Chapter 1097: Chapter 1097: The City Lord

No one dared cause trouble here.

While Bright Sky City was insignificant in the Upper World, it still had the support of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.

Not even someone like Zen, nor the other martial artists at the Spirit Supreme Realm, nor those at levels even higher than the Spirit Supreme Realm would ever dare to stir up anything risky.

If they offended Bright Sky City, they would, in turn, offend the thirty-six halls, and then the Spiritual Force Sacred Place—the Saint Lord of the sacred place was much stronger than a world lord.

The martial artists showed mercy to Zen. To begin with, Zen's bearing was already extraordinary, and his horse in tow was nowhere near ordinary. Anyone would assume that he had a special background.

But at that moment, Zen had completely ignored their warnings—he was determined to take Freya away. Some would have called it wishful thinking.

“What do I mean? Don't you understand?” Zen replied with a smile. Then, he turned to Freya. “Let's go.”

His frankness stunned her for a moment—she was moved by Zen's utter willingness to come and see her in spite of everything he had to endure.

But even though he had broken through to the Soul Sea Realm, taking her away was basically impossible. They couldn't afford to offend the city they were in.

“Zen, you have to go. I… I can't leave.” Freya shook her head in defeat. In that moment, she regretted burning up the message rune to ask him for help. There was never any hope, in the first place, but because Zen was the only one she met after ascending into the Upper World, burning the message rune for him seemed like the only thing to do. Anything was better than nothing, after all.

The chance of him receiving the message was incredibly slim, yet he got it anyway after leaving the mine. But what for?

The four martial artists had already made their moves, surrounding Zen from all directions. Their compelling eyes were fixed on him, silently willing him into submission. The leader of the group had a particularly icy glint in his glare. A bright silver short sword was in his grasp, a kind of black light revolving around it. “I've already given you a chance to back down. Now, I won't let you escape!”

The second he finished speaking, he moved in to attack Zen.

These martial artists were no pushovers. It was clear that they thought highly of Zen. Otherwise, they wouldn't have waited so patiently. They were under the impression that Zen just didn't know what was good for him—he must've had a death wish if he wanted to take Freya away in those circumstances.

Four martial artists at the Soul Sea Realm launched an attack as fast as lightning. The group's leader moved in extremely close, his sword shooting out explosively at the short distance in beams of black light. There was barely any room for Zen to dodge.

All Zen could do was remain where he was—his figure wavered only slightly before he returned to his original position. The sword pierced through his body but caused him no harm.

As he wore a smile on his lips, his eyes seemed to have been filled with faint killing intent.

The four martial artists instantly realized that this fellow who had just reached the Soul Sea Realm couldn't be underestimated.

“Kill him!”

The four moved in from all directions, leaving Zen no opening.

Witnessing the scene before her, Freya shaded her eyes in despair. But she knew it was utterly useless for her to feel any regret then. She knew that Zen was outstanding. Even when he stood at the Life and Death Realm, he was already easily as strong as her who just reached the Soul Sea Realm. There was no doubt in her mind that he would make a real difference in the future.

In the worst-case scenario, he would become a city lord in the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. She never would have expected that the message rune she sent to him would get him into such deep trouble. R̃Â𝐍ồ𝐁Εȿ

She saw Zen gently raise his hand. A long sword appeared in his grasp. With a mere slight movement of the long sword, gray figures suddenly appeared around him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A soon as the clear sounds rang in Freya's ears, the four Soul Seal Realm martial artists were set flying back in four different directions, one of them even smashing into Freya's space.

Things were happening all too quickly. In the blink of an eye, the four martial artists lay fallen on the ground. No one knew whether they were alive or dead.

Freya's eyes widened in shock before she turned to Zen. He was standing not too far from her.

It was no simple thing. Zen managed to defeat four Soul Sea Realm martial artists in a single move.

Amongst the many martial artists who had ascended into the Upper World, Freya's strength could easily be considered above average. Still, that didn't mean she suddenly had the skill to fight against the other martial artists in the Upper World. At first, she had no confidence in Zen's skill, but to her utter surprise, he exceeded anyone's expectations.

After breaking through to the Soul Sea Realm, Zen had indeed become much stronger.

The scene before her was unbelievable.

When she finally calmed herself down, she looked at him in fright. “Zen, you've gotten into so much trouble. Run, quick! This is the territory of the Spiritual Force Sacred Place. No matter how strong you are, you'll be no match for them.”

Not only did Zen ignore her warning, but he also brandished his sword and released a few rays of sword light. With that, the restrictions positioned in front of the house suddenly exploded, releasing streams of black smoke.

Such restrictions were enough to bind the Soul Sea Realm martial artists, but they couldn't even put a bump in Zen's road. At that point, Zen already didn't want to waste any time—he was set on destroying the divine textures behind the restrictions with sheer brute force.

After removing the restrictions, Zen turned to Freya and announced, “Alright, let's leave this place together!”

Freya took one look at Zen and the horse behind him—it seemed to have an extraordinary air about it. Suddenly, a sense of trust grew in her heart.

The worst-case scenario would be Freya getting caught and being turned into a cauldron. But if she were to run away with Zen, she would get her chance to escape from the Spiritual Force Sacred Place.

Although it was a slim shot, she still had to grab the opportunity.

In truth, she had already fallen into despair. In her heart, Bright Sky City was huge and great—it wasn't something a martial artist like her could easily pick a fight against. The Spiritual Force Sacred Place supported the city and she was nothing more than an ant.

But now, her desperate heart seemed to have been touched by a sweet dew as she felt some of her confidence be restored. No longer did she have to hesitate or drown in worries.

In a swift motion, Zen pulled her onto the Heavenly Phoenix Horse. As he gently patted the horse's neck, it raised its hooves before shooting toward the sky as if it could run on the clouds.

At first, it didn't feel particularly fast. But in only nine seconds, it was already in the sky. When it arrived the height of ten thousand feet, a huge net suddenly appeared in the sky to stop Zen in his path.

The strange net seemed to cover the city's entire sky.

“It's a no-fly ban,” Freya reminded him.

When he saw the restriction, Zen's expression didn't shift in the slightest. As he brandished his sword once again, the sword's light rippled like billowing waves.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

When Zen's sword hit the net, crisp sounds resounded from the impact. But the slashes did nothing for the restriction. Zen was puzzled.

As he wondered why nothing was working, a burst of vigorous and powerful laughter suddenly resounded from afar.

“Haha! Well well, this is a first. How dare you cause trouble in the city?” From not very far away, ten beams of light flew over. The leader, wrapped in a blood-red light, wore a robe just as red. His eyes seemed to emit some kind of uniquely fierce aura as if he had just practiced some extremely powerful, evil technique.

Seeing that person fly over, Freya's expression shifted drastically behind Zen. “Uncle…”

Hearing her voice, Zen began sizing up the group's leader, his expression turning deadly-calm. “A Spirit Supreme Realm powerhouse. Is he your uncle?”

“Yes.” Frey nodded. “He's also the lord of Bright Sky City.”

As she spoke, the martial artist wearing a blood-red robe arrived. He glanced at Zen indifferently before his gaze landed on the Heavenly Phoenix Horse. He became stunned for a moment, a trace of greed appearing on his face right after.