What did Li Zifeng have to fear? He was already at seventh level Beast Vein, even stronger than Li Tianming had been four years ago! He instantly appeared behind Li Tianming, intending to knock him out by striking his foe’s nape with a well-placed palm.
They no longer belonged to the same world. Further words would just be a waste of breath.
“Father will definitely appreciate my decisiveness!”
The crowd watched with bated breath as his attack landed.
A solid thump rang out as Li Tianming suddenly raised his left arm to block the blow! Under normal circumstances, Li Tianming’s left arm would have shattered. However, contrary to everyone’s expectations, Li Zifeng stumbled back several steps, clutching a trembling right arm. The hand he’d used to attack was bright red, and was beginning to turn slightly purple.
“You wrapped your hand up in a layer of metal?” Li Zifeng clenched his teeth as he hissed.
“It was your hand that was too weak,” Li Tianming replied.
“Trying to act all mysterious?” Li Zifeng’s anxiousness after failing to show off was beginning to show, but that didn’t stop him from being curious. “Why can I still feel beast ki from you? Didn’t you lose it all?”
“I simply used a blood pact and found another lifebound beast. How else could I test you? You don’t actually think I came here to die a glorious death, right?” Li Tianming definitely had to claim he had used a blood pact. Blood pacts had low success rates of one in ten thousand. Many beastmasters who had lost their beasts would use it, only to end in abject failure.
“Amazing. Well, why not show off your new lifebound beast? You’re so confident. Could it be… six-star? Or even seven, hmm?” Li Zifeng guffawed.
Li Tianming didn’t waste words, choosing to summon his Aeternal Infernal Phoenix instead.
The little chick leapt onto Li Tianming’s head as it appeared, showering its surroundings with a fierce glare. The entire manor went deathly still for just a moment, before a torrent of laughter rained from all sides. In front of the Purple-Eyed Bright Bird, it could only be cute, no matter how fierce it acted!
“What an absolutely adorable chick!”
“That’s a lifebound beast? Ahahaha!”
Every person broke down laughing, regardless of how high their position was.
“Li Tianming really is filial. He must have come today to make the city lord’s marriage more lively in the capacity of a comedian.”
“We misunderstood him. He’s turned over a new leaf, and plans to make a living as a comedian from now on!”
Li Zifeng was stunned as he stared wide-eyed at the little chick attempting to act tough, before laughing to the point of pulling a muscle. Even his Bright Bird revealed a human-like smile.
“Brother Tianming. That chick isn’t even enough to fill a single dish, and yet you used it as a lifebound beast?” Li Zifeng roared with laughter.
But Li Tianming and the little chick were both solemn. The little chick’s eyes turned bloodshot. “How dare you look down on your grandpappy, you nugget!”
The little chick transformed into a bright yellow blur that assaulted Li Zifeng.
Its arrival was too abrupt. Li Zifeng was still in the midst of laughing when his instincts screamed with danger. A moment later, Li Zifeng was violently pounded into the ground as what felt like a giant house slammed into him. His stomach had been scorched black, and a bloody gash glimmered ominously at the centre.
“Yuck! This flesh is sour!” The next moment, a little chick was back on Li Tianming’s head, now with an additional strip of flesh in its beak. Anyone with two brain cells could tell it was from Li Zifeng.
Li Zifeng grimaced. “You’re asking for it!”
The little chick’s sudden violence had cast a chilly silence upon the area, and the audience’s smiles began to stiffen.
Li Tianming shook his head. “Ah, my boy Zifeng. You’re too undisciplined. Arrogant, brash and lacking compassion. If someone refuses to teach you well, it falls to me to do it.”
“You? With what, that one-star lifebound beast of yours?” Li Zifeng and the Purple-Eyed Bright Bird exchanged a look, before rushing at the opposing pair.
Li Tianming and the little chick communicated telepathically. “Sure, our Aeternal Infernal Beast Ki is stronger than his, but it's not enough to overcome the gap of three levels. He has more quantity than us. Unfortunately, his attribute just so happens to be fire!”
Fire immunity was the reason Li Tianming dared to challenge Li Zifeng, even with a gap of three levels!
“Then cut the crap! Charge!” The little chick’s blood was already boiling. It was a fighting junkie, and its favorite hobby was taking on stronger existences than it. This Bright Bird was perfect.
“Trashy birdy, come on and accept grandpappy’s love!” It hooted.
Some people chuckled out loud. They hadn’t expected the little chick to talk like a parrot. Usually, lifebound beasts could only speak with their beastmaster.
While the Bright Bird couldn’t speak, it still understood the little chick, flying into a rage at the chick’s provocation. Extending its wings, it charged forward before Li Zifeng could say anything, its beady eyes focused on the little chick.
Li Tianming targeted Li Zifeng as the Purple-Eyed Bright Bird began to pursue the little chick.
“Watch this.” Li Tianming suddenly exploded with speed. His legs were so fast that they seemed like a mirage and Li Zifeng, who was at the receiving end, began to feel something like demons shifting in and out of existence in his vicinity.
This was the advanced beast-ranked battle art, Ghost Steps. It was more or less the best movement art among beast-ranked battle arts, and Li Tianming had spent half a year polishing it.
A ghostly figure whizzed by.
Li Tianming appeared in front of Li Zifeng as the latter’s scalp began to tingle, punching outwards at his unnerved foe. Dragon-Mammoth Heavy Strike! It was a boxing art that was Li Tianming’s signature move. Midas had been a metal-type lifebound beast, gifted in speed and power. This advanced beast-ranked art had been made just for him.
Like its namesake, this fist was designed to explode with horrifying might and generate high frequency shock waves, capable of reducing a victim’s internal organs to mush.
The Li Tianming of today didn’t have the strength of a dragon or mammoth, but he had the even more powerful Primordial Chaos Beasts' strength. Furthermore, it was his black left arm unleashing it now, which made it even fiercer than before!
A mighty blow, backed up by incredible speed, lashed out at Li Zifeng! Li Zifeng narrowed his eyes. He could already sense the might behind the punch and calmly responded with his own advanced beast-ranked battle art, the Fierycloud Palm.
The Fierycloud Palm wasn’t bad. It created a fiery cloud around the palm that could be used to guard, confuse, or even to suppress the enemy. Concealed within the fiery cloud was power that could shake mountains and rivers.
“Time to return to your kennel, you laughingstock!” Li Zifeng said coolly, filled with utmost confidence in his thick beast ki.
Palm and fist collided a moment later.
A thud rang out, a sound that was swiftly followed by a gruesome crack. Piercing shrieks filled the air as Li Zifeng flew through the sky, landing head first in a daze, blood dripping out of his nose the whole time.
Even scarier, one of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle, the fingers covered completely in blood.
“Li Tianming!” Li Zifeng lifted his head, grimacing in pain. He knew he had completely been humiliated.
The manor fell silent, stunned by this spectacle!