Even someone as strong as Miles Ning has moments when he cannot believe what he hears.
His wrinkled old face showed a mix of hesitation and unease as he gazed deeply into Leon Yu's eyes.
In fact—
If not for Green Mountain Sect’s desperate last stand and the blood sacrifice of his own Internal Power, Miles Ning would be far stronger than Leon Yu.
Martial Arts are divided into three realms, and the Law Realm is also split into three stages. Leon Yu is merely at the initial stage of the Law Realm; otherwise, he could not remain on Earth for so long.
"Ahem."
Leon Yu coughed lightly twice.
He knew very well that Elder Ning could hear him perfectly. Even with his Internal Power gradually drying up, Miles Ning’s strength was at least at the level of a titled third-step Martial Lord—he could hear the faintest sounds within several kilometers.
That’s right.
He must have been truly shocked.
"Elder Ning," Leon Yu smiled slightly, "Your disciple Andrew Han has become a Martial Lord. I’ve already told him the secrets above Martial Lord."
"Go on." Miles Ning’s voice was low and deep.
Leon Yu was momentarily taken aback.
He quickly gathered his thoughts and continued, "Andrew Han defeated Cen Dongsheng... You have no idea, I was lying beside the battlefield watching, and I was truly startled. The kid quietly advanced to the Martial Lord Realm, which is impressive enough, but he even comprehended a Mystery-Communing Art and manifested a flaming cloud vision."
Every Mystery-Communing Art brings forth a world-shaking vision.
The flaming cloud spectacle behind Andrew Han wasn’t the most extraordinary.
The Guardian of Yunhai Capital is a titled third-step Martial Lord. She once emulated the natural whirlpools of the sea, generating a colossal steam vortex that stretched tens of meters high and spanned hundreds of meters in diameter across the sky!
That is what true Mystery-Communing mastery looks like.
But here’s the problem—
Andrew Han has only just advanced to the Martial Lord Realm. Even for a peerless Martial Lord who can grasp Mystery-Communing Arts early, it should take months or even a year or two to master just one such art.
Leon Yu, of course, had no idea.
Raging Downpour had followed Andrew Han for years, its structure simple and uncannily compatible with his half-mad state. To push it to the Mystery-Communing Art level was not impossibly difficult.
But to raise Southern Thousand-Mile March to the Mystery-Communing Art tier—that was the true challenge.
"Oh."
"Mystery-Communing Art." Miles Ning's eyes lit up with realization; his wrinkled old face twitched, and he suddenly uttered, "Hmph, no wonder he could defeat the weakest tier of titled Martial Lord."
Leon Yu was left dumbfounded. "Huh?"
"Don't make such a fuss." Miles Ning sat ghostlike at the edge of the sofa, lighting a fresh cigarette. "I've slapped Cen Dongsheng before—he's only a first-step titled Martial Lord, and he doesn't possess any Mystery-Communing Art."
The mark of a three-step titled Martial Lord is the fusion of heaven-and-earth power.
As long as one's Solidified Core Internal Power has fused even a trace of natural force, manifests color, and can manipulate the powers floating between heaven and earth, then one is a titled Martial Lord.
But.
A titled Martial Lord without a Mystery-Communing Art is no different from a Martial Artist without Transcendent mastery, a Martial General without Fusion mastery, or a Martial Lord without Unity mastery.
Miles Ning called him the weakest, and he had a point.
"Even the weakest titled Martial Lord still stands far above a high-tier Martial Lord." Leon Yu could only shake his head with a wry smile, feeling that Miles Ning's expectations for Andrew Han were almost too high.
Normally, only a peerless high-tier Martial Lord could match a first-step titled Martial Lord.
But Andrew Han had just advanced to the lower-tier Martial Lord. If not for his status as a Legend, this would have shaken every Martial Lord in Sinovera.
"Hmph."
"Weak is weak—no need for excuses." Miles Ning curled his lip, his cold expression returning.
...
Leon Yu fell silent.
After a moment's thought, he realized he wasn't suited to argue, so he simply clasped his hands to Miles Ning, transformed into a winding streak of purple light, shot out the window, and soared a kilometer away, returning to Riverford City.