Obviously, the incident of Tianming beating the three Qin brothers had completely spread through the clan. The cause of the conflict was well known, and Tianming knew these people would continue provoking him with such derogatory words. And it wasn’t difficult for them to succeed.
This was a dead end with no solution.
Aware of that, Bai Zijin had erected a heavenly pattern barrier to isolate him from such disturbances. But today, Tianming wasn’t within a barrier. Bai Zijin was just about to say that the young man’s deliberate provocation was both childish and meaningless, but before the words could be spoken, Tianming had left her side.
She sighed, "Be careful, this young man isn’t easy to deal with. He’s at the Saint stage!"
Tianming could clearly see that. After all, the Saint stage was an entirely different stage from Heavenly Will, hence a wide gap in strength lay between them. This young man was at least seven or eight years younger than Jun Niancang, but already on the same cultivation level.
But so what? All Tianming wanted to do now was to tear his mouth apart!
"Tianming, remember clearly. The person who’s going to beat you today is I, Baili Zhuixing. This is the punishment you bear on your father’s behalf. Today’s the first payment, and I promise you a good time. Are you going to hide like a turtle your whole life? If so, the entire Ancient Qilin Clan will spend a romantic evening with your mother! Haha!"
Baili Zhuixing smiled maliciously, immediately clashing with Tianming’s murderous gaze.
"I was only going to rip your mouth off, but I changed my mind. I want your life!"
Drawing out the Grand-Orient Sword, all three of Tianming’s lifebound beasts appeared. The ferocity of the Primordial Chaos Beasts exploded, their momentum monstrous.
"Hahaha...." Upon hearing Tianming’s ‘shameless boasting’, Baili Zhuixing threw his head back in laughter. "What the hell! Defeating three at the ninth-level Heavenly Will has made you this cocky? Even if you’re a gifted triple beastmaster, Heavenly Will is just so. Are you thinking of defying destiny?"
Tianming’s response was to attack.
One man and three beasts, with Lan Huang as the main body, instantly clashed with Baili Zhuixing on his Nine Starry Qilin.
Weapons collided and sparks flew. The weapon in Baili Zhuixing’s hand had thirty saintly heavenly patterns and was called the Starry Swordbreaker. Weapon in hand, Baili Zhuixing cast a contemptuous gaze upon Tianming. A chance to beat Tianming up was something he yearned for.
Upon Tianming's command, the Primordial Terraqua Dragon attacked the Nine Starry Qilin, driving it away from Baili Zhuixing. As the earth beneath their feet shook violently, the qilin was washed away by mud.
Ying Huo immediately swooped in for the kill, pinning the qilin to the ground. In the past, Ying Huo and Meow Meow had formed a strong team, but now, Lan Huang and Ying Huo were a better combination.
Lan Huang was tough, domineering, and much larger than the Nine Starry Qilin. With the quaking of the earth, the qilin was hit several times. Outraged, it demonstrated several abilities at once.
However, Ying Huo and Lan Huang possessed even more powerful abilities.
"Big Bro, kill this bastard for me. Tortoise Bro and I will handle this!" Ying Huo fumed.
Among the three lifebound beasts, its feelings for Wei Jing were the most profound. Even its name was given by her. Naturally, Ying Huo would be the most furious.
Climbing Tianming's shoulder, Meow Meow didn’t transform into its Regal Chaosfiend form. Instead, it was enveloped in lightning and surged with devilish ki. Its blue eyes had turned bloody.
This was the advantage of a triple beastmaster—fighting two on one.
"Kill!"
As soon as Tianming struck, Meow Meow dashed across, wrapped in Ninefold Chaos Thunderscape. Attracted by its Ninefold Chaos Thunderscape, huge snakes of electricity descended from the sky, forcing Baili Zhuixing to dodge.
Then, Tianming attacked from the front. Shenxiao Sword Art, second stage! Thunder and fire alternated, aggressive and fierce. Working with Meow Meow’s lightning, Tianming’s attack found its target.
"Useless!" sneered Baili Zhuixing. Starry Swordbreaker in hand, he unleashed an Earth Saint battle art known as the Starlight Art.
This was a mid-tier Earth Saint battle art that was in fact inferior to the Voidgod Sword Intent. However, he possessed the Saint Palace Spring, saint ki that could protect his body. The suppression of his stage was really strong.
Starlight Art—Meteor Flash!
Baili Zhuixing’s weapon burst into blazing starlight and collided with Tianming's Shenxiao Sword Art.
The Grand-Orient Sword and Starry Swordbreaker clashed in a domineering contest of sword intent. Sparks flew as the two crisscrossed.
What shocked Baili Zhuixing was his lack of an advantage.
"How can a ninth-level Heavenly Will beastmaster have such strength? His battle art seems incomprehensible!"
However, he didn’t have time to dwell on that. Eyes cold, Tianming turned around again. In that instant, a black figure appeared beside Baili Zhuixing.
Meow Meow’s black thunder broke out. Despite its tiny body, the lightning ball that erupted was heaven-defying. Like a torrent sweeping through, it instantly formed a high-speed rotating lightning vortex that fell from the sky and crashed down onto Baili Zhuixing.
At the critical moment, a ball of starlight converged within Baili Zhuixing, most likely an ability of the Nine Starry Qilin. Then, Misty Hellthunder completely engulfed Baili Zhuixing and endless lightning crazily tore at the ball of starlight. This time, Baili Zhuixing’s expression cracked. He was anxious to escape from the bombardment of Meow Meow’s ability.
"Do you think you can escape?"
With a sneer, Tianming struck with the Grand-Orient Sword. Shenxiao Sword Art, third stage! The combination of three heavenly wills had been used to kill nineteen demon beasts, and was something Tianming had completely mastered.
Gritting his teeth, Baili Zhuixing waved his weapon in a burst of Starlight Art—Star Blaze. Dazzling starlight exploded from the Starry Swordbreaker, making it difficult to judge its position.
But would that matter? Tianming's sword was directed at Baili Zhuixing's head. Enveloped in three Heavenly Wills, the Grand-Orient Sword swept across. Flames roared and thunder burst; this one move was as heavy as a mountain.
Baili Zhuixing was forced to use his weapon to block the attack as, unfortunately, Misty Hellthunder had broken his shield. Thousands of electric snakes struck, scorching his flesh. Vomiting blood, he almost couldn’t hold on to his weapon to block Tianming’s attack.
This was a moment of life and death! Baili Zhuixing screamed and withdrew as fast as possible. The tip of the Grand-Orient Sword was just about to sink into his neck and behead him, but he managed to escape the fatal attack.
The tip of the sword swept across his lips, causing a bloody wound that enlarged his bleeding lips threefold. The stabbing pain on his face made Baili Zhuixing break out in tears. As he screamed, he pulled at the injury and worsened the pain.
"Ahh!!” Baili Zhuixing’s gaze had undergone a drastic change. Within it was now a trace of fear.
Being a Saint stage beastmaster, he was very confident of victory—even though his opponent was a gifted triple beastmaster. But facing reality, his confidence had been crushed. He knew that Tianming would kill him. If he had been slower by even a second, he would have lost his head by now. Eyes wide open, he was covered in cold sweat.
"You—" He wanted to speak, but the pain of his torn mouth prevented him from doing so.
At the moment between life and death, he suddenly threw a book in Tianming’s direction. This was definitely a heavenly pattern book. Unsure, Tianming retreated with Meow Meow.
The heavenly pattern book exploded right before his eyes, giving off a brilliant light that completely obscured his vision. This blazing starlight resembled a sword that could pierce through its target’s flesh, and Tianming was forced to retreat several steps.
When he finally caught up again, Baili Zhuixing was gone. The next moment, he appeared beside Ying Huo, placed his qilin back into his lifebound space, and threw out another book with the same heavenly pattern.
"Li— Ahh!"
He was about to curse again as he fled, but the attempt tore at his wound, causing him to twist in pain. After the burst of starlight faded, Tianming and Meow Meow chased after him at their fastest speed.
However, Baili Zhuixing was determined to escape, even going so far as to use extremely valuable heavenly pattern books. By the time Tianming arrived at Ying Huo's side, the young Saint had disappeared. However, Tianming still proceeded to chase after him.
"Why do you want to kill him so badly?" It took Bai Zijin a lot of effort to pull Tianming back.
"Even if he escapes this time, I must kill him the next time I see him." Tianming’s eyes dimmed.
"That young man is a direct descendant of Exalted Ling Xing," said Bai Zijin.
"He still has to die." A murderous look surged in Tianming’s eyes.
"Can’t you take a little swearing when it comes to your mum?"
It might be great to be this young man’s mother, but as the person responsible for him, naturally, it was a headache.
"Yes." Despite having slowly calmed down, Tianming had committed Baili Zhuixing to memory.
"Now that everyone knows what your weakness is, anyone can provoke you, force you to attack, and even set a trap for you," Bai Zijin explained.
"Does it matter? Don’t worry, I only attacked him after making sure I could kill him. If I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t mind keeping him alive for a few more days. You may think that I’m impulsive and can't stand provocation, but this is how I am," replied Tianming.
No one was allowed to insult Wei Jing like this. If that was a weakness, he didn’t care.
"Alright," sighed Bai Zijin as she stared at the fiery-eyed young man. "But you’re amazing to be able to defeat a Saint stage opponent at ninth-level Heavenly Will." His performance had impressed her yet again.
"If I was at ninth-level Heavenly Will, he would be a corpse now."
Tianming’s anger had yet to dissipate. Slicing his mouth wasn’t enough.
Failing to hear his words, Bai Zijin said, "Your character is so explosive that you can’t handle the slightest loss. When we get back, I’ll have to have a good talk with you. For example, to get back at someone, you don't have to kill them. In fact, there’s all kinds of ways to make a person pay the price, such as beating the three brothers last time. After all, this is someone else's territory, understand?"
Along the way, she shared a lot, much like a real older sister would. In fact, Bai Zijin’s advice was for his own good. If it were anyone else, silence was her default.
"Well, for Big Sister Bai's sake, if I bump into him again, I won’t take his life.”
Bai Zijin would have to answer to the Decimo Dao Palace if something happened to Tianming. He didn’t want to cause so much trouble for her.
"But I’ll still give him an unforgettable lesson,” Tianming added.