Chapter 3345: Chapter 3345: Falling From The Sky
Another human warrior at the Holy Soul Realm stood in an ice pavilion. It was Neal of the Divine Farmer race.
Neal was the equal of Reed in terms of strength. When Neal saw Reed being forced out of the Other Shore by Zen's punch, he was astonished, though he tried to conceal it.
Obviously, Reed had wanted to capture Zen so that he could ask for rewards from the Element Spirit race.
The Element Spirit race was known for the generosity of its rewards, which its members used as a means of controlling others and obtaining what they wanted.
However, not only had Reed been unable to catch Zen, he had also sustained serious injuries. Reed's failure convinced Neal that it would not be a good idea to go forward.
He quietly retreated. His human-shaped Soul of Light disintegrated into a series of slender threads, which shivered in the air like visible wind spreading into the depths of the ice city.
It would also be a great achievement to be the one to bring the news to the stage ruler, Hosea.
“That human brat defeated the Scale Lion race? And he threw a Holy Soul out of the Other Shore?”
“I know who he is! He is the one whom Master Hosea is hunting down. Many of the Five-Element Slaves have been killed while hunting him!”
“He is too arrogant! How dare he come to the ice city? You must catch him!”
The news of Zen's feats spread to the strange-shaped creatures of the Other Shore, and it caught their attention immediately. They were intrigued and wanted to know more about Zen.
They took an interest in Zen for the same reason as Reed. Since Zen was wanted by the Element Spirit race, his capture would lead to enormous rewards.
“Come on, let's go!”
Several short-statured creatures, shaped like giant beetles, were gathered by the side of the city gate. In a moment, they spread their wings and rose into the air, gliding along the ice wall and heading straight towards Zen.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As soon as they drew nearer to Zen, to their shock, the shadow of a fist had approached and smashed them down along the ice wall.
But as soon as the giant beetles had been smashed down, dozens of birds appeared in the air, flying towards Zen. These birds were small, no larger than a human fist, but they had long beaks, at least three feet in length. They also flew much faster than the beetles. They zoomed like living arrows towards Zen. No ordinary creature could block such an attack by these deadly birds.
However, Zen was in possession of the Chaotic Source Spirits, which made his body an impenetrable fortress. If the birds tried to pierce him with their beaks, he knew that the consequences would be terrible for them—his body was like rigid stone.
Indeed, as soon as the birds reached Zen, their sharp, slender beaks broke upon contact with his body. Their tiny warm bodies slammed into him next, and were pulverized by the impact into a mist of blood and feathers. For the birds, it had been a suicide attack. ŗàŊO͍฿Ёʂ
Even as the flock of birds died, two more monsters showed up. They were large, stooping figures carrying pots of poison. They climbed the ice wall and positioned themselves above Zen, sprinkling their multicolored liquid venom over his body. But Zen was immune to all poisons. He shook off the venom and leapt up to kick the monsters from their perch on the wall.
Still, no matter how easily Zen fended off the attacks, more and more Other Shore creatures showed up. Many were eager to claim the reward promised by the Element Spirit race, and soon Zen was surrounded. He was preparing to fight all of them when a chill swept through the air. A cold wind was blowing in, and the temperature suddenly dropped severely.
Zen and the Other Shore creatures turned to look in the direction of the wind. In the distance, a large blue shadow was moving towards them. As it progressed, it seemed to infect everything it passed. The snow-white buildings of the ice city turned a dark blue, and the temperature became even colder.
The blue shadow was followed by many Moon Fire, Magical Thunder, and Chill Ice Slaves.
“It's Master Hosea!” cried someone.
“Master Hosea is here in person. This arrogant human brat has met his match now!”
“He has to pay the price for his wild actions! Death!”
Zen listened to the words of those creatures below the ice wall, his gaze fixed firmly on the looming blue shadow. He said softly, “It seems that the master has arrived. How powerful is Hosea?”
“Hosea is a figure of significance within the Element Spirit Civilization,” the Primeval Lord of Heaven replied. “But the truly powerful existences of the Element Spirit Civilization are all in Stage Thirty-three.”
The most important stage on the Other Shore was Stage Thirty-three. In the eyes of the Element Spirit Civilization, Stage Thirty-three was the land of exploration—all the lower stages were merely distractions, areas that needed to be managed and maintained.
As Hosea approached, the temperature continued to drop, until everyone felt the bite of the cold. On the ice wall, the growing frost formed beautiful polygonal condensation patterns, like ice flowers.
Most of the Other Shore creatures began backing away from Zen. They grew quiet and watched Hosea coming nearer and nearer.
In a few moments, Hosea reached the opposite side of the ice wall, floating in midair. His sharp eyes fixated immediately on Zen, but there was a look of puzzlement in his expression.
“I'm curious,” said Hosea calmly. “You managed by luck to defeat the Five-Element Slaves, but you must have known retribution would follow. You should have hidden yourself in the Source World. What gives you the courage to break into my ice city?”
As a member of the Element Spirit Civilization, Hosea had passed the Soul City and the Land of Bone Tribulation. He had also entered the Eternal Scroll Painting. As a master at the Eternal Realm, Hosea possessed an immensely powerful aura. It was like thousands of sharp knives hidden within his body, and he could exert enormous pressure on those within his range.
Zen met Hosea's fierce gaze without any fear. When Hosea had spoken, Zen smiled faintly and answered, “Courage is not a problem for me. I have never been afraid to go after what I want.”
“That's not courage, that's stupidity,” Hosea said in a cool tone. He raised his hands, and the blades on both sides of his arms flickered with an icy light.
The Other Shore creatures and the Five-Element Slaves formed a wide circle around Hosea and Zen, watching in wide-eyed silence.
The sight of Hosea engaged in battle was something rare and unexpected.
“It has been tens of thousands of years since the last time Master Hosea fought, right?”
“We might never have the chance to see anything like this again!”
“Unfortunately, Hosea's opponent is too weak for him,” someone observed in a disappointed voice.
Hosea was a stage ruler at the Eternal Realm, an existence of incomparable power. Most of the watchers felt that Hosea's talent would be wasted on killing someone like Zen who was so much weaker. In fact, some thought privately that Hosea should just leave Zen to them, as he was not worth Hosea's personal attention.
“Too weak?” Zen repeated. He chuckled and said, “Well, why don't we see what strength I can summon?”
Zen was clearly unafraid, and his words caused murmurs and looks of confusion in everyone around him, even Hosea. At that moment, there was a loud crackling sound in the air above them.
Cracks were forming on the thick frost covering the upper ice field. In seconds, it splintered into shards that fell in heavy, razor-sharp shards onto the ground.
They heard a deep boom.
The huge ice piece shrouded an ice castle, which was also smashed into pieces. Some of the ice splinters landed on Other Shore creatures, killing them before they could react.
To everyone's shock, as the ice piece fell, a huge, hulking figure jumped down to stand beside Zen. There was a thud as his weight landed solidly on the ground. It was a bald giant.
The thick ice wall couldn't bear the force of his landing, and collapsed.
Many Other Shore creatures stared at the strange giant in open-mouthed disbelief.
A giant descending from the upper ice field?
How had such a creature survived in a land of extreme chillness without the protection of the Divine Fire Shield?
Just what kind of existence was this giant?
To their further astonishment, the giant moved his lips and began emitting strange words.
It seemed that the bald giant was singing without any recognizable tone or rhythm.
Zen listened attentively. The core of Heavenly Obsession Civilization had sent out the contents it had deciphered. Zen gazed at Hosea and said evenly, “This guy of the Colossus race told you that he'd met you again!”
Hosea's eyes widened in recognition and shock. He was astonished that the bald giant had escaped from the Cold Prison. Yet he was even more stunned that Zen was capable of understanding what the bald giant said.