Chapter 366: The Shadow Wolf King
On the fourth floor, the two chests glowed with a dark golden light, tempting the warriors. Their eyes twinkled in a similar fashion.
So far in the test of Cloud Road, no one had been able to get their hands on the golden treasure chest.
Even head of Cloud Hall was never rewarded with it.
The gold treasure box was a great attraction to the other warriors, and Zen also found it particularly alluring.
He had received the rewards of three treasure boxes up until now. Each reward was greater and rarer than the one that came before it. Consequently, he was better aware of the merits of the treasure chest than the others.
The first floor was the reward that could improve one's spirit strength significantly; the second was the blood vigor of the nine-headed dragon, while the third floor was the Blood Fiend Emperor's secret manuscript that described the tier 5 cultivation method! What kind of a reward did the fourth floor conceal? And what about the fifth?
The rewards must be unimaginable.
However, Zen was not reckless enough to face the tests of the fourth and the fifth floors. He didn't want to die an early death like most others who challenged them.
In order to get the reward of the silver treasure chest, Zen had undertaken great risks. He had almost gotten himself killed. Considering his present strength, he was afraid he would be dead meat if he even attempted to get the reward in the golden box.
Treasures, weapons, and cultivation methods were important, but his life was infinitely more vital at the moment.
Moreover, Zen's level was still very low. He would always come across more opportunities to achieve the rewards once his level improved. According to Kenneth, the disciples who fell under the third-grade of the Illuminating Soul Realm were sanctioned to enter the test of Cloud Road. If he became an elite of Cloud Hall, he might be allowed to reenter the Cloud Road. After all, Cloud Road came under the purview of Cloud Hall. As long as the rules were stipulated by their men, he would have chances aplenty.
Yet, even as Zen chose to abandon the chest at the moment, he was still curious to see what the test of the fourth layer entailed.
As he mulled over it, he slowly climbed along the cliff, then leaped to stand on the edge of the fourth stone platform. As he stationed himself there, he saw two red beams of light illuminate the cave. A low but heavy whimper resounded.
“Goodness! It's a fierce beast!” Zen blurted out.
Fear crept up Zen's heart, soon spreading across the rest of his body. At the moment, he felt as if his heart was grabbed by an invisible force. He felt paralyzed like he was unable to move.
What kind of a fierce beast was this? And how did it possess such formidable power?
Even while facing the demons in the past, Zen had never been so terrified.
Pop-pop, pop-pop... Zen's heart thundered in his ears.
'Run!' Zen told himself.
The prospect of facing some ferocious beast inside the cave made him instinctively want to run away from the stone platform. He wanted to jump down and just escape.
Just as he was about to leave the platform, the beast in the cave emerged. It was so fast that Zen only saw the hint of a black shadow race to him—a pair of striking blood-red eyes fixed on his form.
The beast rushed at him with the speed of light, and even though Zen had jumped off the platform earlier, the beast still managed to catch up to him. It attempted to slash at him with its front claws.
'Snap!' came the noise of something breaking.
The clothes covering Zen's chest were torn apart. Luckily, he himself didn't get hurt.
Without hesitation, Zen rolled down along the cliff. As he leaped in the air, he adjusted his body and landed on the ground stably.
As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was eager to escape.
He remembered that the disciples of Cloud Hall were all watching him covetously, as if he were their prey. The huge array form they had created was a great threat to him.
Suddenly Zen froze, sensing something wrong.
“Aroo—” He heard the roar of a wolf from above him.
He looked up and saw the fierce beast standing on the edge of the stone, howling at the sky.
The disciples of Cloud Hall were struck dumb by the wolf's roar, their feet as if turning to ice—unable to move at all. Some of the feeble ones collapsed to the ground, their feet unable to support them.
Even Lennon, the top disciple among the lot, looked pale as he stared with unease at the beast on the stone platform.
The beast looked like a wolf, but it was much larger than a normal one. Its body was dark as a shadow. Zen didn't know what it was, but Lennon couldn't be more aware of it.
'It's the Shadow Wolf King. I didn't expect… the golden treasure chests on the fourth floor are being guarded by this fierce beast. No wonder no one has taken one box yet. If this beast keeps an eye on the chests, they are designed not to be taken away by anyone at all, ' Lennon thought, his brows furrowing.
The Shadow Wolf King was a legendary fierce beast. It was a kind of shadowy creature that was, in fact, no longer a creature in terms of its nature.
After that loud howl, the Shadow Wolf King watched Zen with wild eyes for a moment too long before sauntering back to its cave.
The ferocious look almost stalled Zen's heart. Fortunately, he had not ventured to challenge the fourth floor. Zen put a hand on his chest, patting it as he heaved a long sigh. That was when he saw Lennon watching him from the corner of his eyes.
To his surprise, however, Lennon did not attack him by using the big array form.
The disciple next to Lennon reminded him of it. “Lennon! Don't you want to kill that boy?”
Lennon didn't say anything or even move. He merely stared at Zen in silence.
Seeing the lost look on Lennon's face, Zen edged away swiftly. He didn't want to stay and waste his time any longer. Zen couldn't figure out why Lennon was behaving like that, but he was lucky that he hadn't been attacked.
It was not until Zen was well inside the jungle that Lennon slapped the disciple on his head. “Kill him?” he snapped. “Do you want me dead?”
The disciple, wincing in pain as he held his head, responded, “Lennon, didn't you say you wanted to kill him before? Besides, if we use the Twelve Earthly Branches Array, it would kill the boy in an instant.”
“You're an idiot,” Lennon said in a huff, throwing him a disdainful look.
It was not that Lennon didn't want to kill Zen, but he didn't yet have that courage to do so.
After all, as someone born in the clan of the third grade, he was very well aware of his situation. Presently, there were five sect leaders and an Elder watching from out there.
If Lennon had killed Zen before Zen got the silver box, it wouldn't have been a big ordeal. At most, a leader of a second grade sect would make some trouble for him, but his strong family would well handle it. He was from the South Wang-Zhao Family, after all.
Yet, the situation was completely different at present. Zen opened the silver box. Over the years, only head of Cloud Hall had managed to do so. This meant that Zen had the same potential as the head—perhaps even greater potential. Because Zen had opened the silver chest when he was only at the third grade of the nature level, a much lower grade than that of head of Cloud Hall. Back then, when the head of Cloud Hall entered the test of Cloud Road, the warrior had already stepped into the level of the Illuminating Soul Realm.
Zen's outstanding performance had certainly grabbed the eyes of the senior leaders of Cloud Hall.
Lennon didn't dare to offend Fernandez, one of the Elders at Cloud Hall, let alone their more powerful senior leaders. It would be easy to kill Zen using the Twelve Earthly Branches Array, but it might be hard to explain to Fernandez why he did it. If Fernandez reported that crime to head of Cloud Hall, Lennon would land himself in big trouble.
Perhaps it would even be the biggest trouble he would have to face.
Lennon's guess was accurate.
Fernandez had previously watched Lennon fight Zen with a big smile. Zen's talent was good, and his performance amazing, but there were too many geniuses from the five sects of second grade, not to forget the many geniuses at Cloud Hall. Still, Fernandez had been impressed by Zen's previous performances. That, however, was not enough to warrant Fernandez to protect Zen.
But now, things had escalated. After Zen received the silver treasure box of the third floor, Fernandez's opinion of him rose sharply!
The moment Zen fell from the fourth floor, Fernandez's heart sunk, his face darkening with worry. He had feared that Lennon would use the Twelve Earthly Branches Array to do away with Zen. Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to send Lennon a message; otherwise, he would have warned the top disciple not to act rashly. Even his family power would not be able to back him if he went through with killing Zen.
Fortunately, Lennon was a smart boy. He had shrewdly assessed the situation and decided not to aim the array at Zen.
Watching Zen leave safe and sound, Fernandez felt his mood brighten up once again.
Zen walked along the road that he had earlier taken to the lush jungle. As he made his way, he took out a robe from his Space Ring. Peeling off the cloth that the wolf had torn apart, he changed into the new robe. Just as he finished, he frowned, sensing that someone was spying on him. “Show yourself!” he said out loud.
Immediately, a shadow dropped down from the sky, landing onto the ground. It was the cloak boy, Lewis.
“You are amazing!” Lewis said earnestly. “You actually got the treasure chest of the third floor. It's unthinkable! Can I come with you? Be your team member?”
Zen glanced at the cloak boy dismissively, shaking his head. “I don't work with people who don't show me his real face,” he said indifferently, looking away.
He soon heard the sound of rustling and looked in the direction of the boy.
The cloak boy had taken his cloak off, revealing a handsome face etched with a trace of wickedness. “My name is Lewis Baili,” he introduced himself.
“I'm Zen Luo,” Zen said simply.
They continued to walk ahead after the introductions. The test of Cloud Road was only halfway done. Zen couldn't be more aware of the importance of coalition as the test went along. The following ones would be even more difficult. Unfortunately, Rocher and Patrick had left earlier. But Lewis was strong too, and he would prove to be a good partner to him.
Lewis, however, was quite verbose. For a while, he kept asking Zen questions, bothering him, which made Zen regret agreeing to the partnership.
Zen walked out of the jungle and saw the upsurge of the Sea of Raging Fire. “The Sea of Raging Fire is beginning to recede,” he said. “Let's go.”