Chapter 176: The Evil Plan
In Lake Mountain, Cloud Sect.
Hidden deep in the center of Cloud Sect was Lake Mountain. The way up to the top was steep, and made harder by that fact that there was no path up to the mountain. It was impossible to climb it without any equipment. People at the Illuminating Soul Realm could fly to get to the top of Lake Mountain, while the rest could get there with the help of a flying chariot.
Despite the perilous travel, there were many glorious buildings on top of Lake Mountain. There was no doubt that it took a lot of trouble to transport the building materials all the way up to the mountain's summit.
A beautiful lake surrounded Lake Mountain, which only added more to its scenic beauty. People could have a good view of the wonderful scenery if they stood on top of the mountain, which was also a good way to relax the senses.
Many of Cloud Sect's saints lived on the elusive Lake Mountain.
A long, narrow pavilion was situated at one corner of Lake Mountain. Half of the pavilion was perched firmly on the cliff, while its other half was cantilevered over the edge. A great part of the pavilion was cantilevered and hung in the air. If an acrophobic person stood on the pavilion, he would surely shiver with fear.
The fragrant scent of tea wafted pleasantly in the air. An old man with a purple hat on brought the cup of tea to his lips, which was decorated with spun gold, and took a sip.
The old man was Saint Zara, one of the top ten saints of Cloud Sect.
As he sipped on the hot drink, a stream of bright light suddenly passed over the sky and traversed closer to him. After a moment, another old man appeared at the edge of the pavilion. It was Saint Viana, who ranked tenth out of the top ten saints of Cloud Sect.
The gust of wind from Saint Viana's descent nearly overturned the tea set on the desk.
“Viana, why do you break in full fury?” Zara asked with a frown.
Every saint had lived for hundreds of years. As they got older, they became calmer when facing different situations. However, Viana was different. He had always been ill-tempered for so many years.
An eyebrow slightly raised itself up to Viana's forehead.
“Well, Zara, do you know what I have found out? The identity of Zen, who was on the court trial last time, surprises me a lot!” Viana hissed. Saint Zara put his cup down and turned to look at him.
“Zen? Does it matter who he really is?” he asked.
This made him a bit confused. A few days ago, several saints got upset because the princess got angry at them just for Zen's sake. But that was a done deal, so they just let it go at that.
“His last name is Luo. Did you forget about the genius girl, who was from C County and was brought to the court trial two years ago?” Saint Viana reminded him. Something clicked in Saint Zara's head, and then he spoke.
“Yan?” The name was still clear as ever in Saint Zara's mind. He had lived for hundreds of years, but never had he come across any disciple who was as talented as Yan. Her last name was also Luo. Could it be that…
“Did you mean to say that Yan was related to Zen?” the question smoothly rolled out of Saint Zara's tongue as he thought about it.
Saint Viana nodded and said, “That is exactly what I'm thinking!”
The twinkling eyes of Saint Zara glanced at the tea set. “Well, the Luo Family isn't a big family, not even a noble one. But there are two outstanding talents in their family, it is amazing,” Saint Zara quipped with a smile.
There were also many exceptional people in Cloud Sect, and their abilities greatly varied from each other.
However, supremely excellent talents like Yan and Zen were rarely seen!
After a short pause, Saint Zara continued to ask, “But even if it is true, so what?”
As opposed to Saint Viana, Saint Zara thought little of the matter. Many things had inevitably vanished like smoke as time passed by. Such was the way of life. Cloud Sect had lots of descendants, and talents were not new to the saints.
"Why doesn't it matter?
Zen is coming for his sister! He wants to save her! I found out that he had gone to Perdition Mountain. I guess he wants to take Yan out!" Saint Viana exclaimed.
However, Saint Zara still appeared unperturbed by the matter.
“Yan is Zen's sister, it is human nature that Zen wants to help Yan out of torture Mountain. But I don't think it is easy for him to make it...”
Saint Zara commented with a shake of his head. Then, he picked up the rosewood teapot and poured a stream of golden tea into his teacup.
Meanwhile, Saint Viana was still quite bothered.
“I won't have it! Zen is a gifted man, but he is also evil. He is practicing Heavenly Ogre Fist now. Once he succeeds in it, it is no doubt that he will work hard to figure out what we have done to Yan. I believe he won't let us off easily if he knows the truth! So we must destroy him while he isn't powerful enough!”
Worry had noticeably shaken Saint Viana right now.
He was different from Saint Zara. Saint Zara had never fought with Zen, but he had.
That one day when he tried to subdue Zen by using Fatal Palm, Zen had successfully stopped him. Zen had just reached the nature level at that time, but he was powerful enough to stop Saint Viana. Saint Viana was quite astonished by the strange phenomenon.
After that, he poked his nose into the matter, and then he found out that when Zen entered the Heavenly Library, he had taken the hidden book, 'Heavenly Ogre Fist'. To his surprise, Zen had successfully learned the skill!
It was true that Zen was just at the nature level now, but his learning capacity was vast and powerful. If he reached Illuminating Soul Realm, would it be quite possible for him to defeat Saint Viana?
If he went through Cloud Road some day, and was elected by Cloud Hall, then he could do anything to Saint Viana if he wished.
What Saint Viana worried about deserved attention.
The person Zen cared about the most was Yan, and he most definitely wouldn't allow anyone to harm her. That fateful day on Commandment Mount, when Zen got the news that it were Saint Viana, Saint Adrian, and other saints who poisoned Yan in Hell Mountain, he wanted to kill them all then and there.
However, he wasn't powerful enough back then, so he could only restrain himself.
After Saint Zara finished his tea, he gently waved his sleeves and the tea set on the table completely disappeared.
“What you have said is reasonable. However, there are many talents in the world, but only few of them could become quite strong,” Saint Zara said. He had thought otherwise. Cloud Sect had hundreds of thousands of disciples and at least ten thousand of them were talented, but only few of them could really be the strong.
“Is that so? Have you ever seen anyone who was at the nature level successfully escape from my Fatal Palm?” Saint Viana shot back.
“Well, it...”
Saint Zara couldn't find the next words to complete his sentence.
He was completely lost for words. When Saint Viana had first told Saint Zara that Zen had blocked his attack, he didn't believe it at all. It was hard for him to be convinced if he didn't see it with his own eyes.
However, Saint Viana had said it so surely that he was compelled to believe it.
If Zen was really so talented, once he became stronger, it would be bad for Cloud Sect because he hated Cloud Sect very much.
For the sake of Cloud Sect, Saint Zara must think about how to deal with Zen.
“When Zen practiced in Lake of the Magical Fish for the first time, he could dive to a depth of more than one hundred meters. Have you ever seen anyone who only reached grade-one nature level was capable of achieving it?” Saint Viana asked again. Silence hung in the air.
Once again, Saint Zara could only shake his head. What Zen had done did surprise him a lot.
“The steward who guards the deep pool has reported that Zen deserved some rewards and Cloud Sect's help, but I refuse it!” Saint Viana hissed.
“But it couldn't stop him. I am thinking that I should suppress him by cruel means!” he added.
“What do you mean by cruel means?” Saint Zara asked.
He wasn't as proactive as Saint Viana, but he was much calmer than him. Sometimes, it made him come up with some wonderful suggestions. After having thought about it seriously, he suggested, “There is a good way for us to suppress Zen.”
His companion raised one eyebrow in mild interest.
“What is it?” Saint Viana asked.
“All Peaks Competition,” Saint Zara said slowly.
If someone wanted to rise and be recognized in Cloud Sect, then being the champion of All Peaks Competition was a good way to achieve it.
The saints knew that Zen was outer disciple and that he had no right to take part in the All Peaks Competition, but they were more sure that if Zen wanted to become an inner disciple, then he could make it.
The saints were capable of killing Zen in a variety of ways.
However, they dreaded that Aura, who recklessly protected Zen, might be aggravated if they did so.
Aura had the Emperor on her side, and the saints clearly knew how powerful the Emperor was.
If the saints secretly killed Zen, there would be some traces that would inevitably be left behind. It would be easy for Aura to track down the saints by following the clues, which might put them in a dangerous situation.
However, killing Zen in the All Peaks Competition was different.
All the disciples of Cloud Sect would take part in All Peaks Competition to try to get a good position on the Cloud Sect list. The competition was not only about the ranking of the peaks, but also about the reputation and the ranking of the disciples themselves.
It was a normal thing for some people to get killed in the battle ring of the All Peaks Competition.
In every battle ring of All Peaks Competition, there were always some people who got out of control and killed their opponents.
If Zen was killed in such a way, even Aura knew that it were the saints who had arranged for it, she wouldn't be able to find any reason to look into what they had done.
In such a way, the saints could secretly achieve their goal.
Saint Zara only mentioned All Peaks Competition, but it was enough for Saint Viana to understand what he meant.
Playing tricks in All Peaks Competition was an advisable way to kill Zen. But Saint Viana was still a bit puzzled, and he asked, “What if Zen is unwilling to take part in All Peaks Competition?”
Zen was already qualified to become an inner disciple, hence he would also be allowed to take part in the All Peaks Competition if he wanted to.
However, what if Zen was unwilling to become an inner disciple and showed no interest in the All Peaks Competition?
If that was the case, then they couldn't implement their plan.
“It is impossible that Zen doesn't want to become an inner disciple. Aura has tried her best to train Zen, and it is her hope that Zen could get a good ranking in the All Peaks Competition. Besides, compared to the other 32 peaks, Drizzle Peak is the tail ender. I believe that Zen wants to improve the situation,” Saint Zara said.
He was sure that this was the case for Zen.
“Well, you are right — but who should be sent to kill Zen? I should think about it seriously,” Saint Viana said.
A brittle laugh escaped his lips. It was impossible for him to tolerate being offended by Zen, who was such a young man! He wouldn't allow it!
Then again, Zen was overqualified so choosing someone who could kill him in the All Peaks Competition would be a handful. However, there were still many masters in Cloud Sect, and Saint Viana would definitely be able to pick someone who was suitable for the task.