Apotheosis

Felix rushed into the ice palace. He almost slipped and fell as he walked too fast on the ice palace's slippery floor.

It was rare for a cultivator at the Internal Elixir Realm to have such an accident.

"Felix, what is happening? Why are you in such a hurry? Did something happen to the sect protecting array?" Tia asked before Felix could greet her as usual. Tia frowned as she could not understand why Felix was in such a rush. What perplexed her more was his expression. He appeared frightened. 'He didn't come here for Zen's case, did he?' Tia told herself.

"No. There is nothing wrong with the array. I'm here because of Zen," Felix said quickly. "Oh, no. I apologize for my rudeness." Felix quickly bowed to Tia and greeted her respectfully.

"Zen? What happened?" Tia nodded her head and asked, "That's why you came dashing in here?"

Her brows wrinkled as Tia felt that it was unreasonable for Felix to interrupt her cultivation because of Zen. Felix could have waited until the next day. Tia felt as though Felix was behaving strangely.

From what she knew, Felix could have shamed Zen into abandoning his quest to learn the skills of drawing runes. He could have directed Zen's focus toward cultivation instead. After all, most cultivators did so.

"Yes, exactly, Miss. I want to talk to you about Zen," Felix nodded and replied to Tia reverently.

"What is it? Did you do as asked? Did Zen lose his confidence to acquire rune making skills?" Tia asked. Tia smiled slightly. Felix was Cloud Hall's top runic expert. His knowledge of runes was unparalleled in the Central Region. It would surely be easy for him to deal with a beginner like Zen. Tia knew that Felix did not need to do much. A little dissuasion from Felix would have been sufficient to stop Zen.

Felix had thought the same before he met Zen. When he learned that Zen had finished drawing some runes, he planned to comment on his works harshly. After all, most beginners would make several mistakes when they made their first runes. Felix had such vast knowledge of rune making that he would be able to identify mistakes in the work of a runic maker with exceptional skills. Zen was a beginner, and so, his mistakes would be easier to identify.

However, Zen had made runes unlike any that Felix had ever seen. How could he criticize Zen as planned? Seeing that rune had been activated and that Zen had used Perfect Brushwork, Felix felt embarrassed about his skills. Of course, he was not qualified to criticize Zen's work. Felix didn't even know how to use the skill of Perfect Brushwork! How could he destroy Zen's confidence regarding rune making when Zen knew more than Felix?

"No, Zen didn't," Felix answered, shaking his head.

Tia asked in surprise, "What? You are looking pale. What happened exactly?"

Felix cupped his hands to Tia and replied

eans a runic expert. Even though she couldn't tell what kind of rune this was, or how effective it would be, Tia could see that the rune was beautiful! The lines of the divine texture were mellow and smooth. She could tell that the lines contained a sense of perfectness.

"Is it true? Did Zen draw this?" Tia stared at Felix as she spoke. Ice crystals appeared in her eyes, and her cold tone tightened Felix's heart.

"Exactly, Miss. Zen drew this. I don't know how he learned the skill of Perfect Brushwork," Felix answered with a bitter smile on his face.

"Oh, I see. This is why you disturbed my cultivation, right?" Tia nodded and asked.

"Yes. This is the reason. I'm afraid that I cannot finish the task you assigned to me. Maybe Zen can help with the protection array in the future," Felix explained. Then he continued, "The protection array of the Ethereal Spirit Sect was drawn with the skill of Perfect Brushwork. Combined with the array of the grade six sect, Zen's skill will make our Cloud Hall's protection array be the strongest one in the Central Region!"

Tia did not reply. She never expected this would happen—Felix was unable to destroy Zen's confidence to learn the skill of drawing runes. On the contrary, he was convinced of Zen's potential.

Could this young man, Zen, be such a genius? Tia was lost in her thoughts for a long while. When she realized that Felix was still in the ice palace, she waved her hand to dismiss him. "I know what you mean. Please leave me alone for a while, and I'll consider what you have said carefully."

Felix sighed with relief and left.

After thinking about it for a long time, Tia returned to her seat. Thick fog covered her body again. Before her beautiful face disappeared in the fog, Tia gave a slight smile.

'I will let him continue and watch how high he can go, ' Tia thought before she started cultivating again.