One had no choice to be impressed sometimes. So said the ancients, and so it was now.
“Originally, I thought he wouldn’t be able to catch up even with perfect synchronisation given how far behind he was. Yet, the Flameyellow Rock gave him such a lucky break.”
“Now, he can count as one of our premier geniuses even though he’s twenty.”
“The Wei Clan bloodline really is great. It didn’t matter that he grew up in a remote city.”
The supernal mentors all discussed in low voices, each and every one of them obviously filled with regret for not accepting him as a disciple.
“With how highly the Vice-Potentate regards him, he’ll accept him when Li Tianming truly reaches eighth level Spiritsource,” Qin Tao said.
“Then, he’ll become the Vice-Potentate’s fourth disciple; he might even become the Sanctum Potentate in due time,” Feng Wuguang added on.
“It’ll depend on the competition between him and Lin Xiaoting. They definitely won’t be able to coexist with each other,” said Qin Tao.
“That’s not necessarily true. Lin Xiaoting’s already picked by Heaven's Elysium and will leave soon. Being the Potentate might not appeal to him anymore.”
“Li Tianming will definitely despair when he finds out,” Qin Tao replied.
“Well, it can’t be helped. Honestly, his performance has been shocking. I have to admit I was blind. Still, Lin Xiaoting is on a different level from the rest of Heaven’s Sanctum. It’s not something an ordinary person can catch up with,” Feng Wuguang said.
“Yes, and the gulf will only widen when he enters Heaven’s Elysium.” Qin Tao shook his head. “And one day, one will have soared to the heavens while the other will still be bound to the earth.”
The supernal mentors felt admiration for the current Li Tianming, but also some pity.
Now that Wei Guohao had been beaten so horribly, it was definitely embarrassing for the Wei Clan. Wei Tiancang’s expression was cold as he suppressed the aftereffects of the Devilblue Incantation. Wei Guohao recovered slightly, and slowly began to wake up.
“Grandfather!” Wei Guohao felt his scalp numb. Now that he had calmed down, he was aware that he’d committed a grave mistake.
“Shut up.” Wei Tiancang gave him an indifferent look.
Wei Guohao knew he was in trouble. Wei Tiancang had always cared about his face the most. And yet, his grandson had resorted to the Devilblue Incantation after an abject defeat, stirring up a huge commotion. With this, his face had been shredded into tiny pieces. And furthermore, all of the upper echelons of Heaven’s Sanctum were here.
“Father, how is Guohao’s condition?” Chancellor Wei Tianxiong stepped forward, while signalling Wei Guohao to keep silent.
“If he hadn’t used the Devilblue Incantation, five days would be enough to recover. But since he did, he’ll be bedridden for three months.” Wei Tiancang spoke in a disinterested tone. Those familiar with him would know this was a sign of his disappointment.
“Guohao, you’ve made a big mistake this time!” Wei Tianxiong chided.
“You too, shut it.” Wei Tiancang cast Wei Tianxiong a glance.
“Yes, sir.” As his son, Wei Tianxiong understood Wei Tiancang the best. He knew that after this event, Wei Tiancang would no longer have any expectations for Wei Guohao. None of the Wei Clan's younger generation, including Wei Lingxuan and Wei Qingyi, had met his standard. Wei Tianxiong felt rather depressed, and would very much have wanted to give Wei Guohao a smack if he wasn’t already so injured. All of the upper echelons exchanged a look when they heard about the three months Wei Guohao would be bedridden for.
“Ok, show’s over! You can disperse.” Wei Tiancang waved his hand, preparing to take his leave as he did not want to stay any longer.
“Master, with Guohao bedridden for three months, what do we do with his slot for the Abyssal Trials?” Mu Yang asked. However, Li Tianming hadn’t told him of his desire for the spot.
“What about it? Cancel it! My Wei Manor won’t participate, just five people will go.” A portion of Wei Tiancang’s resentment leaked into his words, and the supernal mentors all lowered their heads in response.
“Understood. Disperse, and watch what you say when you return.” Mu Yang said. A Wei Clan disciple using the Devilblue Incantation was even more embarrassing than Wei Guohao losing to Li Tianming. Not making that public was for the best. The supernal mentors asked to be excused by Wei Tiancang, and then turned to leave. Wei Tiancang turned around as well. The entire time, he never looked at Li Tianming.
“Potentate, I’ll like to take part in the Abyssal Trials.” Suddenly, an unexpected voice rang out. All the supernal mentors and Wei Clan members turned to the source.
“Li Tianming, you don’t have the right yet! Without Jiang Feiling, you’re only embarrassing our Vermilion Bird Heaven’s Sanctum if you go!” Wei Lingxuan had never expected Li Tianming to be daring enough to even covet the slot. One needed to be qualified in multiple areas, from identity to power, in order to be a representative. However, no one was listening to what Wei Lingxuan had to say. All the upper echelons of Heaven’s Sanctum, including Wei Tiancang, were focused on Li Tianming.
Wei Tiancang gazed at Li Tianming indifferently, while Li Tianming met his gaze fearlessly, just like the previous time.
“Potentate, I wish to fight for the Wei Clan’s glory,” Li Tianming said, eyes blazing with passion. The crux of his words was that he had said Wei Clan, not Heaven’s Sanctum. There were already several going there to fight for Heaven’s Sanctum’s glory. However, the Wei Clan’s representative, Wei Guohao, had asked for it by using the Devilblue Incantation. Now, he was bedridden for three months and his slot was empty.
“If Wei Guohao doesn’t have the ability to seize such an important chance, then I’ll do it for him. In the Abyssal Battlefield, I shall fight for the Wei Clan’s glory!” Li Tianming didn’t back down in front of Wei Tiancang’s gaze.
“Don’t sound so righteous. Our Wei Clan doesn’t need an outsider like you to fight for our glory.” Wei Zikun was on the verge of beating Li Tianming up. The youth’s arrogance was very displeasing.
“No. The Wei Clan needs it, and so do I.” Li Tianming stressed each and every word.
“Mu Yang, bring him away.” How could Chancellor Wei Tianxiong feel happy at this point? After what happened to his son, now Li Tianming had popped up and talked about fighting for the Wei Clan. This was simply an utter trampling of Wei Guohao’s dignity.
“Let’s go, Tianming.” Mu Yang came over.
“I’m not going. Potentate, please give me a reply. I can swear a vow to go through hell or high water, if I can go to the Abyssal Battlefield. If I embarrass our Wei Clan, I’ll cleanse my sins on this very stone bridge. Please, Potentate!” Every word he spoke rang clearly in everyone’s ears. From start to finish, they held unwavering dedication.
“How do you qualify to represent us?” Wei Tiancang finally spoke.
“As Wei Jing’s son.”
“It has been twenty years since she was chased out from the clan. She’s not one of us anymore,” Wei Tiancang said.
“It doesn’t change the fact that my blood can be traced back to the Wei Clan.”
“The only reason you want this connection is solely because you want to save your mother. I can tell you now, there’s no chance it’s happening.”
“If there’s no chance, I still want to create one! Otherwise, what? Let all of Vermilion Bird laugh at how the Wei Clan of Heaven’s Sanctum couldn’t even dispatch one youth to the Battlefield? How humiliating would that be!” Li Tianming’s voice boomed.
“Tianming, don’t speak out of hand.” Mu Yang’s head was starting to hurt, because Li Tianming’s words were getting more and more offensive to Wei Tiancang.
“You’re overthinking it. We’re a hidden clan. No one even knows about us.” Wei Tiancang said disinterestedly. However, was he really disinterested?
Li Tianming chuckled. “I see. So the term ‘hidden clan’ is for covering up when the clan is incompetent and its legacy ends!”
Immediately, emotions exploded.
“How dare you!” Wei Zikun was the first one to step forward, delivering a slap towards Li Tianming.
“Mu Yang, take him away. Away from Ignispolis!” Wei Tianxiong’s eyes turned frosty. Li Tianming’s words were scolding everyone below Wei Tiancang! If Wei Zikun hadn’t stepped forward, he would have done so himself. Likewise, the rest of the Wei Clan were all cursing up a storm at Li Tianming.
“Zikun.” Fortunately, Mu Yang blocked Wei Zikun. Otherwise, Li Tianming would have to join Wei Guohao in being bedridden for three months.
No one had expected Li Tianming to go down this route. However, they couldn’t deny their amazement at his guts. However, Li Tianming didn’t feel he had said anything wrong. Even ignoring power, just in their ability to handle matters, how could Wei Tianxiong hold a candle to Mu Yang? How did Wei Guohao compare to Li Tianming himself? The Wei Clan was the core of Heaven’s Sanctum, but how was their performance even up to standard?
So, how was he wrong?
“Mu Yang, don’t you shield him because of Wei Jing!” Wei Zikun was furious to be held back by Mu Yang.
“Let Master speak,” Mu Yang said.
The one to decide how to punish Li Tianming would be Wei Tiancang.
Honestly, Wei Tiancang never expected Li Tianming to dare to publicly challenge Wei Manor. Of course, it was just stating a fact. The very fact that he most disliked.
“Well, aren’t you the gutsy one.” Wei Tiancang’s words exerted pressure.
“Many thanks for the Potentate’s praise. I’ll definitely continue on if you let me go to the Abyssal Trials,” Li Tianming said.
“If that’s the case, I do think we can have a deal.” With these words, which made the Wei Clan gape, Li Tianming could see some light.