From the highest level of the Dao Pagoda, the thousands of stages on the Evil Suppression Plaza could be seen, and all the battles on them. There was a throne by the window, upon which sat an azure-eyed elder. The elder wore grey clothes and a thin figure. There wasn’t much flesh on his face, and his eyes were piercing like a vulture’s. Beside him stood an alluring woman. She was Su Hongyin.
“Hall King, who is that brat for you to call me back?” Su Hongyin unhappily asked. Looking at Tianming down below, Su Hongyin was unhappy. After all, she was a Supernal Mentor, yet she was stumped by a disciple, which made her feel humiliated.
“His identity will soon be revealed. He’s the son of Li Muyang from the Ancient Qilin Clan. Today, Bai Mo and four others came to snatch him away from the Ancient Qilin Clan,” said the azure-eyed elder.
“Snatch? What does Li Muyang’s son have to do with the Decimo Dao Palace?”
“That’s because this brat is the foster son of Li Wudi, and he’s also a pentabane at the same time,” said the elder.
“Pentabane? A physique equivalent to Li Shenxiao’s? Is it so cheap that it can be found everywhere?” Su Hongyin was dumbfounded.
“Who knows what the descendants of the Li Saint Clan underwent. But those two youngsters are nothing. They still need a long time to grow. On the other hand, Li Wudi will gain a prestigious position in the Decimo Dao Palace, sooner or later. The palace lord relied on Li Shenxiao’s relationship to reach an agreement with Li Wudi. If all goes according to plan, Li Wudi will become the next palace lord sooner or later, gaining control of the Dark Hall. With Li Wudi, no one can say for sure about his potential. At that time, the Decimo Dao Clan will belong to the Li Saint Clan. Our Ancient Greedwolf Clan has been managing the West Hall for so many years, and we might be slowly uprooted from the Decimo Dao Palace!” said the azure-eyed elder.
“Hall King, I have a question. Why didn’t the Primeval Autarch immediately take Li Muyang’s son to force Li Muyang to return the Cyclic Mirror?” Su Hongyin asked.
“Because everything happened at the same time. The Primeval Autarch is dead, so no one cares about it right now,” said the azure-eyed elder.
“Then which prince is our Ancient Greedwolf Clan supporting?” Su Hongyin probed.
“Don’t ask. You’ll lose your life if you ask too many questions. You only need to know that Dongyang Yun will be ascending the throne tomorrow.” The azure-eyed elder glanced at Su Hongyin coldly, but his hands kept wandering around her body.
“Mhmmm!” Su Hongyin broke out in a cold sweat and quickly shut her mouth. The whereabouts of the ninth prince, Dongyang Ling, was causing a big storm in the Divine Capital.
“It’s fine for the Theocrats to fight among themselves, but we’ll be in a difficult position if we don’t get rid of Li Wudi in a decade. Let’s hope the Theocrats’ turmoil will end soon, so we can kill him,” the azure-eyed elder said eerily.
“Why don’t you head to the Grand-Orient Realm and get rid of him right now? Is an octabane that terrifying?”
“You’re overthinking it. The Decimo Dao Palace has a few masters in the Grand-Orient Realm.”
“From the Dark Hall?”
“Yeah,” said the elder, leaving Su Hongyin in deep contemplation.
“Go and call Wei Wushang.”
“You want him to suppress Li Tianming and find an opportunity to cripple this brat? Or find an opportunity to kill the two of them?” asked Su Hongyin.
“Stop guessing randomly. You have nothing aside from your body,” said the elder.
“...alright.” The elder was overbearing, but Su Hongyin really liked it.
“Suppress them first. Wear down their courage and willpower. Let them taste the pain of failure and strike fear in them. Moreover, the other halls also won’t allow someone who can topple the Decimo Dao Palace’s current situation to appear. We have to strangle the enemy’s geniuses before they can grow up,” the azure-eyed elder sneered.
It didn’t matter if the outside was in chaos. He was the patriarch of the Ancient Greedwolf Clan, and at the same time, he was the West Hall King. His duty among the Ancient Clans was to manage the West Hall.
“By the way, Hall King, what’s the deal with the woman attached to that brat?” Su Hongyin asked.
“I don’t know. It’s bizarre that there’s someone so strange in the world. I can only tell that Tianming loves her a lot.”
“So?”
“I’m preparing to get someone to kill her. After all, she’s a nameless person, and if she dies, that brat would be more or less crippled.”
“Oh, you make sense. I hate youngsters being so lovey-dovey the most. Why don’t I personally kill her? I can do it quietly without causing any commotion.”
“Are you sure about that?” the azure-eyed elder asked seriously.
“I’m sure. That’ll be a huge credit, and I want to give it a try.”
“You can. Come back for your reward when you’re done, then.”
“The reward won’t be your favor, right?”
“Why don’t you guess? I’m messing with you. I will give you what you asked for the other time.”
“Thank you, Hall King! I—”
“Don’t come over now. This old man can’t take it.”
……
The nightscape was decorated with stars. The four youngsters were cultivating under the moonlight. When Bai Zijin came after finally finishing her shower—which practically took an entire day—Tianming said, “Hello, Big Sister Bai.”
“I heard about you along the way here. Everyone now knows that you have two fathers,” said Bai Zijin.
“Is that good or bad?” Tianming asked.
“It’s nothing. It would be known sooner or later. A pentabane is too conspicuous, and you can’t hide it. Then again, no matter how arrogant you are, you’re still lacking compared to your foster father.”
“How arrogant was he?”
“He was summoned by the palace lord when he came that day and flashed his octabane,” Bai Zijin said with disdain.
“And?”
“The palace lord came out.”
Indeed, it was befitting of Li Wudi’s style—straightforward.
“Now that everyone knows you have Li Wudi backing you, along with four Hall Lords, no one will dare to touch you, not even from the other halls. But you have to be careful when fighting other disciples. After all, you started something unprecedented today, and if someone does the same to you, others will only say that you deserve it.” Bai Zijin was feeling a headache. Anyway, she had never seen Tianming bearing with it since the first day she had met him. If he had grudges with someone, he would vent them on the spot.
She had no idea that Tianming was sensitive toward hatred. Back then, when he bore it in for three years, he had already used up all his patience. And now that he could resolve it, he wouldn’t bear it in silence.
“Don’t worry about it, Big Sister Bai. I know,” said Tianming.
“You’re Ling’er?” Bai Zijin couldn’t be bothered with Tianming anymore and turned to Feiling.
“Hello, Big Sister Bai,” she obediently greeted. Looking at Bai Zijin’s heavenly pattern barrier, she couldn’t help sticking her tongue out.
“You’re really pretty, Ling’er. Even I’ve been captivated by you. That brat Tianming is really fortunate to have you.” After being praised, Feiling would surely praise Bai Zijin in return. The two of them ended up exchanging flattery. This was the world of women—hypocritical, yet cute.
Tianming looked outside. The entire Divine Capital was shrouded in an undercurrent, and the Decimo Dao Palace was caught in it. The turmoil might even break into the Decimo Sky and Earth Ranking, making the battles even more intense. Cultivation was a race against time, but Tianming had taken a break today and planned on continuing his race tomorrow.
Under the moonlight in the courtyard, Li Qingyu’s lifebound beast had already evolved into a fifth-order saint beast, transforming from a Grandwhite Kunpeng into a Lunar Kunpeng. In the soft, silver light, the Kunpeng's snow-white feathers looked elegant and noble.
“Yueyue, do you want some fish?” Ying Huo grabbed a fat golden fish and handed it over to Shuo Yue.
“Yueyue, don’t ignore me. Do you like earthworms?” Ying Huo persisted.
“I want to eat you!” Shuo Yue glanced at Ying Huo.
“Don’t be so straightforward. Don’t you know that I’ll feel shy?” Ying Huo’s feathers turned red.
Meow Meow and Lan Huang were watching by the side.
“Brother Meow, what’s Brother Chick doing?”
“Picking up girls.”
“Is it fun?”
“It’s fun. You can give it a try.”
“Brother Meow, I’m afraid of that white bird. Why don’t I pick you up instead?”
“Meow?” Meow Meow became alert.
“Brother Meow, where do I begin?” Lan Huang looked at Meow Meow with both of its heads.
“Get lost!” Meow Meow only felt that it was safe after climbing to the top of the pavilion. It collapsed on the pavilion’s roof and settled in to sleep. “Sleep, meow!”
Suddenly, Meow Meow felt a chill and opened its eyes. Meow Meow saw a youth with crimson pupils studying its eggs.
“Holy cow! Tianming, take your brother away!” Meow Meow cried. Why were these people so terrifying?
……
After two weeks passed, Tianming had relied on the black arm to analyze the Grand-Orient Sword’s golden gate and formally stepped into ninth-level Heavenly Will. He had finally reached the final level in the Heavenly Will stage, and what came next was the most crucial step in his cultivation.
“I started as a mortal, and now I’m stepping into the Saint stage.” Tianming wanted to continue pondering. Anyway, he still had time for the ranking battle. Meanwhile, the situation outside was continuing to change.
“Autarch Yun has ascended the throne, and he’s currently chasing down Dongyang Ling, who committed treason. Autarch Qian has already been buried, but the cause of his death hasn’t been announced so far. Some people started spreading the news that Autarch Yun schemed against his father to usurp the throne. I heard Autarch Qian was the strongest in the last ten generations of Primeval Autarchs. He was in power for two hundred years, and experienced all kinds of storms. So why did he suddenly die?
“Furthermore, there’s been many assassinations in the Divine Capital. Many members of the Ancient Theocrats, Ancient Clans, and Saint Martial Manor died suddenly with no culprit found. This means it won’t be easy for Autarch Yun to sit on his throne firmly until he becomes an Empyrean Saint. The situation might seem calm now, but it’s just the calm before the storm… Big Sister Bai told me to ignore everyone in the outside world and focus on the Decimo Sky and Earth Ranking. She even said that if I can’t find an opponent, she’ll arrange one for me…” Life was great for Tianming with a backer.
“Feng can also try challenging the Decimo Sky and Earth Ranking.…” Tianming had been studying Ye Lingfeng recently. During this period, Ye Lingfeng had also been making breakthroughs in his cultivation, and had reached third-level Earth Saint. Tianming discovered that Ye Lingfeng’s cultivation speed was as fast as his.
Ye Lingfeng said that he only spent two years recultivating after the soul sacrifice to reach the third level of the Earth Saint stage today. That kind of monstrous cultivation speed was nearly similar to Tianming.
The Future Hall King and the other Hall Kings also looked into this matter, and they said that when Ye Lingfeng cultivated the Infernal Soul Art, his powerful soul played a huge role. Whether it was comprehending Heavenly Will or converting beast ki into saint ki, it was equivalent to having eighty thousand people cultivating at the same time.
Those eighty thousand people all had their own experiences, and they gathered their thoughts together. It was easy for Ye Lingfeng’s Soul Will to advance by leaps and bounds. His was a Heavenly Will closest to the origin of the soul. In other words, his Heavenly Will was his soul. If it weren’t for the lack of spiritual energy in the Infernal Soul Volcano, his cultivation would definitely be much higher.
Moreover, they even said that as Ye Lingfeng continued fusing with the eighty thousand souls, his talent would only increase. The four Hall Kings all felt that Ye Lingfeng’s birth was a miracle, and they were further certain about that today. Even Tianming was happy for Ye Lingfeng.
“Let’s hope that Feng can catch up to my speed. This way, he can walk further with me.” Tianming had never been worried about his future, because the Primordial Chaos Beasts were in his body. However, the Aeonic Grandbane was still active. Once it was broken, who in the world would be able to catch up to him?
……
This day, Zhou Yuanyuan, who was living next door, came knocking on his door. When Tianming opened the door, the fatty said, “Brother Tianming, I just saw Wei Wushang outside earlier asking where you live.”
“What is he trying to do?”
“He’s probably trying to invite you to his birthday.”
“It’s a gathering for nobles in the Divine Capital. There’s beauties, wine, and delicacies everywhere! It’s a debauchery!” Fatty Zhou said with envy.
“It’ll be boring. The national funeral was just the other day, so how can we play?” Tianming said with disdain on his face, as Feiling was right next to him. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and a voice called out, “Brother Tianming, I’m Wei Wushang. Can I come in?”