149: You're saying you're Han Yu?!

After the two men joked around for a bit, Lu Tao immediately sobered up, his tone carrying a hint of lingering fear. "But seriously, thank goodness you didn't go to the Haoyang Sect. Otherwise, the two of us probably wouldn't have the chance to sit here and drink tea together today!"

"Yes, thankfully."

Su Ling was also filled with emotion, but there were some things he didn't voice.

He had actually gone to the Haoyang Sect back then, only to encounter the malicious Liao Qinglin.

If he hadn't relied on the Spirit Treasure azure roc wings to withstand the fatal blow, and the Ghost Soul Arrow hadn't coincidentally triggered the opponent's hidden Divine Soul injury...

He would have perished twenty years ago, and there would be no chance of reuniting with Lu Tao today.

"Speaking of which, I once heard that in major Sects, Cultivators below the Soul Transformation stage refer to each other as Senior Brother..."

A playful look flashed in Su Ling's eyes as he turned to Lu Tao and asked, "You are now a True Immortal's Disciple, so why are you still calling Senior Wu 'Junior Martial Uncle'?"

"Sigh, don't even mention it."

Lu Tao slumped onto his seat, looking utterly defeated. "Because of that rule, Junior Martial Uncle now only allows me to call him 'Senior Brother'... Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Junior Martial Uncle advanced to the Early Body Integration Stage three years ago!"

"Three years ago..."

Delight first flashed in Su Ling's eyes, quickly replaced by intense surprise. "If I remember correctly, when we parted ways, Senior Wu was only in the Late Soul Transformation Stage... How could he break through to Body Integration so quickly? That advancement speed is truly astonishing!"

He had only heard about Senior Wu Haiya's recent situation from Zheng Cheng.

Advancing from the Late Soul Transformation Stage to the Early Body Integration Stage in just over seventy years.

Such speed definitely placed him among the most elite Cultivators in the entire Canglang Plane.

"You're quite well-informed."

Lu Tao glanced at Su Ling in surprise, his tone becoming somewhat wistful. "Junior Martial Uncle's talent is actually just a Dual Water and Wood Spiritual Root, and it took him a full five hundred years just to reach Peak Soul Transformation. But his talent for comprehending Law was praised even by the Sect's Golden Immortal Ancestral Master... He touched the threshold of Law in only thirty years, directly advancing into the Early Body Integration Stage!"

"That's incredible!"

Su Ling sincerely praised him, but internally, he couldn't help but calculate his own progress in Cultivation.

Just achieving Core Formation alone had taken him over forty years.

If he hadn't unexpectedly acquired the Azure Heaven Thunder Treasure Talisman and spent a fortune buying a large number of auxiliary Medicinal Pills to accelerate the condensation of his magical power, his initial estimate was that even with the pills, completing the Nine Revolutions Condensation would take a century.

Although he later advanced from the Early Core Formation Stage to the Middle Stage in twenty years, that speed was entirely achieved by exchanging the massive gains from the start of the National War for huge quantities of top-tier Medicinal Pills.

In the outside world, where would he have the opportunity to easily earn fifty million Spirit Stones?

Su Ling calculated silently that even if he had enough Medicinal Pills afterward, reaching the Peak Core Formation Stage would still take him at least sixty to one hundred years.

If things went smoothly, spending three hundred to five hundred years advancing from the Nascent Soul Stage to Soul Transformation would be considered fast.

As for advancing from Soul Transformation to Body Integration... he didn't even have the confidence to estimate.

For him, advancing to Peak Soul Transformation in five hundred years was already a distant goal, let alone breaking through to Body Integration in thirty years.

It was unimaginable.

Su Ling's path of immortality Cultivation was essentially one he had stumbled through in the dark by himself.

The Xuanming Sect didn't even have Body Integration Stage Cultivators, so naturally, they wouldn't teach this high-Realm common knowledge to their low-level 'talented' Disciples.

After being stranded in the Canglang Plane, he had always Cultivated alone and groped his way forward, leading to an extreme lack of common knowledge regarding high-level Cultivators.

He immediately looked at Lu Tao with anticipation and asked for guidance: "Advancing from Peak Soul Transformation to Body Integration requires comprehending Law? Then what exactly is Law?"

"Law, well, it's essentially the fundamental rules governing the operation of heaven and earth, the Sea of Stars."

Lu Tao frowned and pondered, trying to explain it simply. "But Revered Master hasn't taught me the specifics yet. Once I advance to Soul Transformation, Revered Master should pass on the relevant methods to me, and we can discuss it in detail then."

"Alright."

Su Ling's tone held a hint of disappointment, but he understood this was only natural.

It was like explaining calculus to an elementary school student; ninety-nine percent of the time, it was a waste of effort, unless the child was a one-in-ten-thousand Genius.

Clearly, neither he nor Lu Tao counted as this kind of 'Genius'.

Changing the subject, Su Ling's expression became odd as he scrutinized Lu Tao. "But speaking of which, since you have a True Immortal as your Revered Master, why are you still getting involved in the National War? Surely you aren't lacking Cultivation resources?"

"I'm not lacking resources..."

Lu Tao's expression froze, and then he slumped his shoulders dejectedly. "Revered Master said that Sword Cultivators follow a path that emphasizes killing, and my Killing Intent is currently too weak, while my kindness is too strong. He told me to come to the National War to properly hone my Killing Intent and temper my nature."

"It certainly needs tempering."

Su Ling nodded in agreement.

Back then, Lu Tao had saved his life and even provided thoughtful care while he was unconscious.

Their interactions throughout their journey were extremely sincere; he never showed any vigilance or discrimination just because Su Ling's origins were unknown.

Su Ling could fully sense that this was Lu Tao's true nature.

It was no wonder that True Immortal would temper him so strictly.

Recalling past experiences, Su Ling couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "I once saw a Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator from the Qingming Sword Sect take action—that was truly chilling Killing Intent... Their moves were clean and decisive, striking straight at vital points, possessing the Aura of 'one sword drawn, the enemy must die'."

"Qingming Sword Sect..."

Just then, Lu Tao suddenly frowned, as if remembering something, and looked sharply at Su Ling. "Wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?"

Su Ling was confused and asked doubtfully.

"I remember clearly that the name 'Su Ling' is not on the Bitao Faction's points ranking list."

Lu Tao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and looked intently at Su Ling, casually asking, "What pseudonym are you using this time?"

"Uh... Han Yu."

Su Ling paused slightly upon hearing the question, then smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Pfft!"

Lu Tao instantly spat out the Spirit Tea he had just drunk, his eyes wide and round as he stared at Su Ling in disbelief. "You're saying... you are Han Yu?!"

"The Han Yu who caused the Qingming Faction such huge losses?!"

Su Ling had anticipated this reaction and could only nod helplessly. "Yes."

"Heavenly Venerable above! The 'Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator' whose name has been spreading across the Faction recently is actually you?!"

"A month ago, Zhao Lie mentioned to me that 'Han Yu' had arrived at Yangyuan Cave, and I even told him to suppress the news."

Lu Tao abruptly stood up, his face stunned, and muttered to himself, "That woman Liu Muyao previously declared that she would definitely recruit this 'Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator' under her command... I never expected, never expected, that this famous Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator would be my good brother Lu Tao's!"

"Haha! Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!"

Once Lu Tao recovered, he stepped forward, wrapped an arm around Su Ling's neck, and burst into laughter.

The force was familiar and intimate, just as relaxed as when the two of them had sailed across the sea years ago, watching the ocean side by side at the bow of the ship.

Facing Lu Tao's demeanor, Su Ling felt quite amused and helpless.

He didn't know why, but he felt that Lu Tao didn't seem to care about his identity as the 'Azure Thunder Demonic Cultivator'.

Instead, he seemed more concerned with the fact that this identity could make the top-ranked Liu Muyao suffer a setback.