Reading through the letter about Wotton's news, Lin Lei couldn't help but furrow his brow.
"Wotton signed up for the Warrior Saint's Gate's nominated disciple selection next year?" Lin Lei felt both puzzled and displeased. "The ones who enter the Warrior Saint's Gate are the Warrior Saint's direct disciples, and they can at most reach the Saint Realm. Can Dragon Blood Warriors not reach the Saint Realm?"
Lin Lei knew very well that joining the Warrior Saint's Gate wouldn't be much help for his own progress.
After all, reaching the peak of the Saint Realm was something Dragon Blood Warriors were guaranteed to achieve. Ultimate Warriors were no joke.
As for the divine level.
Hadn't the Warrior Saint O'Brien had countless nominated disciples and direct disciples over the years, yet not a single one had reached the divine level? This divine level wasn't something that could be taught just by having a divine-level expert instruct you.
"Comprehension of laws — how could that be taught through instruction? Everyone has their own path of understanding. Someone else's path may not be the most suitable for oneself."
Lin Lei was somewhat dissatisfied with his younger brother's choice to participate in the Warrior Saint's Gate's nominated disciple selection.
But his brother had grown up.
"Well, it's hard to blame Wotton for making this choice," Lin Lei continued reading, but when he saw what came next, a smile spread across his face. "Ha ha, so Wotton, that kid, he— ha ha…"
The letter sent by Yeru detailed the main reason Wotton had joined the selection: the Empire's Seventh Princess.
"I hope Wotton finds a perfect love — at least not like mine." Lin Lei silently wished his brother well.
Indeed, becoming a nominated disciple of the Warrior Saint's Gate — whose master was none other than the Empire's founding emperor, the Warrior Saint "O'Brien" — would certainly lower the difficulty of marrying the Imperial Princess considerably.
After finishing the letter, flames flickered to life in Lin Lei's hand.
*Whoosh.* The letter was burned to ashes.
Lin Lei then headed back toward his mansion with Rebecca, who had been waiting nearby.
The peaceful cultivation continued. Lin Lei kept himself updated on Wotton's situation. According to the letter, the Empire's Seventh Princess was a very beautiful girl, and she was known for being extremely lovable and kind-hearted. The Emperor had always doted on her, which attracted a great number of suitors.
Several of them were even of higher status than Wotton.
However…
The Seventh Princess and Wotton had an excellent relationship. They frequently spent time together, going out and having fun.
The following year, the Warrior Saint's Gate's nominated disciple selection tournament began — marking the fourth year Lin Lei and his group had stayed in Cloud Summit Town.
"Brother Lin Lei, your letter."
Rebecca delivered another letter. Lin Lei took it and immediately opened it to read. Based on the schedule, this month's letter should contain the results of the selection tournament.
With his brother's strength, he should have been able to succeed.
"Hm? He failed?" Lin Lei read through the letter and raised his eyebrows.
In the end, the Warrior Saint's Gate's nominated disciple spot was claimed by a young man named Bulmer. This selection tournament didn't simply award the spot to whoever ranked first in the end.
Instead, it was a series of rounds of elimination, ultimately producing ten candidates. These ten candidates were then chosen by the Warrior Saint himself or a direct disciple designated by the Warrior Saint.
Wotton had indeed made it into the top ten candidates, but in the end, the Warrior Saint's Gate chose Bulmer.
"Another genius?" Lin Lei was quite shocked.
Bulmer was currently thirty-two years old and had just stepped into the ninth-level warrior realm. Such astonishing talent was truly remarkable.
"But in terms of talent, Wotton should be even better. Wotton is only twenty-one this year, and he's already stepped into the eighth-level warrior realm." Lin Lei had only learned of Wotton's breakthrough to the eighth level last month.
An eight-level warrior at the age of twenty-one was staggering.
"Hm?" As he looked over Bulmer's profile, Lin Lei noticed something.
"Bulmer's brother is actually the genius Sword Saint — Olivier." Lin Lei was deeply surprised. Olivier was that prodigy who, upon first entering the Saint Realm, had defeated the Starry Sky Sword Saint Di Long.
Stepping into the Saint Realm and defeating a Saint-level powerhouse who had been in that realm for years wasn't impossible.
What mattered was the level of comprehension.
Take Lin Lei for example — his comprehension was already so high that it had reached the peak of the Saint Realm. It was just that his own Battle Qi and physical strength were still far from sufficient. That was why he couldn't yet enter the Saint Realm.
Once his strength and Battle Qi caught up, he would be able to break through.
This was also why Lin Lei spent so much time every day cultivating his Battle Qi, eager to step into the ninth-level warrior realm as quickly as possible.
"I wonder how Wotton is feeling right now," Lin Lei thought to himself. That chubby, babbling little kid from back in the day had already grown into an adult.
Lin Lei cared deeply for Wotton.
"If the Emperor's intelligence is correct, he should already know that Wotton is a descendant of the Dragon Blood Warrior family. With Wotton's current strength, he can clearly undergo dragonification. My brother, as a Dragon Blood Warrior, marrying the Emperor's daughter would be no insult to the imperial bloodline."
In truth, Lin Lei felt little reverence for so-called imperial or royal families.
What he revered were true powerhouses — the Warrior Saint, the High Priestess, the King of Assassins, and the two great rulers of the Magic Beast Mountain Range and the Dark Mountain Range, all standing at the summit.
Comprehension was important, but strength was even more so — especially for the present Lin Lei, whose own Battle Qi and physical strength were desperately lacking.
The same technique, "lifting a heavy weight as if it were light."
When Lin Lei executed it versus when a Saint-level powerhouse executed it, the offensive power differed by dozens of times.
The same "Essence of Earth."
Now, Lin Lei might catch a Saint-level powerhouse off guard and inflict serious injuries. But if a Saint-level powerhouse used it, it could instantly kill an opponent.
The shockwave — the same triple-layered shockwave. But the inherent intensity of the shockwave depended on physical power, and a Saint-level powerhouse's shockwave could be ten times stronger.
"Foundation!"
Lin Lei sat cross-legged on his bed in the room. Beneath his skin, it looked as though earthworms were scurrying rapidly in all directions, and the veins on his forehead bulged prominently.