11: A confirmation from a powerful figure—a Saint-level martial skill!?

Jiang Hao arrived at the Martial Unification Bureau early and followed Captain Qin to the top floor.

"Brother Qin, am I meeting someone? Are they from Yunxiao City?"

It wasn't surprising Jiang Hao thought this; as soon as he messaged Captain Qin upon arrival, the captain rushed over, grabbed his wrist, and headed for the elevator.

The usually steady Captain Qin wasn't even eating a lollipop today!

After the elevator reached the top floor, Jiang Hao stepped out.

Captain Qin patted his shoulder.

"Go in by yourself. Remember to be sharp and polite. If that person asks you anything, answer as much as you can about what's appropriate to share."

"Don't be too nervous, just act natural."

Having said that, Captain Qin pressed the button for the first floor, ready to slip away.

Fine, fine, putting pressure on me right before the battle, are we?

Jiang Hao watched the descending elevator speechlessly and walked toward the room that was clearly a lounge.

Upon entering, he saw an old man with gray hair who didn't feel aged or decayed in the slightest.

The old man stood before the floor-to-ceiling window with his hands behind his back.

One could faintly see the old man's wrinkle-free face reflected in the glass. His eyes were closed as if he were waiting for someone.

"Do big shots always like to turn their backs on people?" Jiang Hao thought to himself, but his mouth moved quickly: "Hello, Leader!"

Well, Captain Qin didn't mention his identity, so calling him 'Leader' definitely can't be wrong.

Jiang Hao gave himself a thumbs-up.

The old man continued to look out the window and said, "Take a seat."

"I've come today simply to see how the Prodigy of my Yunxiao Prefecture compares to those from the major prefectures."

"Uh, I feel like I'm doing alright," Jiang Hao responded with zero emotional intelligence.

"More than just alright!"

The old man turned around and looked at Jiang Hao with burning eyes.

"Second Rank Peak combined with powerful physical strength..."

"Hmm, your spirit is also very strong. This is excellent! Your talent far exceeds my expectations."

"Unparalleled Physical Body and spiritual talent!"

"This means there will be no barriers for you before the ultimate leap to the Ninth Rank Peak! Furthermore, your probability of a Breakthrough to the Saint Rank far exceeds that of other Prodigies!"

Jiang Hao looked shocked—not because of the evaluation that he could reach the Saint Rank, but because his secrets were being laid bare!

Originally, Jiang Hao was prepared for his cultivation level to be exposed; he could claim his Physical Body talent was comparable to the Third Rank and no one would know better, let alone his spiritual strength.

The old man stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"Haha! Relax."

"Having good talent isn't something that can't be talked about."

"Rest assured, unless they are a Saint Rank Expert, an ordinary Ninth Rank can only see that your physical strength is Heaven-Defying."

"Ah?" Jiang Hao was startled. Was the old man in front of him a Saint Rank Expert?

Seeing Jiang Hao's look of disbelief, the old man nodded with pleasure and admitted: "I am the Prefecture Guardian Envoy of Yunxiao Prefecture, and also the only Saint-rank Martial Artist in our Yunxiao Prefecture!"

However, Jiang Hao's first reaction was: "Doesn't our Yunxiao Prefecture have no Martial Artists above the Ninth Rank?"

The Xia Kingdom has a total of Nine Prefectures.

And the Yunxiao Prefecture where Jiang Hao lived was ranked third from the bottom among them.

Resources were relatively scarce.

He had heard that the top three prefectures, such as Jiulong, Xingluo, and Guhuang, all had Martial Artists beyond the Ninth Rank stationed there for long periods.

The old man seemed to guess what Jiang Hao was thinking and said directly:

"In theory, I only follow instructions from the Imperial Capital and rarely take action."

"Furthermore, every ten years, I have to go to the Otherworld for rotation. That's why the outside world thinks the lower-ranked prefectures don't have Martial Artists above the Ninth Rank."

"Of course, the strength of the top three prefectures recognized by the outside world does indeed crush the other six."

"For example, the Xing Family in Xingluo Prefecture has several Saint-rank Martial Artists, and even a Councilor who has reached the 'Destiny Star' Realm!"

Speaking of this, the old man smiled and asked Jiang Hao again: "Young man, guess why the capital of Xingluo Prefecture was renamed Luoxing City?"

Jiang Hao had no idea and could only shake his head.

The old man seemed like those students in his past life who had gotten into prestigious universities and were showing off their talents to relatives and friends.

"Twenty years ago, when the old head of the Xing Family was fighting the Devil King of the Demon Clan—the natives of Otherworld No. 3—he smashed a star directly onto the Demon Clan's blood pool!"

"This caused the Demon Clan of Otherworld No. 3 to be nearly wiped out, and the Devil King was also Sealed by Councilor Xing."

"So, now you know why it's called Luoxing?"

"Now World No. 3 has been downgraded to the point where it doesn't even need a Saint-rank Martial Artist to guard it! Perhaps you'll even have the chance to travel to World No. 3 after you enter the Martial School."

"Bring back some local specialties while you're at it."

After saying that, the old man winked.

Jiang Hao listened with a look of longing; grabbing a star at will—he couldn't imagine if he could bring a star back to Earth.

He could just charge solar batteries directly and never have to worry about electricity bills again!

And the local specialties of the Otherworld... they wouldn't be the kind he was thinking of, right? Jiang Hao looked at the old man's serious expression and wasn't sure.

"Alright, we've strayed so far from the topic. Anyway, just go to the Shenzhou Martial Arts School with peace of mind."

"No one will mind a young person's talent being too strong. On the contrary, because your talent is strong enough, the Saint-rank Martial Artists at Shenzhou Martial Arts School will open back doors for you."

The old man added: "If you have any more questions, you can ask them now. Hmm... you can just call me Old Man Li."

Jiang Hao thought for a while and asked seriously: "Does Jinsha Prefecture have a Prefecture Guardian Envoy who has reached the Saint Rank like you?"

Jinsha Prefecture was the lowest-ranked prefecture in the Xia Kingdom, and it had no other Martial Schools besides Jinsha Martial School.

And it was in Jinsha Prefecture that Jiang Hao's parents had met with their accident while traveling.

The old man nodded: "All Nine Prefectures have a Saint Rank Expert guarding them; that is a necessity."

"Then why didn't that Prefecture Guardian Envoy take action when the 'Sacred Beast Society' held a blood sacrifice to open a portal to the Otherworld?" Jiang Hao said excitedly.

Elder Li was silent for a moment before saying:

"I think I understand what you're asking. The reason that Prefecture Guardian Envoy didn't act is simple:"

"Except for portals that already existed or those created by two worlds actively approaching each other, any other spatial portals actively created by humans will gradually annihilate."

"In other words, it would have failed even without that Ninth Rank from the military taking action."

"Because the portal would annihilate in the Chaos Void within a dozen seconds after losing the energy provided by that Saint Rank Sacred Beast."

"As for the 'Sacred Beast Society' organization, since they don't have any Martial Artists above the Ninth Rank, the Prefecture Guardian Envoy generally ignores them."

The old man said apologetically: "However, the Xia Kingdom is already preparing to clear out these pests. They didn't act before because the Xia Kingdom also needed an overt evil organization."

"If the 'Sacred Beast Society' were cleared out, other organizations would rise to become new cults. That's why the 'Sacred Beast Society' has been left until now."

"If you feel upset, Jiang Hao, next time I'll find an excuse to give that fellow from Jinsha Prefecture a beating."

Jiang Hao shook his head: "No need, Grandpa Li. I will settle the score with that Saint Rank Sacred Beast myself in the future!"

And of course, that 'Blood Shadow' who had vanished!

Elder Li nodded with satisfaction: "That's right, beat that fellow from Jinsha Prefecture later."

Do you have a grudge against the one from Jinsha Prefecture... Jiang Hao looked speechlessly at the eager Elder Li and said:

"Grandpa Li, I came today to get the High-rank Martial Skill I applied for. Is there a Martial Skill that has great power, long range, low consumption, and cool special effects?"

"Are you making a wish here?" A black line seemed to appear on Elder Li's forehead.

"Ordinary High-rank Martial Skills are useless for you to learn. You might as well learn my signature Martial Skill directly; it just so happens you also use a saber."

"Grandpa Li, what rank is the Martial Skill? Can it deal with enemies who can turn into shadows to dodge attacks?"

Elder Li stroked his beard, glanced at Jiang Hao, and said: "As long as you have enough Yuan Power, there's no enemy you can't deal with."

"That is my famous Martial Skill:"

Saint-rank Martial Skill—Flying Firmament Void-Breaking Slash!"