"Ah, a trifling reputation, fit only to make the discerning laugh. Since you are one bound to me by fate and already know of my deeds, why mock me with such words?"
With a faint, lingering sigh, the figure slowly descended and stood before the weathered stone stele.
He was a middle-aged man with ordinary features but a refined bearing, dressed in the blue robes of a scholar from the mundane world.
An indescribable loneliness lingered on his face. Ye Tianming's words of praise seemed to have stirred his memories and moved him to reflection.
"You need not belittle yourself. From Venerable Wu's possessions, I have already learned how you foresaw the future, laid hidden plans, and granted him his fortuitous encounter."
Ye Tianming spoke calmly, yet what he discussed was enough to shatter stone and startle the heavens.
"Only then did I learn that, besides the Five Elements Venerable, the Seven-Star Holy Envoys, the Eight Directions Shepherd, the Nine Heavens Hall Master, and the others, the Two Sects also had someone like you, reputed to know a hundred thousand years into both the past and the future!"
"Though you are merely a Rogue Person, far weaker than those lofty mighty figures, you far surpass them in divination, deduction, and foreknowledge."
"In ancient times, people revered the strong and chiefly distinguished them by strength. Yet the facts prove that the true pinnacle belongs to those who can develop their own dao path to its utmost limits, touch its origin, and comprehend the great Dao."
He paused, then suddenly grew solemn, cupped his hands, and said,
"Rogue Person Tianji, I have long heard your great name. Today, at last, I can truly say I have met you!"
This figure was none other than Rogue Person Tianji, whom the Shadow King, Venerable