It was as if time itself had frozen over. Ye Shaoqing looked at Tianming with his eyes wide open for a good, long moment.
"Master, why are you looking at me like that? Do you swing that way or something?" Tianming asked.
"Damn it!" Ye Shaoqing shook his head and couldn't help but curse.
"Please don't, I'm not into middle-aged men. You’d better just hail me as your master and get it over with."
"I don't believe it! One more time!" He had only demonstrated it once, yet Tianming had managed to execute it. That simply couldn't happen.
"It's easy no matter how many more times I do it," Tianming said, then his expression grew stern. Closing his eyes, he felt the will within his bloodline; the will of his ancestors. The Voidgod Sword Intent was the crystallization of his ancestors' will. He could grasp it clearly, as the resonance in his blood helped him understand it in an inexplicable way. His very blood imparted upon him a fundamental understanding of the technique.
While Ye Shaoqing had only demonstrated it once, Tianming’s ancestors had trained the technique millions of times before. Even Tianming couldn't master a battle art in one go, but the Voidgod Sword Intent seemed tailor-made for him.
"The heavens shake where fate blocks my way. As a mere mortal, only by voiding the gods' wills can I maintain my dignity!"
He executed Countercurrent, this time with even more force. While it still wasn’t at Ye Shaoqing's level, the will aspect of the strike was identical. It was enough to burst through the oppressive force of nature itself. He immediately sheathed his sword after the strike.
"With the Kunpeng Sacred Seal, the strike could've been much stronger." He felt like his ancestors were supporting him from behind as he struck, their wills becoming his. Perhaps his opponent would be subject to the combined will of his countless ancestors.
Ye Shaoqing took three more steps back after witnessing the strike, completely floored. He looked at Tianming and stepped forward, searching his body all over.
"What are you doing? Don't force yourself on me, alright?" Tianming said with his guard up.
"I’m checking to see if you're human, or a monster!" He was at the edge of his sanity. He himself had only just mastered the Voidgod Sword Intent in the recent years after lots of effort and countless nights of arduous meditation, yet Tianming had mastered the strike in one go. How could he be human?
"Are you looking for an excuse to not take me as your master?" Tianming teased.
"Shut up! When did I say I would do that?" he argued.
Tianming didn't know someone of Ye Shaoqing's age could be so shameless. Only after a little more fussing did he fully accept the facts before him. "A genius indeed!" he cried toward the skies with an expression of both rage and joy.
In his youth, he had been a prime disciple, so he knew how hard it was for him to step into the saint stage. Yet, this kid had it so easy! If there was a monstrous genius, he would be it.
"Even with Kunpeng Sacred Seal, your comprehension of this technique is too frightening."
"Master, you just have to get used to it."
Ye Shaoqing felt a growing urge to squish him. "Continue practicing it! A thousand strikes each day! You've only just got the looks right, so make sure you get the rest correct. Only when you truly get the form right can you start learning the second strike, Starfall. I know you're a fast learner, but don't grow arrogant, got it?"
"Master, why does it feel like you're envious of my talent?"
"Does it seem that way? Ahem... You're overthinking it." Ye Shaoqing tidied his robes and glared at Tianming, then turned to leave. "Keep practicing!"
Tianming smiled as he watched him leave. Naturally, he wouldn't grow proud. The Voidgod Sword Intent just happened to be a technique suited to him; there was no way he was nearly that talented.
Clang!
All of a sudden, a black sword pierced into the ground next to Tianming's foot. It was the one Ye Shaoqing had been wielding.
"That's for you. It's a grade-seven beastial weapon, Onyx Dragon. This sword isn't that special. It’s made using spirit ores and spirit hazards. Its only defining characteristic is that it contains the blood of a third-order demon beast, an Onyx Viledragon. Even I would have to go through a lot of trouble to kill it. If you can tap into the power of its blood, the sword will open up endless possibilities."
When lifebound beasts transcended mortality into sainthood, they would be called saint beasts. When wildbeasts went through the same process, they would be called demon beasts.
Tianming drew the dragon-pommeled sword. At that moment, he felt that the sword was its own living being. Like a giant, divine dragon filled with life, it wouldn't be easy for him to conquer it. The dragon’s eyes were where its blood gathered. Tianming pressed his thumb on that spot and immediately felt the blood of the Onyx Viledragon pierce into his body. It was trying to tear him apart, but his Aeternal Infernal Physique and Genesis Chaos Physique immediately dominated the remnant will of the demon beast. After that, the blood within the sword immediately boiled, causing the sword to burst with power.
Tianming gave it a swing. The moment his infernalsource and lightningsource surged, a wave of dark crimson sword ki was unleashed. It was a few times stronger than the Grand Thunderflare Sword. That was none other than the Onyx Viledragon's sword ki. With this sword, he would be far more powerful.
"Thank you, Master!" He looked at the sword lovingly and cherished it dearly. From now on, he would slaughter all with viledragon in hand!
"Damn it," Ye Shaoqing cursed helplessly again. The way he saw it, Tianming had completely mastered the sword's might. To think that it had taken Ye Shaoqing so much effort to reach that point.
"A monster indeed! So pentabanes are that fearsome after all? It’s no wonder the founding ancestor of the Li Saint Clan could reach the Empyrean Saint Stage and gain a terrifying reputation in the Theocracy of the Ancients. If this child survives, it's only a matter of time before he defies fate itself. It's a shame that he’ll have to experience so many deathly trials before he grows strong enough."
All Ye Shaoqing could be sure of was that he would do his best to help him out.