Martial Saint Grotto-Heaven.
"Senior, you...!!!" Ji Minghao stepped over the threshold, and the moment he saw the Martial Saint's head of white hair, he froze.
"As Your Majesty can see, this is what I truly look like now," the Martial Saint said.
Ji Minghao drew a deep breath.
"Senior, were you bluffing just now?"
"Yes!" The Martial Saint nodded. Had he truly been at his peak, he could have attacked without restraint. "Nine Swords could have escaped, but those immortals could not. The Four Directions Sky-Locking Diagram would have stayed behind, too!"
"What a pity-!!" As he uttered those final words, the Martial Saint's face filled with regret.
"Senior... then what... will become of Great Xia?" Bitterness appeared in Ji Minghao's eyes.
The Martial Saint waved a hand. "It will be fine!"
With that, he pointed at Jiang Ning.
"Great Xia will have this lad Jiang Ning in the years ahead!"
"Although he has yet to truly take the final step and become a Martial Saint, he is not far from it. Give him a little more time-three to five years at most. Given this lad's legendary achievements, perhaps he will take that step even sooner."
"When that day comes and he succeeds, the world will enjoy another thousand years of peace."
At those words.
"A thousand years of peace...?" Ji Minghao lowered his head and murmured, seemingly turning the words over in his mind.
Then he looked at Jiang Ning, his expression solemn.
"Brother Jiang, are you truly close to taking that step?"
Jiang Ning nodded.
Ji Minghao immediately drew a deep breath.
"A thousand years of peace!"
"Senior, you have a worthy successor!" Ji Minghao bowed to the Martial Saint. "Congratulations!"
The Martial Saint nodded, his gaze drifting into the distance toward the world outside.
"With my intervention