Encounter with a Saint

A hundred li before Kading City, two figures faced off against each other.

Some passersby who caught sight of the two figures quickly hurried away.

"Those are two Saint Realm experts. Let's go, we need to take a detour..."

'A Saint Realm expert with such a youthful appearance—I've never seen this person before. Did he just rise recently?' Wilt stared at the unfamiliar Saint Realm expert before him, his expression grave. "Halt where you are. I am Wilt Kading. May I ask if you have business in Duke Kading's Territory?"

The Korur Empire explicitly decreed that all Saint Realm experts under its banner bore the duty of guarding against unfamiliar Saint Realms appearing within imperial borders. Wilt was naturally no exception to this responsibility, especially bearing the surname Kading.

Jianing looked in surprise at the Saint Realm expert who had suddenly appeared before him. Finding the other man on high alert, he was momentarily taken aback, but upon hearing the surname Kading, he spoke amicably, "I am Jianing Dalut. I have come to Duke Kading's Territory on an important matter."

'Someone from the Dalut family?' Hearing Jianing's surname, Wilt relaxed slightly inwardly, though he didn't dare let his guard down completely. His expression, however, softened considerably. "You must have recently broken through to the Saint Realm, I presume."

Jianing looked at Wilt with some surprise and nodded readily in acknowledgment. "That's right. How did you know?"

Wilt first explained to Jianing the rules all Saint Realm experts under the Korur Empire had to follow, then added, "Therefore, every Saint Realm belonging to the Korur Empire wears the emblem of their respective faction."

As he spoke, he pointed to an Arrow Emblem on his chest. "This is the emblem of the Duke Kading's Territory to which I belong. All Saint Realms within the Korur Empire can identify each other through these emblems. As long as both parties simultaneously input Battle Qi or magical power, they can sense one another."

'So there's a method of verification like this.' Jianing marveled inwardly, but still asked curiously, "And what about foreign Saint Realms?"

Wilt explained patiently, "If a foreign Saint Realm arrives, they must first go to a border city of the Korur Empire to register and receive a Visitor Emblem. Otherwise, every Saint Realm under the Korur Empire has both the right and the duty to kill them or drive them out."

Then Wilt added pointedly, "All emblems require a blood drop to bind, and can only be bound once."

"Normally, after you became a Saint Realm, you should have gone to Dalut City first to register and receive your emblem." Wilt still looked at Jianing with some confusion.

Jianing had no choice but to explain, "It might be because my family branch hasn't produced a Saint Realm expert in several hundred years since splitting off, so perhaps the elders at home weren't aware of this information either."

Far away in Tieling Town, Baron Chris suddenly shivered for no reason. But then, thinking of something, a smug look spread across his face. He thought to himself, 'Once that kid Jianing breaks through to Saint Realm, I'll have him fly me all the way to Dalut City. No, wait, I'll take a detour—Firefly Town needs a visit, and Cass Town too... Hmph, let those bastards get a good look at Baron Chris's genius son.'

'I'll tell him about the emblem after his wedding, urge him to break through quickly, then go get the emblem and let those guys see for themselves.' Chris firmly believed that with his son's genius, becoming a Saint Realm was absolutely no problem—though Jianing's speed still exceeded his expectations.

On the other side, Wilt listened to Jianing's explanation and nodded in acknowledgment. "That's possible. After all, for most ordinary people, becoming a Saint Realm is nearly impossible."

As they talked, the tension between Jianing and Wilt gradually dissipated. They both landed and found a suitable spot to sit down, exchanging information and sharing cultivation experiences.

However, after a while, two figures suddenly flew over from the distance. They paused briefly above the two men, then, seeming to spot them, quickly descended toward their position.

Seeing the two figures, Wilt finally relaxed completely. He looked at Jianing with some apology and said, "Jianing, I'm really sorry. Since I couldn't verify your information, you'll need to come with us to Kading City first."

From the moment Wilt had first spotted Jianing, he had used a Sound Transmission Box to contact two nearby Saint Realm friends for backup. After all, without a fight, it was hard for Saint Realms to gauge each other's strength—better safe than sorry.

But before the newcomers even landed, a voice rang out, "As expected of you, Wilt. You called for backup immediately without even a fight breaking out."

Wilt's face darkened as he shot back, "Cass, if you're so capable, don't call for backup yourself in the future."

Then, pointing to the speaker among the arrivals, he introduced him to Jianing, "This is Cass, also the nominal First-Class Defense Officer of Kading City."

He gestured to the other man. "This is Dubi, a friend of mine."

Then he briefly introduced Jianing's identity to the two.

The group exchanged simple greetings.

After hearing Wilt's introduction, Cass looked at Jianing with curiosity. "Jianing, would you mind telling us what business you have in Kading City?"

Jianing replied frankly, "Count Lewis Cardin of Kading City's daughter will be my wife. I've come to escort my bride home."

Hearing this, Cass and Dubi immediately shot Wilt a strange look. Finally, Cass spoke, "Wilt, if I remember correctly, there's only one count in Kading City named Lewis, and isn't he your direct descendant?"

At this, Wilt also looked at Jianing with a peculiar expression. "If you're not mistaken, the Lewis you mentioned should be my great-great-grandson."

Jianing's expression also turned somewhat awkward. For a moment, he didn't know how to address Wilt, having never dealt with such a gap in generational relationships.

Fortunately, Cass seemed to catch on and said from the side, "Just call him Wilt. At the Saint Realm level, unless the relationship is very close, discussing ordinary generational titles is meaningless."

Wilt sorted through the fact that he had stopped a strange Saint Realm who was about to become his great-great-grandson's son-in-law. Recovering quickly, he agreed with Cass, "Indeed. Saint Realms have no time limit on their lifespans. You don't need to worry too much about unimportant forms of address."

Just then, Dubi, who had been silent, looked at Jianing with some confusion and suddenly asked, "Forgive my rudeness, but may I ask how old you are this year, Jianing?"

Wilt and Cass also snapped to attention and turned to look at Jianing.

Jianing said modestly, "I just celebrated my nineteenth birthday not long ago."

"Gasp" The three stared at Jianing in shock.

"Oh, heavens, a nineteen-year-old Saint Realm..." Wilt let out a groan-like exclamation.

Cass looked at Jianing. "You really are a monster."

Jianing simply smiled faintly, not knowing what else to say.

Setting aside the exclamations, after chatting for a while, the atmosphere among them warmed up considerably.

Suddenly, Dubi said to Wilt, "Since that's the case, we can just go with him to see little Lewis, right?"

Hearing Dubi's words, Wilt paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up as he immediately agreed.

"Right, let's go straight to little Lewis's place." As he spoke, Wilt even confirmed with Jianing, though his tone was incomparably softer than at the start. "What do you think, Jianing?"

"Oh, Wilt, you're making me sick." Cass complained from the side.

"Shut up, Cass."

Jianing pretended not to hear their bickering and agreed, "I have no problem with that."

Before long, four figures flew over Kading City. The residents showed no surprise—after all, as the main city of a duke's domain, it was hardly unusual to see Saint Realm experts soaring overhead.

Especially since two of those figures appeared to be the same adults who had flown out of the city earlier.

At Count Lewis's estate, after some inquiries, Lewis stared blankly at the four people before him.

He first addressed Wilt cautiously, "Lord Wilt?"

Wilt looked warmly at the timid Lewis. "Little Lewis, why so formal?"

"I held your father when he was born. Just call me Great-Grandfather."

Lewis naturally seized the opening. "Great-Grandfather, what brings you here today?"

"Honestly, as an elder, your daughter is getting married, and you didn't even notify me." Wilt spoke as if complaining, but his tone was affectionate, though his gaze kept flicking toward Jie Ning.

Lewis jolted and quickly caught on. "I was mainly worried about disturbing your cultivation, Great-Grandfather, so I forgot to ask you?" His face showed fear, but inwardly he was ecstatic.

"Enough, enough, Wilt, stop putting on airs." Cass first put on an expression of exasperation, then smiled warmly at Jie Ning. "Jie Ning, would you mind if I came to your wedding for a few drinks?"

"Same here," Dubi added.

Jie Ning found it both amusing and helpless. "If you all are willing to come, I would be more than happy to welcome you."

After a few more exchanges, Wilt and the others confirmed with Jie Ning that his wedding day was set for the War God Festival, then took their leave together.

Only Lewis remained, staring at Jie Ning in disbelief. "Lord Jie Ning..."

"Count, you are Lan Ni's father, and thus my father as well. There's no need for such formality." Jie Ning quickly stopped Lewis's respectful address.

"I... I never dared to imagine that my son-in-law would be a Saint Realm expert." Lewis felt as if a pie had fallen from the sky.

It took Jie Ning some more time to calm Lewis's emotions.

After finishing everything, Jie Ning went to the backyard and finally saw Arannis. They exchanged a smile.

One day later.

"Father, you all take your time traveling. I'll go ahead with Jie Ning." Leaving behind that one sentence, Arannis let Jie Ning pick her up and fly away.

Quinta watched Jie Ning fly off with Arannis in his arms, still looking incredulous. "Father, am I dreaming?"

"Slap~" Lewis smacked Quinta on the back.

"Hiss~"

Seeing Quinta's pained expression, Lewis said, as if in a daze, "Guess not."

Successfully signed.

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