It was the second day of the Realm War. Tianming didn't care about the terrain and headed west, as there was no place he was more familiar with than the Grand-Orient Mountains. As he zoomed through the woods and mountains, the ground turned darker. In other words, he was now past Heaven's Elysium and around the area of the Onyx Hole.
"If Ling'er were here, I’d be able to travel much faster." Now, he was using his third eye to find an opponent. It could see much farther than his own eyes without revealing his position, giving him the edge of surprise.
"I have to collect those balls. The more I have, the better I can dictate the flow of battle. As long as I have three of either color, no one will be able to draw out the Grand-Orient Sword."
So long as he had three, the other four of the corresponding color wouldn't be enough to meet the requirements. Currently, he was standing atop a tree, scanning the distance with his third eye. He made sure to keep his palm low so those outside the barrier wouldn't be able to see his third eye. While having a beastialized arm was normal, having one with an eye on it wasn't.
All of a sudden, he turned to the northeast and saw two silhouettes, but his third eye could clearly make them out.
"They're the onyx disciples, Li Wusheng and Li Jiusi!" They were trekking through the jungle incredibly carefully. Li Jiusi, being close to three meters in height, was paving the way at the front while Li Wusheng hid behind him in the shadows.
"Are they trying to draw people to them?" One of them would be bait while the other would remain hidden until prey showed up. However, they would never have expected Tianming to spot them first. Those two were at Heavenly Will, and while they might not necessarily be stronger than Sikong Tianchen, it was said that they could telepathically communicate with each other, like lifebound beasts with their beastmasters. Fighting them was akin to fighting four people who acted like one perfect unit. Even Jun Tianyi might have a hard time dealing with them.
"That's probably why they were able to find each other after only one day." Tianming had to use his third eye to spot his opponents, and even that paled in comparison to what the brothers had achieved. There was no other explanation, apart from their mystical connection. The ease with which they had found each other was akin to Tianming locating Ying Huo if they were split up in this Realm.
"What do we do? Attack?" Infernal Blaze burned readily in Ying Huo's eyes.
"Of course we attack. We'll show the three hundred thousand folks of Heaven's Elysium and the elites of the Onyx Sect an explosive start to the Realm Wars."
"Great. If we crush them, we'll have three black balls. Nobody will be able to get the sword then," the little chick plotted. After that, it went back into the lifebound space to wake Meow Meow up.
"These two onyx disciples are well-versed in torture techniques. Bai Taijun was horribly mangled when they were done with him. If we leave them be, others will suffer a terrible fate. Since it's only the second day, they probably haven't attacked anyone yet. We'll kill this problem in the crib then!"
Tianming's eyes burned with passion. He knew that those outside were eagerly waiting to see what those two would come up with.
"Are you confident in taking on two Heavenly Will disciples that can use telepathy?" Ying Huo asked.
"What confidence? I only know I need to properly brutalize them!" He drew Onyx Dragon and jumped off the tree, then zipped toward the jungle a kilometer away.
"Sheesh, how fierce. Meow Meow, charge!" Ying Huo chirped, then disappeared with a flap of its wings.
The black cat was still rubbing its eyes as the other two vanished, much to its surprise. It hurriedly turned into a bolt of lightning and blasted through the jungle.
"Wait for me, boss, chicken bro!"
In fact, it was the fastest among the three.
The audience was suddenly shown a really odd scene. Tianming used to be closer to Yueling Long than the two onyx disciples, but he suddenly locked on to them and charged right in with his sword. The clash was now inevitable.
"Is he insane? He's taking on two people at once."
"No, Li Wusheng should be hiding. Perhaps he didn't see him from afar!""He got tricked! He's going to get himself killed!"
"Onyx Sect's two Heavenly Will disciples excel at group attacks. Li Tianming is definitely done for!"
"I didn't think the Realm Wars would start with a bang like this."
Tianming drew the attention of the whole audience just like that, not that he knew what they were looking at from within the barrier. Currently, the tall, black-clad youth was conspicuously walking through the jungle. All of a sudden, the sharp edge of a blade came coursing toward him.
Demise of Man-Earth-Heaven!
It had been a long time since Tianming had used it, but that didn't mean the move was weak by any measure. However, it was slightly weaker than the saint-ranked Voidgod Sword Intent. Even then, Mu Yang's simplification of the technique was far more efficient. Not to mention, Tianming had comprehended more of the technique as his strength approached Heavenly Will.
Demise of Man, Spectral-Dance, Soul-Extinction, Demise of Earth, Earth-Quaker, Hell-Shaker, Demise of Heaven, Divine-Fury, Heavenly-Judgment, and Apocalyptic-Will! All seven strikes were consecutively executed, forming a perfect killing combo. Tianming didn't hold back and went full-strength on his surprise attack.
It was too ferocious and fast for Li Jiusi, who didn't notice he was facing his imminent demise. The moment the seven strikes were executed, Tianming shot out a cold, domineering gaze that shocked him so much it numbed his scalp. It was too fast.
"Buzz off!" Li Jiusi roared, reacting as fast as he could. He raised his armored arms, using one to block and the other to punch towards Tianming. The armor on him was at least grade eight, and his protected arms were like two huge metal rods.
At least eighty percent of his body was protected by armor. If it had covered his whole body, he would have huge difficulty moving about.
Three of the strikes had been blocked by Li Jiusi. The clanging of the beastial weapons rang out through the Elysium Battlefield, but the others within the barrier couldn't hear it. The fourth strike, Hell-Shaker, cut toward Li Jiusi's head, though it was blocked in time. The reaction speed of a Heavenly Will cultivator was not to be underestimated. However, the fifth strike, Divine-Fury, was so fast it pierced straight through.
The thrust almost pierced his throat, but it ended up only grazing his neck. Even then, it left a centimeter-deep cut. The neck was a weak spot, and had the cut been even one centimeter deeper, Li Jiusi would be suffering far worse. He had never expected Tianming to be so fast and fierce, though this was just the beginning. Heavenly-Judgment came next like a lightning bolt, forcing him to have to jolt aside to dodge, though he was a little slow and lost an ear as a result.
"Aaaagh!" he cried. While the injury didn't affect his fighting capability, it still hurt. The cut continued down and struck his shoulder. Had it not been armored, Tianming would've taken his arm. Even so, the sheer force of the strike forced him to kneel. Last came the final strike: Apocalyptic-Will.
"Die!" That strike pierced toward Li Jiusi's unprotected eye. The seven strikes were so shockingly fast that people forgot to breathe.
However, Tianming had underestimated Li Jiusi's will to survive. He had counted on the last strike to take Li Jiusi down, but his foe managed to react and summon his lifebound beast. A gigantic steel bug appeared between them, taking Tianming's strike. Despite its thick steel hide, Tianming's thrust still penetrated it.
Green liquid spilled out from the wound as Tianming hurriedly withdrew his sword. The beast’s blood was actually a strong poison. His surprise attack hadn’t gone the way he wanted, but seeing the pained expression of Li Jiusi and the bloody hole on his lifebound beast was satisfactory enough for Tianming. It was a shame that the beast was so large, otherwise Tianming could've killed it outright with his surprise attack.
Combat wasn't just a matter of strength and skill. There were many other factors one had to take into account, such as one's mental state, which could heavily affect the outcome. Now, Tianming held the edge in all of that. If it was someone else that wasn't equipped with such sturdy armor, their heart would've been pierced through.
"Li Tianming!" howled Li Jiusi like a beast as he stood back up, wielding two huge weapons in his hands. They were a pair of grade-eight beastial weapons called Spectral Maces.
They resembled bloody red eyeballs covered in spikes, each of them thirty centimeters in diameter. One look was enough to tell Tianming how heavy they were. There were still traces of blood on the spikes—a sign they had been used to kill rather recently.
"It's over for you!" Li Jiusi had decided to kill this sneaky bastard.