Emperor Joan of the O'Brien Empire had long heard of Lin Lei's name — the second greatest magical genius in history, and a peerless prodigy who had achieved the rank of stone sculpture grandmaster at merely sixteen. Having once learned of Lin Lei's accomplishments, Joan had been full of admiration.
And when he actually saw Lin Lei walk in —
"Truly a fine figure of a man." Joan admired him silently. In terms of physical proportions and that restrained temperament, Lin Lei did indeed possess the distinctive bearing of a stone sculpture grandmaster.
"Greetings, Your Majesty." Lin Lei gave a slight bow.
"Insolent!" The shrill voice of the personal court attendant serving beside Emperor Joan rang out. "To meet His Majesty and not perform the kneeling bow?"
Lin Lei's icy gaze swept over, and the court attendant felt as though he were being stared down by a venomous snake, unable to suppress a shudder.
"A great master such as Lin Lei has long been admired by this emperor. There is no need for the kneeling bow." Emperor Joan shot a glance at the attendant beside him, who immediately fell silent.
In the O'Brien Empire, ordinary subjects were required to perform a single-knee kneeling bow. However, for direct disciples of the Martial God like Blumer, a slight bow of the head was enough.
"Wotton." Emperor Joan turned to Wotton beside Lin Lei. "This emperor had long heard that you had such a brother. Why did it take until today for you to bring him?"
Wotton promptly replied, "Your Majesty, my elder brother only arrived in the Imperial Capital recently."
Emperor Joan nodded mildly, then turned to Lin Lei with a smile. "I hear that Master Lin Lei was already a level-seven dual-element mage at seventeen. Ten years have passed — what level have you reached now?"
Lin Lei smiled. "After ten years of diligent cultivation, I only just recently crossed the threshold into level nine."
"A level-nine Grand Mage?" Joan was taken aback.
"Hmm?" An exclamation of surprise came from behind. Lin Lei glanced at the screen behind Joan. The moment he had entered this room, he had sensed two level-nine experts concealed there — one a mage, the other a warrior.
Emperor Joan looked back.
The two realized they had been detected and stepped out. One wore a loose-fitting mage's robe; the other was dressed in typical warrior's combat gear.
"These two are my personal guards. Even they are astonished by Master Lin Lei's progress," Emperor Joan said with a mild smile.
"A level-nine dual-element Grand Mage. Master Lin Lei, may I ask how old you are?" The silver-haired mage fixed his gaze on Lin Lei. As a fellow mage, he knew all too well how difficult it was to increase one's Mental Power.
In history, warriors who had reached the Saint Realm in their twenties existed — more than ten of them, in fact.
But among Grand Mages who had reached level nine, not a single one had been under the age of thirty. Mental Power could not be shortcutted. It had to be grown step by step.
"My brother is twenty-seven this year," Wotton spoke up.
"Twenty-seven!" The level-nine mage's expression became quite something upon hearing this number.
History was history — the records spanned tens of thousands of years and counted countless geniuses all together. There had been some who reached level nine in their thirties. But those were all people of old. In the past several centuries, not a single person had reached level nine in their thirties.
But —
"Twenty-seven, twenty-seven!" The silver-haired elder gave a self-deprecating laugh. "I reached level-nine Grand Mage at one hundred and seventy and thought that was rather good. But compared to Master Lin Lei..."
The silver-haired elder shook his head, sighing bitterly.
The gap was enormous.
"Master Gehu, what was the youngest age at which a level-nine Grand Mage broke through in recorded history?" Emperor Joan immediately pressed.
The silver-haired elder replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, according to historical records, the youngest level-nine Grand Mage was a peerless genius from over thirty thousand years ago who entered the threshold of level nine at thirty-two. And from the first year of the Yulan Calendar to the present, the most extraordinary magical genius did not reach level nine until thirty-five."
In the cultivation of Battle Qi, encountering rare treasures might cause a powerful surge in one's energy.
Breakthroughs in realm could likewise come in a single flash of insight.
In their twenties, reaching the Saint Realm — such cases existed in history.
But Mental Power was not something that could be increased on a whim. Even with the Flat Knife School's method of stone carving, Lin Lei had only broken through once, at sixteen. The following ten years had been solid, diligent cultivation — steady, unceasing growth — until he finally reached level nine.
"I hear Master Lin Lei is not only a mage but also a formidable warrior?" Emperor Joan looked at Lin Lei with a smile.
Lin Lei gave a faint smile. "Your Majesty, you are welcome to have the gentleman beside you test it."
That level-nine warrior's mouth twitched. "Could it be that Master Lin Lei truly is such a genius, having reached the level-nine warrior rank?"
"Master Lanxi, give it a try then — but be careful. Master Lin Lei comes from a Dragon Blood Warrior family," Emperor Joan said with a grin.
Master Lanxi drew the dark broadsword from his back.
Lin Lei merely turned his hand, and the Purple Blood Divine Sword materialized in his palm. Against a level-nine warrior, he didn't even need to transform.
"Hmph." A hazy, dreamlike starlight surfaced across the broadsword in Master Lanxi's hand. "Master Lanxi is a disciple of the Star Sword Saint," Emperor Joan explained from the side.
The Star Sword Saint?
Lin Lei didn't even care about the Star Sword Saint himself — why would he care about his disciple?
"Whoosh —" The broadsword seemed to tear through space, carrying boundless force as it slashed directly at Lin Lei. Lin Lei stood motionless, and the Purple Blood Flexible Sword in his hand merely flashed —
Master Lanxi felt only a flood of purple light filling heaven and earth, as though the surrounding space had locked him in place.
"Crack!" The flat of the Purple Blood Flexible Sword struck Lanxi's body, sending him flying. He slammed hard into the stone screen behind him, which shattered apart. Lanxi spat out a mouthful of blood and crumpled to the ground.
Lanxi braced himself against the floor and pushed himself back up. The arrogance was gone from his eyes, replaced with gratitude. "Thank you for showing mercy, Master Lin Lei." The flat of the blade alone had struck with such devastatingThe request was rejected because it was considered high risk