When Wei Wushang knocked on the door, Zhou Yuanyuan, who was standing by the door, opened it. There was a large group standing outside, with Wei Wushang in the lead. He was a member of the Ancient Greedwolf Clan. With a smile on his face that revealed his canine teeth, he looked like a harmless puppy. He was happy about the occasion.
Six people were standing behind him, all of whom had noble statuses. Tianming had no idea if they were all younger generations of the Ancient Clans or the Theocracy. Dongyang Yu, who Tianming had previously seen together with Wei Wushang, was nowhere to be seen. Aside from the nobles, there were also disciples of the Decimo Dao Palace standing in the distance. They were all curious if the infamous pentabane, Tianming, had a conflict with Wei Wushang.
“Brother Tianming, it’s been some time since we last met, and I’ve missed you!” Wei Wushang came up together with the nobles and introduced each of them to Tianming. He even emphasized their backgrounds. Most of them were from the clans, and one of them even had the surname Jiang, someone from the Theocracy, just that her lineage was rather distant. In the Divine Capital, those with a distant lineage of the Ancient Theocrats weren't comparable to those direct descendants. It was a youth by the name of Jiang Nancheng, and he was probably pretty talented if he could be together with these youths.
“Am I really the one that you’re thinking about?” Tianming sat on the stone stool with a profound smile on his face. From their first meeting, he could tell that this genius from the Ancient Greedwolf Clan was after Li Qingyu.
“Brother Tianming, you really know how to joke around,” Wei Wushang smiled.
“What’s up?”
“Haha, didn’t I say that I’d bring you around since you’re new here? It just so happens that my birthday is soon, and I wanted to invite you and Junior Sister Li to participate in my birthday banquet. At that time, everyone there will be geniuses with the highest statuses in the Divine Capital, and at least ranked in the top twenty of the Earth Ranking. Brother Tianming can take the opportunity to make some friends, and also let everyone take a look at a pentabane for themselves.” Wei Wushang smiled.
“Isn’t that improper? The national mourning still hasn’t ended. Won’t the elders blame you for holding a banquet?” Tianming asked with a smile.
He had met many people in his life, and could tell if someone was a friend or enemy with just a glance. Wei Wushang represented the Ancient Greedwolf Clan from the West Hall, and wasn’t on the side of the Decimo Dao Palace. On the other hand, Tianming was a true disciple of the Decimo Dao Palace.
“Brother Tianming, you’re very considerate. The national mourning lasts a month, and my birthday is next month. By then, the mourning will be over. Furthermore, my birthday banquet is just a gathering between friends, chatting about our lives. It won’t be extravagant at all,” Wei Wushang laughed.
“Oh, then I’ll ask Qingyu.” Tianming turned to look at Li Qingyu, who had come out of her room, and asked, “Do you want to go to Brother Wei’s birthday banquet?”
“Nope.” Qingyu immediately returned to her room upon seeing Wei Wushang, which placed him in an awkward position. However, in the depths of his eyes, there was a trace of flickering ferocity.
“I’m sorry, Brother Wei. My sister has an introverted personality and isn’t good with words and crowds. So I’m afraid that we might not be able to go,” said Tianming.
“Since Junior Sister Li is shy, why don’t you bring her along? After all, the Grand-Orient Realm is nothing, compared to the Divine Capital. Since the two of you are now in the upper society, it’s best if the two of you integrate with the Divine Capital,” Wei Wushang smiled. There was some irony hidden in his words, and after he spoke, everyone else laughed softly.
“Upper society?” Tianming looked at the group, and the superiority they felt was even stronger than Heaven’s Elysium’s disciples. Evidently, they were prideful, since they were born noble. They might be here to invite Tianming, but deep in their bones, they looked down on him.
“That’s right, the upper society, the Divine Capital!” Wei Wushang smiled and nodded his head.
“Ying Huo, come here,” Tianming called out. Ying Huo, swimming in the pond in backstroke, suddenly jumped and shook its feathers while asking, “What is it?”
“Wei Wushang, see that? It’s a chick,” Tianming said, pointing at Ying Huo.
“So? What are you trying to say here?” Wei Wushang asked, perplexed.
“That’s what I’m depressed about. It’s the national mourning right now, so why is a weasel like you coming to visit my chick?” Tianming asked, which left Wei Wushang dumbfounded. That phase also meant coming to visit with ill intentions.
Tianming was mocking Wei Wushang. He first exposed that Wei Wushang had ill intentions for inviting him to the birthday banquet, and who knew what he was trying to do. Secondly, he was mocking Wei Wushang for being a weasel.
Weasels were utterly different from wolves, and to describe someone from the Ancient Greedwolf Clan as a weasel was an insult to them. But Tianming didn’t insult Wei Wushang directly, instead beating around the bush to do it.
“You!” Wei Wushang’s face instantly turned cold.
“Brother Wei, it’s too early for you to visit. Besides, you’d better go back and take a look at yourself in the mirror. You’re just a toad, so don’t go after the swan. Behave yourself.” Tianming stood up and pointed at the mirror. His intention was clear; he wanted Wei Wushang to leave. Even if a genius from the Ancient Clans was standing before him wanting to woo Li Qingyu, Tianming would also tell them to leave.
Wei Wushang had just said that Tianming was a frog in the well, and he was insulted as a toad by Tianming in return. This was a humiliation for him, someone with some reputation in the Divine Capital. Even the faces of the youths around him had changed.
“Tianming, aren’t you a little too full of yourself? I’m here with the kind intention to make friends with you, and this is how you repay me? With sarcasm? Do you really think that no one can touch you with someone protecting you in the Dao Pagoda?” Wei Wushang became furious.
“You’re actually right about that. I’m full of myself. Also, Wei Wushang, listen carefully. I’m not interested in your hypocrisy by beating around the bush. Don’t think that you’re almighty. If you still don’t understand what I’m saying, then let me summarize it for you: get lost,” Tianming replied.
Birthday banquet? Tianming would be stupid if he went there to be pushed around. Did Wei Wushang think Tianming would give him face since he came to deliver the invitation personally? And even bring Li Qingyu along as well? Wei Wushang hadn’t expected that not only would Tianming deny him to his face, but also trample on his dignity.
Disciples of the Ancient Clans valued their faces, and they liked to network among each other. But it was a pity that Tianming wasn’t buying it. By telling Wei Wushang to get lost, there was no way they could reconcile. But Tianming didn’t think that Wei Wushang would let him off even if he gave him face today.
“You want to woo my Little Sister Qingyu with that look of yours? Do you have a screw loose somewhere?” Ying Huo joined in and mocked Wei Wushang.
“You’re courting death!” The youths beside Wei Wushang immediately became furious.
“Teach him a lesson!”
“If I don’t kill this bastard today, I’ll.…” These people might seem to be angry, but they weren’t the ones being humiliated. Although they appeared furious, none of them dared to do anything.
“Try me. Otherwise, get lost. I’ve remembered all your names, and when I’m free, I’ll challenge all of you to ranking battles. I’ll beat all of you up until you immediately make a detour whenever you see Qingyu,” said Tianming.
“Li Tianming, do you think the Divine Capital is as simple as you think? And here I thought that you were a smart person. But it turns out that you’re just arrogant. I overestimated you.” Wei Wushang wasn’t furious; on the contrary, he laughed. When he finished speaking, he turned around and left.
“Just admit that you’re furious. I guess the birthday banquet will be filled with traps for my sister and me. But it’s a pity that I’m not mentally retarded, like you.” Tianming rolled his eyes. His words were like swords stabbing into Wei Wushang’s heart. Honestly speaking, he did achieve the task given to him by the Ancient Greedwolf Clan’s patriarch. He’d pondered over the past ten days before they came up with this trap, including drugging Tianming and his sister.
He had wanted to strike a fatal blow at Tianming and his sister, ultimately destroying them. However, he never expected that his plan would be over before it even began. His plan had been entirely seen through by Tianming, leaving him in an awkward position. Regarding this, Tianming could only say that Wei Wushang was an idiot.
When Wei Wushang and his group turned around, Zhou Yuanyuan and the other disciples who were watching could see the gloomy expression on Wei Wushang’s group’s faces. They instantly figured out that Wei Wushang and his group had been humiliated, so they immediately opened a path for them and didn’t dare to utter a single word.
Suddenly, Wei Wushang raised his head and looked at Zhou Yuanyuan. He remembered that this fatty was chatting with Tianming happily the other time. Wei Wushang smiled. “Fatty, I’m inviting you to my birthday banquet. If you don’t come, then you’re finished!”
“I….” The fatty paled.
“Don’t care about him. What can he do to you if you don’t go?” Tianming’s voice sounded out, which instantly made Zhou Yuanyuan feel relieved.
“Wei Wushang, don’t direct your anger at me. I’m just a nobody, so please let me off,” Zhou Yuanyuan pleaded.
“So, are you going?” Wei Wushang asked.
Zhou Yuanyuan could only shake his head. He knew that Wei Wushang wanted to vent his anger on him, and at the same time, take revenge on Tianming.
“Fatty, you’re ranked 250th on the Earth Ranking. You’ve already used up your refusals for this month, and you’ll have to face challenges as long as someone challenges you, right?” Wei Wushang suddenly grinned.
“I.…” Zhou Yuanyuan’s face turned pale.
“Wait for the challenge three days from now. I have many brothers around, and I’ll let you have some fun with them!” Wei Wushang glared at Zhou Yuanyuan, then left with his crowd. Everyone knew that Zhou Yuanyuan was doomed for being too close to Tianming. Zhou Yuanyuan came from another realm, and his background wasn’t comparable to clan disciples. After they left, Zhou Yuanyuan was in a daze.
“Fatty, I’m sorry you got dragged into this.” Tianming came up to him.
“I-it’s fine.” Zhou Yuanyuan patted his chest. “I can just admit defeat in the ranking battles. It’s fine.”
“You’re afraid?”
“They’re ruthless. We don’t have any power, so we can’t beat them. Many of their elders have positions in the Decimo Dao Palace,” Zhou Yuanyuan smiled bitterly.
“Understood, but you can rest assured. Since I got you involved in this matter, I’ll be responsible for you,” Tianming said.
“Why does it sound weird? It sounds like you’re trying to brush me off.” Zhou Yuanyuan smiled, rubbing his head.
“Haha.…” Tianming patted his shoulder. “You’re overthinking it. I wouldn’t be interested in you even if my only other option is making love to a pig.”
“Woah… your taste is a little too… abnormal….”
Tianming immediately pulled Zhou Yuanyuan up.
“Tianming, you can actually ease your relationship with Wei Wushang. Even if you’re not going, you can at least give him some face. Was there a need to make things so tense?” Zhou Yuanyuan asked.
“Give him face?” Tianming sneered, “It’s not that complicated. My will is to use my sword and hack apart anyone that dares to stand in my path. Since he’s courting death, there’s no need for me to give him any face.”
In Zhou Yuanyuan’s impression, this was the first time he had seen such a ferocious side of Tianming. He didn’t know that Tianming had killed Lin Xiaoting, Yuwen Shendu, and Yueling Long. The life and death battles he experienced during the sect war also far surpassed his peers. But at this moment, those same experiences were his precious wealth.
“I see it now. You’re a wolf.” Zhou Yuanyuan exclaimed.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re someone more ruthless than a ruthless person.”
“Screw you.”
Standing by the side, Qingyu was listening to their conversation. She now knew why Tianming was so irritable today. The second day that Tianming had been in the Decimo Dao Palace, he had already asked about Wei Wushang. Tianming was furious when he heard that Wei Wushang had constantly been pestering her. And today, Tianming had already crossed out Wei Wushang’s name in his heart.
“Hey, fatty.”
“What’s up?”
“Call me when you receive the challenge. I’ll go with you,” said Tianming.
“Well, duh! There’s no way I’d dare go by myself.”