Obviously, Tianming’s anger was unquenched. The Theocrats couldn’t tolerate such provocation and rebellion, while Tianming couldn’t stand their repeated attempts on Feiling’s life.
"Of course not. Don’t we still have half a day? There’s someone from the Death Hall who has yet to appear!" The cold-eyed Dongyang Fen broke into a grin.
What did that mean?
"Ladies and gentlemen," the Death Hall King Jiang An smiled, "the Death Hall has a new disciple. Dongyang Zhuo, come over here!"
The name was obviously familiar to the people of the Divine Capital. Autarch Yun had just ascended the throne, and Autarch Qian’s descendents couldn’t compare to his. Those surnamed Dongyang were all descendants of Autarch Yun. They were the core bloodline of the Theocrats, and enjoyed the exclusive cultivation resources of the Imperial City.
"Dongyang Zhuo is the son of the eldest prince, Dongyang Fen, and the grandson of Autarch Yun!"
"Yes, that's him! He’s number one among the youths under twenty in the Divine Capital."
"He wants to be a disciple of the Decimo Dao Palace?"
"Don’t you get it? It’s just in name."
Under the attention of the masses, a sullen-faced, somewhat sloppy young man appeared beside Jiang An and Dongyang Fen, lips raised in a smirk.
"That’s him, Dongyang Zhuo!"
Well aware of Jiang An and Dongyang Fen’s plans, many Theocrats laughed. In case of Jiang Yu’s failure, they had a backup plan. In this delicate situation, it seemed they had contemplated how to allow their juniors to take control of the Decimo Dao Palace. Could Tianming stand up against the Necrosoul Lock Tome and Dongyang Zhuo? Perhaps Jiang An and the others were still in the dark about the Necrosoul Lock Tome’s origins.
"Dongyang Zhuo, go to the Evil Suppression Dao Plaza and fight the others first, so you’re qualified to challenge the top hundred. I’ll arrange an opponent for you," said Jiang An.
Now that things had changed, Dongyang Zhuo immediately became a challenger as soon as he entered the Dao Palace. It wasn’t against the rules. As the number one genius under the age of twenty in the Theocracy, how hard would it be for him to kill his way to the top ten? If Jiang Yan were to arrange opponents for him, all of them would surrender. In less than fifteen minutes, he would be able to challenge Tianming.
"Jiang An, why bother? Who here doesn't know the strength of Dongyang Zhuo? Who does he want to challenge on the ranking? You can just point him out," said Bai Mo.
"Since the Future Hall King says so, then choose, Dongyang Zhuo," said Jiang An.
While they were speaking, Bai Mo called Tianming to his side.
"This young man is very strong, and the first in the Divine Capital. I'm afraid you won’t be able to deal with him,” said Bai Mo.
"What’s his cultivation level?"
"He’s a seventh-level Saint, and his empyrean beast has seven heads," replied Bai Mo.
"I understand. I’ll give it a go."
"Well, if you realize you can't win, don't try to be brave. You’ve done your best today and achieved our goal. It doesn't hurt to leave them some dignity. After all, your life is more important," added Bai Mo.
"But I don’t want to give them that." Tianming looked solemn.
"Just because you almost died?"
"No, because they attacked Ling’er. Don’t worry, Hall King. I may lose, but I won't die."
With his Celestial Wings, unless his opponent was a sky saint, there was nothing they could do.
"Alright."
Slaughtering the incompetent Jiang Yu felt as if he was punching cotton. But now, another Dongyang descendant had appeared. Just looking at Dongyang Zhuo’s smirk ignited Tianming’s desire to give the man a beatdown, and his rage soared at once.
"Li Tianming?" Dongyang Zhuo stood on high with a contemptuous look in his eyes. "The words you just said sound very courageous. Since that’s the case, I will tell you this—I was the one who gave Jiang Yu the Necrosoul Lock Tome!"
Only then did the masses understand just how wealthy the grandson of the Autarch was. Obviously, his money came from his father, Dongyang Fen.
Enjoying the attention, he went on to say, "I think you’re just like a grasshopper, jumping around and making everyone sick. I’d like to kill you so there’s peace and quiet. Unexpectedly, these Hall Kings protect you like their own son. You enjoy such prestige." With that, Dongyang Zhuo gave Tianming a thumbs-up.
"So, are you going to challenge me now?" Tianming finally had an outlet for his rage.
Since the Necrosoul Lock Tome was given by Dongyang Zhuo, the idea had come from him. What could be better than getting revenge right here, right now?
"Of course! I also want to be number one on the Earth Ranking. Since you’re so courageous and spoke so boldly, then let me ask you this: do you have the guts to fight a life and death battle with me? The last one standing will leave the Decimo Dao Battlefield. Do you dare fight to the death?" Dongyang Zhuo grinned.
"Fight to the death?" Tianming felt as if these four words were familiar. Last time he had fought such a battle, Lin Xiaoting died. There was also the life-and-death battle where he killed Yuwen Shendu. This time, Dongyang Zhuo of the Theocrats said the same thing to him.
"Are you afraid?" Dongyang Zhuo chuckled. "Next time, before you act all mighty, you should consider if you can bear the consequences!”
The masses laughed, but Tianming merely stared at Dongyang Zhuo with a cold smile.
"A life-and-death battle is no problem at all. But who knows if you have any other trump cards hidden in your spatial ring? All the Theocrats I’ve defeated so far have either committed suicide or gone against the rules and used a heavenly pattern tome to make up for their incompetence. Perhaps the Dongyang prince will do the same." As soon as the words left Tianming’s lips, the audience fell silent.
Instead of being frightened, Tianming humiliated them once more by bringing up Jiang Chengfeng and Jiang Yu. Used to being bullies in the Divine Capital, the Theocrats were furious.
"That’s easy. We can check each other. The elders are welcome to remove anything that goes against the rules." As his eyes turned icy, his body burned like a flame.
"Let’s do it!”
Tianming simply returned the two life-saving heavenly pattern tomes to Bai Mo and allowed Jiang An to check him, while Bai Mo and the others searched Dongyang Zhuo.
"Hall King, I like dismembering bodies, so make sure to prepare a smaller coffin for Tianming. Human bodies might appear large, but after dismemberment, they can fit in a small bucket," laughed Dongyang Zhuo.
Bai Mo couldn’t be bothered to answer him. After so many years, he had seen everything and all sorts of Theocrats.
"The Decimo Dao Barrier is closed and will remain so until one of you dies!"
In that instant, all eyes were focused upon them and a sensation swept across the Divine Capital. The number one genius under the age of twenty was confronting the son of Li Muyang, the former patriarch of the Ancient Qilin Clan.
What kind of battle was this? This was a fight for destiny and dignity. Up until this point, everything that had happened on the Decimo Dao Battlefield had surpassed the standard of the Earth Ranking battles.
On the vast battlefield, two young men were in position, both of them like fire and water. One was enraged, and the other was cold and cruel.
This wasn’t the first time that Tianming's three lifebound beasts appeared. However, their many remarkable characteristics were eye-catching.
Aeternal Infernal Phoenix!
Genesis Chaos Thunderfiend!
Primordial Terraqua Dragon!
If these three Primordial Chaos Beasts hadn’t been born as lifebound beasts, how could any empyrean beast even stand before them?
Dongyang Zhuo stood on a hydra the size of Lan Huang. It was the biggest hydra Tianming had ever seen, and its seven heads were proof of Dongyang Zhuo’s talent.
Throughout the history of the Ancient Theocrats, their lifebound beasts rarely had eight or more heads. Possessing a lifebound beast with seven heads meant that Dongyang Zhuo would be close to the throne if he progressed well.
Tianming saw seventy stars in its eyes. Sure enough, it was an empyrean beast. It was the first one Tianming had ever come across, a Venomsword Ruinson Hydra. It was a huge beast covered in thick, dark red scales. There seemed to be several peaks on its back, giving it a shape that was slightly similar to Lan Huang’s. However, its heads were more slender and shaped like a snake with the mouth of a giant crocodile. Its bite force must be amazing.
The most ferocious things about it were the sword-like horns on top of its seven heads. The horns burned with a dark red flame, and had dark red venom dripping from the points. The beast’s body burned like a dark red sun, causing the temperature of the battlefield to rise.
Compared with other lifebound beasts, the Venomsword Ruinson Hydra had a remarkable aura, ancient and dignified. It was enough to make other non-empyrean beasts bow. This was apparently known as ancient ki, which was the miraculous ki contained in empyrean manna and the source of the empyrean beasts’ power. It was clear that the descendent of Autarch Yun was more ferocious than Jiang Yu. In comparison, Jiang Yu's six-headed sixth-order saint beasts seemed like darlings.
"Are you afraid? Do you feel pressured by my empyrean beast?" Dongyang Zhuo asked.
"As if. All I see is how big its balls are! It might look domineering now, but we’ll see just how miserable it looks after our battle." Ying huo smiled grimly, its expression dark.
"Chicken Bro, get him! I can’t stand to watch them bully Ling’er!" Meow Meow yelled, protecting its balls.
"Are you that confident? It’s five levels higher than you are," said Tianming.
With the Grand-Orient Vortex, three saint springs, and Ling’er attached to him, Tianming wouldn’t suffer too much in terms of strength, even though he was five levels lower.
"When I advanced to the Saint stage, I underwent a huge physical transformation. I’m now a master at melee. This guy might have tough skin, but I’ll chop off its head first!" laughed Ying Huo.
They were right. Even Tianming had had physical breakthroughs, not to mention them. And in this respect, Lan Huang’s flesh had grown even more monstrously solid.
At the thought of Lan Huang, Tianming felt relieved as he stared at the mountain before him. In truth, any one of them could fight a sixth-order saint beast. Although the disparity in levels was huge, the difference in their actual strength was little.
To deal with this fire-type beastmaster and lifebound beast, Tianming had an effective trump card, aside from the fact that both he and Ying Huohuo were immune to flames.
This trump card was the reason he dared fight to the death!