THE MARTIAL KING - Season 8 Episode 58

After relinquishing the position of Cloud Hall leader to Letitia, Imogen had given her free reign and only meddled with the sect’s affairs during dire times. As such, after talking with Letitia and giving her a few words of advice, Imogen immediately left, leaving the incumbent leader of Cloud Hall to handle the rest. The crisis that Cloud Hall was currently facing served as a huge test for Letitia. Imogen wouldn’t be there for her forever as she might die at any time in the next Heavenly Tribulation. As a leader, Letitia must persevere and use her talent and wits to manage the matters of the sect on her own.

As soon as she got back to the Ice Palace, Letitia immediately freed her fair-skinned feet and lay back onto a large chair, the ice phoenix perched at her head.

Zen stood at the side of the palace as he waited for Felix to arrive.

As of that moment, the sect-protecting array was Cloud Hall’s first priority which was why they immediately saw to the matter upon their return.

There were only the two of them in the place. Zen took one look at Letitia’s tired face. “You’re under great pressure,” he said.

Letitia couldn’t help but smile at his words. She looked up at Zen and said, “You’re the one who should be under great pressure.”

“As long as I am given enough time, I believe that I can build this sect-protecting array. I don’t feel any pressure at all,” Zen told her seriously.

“Why should I feel pressure?”

Letitia smiled mischievously.

Despite saying so, she actually had been under considerable strain. To others, her role as leader of Cloud Hall was an honored and extremely coveted position. But for Letitia, it was also an enormous burden. Her role as leader made her feel as if she was always walking on thin ice, not knowing if the next step would send her sinking through the cold ocean-depths below. The duties of the leader of a fourth-grade sect were oftentimes hard to bear and a serious crisis was rising up in the horizon.

Zen knew she was saying that only to make him less worried but he didn’t comment on it. The only thing he needed to do was to finish the sect-protecting array as soon as possible.

However, before Felix’s arrival, they were unceremoniously graced with the unexpected arrival of a group of Cloud Hall elders.

They aggressively barged into the palace and went straight for Letitia with Emanuel at the helm. Emanuel gave Zen a nasty glare before turning to their leader, “Miss Ning, why didn’t you hand this guy over?” his words were tactful but his tone was very aggressive. “At the very least, Eddie could’ve forgiven us. It was only him that offended Eddie! Why should the entire Cloud Hall suffer for his actions?”

Letitia regained her usual commanding manner after the elders went in the palace. She met Emanuel’s eyes with a cold glare, “I have my own considerations regarding the problem you mentioned.”

One of the elders scoffed rudely, “Does it need any consideration? Master Ning, the lives of millions of our disciples here in Cloud Hall, five second-grade sects, and Cloudy City…. do these weigh less than that… that Illuminating Soul Realm guy?!” he burst angrily.

“The inheritance of the Cloud Hall has already lasted for tens of thousands of years and it cannot be destroyed by the actions of this kid!” another elder exclaimed before turning to Letitia, “Miss Ning, in the past, I have listened and followed your every order without question, but today, you have to give me an explanation!”

“If our Cloud Hall is destroyed by Eddie, this little brat is to blame! He is the greatest sinner of Cloud Hall!”

An elder declared and pointed to Zen.

Except for Felix, all the other elders of Cloud Hall were basically in the preliminary stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm while Emanuel and Morphens and several others were in the medium stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.

Letitia chuckled, “Hand over Zen?” she repeated as she looked at Emanuel. “Will handing him over ensure Cloud Hall’s safety?”

“Of course! Zen has no idea where he stands. He dared to act against Evil East Lord and courted death! How dare he drag our Cloud Hall into this to cover his ass?” Emanuel’s face was red with fury as he continued his rant. “Right now, the best solution is to drive this brat out of our Cloud Hall! This is the only way to save us from disaster!”

Despite Emanuel’s fury, Letitia gave him a gentle smile, “Emanuel, how long has it been since our Cloud Hall was founded?”

“Since the first leader established the Cloud Hall, it has been 35, 446 years!” Emanuel replied with cupped fists.

“Over thirty thousand years!” Letitia said. “The Cloud Hall has existed for such a long time. It doesn’t matter if it lasts a few more years or less, right?”

“W-What do you mean?”

Emanuel asked in confusion.

Letitia rose. “To put into perspective: if Zen hadn’t killed Marilyn, then in less than two years, Eddie would be able to build the Lustful Demon Array,” she began. “Once he breaks through the Life and Death Realm and enters the Soul Sea Realm, he would claim himself as emperor and build his own divine kingdom. Once that happens, not just our Cloud Hall, but the World Commercial Alliance, and even the Ethereal Spirit Sect – everything would be destroyed by Eddie.” Letitia turned to face Emanuel once again and sneered. “Now, do you think Zen is the person who has harmed Cloud Hall? Or is he actually the one that saved us all.”

“T-This is…” Emanuel was speechless once he caught up with Letitia’s logic. Letitia had always been sharp-tongued and intelligent. Not many people could hold up against her in a debate and as long as she set her wits to work, the other side was always sure to yield.

“Even so, that will only happen a few years later. The Ethereal Spirit Sect and the World Commercial Alliance are even more anxious than us. Even if the sky falls tomorrow they’ll be able to hold it up. Why weren’t they the ones to kill Marilyn? Did we really have to send our disciple to deal with her? We could have avoided offending Eddie,” another elder argued.

Letitia let out a mocking laugh. “Coward! Are you really qualified to be an elder of our Cloud Hall? It’s true that Eddie is the strongest in the Central Region, but is he really that scary?”

“Whether he is scary or not, we must hand Zen over to him!” Emanuel insisted.

“Yes! We must hand over Zen!”

“This brat is a disaster. He will definitely end Cloud Hall!”

“If Cloud Hall is destroyed because of Zen, will you be able to bear the consequences?”

The elders rose with an uproar, each one of them trying to denounce Zen and plead for his expulsion. However, despite the heat from their accusations, they quickly realized that the temperature of the Ice Palace had suddenly dropped into considerably low levels.

The elders collectively shut their mouths, shivering slightly from both the chilly air and the cold, harsh look on Letitia’s face.

She sat back on her chair, her gaze like two icicles piercing through the elders, “You all seem to have forgotten who the leader of Cloud Hall is.”

“But…”

Emmanuel had briefly opened his mouth but immediately froze when he met Letitia’s cold glare.

“I’ll be dealing with the problem regarding the Evil East Lord. It’s not your concern. No more nonsense….” Before she even finished talking, the ice phoenix behind her had already spread its grand ice blade-like wings and emitted a soft, blue light.

Only then did the elders realize that Letitia was truly angry.

Despite having her childish side, Letitia was still the iron-willed leader of Cloud Hall and the consequences of angering her were not something that any of them could bear.

With Letitia’s unshakable resolve regarding this crisis, Emanuel took one long look at Zen before turning his heel and leaving. The other elders also followed him out, throwing Zen a few nasty looks.

Just as the elders were leaving, Felix arrived panting. He immediately greeted them as they passed by him at the entryway, “Master Zhuo, Elder Hai, hello! Huh?!”

The elders blatantly ignored Felix’s greeting and angrily brushed past him. Their reaction caused Felix to roll his eyes, “What’s wrong with these old guys? Did they forget to take their medicine? They’re crazy!”

Tutting, Felix stepped into the Ice Palace only to halt in his steps as a surge of cold air blasted him. His body immediately stiffened, “Looks like they had a big argument…”

Shaking off the cold, Felix walked inside and found Letitia. He clasped his hands in greeting, “I’m here, Master Ning.”

“I called you here to do something for me,” Letitia said, not wasting any time and getting straight to the point.

“Please feel free to ask me anything, Lady,” Felix said quickly, noticing the lingering anger in Letitia’s tone.

“The sect-protection array of the sixth-grade sect that I gave to you last time,” she said. “Have you decoded it? Is there any progress?” Letitia asked and looked at him expectantly.

“This….” Felix hesitated. “The sect-protecting array…it is just too complicated. I’m afraid it will take me three to five years to completely understand it.”

“Throw it away,” Letitia ordered him bluntly.

Her words shocked Felix. “Ah? Throw it away?” He had thought he had misheard. A sect-protecting array of a sacred place was considered an extremely precious treasure but here was Letitia, casually ordering him to just throw it away.

“From today onwards, you will be supporting Zen with creating a new sect-protecting array. All the materials, including the resources of Cloud Hall, will be at your disposal.” She then gave him a firm glare. “Remember: you have to assist Zen!”

Her emphasis left Felix in a state of mild shock and confusion. “Starting today?” “Yes, we will start work today,” Zen suddenly butted in.

“Do we have to start in such a hurry?” From Felix’s experience, drawing runes required one to be in a calm, collected state. According to the rules set by the masters of the Runic Tower, one would first need to bathe, change clothes, burn incense, wash one’s hands, and ensure the adequate preparations before even starting.

Finishing a sect-protecting array usually took a year or even several. It was not something that could be done overnight. So why were they in such a rush?

“Do you think we have time to dally?” Zen asked, chuckling at Felix. “If we don’t hurry, then Eddie just might come and attack us tomorrow.”

Zen’s words greatly confused Felix. Even if Eddie came a month later, it would still be impossible for them to finish the new sect-protecting array.

If only Felix had seen Zen’s abilities in the Martial Arts Contest and how he was able to finish drawing up more than a hundred runes in just a short amount of time then he wouldn’t be so shocked nor as confused as he was at that moment.
Season 8

Episode 58

(Denounce)

After relinquishing the position of Cloud Hall leader to Letitia, Imogen had given her free reign and only meddled with the sect’s affairs during dire times. As such, after talking with Letitia and giving her a few words of advice, Imogen immediately left, leaving the incumbent leader of Cloud Hall to handle the rest. The crisis that Cloud Hall was currently facing served as a huge test for Letitia. Imogen wouldn’t be there for her forever as she might die at any time in the next Heavenly Tribulation. As a leader, Letitia must persevere and use her talent and wits to manage the matters of the sect on her own.

As soon as she got back to the Ice Palace, Letitia immediately freed her fair-skinned feet and lay back onto a large chair, the ice phoenix perched at her head.

Zen stood at the side of the palace as he waited for Felix to arrive.

As of that moment, the sect-protecting array was Cloud Hall’s first priority which was why they immediately saw to the matter upon their return.

There were only the two of them in the place. Zen took one look at Letitia’s tired face. “You’re under great pressure,” he said.

Letitia couldn’t help but smile at his words. She looked up at Zen and said, “You’re the one who should be under great pressure.”

“As long as I am given enough time, I believe that I can build this sect-protecting array. I don’t feel any pressure at all,” Zen told her seriously.

“Why should I feel pressure?”

Letitia smiled mischievously.

Despite saying so, she actually had been under considerable strain. To others, her role as leader of Cloud Hall was an honored and extremely coveted position. But for Letitia, it was also an enormous burden. Her role as leader made her feel as if she was always walking on thin ice, not knowing if the next step would send her sinking through the cold ocean-depths below. The duties of the leader of a fourth-grade sect were oftentimes hard to bear and a serious crisis was rising up in the horizon.

Zen knew she was saying that only to make him less worried but he didn’t comment on it. The only thing he needed to do was to finish the sect-protecting array as soon as possible.

However, before Felix’s arrival, they were unceremoniously graced with the unexpected arrival of a group of Cloud Hall elders.

They aggressively barged into the palace and went straight for Letitia with Emanuel at the helm. Emanuel gave Zen a nasty glare before turning to their leader, “Miss Ning, why didn’t you hand this guy over?” his words were tactful but his tone was very aggressive. “At the very least, Eddie could’ve forgiven us. It was only him that offended Eddie! Why should the entire Cloud Hall suffer for his actions?”

Letitia regained her usual commanding manner after the elders went in the palace. She met Emanuel’s eyes with a cold glare, “I have my own considerations regarding the problem you mentioned.”

One of the elders scoffed rudely, “Does it need any consideration? Master Ning, the lives of millions of our disciples here in Cloud Hall, five second-grade sects, and Cloudy City…. do these weigh less than that… that Illuminating Soul Realm guy?!” he burst angrily.

“The inheritance of the Cloud Hall has already lasted for tens of thousands of years and it cannot be destroyed by the actions of this kid!” another elder exclaimed before turning to Letitia, “Miss Ning, in the past, I have listened and followed your every order without question, but today, you have to give me an explanation!”

“If our Cloud Hall is destroyed by Eddie, this little brat is to blame! He is the greatest sinner of Cloud Hall!”

An elder declared and pointed to Zen.

Except for Felix, all the other elders of Cloud Hall were basically in the preliminary stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm while Emanuel and Morphens and several others were in the medium stage of the Virtual Tribulation Realm.

Letitia chuckled, “Hand over Zen?” she repeated as she looked at Emanuel. “Will handing him over ensure Cloud Hall’s safety?”

“Of course! Zen has no idea where he stands. He dared to act against Evil East Lord and courted death! How dare he drag our Cloud Hall into this to cover his ass?” Emanuel’s face was red with fury as he continued his rant. “Right now, the best solution is to drive this brat out of our Cloud Hall! This is the only way to save us from disaster!”

Despite Emanuel’s fury, Letitia gave him a gentle smile, “Emanuel, how long has it been since our Cloud Hall was founded?”

“Since the first leader established the Cloud Hall, it has been 35, 446 years!” Emanuel replied with cupped fists.

“Over thirty thousand years!” Letitia said. “The Cloud Hall has existed for such a long time. It doesn’t matter if it lasts a few more years or less, right?”

“W-What do you mean?”

Emanuel asked in confusion.

Letitia rose. “To put into perspective: if Zen hadn’t killed Marilyn, then in less than two years, Eddie would be able to build the Lustful Demon Array,” she began. “Once he breaks through the Life and Death Realm and enters the Soul Sea Realm, he would claim himself as emperor and build his own divine kingdom. Once that happens, not just our Cloud Hall, but the World Commercial Alliance, and even the Ethereal Spirit Sect – everything would be destroyed by Eddie.” Letitia turned to face Emanuel once again and sneered. “Now, do you think Zen is the person who has harmed Cloud Hall? Or is he actually the one that saved us all.”

“T-This is…” Emanuel was speechless once he caught up with Letitia’s logic. Letitia had always been sharp-tongued and intelligent. Not many people could hold up against her in a debate and as long as she set her wits to work, the other side was always sure to yield.

“Even so, that will only happen a few years later. The Ethereal Spirit Sect and the World Commercial Alliance are even more anxious than us. Even if the sky falls tomorrow they’ll be able to hold it up. Why weren’t they the ones to kill Marilyn? Did we really have to send our disciple to deal with her? We could have avoided offending Eddie,” another elder argued.

Letitia let out a mocking laugh. “Coward! Are you really qualified to be an elder of our Cloud Hall? It’s true that Eddie is the strongest in the Central Region, but is he really that scary?”

“Whether he is scary or not, we must hand Zen over to him!” Emanuel insisted.

“Yes! We must hand over Zen!”

“This brat is a disaster. He will definitely end Cloud Hall!”

“If Cloud Hall is destroyed because of Zen, will you be able to bear the consequences?”

The elders rose with an uproar, each one of them trying to denounce Zen and plead for his expulsion. However, despite the heat from their accusations, they quickly realized that the temperature of the Ice Palace had suddenly dropped into considerably low levels.

The elders collectively shut their mouths, shivering slightly from both the chilly air and the cold, harsh look on Letitia’s face.

She sat back on her chair, her gaze like two icicles piercing through the elders, “You all seem to have forgotten who the leader of Cloud Hall is.”

“But…”

Emmanuel had briefly opened his mouth but immediately froze when he met Letitia’s cold glare.

“I’ll be dealing with the problem regarding the Evil East Lord. It’s not your concern. No more nonsense….” Before she even finished talking, the ice phoenix behind her had already spread its grand ice blade-like wings and emitted a soft, blue light.

Only then did the elders realize that Letitia was truly angry.

Despite having her childish side, Letitia was still the iron-willed leader of Cloud Hall and the consequences of angering her were not something that any of them could bear.

With Letitia’s unshakable resolve regarding this crisis, Emanuel took one long look at Zen before turning his heel and leaving. The other elders also followed him out, throwing Zen a few nasty looks.

Just as the elders were leaving, Felix arrived panting. He immediately greeted them as they passed by him at the entryway, “Master Zhuo, Elder Hai, hello! Huh?!”

The elders blatantly ignored Felix’s greeting and angrily brushed past him. Their reaction caused Felix to roll his eyes, “What’s wrong with these old guys? Did they forget to take their medicine? They’re crazy!”

Tutting, Felix stepped into the Ice Palace only to halt in his steps as a surge of cold air blasted him. His body immediately stiffened, “Looks like they had a big argument…”

Shaking off the cold, Felix walked inside and found Letitia. He clasped his hands in greeting, “I’m here, Master Ning.”

“I called you here to do something for me,” Letitia said, not wasting any time and getting straight to the point.

“Please feel free to ask me anything, Lady,” Felix said quickly, noticing the lingering anger in Letitia’s tone.

“The sect-protection array of the sixth-grade sect that I gave to you last time,” she said. “Have you decoded it? Is there any progress?” Letitia asked and looked at him expectantly.

“This….” Felix hesitated. “The sect-protecting array…it is just too complicated. I’m afraid it will take me three to five years to completely understand it.”

“Throw it away,” Letitia ordered him bluntly.

Her words shocked Felix. “Ah? Throw it away?” He had thought he had misheard. A sect-protecting array of a sacred place was considered an extremely precious treasure but here was Letitia, casually ordering him to just throw it away.

“From today onwards, you will be supporting Zen with creating a new sect-protecting array. All the materials, including the resources of Cloud Hall, will be at your disposal.” She then gave him a firm glare. “Remember: you have to assist Zen!”

Her emphasis left Felix in a state of mild shock and confusion. “Starting today?” “Yes, we will start work today,” Zen suddenly butted in.

“Do we have to start in such a hurry?” From Felix’s experience, drawing runes required one to be in a calm, collected state. According to the rules set by the masters of the Runic Tower, one would first need to bathe, change clothes, burn incense, wash one’s hands, and ensure the adequate preparations before even starting.

Finishing a sect-protecting array usually took a year or even several. It was not something that could be done overnight. So why were they in such a rush?

“Do you think we have time to dally?” Zen asked, chuckling at Felix. “If we don’t hurry, then Eddie just might come and attack us tomorrow.”

Zen’s words greatly confused Felix. Even if Eddie came a month later, it would still be impossible for them to finish the new sect-protecting array.

If only Felix had seen Zen’s abilities in the Martial Arts Contest and how he was able to finish drawing up more than a hundred runes in just a short amount of time then he wouldn’t be so shocked nor as confused as he was at that moment.