Even Wei Jing was staring at Tianming in shock.
“Mom!!” It had been so long since Tianming last saw his mother, whom he’d spent his entire childhood with, so how could Tianming not miss her? He rushed forward and picked her up by her waist as he swung her about, the two of them looking about the same age.
“I don’t recall my son being this strong,” Wei Jing was still visibly confused.
“Now you’ve learned something new about your son.” Tianming put his already dizzy mother back down.
“Hello Aunt Jing, I’m back with big brother Tianming.” At the same time, Feiling left Tianming’s body and politely greeted Wei Jing, holding the hem of her dress in her hands.
Only when Tianming pulled Feiling back to his chest did Wei Jing finally recover from her daze.
“What a monster,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Who calls their own son a monster?”
“That’s for harassing Ling’er in public. Come here Ling’er, and tell me if that brat ever bullied you.” Wei Jing beamed.
“Aunt Jing.” Feiling hopped over without a doubt and smiled mischievously at Tianming. Finally, there’s someone whom you can’t disobey. But before she could say anything else, Wei Jing put her hand on Feiling’s belly.
“Not yet, I see,” Wei Jing sighed.
“What?” It took a moment for Feiling to understand, then she blushed red.
“Haha, don’t take Aunt Jing’s jokes too seriously,” Wei Jing laughed.
“Mom, shouldn’t you be more serious at your age?” Tianming was grinning too.
“Of course, I’m a serious person.”
It was only then that the others recovered from their shock. Wei Tiancang, Sage Chen, and the Vermilion Bird King were all equally impressed. Was this really the same Tianming they had known?
With that stylish return from Tianming, no one even seemed to care about the fact that Mu Yang was strong enough to defeat Jin Yixuan. It was a mix of emotions for Mu Yang, as everyone else was talking to Tianming, and no one was even spectating his battle. In his irritation, he finished off Jin Yixuan with a clean strike.
“You!” Jin Yixuan could still feel the regret burning right up until he died.
“Still want to act cocky?” Mu Yang said as Jin Yixuan collapsed to the ground. Jin Yixuan had abused his position in Vermilion Bird many times, and Mu Yang had finally ended this nuisance with his own hands. That said, it was also made simpler by Jin Yixuan’s fear of Ye Shaoqing.
As the Azureflame Dragon returned to its lifebound space, Ye Shaoqing was the only one to applaud Mu Yang’s victory.
“Brother Mu Yang, that’s some very impressive mastery of heavenly will. Was Tianming’s Demise of Man-Earth-Heaven simplified by you?” Ye Shaoqing asked.
“Yes, and how may I address you, sir?” Mu Yang kept his sword and asked.
“I’m Tianming’s master, Ye Shaoqing. We’re all friends here, so just call me Brother Ye.”
“Alright then. From the way Brother Ye crushed Ling Yichen previously, I could tell that you’re a saint-level expert from the Grand-Orient Realm. That display of skill was truly admirable,” Mu Yang exclaimed.
“You have a bright future, but it’s held back by your beast’s tier. I’ll grab you a manna later, and once your beast evolves to a saint beast, you’ll have no problem reaching the Saint stage.”
“I thank Brother Ye for your goodwill, but that’s be too precious a gift….” Mu Yang didn’t know the relationship between Ye Shaoqing and Tianming, so he was afraid that he might affect Tianming’s future.
“Don’t you worry about that. Treat it as a gift from the junior sect master, he’s definitely rich enough for that.” Ye Shaoqing laughed.
“Junior sect master?” Mu Yang looked at Tianming, who had just approached him.
“Uncle Yang.”
“Impressive, I never dreamt that you’d be even stronger than me in half a year’s time,” Mu Yang praised.
“Don’t feel inferior just because of that, Uncle Yang.”
“Screw off.” Mu Yang felt the itch to slap Tianming.
“Tianming, the sect needs us, so we can only stay here for a day before we go back.” Ye Shaoqing told Tianming.
“Understood.” One day was enough time to catch up, as he still had plenty of opportunities to go back in the future.
“I’ll tell the drunkard to send some people to guard this place as well, so you can have peace of mind after returning to the sect,” Ye Shaoqing added.
“Thanks.”
Tianming would have liked to move his family over to the Grand-Orient Sect, but right now the sect was in far greater danger. Vermilion Bird would be relatively safe, now that Ling Yichen and his minions had been dealt with.
“Zhao Hang.” Ye Shaoqing beckoned at the elder.
“Vice Sect Master, there’s an elysium disciple by the name of Yueling Ji who contacted these three before they came here.”
“How did you handle that?” Ye Shaoqing asked.
“I dealt with her once the others left, so now we can safely say that no one else knows about the junior sect master’s hometown,” Zhao Hang explained.
“Good job.”
“Vice Sect Master? So that must be the junior sect master’s mother. She’s the sect master’s lover, so why didn’t he bring her back to the sect?” Zhao Hang asked out of curiosity.
But of course, those were just stories made up by Li Jingyu to hide the fact that Tianming wasn’t actually Li Wudi’s son.
“Ahem, that’s not something you need to be concerned about, just keep to your duties.”
“Understood.” Zhao Hang nodded.
After that, Tianming spent the time introducing Ye Shaoqing to his friends and family in Ignispolis, while Feiling returned to the Vermilion Bird King. He returned to Wei Manor and told them of everything that had happened since he’d left Ignispolis. From the battle at the Prime Tower to the Realm War, and now the war between the sects, the tales kept his audience captivated.
“Mom, I can’t stay for long. If the Grand-Orient Sect survives this, I’ll bring you all there,” Tianming said.
“Don’t worry about us. We just hope you stay safe,” Mu Yang replied.
“I’ll be fine, after all I’ve been through. Although I can’t stay for long, I did scavenge quite some treasures from my mentor.” Tianming grinned as he emptied his spatial ring. Scattered on the table were manna, weapons, herbs, and ores, all of a quality that Vermilion Bird had never seen before. All the manna were at least at the profound level, and some of them were at the terrestrial level. Ye Shaoqing had specifically instructed Tianming to give Mu Yang a mid-tier terrestrial manna capable of evolving a beast to a second-order saint beast.
“Isn’t that too precious?” Wei Jing’s eyes widened.
“Then I guess it’s a shame that I’ll have to keep this for myself.”
“Now, don’t make me beat you.”
“Haha.…”
One day wasn’t a lot of time, but Tianming enjoyed every second he spent with his family. As soon as he returned to the Grand-Orient Sect, the war would likely begin. This could very well be the last bit of relaxation and peace he would be getting.
During the night, Tianming had a lot to discuss with Mu Yang and Wei Jing. Both of them supported his decision to continue his adventures outside Vermilion Bird.
“You’ve done us proud, and your acts of bravery are something we’ll definitely remember. Keep it up!” Mu Yang patted Tianming’s shoulder.
“Uncle Yang, take care of my mother.”
Mu Yang coughed, not forgetting to give Tianming a stern glare. “Of course I will.”
For the Wei Manor, it was a day filled with joy and laughter. As for Ignispolis, the legends of Tianming had spread to every crook and corner of the city. In the Chen Chateau, Sage Chen returned in the middle of the night to find his wife Xue Lan and his two boys staring at him.
“What?” Sage Chen asked.
“Are the rumours today true…?”
“They’re all fake.”
“You’re lying to me! So it really is true!” Xue Lan sobbed.
“If you know it’s true then why even ask? That boy worked his way there through his own blood and sweat, so shouldn’t we be congratulating him?” Sage Chen rolled his eyes.
“I can’t accept that!” Xue Lan said.
“Too bad, then.” Sage Chen said, then threw a glance at his sons. “Get back to training!”
But even Sage Chen himself felt slightly dazed by how much Tianming had achieved. First, he defeated his own generation, and now he can kill the older generation. Even I can no longer fight him.
However, he had also benefited tremendously from Tianming’s return. He, too, had received a manna capable of evolving his Octo-Starred Imperial Lion into a first-order saint beast.
“How generous of him to give me a terrestrial manna for lending him a thousand spirit gems,” Sage Chen muttered. However, the value of a thousand spirit gems to a boy in need back then was much, much more.
On the same night, Tianming paid a visit to Midas’ tomb, poured wine over the grave, and shared his stories. Every single day of the sixteen years they spent together was still deeply etched into his memories.
“Midas, I’ll bring your brothers on an adventure across the continent, then I’ll take you to the most beautiful place and let you rest there.”
“Wait for me, brother!”
…
The next day when he arrived at the palace to fetch Feiling, Tianming was surprised to find the Vermilion Bird King to be the one greeting him.
“Your Majesty, please don’t.…” Tianming felt his head throbbing. How could he let his future father-in-law be so humble in front of him?
“Tianming, you have my most sincere thanks for gifting us with so much manna,” the king thanked him.
“Ah, those were all my master’s, so I don’t feel bad myself.”
The king felt the corner of his eye twitch.
When Jiang Qingluan and Feiling walked out of the palace, both of their eyes were swollen with tears. Jiang Qingluan had also heard the stories of how he had slain Song Yixue. Given the danger the Grand-Orient Sect was in, he still couldn’t take her with them on their journey. If the sect survived, then Tianming would make another trip back.
“Come on, we only have so much time left in Ignispolis. Don’t make it look like a life and death parting….” Tianming scratched his head.
“How dare you! You’re the one who took my Ling’er away from me!” Jiang Qingluan raged.
“Didn’t I give you a low-tier terrestrial manna in return?” Tianming said.
“Do you think the value of a terrestrial manna is comparable to Ling’er to me?” Jiang Qingluan said through gritted teeth.
“Next time I come back, I’ll try to make your lifebound beast evolve to a third-order saint beast.”
“That’s much better,” Jiang Qingluan laughed and immediately pushed Ling’er to Tianming. “Here, Ling’er, remember to serve your big brother Tianming well. It’s alright if you have more babies.”
“What a strong bond of sisterhood, I have to say.…”