Lin Mu looked at Jing Wei with the same resolve he had and did not feel strange about this. He had already experienced the way that Jing Wei tested him before and was confident that he would easily pass it, but had never expected that he would be suggesting something else.
"But the test will be you fighting, my granddaughter Duan Ke." Jing Wei declared.
Lin Mu felt surprised at this and didn't know what to think of this. He had a little idea that this could be a choice but had little expectations about it. In fact, even Senior Xukong had not expected this and had told him that he would be testing him the same way he had done before that.
"Hmm, what is he thinking? I thought he wanted to hide their identities and capabilities. Seems like it doesn't matter to him anymore." Xukong spoke in Lin Mu's mind.
Not only were Lin Mu and Xukong surprised by this, but Duan Ke herself was too. She had not expected for her grandfather to suggest this. In her mind, her grandfather had always been calculative and careful and never the one to take the risks.
But what he had just suggested had overturned that idea that she had in her mind. Though she could understand his perspective on this. They had already known that Lin Mu had a certain kind of protection on him, and the previous method was likely to be useless.
Thus Jing Wei decided to use this method. It was a rather straightforward method and would ensure that they actually got the proper results. This way they would not be the only losing party, and Lin Mu would have to reveal his fighting strength as well.
'Let's see how good is the kid that a being such as that will take him under his wing.' Jing Wei thought to himself.
"Alright, I accept. But how do we go about this?" Lin Mu finally replied.
"It will be straightforward. I know you are not in the core condensation realm and thus will be mismatched against Duan Ke. Hence, all you need to do is last for five minutes against her and I will declare you a winner." Jing Wei explained.
Lin Mu could not find any doubts about it and neither did Duan Ke have any apprehensions with it. In fact, she had not fought properly in a while and was now looking forward to it.
'I wonder if he will be able to make me use my full strength.' Duan Ke thought to herself.
At first, she thought she would be overestimating Lin Mu, but then remembered what kind of person she was against. But still, to get a more accurate idea and ensure that it was fair, she decided to ask Lin Mu about it.
"What is your cultivation base, though? I don't want to be unfair." Duan Ke spoke up.
Lin Mu felt a little good in his heart that Duan Ke actually thought of this and did not start rightaway. Though he would have not minded it either way. He had lasted against a wave of spirit beasts and a core condensation beast for about an hour.
Lin Mu thought that it would be easy for him to last mere five minutes against Duan Ke.
"Don't be overconfident! Remember this is not a beast you're fighting and neither is she a half-baked cultivators like the ones you've been fighting. She has a proper foundation and would be a tough match. If you don't focus, you will no doubt lose." Xukong chided immediately as soon as he sensed Lin Mu's thoughts.
Lin Mu was a little taken aback by Senior Xukong's harsh tone, but then realized the meaning behind it.
"I'm sorry, senior. I will keep your advice in my mind." Lin Mu apologized.
"That's good. Now focus on your opponent, I won't help you this time. I want to see how you fare against a well trained cultivator as well." Xukong declared.
Lin Mu's eyes brightened with determination and he wanted to make Senior Xukong proud. He had taken it upon his heart to defeat Duan Ke now and would try to defeat her at any price that he could. In fact, Lin Mu was wondering if he should use his skills that were bestowed by the ring.
"No, you shall not use them. This will be a fight of pure prowess, I can guess what that man Jing Wei is thinking. He wants to assess your skill level and wants to see if you're worthy of a spirit weapon, perhaps." Xukong spoke.
Lin Mu heard his words and was surprised by some parts.
"Senior, you mean…" Lin Mu muttered.
"Yes, he may be thinking of giving you a spear at the same level as your short sword." Xukong interrupted.
Lin Mu had never expected that this would be the case. He would be happy with a normal low grade spirit spear for now and did not mind if he would be getting one. But now that he had the hope that he would be getting one on the same level as his spirit sword, he was motivated even more.
Lin Mu had learned from Senior Xukong about the grades of spirit weapons and knew how much of a difference they can make in the long run. Although Lin Mu could not use the full potential of his short sword right now with his current cultivation level, he knew that it will be much more useful later on.
Senior Xukong Had told him that according to his estimation, Low grade spirit weapons should be the most common in this world and should be the basic level weapon that a cultivator used. The mid grade spirit weapon was something that rich core condensation and nascent soul cultivators would use.
While High grade weapons would be used by cultivators that were either rich nascent soul cultivators or Dao shell realm cultivators. As for the peak grade weapons, it was likely that only Dao treading realm cultivators had access to them.