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The matter was settled.

The audience had ended.

Carl didn't linger in the Sky Wind Kingdom. He flew straight into the sky and headed toward the Holy Alliance.

With Carl's current understanding of the Mysteries of Wind, it took him less than half a day to cross the O'Brien Empire and the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Looking at those familiar city walls, Carl couldn't help feeling wistful.

Before long, Carl landed at the Taros Family's estate.

"Over there, huh."

Sensing the aura of a Saint Realm expert, Carl made no attempt to conceal his presence and flew straight toward it.

"Who is it?!"

Feeling a powerful aura, Luo'an, who had been cultivating, couldn't help tensing up.

It was an unimaginably terrifying presence. Even just its aura left Luo'an Talos struggling to breathe.

Before the words had even left his mouth, Carl appeared in front of Luo'an.

He wore a red tunic, and his long hair was pale blue. A trace of fear still lingered in his dark red eyes.

"Luo'an?"

Carl smiled as he spoke.

"Grandpa?"

Carl gave a slight nod, feeling a little wistful.

He had only seen this grandson once, when he was a year old. After that, Carl had spent much of his time in seclusion. When he wasn't cultivating Battle Qi, he was trying to create his own killing move from the Wind Element. Back then, even his own son, Lin, rarely got to see him.

This was also because Carl had watched far too many of his descendants grow old and die before him. In the sprawling Taros Family, he only met with younger generations once they reached Level 7. To see them more often, they had to be at least Level 9.

After all, if he became too attached, then one day the news of their death might reach him without warning. Even Carl would find that painful.

While Carl was lost in thought, Luo'an was the one who was truly astonished.

As far as he remembered, his grandfather was indeed a Saint Realm expert, but he had only reached the Saint Realm a few decades before Luo'an did.

And in Luo'an's memory, his grandfather had simply worked hard, cultivating for most of his life before becoming a Saint Realm expert by sheer luck.

Becoming any stronger was out of the question; it was already impressive if he could gain a proper understanding of Momentum of Heaven and Earth.

In the past, Luo'an had seen his grandfather as a great Saint Realm expert and the founder of the Taros Family. But only after reaching the Saint Realm himself had he understood how difficult Momentum of Heaven and Earth truly was.

Especially since Luo'an had been in the Saint Realm for some time now, yet his understanding of Momentum of Heaven and Earth was still only superficial.

He was barely ten times stronger than a Level 9 Warrior. Beyond that, he couldn't improve.

But just now, that suffocating aura had come from his grandfather. It had left him utterly powerless to resist. Luo'an would never believe his grandfather was merely an ordinary Saint Realm expert.

"Grandpa, your strength..."

"Haha, I've only grasped a little of the Laws," Carl said with a casual laugh.

Carl laughed happily, without mentioning that his understanding of the Wind Element was nearing one-tenth of the way to godhood. He was a Peak Saint Realm expert approaching the third level; in terms of his understanding of the Mysteries alone, the vast majority of Peak Saint Realm experts on the Yulan Continent couldn't match him.

"Come to think of it, I never expected you to reach the Saint Realm so quickly."

Carl was delighted as he said this.

When Luo'an was born, Carl hadn't granted him any special talent just because he was his grandson.

During his fifty years in seclusion, Carl had only checked how many Level 9 experts there were. Then he'd impatiently rushed off to the Chaotic Territory.

That meant Luo'an had relied entirely on his own talent to advance step by step from Level 1 to the Saint Realm.

"Now that you've reached the Saint Realm and gained an almost eternal lifespan, you have two choices."

"First, you can have children and then continue cultivating."

"Second, you can go straight into seclusion and do your best to fully master Momentum of Heaven and Earth."

Though Carl had his own motives, he was willing to be more forthright at this level.

For ordinary people from Level 1 to Level 6, having children was easy. Newlyweds would generally have a child within a year or two.

From Level 7 to Level 9, however, having children became more difficult. Many people at this stage spent hundreds of years having no more than a handful of sons and daughters altogether.

Beyond that, once they reached the Saint Realm, having two or three children over the course of decades or even centuries was already quite good.

Cultivation didn't just mean cultivating Battle Qi or magical power. Both could affect the body.

Why was a Level 9 Warrior's physical strength comparable to that of a Level 6 Warrior? It was because of the boost from Battle Qi.

And for powerful women, having children was even more difficult.

Why did Carl have only four sons?

And why was only one of those four still alive, while the other three had died of old age?

Because they had all been born when Carl was young. It wasn't that he hadn't remarried after his wife passed away, but even after marrying again, he never had any more children.

Over time, Carl had given up on the idea.

When the gap in strength reached a certain point, it could even become a difference between species.

Especially at the Saint Realm. They still retained a human form, but if you took them apart, the substances in their blood might not even be the same as those in an ordinary person's.

"I choose the first."

Luo'an thought it over, then gave his answer.

Luo'an was in his sixties. It was true that his talent was exceptional, given that he had reached the Saint Realm, but he had also worked extremely hard.

But that didn't mean Luo'an was heartless.

Once, Luo'an had loved someone. But as his strength grew, the person he loved gradually stopped loving him for some reason. In the end, she chose to marry an ordinary man and have children.

Luo'an had once asked his father about it. The answer he got was that it came down to the difference between them.

If his talent had been merely ordinary, then the two of them might well have ended up together.

But when one person shone too brightly, the other might develop an inferiority complex.

To live a normal life, many people were willing to accept their own ordinariness and choose someone else who was just as ordinary.

"In that case, I'll go see your father first." Carl shook his head. As someone who had been through this himself, he could read a little of what Luo'an was feeling from his expression.

After leaving Luo'an's residence, Carl used three Saint Realm Aptitude Enhancement Cards on him.

"I hope the road ahead will be a little easier for you."

The three enhancements improved Luo'an's talent for Mental Power, his magical talent, and his affinity for the Fire Element.

After decades of cultivation, especially over the past twenty years, Carl's Mental Power had long since reached the Saint Realm. He could easily tell that Luo'an's Mental Power was still only at Level 8.

Luo'an had good talent as a Mage and good Mental Power talent, but neither had reached the Saint Realm level.

"Probably somewhere between the late and peak stages of Level 9."