Albert frowned. "I don''t think that''s a good idea. Let''s take things slow and wait till he feels a sense of belonging in the department.”  "So, you''re saying you can''t vouch for him either?" said the bearded elder.


    Albert sighed. "I''m not denying that, but people like him are hard to cby. It''s best if we don''t trigger him, or we''ll be suffering a loss over nothing."  The two elders exchanged nces. "We respect your opinion, but you''re responsible for whateveres out of this."  "Don''t worry. I''ll take full responsibility and leave you two out of it," Albert smiled.


    The elders got up to leave, bowing to Albert.


    Albert chuckled, muttering to himself, "I''m already one foot in the grave. It hardly matters what | take responsibility for. What a useless threat to hold against me."  Later that night, a nended in Zend airport.


    Wilbur emerged from the arrival gates, taking in the sight before him.


    Seechertown was a first-tier city, with a long and rich history of sess and revolution.


    But Zend was a super first-tier city. It might not have been around as long as Seechertown had but was definitely far more advanced and developed inparison.


    Tall buildings lined every road, with more neon lights than starsing into sight when one looked up.


    ''Wow," Wilbur marveled to himself. He was about to find the nearest hotel he could stay in, thinking of reaching out to Sammy the next day.


    Yet just then, a colorful light rose from the mountains in the distance before fading the next second.


    N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Wilbur stopped short. "What the hell is that?"  He gave it sthought and leaped onto the top of the nearest building. He jumped from roof to roof, and it did not take long before he arrived at the foot of the mountain the light had cout of.


    After an hour of hikingter, Wilbur finally reached the mountain''s peak.


    There was a natural deck stretching out of the peak, overlooking the view beneath.


    On the deck was a straw house.


    There was a white-haired elder standing on the deck, looking out into the Zend night sky.


    Wilbur could not help but sigh. This was just scultivator who had advanced to another level after meditating in solitude.


    Wilbur did not have the heart to interrupt, so he turned to leave.


    Just then, the elder spotted Wilbur and called out in a bright and deep voice, "Young man, why not joinsince you call this way?"  Wilbur turned back, bowing to the elder. "I''m sorry, but | have something to tend to. I''ll be on my way now."  The elder frowned. "You were powerful enough to make it here, and you''re in the presence of power as well. Wouldn''t it be a shif we didn''t have a friendly spar?"  "I''ll have to pass. | wouldn''t want to disrupt your peace."  Friendly battles between cultivators were more than normal around here.


    But two strangers battling each other could turn ugly, and it could end in unwanted injuries or even death. Wilbur did not feel like partaking in that tonight.


    Nheless, the elder insisted, "Well, fight or lose. Take this."  The elder held out a wrist, and an enormous wave of spiritual energy surged forth.


    Wilbur frowned, pping the wave away, causing the spiritual energy to fade into the air.


    The elder lit up. "Incredible! | just cout of solitude today so I''m in a pretty good mood. How about | take you in as my pupil if you can endure three of my moves?"