Chapter 395: Confidence And Courage
Seeing that Zen had received a purple Cloud Hall Token, the disciples from the five grade two sects reluctantly accepted the unfairness. The disciples from Cloud Hall couldn't.
“Zen? Who is he?” “That bumpkin from Cloud Sect who won the first place?” “The disciples of Cloud Hall used to win every time. Why didn't any of the participants who won previously get a purple Cloud Hall Token?”
As the crowd's complaints got louder, a Cloud Hall steward snapped at them, “Shut up! If anyone makes any noise after this warning, I'm going to have them removed immediately!”
The disciples knew that Cloud Hall floated in the sky thousands of meters above the ground. Since most of them were at the Illuminating Soul Realm and could fly, they wouldn't die if they got thrown out. But they understood what the steward had meant—he wasn't going to have them thrown to the ground. He was threatening to remove them from Cloud Hall.
Therefore, the disciples kept quiet. They had practiced since childhood to meet the eligibility for admission to Cloud Hall. And most of them carried the hopes of their entire family. Even though they envied Zen, they were unwilling to be expelled from Cloud Hall because of this.
In fact, the two stewards envied Zen as well. As the Internal Elixir Realm masters, they hadn't received a purple Cloud Hall Token yet either. They also wondered why Zen was an exception. “Does he have a special relationship with our leader?” one of them asked. “She is well known for being chaste. I've never heard of her having a boyfriend,” the other answered.
The cultivators' world was unfair, and the stewards had already become used to it. Since there was no other logical explanation, the Cloud Hall stewards assumed that Zen had a powerful background and that they shouldn't mess with him.
Therefore, the two stewards greeted him with respectful smiles. One steward even bowed a little as he handed Zen a purple Cloud Hall Token with both hands.
Then, the two stewards explained the rules and regulations of Cloud Hall to the disciples. They even spoke about matters that required attention, such as how to use the cultivating places and facilities, the forbidden areas, and so on. There were so many rules in Cloud Hall that it took the stewards about an hour.
After that, the two stewards allowed the new disciples to leave the Elite House. Zen walked out with Rocher and Patrick. They had intended to get some trivial articles and find their rooms in the Cloud Hall.
As soon as they exited Elite House, their eyes fell on a massive map on the wall.
“This is the map of the Central Region,” Rocher said.
In the past, Zen had thought that the Eastern Region was vast. But now, as he saw the map of the Central Region, he understood why some people said the Eastern Region was a small place.
On the corner of the map, the orientation and size of the Eastern Region had also been plotted. In contrast, if the Central Region was an elephant, the Eastern Region was only a little pig. The two were not at the same level simply from the perspective of the territory included in each region.
Lewis walked toward the three young men as they studied the map. He had followed Zen since they met on Cloud Road. “The map is very detailed. Almost all the forces in the Central Region have been marked out.” Lewis said as he analyzed the map.
It was not difficult for the cultivators in the Central Region to get this information. However, as warriors from the Eastern Region, Zen, and his friends were seeing a map of the Central Region first time in their lives.
Zen not only located Cloud Hall, which was labeled as a grade four sect on the map, but he also saw the other three, grade four sects, namely, Bloodwood Cliff, Black Mountain Sect, and Mysterious Luna Hall.
Cloud Hall was the strongest among the grade four sects, which was only a little inferior to the grade five sect. And the three grade four sects, Bloodwood Cliff, Black Mountain Sect, and Mysterious Luna Hall, were also just slightly weaker than Cloud Hall as they had many Internal Elixir Realm masters.
Ethereal Spirit Sect was the only grade five sect. It was located in the heartland of the Central Region. That place was called Ethereal City. As a grade five sect, Ethereal Spirit Sect was both larger and stronger than Cloud Hall. It was said that the leader of Ethereal Spirit Sect had cultivated to a realm that ordinary people couldn't understand.
Zen tried to keep the information in his mind. He soon noticed that there were several names marked on the map. So he asked with curiosity, “What about these names?”
“Well, not all strong people like to establish a sect. Some of them are loners who prefer free life. Since they do not belong to any sect or group, we mark their names on the map,” explained Lewis. He had always been a fan of gossip, so he was well-informed. He pointed at the south end of the map, “Look at this one! The Venerable Starry is a strong master in the south of Central Region.”
“Are all the strong cultivators listed here?” Zen asked. Zen scanned the map with anxious eyes as he asked. It was as though he were searching for something.
Only a handful of people had been identified on the map. Undoubtedly, all of them were top masters, beyond the Internal Elixir Realm, in the Central Region. And there were only about ten people in all.
Zen's eyes soon stopped on a name, Evil East Lord, Eddie Cui.
This was the man who had taken Zen's sister, Yan. When Zen saw the name, his eyes narrowed. Even though he tried to control his emotions, Patrick and Rocher could feel his anxiety and hatred.
Patrick and Rocher knew that Zen was under great pressure. When they were at Cloud Sect, they had also seen the giant face appear in the sky. At that time, they had only known him to be a strong warrior from the Central Region, but they didn't know his name. Now, seeing Zen's eyes fixed on the name, they guessed who it was.
Obviously, Evil East Lord was the cultivator from the Central Region who had taken Yan.
“Lewis, how about this man?” Zen pointed at Eddie's name and asked.
Lewis' eyes blinked rapidly before he said, “The Evil East Lord! His skill is just so-so.” He wanted to play a joke with his new friends.
“Just so-so?” Patrick and Rocher exclaimed at the same time and stared at Lewis with a strange expression.
“In other words, there is no match for him in the Central Region. Even the leader of the grade five Ethereal Spirit Sect has to acknowledge his superior skills. Eddie is the strongest person in the Central Region. He deserves the name, Evil Lord,” Lewis praised.
Hearing Lewis' words, Patrick and Rocher shot him a dark look. They thought that Lewis must be a fool. Otherwise, why would he say so much to people he was meeting for the first time.
Zen glared at the map as if he hadn't heard anything.
Lewis' answer didn't surprise Zen. He knew exactly what kind of powers this man must have had to be able to force Cloud Sect to hand over Yan. Moreover, Cloud Sect was under Cloud Hall's supervision. So, Cloud Hall must know about the incident.
Cloud Hall was afraid of Eddie as well!
Cloud Hall was the best of the grade four sects. It ranked second to the only grade five sect, Ethereal Spirit Sect. If Eddie could force Cloud Hall to listen to him, he must, indeed, be extremely powerful.
Eddie was known as the Evil East Lord, the Number one cultivator in the Central Region.
In comparison to him, Zen was as insignificant as dust.
Anger, fear, desperation—all kinds of negative emotions coursed through Zen. He knew that these emotions would not benefit him. All he could do was stay calm and silent to control himself.
“Hey, Zen? Why do you ask about him? He is so famous. Haven't you heard of him before at Cloud Sect? No? Your Eastern Region is too remote,” Lewis started nagging.
"I have more information about him. You might be interested. It's said that he is going to arrange the Lustful Demon Array. He is looking for the top three beauties to cultivate together and ... You know what I mean, right?
He also wants to be emperor and establish a holy kingdom in the Central Region. It would be a real feat that no one has achieved in Central Region for thousands of years. Hey, what's wrong with you? How come you are leaving without me?"
Lewis stopped his nagging as Zen left without saying a word.
Rocher and Patrick followed Zen. But before they left, Rocher scolded Lewis, “Shut up!”
“You idiot!” Patrick added.
Lewis stood there with a look of shock. “I didn't provoke anybody, did I?” He scratched his head with wonder.
Unfortunately, the map only allowed Zen to get a rough idea of the distribution of forces in the Central Region. The map was not very detailed. After all, it was impossible for Cloud Hall to disclose top-secret information on a map and show it to all.
“Zen! Wait!”
Rocher and Patrick ran to Zen, who was hurrying forward.
“What's up?” Zen responded without looking back. Sadness and helplessness filled his heart.
Like any hardworking student, he had set a grand goal, hoping that one day he would achieve it. He spared no efforts to pass the final exam with a high score. But he was frustrated when he found that although outstanding, he was still far from his goal.
His grand goal was like a star in the sky, high above him, blinking and taunting him. He could only look up at it, but not reach it.
It was not that Zen was not good enough. It was just that his goal was in the sky, and that his current ability kept him at ground-level.
Even though Zen had never given up, challenging the most powerful cultivator in the Central Region would be suicide. His ambition was high, but he had to accept the cruel reality.
“Eddie is indeed very powerful,” Rocher said as he raised his eyebrows. “He is the strongest man in the Central Region. I'm afraid that if he chooses to, he can destroy Cloud Hall. But, I have a hunch that one day, you will kill him!”
Patrick nodded, “I believe that, too.”
Hearing what they said, a trace of a smile flashed on Zen's face. After a while, he grinned and turned to them, “Do you guys really believe I can do it?”
“I'm not comforting you. If other people hear us, they may think that we're daydreaming. But I really believe it will happen,” Rocher stated, and Patrick agreed with him as well.
Their faith in Zen's abilities rekindled his hope and ambition. Zen's deep eyes shone like stars. “Now that you believe in me, I will believe in myself too. One day, I'll kill him,” Zen declared as he gritted his teeth.
Although Zen didn't know how far he would go on the road to martial arts cultivation, he had to face this strong enemy sooner or later. He needed courage and confidence, both of which he had regained now.