Leaning on a ruby-topped cane, he wore a gentle smile and took two steps forward of his own accord.
"This must be Mr. Su Li." Old Ford assumed the magnanimous air of a superior. "You must have endured much hardship, sleeping rough and dining in the open along the way. Since you returned with Elena, consider Red Leaf Manor your home from now on."
While mouthing polite pleasantries, Old Ford was far from idle beneath the surface.
His formidable ether perception as a peak fourth-tier knight transformed into a concealed, invisible tentacle and reached straight toward Su Li's body.
He had to first sound out the brat's true capabilities, give him a neither-too-big-nor-too-small show of force, and let him know who called the shots once he entered the royal capital.
The invisible ether tentacle struck Su Li's shoulder.
Old Ford's movements abruptly froze without warning.
What he felt was not a mortal body of flesh and blood, but as if he had slammed headlong into a colossal iron mountain—heavy, roiling with savage lava!
That utterly pure fourth-tier fire energy carried an absolute, untouchable tyranny. It nearly followed his perception back and burned straight into his own meridians.
Old Ford's right hand, clutching the rosewood cane, twitched violently. A faint cracking sound even came from the rosewood shaft.
Fourth tier!
Old Ford's mind buzzed.
Before the old man could even catch his breath, the perception tentacle he had failed to retract snapped away like a startled snake, coincidentally brushing past Saina, who was grooming the black horse's mane nearby.
Bang.
It was like a heavy battle-axe had cleaved straight at him head-on—another terrifying aura built solidly on nothing but pure brute force.
How was this possible?! That village girl in a ragged dress, that woman gnawing on dry flatbread, was also