A large crowd was gathered at the north of the Cyclic Mirror Lake. They were all members of the Theocracy, here to watch the battle. They were expecting Tianming and Yang Yang to throw some insults at each other before fighting, but in the end, Tianming simply charged over after summoning his lifebound beast.
The commotion of their battle caused the lake water to roar violently. Lan Huang and Meow Meow went after the two Three-Eyed Crimsonsun Qilins. Right at that moment, an exclamation rang out from the surroundings, “Eighth-order saint beast! A total of eighty-seven stars!”
Ying Huo’s order had surpassed the lifebound beasts of everyone here. Even Autarch Yun’s lifebound beast was only on the same level as Meow Meow, only having eighty-five stars. So what did that mean? That meant the Decimo Dao Palace’s palace lord, Weisheng Yunxi, had given all the empyrean manna that the Decimo Dao Palace had gathered over the years to Tianming!
When the six Hall Kings saw that, their faces turned black and they almost vomited blood. After all, they also had a share in the Decimo Dao Palace. But now, the order of a disciple’s lifebound beasts was even higher than their own!
This fact alone was enough to make everyone narrow their eyes into slits, including Autarch Yun and Dongang Fengchen. A lifebound beast with eighty-seven stars was enough for everyone to divert their attention from the banquet. They watched as Yang Yang, the grandson of the exalted one, Chong Yang, fought with Tianming’s phoenix lifebound beast while wielding a Crimsonsun Heavy Sword. The Crimsonsun Heavy Sword was a saint beast weapon with over forty saintly heavenly patterns.
As for the two Three-eyed Crimsonsun Qilin, one of them was intercepted by the Regal Chaosfiend, which was shrouded in black lightning, and the other was facing the twin-headed dragon. When the battle began, one of the Three-eyed Crimsonsun Qilins was dragged into the Cyclic Mirror Lake and suppressed by Lan Huang.
Above the lake, the other Three-eyed Crimsonsun Qilin ferociously clashed with the Regal Chaosfiend. The two beasts were biting at each other, one side covered with flames while the other was filled with lightning. Their clash created sparks, highlighting Meow Meow’s Myriadfiend Venomfang.
Meow Meow and Lan Huang had instantly displayed a strength that was capable of crushing their opponents. But everyone’s attention was still on Ying Huo. In recent times, Ying Huo had endured the hardship it needed to, in order to remain the boss. At the same time, it also possessed a terrifying lethality that Meow Meow and Lan Huang didn’t have.
Shrouded in a hundred and seventy strands of Invincible Sword Ki, Ying Huo turned into a fiery blur, executing the Infernal Haze and splitting into countless clones. Hiding amidst the Infernal Haze, Ying Huo executed Pyros Imperius, accompanied by fifty strands of Invincible Flame Sword Ki.
Empowered by the Invincible Flame Sword Ki, the power of Pyros Imperius instantly reached a whole new level. And coupled with Ying Huo’s physical strength and infernal saint ki, the four-level difference in their stages was no longer that huge. Furthermore, Ying Huo was a lifebound beast who knew how to use a sky saint battle art along with the Invincible Sword Ki.
“Die!!” Ying Huo’s Wings of Agni tore through the air and instantly reached Yang Yang.
Letting out a huge roar, Yang Yang unleashed a slash with his heavy sword, containing the saint ki of an eighth-level Earth Saint and Crimsonsun Will, the Crimsonsun Heavy Crush.
The collision between Yang Yang and Ying Huo produced a huge commotion, and no one had thought that it was caused by the clash between a heavy sword and the wings of a lifebound beast. Moreover, Ying Huo had blown the Crimsonsun Heavy Sword away in the fight. After the sword was blown away, the Pyros Imperius was directed at Yang Yang’s head.
“AHHHHHH!” Yang Yang’s pupils widened when facing death. But in the next moment, he narrowly escaped and suddenly hit the ground.
So it turned out that he was pulled back from the battlefield by a silver whip right at the critical moment. The silver whip came from the Dazzling Pavilion’s pavilion lord, Meng Tingyu. But even so, Yang Yang’s face was pale. He couldn’t forget the fact that he had just faced a near-death scenario, and his legs were trembling when he stood up. A lifebound beast defeated me using a battle art?
“GRRWWWWOHHH!” Miserable cries came from the two Three-eyed Crimsonsun Qilins. Yang Yang didn’t even have the time to react before seeing his two lifebound beasts covered in blood and wounds. His eyes turned red and he immediately yelled out, “I give up! I admit defeat!”
He shivered when he saw his two lifebound beasts crawling over with trembling bodies. When he raised his head to look at Tianming again, his scalp had gone numb. He couldn’t accept the fact that Tianming had defeated him purely by relying on his lifebound beasts. Tianming was still being marked with the lifetime curse when Yang Yang had last seen him. Furthermore, Tianming had only fought against Qin Feng from the Ink Qilin Branch previously.
Qin Feng was in the eighth level of the Heavenly Will stage, while he was in the Earth Saint stage! The confusion and frustration Yang Yang felt immediately made him panic. He suddenly recalled what Dongyang Fengchen and the others said: they told him that if he wanted to go easy on Tianming, he had to make it look realistic, at the very least. But now, he felt that those words were simply a joke. He didn’t go easy and even gave it his all. But in the end, he had nearly died to a bird.
Tianming didn’t realize, nor would he care, that they actually wanted to go easy on him at all. After all, Su Yiran, the last person who went ‘easy’ on him, was in a terrible state.
Recalling his lifebound beasts, Tianming returned to his seat. He had easily won this battle without even lifting his finger. The banquet suddenly stilled, and even the blooming fireworks in the sky seemed to have gone quiet.
As for the three exalted ones of the Ancient Qilin Clan, they were dumbfounded. But when Yang Yang returned, their faces turned even uglier.
“Grandfather.”
“Don’t talk. Sit down.” Chong Yang said in frustration.
“Okay.” Yang Yang lowered his head in shame.
When Autarch Yun called for the event to continue, Meng Tingyu then resumed ‘drawing lots’ to arrange for others to fight.
“Father.” Dongyang Fengchen spoke out in a hoarse voice.
“I hear that you want to go easy on him and lure him to the Tomb of the Ancients?” Autarch Yun turned his head around.
“Yeah.”
“Don’t embarrass yourself. Send the strongest to fight. You can only go easy on someone if you qualify. If you don’t qualify, you’ll only be embarrassing yourself,” said Autarch Yun.
“Yes, father.” Half of Dongyang Fengchen’s face was black, and at this moment, the other half of his face had also turned a little darker.
“I just didn’t expect that the cultivation speed of a pentabane would be so fast,” Dongyang Fengchen frowned.
“Yeah. This brat is a tough nut. As for the other one, in the Grand-Orient Realm, he’s even harder to deal with. This time, you have to lure him into the Tomb of the Ancients. We’ll take down Tianming, then the other one if there’s an opportunity,” said Autarch Yun.
“Understood!” Dongyang Fengchen lowered his head. His eyes looked grim, and he asked, “Father, why do I have a feeling that our enemies seem to have increased?”
“It has nothing to do with you. If you can deal with Li Tianming, you’ll be able to sit firmly in the position of the crown prince,” said Autarch Yun.
“Understood!” Dongyang Fengchen replied, ferocity flaring in his eyes. He knew that he had to change his strategy now. Otherwise, it would be too fake if he got another eighth-level Earth Saint to target Tianming.
“I never imagined that your improvement would be so great. But that’s exactly what I want!” Bloodlust leaked from Dongyang Fengchen’s eyes the moment he lowered his head.
……
Ye Lingfeng was scheduled in the seventh battle. His opponent was Autarch Yun’s great-grandson, Dongyang Bo. Dongyang Bo was born to Autarch Yun’s third son, making him one generation younger than the crown prince and Dongyang Fengxiao. He was twenty-seven this year, and he was also in the eighth level of the Earth Saint stage!
Dongyang Bo’s talent was weaker than Jiang Yu and Dongyang Zhuo, but he was at least stronger than the latter. His cultivation was one level higher than Ye Lingfeng, and he had a hydra as his lifebound beast.
However, Ye Lingfeng still emerged victorious after a bitter fight. Before coming, Tianming had already emphasized to Ye Lingfeng not to kill anyone, so he had restrained himself even though he was furious.
After that battle, Dongyang Fengchen’s face had turned even darker. Dongyang Bo had no chance to go easy at all; he was utterly overwhelmed by Ye Lingfeng.
……
In a blink of an eye, the first round was over, with eighteen people progressing into the final fights. That meant the next battles would determine the nine entrants to the tomb.
It was soon Tianming’s turn again, and this would be his last battle in the banquet. His opponent was quickly determined: Jiang Fengyue.
“It looks like they’re trying to get back some face this time. Be careful. Jiang Fengyue is Autarch Yun’s nineteenth princess and was born to the Autarchess. Thus, she has the highest status among all the princesses. Her lifebound beast has eight heads, and she’s twenty-three this year. She’s not any older than you, but she’s already reached the pinnacle of the Earth Saint stage and is one of the strongest among the thirty-six participants,” Bai Mo noted in a soft voice.
“Got it.”
He would be facing a true genius from the Theocrats. Her age was practically the same as Tianming’s, and having a lifebound beast with eight heads represented a top talent in the Theocracy, second only to Dongyang Fengchen.
Yuwen Taiji was also in the pinnacle of the Earth Saint stage, but he probably wouldn’t have been Jiang Fengyue’s opponent. After all, Yuwen Taiji’s lifebound beast was a fifth-order saint beast, and Jiang Fengyue’s lifebound beast should be at least a seventh-order empyrean beast.
Jiang Fengyue had an irritable temperament. When she heard her name announced by Meng Tingyu, she directly stepped into the Cyclic Mirror Lake, as if she had known the outcome a long time ago. Her clothes were tightly bound to her body, and her skin was on the darker side. Her legs looked smooth and powerful, adding a wild air around her.
“Li Tianming, come up!” Jiang Fengyue hooked her finger. She knew that she would lose, but she still had to defend the Theocrats’ dignity. As for the resentment that she accumulated during the process, she could only wait until her brother returned from the Tomb of the Ancients.
After all, when Tianming showed the strength to overwhelm Yang Yang, it would seem too fake if they arranged another eighth-level Earth Saint to be Tianming’s opponent. Not to mention that only eighteen people remained, and there weren’t many eighth-level Earth Saints left. Honestly speaking, she felt that they were overcomplicating this matter. No matter how they made arrangements, Tianming would still enter the Tomb of the Ancients.
……
“You’re Dongyang Fengchen’s biological sister?” Tianming entered the Cyclic Mirror Lake.
“What about it?” Jiang Fengyue asked, narrowing her eyes into slits.
“Your appearance isn’t that impressive,” said Tianming.
Jiang Fengyue immediately flew into a rage when she heard that. Just that sentence alone made her struggle within her heart. If the Decimo Dao Palace wasn’t in the way, she would kill Tianming. Her father was the Primeval Autarch, and she couldn’t believe that there was someone she couldn’t kill, besides her siblings.
“Die!” Jiang Fengyue immediately charged over.
“It’s not my fault that you were born ugly. And you don’t let others talk about it now?” It had only taken a glance for Tianming to know that Jiang Fengyue had a poor temper. He only needed to throw out a slight provocation for her to lose her composure.
His insults made Jiang Fengyue even more furious. When Jiang Fengyue summoned her lifebound beasts, it had taken Tianming aback. He never expected that she was also a triple beastmaster. She was the third triple beastmaster that Tianming had seen, aside from himself.
Interestingly, they were all females. But among the three of them, the formation of Jiang Fengyue’s lifebound beasts was a lot more terrifying than the other two. She had three empyrean beasts, with seventy-two stars each. They might be inferior to Tianming’s lifebound beasts, but they were a lot stronger than Ning Wushuang’s.
Jiang Fengyue’s lifebound beasts were three Black Nethervenom Sydras, with a total of twenty-four heads. Although sydras weren’t as powerful as hydras, they were more vicious.
The three Black Nethervenom Sydras were clearly ice- and poison-type lifebound beasts, which meant the Cyclic Mirror Lake was their homeground. They were also covered with scaly armor. Looking at them, even Ying Huo, who had never rejected females, couldn’t help muttering, “They’re hideous.…”
The two beastmasters summoned a spectacle, with a total of six lifebound beasts taking the field. This would clearly be the most exciting battle in the banquet, and it attracted everyone’s attention. Tianming and Ying Huo were soaring in the sky, while Meow Meow stood on Lan Huang’s head.
“Screw them up!” Ying Huo ordered.
The hot-blooded kid, Lan Huang, immediately issued a roar in response, raising a tidal wave with its voice. Surfing through the lake with incredible speed, Lang Huang charged toward the three sydras.
With its enormous size, it didn’t seem like a problem for Lan Huang to take on the three sydras, but the sydras had higher cultivation. Fortunately, Tianming, Ying Huo, and Meow Meow were right above Lan Huang, so they immediately charged forth and joined the battle.
Just before the two sides clashed, the lifebound beasts had already unleashed their abilities. Meow Meow executed the Misty Hellthunder and Chaos Disaster, Ying Huo used the Sixpath Infernal Lotus, and Lan Huang set up the Mountainsea World.
But right at that moment, the sydras sank their heads into the water, causing it to turn black at a frightening speed. It was their spiritsource ability, Nethersea Venom. With this ability, they could turn the Cyclic Mirror Lake into a pure venom.
It would be a problem for Tianming and his lifebound beasts if they came in contact with the water. But fortunately, they all had shields.
Lan Huang had the Mountainsea World, Meow Meow had the Ninefold Chaos Thunderscape, and Ying Huo had the Infernal Armor. Moreover, it could also share the Infernal Armor with Tianming. After Ying Huo had reached eighty-seven stars, the Infernal Armor was further strengthened.
When the venom came in contact with the Infernal Armor, it produced a sizzling sound. But despite that, the venom wasn’t able to penetrate the armor.
“Kill!”
The Black Nethervenom Sydras’ abilities were lethal, so they had to ensure their defenses. Then again, Tianming’s lifebound beasts’ abilities also brought a huge threat to the three sydras, especially Meow Meow’s thunder. When lightning spread through the lake, it drew cries from the sydras.
Right at that moment, the close-combat maniac, Lan Huang, collided with a sydra. The collision made the sydra furious and it sprayed out poisonous mist all around it as it bit at Lan Huang. Its eight heads were agile, and in addition to its tail, it brought the ferocity of the battle to a whole new level.
“Shrew, watch my sword!” Ying Huo flew between the eight heads using Infernal Haze, dodging all kinds of fatal attacks.
“Holy shit, where are your balls?” Ying Huo was stunned.
“Brother chick, are you stupid? They’re female, so how can they have balls?” Meow Meow mocked.
“Whatever. I’ve been tortured by Invincible Sword Ki for the past month, and now it’s their turn to have a taste of pain!” Ying Huo was furious whenever it thought about the Invincible Sword Ki.
The battle was chaos, and amidst that chaos, Tianming made his move. He was now filled with confidence for his lifebound beasts. Under the cover of their abilities, he directly charged over to Jiang Fengyue.
Jiang Fengyue wielded a slender sword, the Darknorth Sword, which had fifty saintly heavenly patterns. It was crimson, and anyone could tell that it was a murderous weapon with a glance.
“This sword of mine was drenched in the blood of 1865 people, and there will be another one today!” Jiang Fengyue executed her sky saint battle art, Frostwind Ocean.
“Do you take pride in how many you’ve slain?” Tianming positioned the Grand-Orient Sword and separated it into two.
“Killing will make me better!” Jiang Fengyue’s eyes turned red.
Jiang Fengyue’s sword ki covered the sky, lowering the surrounding temperature. When her technique was executed, Tianming felt as if he had been thrown into an icy purgatory, and the temperature made him tremble. Even his Infernal Armor had a hard time enduring it. But when the Celestial Wings unfolded, he shuttled through the sky like a bolt of thunder.
He retaliated with the Shenxiao Sword Art’s fourth move, empowered by a hundred strands of Invincible Sword Ki. Despite wielding two swords, he only used one in his attack. The hundred Invincible Sword Ki strands rushed into the black Grand-Orient Sword, merging the thunder, ice, water, and earth sword ki together. When the might of the sword was unleashed, it left the audience shocked.
“Hundred-Demise Sword!” Many people instantly recognized the technique. They watched as Jiang Fengyue fell into a disadvantageous position and her sword broke into five segments. Tianming hadn’t just overwhelmed Jiang Fengyue, but had destroyed her sword as well.
When the Darknorth Sword broke, Tianming’s golden Grand-Orient Sword stabbed toward Jiang Fengyue’s throat. He only cared about killing; it was the Dazzling Pavilion pavilion lord's responsibility to save Jiang Fengyue.
Sure enough, right when the golden Grand-Orient Sword was about to stab Jiang Fengyue, she disappeared. There was no way Meng Tingyu would allow Autarch Yun’s princess to die here.
But Tianming’s next action was outrageous. He immediately turned around and charged toward a sydra, slicing off one of its heads in an instant. When he swung again, the lifebound beast was also dragged out of the battlefield by Meng Tingyu.
There were still two other sydras on the battlefield, but they were quickly removed from the battlefield by Meng Tingyu. With that, this battle had come to an end. Although he had only managed to chop off one head, he still came to a stop. After all, his opponent was no longer on the battlefield.
Tianming clapped his hands and returned to the banquet. This time, he couldn’t be bothered to throw out any provocation and simply returned to Bai Mo’s side.
“That was great!” Bai Xiaozhu exclaimed out.
“It’s nothing,” Tianming said modestly.
“Is it too late for me to change husbands?” Situ Yiyi asked.
“Get lost!” Bai Xiaozhu smiled bitterly. But aside from them, the banquet was in dead silence.
Everyone looked at Jiang Fengyue and the hilt of her broken sword, sitting on the ground looking blankly before turning to Tianming, who seemed like nothing had happened. Everyone remembered that Tianming’s cultivation was only at Dongyang Zhuo’s level a month ago. At this moment, they finally knew why the Decimo Dao Palace lord had given Tianming the three empyrean manna.
For a brief moment, even masters of the Divine Capital could feel their scalps tingling at Tianming’s rapid growth, especially the Theocrats. Even the crown prince, Dongyang Fengchen, and Autarch Yun felt the same.
Silence enveloped the banquet. Autarch Yun wanted Jiang Fengyue to fight because he wished for Tianming to enter the Tomb of the Ancients, and at the same time, not to make the loss seem too bad. But now, it was humiliating to see Jiang Fengyue completely crushed by Tianming. It was something that not even he had expected.
After today, it was likely that the younger generation of the Theocrats would have a tough time raising their heads before Tianming. Perhaps the only good news was that Tianming must enter the Tomb of the Ancients, since he had taken one of the nine spots. But right now, he could only bear with it.
……
“Your Highness, Fengyue.…” Dongyang Fengxiao’s words were stuck in his throat. He knew that even if he was twenty-eight, it wasn’t guaranteed that he could defeat his younger sister. But Jiang Fengyue had been utterly crushed, defeated by the Hundred-Demise Sword.
“He chopped off the head of Fengyue’s lifebound beast, right?” asked the crown prince.
“Yeah.”
“You’ve not gone up yet, right?”
“Yeah.” Dongyang Fengxiao shook his head.
“Li Tianming is strong, and he’s practically invincible in the Earth Saint stage. But the strength of his brother, Ye Lingfeng, is only comparable to an eighth-level Earth Saint at best. Go tell Qingqing to have her mother arrange for you to fight Ye Lingfeng. The pavilion lord will know what to do. Take this opportunity to chop off one of his arms,” said the crown prince.
“We’re not letting Ye Lingfeng into the Tomb of the Ancients?”
“No need. He’s just one of Tianming’s small fry. He’s nothing. But Tianming will surely be furious if something happens to him. We’ll take our revenge first, otherwise all of us will have too much grievance pent up,” said the crown prince.
“Understood. What if I accidentally killed him if the pavilion lord’s too slow?” Dongyang Fengxiao asked.
“Oh, then that’d be a piece of good news,” replied the crown prince.
