"You annoying bug!”
Bursting in goosebumps, Gongsun Chi jumped like a carp leaping out of water, cold sweat dripping down his forehead. At the exact moment Gongsun Chi made his move, Tianming punched him squarely in the face.
Gongsun Chi screamed miserably, his cheekbones almost deformed by Tianming’s fist. As soon as his head was upright once more, Gongsun Chi flew out spinning and hit the ground once more. The dizziness made him stagger as he climbed back to his feet.
When he opened his blurry eyes, he watched Tianming dash toward the copper bell while Chen Xiaoji quickly approached from behind. Starlight burst forth, his pike lunging toward the junior sect master.
However, it was like Tianming had eyes on the back of his head. Without even turning around, the chain in his hand lashed out like a poisonous snake. Archfiend, with its many blood-red eyes, had Gongsun Chi’s hair standing on end.
He believed Chen Xiaoji felt it even more so. What kind of whip was that?
A whoosh sounded as a blood-red phantom whizzed through the air, piercing Chen Xiaoji’s thigh and nailing him to the ground. He let out an ear-splitting scream.
The Life-Death Whip Art appeared so simple, but the spectators couldn’t figure out its technique. However, Soul Hook and Death Requisition were moves that could instantly separate life from death. With this, Chen Xiaoji rolled on the ground, screaming repeatedly and losing all ability to resist.
Gongsun Chi turned ashen at the sight of this. Right now, all he felt was fear. His arrogance and contempt for Tianming had completely disappeared. Aside from Chen Xiaoji, even his own lifebound beast, the Imperial Flame Locust, was on its knees, begging for mercy from Tianming’s lifebound beasts.
As soon as Tianming finished dealing with Chen Xiaoji, his eyes locked on Gongsun Chi once more. The latter shivered in fear, crawling three steps backward before coming to his feet and running away.
“Know your place!” mocked Tianming.
He could certainly catch up to Gongsun Chi and deal the finishing blow, but it wasn’t necessary. Right now, the most important thing was the treasure on the second floor, the copper bell. After defeating Gongsun Chi and Chen Xiaoji, Tianming bolted for the copper bell, glancing at Yuwen Zhenxing’s battle with the couple along the way.
Yuwen Zhenxing and his Bloodfiend Taotie coordinated perfectly, one against two. Despite being besieged, they were able to resist, even posing a fatal threat to Huangfu Feifei and Shangguan Jiayi. As long as Yuwen Zhenxing had enough time, defeating the two lovebirds would be no problem!
"Amazing." Tianming narrowed his eyes. It was clear Yuwen Zhenxing was far superior to the others.
But so what? Tianming had dealt with his opponents, but Yuwen Zhenxing hadn’t.
At the sight of Tianming rushing toward the copper bell, Yuwen Zhenxing lost his composure.
"Stop!” Yuwen Zhenxing roared, quickly leaving his opponents behind and chasing after Tianming. Both Huangfu Feifei and Shangguan Jiayi were hot on his heels. Their battle immediately took a different turn.
However, Tianming was in the lead, moving as fast as a whirlwind. Yuwen Zhenxing had no way of overtaking him, and the distance grew between them.
In the blink of an eye, Tianming was standing before the copper bell! Regardless of what it was, Tianming pounded his fist into the bell. It vibrated, but remained in place.
Tianming noticed there was something under the copper bell–the treasure of the second floor. Once again, with his dark arm, he condensed all of his strength into one punch. A loud boom reverberated through the floor—the bell had been overturned. It was evident this required the force of an eighth-level Unity cultivator.
"Get lost!” Yuwen Zhenxing finally caught up.
Tianming sped up, weaving Archfiend around the treasure. With a tug, it fell right into his hands. Upon closer look, it was still a black manna sphere. Because it was completely sealed, Tianming couldn’t determine its contents. Since that wasn’t important for the time being, Tianming tossed it into his ring. This heralded his success! The treasure on the second floor was definitely more precious than the one on the first floor.
Yuwen Zhenxing and the others began attacking Tianming.
"Hand it over!" Yuwen Zhenxing's eyes turned red.
The treasure specifically prepared for him was now in Tianming's possession. There was no time to swear at Chen Xiaoji and Gongsun Chi for being trash who couldn’t even stop one Li Tianming.
Losing his most important treasure made him murderous. His blood boiled, and the Bloodsea Field enveloped Tianming.
Aside from Yuwen Zhenxing, there were others here to steal the treasure. Even Gongsun Chi had joined in the battle, as well as other disciples who had finally advanced from the first floor. Sure enough, seizing the treasure was difficult, but keeping it was a bigger challenge.
At this point, a passage opened on the ceiling. The entrance of the third floor was open!
"Forget it, I’ll see you on the third floor!"
Tianming was well aware that the spectators outside couldn’t observe what was happening once he reached the third floor. It was a terribly dangerous place! However, he wasn’t just here for the second floor’s treasure. The first floor’s treasure in Yuwen Zhenxing's hand was his other goal.
Yuwen Zhenxing couldn’t wait for Tianming to enter the third floor. In the first two floors, slaughtering the junior sect master would cause him no end of inconveniences.
However, once they got to the third floor, it was his world.
"Defeating Gongsun Chi and Chen Xiaoji made his ego swell. Very good."
Without Yuwen Zhenxing’s opposition, Tianming became the first disciple to set foot in the third floor of the Prime Tower. Yuwen Zhenxing followed closely behind.
"Let’s go!" Gongsun Chi shouted to Chen Xiaoji.
"I'm afraid I can't get up," Chen Xiaoji clutched his thigh, his expression an ugly grimace. Biting the bullet, Gongsun Chi eventually chose to follow Yuwen Zhenxing, since his injuries weren’t as severe.
Meanwhile, Huangfu Feifei and Shangguan Jiayi had already advanced to the third floor. As soon as the five of them stepped into the third floor, the passage suddenly closed, leaving the other disciples forlorn.
"The entrance to the third floor is closed, so we can't get in.”
“The treasures of the first and second floors are in there. We’re out of the running.”
They were helpless. Although this was the Prime Struggle, many of them had failed to do anything. It was over as soon as they made it to the second floor. Thus, they were forced to leave the Prime Tower. Within three hours, there would be results from the third floor.
Whether anyone could clear all three levels, who lived and who died, and who obtained all three treasures would be revealed when the time comes.
The disciples and all thirty-three elders could only wait for results. After all, no one knew what would happen on the third floor of the Prime Tower.
"Despite joining forces, Chen Xiaoji and Gongsun Chi were crushed by the junior sect master," Zhao Xingyi turned to the other disciples.
"Is the junior sect master so powerful?"
"You’ll know when you see Chen Xiaoji's face."
"Did he throw the battle so the junior sect master could advance to the third floor?"
"If that’s the case, why didn't Chen Xiaoji go up as well? Just look at his tragic situation. Does it look like he threw the battle?"
"If the junior sect master leaves the third floor alive, he’ll only grow stronger in the future!"
More and more disciples voiced their admiration.
As a defeated man, Chen Xiaoji kept his head down, too embarrassed to face others. There was a shred of anxiety and fear in his heart. Would Yuwen Zhenxing really be able to kill Li Tianming on the third floor? he wondered.