"Even if he failed, what he just displayed was enough to rank him among the foremost Quasi-Saints in the Primordial World! He poured vast life force into a single branch, turning one Willow Branch from illusion into reality ahead of time and making it a weapon!"
The Demon Empress praised Green Willow's ingenuity with a faint smile.
But Kong Xuan, who had already returned, looked on with pride in his eyes. "A genius who never gets the chance to grow is no genius at all! Green Willow had the makings of a powerhouse, but he emerged too soon and ran into an anomaly like Ren. His Primordial Spirit was shattered, and now he's back in his original form with only a trace of consciousness left. He'll never rise again. Still, Ren's performance was astonishing! With only a Grand Luo Dao Fruit, he defeated a Quasi-Saint head-on without even bringing out the Zhu Xian Sword Formation!"
For all Kong Xuan's arrogance, his expression held a measure of caution. The Demon Empress nodded in understanding.
After all, even she considered Green Willow one of the foremost Quasi-Saints. Yet Ren had killed him across a gap in cultivation. Just how strong was Ren?
Ren knew nothing of the Demon Empress's shock.
But he was shocked himself. If the others could see the secrets hidden in Green Willow's original form, so could he.
Seeing through Green Willow's plan, Ren shook his head and smiled. "What can I say? It's fortunate you emerged early. If you'd had a few more years to become an Acquired Hollow-Heart Willow Tree, even defeating you would have been extremely difficult. Killing you might have been beyond even a Half-Step Primordial Unity cultivator!"
The Daos of space and time were terrifying. If Green Willow had truly become an Acquired