"Big Brother Feng!” Li Mulin sobbed.
Qin Feng jumped in fright at the sight of Li Mulin. How was this a human face? Clearly it was a pig!
With a look of indifference, Tianming walked up to them with his three lifebound beasts. Lan Huang held the Ink Qilin by its head and sat on it, as if incubating an egg. The Ink Qilin could only scream miserably.
"Fun, hehe!" it laughed innocently.
Qin Feng and Li Mulin couldn't help but shiver. Wasn’t Tianming born in the Grand-Orient Realm? How could he be so strong?
In the eyes of these geniuses, the Grand-Orient Realm was viewed similar to how Vermilion Bird viewed Flamehaven. They couldn’t even compare to Yun Zhenzhen, so the disdain came as no surprise.
"Sinner’s son, how dare you attack us! You’re finished!" cried Li Mulin. At this moment, her long dress was covered in blood. Ying Huo wasn’t one to protect the fairer sex.
"Finished? Didn't you say that hundreds of thousands of you can’t wait to give me a thrashing? I was already finished to begin with, so why would I be afraid of more doom?" Throwing his head back in laughter, Tianming proceeded to slap Qin Feng, making him whimper.
"But before that happens, I can at least give you a lesson you’ll never forget," Tianming sneered.
Eyes brimming with fear, Li Mulin didn’t dare speak. All of her arrogance had turned into blood, which she was forced to swallow.
"Are you a couple?" asked Tianming.
Li Mulin was too afraid to speak, but Qin Feng glared at Tianming.
"Nice figure, mind letting my chicken appreciate her?"
"Hehe." Perched on Tianming’s shoulder, Ying Huo smiled wickedly. "Not bad, a fine ride indeed."
"Mmmph!" Qin Feng raged. However, as soon as he tried to curse, Meow Meow, who was lying on his head, immediately stabbed his mouth with its tail, electrocuting him.
"If you knew you’d end up so miserable, why seek abuse? Next up, I’ll ask questions, and you’ll answer. Otherwise, you’ll learn just how cruel my methods can be." Tianming turned to Li Mulin, who bowed to the humiliation.
"What’s the Decimo Dao Palace?" Within Tianming’s gaze was a terrifying intimidation.
"It’s a school that’s existed for a long time, and the cradle of many Theocracy geniuses. With countless powerhouses, they remain one of the top authorities of the Divine City," said Li Mulin.
"To what extent?"
"They’re superior to the Ancient Qilin Clan."
"Comparable to the Ancient Theocrats?"
"Of course not, but they have the qualifications to speak."
"What’s the origin of the Decimo Dao Palace?" asked Tianming.
"Apparently, the Theocracy of the Ancients used to belong to the Decimo Dao Palace. At the time, the Demimo Dao Palace was the sect that everyone yearned for. Later on, the Ancient Theocrats rose and defeated the Decimo Dao Palace, established a nation, and governed the realm. The remaining forces of the Decimo Dao Palace were pardoned by the imperial family and turned the sect into a school to cultivate talents for the Theocracy." Afraid that Tianming already knew the answer and was testing her, Li Mulin made sure to answer in detail.
"Is there a relationship between the Decimo Dao Palace, the Grand-Orient Sword, and the Prime Tower of the Grand-Orient Realm?" Tianming narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, the tournament rules for the Grand-Orient Sword were set by the Decimo Dao Palace," said Li Mulin.
"Why don’t any of the powerhouses seize the Grand-Orient Sword? Why haven’t the three Exalted Ones taken it from me?" asked Tianming.
Li Mulin had asked her elders this exact question, because everyone was just as puzzled.
"My father said it’s because Li Shenxiao, the first ancestor of the Li Saint Clan, is a meritorious figure in the Decimo Dao Palace. He made exceptional battle contributions to the Decimo Dao Palace. It is based on their ancestors’ rule that the Grand-Orient Sword and Prime Tower remain in the Grand-Orient Realm. Except for the Li Saint Clan, no one can really control those two divine artifacts anyway, so seizing them is useless."
"Li Shenxiao?" Tianming came to a realization.
His father originated from the Ancient Qilin Clan, while his mother was from the Li Saint Clan. So the Decimo Dao Palace’s protection is a result of his relationship with the Li Saint Clan. Exceptional battle contributions? What did Li Shenxiao do for such a great, long-standing school to remember it to this day?
"That means the Decimo Dao Palace may be a turning point for me. Perhaps with my identity, I’ll live."
That explained why the three Exalted Ones merely sentenced him to the Infernal Soul Purgatory, instead of threatening him with death. At that point, a huge ruckus sounded at the foot of the mountain. Tianming stood up. Under the moonlight, he noticed many people heading in their direction.
"Sinner’s son, you’re dead meat! Our brothers, sisters, and friends will avenge us!" Having waited for this moment, Li Mulin’s eyes filled with tears.
Tianming rewarded her with another slap, knocking out the rest of her teeth.
"What's wrong with you? How can you be so cruel to a woman?" Ying Huo interjected.
"You didn't show mercy earlier, either," said Tianming.
"Who says? I’m a gentlechicken."
While Ying Huo was still making excuses, the noise grew louder and louder. At least thousands had made their way over here. Perhaps the huge commotion caused by Lan Huang had alerted them.
These thousands of people were mostly youths, though their elders might be hidden in the dark. At least six hundred of them, all under the age of thirty, had marched here when they heard fighting. But the first thing they saw was how miserable Qin Feng and Li Mulin looked.
"Who’s this badly beaten up person?"
"They look like Qin Feng and Li Mulin!"
"Weren’t we told not to do anything tonight? Why’re they here?"
"They probably thought of beating him, but ended up being beaten instead."
"How strong is the sinner’s son? He actually defeated them?!"
"Strength isn’t the issue, it’s his arrogance! What does he mean? Is he looking down on us?"
"Yes, how dare he fight back?"
Countless eyes stared at Tianming, Qin Feng and Li Mulin's elders included. Their strength was comparable to Ye Shaoqing. Tianming took a step back and allowed them to pick up their children.
"Father, avenge me and kill this beast!" shouted Qin Feng.
"There’s plenty of people who want to kill him. It’s not your turn, or even mine!" Qin Feng received another slap to the face.
What his father said was true. He shouldn’t have come out here tonight. Being beaten like this was even more humiliating. Although they desperately wanted to retaliate against Tianming, hundreds of thousands were also waiting for revenge.
Meanwhile, Tianming laid his eyes on the youths. There were many Ancient Qilin Clan geniuses similar to Qin Feng. He never imagined that the average standard here would be so high. The Ancient Qilin Clan had different branches. For example, within the Mo clan were several great families, each of them living in a huge mansion of their own, and each of them on par with the others. There seemed to be many youths with Qin Feng’s level of cultivation in the Mo clan, and more in the entire Ancient Qilin Clan as a whole. And at this moment, all of those youths were staring at him with resentment.
Tianming couldn't help laughing. "If a person hates me, I need to restrain myself so as not to offend him. If ten people hate me, all the more so. But, now hundreds of thousands hate me and can’t wait to kill me. Why restrain myself?"
Tianming firmly believed that even if he knelt, begged for mercy, and wept bitterly, these people wouldn’t change. They will be too angry, angry at Tianming.
"There’s nothing to say. I’m his son, so this is what I should bear. It’s fair for a son to pay his father’s debts. But I won’t just accept my fate."
He couldn't just give up and allow these people to take it out on him. Besides, the truth was yet to be discovered. Having figured that much out, Tianming wouldn’t bow his head before them. Since begging for mercy on his knees was no use, why humiliate himself? Thus, he stared at them with equally fiery eyes.
"What are you looking at? Come on then, cowards!"
Tianming was also upset by the fact that as soon as he got here, he became the target of public criticism. When that sentence was spoken, everyone boiled with fury. How dare a man wanted by hundreds of thousands call them cowards?
"Kill him!!”
All at once, hundreds of young people roared, then charged at him desperately.
"Stop!"
At that point, the elders had to step in. Otherwise, if Tianming died here, the loss would be great. As Tianming expected, none of them could hurt him. This was an unbelievable phenomenon—so many wanted to attack him, yet none of them could act, because they were afraid they might kill him in a momentary loss of control.
"Haha!"
In the face of hundreds of outraged people, Tianming actually laughed.
"What gives you the right to laugh? Your father harmed our entire clan. Dying ten thousand times isn’t enough punishment for such a sinner!"
"Who’ll kill him?!"
"That’d be too easy for him; let him cry for a lifetime, instead!"
Their fierce, ruthless gazes were a huge wakeup call. Although they each had their own reasons and emotions, their irrational anger had impacted Tianming. Who would be willing to bear such injustice and beg for forgiveness on their knees? At least, not Tianming. At that moment, he didn't want to bow—he wanted to find out the truth and answers.
"Go back to where you came from!"
Just then, Exalted Mo Yu appeared beside Tianming.
The anger of the crowd gradually subsided, but there were volcanoes hidden in their hearts, ready to erupt sooner or later.
"Exalted one, he injured Qin Feng and Li Mulin. The arrogant bastard clearly doesn’t think much of us!" shouted many of them.
"The two are at eighth level Heavenly Will, yet failed to defeat him. What’s there to be angry about?" said Mo Yu.
The crowd was bereft of speech.
"Go back. In three hours, the entire clan will gather at the Qilin altar!" shouted Mo Yu.
"Yes, give him the lifetime curse!"
"Let him suffer as we suffer!"
"Throw him into the Infernal Soul Purgatory and never let him out!"
Their hatred and resentment was so strong that Tianming was left dumbfounded. Stunned by the sudden, unprovoked hatred, he had yet to recover. But this was only the Mo clan. Three hours later, it would be the monstrous anger of hundreds of thousands from the entire Ancient Qilin Clan.
"This world is really wonderful, hahaha...."
He was laughing at himself. However, Exalted Mo Yu seemed to think he was being smug after his victory.
In a cold tone, she chided, "What’re you proud of? The two you defeated were ordinary juniors. There’s many geniuses in the Ancient Qilin clan that you can't even touch. You should gain more knowledge and experience. Don't be a frog at the bottom of the well." After speaking, she turned to leave.
"Yes, I’m looking forward to it." Tianming’s eyes burned with passion.
In the blink of an eye, time was up and the clan assembly officially began.
