Chapter 184: James Mo
Sean and Nory were not as surprised as Wurth.
Upon seeing Zen, this dainty, pretty girl complained that he did not visit her! Zen must have a lot of charm to bewitch her like this.
'When exactly did Zen meet Nina?' they wondered. 'Did they meet at the trial for slaying demons?'
“Hey, Zen, won't you give us an introduction? Is this your girlfriend?” Sean, who was older than Zen, teased him.
Nory was more flippant and straightforward. He straightened and gave Nina a solemn salute. “How are you, Zen's girlfriend?”
“Don't say nonsense!” Nina rebuked him, but her face broke into a flush. She didn't really seem to mind how Zen's friends addressed her.
Zen's friends were quite perceptive, so how could they not make out what that blush meant? Generally speaking, it was a universal sign indicating that a girl harbored a crush on a guy.
“Okay, fine! I won't talk nonsense anymore. I will reserve calling you that for the future!” Nory responded, casting Yates a short, casual look. Nory was naive but not ignorant. Yates had been particularly attentive to Nina ever since she walked in. As per what Nory observed, Yates obviously held some kind of affection for her. The more he teased Nina about Zen, the more dispirited and indignant Yates got.
“Humph!” Nina gave a snort and wrinkled her nose in chagrin. She turned to her friends, calling them from a distance. “Girls... Come here. I want to introduce you to someone. This is Zen Luo!”
Hearing this, a few girls came up to her, huddling and checking out Zen from head to toe with their wide, pretty eyes. They immediately launched into a stream of comments.
“So, this is Zen! No wonder you always talk about him, Nina. Listening to you describe him is not as good as actually meeting him in person. He is so handsome!”
“Yeah, his eyes are so bright, they seem to glow!”
“Wow, I should have taken part in the last trial of slaying demons too! How exhilarating it must have been to be saved by him from the demon generals!”
Zen had no idea that the stories of him defeating the demon general and saving Nina from the clutches of another five of them had spread throughout Lady Peak!
Apparently, he was more popular there than he was at Drizzle Peak.
Those sentiments were not widely shared by the disciples at Drizzle Peak. His fellow participants there were tight-lipped about his astonishing feats at the trial for slaying demons.
The female disciples talked in whispers among themselves, their faces lit up with excitement. Except for Yetta, who appeared disinterested and aloof, everyone sang praises of Zen and was in awe of his heroics.
Yetta, who was Nina's best friend, was, of course, aware of Zen's valor. Nina had described him more than once as a great hero. In addition, the other female disciples who had taken part in the trial took note of Zen's gallantry.
At any other time and place, Yetta too would have participated and expressed her admiration for Zen.
However, today, Yetta had invited Nina to meet her family at the repeated requests of her brother, Yates. She knew Yates had feelings for Nina.
She had not expected Zen to be here when she brought Nina along. What a strange coincidence. Now, Yetta was in a quandary.
It looked like it was Nory who brought Zen here.
Out of the tens of thousands of disciples at Drizzle Peak, not to mention many more in the entirety of Cloud Sect, why was it Nory who happened to be Zen's friend?!
Yetta looked at Yates, who stood at a distance, from the corner of her eye.
She watched quietly how her brother's face darkened with ire. He was not enjoying any of this.
Nina was like an unattainable goddess to Yates. He had admired and looked up to her ever since he first met her, like he couldn't stop himself from doing so.
He knew his chances of winning Nina's heart were slim, but that didn't mean they were in the negative. So, he wanted to give it a try.
Though the Mo family had almost declined now, it was still a noble clan. Yates was talented, and if he worked hard, he could become the next head of the Mo family.
When Yates became the family head, he would be qualified to court Nina.
It pleased him that his sister brought Nina to the house.
He had been preparing for this for a long time. He had even arranged for various entertainment programs for her. He would do anything to please Nina!
But not once had he imagined that he would encounter such a scene when Nina finally arrived at the Mo family's house. Judging by how she was acting, Nina had a crush on this guy, Zen.
A sense of deep frustration rose in his chest and took hold of him. Yates felt his strength slip away from him. Why was this happening to him?
Yates's friends, who stood around him, also grew gloomy and resentful.
They were well aware that Yates wanted to pursue Nina. However, judging from what was happening before them, things were not unfolding as they had hoped for.
Suddenly, Yates clenched his fists, a fierce look flashing across his eyes. A mad thought occurred to him. 'I will kill Zen by any and all means!'
Noticing his grim appearance, a friend next to him pressed his hand on his fist and shook his head slowly. “Yates, calm down,” he said to him in a hushed voice. “Zen is unusual and very strong. It wouldn't be a good idea to come to blows with him.”
Yates certainly could not kill Zen here.
Zen did seem powerful. The momentum that he unleashed was astonishing. Although he was only at the first grade of nature level, the disciples of the Cloud Sect knew that the realm was sometimes inconsistent when it came to strength. Moreover, according to what the female disciples surrounding Zen just said, he had killed some demon generals!
How much strength did a demon general have? Yates and his friends had never been to the trial of slaying demons, but they had heard a number of tales about demon generals. At Egret Peak, the disciples who qualified to fight them ranked among at least the top fifty of the inner disciples.
As for actually killing a demon general, they had not heard of any inner disciple at Egret Peak who had managed to do so.
However, since they had not seen Zen slay demon generals with their own eyes, and since what the female disciples were gushing about was hardly believable, it was debatable that Zen had really killed some.
Even if Zen's strength was really in line with his realm at the first grade of nature level, a show of Yates's antagonism right in front of Nina would be quite irrational. It would gain him the opposite of what he wanted. Not only would it make him an unfavorable person in Nina's eyes, but also, it would make her outright hate him.
At his friend's warning, Yates relaxed his fists. He understood that it would be unwise to make an enemy of Zen right now. Today, the Mo family was hosting a party, and if he got into a fight with Zen, the event was likely to fall through.
'I'll hold myself back for the time being, and after the party is over, I will deal with you, Zen!' Yates swore to himself. And Nory, how could he bring home this troublesome boy? He was courting death. Yates silently told himself to endure this until he finally got the chance to get back at Nory too. Watching Nina smile at Zen bashfully, Yates felt his heart break into pieces and bleed. Imperceptibly, he tightened his fists again, his fingernails digging deep into the flesh of his palms and gouging a few wounds.
Zen's soul was far more sentient than the average person.
Yates tried his best to restrain himself, but Zen still sensed the deep hostility directed toward him.
This hostility felt different than the previous one Yates had harbored against him.
He had previously shown his contempt, aiming to teach Nory's friends a lesson.
But now, Yates seemed to want Zen dead!
Zen, however, did not care for his malice.
Ever since arriving at the Mo family's house, Zen, Wurth, and Sean had been seething with silent rage.
They needed a reason to let off their steam, and in doing so, they wanted to help Nory reclaim his place in his family.
Yates would play right into their hands if he tried to provoke them.
Suddenly, four servants walked out of the living room and opened the door to the hall. Then a dozen people emerged out.
The man at the head of the crowd was lean and sported a goatee. His name was James Mo, and he was the head of the Mo Clan.
Zen sat at the table, quietly watching James Mo. His aura seemed restrained, but there was still a faint sense of menace about him. Clearly, he had his life vitality contained well inside of him. On that basis, Zen judged that he was in the Illuminating Soul Realm.
“This is the head of the Mo family, James Mo, the only master of the Illuminating Soul Realm in the clan,” Wurth whispered, his tone scornful.
Needless to say, each of the seven noble clans was supposed to have a number of masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm. In the Zhang family, few members belonged to the realm, but the officials under their command were all remarkable masters. In other words, only the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm were qualified to be the officials of the Zhang family!
As one of the noble clans, however, the Mo Clan had declined to a point that James Mo was the only living master of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Wurth predicted that the Mo Clan would sooner or late be excluded from the group of noble clans.
“Father!”
Yates got up and strode briskly toward James Mo, throwing a deliberate glance at Zen and his friends.
After what had just happened, he had come to regard Zen as the greatest enemy of his life.
He, however, was a little unsure whether or not he could truly defeat Zen. So his first thought was to use his father's formidable power against his rival.
But Yates's eyes were met with sneers from Zen and Wurth.
In the eyes of the others, the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm were like Gods.
But for Zen and his friends, they were not particularly powerful or special.
Wurth could mobilize the masters of the Illuminating Soul Realm with a single command. He had done so with men who were much more powerful than James Mo.
As for Zen, he had encountered and fought against many a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Not only did he embarrass Hugh, who belonged to the Illuminating Soul Realm at White Emperor City, but also he killed masters of equal strength inside the fairy palace.
Although Zen was aware that there was a gap between his true strength and that of a master of the Illuminating Soul Realm, he had also come to understand that the chasm could be overcome in other ways.
“Yates,” James Mo said, patting Yates on the shoulder. Then he looked over to his guests. “I am deeply honored to have each of you present at the Mo family gathering. Please forgive me if you don't find the arrangements to your liking.”
“You're much too modest, Master Mo!”
“It's an honor to be invited, Master Mo. You should have no reason to say otherwise.”
Not all the guests present belonged to the noble clans. True nobility would not be caught dead attending a mediocre party such as this one.
Although the Mo family was on the verge of decline, it was yet a noble clan. Besides, many others depended on this family for their survival, so most of the guests were perfectly courteous toward James Mo.
With the polite remark, James Mo took his son around to greet the guests.
The people sitting at Zen's table were engaged in animated discussions.