Countless great masters sensed the aura of the old man from afar.
Some of the elders who had been living in seclusion for years were awakened by his presence too.
After years of penance, they walked out of their secret chambers, gazing at the old man in the distance.
The whole of Sword Cosmos trembled slightly due to the tremendous power of the aura.
An abnormal amount of spiritual senses were aimed at this old man,
and Austin was all but forgotten.
As they tried to perceive the old man, the masters' faces turned pale with fear.
When their spiritual senses had almost reached the old man, they were immediately repelled by a
powerful force.
The old man was enveloped in a layer of faint runes, which isolated and protected him from any
intrusions.
Even the governing gods couldn't perceive him.
'Master Rumble?'
Austin overheard the discussions in the Sword Cosmos and became more curious about the old man in
front of him.
If this man and Master Sword were from the same generation, then there was no doubt that he was of
very high status.
"I'm flattered, sir,"
Austin replied in a humble tone.
He could tell that the old man was being friendly towards him.
Austin could be overbearing and rude to his enemies, but he was polite to those who deserved it.
This old man demanded respect, and Austin was more than happy to oblige.
"Young man, I never flatter anyone who doesn't deserve it.
Given your talent, you will reach the ultimate stage one day and become a legend who will be
remembered eternally,"
the old man said. His voice was calm and his words carried so much weight.
'The ultimate stage?'
Despite his peaceful tone, his words caused a wave of sensation among the eavesdroppers.
Every governing god in the vicinity heard the old man's words very clearly.
The ultimate stage—they knew what that meant.
There was not a single governing god who didn't understand the meaning of those words.
It was their final goal to reach that stage; however, it was just too difficult to attain.
Since the beginning of the Sword Cosmos, there had never been a single cultivator who could reach
that ultimate stage.
But here might be an exception—Austin.
If anyone could reach the ultimate stage, it was him, which made every governing god envious of him.
But they regretfully had to admit that he was indeed an unprecedented genius.
If this old man was the real Rumble, then his words could not be taken lightly.
"Is Austin really qualified to reach the ultimate stage?"
They were unwilling to accept it, even though it was the mere truth.
Austin kept his eyes on the old man. He decided to tread carefully.
The old man had an unfathomable aura, and it was impossible to tell how powerful he really was. There
were no energy or law fluctuation around him.
He looked more like an ordinary old man who had never cultivated in his life.
But that was just how truly strong masters were. The bountiful power only served to make him seem
humbler than ordinary masters.
Needless to say, Austin was a little overwhelmed by the presence. He really didn't imagine running into
such a powerful master out of nowhere.
He had never even heard of such a strong master till this day. He quickly figured that the old man could
have been in seclusion for a long time, indifferent about the affairs of the cosmos.
So, no one knew of his existence.
'No matter how strong you are, there is always someone stronger,'
Austin thought.
"Sir, is there anything you need from me?" he asked cautiously.
The old man smiled in response.
"Well, nothing much. I was just curious about you. You are a brilliant young man,"
he said, beaming.
Austin wanted to open his mouth to answer, but couldn't find the right words. He was surprised by the
old man's unexpected reply.
Since he remained clueless, the old man spoke again.
"There is no doubt that your fighting power has surpassed most of the governing gods, but there is a
problem."
"Problem? Please sir, advise me,"
Austin asked.
The old man smiled again.
"Advise? No, young man. It's just my opinion,"
the old man said, shaking his head slightly.
Before continuing, he gently waved his hand and released a powerful time and space law to isolate
their surroundings.
Now, no one could listen in on their conversation.
He continued, "Your biggest problem right now is the huge gap between your realm and your fighting
prowess.
Although the realm doesn't directly affect the fighting ability, it is not entirely irrelevant.
Every realm of cultivation has its own mysteries.
Something that only exists there.
If you don't climb through each of those levels, the secret messages of the realms will forever be out of
your reach.
Young man, it is indeed true that your current fighting power is equivalent to a governing god, but you
are only a genuine premium-grade divine god.
You rely solely on the great cosmos force and your advanced swordsmanship to excel.
But even though you are able to defeat a governing god now, there are some mystical capabilities of
the realm of the governing god that you will never be able to comprehend unless you reach that level.
So, it is my opinion that the most urgent and important task for you at present is to improve your realm.
Given your talent, your cultivation goal should be set to reach the ultimate stage.
If you don't improve your realm, you may never be able to achieve that goal."
Austin listened to the master attentively.
When he finally spoke, his voice was filled with sincere gratitude.
"Sir, you have indeed enlightened me.
Thank you for the advice.
I will take it to heart and do as you say."
In order to deal with Humphrey, Austin had been thinking of ways to quickly enhance his fighting power.
And just as the master had said, he had indeed neglected the enhancement of the realm.
The old man's words provided Austin with a clearer understanding of his own situation.
"No need for such big words. This is just my personal opinion.
Young man, remember this. The stronger you are, the more difficult it will become for you to make
further progress.
Therefore, no matter what, you cannot stop your cultivation.
There are also some ancient secret skills you can try.
For example, you can build temples and statues and make the creatures pray for you.
It can gather a large amount of power of faith to strengthen your spiritual soul.
Your body has become indestructible, but your spiritual soul hasn't reached the level of immortality yet.
This will help you on that path,"
the old man continued to offer more suggestions.
"Thank you, sir. I will give it a try,"
Austin replied.
He was aware of the ancient secret skill the old man mentioned, but didn't think much of it at the time
he had first heard of it.
It was hard to tell how effective it would be since there were countless skills that had spread since
ancient time.
However, since the old man recommended this one, it meant that this ancient method had a certain
amount of effectiveness.
"Young man, we were destined to meet here.
I will entrust you with an inheritance that is related to reincarnation. You may try to cultivate it."
Saying so, the old man sent a spiritual message to Austin's Soul Sea.
"The inheritance related to reincarnation?"
Austin asked, overjoyed.
"I will see you in the future, young man."
Soon, the old man's body turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared.
"Sir! Sir!"
Austin called out, a little surprised to see the old man leave so abruptly. He called out several times, but
there was no reply.
"He is indeed the legendary Rumble!
He was exactly the same as what had been recorded in the ancient books.
It is said that the walking stick in his hand was refined from a dragon bone!"
After a detailed observation, the seniors in the Sword Cosmos confirmed their previous
assumptions.
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