Taiji Mountain.
"Li Xuanchen," Yuwen Shengcheng beckoned to the young man who was currently cultivating. Rising to his feet, Li Xuanchen darted into a secret room with Yuwen Shengcheng.
Staring at the white-robed boy before him, complex emotions flashed past Li Xuanchen's eyes. He had assumed the fight would end in an easy victory for Yuwen Shengcheng, but the opposite was true; he had been beaten into a sorry state.
Even now, there was blood on his weak and listless face. Wherever he went, strange gazes would follow. Meanwhile, Tianming’s reputation as a genius had spread through the entire Grand-Orient Mountain range. One only had to ask around to know that Yuwen Shengcheng had become a laughing stock. Even the Li Saint Clan had accepted Tianming.
"Shengcheng, what is it?" Li Xuanchen asked.
"Do you remember what you said last time?"
"About Li Qingyu? Don't worry, I've got a meticulous plan up my sleeves, All I need is the east wind," Li Xuanchen replied.
He was unwilling to give up on the Kunpeng Sacred Seal.
"And the east wind you’re waiting for is an opportunity to get Li Qingyu to leave?"
"Yes, an opportunity for her to leave the sect."
Yuwen Shengcheng's eyes lit up as he explained what Su Wuyou had mentioned to him yesterday.
"Perfect!" Li Xuanchen's eyes gleamed.
"How so?"
"I asked around, and from what I’ve heard, there’s only one person in the Wuyou faction Li Qingyu considers a friend—Guo Xiaofu, who was an outer disciple and only recently promoted to an inner disciple. She’s a nobody with no power or backer. They used to go out and perform tasks together," said Li Xuanchen.
"What about it?"
"Well, Li Qingyu hasn’t been on a Wuyou faction task for a long time. We can ask Sister Wuyou to arrange something, and at the same time, get Guo Xiaofu to invite Li Qingyu on the task. Li Qingyu trusts her. As long as she leaves the Grand-Orient Sect, you can do as you please!"
Yuwen Shengcheng burned with eagerness.
"If Sister Wuyou can give us a hand, all we need is a little coercion to get Guo Xiaofu to play along. Who knows, we might just succeed. After all, there’s still a considerable amount of time before the Prime Struggle. Li Qingyu might decide to leave. Now that all the attention is on Li Tianming, no one’s concerned about her."
The more he thought about it, the more Yuwen Shengcheng felt like they had a chance.
"We can give it a try," persuaded Li Xuanchen.
"What should I do when the time comes?" Yuwen Shengcheng wondered.
"I’ve got something special prepared for you. All you have to do is use it," Li Xuanchen grinned.
"What is it?"
"A carefree fruit with indigo heavenly patterns. I managed to get my hands on it through someone else. It cost me quite a penny. It can erase short-term memories. In large doses, it’ll turn people into fools."
In that instant, Yuwen Shengcheng understood what he meant.
"So after I’m done, I don't have to kill her, just turn her into a fool. Then, find some place outside and imprison her so she’s my exclusive property. That way, no one will find her."
"Yes! Your reputation won’t be affected, nor will it bring you any trouble. Kill Guo Xiaofu and the girls will be considered missing," suggested Li Xuanchen.
Although the Yuwen clan was planning on killing Tianming in the Prime Tower, it didn't matter. Satisfying Yuwen Shengcheng’s desire for payback would only bring him closer to the Yuwen clan.
That way, the Kunpeng Sacred Seal would most likely fall into his hands, instead of being destroyed by the Yuwen clan. Additionally, since this was something he had promised Yuwen Shengcheng, he didn’t dare go back on his word. After all, he was very clear about just how vengeful Yuwen Shengcheng was. Yuwen Shengcheng was undoubtedly dissatisfied with leaving the killing to Yuwen Zhenxing, and wanted to personally get back at the siblings; not just Tianming, but also Qingyu.
"Li Qingyu, with the carefree fruit, what’s waiting for you is a fate worse than death!”
In the secret room, a beastly ferocity burned in Yuwen Shengcheng’s eyes.
……
Earlier that day, Tianming had left the Li Mausoleum and headed back to Azure Dragon Sword Mountain.
At the gates of the hall stood Li Qingyu with her new weapon. A fine blade, her new weapon was longer and thinner than the Fullmoon Blade and dark from top to bottom. Just glancing at it from a distance would have a person breaking out in goosebumps.
"Where did you get this?" asked Tianming.
"Master gave it to me. It’s called Vilemoon, a grade seven beastial weapon.” Qingyu was in such a good mood that she couldn't bear to put the blade down.
"Oh, how I envy you. The old man is clearly biased. How come you get one, but I don’t? I’ll have to ask him for my new weapon," laughed Tianming.
"Big Brother, I’m guessing master has one prepared for you as well. He even taught me an extraordinary unity-ranked battle art called the Moonset Galaxy Blade Art. I can feel its power," she said.
"How does it feel to receive guidance from master?"
"All I can say is, I feel supercharged!”
"Haha, and how is your progress with the battle art?"
"Master says I’m a peerless genius. In fact, I’ve already mastered most of it. It won’t take long before I advance to sixth-level Unity.” The fact that she was a Pentamoon Skybane had yet to fully set in.
"Well done, young woman. I’m waiting for you to rise against the strong. Don’t forget to support me when the time comes,” said Tianming.
"No problem! I promise to stand idly by while others beat the crap out of you!" Qingyu chuckled.
"How cruel. You have no love for your brother."
"Alright, go on. Master’s been waiting for you," Qingyu gave him a push.
Qingyu bit her lips, smiling as she watched Tianming walk into the Azure Dragon Sword Hall. In the quiet woods, she continued honing her skill with her new weapon.
I have a feeling that as long as I follow in his footsteps and try not to fall behind, I’ll be able to achieve something.
With each devastating sweep of Vilemoon, moonlight danced on the blade.
……
When Tianming entered Azure Dragon Sword Hall, he was greeted by the sight of a motionless man, standing with his back to him.
"Master, are you trying to look handsome?" teased Tianming.
Unexpectedly, Ye Shaoqing turned around. With the stretch of his finger, a terrifying sword aura shot toward Tianming. The sword intent in the aura possessed the will to defy the heavens, a majestic wave capable of destroying everything and overturning heaven and earth.
Tianming felt as if this one blow would wipe him out from the face of this earth. What a frightening sword intent! The feeling was hard to describe, but he was certain that rank, status, and power meant nothing, crumbling before this sword.
On the brink of claiming Tianming’s life, Ye Shaoqing withdrew his sword intent. Tranquility was restored to the heavens and earth.
Beads of cold sweat dotted Tianming’s forehead.