Wu Ling sat on an enormous stone chair. Standing beside him was an old man who looked to be around sixty.
Although he was old, he was at least 2.5 meters tall. His body was broad and thick, and standing there, he resembled a mountain of flesh. The impression he gave was imposing. His skin was dark, his hair and beard were white, and his large eyes were like copper bells. A special sheen seemed to move over his dark skin.
The place where Wu Ling currently sat was the Elephant Armor Sect, ranked sixth among the continent's seven great sects and known as the strongest defensive sect.
This old man was the current sect master of the Elephant Armor Sect: Goran Tremor.
"Young Lord, please have tea."
While Wu Ling closed his eyes to rest, Goran Tremor somewhat nervously poured him a cup of tea.
Ryker Ivory, standing below them, was dumbfounded by Goran Tremor's behavior. He had been summoned by his grandfather's order. As soon as he arrived, he saw a youth not much older than himself sitting in his grandfather's seat, while his grandfather stood to the side and served him.
"In the current world, only two young people could make Grandfather treat them this way. One is Xue Qinghe, prince of the Polaris Empire, but I have met Xue Qinghe. This is definitely not him. Then the only possibility is Spirit Hall's Holy Son, Wu Ling."
Although Ryker Ivory was covered in muscle, he was not a brainless third-generation sect heir. Precisely because of his position, he had to remember who could be provoked and who absolutely could not.
After all, not everyone hung slogans like "those who do not cause trouble are mediocre" on their lips. Without a protagonist's halo, provoking someone who should not be provoked could easily get a person killed.
But along with that realization came a trace of confusion. He knew his family had already secretly joined Spirit Hall, and his grandfather had specifically emphasized that to him. Even so, his grandfather was a sect master and a Spirit Emperor-level expert. Standing beside the Holy Son should have been enough. He should not have lowered his status this far.
So there had to be a reason for what his grandfather was doing, and that reason might involve him.
Several more minutes passed like this.
Goran Tremor looked at his grandson, then at Wu Ling. Ryker Ivory stood below them, already sweating slightly under the heavy atmosphere.
Finally, Wu Ling slowly opened his eyes and looked at Ryker Ivory standing before him.
"Sixteen years old. Level thirty-six. Martial Soul, Diamond Mammoth... not enough."
Hearing Wu Ling's rejection, Goran Tremor glared at his grandson in disappointment. At the same time, regret rose in his heart. Because he loved his grandson dearly, Ryker Ivory had received normal training, but he had rarely been put through truly difficult training.
In the end, Goran Tremor could only blame himself. As for blaming Wu Ling, that thought did appear at first, but when he thought of the talent and strength of the young man before him, he strangled that impulse immediately.
Ryker Ivory, who had been struck by a problem he did not understand, had no idea what his grandfather wanted. But from how things looked now, the Holy Son had rejected something because of him. Cold sweat ran down his back, and he did not dare raise his head to look at either of them.
"However, considering that you chose Spirit Hall, I can give you one chance."
Wu Ling's tone suddenly shifted. Hope flared again in Goran Tremor's heart.
"Young Lord, please give any instruction you wish!"
Wu Ling did not comment on Goran Tremor's assurance. He looked down at Ryker Ivory.
"You are Ryker Ivory, correct?"
"Yes! Your Highness, I am Ryker Ivory!"
When Wu Ling called his name, Ryker Ivory's taut nerves reacted, and he shouted his answer at once.
"Use every ability you have and take one punch from me."
As Wu Ling spoke, he stood, rolled his neck, and turned his wrist.
"Hm? Ah!"
Ryker Ivory was startled by Wu Ling's request. When he looked up, he saw Wu Ling's expressionless face and the meaningful look from his grandfather.
Wu Ling slowly closed the five fingers of his right hand together and raised it.
Goran Tremor's brow furrowed.
Ryker Ivory reacted immediately.
"Martial Soul possession! First Spirit Skill, Copper Wall Iron Rampart! Second Spirit Skill, Mammoth Giant Strength!"
Ryker Ivory's first two Spirit Skills enhanced defense and strength. The moment he used them, a dark shadow appeared in front of him.
In Goran Tremor's eyes, Wu Ling seemed to appear before his grandson in a flash. The key point was that Wu Ling had not used even the slightest bit of Spirit Power.
With a heavy thud, Wu Ling's punch seemed to land on a block of iron.
The next second, Wu Ling's expression did not change, while that "block of iron" was blasted out of the room.
Goran Tremor looked painfully toward his grandson, who had been sent flying outside. But in front of Wu Ling, he still did not dare move carelessly. He feared that if he moved, the purpose of this visit would become completely hopeless.
"Enough. Bring him back. I did not use a Spirit Skill or Spirit Power, but for a Spirit Elite to take one punch from me and remain conscious, he counts as decent."
Only after hearing Wu Ling's permission did Goran Tremor hurry outside to retrieve his grandson.
Wu Ling returned to the seat and thought about his next step.
Among the seven great sects, aside from the upper three sects with Titled Sage powerhouses, the lower four sects had only Spirit Emperors as their highest combat strength. Apart from them, the Five Element Academies were also comparable to the lower four sects.
Thunder Academy was backed by the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and Elephant Armor Academy was backed by the Elephant Armor Sect. Strictly speaking, only the other three academies were truly independent.
In addition, the four clans under the Clear Sky Sect were also fairly strong. Although Spirit Hall's suppression had caused their strength to decline, they were still clans with Spirit Emperors seated among them.
Wu Ling would not think about the four Clear Sky clans for now. One of his goals this time was the other three academies. No faction would ever complain about having too many talents, and compared with sects, academies were undoubtedly the better choice.
Of course, there was another reason. The other three lower sects were all in the Star Stripe Empire and were tightly suppressed by the Star Stripe royal family. When the time came, they could simply be destroyed along the way. Wu Ling was too lazy to waste words on them now.
By then, Goran Tremor had already explained a few points to Ryker Ivory outside and brought him back in.
Goran Tremor, who understood Wu Ling's strength, was not especially surprised. But Ryker Ivory, who had only heard the name and never seen the person, was too shocked to free himself from it.
With his Diamond Mammoth Martial Soul and his first and second Spirit Skills active, ordinary Spirit Meisters sometimes could not break his defense. Yet that defense, which he took pride in, had been smashed apart by a single pure punch from the Holy Son before him.
His right forearm was fractured, and three ribs were broken. Wu Ling's punch was already stronger than most Spirit Meisters.
"So this is the strength of Spirit Hall's current Holy Son. His physical body alone is this powerful. Then what about his Spirit Power?
"Grandfather said he is level fifty. If someone told me he was level seventy, I would believe it!"