THE MARTIAL KING VOLUME 2 - Season 11 Episode 9

Zen left the training room with uneasy steps. There was less than the usual number of disciples in the Cloud Hall, but he didn’t give it too much thought.

He never expected that not a single person in the entire Cloud Hall would inform him of the upcoming battle.

Of course, Margaret didn’t know what was going on inside Zen’s mind. The words she had just said set her cheeks aflame. She buried her head in Zen’s chest, not even daring to look at him.

Then, Zen’s warm fingers closed over hers as he took her hand and led her back to his room.

Back in the underground palace, they had been all too aware of the danger that was closing in on them. Eddie had been persistent in his pursuit, and the two of them did not have much time to enjoy the happy moment of their coupling.

Tonight, however, safe within the walls of Cloud Hall, there would be no danger or interruptions.

They took as much as they gave—limbs entangling and lips leaving a trail of fire. Morning came and the flames had settled into a pleasant warm, blanketing them in the comfort of sleep.

The next day, the earlier uneasiness that Zen had felt had turned into a foreboding sense. There was something terribly wrong with the Cloud Hall. The halls and rooms echoed emptily as only a few souls were seen. It seemed as if the Cloud Hall had been deserted, and there were even fewer people now.

He wanted to ask Rocher and the other members about the situation, but discovered that they were nowhere to be found. Zen headed back to the meeting hall only to find it vacant. It was well past morning, and around this time, most of the elders would gather in the meeting hall to discuss important matters, but not a soul was here today. Zen’s confusion grew with each empty room that he had run across.

He walked back outside and closed the door to the meeting hall. Just as he was about to turn away, he ran into Fernandez.

Fernandez was one of the elders of the Cloud Hall. His skin was wrinkled with age and his hair gleamed silver, but there was a sharpness to his eyes and a purpose to his movements. This time, he was the one who stayed behind.

With all the things happening all at once, several elders had to stay in the Cloud Hall and keep watch on the Small Circulation Killing Array. Eddie was a looming threat, and they had to be prepared. If he decided to bypass the World Commercial Alliance and rashly attack the Cloud Hall, the array would be their first line of defense.

Although now that the Cloud Hall’s strongest warriors had already left, it was very unlikely for anyone to attack.

The main forces had long left for the Oracle City, and even if the Heavenly Evil Sect members tried to attack, they would only find the place empty of people. It would only be a waste of their time and energy.

“Elder Fernandez, where is everyone else?” Zen asked with a suspicious look on his face.

Fernandez seemed to be taken aback by Zen’s question as well. “Has our leader not informed you? Most of the warriors of the Cloud Hall have already entered the Oracle City to join forces with the World Commercial Alliance against the Heavenly Evil Sect. Some warriors have left as early as last month,” the old man explained.

Zen’s surprise was written all over his face at the old man’s answer. “No one informed me,” he said in disbelief.

Fernandez knew that there had been a rift between Letitia and Zen. They had been avoiding contact with each other. He rubbed his nose and shook his head with a strange expression on his face. “I don’t know what our leader was thinking,” he sighed.

“What’s the situation now?” Zen asked with concern.

Fernandez nodded his head. Zen was fortunate to chance upon him. Although he stayed at the Cloud Hall, news of the war between the World Commercial Alliance and the Heavenly Evil Sect was sent to him every day. Fernandez would be able to answer his questions.

Letitia had simultaneously declared war with the World Commercial Alliance against the Heavenly Evil Sect the moment she entered the Oracle City.

The combined strength of the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance would make for a formidable opponent. The Heavenly Evil Sect had to take the battle seriously if they were to win.

If the Cloud Hall was their sole concern, the Heavenly Evil Sect members wouldn’t have to be so careful. In the whole Cloud Hall, Letitia was the only person who would be a serious challenge in the eyes of Eddie and Simon. The Sutra of Empyrean Goddess that she had cultivated was several times stronger than other cultivation methods. She only experienced one life and death crisis after entering the Life and Death Realm, but because of her cultivation, she could fight toe-to-toe with even the warriors who had undergone two or three life and death crises.

Aside from her, the Cloud Hall was just like any other sect, and was greatly inferior to the World Commercial Alliance in other aspects.

The Cloud Hall’s development was the same as that of the Ethereal Spirit Sect. The members of the Heavenly Evil Sect regarded it as nothing special. If they surrounded and attacked it, it would fall to their hands sooner or later.

The World Commercial Alliance was a different matter altogether. It was formed by a group of merchants and had grown to become one of the most powerful and influential groups of today.

In terms of the strength, the World Commercial Alliance was at the level of a sixth-grade sect. It was not a sacred place, nor a divine kingdom, but the Heavenly Evil Sect knew there was more than what met the eye. They knew nothing of the secrets that it hid, and so they had to be careful.

After the Heavenly Evil Sect members invaded the Ethereal Spirit Sect, the eastern area of the Central Region was strangely quiet. The members of the Heavenly Evil Sect were unexpectedly not wreaking more havoc. Instead, they seemed to be resting in order to recuperate their strength. They would be attacking the World Commercial Alliance next.

However, the members of the World Commercial Alliance were no fools. Their group was among the smartest and most cunning, and they would not just sit still and wait for their deaths.

They took the first step in starting the war. The Heavenly Evil Sect had made no declarations of war, and so the World Commercial Alliance took it upon themselves to do so. Joining forces with the Cloud Hall had led to this turn of events: the two strongest sects in the Central Region had declared war on the Heavenly Evil Sect on the same day.

Thus it was the beginning of the biggest war between sects in the Central Region for the last thousand years.

Over a month after the declaration of war, both sides had earned victories and defeats. One moment, the Cloud Hall and the World Commercial Alliance would be celebrating their feats; the next moment, they would be on their knees with loss.

The war was far from over. In the course of battle, the World Commercial Alliance had destroyed two outposts of the Heavenly Evil Sect, and the Heavenly Evil Sect was slowly advancing towards the central district.

Everyone in the Central Region understood that this would be a true and decisive battle, with the victor taking everything. Whoever won could hold the fate of the entire Central Region in their hands.

If Eddie won the war, the Central Region would be integrated into the divine kingdom. On the other hand, if the joint forces of the World Commercial Alliance and the Cloud Hall succeeded in defeating the Heavenly Evil Sect, a sacred place might be born. The war was one that would decide the future.