Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 412: Puzzled Tia

The runic brush pens greatly differed from one another. A well-chosen one could be of great help to a runic expert.

The one Zen had bought from Lasseter's shop was made of hematite. Beginners often chose this kind of pens to use. Although it was easily controlled by the soul, Zen thought it was too heavy to wield freely. The runic brush pen was used to draw simple runes. If the user made a mistake, the rune would be ruined.

However, some huge arrays consisted of hundreds or even thousands of runes. For instance, the sect protecting array Tia gave Felix was estimated to have more than thirteen thousand runes! Even the smallest mistakes weren't tolerated in the making of such large scale arrays. Although some individual runes might be replaced in case of mistakes happening, it was crucial that the most important one in the center of the sect protecting array, which contained thousands of lines, be made with no mistakes at all. If there was even a single, tiny error, the whole array would fail to perform its function.

Thus, a good runic pen was important for a runic expert to make a huge rune.

Felix's pen was made from the tip of a fiery cloud bamboo. The bamboo tip could remain soft and alive up to a hundred years. Moreover, it nurtured the strength of a soul that was put into the bamboo tip. Both the outside shell and the tip of the brush pen were made of the best materials. It had a good weight, was comfortable to hold, and had a stable brush tip.

This runic pen was worth at least three supreme life vitality crystals in a market.

Since Felix was the top runic expert in the Cloud Hall, he, of course, had more than one runic pen. However, this bamboo one was his favorite and he always carried it with him wherever he went.

“It's fine if you don't want to give me this runic pen,” Zen said to Felix and said no more. But before Zen could step out of the shop, Felix made up his mind and decided to agree with Zen. “Okay. If you can show me the perfect brushwork, this runic pen is yours.”

A satisfied smile crossed Zen's lips. He was willing to showcase his skills in exchange for a free, top runic brush pen. However, when he saw the runic ink Felix brought out, he frowned. “What is this ink for?” he asked.

“This is used for drawing the three-star rune, Sun Flame Rune,” Felix answered. The rune he mentioned was a frequently needed one. Many cultivators had asked him to make it, so Felix prepared enough ink and carried it with him all day.

“I'm not familiar with the Sun Flame Rune. I just started learning how to draw runes and I can only make one-star ones,” Zen shook his head and explained. In fact, Zen only could draw the one-star meditation rune. However, Felix didn't intend for Zen to make the three-star Sun Flame Rune. He only wanted him to draw a line to show his perfect brushwork. Since the materials of the ink and its manufacturing process were both different from Zen's own meditation divine texture, Zen then brought out his own ink.

'He just started learning rune-making a little while ago. He only knows how to draw the one-star rune, but he can draw runes with perfect brushwork. It's so strange, ' Felix thought. 'If he's really a beginner, it would have been hard for him to hold the brush pen perfectly. How can he do perfect brushwork then? It really is unbelievable!' Felix wondered in his mind.

Then again, Zen confidently told him he was a starter, so Felix thought that he probably wasn't lying. Felix felt that his case was really weird. It was like a newly born baby that could speak out a profound poem at his first time to open his mouth. It was really beyond Felix's imagination.

With that in mind, Felix decided to keep watching. He really couldn't believe that Zen could do perfect brushwork. If it was really true, he was willing to give Zen his precious runic pen, as he thought that it was well worth it.

A little excitement coursed through Zen as he held the black runic pen. This runic pen was excellent. It was suitable for his hand and felt perfect. When Zen divided a piece of his soul and put it into the runic pen, he didn't feel cold like before. On the contrary, he felt that a piece of his soul was dipped in warmth. It felt quite comfortable.

'This runic pen must belong to me!' Zen mentally told himself.

Zen smiled as he dipped the runic pen in his ink. Then, he started to draw on the paper.

At that moment, all eyes were on the runic pen's tip, including Felix, Lasseter, and even all the shop's waiters. They didn't believe Zen and wanted to see how long he could go on with his pretending.

The moment that the pen tip touched the paper, Zen had stratified all the materials contained in the ink. He had continuously practiced drawing eight pieces of the runes last night, so he was very familiar with the features of the materials needed to make the meditation rune.

A beam of cyan light suddenly shone and a perfect line appeared on the paper.

“Incredible. It's really incredible,” Felix repeated to himself. When Felix saw the cyan light, he was so shocked that he couldn't say anything at that moment.

Meanwhile, Lasseter's expression suddenly changed as well. As a member of the World Commercial Alliance, he had a sharp sense. He immediately realized how precious Zen was.

'Zen's future achievements probably won't be lesser than Arnold's. Our World Commercial Alliance must keep a good relationship with him at any cost! I have to report this to the headquarters of the World Commercial Alliance!' Lasseter thought.

A perfect line slowly stretched on the paper. The skill of perfect brushwork was clear in all the energy in the ink. Soon enough, the brush tip had left the paper surface. “This runic pen is mine now, isn't it?” Zen asked Felix with a smile.

Felix nodded. He stared at Zen with an amazed expression on his face as if he had found a priceless thing.

At that moment, Felix really admired Tia for her sharp insight. Tia was right. Zen was really outstanding and it was worth cultivating him at any cost.

As the top runic expert in the Cloud Hall, he and the others had heard a lot about Zen. They clearly knew that it was Tia who made Zen challenge the Elite House disciples.

Since Tia was quite young, a lot of elders secretly blamed her. They all said that she had made a big mistake. What Tia actually meant to do was to make all the Elite House disciples serve as practice targets for Zen. Even if Zen had such amazing talents, was he worth being cultivated like this?

Because Tia was short-tempered, most elders didn't tell her off to her face and secretly complained about her instead. Although Tia was still at the Illuminating Soul Realm due to her cultivation method, the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess, there was still someone very powerful backing her in the Cloud Hall.

Before, Felix also secretly agreed with the elders. He was even reluctant to accept this task that Tia asked him to do. Why would he bother to destroy Zen's confidence in learning how to draw runes. It was selfish of Tia to do so. She had used so many resources for Zen's cultivation, as if the Cloud Hall belonged to Zen himself!

But now, Felix was sincerely convinced by Tia.

It was really worth to cultivate Zen with all of the Cloud Hall's resources. But Tia had only used the Elite House and just one person, Morphens to do so, which he now thought was not enough.

Zen happily put the runic pen into his space ring. He came to the market today and gained a lot. He had not only sold out all the divine textures he had made yesterday for good prices, but also obtained an excellent runic bush pen. How could he not be happy about it?

“Many thanks to you guys,” Zen said to them with a smile, and left.

Felix and Lasseter glanced at each other. Both of them realized how precious Zen was. Lasseter paid more attention to Zen's commercial value, while Felix thought about how Zen could be useful to the Cloud Hall.

They wouldn't have much conflict, but they had different interests. The World Commercial Alliance was called the uncrowned king in this world. Although Zen was a disciple of the Cloud Hall, they could not stop Zen from having a good relationship with the World Commercial Alliance.

Felix left the shop hurriedly and flew toward the ice palace as quickly as light.

The ice palace was located at the top of the Cloud Hall. It was covered with freezing fog now. The little ice phoenix stood guard at the gate of the ice palace. It was time for Tia to cultivate herself.

The Sutra of Empyrean Goddess was difficult to practice. One had to give up his cultivation all nine times in a row. In each time, one must start cultivation from the nature level. Then, the cultivation level would be improved bit by bit until it reached the Internal Elixir Realm. After that, it must be given up again. This must be repeated nine times.

This meant Tia needed to cultivate herself nine times unlike others who only needed to do this once.

Some cultivators without such an excellent talent could not break through the Internal Elixir Realm, even if they had practiced hard for hundreds of years or their whole lives. Moreover, even if they succeeded, most of them would stay in that realm and it was hard for them to improve and reach higher.

However, finishing all these levels wasn't hard for Tia since she was so talented. Besides, all of her energy meridians had gotten through after she broke through the Internal Elixir Realm by the Sutra of Empyrean Goddess for the first time. So each time Tia gave up her cultivation, she only needed half a year to recover.

This was the last time Tia had to give up her cultivation. It seemed like she would recover soon. When Tia was in the Cloud Road, she was only at the grade one of the Illuminating Soul Realm. Now only one month had passed, and she was at grade seven of the Illuminating Soul Realm. She would soon enter the Internal Elixir Realm and even a higher level.

Tia's head was down as she sat in the ice palace. Wisps of life vitality turned into a frozen aura, and whirled around her like glittering diamonds.

“Szzz!”

A message rune was suddenly sent into the ice palace. It burned itself near Tia's ear.

Tia frowned slightly. Everyone in the Cloud Hall knew that it was her cultivation time. No one dared to interrupt her unless something significant happened that needed her attention.

However, after the message rune finished burning itself, Tia's eyes shot open. The ice in her eyes melted and disappeared in her pupils.

She waved her hand slightly. Soon the freezing fog of the whole ice palace was dispersed and scattered around. Then, it gradually turned into shards of ice on the ground.

“Please come in,” Tia said coldly. However, she also looked confused.

'What on earth does Felix want to say? He surely knows that I am cultivating myself now and he still used message rune to interrupt me and ask to see me.

I just asked him to destroy Zen's confidence in learning making runes. Did anything unusual happen?' Tia thought before Felix came in.

After she started to practice her skills, Tia naturally did not have time to watch the Picture Slab. Thus, she did not know what had happened in Lasseter's shop.