The old man ignored the smoke of war. With one step, he entered a secret chamber.
A young man sat cross-legged inside. Sensing something amiss, he abruptly opened his eyes. When he recognized the old man, he hurried to his feet.
"Grand Elder."
The old man gave a slight nod in acknowledgment, then said gravely,
"Hanyan, have you made any progress in the study of runes?"
"I've made a little progress."
Zhao Hanyan nodded slightly, stepped forward, and opened his sea of consciousness.
A Primordial Spirit over ninety zhang tall sat cross-legged in the center of his sea of consciousness. A layer of runic light enveloped it, forming a suit of dark yellow armor.
"This disciple used runes to construct a protective layer around my Primordial Spirit. It can amplify its power by fifty percent, and its defensive strength is roughly ten times greater than before."
As he spoke, a trace of shame appeared on Zhao Hanyan's face.
"This disciple is slow-witted. I've spent nearly ten years, yet I still can't grasp many of the runes. I don't see much promise for my future development along this path..."
"It's all right. Runes are ultimately a minor path."
The old man examined the Primordial Spirit and nodded with satisfaction.
"If your Primordial Spirit can break through a hundred zhang at this stage, your chances of reaching the Supreme Realm in the future will increase by thirty percent."
At this, Zhao Hanyan couldn't help feeling excited.
"Grand Elder, is the Hall going to take in Qiong Luo?"
The rune stones could greatly amplify the power of one's Primordial Spirit. With his talent, if he had a sufficient supply of high-grade rune stones, breaking through a hundred zhang would only be a matter of time.
"That person outside is no weaker than I