The old man was tall, but not powerfully built. He wore a plain gray robe. His long white hair fell loose behind his head, combed with perfect neatness. From the moment he appeared, a faint smile rested on his face.
His clothing was simple, yet just standing there, he gave others the feeling that they should bow in worship. Wu Ling could not summon even the will to resist.
Wu Ling quickly lowered his head and moved his gaze away. That aura, as if it could purify everything, filled him with fear.
"Grandfather, may I ask what you need from this junior? Is there something I can help with?"
An old man. An old man with a sacred aura. A location less than two kilometers from the Pope's Palace. That unquestionably overwhelming strength made Wu Ling think of one person.
"Boy, there is no need to cozy up to me. I have no intention of harming you. The main problem is that you are walking too slowly. How about this? I will not use spirit power, but you may use your Spirit Skills. Fight me. If you can force me to use spirit power, I will let you go."
Wu Ling wanted to laugh. He had already guessed it. This old man was probably one of the three current level-ninety-nine peerless Titled Sages, the one known as Invincible in the Sky: Lucius Cross.
"What is going on? Did he hear the story I just told? As the Angel God's representative in the mortal world, this man may be even harder to fool than Bibi Dong.
"The Angel God and Rakshasa God have both already left the Divine Realm. Even in the final decisive battle, the Sea God and the Asura God came down to help Tang San, and neither made a sound. On top of that, divine trials do not pass down knowledge. That is why I could fool Bibi Dong.
"But Lucius's family has worshiped the Angel God for generations. I was worried they might have records from the past. Looking at him now, it seems he does not understand the ancient past either.
"In that case, fooling him will be more troublesome than fooling Bibi Dong, but it is not impossible.
"And if he came to test me in battle, he is probably trying to verify that story. As long as I can show my strength, my words become a bit more credible."
Wu Ling made his decision. He cupped his hands toward Lucius Cross and agreed.
"All right, Grandpa. When do we begin?"
Although Lucius said there was no need to cozy up to him, being sweet-tongued toward an elder never hurt.
"Now." As he spoke, a golden double-edged sword appeared in Lucius Cross's right hand.
Seeing this, Wu Ling stopped being polite. He directly used his first and second Spirit Skills. Sasaki Kojiro and Hassan of the Hundred Personas possessed him simultaneously, causing Wu Ling's physical strength to surge severalfold.
His speed in particular was terrifying. Sasaki Kojiro had A+ Agility, and Hassan of the Hundred Personas had A Agility. Wu Ling's speed and reaction ability left ordinary four-ring Spirit Meisters far behind. Perhaps only four-ring agility-attack Spirit Masters or ordinary five-ring Spirit Leaders could react to him.
Wu Ling placed his hand before the yellow Spirit Ring and gripped empty air. A 1.5-meter-long sword was pulled from the void.
He wasted no more words. He raised the sword over his head and cut down at Lucius Cross.
Lucius felt a trace of surprise at Wu Ling's speed, but it quickly faded. In his eyes, Wu Ling was fast, but still far from worthy of serious attention.
Lucius raised a hand and blocked Wu Ling's attack. He made no counterattack. He simply stood there and waited.
"Looking down on me that much?"
Wu Ling was not angry. On the contrary, he felt somewhat relieved. Even without spirit power, a peerless Titled Sage fighting seriously would probably leave him no chance to use Swallow Reversal at all.
Wu Ling circled Lucius Cross again and again, his long sword constantly chopping toward the old man's head.
Against that storm of attacks, an ordinary four-ring Spirit Meister would have died beneath the blade, and a weaker Spirit Leader might not have been able to withstand it. Lucius, however, only stood in place. The sword in his hand seemed to have eyes of its own, accurately blocking every strike Wu Ling made.
"For a two-ring Spirit Adept to reach this level of battle strength is indeed impressive," Lucius said calmly. "But if this is all, it cannot be called the realm of the gods."
"Hoo..."
Wu Ling exhaled softly and stopped 2 meters in front of Lucius Cross.
After setting his position, Wu Ling finally used his strongest current offensive technique.
"Swallow Reversal!"
In Lucius Cross's eyes, Wu Ling's body seemed to become three bodies. There were clearly only three slashes, yet they gave him the illusion that dodging was impossible.
Lucius's expression grew serious. He stamped one foot down, and a shockwave immediately surged toward Wu Ling's lower body. Wu Ling's stance changed instantly under the force from the ground.
Lucius turned sideways and avoided two of the slashes. The last slash was blocked by his sword once more.
After blocking Wu Ling's Swallow Reversal, Lucius was still immersed in that sensation. Then suddenly, that same unavoidable feeling appeared behind him again, and this time there were two of them.
Lucius turned his head slightly and saw Azure and Ember, whom he had originally ignored. At that moment, both Xiao Lan and Xiao Hong held 1.5-meter swords, and both were using Swallow Reversal at the same time.
Yes. Ember and Azure were not only useful for accelerating cultivation. Wu Ling had discovered another use for them: they could be possessed by Heroic Spirit shadows other than Hundred Personas and thereby gain those Heroic Spirits' abilities.
When Wu Ling first learned of this ability, a sudden idea appeared in his mind. If every Spirit Ring let him condense one clone, and every clone could be re-condensed after death, then by the time he became a Titled Sage, nine meteors in a row... No. No. That was too brutal.
The image would certainly be beautiful, and Wu Ling truly wanted to see the radiance of those nine meteors. The main problem was that he could not think of a Soul Beast compatible with the Great Hero. What kind of Soul Beast self-destructed?
Now, this ability appeared in the world for the first time, and even Lucius Cross, one of the three strongest people alive, looked at it with surprise.
Lucius calmly faced the two unavoidable slashes. In front of him, Wu Ling's main body had already set his stance again.
In that atmosphere where even time seemed to slow, Lucius spoke in a slightly surprised tone.
"How astonishing."
Then a gale made purely of condensed spirit power blasted Wu Ling and his two clones away.
When Wu Ling stood again and looked over, Lucius Cross was already gone.
As Lucius's spirit power erupted, Bibi Dong and Ghost, who were inside the Pope's Palace, both sensed the situation. Their expressions changed at once, and they rushed toward Wu Ling at high speed.
Aside from Bibi Dong and Ghost, the other Titled Sages in the city also sensed Lucius Cross's spirit power. The elders' faces changed in shock, and the same thought appeared in all their minds.
"What happened? The Grand Elder actually made a move!"
At that moment, Wu Ling had no idea that what had originally been an ordinary test had caused every Titled Sage in Spirit City to take action.