Chapter 940: Chapter 940: Persuasion

“Don't go, little girl. Listen to me!” the old man hurriedly said. It was then when he realized he made a mistake—never had he thought that there would be such strange people in the world who treated martial arts like garbage.

But then again, everyone had their own ambitions. In reality, he had seen many strange warriors of the Celestial Position. Since this young woman was interested in Zen, he could easily use him as bait.

Seeing the old man's expression, Margaret tried to put a damper on her temper and returned to her seat. Still wearing a cold expression, she asked him, “What is it you still want to say?”

With a chuckle, he replied, “Although you aren't the bride in today's grand ceremony, I can guarantee that you can be the one to stay by Zen's side for the days to come.”

That bit caught her attention. “What do you mean?” she asked, blinking her eyes as she focused.

With a shake of his head, he looked at Letitia. “That bride isn't half bad. She might be a top warrior in the Lower World, but that means nothing in the Upper World.”

Letitia's talent might be on par with Fiona's, or even Amber's, but her name could, at most, be placed on only the second row of the Talent Tablet. This level could only get the recognition of the Celestial Position—it was nothing special in the old man's eyes.

“Does this have anything to do with me?” Margaret said, sounding confused. As the old man talked casually, Margaret didn't know how to respond.

Chuckling again, he responded, “Why, of course it has something to do with you. Zen is a truly powerful warrior. How can such a remarkable warrior be limited to the mere Central Region?”

“What do you mean by 'limited to a small Central Region'? It's a vast area with abundant resources. Where else would Zen ever need to go in the future?”

In her eyes, the Central Region was the whole world. Perhaps, she knew of a Divine Kingdom Continent not too far from there. Perhaps she even knew that the world was divided into several levels. But what did any of that have to do with her?

The Central Region wasn't half bad, in her opinion. As for Zen, it was perfect, as no threat could be posed to him in the area. Being able to live a peaceful and comfortable life in the region was already a plentiful blessing. Though Margaret wasn't necessarily shortsighted, she wasn't interested in anything else.

For instance, after she awakened her first-rank Purple Power Body, Margaret also had a vague idea about her special physique. But never did she consider cultivating it, nor developing her strength—it just wasn't meaningful enough to her.

Of course, the old man couldn't help but roll his eyes at her response. It was rather pathetic to him, hearing her call the Central Region a vast land with abundant resources. From his perspective, the entire Central Region was a distance that could be traversed in a mere few steps, compared to the rest of the universe. It wasn't even comparable to one of his courtyards, nor his internal world.

As for resources, the Central Region was even lacking. When the poor warriors of the Central Region saw one of his divine weapons, their eyes were all glowing with envy—they looked like hungry ghosts that had been starved for decades. All of them seemed to be good for nothing. A divine weapon was considerable treasure for the Virtual Tribulation Realm warriors of the Upper World. But such a divine weapon was no rare thing.

So to the old man, the Central Region was merely a backward, poor area, lacking in all aspects of development.

But because Margaret had quite a testy temper, he didn't bother saying such words. Instead, with another chuckle, he continued, “The Central Region is vast in your eyes. But with Zen's talent, along with the Heavenly Oracle Pill that I fed him, Zen's cultivation base will soon increase tremendously. After he breaks through to the Soul Sea Realm, he will be rejected by this great world, all to ascend to the Upper World.” As he explained it, he could tell that Margaret was not interested in the matters of ascension to the Upper World, nor of repairing the flying passage. In reality, she might not have even known about the flying passage at all, so he figured it would be wise to keep things to himself.

But to his surprise, Margaret's face turned angry as she berated, “You can't fool me. You're a bad man! Not one of your deeds has been out of the goodness of your heart!”

The accusation left the old man speechless in surprise. As he had already given Zen a Heavenly Oracle Pill, how could Margaret still say he hadn't done anything good? Why was he the bad guy in her eyes? Wearing a rather comical gaze, he stared at her. “Even without the pill, he'll still fly into the Upper World.”

“And then?” Margaret still asked.

“Well, with your first-rank Purple Power Body, your cultivation speed will not be slower than his. Once he enters the Upper World, his bride will definitely not be able to ascend to the Upper World immediately. Zen can only bring her there after he makes some great achievement. Otherwise, she'll need at least one or two centuries to fly into the Upper World with her own strength.”

“And then?” She just asked again.

With a roll of his eyes, the old man continued, “Surely, it's all clear now... You may also fly into the Upper World soon. With your physique, you can keep up with Zen's pace and assist him well. In that case, you'd be able to stay by his side, right? But as for this new bride, she'll have to wait here alone for over a hundred years!” ʀåƝȯ𝐁ÊⱾ

While Margaret was hearing his compelling words, something suddenly clicked in her mind. “I see!” she exclaimed as her eyes lit up.

With a chuckle, the old man went on, “So, let me find a master for you. You should enter the Purple Power World often to cultivate. When your cultivation improves, you'll be able to fly into the Upper World and be with Zen.” With that, he cast a deliberate, disdainful glance at Letitia. “She's better off and more popular than you are right now, but don't be dispirited. Those who have the last laugh can smile the brightest, right?”

All of a sudden, Margaret's eyes were full of passion and determination. Never had she pursued anything in the field of martial arts—she had relied on all kinds of pills after reaching the Internal Elixir Realm. Without her Purple Power Body, she was inferior even to many Illuminating Soul Realm warriors.

But the old man gave her enough hope to make a shift in her mindset.

For Zen, she knew she could endure Letitia with a smile on her face when she married Zen in the grand ceremony. But now that there was a way for her to be with him, she decided that she wouldn't give up too easily.

“Yes, I understand now.” Tilting her head, she asked again, “You said that you would find me a master. That will be you, right?”

With a shake of his head, he replied, “Of course not. My wife shall be your master!”

Many of the warriors with Purple Power Bodies were women, so it made sense for a woman to serve as her master instead of the old man.

“But... where is she?” Margaret asked curiously.

Stretching out his withered hand, he said, “Give me your hand!”

In spite of the initial confusion on Margaret's face, she offered her hand anyway.

“Open your hand,” he ordered again.

Obediently, Margaret opened up her fair, delicate palm.

Suddenly, a scarlet cross appeared on the old man's finger. The divine texture within it was similar to the Celestial Position's location rune, only smaller than the actual one.

Whoosh!

As soon as the scarlet cross appeared, it submerged into Margaret's palm—it was eye-catching across her white, tender skin.

When Margaret raised her hand to examine it, her face filled with worry. “What is this?”

“It's only a location rune,” the man replied. “When you enter the Purple Power World in the future, my wife will be able to find you!”

“The next time I enter the Purple Power World... But I don't intend to enter it,” Margaret confessed. Unless someone chased after her, she wouldn't hide in there any other time.

The man's eyes grew wide as he remarked, “Exactly how much do you hate cultivating? You have to find some time to enter the Purple Power World. So long as you do, my wife can find you! You must work diligently and strive for your own future happiness.” With that, he gave an intentional signal with his lips as he turned toward the happy scene over there. At this time, many guests had already arrived and engaged in idle chat. Meanwhile, Zen and Letitia were brimming with joy.

Throwing the couple a cold, unseen glare, Margaret nodded, now determined. “Okay, I got it now.”