Apotheosis – Ascension to Godhood

Chapter 322: The Guide To His Fate

For Zen, at his current level, the Spiritual Thorn could play two roles in his battles.

The first role was to attack his opponents stealthily. The soul thorn had surprisingly good effects on the cultivators who were weak in their souls, or those who lacked strong protection and soul-defense. As Zenʼs soul thorn attacked the cultivators, merely an instantaneous loss of consciousness could mean failure, or even worse—death in battle.

The second function was to punish people. The feeling of penetration into oneʼs soul was excruciating, the agony indescribable. To give a perceptible measurement, the pain it imposed on oneʼs soul was at least ten times greater than that caused by penetration into oneʼs physical body. The human bodyʼs capacity to bear pain was restricted. So, when people felt a lot of physical pain, their minds stopped controlling their bodies. Without commands from the nervous system, they simply fell into a state of shock. A person did not experience pain when he or she passed out. Coma was the best elixir one could hope for when one was in that kind of physical pain. However, oneʼs soul could never lose consciousness, no matter how much pain it endured. The soul thoroughly tasted every single splinter of that pain.

Whew! Zen released his soul thorn without hesitation.

As the soul thorn hissed and made its way to stab into Brysonʼs head imperceptibly, a low groan escaped Brysonʼs lips at the pain he felt. His distorted facial expression told the others of the suffering he was enduring. Brysonʼs affliction also warned the others how terribly sorry they would be if they dared disobey his orders and betray the Luo Clan.

Yet, Bryson still kept his mouth shut, not giving out the information that Zen needed. He knew that he would die immediately after he told Zen the secret, which was worse than being kept alive in such a painful state—even if he didnʼt believe his soul could take the agony anymore. The discord with Zen was not a small one. It was related to the murder of Zenʼs father. Zen would certainly avenge his fatherʼs death by killing Bryson, the murderer. In Zenʼs mind, that was the only end to the hostility he felt.

The only thing Bryson could do was to tolerate the pain that Zen imposed on him. He bit his lip hard to stop himself from moaning, but sweat trickled down his face all too quickly as the ache became too much to ignore.

“Is that enough pain for you?” Zen asked him coldly.

Still, no words slipped out of Brysonʼs mouth.

“Itʼs fine if you donʼt want to talk,” Zen said as his gaze fell on Ken.

Ken was visibly shaking as he watched Bryson. He knew he himself was capable of enduring far less pain than what his brother could. Before Zen could say another word, Ken answered him quickly. “Iʼll talk! I can tell you everything you want to know. It was the Qi Clan! Ford Qi, the head of the Qi Clan. It was he who killed Mike. He killed your father with his own two hands! Please, Zen, please donʼt kill me. I was just a…”

Bryson sighed silently as he heard Kenʼs words. ʼMy idiot brother is entirely unreliable!ʼ he thought to himself.

Zen nodded, replying, “Very good!”

As Zen waved his arm, the sword in his hand flexed, reflecting a cold, sharp beam of light. It ran straight at Ken. Kenʼs face paled, his entire body shaking more than ever. As the sword almost reached Kenʼs forehead, it was redirected. If it had pushed just a few inches farther, Kenʼs body would have been lying lifelessly on the ground. However, the sword changed direction and pushed into Bryson instead, without hesitation.

Poof! The sword cut off Brysonʼs neck, and his head fell onto the ground.

Zen had once said that he wouldnʼt kill anyone from the Luo Clan since they were family. He shared their blood, which was why back on Hell Mountain, Zen had only disabled Perrin but hadnʼt taken Perrinʼs life.