"After all, he is the one I have chosen. Naturally, he will not disappoint me."
Upon hearing the old monk in plain robes praise Young Master Liming, the form of True Immortal Golden Crane began to shift as well. In the blink of an eye, the golden crane transformed into a human figure, its face brimming with a proud smile.
"But I still favor Chu Feng," the old monk in plain robes said.
"Chu Feng's growth rate has been truly astonishing. At this point, I must admit that this young man is impeccable in every regard — a genuine peerless genius."
"But if you insist on comparing, I still favor my Liming."
"Take my Pillar of Profound Meaning, for instance. The amount of energy one can absorb from it is related not only to talent, but also to constitution, willpower, and even one's way of thinking."
"For someone like Young Master Liming to have achieved this level of mastery, you could say that every aspect of his ability is essentially perfect."
"In my view, he is fully capable of compressing that pillar down to the size of a little finger. That is already the absolute limit for a martial cultivator."
"Truly a genius among geniuses — his potential is terrifying."
"It is said that countless geniuses gradually lose their brilliance and perish along the long road of cultivation."
"But a genius like Liming will never perish. He will only continue to grow, until he becomes a figure who commands respect across an entire star domain," True Immortal Golden Crane declared.
"No wonder you're so eager to take him as your disciple. It turns out you see great things in his future — you want to ride his coattails down the road," the old monk in plain robes remarked.
"Hmph." True Immortal Golden Crane let out an oddly sour little snort, as though his scheme had seen through. He looked a touch displeased.
But when he gazed upon Young Master Liming once more, a look of delighted joy soon returned to his face.
At that moment, the so-called Pillar of Profound Meaning was still shrinking steadily within Young Master Liming's palm. It had already been reduced to the size of a little finger.
Yet Young Master Liming had not stopped. He pressed on.
And through his relentless effort, the energy inside the Pillar of Profound Meaning continued to be drawn away by him. The pillar kept shrinking.
In the end, the Pillar of Profound Meaning was compressed to a mere two centimeters in length.
"Even smaller than I had anticipated. This Liming truly deserves to be the one I chose. His talent is simply astonishing — to have refined the Pillar of Profound Meaning down to this extent, he has truly surpassed the limit of limits."
True Immortal Golden Crane was ecstatic, as though Young Master Liming were his own child. He felt a deep sense of pride and joy on the young man's behalf.
"Is this truly the limit of limits? I recall that someone from the Chu Heavenly Clan once used this Profound Meaning Test Array to measure his potential as well. And the result he achieved was to forcibly refine the Pillar of Profound Meaning until it vanished entirely," the old monk in plain robes said.
"You mean Chu Xuanyuan?" At this, a flash of displeasure appeared in True Immortal Golden Crane's eyes. His expression darkened noticeably at the mere mention of Chu Xuanyuan.
"Of course I mean him. I met that child once when he was young. Even then, he carried himself with an overwhelming arrogance and the bearing of a king. That kind of presence — even now, the memory remains vivid in my mind."
"At the time, I was certain he was no ordinary person. His future accomplishments would be beyond measure."
"So, just as you feel toward Liming, I wished to take him as my disciple. But not only did he refuse me — he even mocked me, saying I was not qualified to be his master."
"Haha, when I think back on it, Liming may be proud enough, but he still falls far short of the Chu Xuanyuan of that era."
"Back then, Chu Xuanyuan seemed utterly convinced that he would one day become the supreme power of his generation. His arrogance truly knew no bounds."
"He did not deign to acknowledge anyone — not even us. And the accomplishments he later achieved were indeed such that one could not help but bow in admiration."
As the old monk in plain robes spoke of these things, there was not a trace of bitterness on his face. Instead, it was full of smiles.
It was clear that even after being refused and even insulted, he harbored no ill will whatsoever. Quite the contrary — he seemed to take a certain pride in it all.