Ye Shaoqing and Ye Qing had prepared themselves for a battle. As soon as the barrier shattered and Tianming approached them, Ye Shaoqing handed him over to Ye Yuxi and stood in front of them.
"Go!"
The corners of Ye Yuxi’s eyes turned red and she pulled Tianming's hand, hastening in the other elders’ direction. A scan of the audience revealed the passion in their eyes—not hatred, but fanaticism and admiration.
As soon as Tianming left the heavenly pattern barrier, what he heard was an avalanche of cheers.
"Junior sect master!!” The entire Grand-Orient Sect was roaring for him!
Their fiery eyes expressed exactly how they felt witnessing Tianming defy destiny and killing Yuwen Shendu—the rush, the burst of excitement, the disbelief.
From the very start, the audience could see just how big a gap lay between the two. Tianming’s death was certain. They shook their heads and sighed, helpless as they watched Tianming step into the fatal fight.
But who would argue after the display of boldness, staking a life for a life? Watching Tianming being forced to the end of the line invoked feelings of remorse and regret, even more so than Li Wudi’s tragic accident. Li Wudi had never shown such admirable heroism and boldness. Who would risk death and challenge their own limits just to keep their sister alive?
All these regrets turned into shock and admiration the moment Tianming had killed Yuwen Shendu, reversing destiny in that instant. However, with the barrier in place, Tianming hadn’t heard a word from the audience until he stepped outside.
The slash of his sword was unparalleled. Even though many had failed to clearly observe how he slaughtered Yuwen Shendu, it didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that Tianming had survived a battle of life and death against impossible odds. Going into the battle, no one could have predicted today’s outcome, certainly not the Grand-Orient Sect disciples or Yuwen Taiji and company.
As they watched Tianming being tyrannized by Yuwen Shendu, their faces lit up in undisguised schadenfreude, well aware of Tianming’s impending demise.
Yet such a scene suddenly appeared.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Fengtian was still in the middle of declaring that Yuwen Shendu should take his time to honor the memory of Yuwen Shengcheng. But with a turn of the sword came instant death.
For a moment, Yuwen Fengtian had stared blankly. He rubbed his eyes. No mistake; Yuwen Shendu was split in two. Next, he had watched Tianming slay the Saintfiend Taotie. He rubbed his eyes again, but it was indisputable. Looking up in astonishment, he recognized the same look on Su Yunzhi and the others’ faces—pale, livid, and even unstable.
"That’s strange. Did someone cast a smokescreen?" asked Yuwen Fengtian. However, he received no reply.
Just then, an earth-shattering roar shock shook the Grand-Orient mountains.
"Yuwen Shendu is dead!”
Those words pierced his heart like hundreds of millions of swords. As the rage welled up inside him, Yuwen Fengtian spat a mouthful of black blood, crumpling to the ground in that instant. His head banged against the ground and his vision turned black.
Everyone knew what these two grandchildren meant for the Yuwen clan, who planned on dominating the Grand-Orient Sect in the future; especially Yuwen Shendu. For so many years, Yuwen Taiji had specially trained him for the Realm Wars and winning the Grand-Orient Sword, so their clan could completely control the Grand-Orient Sect.
How much had the Yuwen clan sacrificed to produce a descendent strong enough for the Realm Wars? Yuwen Shendu was only present today to watch the Prime Struggle, but as a result, he had lost his life.
This outcome didn’t call for mere distorted expressions; it was the collapse of their entire world.
Face ashen, Yuwen Kaitai knelt on the ground, his eyes almost blinded by excessive rubbing. Elders Su Yunzhi, Su Jiudao, Chen Nantian, and the others were bereft of speech, the old men shocked witless.
This was all due to Yuwen Shendu’s significance. He, the core of all their plans, was now gone! Even Elder Su Zhen couldn’t wait to slap himself and prove that he was only dreaming.
The magnitude of this blow was equivalent to killing them. Without Yuwen Shengcheng as backup, there was no chance to remedy the situation. If they learned Yuwen Zhenxing had been burnt to ashes, perhaps Yuwen Fengtian would vomit blood and faint all over again.
But who could they blame for today's outcome? Who had raised the headstrong, arrogant, and mindless Yuwen Shengcheng? Who had demanded Tianming stake his life for another life? Was it wrong for Tianming to survive?
Finally, they turned to Yuwen Taiji with trembling eyes. Even when they recovered Yuwen Shengcheng’s body, he seemed to show no reaction.
And now? His dream vanished in an instant!
While they gaped, Tianming chopped off the Saintfiend Taotie’s head. Yuwen Taiji's black and white eyes remained an expressionless mystery, but a trickle of fresh blood from his lips blatantly stood out, his murderous intent bursting at the seams.
Without so much as a word, he pounded his fist into the heavenly pattern barrier. Despite shaking, the barrier remained intact. Huangfu Fengyun and the other elders exchanged meaningful looks, stabilizing the barrier through this crisis.
If it weren't for their sheer numbers, the barrier would have broken. How would Tianming find the opportunity to flee to Ye Shaoqing? Once the barrier was broken, Tianming would be taken away. However, would the Yuwen clan stop at that? Yuwen Taiji was obviously crazy.
For many years, he had never revealed such a ferocious expression. Now that his world collapsed, he came forth as a God of death.
Two gigantic lifebound beasts appeared behind him, one pure black and the other pure white. Yuwen Taiji was a twin beastmaster. Each of his lifebound beasts were five times the size of the Saintfiend Taotie, with more than fifty stars in each eye, indicating they were fifth-order saint beasts that had matured and were at their peak.
The Yangfiend Taotie, the white one shrouded in mist, was as apathetic as the heavenly laws. The black Yinfiend Taotie wrapped in dark fog almost resembled the Saintfiend Taotie, suggesting it had evolved from said beast.
One black, one white, they towered beside Yuwen Taiji, their eyes filled with bloodlust. In that instant, chaos ensued. Who would still care about the Realm Wars?
Wiping the blood from the corners of his lips, Yuwen Taiji locked on to Tianming, heading straight for him with the two fifth-order saint beasts. Even from a distance, those cold eyes caused goosebumps to pickle across Tianming’s skin.
"Don't look at him!" In a show of dominance, Ye Yuxi pulled Tianming into her arms, blocking Yuwen Taiji’s sight.
Yuwen Taiji swooped in for the kill. After a moment’s hesitation, the other elders behind him followed. However, they didn't summon their lifebound beasts for the time being.
On Tianming's side, Ye Shaoqing stood at the forefront, sword in his left hand. An azure beast suddenly appeared in the First Grand-Orient Battlefield.
"The Azureflame Dragon!"
The audience recognized it at once; it was Ye Shaoqing's lifebound beast, another fifth-order saint beast. The azure dragon befitted its name. On its head were a pair of authentic dragon horns and azure scales burning with blue flames covered every inch of its body. Its fiery eyes were as big as copper bells and its size was similar to Yuwen Taiji’s taoties.
Both mature beasts circled in the sky, while Ye Shaoqing leaped on the back of the dragon, sword in his hand. In the face of Yuwen Taiji’s terrifying force, one man and one dragon stood fearless.
A cacophony of voices rose among the audience. Such beasts were a rare sight to behold.
"How dare you stop me! Die!!" The thousand-meter-long blade in Yuwen Taiji’s hand sliced down decisively. Wherever it swung, people hastily retreated.
The lone Ye Shaoqing split the air with his sword. Cosmic Break! The power from his sword far surpassed Tianming’s.
Blade against sword resulted in a deafening boom.
"He deflected it!" The disciples couldn't help cheering for Ye Shaoqing.
"Yuwen Taiji! You're the one who insisted on a battle to the death! Since Yuwen Shendu lost his life, you can only admit that he wasn’t strong enough. As the ninth sect elder, instead of keeping to your word, you flew into a rage from embarrassment. What about your dignity?" Ye Shaoqing was every bit as imposing as he resisted the attack.
Ignoring his words, Yuwen Taiji steered his lifebound beasts for another attack. Everyone was well aware he had gone mad and dropped all pretense.
"How overbearing! If Li Tianming dies, Ye Shaoqing would be completely helpless."
"Yes, the junior sect master defeated Yuwen Shendu fair and square. A defeat is a defeat, how can Yuwen Taiji behave so shamefully?"
"Does Yuwen Taiji regard the Grand-Orient Sect as his? Doesn’t he know he’s doomed to never acquire the Grand-Orient Sword?"
The words served as a reminder to many. Without the Grand-Orient Sword, Yuwen Taiji’s deterrence would decline, at least in the eyes of the elders.
"Yuwen Taiji, stop at once!"
The voice of an elder drifted into Tianming’s ears. He looked up and saw a white-haired figure appear beside Ye Shaoqing. It turned out to be the first elder, Huangfu Fengyun. As part of the older generation, his reputation was naturally unmatched.
Besides, he wasn’t alone. The fourth elder, Shangguan Jingshu, appeared beside him. Next, the fifth elder, sixth elder, and the rest made their stances known.
Out of the thirty-three elders present, eight of them were standing on Yuwen Taiji’s side. Among the other twenty-five elders, some were neutral, while others had secretly turned to Yuwen Taiji. However, they all stood together now on the opposite side.
How truly terrifying these elders were when they possessed the same resolve!