After Jiang Chengfeng committed suicide, the entire battlefield was enveloped in silence for a long time. If Jiang Chengfeng hadn’t been so quick with his action, he would’ve been stopped. But no one stopped him. The elders of the Ancient Theocrats only indifferently looked at him from beginning to end. Even Jiang An, the Death Hall King, didn’t stand out.
A long time later, someone came out to carry Jiang Chengfeng’s corpse and the heavily wounded Dark Demonblade Hydra away from the stage. In the entire process, that person only glanced at Tianming and Ye Lingfeng. The man’s gaze was pale, and filled with indifference. Tianming knew that he was one of Death Hall’s Hall Lords, the son of Jiang An and father of Jiang Chengfeng.
The battlefield was still shrouded in silence even after that person left. But if anyone raised their heads, they would see indifferent gazes from the Ancient Theocrats. They didn’t cause any commotion, only coldly looked at the culprit.
This time, Tianming had been taught a lesson. Jiang Chengfeng had told him about the Theocrats. They weren’t the same as Heaven's Elysium; Heaven's Elysium didn’t have that kind of will. Back when Yueling Long had been killed, Heaven's Elysium could only yell out insults. However, there was no embarrassment on the faces of the spectators here; they were only looking on indifferently. So right at that moment, the pressure Tianming felt was greater than anyone.
The silent battlefield was a little creepy, but despite that, the white-haired youth still firmly stepped onto the stage. In the Theocracy of the Ancients, every member of the Ancient Theocrats was related to each other, one way or another. Right at that moment, Tianming took a deep breath and spoke out with a voice as calm as he could, “Tianming of the Future Hall wishes to challenge the first on the Earth Ranking.”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was resounding. It echoed like a bolt of rumbling lightning, filled with provocation.
……
Within the palace, the Sky Hall King, Weisheng Yumo, asked, “Why don’t we call it a day?”
“We can’t stop it,” Bai Mo replied.
“Yeah.” Qin Jiufu nodded.
Bai Mo turned and looked to his left. Including Dongyang Fen, five Hall Kings were quietly watching. When Bai Mo turned his head, the Death Hall King, Jiang An, was also looking over and smiling. Jiang An looked fine as he turned back to the battlefield.
Bai Mo turned his head back and looked at the silhouette on the battlefield. He knew that Jiang Chengfeng had succeeded in provoking the conflict between both parties by committing suicide. Now that Tianming was in the middle of the storm, his enemy wasn’t just Jiang Yu, but the Ancient Theocrats’ will. Bai Mo no longer knew how to get out of this mess. Closing his eyes, Bai Mo could feel the souls of everyone who died a wronged death burning his soul.
……
Among the millions of spectators, there was a group of special people. They were clad in cloaks, sitting on their seats and practically radiating a chill.
“Interesting…” the leader of the group said.
“Your Royal Highness, can Jiang Yu defeat this person?”
“Just watch. Li Tianming is a patternscribe, after all, so he definitely has a trick or two up his sleeve. He’s a lot stronger than Jiang Chengfeng,” said the man.
“Jiang Yu had better not lose this fight. It looks like the dao palace is really pushing it, not knowing how ‘death’ is written.”
“It doesn’t matter. Whoever stands out will die. After Li Muyang’s son is dead, I’ll see how they carry on jumping around.” The man grinned.
“Well, yeah. Your Royal Highness even went so far as using something worth a million saint crystals. Not many people can afford that, even in the Divine Capital. But for some reason, I find it a waste to use it on the sinner’s son.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s only saint crystals. All the saint crystals in the world will be mine, sooner or later. Moreover, this thing can lock onto the soul. My Ling’er is still attached to him, and only this won’t put her in danger.” When a breeze blew past, half of the face that had been hidden under his cloak was vaguely revealed.
“Your Royal Highness, I heard your elder brother, Dongyang Fen, is here. And he even brought his son along, Dongyang Zhuo.”
“Dongyang Zhuo? He probably brought him here to save some face. But it’s a pity that Dongyang Zhuo won’t be of any use now.”
……
Amid the storm, Jiang Yu went up on the stage and stood before Tianming. His gaze was fixed on Tianming, trembling. No one knew what was going through his mind.
“Is Jiang Feiling currently attached to you?” Jiang Yu asked, but Tianming couldn’t be bothered to respond. The oppressive gazes directed at him from his surroundings made Tianming feel unhappy, and he wanted to vent all of that unhappiness on Jiang Yu.
“Jiang Yu, will you commit suicide if you lose as well? Is suicide a trend in the Ancient Theocrats?” Tianming asked in a faint voice, retrieving the Grand-Orient Sword. At the same time, Tianming summoned his three lifebound beasts.
Jiang Yu didn’t reply to Tianming’s question. He wasn’t the same as other Theocrats, and it was reflected in his eyes; his gaze wasn’t fierce. For some reason, Tianming had a feeling that Jiang Yu was somewhat sick in his mind. But Tianming had no interest in what kind of pressure Jiang Yu experienced that resulted in the him of today. He just wanted to show what kind of person he was to those who wanted to suppress ‘the sinner’s son’.
Jiang Yu was a sixth-level Saint and a twin beastmaster. Both of his lifebound beasts had sixty-nine stars, and at the same time, he was a one star patternscribe. He was ranked first on the Earth Ranking. That meant that, excluding those with the Dongyang surname, he could be ranked among the top three in the Divine Capital. His achievement was shocking, given that he was under twenty years old.
If he hadn’t spent some time becoming a patternscribe, his cultivation would be higher. When Tianming summoned his lifebound beasts, Jiang Yu summoned his Bluewing Frost and Blackspike Aquatic Hydras.
The Bluewing Frost Hydra had a pair of azure wings and six heads. This proved that Jiang Yu’s talent was pretty powerful, even in the royal clan. The Blackspike Aquatic Hydra also had six heads and was covered in densely-packed spikes all over its body. Its six heads and three tails looked like nine maces, and they could all be used as formidable weapons. There was once a saying that the appearance of a lifebound beast was a manifestation of the clan’s will.
For example, the two Yuwen brothers back in the Grand-Orient Sword had a decent appearance, but their lifebound beasts were hideous. On the other hand, the Kunpeng lifebound beasts from the Li Saint Clan looked a whole lot better. Likewise, the Jun Clan from Heaven’s Elysium had dragons, which represented righteousness. No one in the Jun Clan’s history had done anything atrocious, aside from Jun Shengxiao.
The Ancient Theocrats were majestic in Tianming’s imagination, but the two hydras before him looked a lot more ferocious, which went against the clan’s will. After all, they’d been called the Nineshades Clan tens of thousands of years ago.
Jiang Yu’s lifebound beasts were smaller than Lan Huang, but they seemed more ferocious and had no fear of the gigantic dragon. Standing between the two Hydras, Jiang Yu held a brush—the Autumn Ink Brush—with forty-five saintly heavenly patterns on it. It was rare to see someone use a brush as their weapon.
Then, Jiang Yu and Tianming charged at each other without uttering a single word. This time, Meow Meow had taken its Regal Chaosfiend form to intercept the Bluewing Frost Hydra, while Lan Huang sent the Blackspike Aquatic Hydra flying with a headbutt. As for Ying Huo, he was still serving as an assassin around Meow Meow and Lan Huang. Tianming wanted them to break the balance, which had always been their strategy.
But he had his doubts as to whether or not Jiang Yu was qualified for Tianming to use a strategy. Holding the Grand-Orient Sword, the Celestial Wings unfolded behind him. He dashed over to Jiang Yu with three saint kis and the Grand-Orient Vortex stirring within him. Besides, his strength had been further enhanced by Feiling’s Spiritual Attachment. The power of the three saint springs was also empowering the Grand-Orient Sword.
Tianming executed the Shenxiao Sword Art’s fourth move, fusing Pyros Imperius, Fulguros Imperius, Oceanos Imperius, and Olympos Imperius together. When the sky saint battle art exploded, nothing could stop his sword.
Even Jiang Yu’s face changed, facing Tianming’s sword. But in the end, he could only firm his resolve and clash head-on with the white-haired youth. Jiang Yu executed two moves from his Frostseal Stroke—Frostwave and Ice Domain.
But under the Shenxiao Sword Art’s fourth move, the Autumn Ink Brush broke in half.
After Jiang Yu’s saint beastial weapon broke, the remaining power from Tianming’s sword struck Jiang Yu’s right shoulder. That was the arm Jiang Yu used to inscribe heavenly pattern tomes. When Jiang Yu lost the arm, his eyes turned bloodshot. Right at that moment, a heavenly pattern tome appeared. Jiang Yu was a patternscribe, so he could activate his heavenly pattern tomes much faster.
“That’s a Frostarrow Tome!” Feiling instantly recognized the heavenly pattern tome. But Tianming didn’t care what it was and took out a Mountshield Tome, activating it at the same time. The Frostarrow Tome turned into a hail of arrows, clashing against the Mountshield Tome, but the Mountshield Tome ultimately held on.
“You’re too weak!” Tianming charged over, stabbing the Grand-Orient Sword toward Jiang Yu’s saint palace. His speed was too fast and ferocious, and entirely suppressed Jiang Yu. Not even the first-ranked Saint on the Earth Ranking could stop Tianming.
Even Jiang Yu’s lifebound beasts had quickly lost, especially the Blackspike Aquatic Hydra. When Lan Huang intercepted the Blackspike Aquatic Hydra, Ying Huo flew into its abdomen and tore a sinister wound in it.
Jiang Yu had utterly lost the fight. His saint beastial weapon was broken and his arm was gone. Even when he used a heavenly pattern tome, he was still suppressed by Tianming.
“It’s over!” Tianming appeared before Jiang Yu.
“Haha!” Jiang Yu suddenly let out a burst of maniacal laughter.
“Tianming, I’ll be honest with you. I have no intention of killing you. I just don’t want such a beauty to be ruined by you and that bastard, Dongyang Fengchen. Jiang Feiling is too perfect, and she should live in dreams instead. She shouldn’t be in reality.” But before he could even finish, the Grand-Orient Sword had stabbed into his saint palace. Jiang Yu’s face was pale; he had lost his strength, but he was still laughing maniacally.
“What were you saying again?” Tianming didn’t hear what Jiang Yu said. He only knew that he had crippled Jiang Yu.
Jiang Yu’s shoulders were trembling. With his only remaining hand, he took out a tome. It was a heavenly pattern tome, and unlike others, this one was incredibly thick. Jiang Yu’s blood had already stained the heavenly pattern tome.
“Tianming, someone paid a million saint crystals for your life. But I didn’t do it. I just want to lock on to her soul and let her die while she’s at her prime. She’ll be the one to accompany me to hell!”