"That is high praise indeed. Sect Master Li, you are now a major figure in the North Sea yourself. A junior who has caught even your attention must be extraordinary."
With nothing else to occupy them, Madam Zhao simply began discussing this Pirate Commander with Li Ling.
Li Ling happened to know something about the young man, so he shared what he knew.
He privately suspected that the Pirate Commander was the person born in answer to destiny when he had once seen tribulation qi descend. His interest in the young man far exceeded anyone else's, but he could hardly voice that speculation outright, so he approached the subject obliquely from other angles.
Madam Zhao said, "But did you not just say that he has always devoted himself to mortal people and lower-ranking cultivators? Even put together, those people would not be enough for one of the association's experts to crush in a single hand."
Li Ling said, "You are right. Dozens or even hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators combined are no match for a high-ranking cultivator. But how difficult is Foundation Establishment for a true genius? A hundred days or so would suffice. And among those people, how likely are those blessed with great fortune and wisdom to become powerful? Once they do, just how powerful might they be?
"I have never believed that powerful experts are necessarily invincible, myself included. You see how I made my name young and expanded a sect within a little over a century, but in essence, I am merely an ordinary cultivator who got lucky. If some young genius out there were born with innate knowledge and achieved hundred-day foundation establishment, surpassing my strength would take no more than the blink of an eye. All things change and develop."
Madam Zhao could not