Chapter 583: Chapter 583: Concession And Dispute
The tall and slender figure slowly approached with several Demon Night war generals following closely behind her.
The members of the Demon Night were mostly women and the perfect race was almost entirely dominated by females.
So many male creatures of all races could not look away at the sight of them. The men's gazes were filled with greed and impure thoughts about the Demon Night women.
However, they were to keep their lust and perversion to themselves. The moment they stared at the Demon Night woman at the helm, they immediately felt their eyes burn as if they were being melted by a hot flame.
“AH!”
“My eyes! My eyes!”
“They hurt! I can't see anything!”
“Am I going blind?!”
They all howled and screamed.
“Why did you look? How dare you gaze at a woman as powerful as her with lust and desire? She is Madeline, one of the seat holders of the Demon Night in the Tower of Sin. Those who look at her with impure thoughts will only get hurt. I heard that she's only a tenth-level war lord but her soul has already stepped into the Fighting Soul Realm.”
“Fighting Soul Realm? My word! Some of the war sages have not yet even reached that!”
“Not everyone in the Soul Sea Realm possesses a soul at the Fighting Soul Realm. They say a soul like that is extremely powerful and will not be damaged by attacks from a normal soul.”
A look of surprise was evident in Madeline's eyes as she looked upon the wall filled with names. Even though she had already received the news that a tenth-level human war fighter had gotten his name on the first row, seeing it with her own eyes still caused her a lot of shock and disbelief.
A human warrior…
How could he be so talented? He was even stronger than the Demon Night's Amber!
Madeline took a glance at Fabian and Jarrod who had stepped forward upon her arrival.
“Madeline, the rules were made in accordance with the fourteen races' agreement,” Fabian said. “Are we really going to let the ogres ignore that and repeal the rules?” Fabian looked at the crowd and, with a booming voice, stated his declaration, “If any of you have the ability to kill Zen in the arena, then we, humans, will naturally not say a word. However, if any attempt upon Zen's life is made outside the arena and in the safe zone, then we'll have a problem.”
He knew humans were too weak and they would never be able to negotiate fairly with the ogre race. Fabian could only pin his hopes on the Demon Night.
The Demon Night held sixteen seats at the top of the tower, second only to the ogres, and they were incomparably stronger. Despite having fewer seats, the Demon Night members did not fear the ogres at all.
Malcom stared hard at Madeline's beautiful face. The Demon Night's interference was something the ogres did not want. It would be extremely troublesome for them if the Demon Night got involved with this issue.
Ultimately though, the decision lay with Madeline. With a faint smile that had the ability to move any man's soul, she voiced out her thoughts loud and clear, “The Demon Night will not interfere in this matter.”
Despite the grudges both the Demon Night and the ogres had with each other, it could not be denied that both races shared the same interests and goals. They absolutely could not allow the humans to rise in power and become stronger.
The rise of one race meant the fall of another, given the extreme competition for the Sea God Continent's limited resources. Right now, the Demon Night had become one of the strongest races, even overshadowing the ogre race because of Amber's strength and remarkable achievements.
However, their race produced and cultivated offspring at a much lower rate than others. Compared to the ogres, the Demon Night had fewer resources and smaller population.
Though they did not like the ogres, the Demon Night could not allow the humans to rise.
Therefore, Madeline would be happy if the ogres got rid of Zen. There was no need to get her entire race involved in this troublesome matter.
Madeline's words plunged the hearts of Fabian, Jarrod, Elder Jing, and Olivia into disappointment. Zen was too impressive and what they had feared would happen because of that. ṙἁꞐŎ𝖇Ęʂ
On the other hand, Malcom was feeling giddy and had a sinister smile plastered on his face. With the Demon Night refusing to get involved, it would not be hard for him to deal with Zen. All he needed to do was to wait for him to walk out of the Talent Tablet and immediately kill him.
The ogres should've already taken action and killed Zen before he reached the tenth floor. They had greatly underestimated Zen's strength by sending a Night Group assassin who was too weak to eliminate his target.
When Malcom was lost in thought, his musings were interrupted by Madeline's voice. “However, the rules of the Tower of Sin were jointly made and agreed upon by the fourteen races. If the ogres want to break the rules, I think they should give an appropriate explanation.”
Her words greatly surprised those present.
“Madeline, what do you mean by that?!” Malcom asked, enraged by what she had just said.
Madeline, on the other hand, was calm and collected. “Everyone has to pay the price for breaking the rules,” she said. “If you ogres violate the agreed-upon terms and kill a human talent outside the arena, at the very least, you should compensate the humans for their loss! Otherwise, how will you be able to explain this matter to the other races?”
The Demon Night followed rules with rigidity as these rules had been set by strong masters to create peace and order. If someone willfully ignored the parameters set by the masters and did not face any repercussions, then the others would follow suit, creating chaos for the entire group.
The Tower of Sin could fall into the chaos that it had once been plunged into. If that happened, talents from various races wouldn't be able to safely cultivate and would face all kinds of assassinations. Without the rules, all races would act recklessly!
It was not something that the Demon Night wanted to see.
The ogres could certainly break the rules but they had to pay the price. Otherwise, why would they need to strive for seats in the Tower of Sin? Why would they need the rules?
Malcom sneered, “Compensation? We can offer compensation. As long as Zen dies, our Flaming Ogre Sacred Place and Dread Ogre Sacred Place are willing to bestow the humans with ten low-grade sacred weapons!”
Jarrod was immediately infuriated by his words, “Ten low-grade sacred weapons? Do you think of us as beggars?”
A sacred weapon was indeed precious but it wasn't extremely rare in the sacred place. The Purple Heart Sacred Place itself had at least twenty low-grade sacred weapons.
The human race would not compromise even if the ogres gave them one hundred, let alone ten sacred weapons. Zen was a priceless super talent that should be cherished and protected. Besides, sacred weapons could only realize their true potential in the hands of a master.
Malcom sneered, “Ten sacred weapons and that's it! I do not discuss with you humans, understand?”
Fabian scoffed and shook his head. “It seems that you are still intent on ignoring the rules,” he said. “Do you honestly think you can persuade us to give up on our super talent's life by giving us so little?”
Malcom was about to retort when Boris suddenly interrupted, “There's no need to argue with them. I have a solution.”
Malcom huffed, “You have a way to solve this? Tell me right now!”
“Since those humans insist that we obey the rules, then we should give them what they want,” Boris said. “We don't need to compensate them with ten sacred weapons. When Zen comes out of the Talent Tablet, I'll challenge him and kill him on the arena!”
His words were confident as if he already knew who the winner of the battle was before it even began.
Malcom, Fabian, and Jarrod all showed an expression of interest with Boris's proposal.
Fabian and Jarrod knew the human race did not have any bargaining chips in their hands to negotiate with the ogres. Their best bet was to get Zen up in that arena and win. His victory would serve to further strengthen the importance of the rules and help humans gain the other races' support.
Malcom, on the other hand, thought differently. Boris, to him, was the most outstanding talent in the ogre's two sacred places and his cultivation base was a full cultivation realm higher than Zen's. The gap between a tenth-level war fighter and a tenth-level war general was too great.
Therefore, Malcom had no doubts that Boris would be able to kill Zen in the arena. This method would ensure that the ogres wouldn't be breaking any rules so there would be no need to compensate the humans and they could legally get rid of Zen. It was killing two birds with one stone.
In the unlikely event that Boris did fail, the ogres would still be able to ignore the rules and kill Zen.
Malcom let out a roaring laugh. “I agree with this suggestion! What do you humans think?”
Fabian and Jarrod chose not to say anything. The ogre's agreement to fight in the arena was already a kind of concession. Although their hearts were full of worry, Fabian and Jarrod only nodded their heads.
Olivia faintly sighed as she looked up at Zen's name shining on the wall. She wasn't an idiot and obviously knew the ogres' malicious intentions.
Even if Zen defeated Boris, the ogres might not also be willing to abide by the rules. Only hatred and competition existed between the two races, after all.
'Zen should not have entered the Tower of Sin. He should've just slowly grown and enhanced his cultivation in the Purple Heart Sacred Place. At the very least, he should have had enough strength to face off against these ogre war lords before he entered the tower. That should've been the perfect plan. With his talent, he probably doesn't even need the tower's help. As long as he focuses on his cultivation, a breakthrough isn't way too far off. Ah, why have things come to this?'
Olivia thought morosely, regretting Zen's choices for him.
Of course, she had no idea that Zen did not have the time nor the luxury to cultivate slowly. His sister waited for him to rescue her and, with each passing day, his worries only increased since he felt that there was no time at all.
The Tower of Sin was the only place where he could quickly raise his cultivation base. He had no other choice.
Besides, a talent would only grow stronger and far more powerful after going through a life or death experience. A peaceful environment could never yield an awe-inspiring hero.
Everyone fell silent upon the presentation of this solution. The only thing to do now was to wait for Zen to come out of the Talent Tablet and accept Boris's challenge.
It wasn't the perfect plan but it ultimately resolved the dispute.
However, four hours had already passed. Why was Zen undergoing such a long test? What exactly did he encounter inside the Talent Tablet?
Zen was completely unaware of the huge dispute happening outside because of him. At that moment, he was currently dealing with the Soul Symbols one by one.
The masters of these Soul Symbols had exceptionally powerful cultivation bases and it was still extremely difficult for Zen to defeat them despite the suppression of their cultivation bases to that of a tenth-level war fighter.
“The ninth Soul Symbol...”
Zen had just managed to destroy another master's Soul Symbol.
He had exhausted almost all his methods but, in the end, had to rely on the Fighting Soul to disturb the opponent's mind before he managed to kill him.
“How many Soul Symbols do I have to deal with?” Zen asked.
“Ten,” the weapon spirit said faintly. “You only need to defeat ten masters' Soul Symbols for you to pass the final test.”
“Ten? Then this is the last one…”
With this, Zen noticed that the serried patterns started to disappear until there was only one left right in front of him.
The pattern suddenly lunged at Zen and, with a powerful flash of light, a person appeared.
The light blinded Zen for a few seconds before he could look at the one standing in front of him.
“Who is he?”
Astonishment was written all over Zen's face.
Although the person in front of him had eyes and nose the same way all others had eyes and noses, the aura he exuded was very strange and it reminded Zen of the similar feeling he had when he met Lily, his sword spirit.
Back then, he had been shocked by her appearance.
Her slender legs and beautiful face were aesthetically perfect and Zen could only marvel at such a wonderful creation.
Only after arriving at the Sea God Continent did Zen realize that his horizons were simply limited. The Demon Night was a perfect race with men and women at the height of beauty and aesthetic splendor.
However, the Demon Night members were not humans and their long, pointed ears were physical proof of this fact.
The 'person' in front of Zen right now looked like a genuine human male.
Ears, eyebrows, eyes, body...
His appearance was the same as a normal human's and nothing seemed out of place as Zen carefully looked him up and down.
Zen praised this 'person' in his heart for he never thought such a perfect human could exist in this world.
The 'person' was flawless and perfect, and his perfection was the reason why Zen couldn't be too sure that he was really a human being.
“Is he a real human?” he voiced his thoughts out loud.
“He can't be regarded as a human being,” the weapon spirit replied.
Zen frowned. “Then what race does he belong to?” he asked.
“He is the owner of the Tower of Sin. A member of the Celestial Position race!” The weapon spirit's revelation almost popped Zen's eyes out of his sockets.
“The Celestial Position race? What kind of race is that? Why do they look so much like humans?” The Demon Night was a perfect race but this man in front of him, despite being perfect himself, looked as if he had more in common with humans.
“I am unable to answer this question…”
the weapon spirit replied.
“His Soul Symbol appears here,” Zen said and bit his lip in thought. “Then does that mean that the owner of the Tower of Sin has already died?”
“Right, this is the last Soul Symbol,” the weapon spirit affirmed. “As long as you defeat him, you may pass the final test.”
“I see…”
Zen's face no longer showed any doubt. No matter what the Celestial Position race was, as long as he defeated this perfect man, Zen would pass the test.
This time, it wasn't Zen who made the first move.
There was no mockery or hesitation. The last Soul Symbol went and charged towards Zen in swift, assured steps.
'No waves of forceful energy and life vitality? His cultivation base is suppressed to my level. Is he planning to use only his physical body to fight against me?' Zen thought to himself, slightly confused and alarmed at how things had started. However, he quickly recovered and got himself ready. “If that's the case, then let's see how much power is stored in that perfect body of you!”
He put away his long sword and met with the man head-on, also using his physical body to ram into his opponent.
Zen was confident with his physical strength since only a few people could keep up with him in the Sea God Continent and even in the boundless world! After all, his body was a high-grade fairy weapon and it was enough to turn Zen into a mean fighting machine.
“Bang!”
The two of them collided in the most barbaric fashion with a loud bang indicating the amount of strength they had put into their tackles.
The collision produced a force that was so strong that it sent the two of them reeling backward, away from each other.
Zen flew a couple of feet in the air before landing painfully on the cold, hard floor. However, despite the pain he should be feeling, his mind was more focused on the shocking fact that his opponent was still alive. Just then, a primary-level war lord hit by Zen's attack would've been severely wounded after the collision but it seemed his perfect opponent was only thrown a few feet backward.
Sure, they were both thrown a good few feet backward, but compared to the distance Zen was thrown, the perfect man's retreat distance was significantly shorter!
“Indeed, it is such a powerful physical body. It's not the slightest bit weaker than my fairy weapon body!”
Doubt also appeared on the perfect man's face. Despite being a mere Soul Symbol, he had still inherited the emotions of his previous master and regarded Zen's powerful physical body as inconceivable.
“AGAIN!”
Zen roared as he circulated the power of the dragon scales in his body, activating one hundred scales.
“BANG!”
There was another violent force as the two collided once again. Zen was pushed back a hundred feet, but his opponent was pushed back for one hundred and fifty feet!
“AGAIN!”
“BANG!”
Zen continued to unfurl the dragon scales' power bit by bit, increasing his strength gradually. Over time, the distance Zen would be thrown back decreased while his opponent moved farther and farther backward. On their next collision, a stream of blood flowed out of the man's mouth.
“Golden blood?” The sight of it solidified Zen's belief that his opponent was not human. How could a mere human being possess golden blood?
The perfect man wiped away the blood from his mouth. Then he finally realized that he would not be able to win this battle with his physical strength alone. If this continued, he would be the one collapsing in the end.
The perfect man changed his pose and suddenly clenched one of his hands into a fist.
Faint traces of light appeared around his hand before forming a powerful looking vortex.
'That's the forceful energy, ' Zen thought to himself. 'Although he was of the Celestial Position race, he still chose to refine his body. Since that's the case, I'll also show him my body refining technique!'
At that moment, victory was no longer Zen's goal. What he hoped instead was a breakthrough.
“Stellar Body!”
Zen had never used the Stellar Body in actual combat, but now he would finally get a chance. Now, he would see how powerful the Transcendent Divine Might truly was.