Apotheosis

Zen felt power course through his veins. The legendary beast's blood mingled with his own, his body flushing at the sudden surge of strength. He could feel his flesh stretch and tighten, like a wall trying to contain the energy threatening to burst forth from within.

It was a long time before his skin went back to its original complexion.

"Whew..." Zen heaved. Inside him, there was an unmistakable warm glow, as if every pore in his body was opening.

With the drop of genuine dragon blood in his vessels, Zen was, in a sense, a Dragon Lineage Human.

He came out of the practice room and was face-to-face with the old man once again, his age-wizened eyes boring into his. After a long look, his face broke into a calm smile and he remarked, "You look much better." The old man took a step back and continued, "Now you are one of the Dragon Lineage Humans. Come with me!"

Following the old man's steps, Zen walked past the building and saw the obelisks in the distance. Countless practitioners sat behind the stone pillar, their faces wrought in concentration, as if deciphering a puzzle.

They were some distance away from the obelisks, but Zen had sensed an aura of mystery about them.

"Those obelisks–" Zen had just opened his mouth, but was cut short by the old man.

He already knew what Zen was about to ask. "Those pillars that you see are obelisks of souls that contain the power of various Original Laws. Visualizing them enables one to grasp the old teachings more deeply."

Zen gasped as he looked at the massive obelisks towering over them.

On Cloud Road, he had obtained a broken stone carving about the size of a palm. And yet, right here in front of him were so many obelisks, each one of them a thousand times larger than the stone carving, and they stood in glorious completion.

"In the process of grasping the old laws, you will have to put your soul on the obelisk of souls. It would grant you a deeper connection to spiritual energy, but a word of caution," the old man paused, throwing a short but meaningful glance to Zen before continuing, "Do not take on too much. Otherwise, there will be irreparable damage to your soul. Such a short-sighted gain would be all for naught."

Zen nodded in understanding. Then, he approached the obelisks and walked around, taking in their forms one at a time. Each of the huge pillars was hundreds of feet high, all of them shrouded in a gray, mysterious aura.

Zen marveled at the obelisks. No two were the same. Some of them emitted a scorching smell, and Zen recognized the inscriptions on one hard surface. It was the script of the Fire Law. The heat dissipated as he moved along to others. This time, a freezing mist emanated from the obelisks. 'These must be the Ice Laws, ' Zen thought to himself.

His heart was pounding as he continued to circle the obelisks, understa

insight, Zen took another glance at the other souls. He watched as some stayed in their position, their eyes glued to the writings on the surface.

"I see now," Zen nodded slightly. He was no longer in a hurry to climb. Taking his time to observe the obelisk, he was soon immersed in its dense lines.

Zen began to meditate, and his mind was freed from all thought. At that moment, all that remained was only his soul and the intricate lines of the pillar.

At this point, he heard the cyan dragon's voice echo in his mind. "This boy… He truly possesses remarkable understanding."

A dragon of his stature was rarely in awe of anything, but he couldn't help but admire Zen's persistence.

The Space Law flooded Zen's mind as he focused on the mysterious lines, trying to disentangle the string of words and symbols as they filled him.

Five minutes passed… Then ten… Then fifteen...

Zen's soul had been lying motionless on the obelisk, trying to grasp the law in it.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Zen sensed the gradual waning of the repulsive force from the obelisk.

"I was right!" He said to himself. "The deeper the understanding of the laws, the higher a soul can climb," Zen concluded.

By the time Zen almost fully comprehended the Space Law, he could barely feel the obelisk's repulsion.

"Now!"

Feeling much lighter, Zen started to climb up again! This time he picked up his pace, climbing up fifty or sixty feet at a stretch.

Along the way, he passed the souls of many other practitioners.

One of them was at the Internal Elixir Realm, and he relied on his understanding of the Space Law to resist the repulsive force. When he saw Zen pass himself so quickly, he looked astonished. "Is this guy crazy?" he muttered in bemusement.

And perhaps Zen was, indeed. At his speed, the twenty or thirty practitioners above him were left behind almost instantaneously.