The whale was green, and its skin resembled thick and tough wooden bark. There was even a brilliant green tree on its head that resembled caterpillar fungus. This was a third-order lifebound beast, a Greenwood Dragonwhale. In its veins flowed the blood of mythical dragons. It could sing like a dragon when it was in the ocean; however, it would be considerably weakened when fighting on land or a body of water smaller than a large river.
Its beastmaster was naturally Weisheng Qingluan. The whale opened its large mouth and a green-clad youth stepped out. For him to be able to reside within the whale's mouth meant that it was at least as large as a small house.
"Brother Tianming!" Weisheng Qingluan said as he excitedly came up to him. After witnessing that battle, he adored Tianming even more, to the point he was calling him brother.
"Heck, why are you hiding in its mouth? Doesn't it smell?" Ying Huo said as it landed on Tianming's head.
"Roooar!" the whale groaned with dissatisfaction. Even that little gesture was enough to cause waves.
"You don't get it. It smells like nothing but grass inside its mouth. Go smell it if you don't believe me." He was also looking at Ying Huo like he would his idol. As he spoke, he took out his black ball and handed it to Tianming.
"Now you only need one gold ball and one black ball, right?" He saw the six people tied up by Archfiend. There were four elysian children and two onyx disciples.
"That's right. I can just get the black ball from your sister, so I only need to fight for one more gold ball."
"Brother Tianming, you're too scary. I should really take a page out of your book!" He seemed a little envious of Tianming for all his prisoners. While he didn't know how Tianming had managed to find so many of them, it didn't detract from the sheer bliss he felt.
"It's no big deal. They're just small fry."
The reason Weisheng Qingluan was so impressed was that he had been quite fearful of encountering the two onyx disciples, yet Tianming could just casually call them small fry. Naturally, he had those qualifications.
"The strong ones are still to come, but I want to be the first to get the Grand-Orient sword," Tianming said.
"I don't think I'll be much help, but I'll do whatever you say!"
"Just keep the black ball safe," Tianming said. He was quite relieved at seeing Weisheng Qingluan safe, since his master had asked him to watch out for the Weisheng scion.
"Brother Tianming, can I beat them up to vent on behalf of our seniors?" Weisheng Qingluan asked with a snicker.
"Feel free."
With that, Weisheng Qingluan had his way with all six of them until they stopped crying out in pain from the fatigue.
"That was refreshing!" He had forgotten all the frustration he’d felt from the humiliation of previous generations of southsky disciples, all thanks to Tianing.
"Come with me, then." Tianming continued using Insightful Eye to seek out the remaining elysian children. He only needed one more gold ball. As for the remaining three black balls, he was confident that Weisheng Ruosu wouldn't lose hers—the siblings seemed like they could be counted on. So, Tianming prioritized getting the gold ball first. Elysian Yao was probably an easier target than Elysian Yi or Elysian Long.
With the Insightful Eye, he was able to disrupt the illusion of the Realm Barrier, allowing him to see through it and spot all the disciples in it, as well as how well they were doing. Of the fourteen, there were seven around Tianming alone. The other six would have a hard time bumping into each other.
Now that he had dealt with Jun Yuanjin, he noticed that three among the remaining six were actually fighting. One of them was a girl in a long gold dress with a ferocious expression. She was flying about in the sky with her fourth-order saint beast, a Gale Drakehawk. This was Elysian Yao, a beastmaster at the first level of Heavenly Will and Tianming's current target.
She was fighting Weisheng Ruosu alongside Jun Tianyi. It seemed that they were teaming up on her. Fortunately, Weisheng Ruosu, like her brother, calmly remained in the mouth of her whale and was escaping through the deep sea, helping dampen their attacks. Even then, it was dangerous enough to be pursued by two foes, elemental advantage or not. Tianming wasn't sure how long she could continue holding up.
"What's wrong, Brother Tianming?" he asked after he noted Tianming's serious look.
"Come, we're going to save your sister."
"What's wrong?"
"How fast can your whale swim?"
"Faster than you traveling on land at least."
"Good, let's go."
Tianming tied Archfiend to the tail of the whale. It wasn't like the battered losers could escape anyway. "Fellas, let's go for a good surf."
Tianming's words sent chills down their spines; their nightmare had just begun. The Greenwood Dragonwhale speedily broke through the waves and waters, though Tianming and Weisheng Qingluan had a rather relaxing time within its mouth. It was clean and smelled rather fresh. The whale's teeth looked like jewels, but not garish at all. It was no wonder the siblings liked hanging out in their lifebound beasts' mouths.
"What's happening to my sister?" Weisheng Qingluan asked as he steered the whale.
"That way!" Tianming was still correcting their course. Within the barrier, the area of land was three times that of the sea. Weisheng Ruosu was located near Southsky Island, so they shouldn't have a hard time locating her; especially with the ongoing battle.
"She's fine, for now, though she's being ganged up on by Elysian Yao and Jun Tianyi," Ying Huo said snarkily.
"Ah, then we have to make haste! Brother Tianming, please save her! Jun Tianyi has nothing but the worst of intentions!"
"Hey, calling him Brother-in-law might give him a boost," Ying Huo added.
"Bro... Brother-in-law?"
"Don't listen to that little shit!" Tianming snapped. As they bantered, Tianming continued adjusting their course with help from his third eye.
"Brother-in-law, I mean, Brother Tianming, that eye...?" He had spotted it while Tianming wasn't paying attention.
"Keep quiet about it, alright?"
"Okay!" He shut his mouth, knowing that Tianming was definitely using it to locate the rest. He stopped distracting him and focused on steering his beast through the sea per Tianming's instructions.
"That's not the right way. We're heading toward land. It should be there. That's where Southsky Island is, though it's much smaller than the real one. I looked here before when I was trying to find my sister. I think she's still here."
With his familiarity with the area and Tianming's third eye, it didn't take too much time. The whale opened its mouth and Tianming could already see where the three were without relying on his third eye.
"Qingluan, dive deep. I'll go save your sister."
"Alright." Though he was a bit nervous, he didn't insist on going. He had to watch after Tianming's prey, after all. The torturous waves made them regret surviving.
Tianming and his beasts would be greatly impacted if they fought underwater—Ying Huo especially—so he could only skirt along the surface. The two elysian children were probably doing the same.
Right as he jumped out of the ocean, there was a gigantic eagle above him sporting golden scales. It looked to be armored all over, and its huge claws and beak looked as terrifying as Meow Meow's Venomfiend Bloowclaws. It was a Gale Drakehawk! On its back stood a smirking girl in a gold dress and Jun Tianyi. The two of them were currently unaware that Tianming and his lifebound beasts had charged out from the ocean underneath them.
"Elysian Yao!" Tianming immediately targeted her. "You two, go help Ruosu."
Weisheng Ruosu was still in the ocean, but Jun Tianyi and his beast had locked on to her. She had persisted for an hour and wouldn't be in any real danger for now. Jun Tianyi wouldn't be able to hurt her too badly while she was in the sea, though she couldn't outrun them.
As long as Tianming could get that gold ball, he could ask Weisheng Ruosu for her black ball and meet the requirements. But, to be safe, he still had Ying Huo and Meow Meow go help her out while he beelined for Elysian Yao.
"Who are you?!" she cried, but before she could tell who it was, Tianming's Onyx Dragon came slashing toward her.