Chapter 954: Chapter 954: Avoiding Shortcuts

“This wall is the True Barrier,” said Saul as he looked at the pale yellow wall.

Zen walked forward and stretched a hand to touch the wall. This barrier was blocking the road ahead of him. According to Saul, he would have to break this barrier if he wanted to move forward.

But since Zen had the 'thunder' token, he had the right to pass the barrier directly.

Zen's eyes flashed as he looked at the pale yellow wall. “Is it really impossible for me to break this barrier?”

“You can try if you want,” Saul said with a smile.

But it was Letitia who answered with a question, “Can I have a go?”

“No problem,” Saul replied.

Zen smiled and stepped aside at Letitia's interest in the wall.

Letitia liked to take challenges. She and Zen were both at the first level of the Life and Death Realm. In her opinion, there might be a gap between her strength and Zen's, but the gap should not be that great, which was why she wanted to test out her strength.

Everyone stepped aside, giving way as Letitia walked forward gracefully to stand in front of the True Barrier. Her gaze was fixed on the wall in front of her, the life vitality within her body beginning to surge.

“Aroo!”

As more and more ice crystals began to condense, an ice phoenix appeared beside Letitia.

Saul said, “It's the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess. It is a pretty good cultivation method, but this cultivation method cannot be fully mastered. It can only be considered an abridged version.”

Letitia's heart skipped a beat at Saul's words.

This cultivation method was considered to be a top-notch martial skill in the Central Region. Saul was a man who had knowledge and experience that was way beyond anyone's imagination. If Saul had called the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess as something good, it would have been an extremely powerful cultivation method. But here he was, saying that it was only an abridged one!

The Sutra of Empyrean Goddess was a cultivation method that Letitia's master, Imogen, had passed down to her. Even Imogen didn't know about its origins.

“An abridged cultivation method?” Letitia asked curiously.

Saul nodded and replied, “Yes, this Sutra of Empyrean Goddess has not been completed yet. All these years, I have been flipping through all the myriad cultivation methods in the library. I know I'm not wrong.”

It was abridged but Letitia had gotten too far into this cultivation method and had no choice but to stick with it to the end.

Letitia gently turned her fingers, causing the ice phoenix to coil around her arm. She looked straight at the wall, a cold chill spreading out of her body.

“She is truly worthy of being the leader of the Cloud Hall. What a formidable aura!” Aura said, a mix of shock and awe lacing her voice. Letitia's strength was much higher than her own and the level that Letitia had reached was far beyond her imagination.

Margaret snorted as she thought, 'What's so special about that? I'll become more powerful than her once I enter the Apeiron Tower!'

The ice phoenix in Letitia's hand swirled faster. The cold air that emanated from her became even chillier. The temperature in the area several dozens of feet around her dropped drastically.

As the chilliness spread out, Margaret and Aura strained to withstand it. But a stream of protective life vitality spread out as Zen waved a hand, protecting the two women behind him.

It wasn't long before Letitia's punch landed on the True Barrier.

Boom!

A snow-white mark appeared on the True Barrier at the impact, but didn't spread further. Instead, it began to shrink and a while later, disappeared.

Zen nodded as he saw the extent of the power that Letitia had unleashed. The punch seemed to have no effect on the True Barrier - the punch that no one in the Central Region could withstand the power of. Even Imogen and the other Life and Death Realm cultivators couldn't handle it. 𝖗𝘢ΝՕᛒË𝙨

She had entered the Life and Death Realm after restarting her cultivation nine times. Her strength was truly astonishing!

Letitia merely smiled and shook her head at the wall that stood intact. She had expected that the True Barrier wouldn't budge a lot, but she hadn't expected that she couldn't move it even an inch. That was a big blow to her.

So she stood aside, indicating that it was Zen's turn to try.

He walked up and touched the True Barrier. He could feel a trace of the mysterious Law Power hidden within, but it wasn't any of the Original Laws. He thought for a moment before asking, “This True Barrier has the Law of Causality hidden within it, right?”

Saul nodded and said, “This is a Law of Causality barrier created by the master. With your current ability, you can't penetrate it. If you don't want to waste time, I think you should just use your 'thunder' token to go through.”

Zen smiled.

Zen could take a shortcut by using the token, but he knew very well that a martial artist who preferred to take shortcuts wouldn't get anywhere. Sometimes, one had to take shortcuts if there was no other choice, and some other times, one had to learn to avoid taking shortcuts. Martial artists had to constantly test their own strength and challenge their limits. On the other hand, opportunistic people could temporarily take the lead by taking the shortcuts, but they would lose out in the end. Martial artists who relied purely on shortcuts would ultimately not be able to go far.

So Zen wouldn't use the 'thunder' token to walk through the True Barrier unless he truly had no way to break it.

Standing in front of the True Barrier and looking at the pale yellow transparent wall, Zen took a deep breath and lit up the dragon scales within his body. The surging power of the dragon scales poured into Zen's body.

He activated the power of a thousand dragon scales!

Two thousand.

Three thousand.

Four thousand.

Five thousand!

His body had begun to accommodate the power of five thousand dragon scales once Zen had consolidated his cultivation.

When he had just broken through to the Life and Death Realm, the power of five thousand dragon scales had almost caused his body to explode. This time, Zen was able to handle it even though he felt a little uncomfortable.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Due to the influx of power into Zen's body, his joints began to produce explosive sounds. His body also started to expand and his body suddenly doubled in size.

“Darling, don't push yourself too much!” Letitia said worriedly as she looked at what was happening.

Aura was staring blankly at Zen, the aura erupting from his body rendering her breathless.

There was no one in the Eastern Region who could compare to Zen. Aura knew that Zen had become very strong but it was still beyond her imagination as to how strong he really was right now.

Now that Zen was gathering his strength, his entire body had undergone a tremendous change. His aura had become invincible. If a martial artist like Kenneth had faced Zen, he probably would have turned pale and teetered.

Zen had become unimaginably strong in just a few years' time. What did the future behold? What kind of a character would Zen grow up to become? A small place like the Central Region would not be able to restrain him.

Aura pondered. She still couldn't fathom how strong Zen would become. A strong sense of crisis overcame her.

She did not know that two months ago, when the old man Nameless had told Margaret about her falling out once Zen advanced further, Margaret had already taken the necessary measures. She had made a plan to improve her cultivation and that was why she had gone to the Purple Power World to find a master for herself.

The biggest problem was that Margaret had a special physique and already had a way to deal with the crisis. But what about Aura? What did she have to do to follow in Zen's steps?

She suddenly remembered that when Zen had first entered the Cloud Sect, she had argued with the old man in charge of the test to win over Zen. Now the boy had become such a powerful man she could only look up to.

She felt sad as she thought this. Zen had returned and told her how he felt about her, but she could do nothing about it. She was like a puppet, unable to change anything.

Aura was deep in thought, but Zen had already landed a punch.

Powerful energy surged out, producing an intense airflow.

Aura and Margaret wobbled on their feet as the currents moved around them. Letitia and Saul stood quietly on the spot and watched Zen's punch strike out.

Boom!

The punch landed on the True Barrier, causing it to tremble. Cracks appeared on it, but they quickly narrowed and disappeared. Zen had failed in his attempt.