Fengtian Mountain was located incredibly close to Grand-Orient Sacred Mountain. Near its midpoint was a beautiful courtyard called Faircloud Gardens. Within it, a black-clad youth sat on a long bench with his eyes closed and arm outstretched. His hand didn't move the slightest bit. The fine hair on his hand danced with the ruffling of the wind at a set rhythm.
"Heavenly Will... the will of the heavens...." His hand closed and opened mid air nonstop. One would be mistaken if they thought he was trying to grasp the air itself. Instead, he was trying to feel for the will of the heavens. He held a precious gem in his other hand, a fire spirit gem with red heavenly patterns.
Heavenly patterns were said to be the embodiment of heavenly will, one of its arcane manifestations. The appearance of heavenly patterns on a normal rock turned it into spirit ore. He started grasping in mid-air from the simplest of heavenly patterns, red ones.
"Big Brother!" a young man excitedly called. The gates of Faircloud Gardens were pushed open, letting a white-haired youth haphazardly run in. His expression was one of excitement and agitation.
The black-clad youth crushed the red spirit gem in his hand; his cultivation had been interrupted at a crucial point. Normally, he would be really mad at being interrupted, but knowing who was coming, all he could do was quietly shake his head and smile. When he opened his eyes, he stood up and turned to the youth with a smile.
"Shengcheng, did it work?" he asked.
"It did, Big Brother! It evolved into a second-order saint beast! I also managed to break through to the sixth level of Unity during bloodline cultivation!" Yuwen Shengcheng said with a face full of smiles.
"Not bad. You've finally caught up to where I was at the age of thirteen."
"Big Brother, you're a whole different beast. I don't want to be compared to you. Even so, this improvement will surely prove really useful for me!" he said with both hands clenched tightly. His new front teeth had only just sprouted, so he still couldn't enunciate his words well. The thought of his teeth only darkened his mood.
"Big Brother, is dad aware of Li Tianming?" Yuwen Shengcheng asked worriedly.
"He is."
"What did he say?"
"Nothing."
"What do you mean? Don't you want to kill him while he's still fresh? He just became the direct disciple of Ye Shaoqing!"
The black-clad youth merely chuckled.
"What does that mean?" Yuwen Shengcheng asked.
"Shengcheng, this is different from tens of years ago. Dad is already on a different level and has more important things to deal with. Tianming isn't Dad's match, nor is he mine. He is your opponent to fight."
"I still don't get it."
"Basically, in the eyes of our father, there are no geniuses, only weaklings. Even though Li Tianming is a pentabane, it'll still be tens of years before he meets Dad," the youth in black said.
"In other words, no matter how talented he is, Dad can just easily kill him, so he doesn't need to care about him now?"
"That's right."
"What about you, Big Brother? Will you not avenge me?"
The youth chuckled again. "Shengcheng, I am about to take on the most important mission ever. I’ve prepared all my life for this battle. There's no longer anyone in the sect that is worthy of being my opponent. It sounds like Li Tianming is a pretty decent rival for you. You must rely on your own abilities to defeat strong opponents. This will be really helpful to mold your spirit for your future cultivation.
"You haven't experienced much hardship, so you have to start by taking care of this by yourself. Shengcheng, the Yuwen Clan will not rely on only me in the future. You have to grow up quickly, and take out those who get in your way with your own abilities. I have high hopes for you.
"Your recent breakthrough makes it so that you stand a chance at becoming a prime disciple in three more years, but Grandfather and Mother spoil you too much. So, I hope you can prove your growth magnificently. You must remember that no matter what you do, the Yuwen Clan will stand behind you and support you," he said with a passionate gaze, looking at the thirteen-year-old before him. This was the most crucial moment of his growth; nothing could be better for his training than a troublesome opponent.
"I get it, Big Brother! It's not that you don't want to kill him, he just doesn't even matter enough for you to bother. Even if there are ten thousand geniuses, they won't matter if you can just easily squash them. Big Brother, you’re really thinking in the best interests of the family to even consider letting me face such an interesting rival as Tianming to hone my skills!" Yuwen Shengcheng praised with fervor.
"That's right." Seeing his brother reminded Yuwen Shengdu of his old self. However, he had to bear far more burdens as the eldest son. He had come all the way from the depths of slaughter.
"Shengcheng, I have a list of those participating in the Prime Struggle. Dad wants you to participate in it for training, so you can become a prime disciple when you turn sixteen," he said with a smile.
"Really?" He knew his father had many talented disciples, yet he’d chosen to let his own son take one of the participant slots.
"I already have the whole list. Tomorrow, the battles at First Grand-Orient Battlefield will start. Dad has already made sure you’ll face Li Tianming."
"Oh, is that so?" Yuwen Shengcheng cracked a smile, but his eyes suddenly turned red and furious. "Li Tianming... I bet you would never imagine how much stronger I would get after my breakthrough! Both Li Xuanchen and you will have to kneel before me! You'll be powerless to do anything else! Karma really does come fast. I’ll make you pay ten times the price for humiliating me tomorrow!" Even he was impressed how much stronger his lifebound beast grew after it evolved into a second-order saint beast.
"To think I had wanted Big Brother to kill you.... Since he and Father hope that I can train myself with this opportunity, I'll have to rely on myself tomorrow! You humiliated me by knocking my teeth out, so I'll make sure to poke your corpse full of holes and mutilate it!"
His newfound grudge condensed all at once. "It's too strong! Too strong!" he said, filled with confidence for himself. Even his big brother had said that Yuwen Shengcheng stood a real good chance at victory tomorrow.
"Big Brother, can I kill tomorrow?"
"You can if you're quick about it. Dad will be there tomorrow. With him there, nobody will dare act carelessly."
Yuwen Shengcheng was relieved to hear that.
"Who would dare stop me from getting Li Qingyu after Li Tianming is dead?"
Qingyu was the daughter of the woman even his father couldn't get. The more he thought about it, the more his blood boiled. It felt like he was about to prove himself to his brother and father.
"By the way, who did Dad give the other slot to?" he asked.
"Your elder cousin brother, Yuwen Zhenxing."
"It was him after all! That murderous madman.... Even if he doesn't become a prime disciple, the treasures in the first two floors of Prime Tower might as well be his already!"
"Shengcheng, how could you describe someone from our family like that?"
"How else would you describe him?"
"Not every instance of killing can be called murder. Hunting is also a form of killing. Zhenxing is a natural-born hunter."
"Hunting? So what you did with him in your childhood was hunting, eh?" Yuwen Shengcheng said, giggling.
"That's right. Third Uncle wanted to hone his son into the sharpest weapon possible. He’ll be the one who kills the people that are too troublesome for us to touch."
Their third uncle was none other than Yuwen Kaitai.
"Big Brother, leaks of the first floor's reward say it’s a terrestrial manna. Do you and Brother Zhenxing know what the second floor's reward is?"
"We do."
"What is it?"
"I'll keep that secret for now. You can never keep your mouth properly shut. I'll tell you about it later."
"Alright. Then... is it precious?"
"You think? It was prepared for Zhenxing. It is definitely something that you'll hold with shuddering hands."
"Ah, I wonder when will it be until it's my turn...."
"Just train properly and overcome the junior sect master tomorrow. Three years later, when your turn comes, we'll prepare a celestial manna for you!"
Yuwen Shengcheng nearly burst with bliss. He knew it was none other than the Grand-Orient Sect's celestial manna that could turn his lifebound beast into a fourth-order saint beast. It would be his, with some minor machinations. Now, he was filled with hope and anticipation for his own bright future.
"Big Brother, there's something I still don't really understand. Why is Dad so strict on you so as to not even allow you to make a single mistake in cultivation?" Though the sun had already set, Yuwen Shengcheng still hadn't decided to leave.
"You will find out in time. Ever since I was three, I’ve cultivated nonstop in anticipation of that day! By then, I’ll take the Yuwen Clan on a path against the heavens to obtain something even more important. That’s the most important step I can take in my life, something I've been preparing for since I was only three years old. Shengcheng, you’ll definitely see how I sacrifice myself to fight for our family." The black-clad youth looked to the north. All of a sudden, Faircloud Gardens turned a little warmer.
"Big Brother, is that called the Grand-Orient Sword?" Yuwen Shengcheng asked fearfully.
"That's right. The Grand-Orient Sword and Prime Tower are the two godly items that the Li Saint Clan used to dominate the Grand-Orient Realm!"
Yuwen Shengcheng's eyes were filled with endless yearning for that sword. He could never forget it. His brother tightly grasped his shoulders and said, "Shengcheng, even if I have to bleed every single drop of my blood out and burn my flesh and soul, I will obtain the Grand-Orient Sword for the Yuwen Clan!"