Chapter 946: Chapter 946: Four Years

Margaret walked in, or rather, flew into the room with a faint smile on her face. She asked the old man in a sweet tone, “Sir, may I offer you a cup of tea?”

The old man chuckled at the softness of her tone and nodded in agreement.

The kind and considerate Elder Apeiron was the wife of this old man, and she had just become Elder Apeiron's disciple the previous night, so it was only right that she now treated the old man in front of her with great respect. However, she was currently unwilling to let Zen find out that she was trying to improve herself in cultivation.

Smiling upon the consent she had received, Margaret sifted a pot of green tea before brewing a cup and handing it over to the old man, who accepted with an ecstatic expression on his face.

He was very happy to have found this girl. Laughing loudly, he showed his happiness, “That's a good girl! No one among my disciples is so courteous like you!”

He was sure that his wife must be very grateful to him for introducing such a talented disciple to her. And now, upon discovering what a sweet and good mannered girl she was, he felt even more pleased with his discovery. However, since he was able to read her mind, he also understood the bitterness she had borne in mind at the wedding ceremony the day before. It was his pity for the lovesick girl that had made him praise her to the skies in front of Zen, whether the effort bore fruit or not.

Margaret smiled with gratitude as she prepared another cup of tea. She handed it over steadily to Zen and then retreated to one side, giving the two men some room to talk.

After Zen had taken a small sip of his tea, he turned to the old man and began to thank him, “I am really grateful for the gift you gave me yesterday. I...”

But before Zen could finish his sentence, the old man waved the gratitude off and directly continued with his own agenda, “Max and the others have returned to the Celestial Position race. The pill that I gave you is nothing impressive. It will merely help you cultivate a little faster. As for that man who was sent there by the Supreme Lord of Thunder Punishment, I have already asked him to leave! I don't have a name, so you don't need to ask me about it...”

Clearly, he was the sort of person who was least bothered about polite and traditional conversation starters.

Zen's mouth was still wide open for having been interrupted. Furthermore, before he could ask a single question, the old man had already told him everything he wanted to know. In fact, it was his straightforward way of speaking which had rendered Zen speechless.

The old man chuckled and drained the cup of tea in his hand in one gulp. He then turned his head towards Margaret and asked, “Little girl, please pour me another cup of tea!”

Margaret walked up to him and filled the porcelain teacup before retreating to the side once again.

Even after that, Zen didn't have an opportunity to speak as the old man continued himself, “Since you don't have a destined fate, our Celestial Position race won't be able to control your future. Therefore, I am not going to bring you back to the race.”

“Really?” Zen was surprised.

The old man chuckled, “Do you feel disgruntled about that? In any case, it has been already determined. Although some old men almost fought with me over this matter, I was right after all! You are free to ascend on your own. Our race will not interfere with your path or your journey in this world and beyond.”

Zen was even more confused now. He thought for a moment and decided to ask about the Tower of Crystal. Max and the others had discussed the matter with him and decided that the Tower of Crystal should remain in the Sea God Continent for at least three more centuries.

Once more, before he could even utter a single word of the question, the old man answered it, “We'll just leave the Tower of Crystal here for now. It's not going to be of much use for us, anyway.”

Zen was flabbergasted. He had never seen anyone forestalling their partner in a conversation like this before. Even before the questions were uttered, this old man would answer them all. Zen had to remain silent the entire length of their discussion.

On the other hand, Margaret was quite amused and started to snigger in the corner. She had never seen Zen so embarrassed before.

Zen then began to think about the reason why the old man wasn't going to bring him to the race, but just as he moved his lips, he immediately shut them again. He was sure that the old man wouldn't let him ask it anyway.

As he expected, the old man piped up, “There's no reason for that at all! I've thought about it a lot. Anyone without a destined fate has to choose his or her own path. You possess the talent and the strength to lead the world of chaos, and yet, you are not destined for it. You will have to make a decision on your own. Nobody should interfere with your fortune or your future...”

Zen took another sip of his tea in silence. Yolande had said similar words to him just some time ago.

She was ready to fight the Celestial Position race for keeping Klein on her side. Klein was the one who had received the silver Asura title. However, she had said that she wouldn't interfere a single bit with Zen's matters. In fact, even after he had obtained the Heavenly Fragment in the past, she hadn't had any reactions and had just let Zen make the decision by himself.

Zen was indeed completely free to choose his path. But one little doubt was still nagging him. He felt that he still needed someone to point him in the right direction. He was conflicted.

This time also, Zen had no intention of speaking out loud, but the old man still patted him on the shoulder and comforted him, “Nobody can repeat the paths of those who have become legends, nor could they ever predict the path for those who will. No one has the right to point the way for you. Not even a Supreme Lord! But you should remember one thing: even if I don't bring you to the Celestial Position race, and even if your blood is not changed, you are already a member of our race. I believe you will remember the promise you have made in the Tower of Crystal!”

With that, the old man stood up from his seat and waved the porcelain teacup in his hands as he asked Margaret, “May I have another cup of tea?”

Margaret smiled and walked over to fill his cup. After the old man drank his third cup in one gulp too, he looked at the Ancestral Dragon roaming around near Margaret's feet and said, “Oh, I almost forgot, we have also decided to leave the Ancestral Dragon here with you. Okay, I must go now! See you next time!” Ɍ𝐚ℕȱВĚᶊ

But Zen simply kept quiet in response. He was sure the old man would interrupt him again if he spoke.

Therefore, it wasn't he who responded to the old man's goodbye, but Margaret.

She smiled softly and asked, “Sir, what is your name? Would you mind telling it to me?”

The old man tilted his head and smiled at her. His mouth moved slightly and a slight, invisible wave of life vitality spread out towards Margaret.

After that, his figure flashed and suddenly disappeared from their sight.

'Nameless... The old man's name is Nameless. No wonder he told Zen that he doesn't have a name, ' Margaret thought to herself. The old man had finally told her his name through his life vitality. As for Margaret's teacher, she already knew that she was called 'Apeiron.'

'Nameless' and 'Apeiron.' The couple were quite famous warriors in the entire universe, even though very few people had ever actually met them.

Zen looked at her with curiosity and asked, “Margaret, what is the name of this old man?”

Margaret's lips pursed as she snorted, “I am not going to tell you!”

“No, you must let me know it! I am dying with curiosity.” Zen was disgruntled. This girl was starting to keep secrets from him. How could he allow her to do that?

“No, I won't!” Margaret giggled. Her eyes were full of a desire that she tried to hide, but her body was slowly retreating backwards, towards the wall.

Zen of course wasn't going to let her go easily. He approached her in a single stride and pulled her into his arms. Since she was unwilling to tell him the truth, he wouldn't let her go before she surrendered. After a while, they almost forgot about the name, as a wave of life vitality spread out from Zen's body and wrapped itself around the teahouse. Margaret gently placed the teapot on the table, and her body fell limply into Zen's embrace.

Nobody else witnessed the joyful times they then shared with each other.

However, despite their glorious and ecstatic moments, Zen still failed to learn anything about the old man's name.

And nor could he find out what the old man had said to Margaret or where she had gone last night.

Despite his curiosity, he had to give up in the end since Margaret wouldn't let him know no matter how much he begged her. She had started to become a little mysterious in Zen's eyes. He wondered what kind of secrets this once obedient girl had begun to conceal from him. Did it have something to do with that old man from the Celestial Position race?

And Margaret apparently had her reasons for not telling the truth. In fact, given her way, if she could always stay by Zen's side without any efforts, she wouldn't give a penny's worth to martial arts anyway.

But now, she understood that the Lower World wasn't the place where Zen would stay forever. He would have to ascend to the Upper World someday, and she had to follow him.

She wanted to give him a surprise. She decided that after he ascended to the Upper World, she would enter the Purple Power World to concentrate on her cultivation, and thus, would be able to meet him in the Upper World too. As for Letitia, she might have to cultivate for about a hundred years before she could ascend, so Margaret would be the only woman staying by Zen's side at that time. This was the happy future she was looking forward to.

In the following days, besides accompanying Letitia and Margaret, Zen spent the rest of his time cultivating. Half a month later, he stepped out of the Cloud Hall and looked to the east.

The Eastern Region...

Four years had passed like a flash since he had set foot on the Cloud Road.

To most warriors, four years were almost negligible compared to their long lives. But Zen had only been twenty years old at that time. Four years was already a fifth of his past life, and in these four years, his life had almost completely turned around. He had been through a lot during this time.

“It's time to go back now. It's time to go back to the Clout Sect.” He muttered to himself.

In the last four years, Zen had travelled without even a day's rest on the way. From the moment he left his home, he had never had the time to rest, and even when he was home, he hadn't had an easy time. And now he believed that he needed to pay a visit to the Eastern Region now that he finally had the time.