any noise after this warning, I'm going to have them removed immediately!"

The disciples knew that Cloud Hall floated in the sky thousands of meters above the ground. Since most of them were at the Illuminating Soul Realm and could fly, they wouldn't die if they got thrown out. But they understood what the steward had meant—he wasn't going to have them thrown to the ground. He was threatening to remove them from Cloud Hall.

Therefore, the disciples kept quiet. They had practiced since childhood to meet the eligibility for admission to Cloud Hall. And most of them carried the hopes of their entire family. Even though they envied Zen, they were unwilling to be expelled from Cloud Hall because of this.

In fact, the two stewards envied Zen as well. As the Internal Elixir Realm masters, they hadn't received a purple Cloud Hall Token yet either. They also wondered why Zen was an exception. "Does he have a special relationship with our leader?" one of them asked. "She is well known for being chaste. I've never heard of her having a boyfriend," the other answered.

The cultivators' world was unfair, and the stewards had already become used to it. Since there was no other logical explanation, the Cloud Hall stewards assumed that Zen had a powerful background and that they shouldn't mess with him.

Therefore, the two stewards greeted him with respectful smiles. One steward even bowed a little as he handed Zen a purple Cloud Hall Token with both hands.

Then, the two stewards explained the rules and regulations of Cloud Hall to the disciples. They even spoke about matters that required attention, such as how to use the cultivating places and facilities, the forbidden areas, and so on. There were so many rules in Cloud Hall that it took the stewards about an hour.

After that, the two stewards allowed the new disciples to leave the Elite House. Zen walked out with Rocher and Patrick. They had intended to get some trivial articles and find their rooms in the Cloud Hall.

As soon as they exited Elite House, their eyes fell on a massive map on the wall.

"This is the map of the Central Region," Rocher said.

In the past, Zen had thought that the Eastern Region was vast. But now, as he saw the map of the Central Region, he understood why some people said the Eastern Region was a small place.

On the corner of the map, the orientation and size of the Eastern Region had also been plotted. In contrast, if the Central Region was an elephant, the Eastern Region was only a little pig. The two were not at the same level simply from the perspective of the territory included in each region.

Lewis walked toward the three young men as they studied the map. He had followed Zen since they met on Cloud Road. "The map is v

map only allowed Zen to get a rough idea of the distribution of forces in the Central Region. The map was not very detailed. After all, it was impossible for Cloud Hall to disclose top-secret information on a map and show it to all.

"Zen! Wait!"

Rocher and Patrick ran to Zen, who was hurrying forward.

"What's up?" Zen responded without looking back. Sadness and helplessness filled his heart.

Like any hard-working student, he had set a grand goal, hoping that one day he would achieve it. He spared no efforts to pass the final exam with a high score. But he was frustrated when he found that although outstanding, he was still far from his goal.

His grand goal was like a star in the sky, high above him, blinking and taunting him. He could only look up at it, but not reach it.

It was not that Zen was not good enough. It was just that his goal was in the sky, and that his current ability kept him at ground-level.

Even though Zen had never given up, challenging the most powerful cultivator in the Central Region would be suicide. His ambition was high, but he had to accept the cruel reality.

"Eddie is indeed very powerful," Rocher said as he raised his eyebrows. "He is the strongest man in the Central Region. I'm afraid that if he chooses to, he can destroy Cloud Hall. But, I have a hunch that one day, you will kill him!"

Patrick nodded, "I believe that, too."

Hearing what they said, a trace of a smile flashed on Zen's face. After a while, he grinned and turned to them, "Do you guys really believe I can do it?"

"I'm not comforting you. If other people hear us, they may think that we're daydreaming. But I really believe it will happen," Rocher stated, and Patrick agreed with him as well.

Their faith in Zen's abilities rekindled his hope and ambition. Zen's deep eyes shone like stars. "Now that you believe in me, I will believe in myself too. One day, I'll kill him," Zen declared as he gritted his teeth.

Although Zen didn't know how far he would go on the road to martial arts cultivation, he had to face this strong enemy sooner or later. He needed courage and confidence, both of which he had regained now.