Apotheosis

After relinquishing the position of Cloud Hall leader to Letitia, Imogen had given her free reign and only meddled with the sect's affairs during dire times. As such, after talking with Letitia and giving her a few words of advice, Imogen immediately left, leaving the incumbent leader of Cloud Hall to handle the rest.

The crisis that Cloud Hall was currently facing served as a huge test for Letitia. Imogen wouldn't be there for her forever as she might die at any time in the next Heavenly Tribulation. As a leader, Letitia must persevere and use her talent and wits to manage the matters of the sect on her own.

As soon as she got back to the Ice Palace, Letitia immediately freed her fair-skinned feet and lay back onto a large chair, the ice phoenix perched at her head.

Zen stood at the side of the palace as he waited for Felix to arrive.

As of that moment, the sect-protecting array was Cloud Hall's first priority which was why they immediately saw to the matter upon their return.

There were only the two of them in the place. Zen took one look at Letitia's tired face. "You're under great pressure," he said.

Letitia couldn't help but smile at his words. She looked up at Zen and said, "You're the one who should be under great pressure."

"As long as I am given enough time, I believe that I can build this sect-protecting array. I don't feel any pressure at all," Zen told her seriously.

"Why should I feel pressure?"

Letitia smiled mischievously.

Despite saying so, she actually had been under considerable strain. To others, her role as leader of Cloud Hall was an honored and extremely coveted position. But for Letitia, it was also an enormous burden. Her role as leader made her feel as if she was always walking on thin ice, not knowing if the next step would send her sinking through the cold ocean-depths below. The duties of the leader of a fourth-grade sect were oftentimes hard to bear and a serious crisis was rising up in the horizon.

Zen knew she was saying that only to make him less worried but he didn't comment on it. The only thing he needed to do was to finish the sect-protecting array as soon as possible.

However, before Felix's arrival, they were unceremoniously graced with the unexpected arrival of a group of Cloud Hall elders.

They aggressively barged into the palace and went straight for Letitia with Emanuel at the helm. Emanuel gave Zen a nasty glare before turning to their leader, "Miss Ning, why didn't you hand this guy over?" his words were tactful but his tone was very aggressive. "At the very least, Eddie could've forgiven us. It was only him that offended Eddie! Why should the entire Cloud Hall suffer for his actions?"

Letitia regained her usual commanding manner after the elders went in the palace. She met Emanuel's eyes with a cold glare, "I have my own considerations regarding the problem you mentioned."

One of the elders scoffed rudely, "Does it need any consideration? Master Ning, the lives of millions of our disciples here in Cloud Hall, five second-grade sects, and Cloudy City…. do these weigh less than that... that Illuminating Soul Realm guy?!" he burst angrily.

"The inheritance of the Cloud Hall has already lasted for tens of thousands of years and it

o the point.

"Please feel free to ask me anything, Lady," Felix said quickly, noticing the lingering anger in Letitia's tone.

"The sect-protection array of the sixth-grade sect that I gave to you last time," she said. "Have you decoded it? Is there any progress?" Letitia asked and looked at him expectantly.

"This…." Felix hesitated. "The sect-protecting array…it is just too complicated. I'm afraid it will take me three to five years to completely understand it."

"Throw it away," Letitia ordered him bluntly.

Her words shocked Felix. "Ah? Throw it away?" He had thought he had misheard. A sect-protecting array of a sacred place was considered an extremely precious treasure but here was Letitia, casually ordering him to just throw it away.

"From today onwards, you will be supporting Zen with creating a new sect-protecting array. All the materials, including the resources of Cloud Hall, will be at your disposal." She then gave him a firm glare. "Remember: you have to assist Zen!"

Her emphasis left Felix in a state of mild shock and confusion. "Starting today?"

"Yes, we will start work today," Zen suddenly butted in.

"Do we have to start in such a hurry?"

From Felix's experience, drawing runes required one to be in a calm, collected state. According to the rules set by the masters of the Runic Tower, one would first need to bathe, change clothes, burn incense, wash one's hands, and ensure the adequate preparations before even starting.

Finishing a sect-protecting array usually took a year or even several. It was not something that could be done overnight. So why were they in such a rush?

"Do you think we have time to dally?"

Zen asked, chuckling at Felix. "If we don't hurry, then Eddie just might come and attack us tomorrow."

Zen's words greatly confused Felix. Even if Eddie came a month later, it would still be impossible for them to finish the new sect-protecting array.

If only Felix had seen Zen's abilities in the Martial Arts Contest and how he was able to finish drawing up more than a hundred runes in just a short amount of time then he wouldn't be so shocked nor as confused as he was at that moment.