Although he had defeated the Heaven-Devouring Hou, Wu Ling knew that luck had played a part in his victory. If the Heaven-Devouring Hou had known he possessed the Explosive Impact Arrow, it wouldn't have been hit by those two arrows. The fact that Wu Ling's many subsequent attacks had failed to hit his target was the best proof—and that was despite the Heaven-Devouring Hou having been wounded and its strength diminished.
That was precisely why Wu Ling hadn't gotten angry after Ling Tian said those things. He had also vaguely guessed why Ling Tian had said them: Wu Ling was about to fight the Jade Devouring Sky Python, and it would be dangerous if he was still basking in the pride and joy of having defeated the Heaven-Devouring Hou.
"Hey, a win's a win. Who cares whether you got lucky?" Fairy Sword Ji said, unconcerned.
"No, it matters." Wu Ling shook his head, his expression growing much more solemn. Seeing the puzzled yet unconcerned looks on Fairy Sword Ji and the others' faces, he continued, "I understand Martial Ancestor Uncle's meaning. I'm about to fight the Jade Devouring Sky Python, and he's worried I'll misjudge its strength and my own. That would be dangerous."
Fairy Sword Ji and the others fell silent. They understood why Ling Tian had gone out of his way to say those things.
"Under normal circumstances—or if the Heaven-Devouring Hou had been on guard—I'd have had almost no chance of defeating it. The Jade Devouring Sky Python is about as strong as it is, so I'll have a hard time defeating the python, too," Wu Ling continued. "Martial Ancestor Uncle said all that to prepare me mentally. If I sense things going badly, I need to concede in time. Otherwise, once I'm exhausted, the Jade Devouring