Chapter 388 – 「Guardian Deity」

In recorded human history, the youngest Upper-Rank Professional had been twenty-three years old at the time of their promotion.

Su Ming was only eighteen, an extremely rare Dual Professional, yet he had trained both professions to the upper-rank level. Even No.3 of the ‘Ten Demons’ was no match for him, easily crushed by his power.

Coupled with his possession of a legendary Divine Artifact, each of these achievements and extraordinary traits spread like wildfire. In a place like Tianfeng City, it would be strange if he weren’t the center of attention.

Su Ming didn’t even need to pull out his Terminal to confirm it; he could imagine that at this very moment, Tianfeng City’s official website must be flooded with reports about him.

“There’s no hiding anymore.”

Su Ming sighed dejectedly.

“Why?” Old Ling asked, somewhat puzzled. “Aren’t you happy?”

“Why should I be happy?” Su Ming sighed again. “I feel like I see endless troubles rushing toward me. What’s there to be happy about?”

If nothing else, just the identity of being a Divine Artifact holder alone made Su Ming anticipate how much attention and scrutiny it would draw from those with ulterior motives.

Back when the news of Ming Wang obtaining a Divine Artifact spread, even the Yun Family Estate and the Xu Family were implicated, harassed by countless external forces who came probing, threatening, or tempting—all for the legendary artifact said to grant terrifying power.

The Divine Artifact lived up to its reputation. That girl Qing Qing, wielding the Great Sin Blade, could suppress a wounded Nightmare Species Mutant in battle. Even Li Wu had to resort to extreme measures to control her, clearly wary of her power. Su Ming’s own Demon Emperor Sword surely wouldn’t be any less formidable.

Such power, though dangerous, would undoubtedly attract countless covetous eyes.

Even if he didn’t use it himself, like how 『Sin』 was handed over to the girl Qing Qing, he could rely on some extreme methods to control her and use her to achieve hidden agendas. Wouldn’t that be just as effective?

So, Su Ming dared say that his recent exposure had certainly drawn the gaze of countless people.

In the future, his troubles were likely to be immense.

“That’s true,” Old Ling nodded in deep agreement, but then his tone shifted abruptly. “Provided I’m not here.”

Su Ming was taken aback.

What did that mean?

“I mean, I’ll handle your troubles for you,” Old Ling said, smiling at Su Ming’s confused expression. “Though I’m not like the other old-timers who have either a large Family or a major faction under their command, believe me, if I put out the word that you’re under my protection, no one in Tianfeng City would dare trouble you openly.”

As he spoke, Old Ling’s tone wasn’t particularly confident but rather calm and detached. It was precisely this demeanor that made his words convincing.

“You don’t need to worry about the troubles those schemers might bring. I’ll shield you from them.”

Old Ling spoke these words with a smile, leaving Su Ming momentarily speechless.

After a moment, Su Ming scratched his head.

“It seems you’re an even more remarkable figure than I imagined, Old Ling,” Su Ming said, looking directly at him. “But why are you helping me?”Old Ling did not deny that he had his own considerations and was not simply acting out of kindness.

“I naturally have my reasons,” Old Ling stated.

“I’d like to hear the details,” Su Ming responded, unwilling to let the old man brush him off so easily.

“There are two reasons,” Old Ling glanced at Su Ming before leisurely explaining. “The first is that I recognize your potential and don’t want to see an unprecedented Prodigy like you—perhaps one that will never appear again—to perish at the hands of fellow humans.”

From Old Ling’s perspective, allowing a super Genius like Su Ming, unparalleled in both past and future, to fall to his own kind would be utterly foolish. With Su Ming’s potential and strength, he ought to be humanity’s sharpest Saber against the Spirit Demon Abyss. Even if he were to die, it should be at the hands of Phantom Demons on the battlefield. For him to perish in internal human conflicts would become a stain etched into human history. Thus, Old Ling chose to intervene.

“The second reason is quite similar—it still comes down to your potential. However, this time it’s because I personally want you to become my successor.”

Su Ming blinked at Old Ling’s words. “Successor?” he questioned, puzzled.

Seeing this, Old Ling wore a bitter smile. “It seems you truly don’t know who I am,” he said, both amused and exasperated. “Why don’t you use your Terminal to search for the name ‘Ling Xiao’?”

“Ling Xiao?” Su Ming muttered. Could this be Old Ling’s real name? Hmm, it sounds quite domineering, almost like the protagonist from those cliché web novels.

With that thought, Su Ming took out his Terminal and searched for “Ling Xiao.” The results left him utterly stunned.

“Ling Xiao: Seven-Star Professional, Guardian Deity of Tianfeng City.”

“He belongs to no noble family or faction, yet holds supreme status in Tianfeng City.”

“He serves as the Chairman of the highest Seven-Star Council in Tianfeng City, leading all Seven-Star Professionals. He stands as the most influential, powerful, and authoritative figure in the city—even the Royal Family governing Tianfeng City reveres him as a deity.”

“In the current era, he is universally acknowledged as the strongest Hunter and the most powerful Professional, hailed as humanity’s Ultimate Weapon, peerless across the world.”

Though the information was brief—just a few lines—each word carried earth-shattering weight. In that moment, only one thought crossed Su Ming’s mind: “Damn, he really is the protagonist from those cliché web novels!”

Guardian Deity of Tianfeng City? Leader of the Seven-Star Professionals? The strongest Professional? Peerless in the world? With titles like these, even if he weren’t the protagonist, he might as well be!

Su Ming could only stare in astonishment at Old Ling, who watched him with an amused expression. He never imagined this old man had such an immense background. No wonder he dared claim he could shield Su Ming from all troubles. This was the thickest thigh in Tianfeng City, the most intimidating big shot. If he decided to support Su Ming, who would dare oppose him? Not even the Eight Great Families would, right?

“Wait…”Su Ming suddenly noticed a key point.

“You’re a Hunter?”

That’s right.

On the official website of Tianfeng City, it was clearly stated that this Old Ling before him was the strongest Hunter.

But… wasn’t he a Sorcerer?

Su Ming was completely baffled.

In response, Old Ling merely made his expression appear even more enigmatic, somewhere between a smile and not.

“I am a Hunter,” Old Ling stated, “but I am also a Sorcerer.”

Upon hearing this, Su Ming immediately understood everything.

“You… you’re also a Dual Professional?”

Su Ming’s even more profound astonishment was met with Old Ling’s smiling nod.

“I am a Seven-Star Hunter, and also a Six-Star Sorcerer, which is why I don’t belong to any Family.”

“Because I wasn’t born as a natural Hunter from a Hunter Family, but rather a Sorcerer who awakened a Spirit Constitution.”

“It’s just that, by a twist of fate, I was forced to consume a Phantom Demon Potion and ultimately succeeded in surviving the abysmally low probability, becoming a Dual Professional.”

Old Ling looked at Su Ming as if seeing a kindred spirit.

“That’s why I want you to become my successor—because aside from myself, you’re the only Dual Professional I’ve ever encountered.”

Why was Old Ling considered the strongest Professional?

Not only because he was the strongest Hunter, but also because he possessed Six-Star Sorcerer capabilities.

Su Ming had heard that once one reaches Seven-Star, limited by Bloodline and spiritual Rank, humans can no longer progress further.

Therefore, after reaching Seven-Star, Professionals no longer have distinctions like beginner, lower stage, upper stage, or Peak—they are all uniformly called Seven-Star Professionals, with their strength existing at the same level, differing only in combat techniques, battle experience, and so on.

Unlike other Ranks, where the gap between a beginner and a Peak-level practitioner of the same star level remains quite pronounced.

Thus, the difference in strength among Seven-Star Professionals isn’t substantial.

For one Seven-Star Professional to defeat another is extremely difficult, nearly impossible.

Unless the opponent is not in top condition, or there’s a clear advantage in conditions between the two.

For instance, if one Seven-Star Professional wields a top-grade alchemical weapon while another has only a Low Grade one, the former would naturally hold a significant advantage.

However, as beings at the pinnacle of humanity, Seven-Star Professionals are unlikely to have such meager assets.

Whether in combat arts, Spirit Arts, alchemical weapons, battle experience, combat methods, or fighting techniques—these Seven-Star Professionals, having reached the Peak of humanity, generally don’t have major disparities.

Even though Old Ling is acclaimed as the strongest Hunter, Su Ming could confidently say that if he relied solely on his Hunter abilities to fight other Seven-Star Hunters of the same level, the difference wouldn’t be vast—at most, he’d hold a slight edge due to combat arts and other aspects.

Of course, if one Seven-Star Hunter possesses a powerful mutation ability while another does not, the gap between them would be quite noticeable.However, even so, as beings of the same Rank, it is not easy for one side to easily defeat the other unless they possess a Heaven-Defying level of mutated ability like Su Ming’s [Silver Arm].

Yet, Old Ling is not only a Hunter but also a Sorcerer.

A Dual Professional—this is entirely incomparable to others of the same Rank.

Just look at Su Ming.

Even without using Spirit Arts, relying solely on his extraordinary Spirit Sense and the power of his right hand, Su Ming can challenge those above his Rank.

Even without factoring in the power of his right hand or his mutated abilities, challenging those above his Rank is not difficult based solely on his strength as a Dual Professional.

Old Ling is a Seven-Star Hunter and also a Six-Star Sorcerer. When combined, his strength likely far surpasses that of other experts of the same Rank.

This is the advantage and power of a Dual Professional.

If it weren’t for this, Su Ming wouldn’t have taken such great risks back then to gamble on the abysmal success rate of becoming a Dual Professional.

It is precisely because of the strength of Dual Professionals that Su Ming was willing to pursue it.

And Old Ling clearly has his eye on Su Ming’s identity as a Dual Professional.

“I have always been troubled, wondering what would happen to Tianfeng City and the human race if I were to pass away one day.”

“Seven-Star Professionals are indeed powerful, but to be called the Guardian Deity of humanity and become humanity’s trump card, that alone is not enough.”

“Among Phantom Demons, the Nightmare Species already possess power approaching the Seven-Star level, and the elites among them can rival human Seven-Star Professionals, standing against the top existences among humanity.”

“But above the Nightmare Species, there are Nightmare Species Mutants, and even terrifying beings like the Terror Species that even I fear.”

“If such beings were to appear, would humanity have to rely on massive sacrifices to perform Forbidden Arts every time just to fend off their invasions?”

Old Ling gazed intently at Su Ming.

“If things continue like this, when will it ever end?”

Old Ling clearly harbors a great sense of crisis and is deeply concerned about humanity’s current state.

He knows all too well that humanity’s strength is truly insufficient compared to the Phantom Demons.

He himself has saved humanity countless times in various crises.

And each of those crises could not be resolved by just one or two Seven-Star Professionals alone.

“Humanity needs greater power, a trump card stronger than Seven-Star Professionals.”

“I have always wanted to find a successor to shelter Tianfeng City and the human race from storms in the future.”

“Unfortunately, Dual Professionals are far too rare, with an occurrence probability even lower than those so-called Spirit Bearers.”

Old Ling sighed.

“At least, to my knowledge, I am the only Dual Professional in the world today. The last Dual Professional before me was a figure from two hundred years ago, and they were only a Three-Star Hunter and a Four-Star Sorcerer.”

If it were just about being a Dual Professional, one or two might appear through Heaven-Defying luck.

But even if one becomes a Dual Professional, whether they have the potential and talent to climb to the pinnacle is another matter entirely.

Among the countless Hunters in the world, how many can become Seven-Star Hunters?

Among the countless Sorcerers in the world, how many can become Seven-Star Sorcerers?There are only a dozen or so in the entire Tianfeng City, and merely a few dozen across the entire human race, which already demonstrates the scarcity of Seven-Star Professionals.

Thus, even if one could become a Dual Professional, the likelihood of reaching the pinnacle and advancing to Seven-Star in both professions is extremely low.

Even someone like Old Ling has not yet reached the Seven-Star level in his Sorcerer abilities, which serves as a clear example.

“I had almost given up and was planning to find a successor with exceptional talent, either possessing a powerful mutation ability or having mastered an extraordinary Spirit Art.”

Old Ling suddenly burst into hearty laughter.

“Until you appeared, and I finally regained hope.”

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(End of Chapter)