At Courtyard One of the Future Hall, Feiling was testing out the Perpetia Sutra. It was her first attempt, and she was sweating. “Reading books really is easier. How do you find the focus to do this day after day?”
“Don’t be lazy. It’s a waste of your god physique if you don’t cultivate,” Tianming said.
“Alright.”
“Oh, I was wondering, when you split up, is the innate godchild unable to last alone after a while?”
“No, it’ll be fine even if two thousand years pass.”
That meant it wouldn't be a problem if Tianming urgently needed Spiritual Attachment.
“Ling’er, I’ll teach you how to cultivate. Let’s at least get you to Spiritsource.”
“Alright.”
“Now, just follow the sutra.”
“Yes, yes.”
“The Perpetia Sutra and Perpetia City must be connected. It has to be the cultivation technique of a god.”
“Right, it’s way too complex.”
“Recite it, and I’ll help you go through it.”
With Tianming’s help and sufficient resources, Feiling’s progress was incredible. She broke through ninth-level Beast Vein within a day, then reached first-level Spiritsource.
Of course, it had to be said that the Beast Vein stage wasn’t difficult. With these conditions, including her god physique, Tianming could have done it in a day too.
“How does it feel?”
“I feel something now.” Feiling stretched her body, and she felt as if she was a whole new person.
“That’s great.” Tianming hoped she would gain the ability to protect herself.
“But I don’t really want to fight people.”
“Fight? No need, you just need to learn some self-defense,” Tianming replied grandly.
“I was waiting for you to say that.”
“Was there an effect on the ten sealed abilities?”
“I feel like Temporal Field, Spatial Wall, and Unity have gotten stronger.” Feiling had her own path to take, separate from Tianming.
As for Tianming, he continued absorbing Invincible Sword Ki. He now had two different goals in mind. First, he wanted to master the Myriad-Demise Sword. Secondly, he wanted to become a Sky Saint.
Fulfilling both would make him a powerhouse of the capital that could affect the grand scheme of things.
……
On the second day after returning from the tomb, everyone was gathered in the courtyard. Ying Huo was busy swimming backstroke in the water, while Meow Meow was lying down sleeping. As for Lan Huang, it had found a new playmate, the Soulfiend, and was currently horsing around with it. They were making quite a racket.
Those present were Tianming, Li Qingyu, Feiling, and Ye Lingfeng.
“This is for you, Qingyu.” Tianming took out fifty thousand saint crystals.
“Thank you, big brother.” Li Qingyu was full of smiles.
“Me too,” Ye Lingfeng said.
“Thank you, Little Feng.” This time, she was a little more awkward.
“Work harder. Don’t embarrass us pentabanes and quickly become an Earth Saint. Otherwise, people will start wondering if I’m really a pentabane,” Tianming said softly.
“Could it be that you’re a decabane and even more amazing than dad?” Qingyu asked curiously.
“What do you think?”
“I think that if dad knew, it’d break his heart to be the second best genius in the Grand-Orient Sect.” Qingyu smiled.
Tianming’s eyes widened. “You actually believe me?”
“A freak like you? I’d believe it if you told me you were a centabane. Hey, I feel like five isn’t enough. Could you lend me a few?”
“Dream on.”
Suddenly, Bai Zijin entered from outside.
“Big sis Bai,” everyone called out.
This wasn’t their first time meeting since their return, so she got straight to the point. “Autarch Yun is outside making noise. Tianming, come with me.”
“Alright.”
“The rest of you, stay here.”
Qingyu was worried. “Will my big brother be fine?”
“Don’t worry, what can Autarch Yun do?”
They all finally relaxed.
On the way, Bai Zijin asked curiously, “Did you really kill Dongyang Fengchen?”
“Yes, he was just too weak. One hit and he was grovelling at my feet for mercy.”
“Don’t brag. Later on, don’t admit it when you’re questioned, no matter what.”
“Understood.”
Bai Zijin gave him a long look. “I feel like I’m dreaming. In the blink of an eye, you’ve become someone I can’t defeat. I don’t quite believe it, so let’s spar a bit some day.”
“Don’t cry when you lose, Big Sister Bai.”
“I won’t lose to a kid like you.”
“What if you do?” Tianming laughed.
“What do you want?”
“My cat wants to sleep on you.”
“That ugly cat? We’ll see when you actually win!”
……
As Tianming passed through the Evil Suppression Formation, he was met with thousands of people. All of them were middle-aged sky saints. From their armor, they were elite troops. They were the Shenwu Legion, led by the Shenwu Marshall, Huang Chonghuan. Their legion was the greatest combat force under the autarch.
As soon as Tianming stepped out, all of their pressure focused on him. A normal junior would have scuttled back into the dao palace, but Tianming kept his head held high as he stepped forward to Bai Mo’s side.
All ten Hall Kings were present, as well as Dark Hall’s Hall Master, Ye Yi. The six new hall kings were all people suggested by the Dark Hall. Although they weren’t as strong as their predecessors, they weren’t far behind.
Tianming saw Autarch Yun at the head of the army, flanked by the Shenwu Marshall, Huang Chonghuan, and the Tianwu Marshall, Zhao Shenhong. There were also princes, and a few other generals.
In the few months since they had last met, Autarch Yun’s aura had become even more tyrannical. He looked coldly at Tianming.
Many experts were present, and there were many citizens looking on from afar.
“Tianming is here, so let’s start!” Bai Mo said indifferently.
Autarch Yun frowned. “Li Tianming, I hear you killed my son in the tomb.”
His pressure pressed down on Tianming in an attempt to frighten him.
“Your Majesty, you overestimate me. I’m just a puny Earth Saint, as you can see. The crown prince would have to be trash to lose to me, and we all know he wasn’t,” Tianming replied.
“Exactly. Autarch, please return,” Bai Mo said.
“Jiang Yanwu has already reported to me what happened inside,” Autarch Yun said.
“Did he witness it personally?” Tianming asked.
“Li Tianming!” A pale youth with shaggy hair walked out. He said, “I may not have seen it, and I know your strength isn’t enough to kill the crown prince. However, you can control the monster inside the tomb. It’s right there inside your dao palace. You must have besieged the crown prince with it! You’ve committed a capital offense!”
It was Jiang Yanwu. He turned to the Shenwu Marshall, Huang Chonghuan. “I also saw him kill Huang Ziting. Please, avenge her!”
“That so? If you saw it, you were there. Why would he only kill her, but not you? To leave behind evidence?” Bai Zijin sneered.
Jiang Yanwu was speechless. He couldn’t very well describe exactly what had happened, could he?
“Bai Mo!” Autarch Yun snorted. “We all know the truth. Hand over that monster and Li Tianming. They killed the crown prince, and the dao palace will share the same fate if you harbor those criminals!”
“Seriously? Are you just going on the word of some mad junior? And you even want to convict the dao palace?” Bai Mo laughed.
“You dare defy an imperial edict?” the Shenwu Marshall roared.
“What edict, what crown prince? The Ninth Prince, Jiang Ling, never said anything. So how can the Thirteenth Prince install some crown prince? How dare you falsify an imperial edict!” Ye Yi cut in, laughing.
“Presumptuous!” The entire legion was furious.
Autarch Yun’s expression darkened and he glared at Ye Yi. “Is this rebellion?”
“Nope. You’re overthinking things. We just think who’ll be the autarch is still uncertain. At least, whoever killed the previous autarch should be executed.” Ye Yi’s smile didn’t drop.
The place fell silent.
“Well, the dao palace has an important guest today. We can’t entertain the Thirteenth Prince any longer. Forgive us for not sending you off,” Ye Yi said.
“Go back.” Bai Mo spoke, before turning around and reentering the dao palace with the rest.
Obviously, even with his numbers, the autarch still couldn’t breach the formation
“Who’s the important guest?” Jiang Yanwu asked in a daze.
A sharp crunch sounded as Autarch Yun grabbed Jiang Yanwu’s head and crushed it into mush. The headless corpse toppled to the ground.
No one answered the question, but they all knew the guest was Jiang Ling.