Apotheosis

Pushing himself to run faster, Zen raced uphill more alert than ever.

Several people pursued close behind, intent on capturing Zen.

Wanting to block Zen's path, one of his stalkers took a detour, at a stunning speed.

"Ha ha! Someone, like you, at the marrow refining level, from the Cloud Sect provides perfect amusement for us!" The robust man in his thirties had a sturdy looking face, his skin tone was dark, and his eyes looked menacing, "Out of my way!" warned Zen in a sharp voice, while he was calm and collected, ready to land a fatal blow on the man, who was supposedly at the nature level.

The man's voice dripped with cynicism as he said, "You are at my mercy! If it suits my wishes, you will lose your life right now at my command, in Hell Mountain."

As their leader dealt with Zen, the man's companions stopped to watch.

"Last warning, move aside or die where you stand!" threatened Zen.

Feeling superior to Zen, the man dismissed the warning.

Extending his large, black hands, the man attempted to grasp Zen.

If he fell victim to this man, Zen would suffer greatly!

In a flash, Zen used his soul to form a thorn as his opponent bore down on him.

"Spiritual thorn strike!"

As the weapon struck the man, he cried out in excruciating pain.

As his scream rang out, Zen hurled the broken flying knife at the man.

"Zing!"

"Slli-shh!"

Like a dart, the sharp weapon shot through the air, and struck the target. The knife punctured his chest, exiting his back and stuck in the rock behind him.

Then Zen pulled, bringing his lethal weapon swinging back.

Zen destroyed his enemy with a single clean thrust, not leaving a drop of blood on his blade.

His weapon returned to his hand, and Zen glared at the remaining pursuers before climbing uphill.

As a nature creature, the man died wondering how he'd been humbled or beaten by Zen, especially considering that Zen was only at the marrow refining level.

Actually, the man lacked any defenses which resulted in his defeat. If he had regarded Zen as a threat, he wouldn't have been defeated so miserably.

At the sight of their fallen leader, the remaining attackers were too cowardly to give chase to Zen.

They decided Zen was a formidable opponent.

On second thought, they turned tail and ran.

Smirking at their coward

tention on the slingshot, Yan said, "For the time being, since Perrin isn't entitled to visit Hell Mountain's summit, you are kindly requested to deliver messages for us."

"There's no need even to mention it! I'm ready to take on the job because of our friendship!" Any chance to be near to Yan was a stroke of good luck to Vale Wang.

Appreciative of Vale's willingness, Yan nodded, and then picked up a stone off the platform, fixing it to the string and shooting it out over the crescent.

As though it was a dart, Yan shot the stone, sending it soaring in the direction of the target. Unfortunately, it collapsed halfway over the chasm in a downward curve.

Despite her shot missing its mark, Yan looked happier than ever - a sharp contrast to her earlier quiet mood.

Taking advantage of Yan's rare bright spirit, Vale sat and chatted more before he departed, satisfied that everything had gone well.

Two men were waiting eagerly for Vale to return from within Hell Mountain.

"Did you meet with Yan yet, Vale?" asked Billy as he approached Vale, curious about how Yan was faring. Following close to Billy was Perrin.

Passing Billy, Vale walked up to Perrin and patted him on the shoulder as he said, "Oh, Perrin! It was such a pleasure seeing Yan smile!"

Perrin nodded appreciatively and replied, "Yan must be pining for her family. Your frequent visits will lift her spirits!"

"Of course, I'll keep visiting her for short periods. Now, let's go! We're celebrating tonight!" Vale was evidently happy and then left with the rest.