Golden Crocodile Sage was Spirit Hall's second consecrator. Within the Elder Hall, he possessed decision-making authority and could even remove the pope. While his status was revered, his strength was also top-tier. Among the consecrators, he was second only to Grand Consecrator Lucius Cross. He had once been famous alongside the grandfather of Sword Sage Vane Ash and could be called one of the outstanding figures of the older generation.
In terms of age and seniority, he was the highest in Spirit Hall. He was even Lucius Cross's elder, so even Lucius had to show him some respect.
Golden Crocodile Sage had been loyal to Spirit Hall all his life, and loyal to the Six-Winged Angel line of the angel clan. Because of that, matters requiring great combat strength but unsuited for Lucius Cross to handle personally were often given to him.
"Grandpa Golden Crocodile, for such a small matter, a verbal order and a token from my teacher would have been enough. Why trouble you to come in person?" Wu Ling greeted him with a smile.
"Ha ha ha. A small matter, Your Highness? Well, with your strength, you truly are qualified to say that."
Although Golden Crocodile Sage's attitude toward Wu Ling was now warm and kind, he had not been like this before.
In the past, because of his seniority and powerful strength, Golden Crocodile Sage had been proud and unyielding toward subordinates and juniors. Even toward Wu Ling, he had only barely taken him seriously because Wu Ling's soul tools, cultivation methods, and spiritual medicines had helped Spirit Hall.
That lasted until one month ago, when Wu Ling, with the cultivation of a Spirit King, forcefully beat him to the ground. Only then did Golden Crocodile Sage's attitude toward Wu Ling shift from disdain to defeated acceptance. From that day onward, his attitude changed completely.
Then Golden Crocodile Sage's expression gradually turned serious. He stared at Wu Ling and asked solemnly, "Then, Your Highness, regarding the destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, what do you need me to do?"
Yes. This was the Hunt Spirit Operation that would only appear seven years later in the original story. Wu Ling had merely moved it forward, and this time, it targeted only the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
In the original story, the Hunt Spirit Operation had three parts. One force destroyed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. One force destroyed the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The final part was Aurelia, used to control the Polaris imperial capital.
According to the original plan, if all three routes succeeded, then under Aurelia's suppression, Spirit Hall's destruction of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would quickly be pressed down. Afterward, the Polaris Empire, aside from the Clear Sky Sect, would all fall under Spirit Hall's influence. Spirit Hall would then send troops against the Star Stripe Empire, and finally destroy the Clear Sky Sect to unify the continent.
But Tang San had suddenly appeared midway, causing the third and most crucial step to fail.
"Originally, I planned to send Karna," Wu Ling said. "But since Grandpa Golden Crocodile has come personally, I will trouble you to make the trip.
"First, I will have Spirit Hall's hidden agents inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan release information, causing the clan members outside to return.
"After that, I will establish an array around the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's territory. It will allow entry but prevent exit. Grandpa Golden Crocodile, you will be its foundation. Only by defeating you can anyone leave."
"Mm. I understand. In the end, we only need to catch the turtles in the jar and quietly destroy the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. I will gather enough Spirit Masters now, though concealing them will still..."
Golden Crocodile Sage followed Wu Ling's line of thought, but Wu Ling interrupted him halfway.
"There is no need."
Golden Crocodile Sage frowned. At the same time, he misunderstood what Wu Ling meant.
"What do you mean, Your Highness? Although I can kill Torin Drake, if there are too many remaining people, I will still be short of strength."
Golden Crocodile Sage's words clearly revealed the weakness of the Spirit Master profession: they lacked Spirit Power reserves.
Even someone as strong as Golden Crocodile Sage could cause landslides with a casual Spirit Skill. But because of that, every Spirit Skill he used consumed tremendous Spirit Power. If there were too many enemies, then his Spirit Power might be exhausted before everyone had been killed.
Facing Golden Crocodile Sage's confusion, Wu Ling replied lightly, "You do not need to act either. When the time comes, I have my own method."
After hearing Wu Ling's words, Golden Crocodile Sage frowned again. What arrogance. Even he had no confidence he could wipe out an entire clan alone, yet Wu Ling had made that decision in such a casual tone, as if he were doing something trivial.
But when Golden Crocodile Sage thought of Wu Ling's powerful and endless methods, his brow relaxed again. After all, the young man before him was a creator of miracles. If he could create an array that used Golden Crocodile Sage as its core and trapped anyone who could not kill him, then perhaps he could also create an array capable of burying an entire clan.
Or perhaps it would not be a battle at all. Perhaps it would be something else, such as poison.
Golden Crocodile Sage withdrew his thoughts, then asked again, "Then, Your Highness, what will the public explanation be?"
The public explanation meant the pretext. In the original story, the excuse had been that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan intended to collude with Clear Sky Sect remnants, namely Tang San, to assassinate the pope.
Although history was written by the victors, it still needed to be supported by reasons. To better maintain Spirit Hall's image among ordinary people, an operation like this required a proper excuse.
Wu Ling smiled slightly.
"Ethan Drake, son of the leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, attempted to murder Wu Ling, Saint of Spirit Hall. Upon investigation, we discovered signs of rebellion within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Ethan Drake's action was meant to provoke conflict between Spirit Hall and the Polaris Empire. How does that sound?"
Golden Crocodile Sage also knew what had happened at Polaris Royal Academy. He understood that Wu Ling was using that incident to move against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He was asking now only to confirm the exact language.
As the saying went, the father's debt was paid by the son. Here, the son's debt being paid by the father was just as natural.
"However, although no one will interfere during the operation, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Polaris imperial household will use this as a reason to condemn Spirit Hall afterward. What will you do about that?" Golden Crocodile Sage seemed to be asking a question, but in truth, he was quietly testing whether Wu Ling had prepared every aspect of the plan.
In response, Wu Ling pointed at Aurelia.
"Xue'er, tell Grandpa Golden Crocodile what happened three days ago."
Aurelia nodded and said, "Based on the strength and potential Wu Ling displayed, the accounts and suggestions given by the three board members, and Poison Sage Erasmus Graves's ambiguous attitude at the time, Emperor Noctis finally decided to temporarily let Spirit Hall be and pursue the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's responsibility instead. After all, Ethan Drake truly was the one who attacked Wu Ling first, which led to everything afterward."
Wu Ling nodded.
"Exactly. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has never accepted the Polaris imperial family's control or even their orders. The royal household has long held deep resentment toward them. Right now, they would probably love nothing more than to see Spirit Hall and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan fight to the death.
"After the matter is finished, even if Emperor Noctis tries to pursue Spirit Hall because he fears us, Xue'er will join with the officials who dislike the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and block him.
"As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect..."
At this point, a smile appeared on Wu Ling's face.
"I will personally go speak with Alistair Jewel. And after that, perhaps Alistair will understand reason too."