The arena of the Wei Manor was where the youths of the clan trained and honed their martial arts. But today, almost all of the clan’s members were gathered, including Wei Guohao’s two brothers, who were supernal mentors in the institute. The Wei Manor was usually quiet and secluded; battles like these were rare.
Seated at the top of the tower were Wei Tiancang and Wei Qing, the eldest in the clan. Beside them were other seniors from the clans like Wei Tianxiong, and Mu Yang, who was Wei Tiancang’s disciple. The rest of the clan were scattered across the arena, all of them elites of the institute. Even the younger generation, led by Wei Guohao, knew what this battle would decide and waited anxiously for the fight.
“Brother Ziyu, teach him a lesson.”
“Show him what the Wei Clan is made of.”
“He can't win without Jiang Feiling.”
The youths were all confident in Wei Ziyu’s years of experience. Not only was he a disciple of Heaven’s Sanctum, he was also a mentor in the Flameyellow Scions Institute. He had extensive experience and assisted supernal mentors in teaching disciples there, a reliable member of the clan through and through.
“Master, Li Tianming really is the strongest in his generation. With the speed he is improving, he will dominate the sanctum in the years to come,” Mu Yang said to Wei Tiancang.
“Are you really going to take him as your disciple?” Wei Tianxiong questioned. Even though it was Wei Tiancang’s decision for Mu Yang to not accept Wei Guohao as his disciple, Wei Tianxiong still had his grudges as a father.
“There’s not much I can teach that boy. His future does not belong in Vermilion Bird,” Mu Yang replied.
“We shall see after this fight.” Wei Zikun shrugged. In his mind was Li Tianming’s performance at the ranking test. Even if he had the blessing of the Flameyellow Rock, how could he possibly defeat a ninth level Spiritsource in just a few months? No one was going to buy that, least of all him.
“Mu Yang.” Wei Tiancang called out to his disciple, but his eyes were still on Li Tianming who was inside the arena.
“Yes, master?”
“Do you know why I can’t forgive Wei Jing?”
“Because Li Yanfeng was a mere bumpkin with nothing special about him, and Jing’er made her own decisions about her marriage…”
“It’s because of you.” Wei Tiancang sighed.
“What do you mean, master?”
“It was an injustice to you. When I took you in as a disciple, I expected you to be my son-in-law, but Wei Jing…”
Mu Yang was stunned for a while. Now that he thought about it, his mentor always wanted to entrust Wei Jing to him, and they seemed to make the perfect couple back then. But no one could have predicted the events that followed.
“Master, those are of things of the past. I’m not young anymore,” Mu Yang said.
“But that regret haunts me, even until now!” Wei Tiancang clenched his fist. Li Yanfeng was trash to him then, and still trash now, so why would Wei Jing pick him?
Even Mu Yang’ competitor, Chen Ying, was so much better than that Li Yanfeng. That Chen Ying was now known as Sage Chen, who had the Xing & Chen Merchantry under his control, boasting of wealth comparable to that of a nation’s! In contrast, Li Yanfeng was but a mere governor now, reduced to seeking aid from the Lightning Manor!
“It was all going so well, till she went to the Abyssal Battlefield's Easton Domain. She returned a completely different person; not only did she lock herself up in her own room, she even ended up with Li Yanfeng!” Wei Tiancang sighed again.
Mu Yang did not speak. He was supposed to join Wei Jing for the trip to the Easton Domain. But ever since she returned, he could tell that something was wrong. She became a lot more mental, even somewhat depressed. And three months later, she fell for Li Yanfeng.
“But master, that kid is innocent.” Mu Yang pointed at Li Tianming. As they spoke, Wei Tianxiong and Wei Zikun listened on one side. They had all witnessed the events for themselves, and they all felt bad for Mu Yang.
“Innocent? Have you not heard about the atrocity he committed three years ago? Like father, like son!” Wei Zikun gritted his teeth angrily.
“That’s where you are wrong. The boy had gotten the Saintbeast War-Soul by himself three years ago. It was Mu Qingqing who made use of him to get close to Lin Xiaoting, which was why his beast got killed and the Saintbeast War-Soul was snatched. He even ended up being blamed for everything in the end. It was difficult enough for him to survive these three years, let alone return to save his mother,” Mu Yang explained.
“Do you have evidence for saying that?” Wei Zikun asked.
“Do I need any?” Mu Yang asked back. Wei Zikun shrugged without replying. While some things were hidden from the public’s eyes, these matters should be quite clear to them once it was pointed out.
“Enough said. I have given him the opportunity, and we shall see if he can claim it for himself.” Wei Tiancang waved his hands.
“You may begin!” Knowing that it was about time, Mu Yang shouted out to Li Tianming and Wei Ziyu inside the arena.
“Brother Ziyu, beat him up!”
“Crush him, break his teeth!” Led by Wei Lingxuan and Wei Qingyi, the youths of the Wei Clan were all cheering Wei Ziyu on.
Atop the arena, Wei Ziyu stood expressionless, the Hellbreaker Lightningsabre held in his hand, blue heavenly patterns flowing across the weapon. His lifebound beast rose to the air with a piercing cry. It was an Electrifying Roc, its body covered in blue-purple feathers. Electric bolts travelled through its wings as it flapped them.
The Electrifying Roc was a high-tier six-star avian beast, but most importantly, it was lightning-typed.
“Lightning-type?” Li Tianming smiled.
Members of the Wei Clan were mostly metal-typed. While it made no difference before Li Tianming went to the Abyssal Battlefield, things were very different now.
“Finally, time for me to try out just how strong twin-beastmasters are!”
Two spirits sources existed in harmony within his dantian. On the left was the infernalsource in the shape of a flaming tornado, and on the right was the equally sized lightningsource that looked like a sea of lightning clouds. The change was reflected in Li Tianming’s eyes as well, his left eyes burning with hellish flames, and his right eye dark as the night sky and packed with countless electric bolts! No one in the Wei Clan knew that he controlled the power of the lightning as well.
“Here you go!” With a swing of his hand, Li Tianming summoned his lifebound beasts!
A little chick charged out of his lifebound space, its little wings flapping above his head. Wei Guohao and the others had experienced its terror first-hand before, so they knew it wasn’t an opponent they could look down on.
But what was with that little black cat in its claws? The cat wasn’t any bigger than the little chick, its pink paw pads clawing through the air and its little tail swinging all over the place…
“Meow Meow, follow your brother chicken into battle!” The little chick was yearning for a battle, its spirit burning.
“Meow, brother chicken, I need to sleep, meow!” On the other hand, the cat was very sleepy, its eyes barely even open.
“To battle!”
“Sleep, meow.”
“...” Li Tianming felt his brows twitch. That wasn’t the grand appearance he expected from the black cat.
“Damn you and your sleep! Defeat this person and I will let you sleep for three days in a row!” the little chick said with a headache.
“Lies! You will force me to cultivate with you, meow!” After all the commotion, the black cat woke up unwillingly. Grumpy about its sleep being disturbed, its sapphire blue eyes locked on to Wei Ziyu and the Electrifying Roc. Immediately, its irises turned into a fine line, and lightning flowed through its eyes.
“You! You made brother chicken wake me up! You are the culprit, meow!” It was enraged, to the point that even its tail was puffed up.
Li Tianming grinned. How convenient for him to just make use of the black cat’s ‘morning depression’. Under that state, it had even greater will to battle than the little chick. After all, it couldn’t release its rage on Li Tianming or its brother chicken, so it could only unleash its fury onto its foes.
After months of ‘prenatal education’, the newborn was quite familiar with its two family members already. It had been kicked around by Ying Huo for months while it was still in its egg, and today was the first time it would be demonstrating its lightning powers!
In terms of fighting power, the black cat was still slightly behind the little chick. It was simply too lazy — it hadn't even touched the battle arts that was given to it, and as a result, it had to resort to fist fights. Against the Electrifying Roc that was ninth level Spiritsource, it was safer for the two of them to fight side by side.
“So this was how it feels to be a twin-beastmaster! From now on, I will always be fighting three against two!” Li Tianming thought.
Meanwhile, the roc was angered by the two little pets trying to challenge itself.
“What are you going to do with those two cuties?” Even Wei Ziyu couldn’t contain his laughter. Those were no doubt the cutest lifebound beasts he had ever seen.
“You shall regret saying this later.” Li Tianming grinned.
Sure enough, Wei Ziyu was left speechless when the first clash happened. The little chick soared into the sky like a flaming bullet, but even that wasn’t comparable to the speed of the black cat. A nimble black bolt flashed past, cutting an untraceable arc, and the roc, who was soaring thirty meters above the ground, suddenly felt something very small and very fluffy on its back.
“Take this, meow!” The next moment, the black cat bit off a patch of feathers even bigger than its size. Struck by the pain, the roc twisted and dived in the air, but nothing seemed to be able to get that cat off its back. The black cat was small, but its claws and teeth were just as sharp as Ying Huo’s.
“That’s for waking me up from my sleep, meow!”
Furious, the Electrifying Roc used its spiritsource ability, the Amethyst Thunder Web! A sharp glow burst out from its feathers, spreading across its torso. With the black cat trapped in the net of lightning, the roc let out another piercing shriek.
But if the roc thought that that could electrocute the black cat, then it couldn’t be more wrong. Comparing lightning prowess with the Genesis Chaos Thunderfiend was a recipe for disaster.
The black cat opened its mouth and retaliated with its ability, the Chaotic Voltball! A massive black electric ball slammed onto the roc, charring half of its head and dyeing it black.
The arena fell silent.