It had all ended in less than ten breaths of time. Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Shufan had only just started when Chen Yao, who should have crushed Li Tianming, had the tables turned on him immediately!
Because it had happened so fast, everyone was still watching Lin Xiaoxiao’s battle, only noticing Chen Yao’s plight when they glanced over.
“AH!” Chen Yao struggled mightily in an attempt to extricate himself from the Thunderfire Chain, only to make it tighter, increasing his pain.
“Chen Yao, Chen Yao. Look at you now! You’re on a leash rolling around on the ground and I’m using my foot to step on you. Tell me, who’s the dog?” Li Tianming asked Chen Yao loudly. However, his words were actually directed at Xue Lan!
He smiled in Xue Lan’s direction as the force behind his foot nearly flattened Chen Yao’s nose.
He wanted to let Xue Lan know something. If you didn’t want to help an old sister, fine. Just ignore her, and everyone will know the score. We won’t bother you. However, there’s no need to look down or fall out with each other. Nor do you have to take the pain of others for your entertainment!
“You may have been born with a golden spoon in your mouth, but please try to act at least a little civilised. Don’t keep barking like a mad dog. Otherwise, everyone can tell how much wickedness you're hiding behind that veneer of nobleness. People like you are the real vulgar ones!” Li Tianming felt much better now.
“Let me go!” Chen Yao screamed as he struggled and cried, his tears mixing with his blood.
The scene was incredibly tragic, especially when one compared his current state to how he had previously been respected by all. No one could have recognised this crying fellow to be the young master of the Xing & Chen Merchantry!
The audience all stared at Li Tianming, minds blank. What had happened?
They looked at the Hex-starred Clinquant Lion’s battle, hoping that it would put up a better performance.
However, the situation there was similarly shocking. Before Ying Huo, the Hex-starred Clinquant Lion was like putty in its hands.
The lion could never touch it no matter how it swung its claws. It had six spiritsource abilities, which it had all cycled through, but nothing had been accomplished.
The little thing was like an untraceable and untrackable assassin.
Once again, before absolute power, all techniques were but insignificant tricks.
Just as Li Tianming had laid a beatdown on Chen Yao, so too had the little chick on the Hex-starred Clinquant Lion.
It showed that whether master or beast, they were much stronger than their counterparts, and not just by a bit!
Li Tianming could guess how furious Madam Xue Lan was in her private room now!
Honestly, Li Tianming was aware that Chen Yao was Sage Chen’s son, and Sage Chen was helping him. However, his intuition told him Sage Chen wouldn’t mind him doing this. Xue Lan had spoiled him rotten; that was a fact.
But above all, he wanted to help his mother vent. Now, all of Xue Lan’s superiority complex and all the hurtful words she had said was like a slap back in her face! And it felt good!
Wei Jing had asked him if he could teach Chen Yao a lesson, and the answer he had now shown was a resounding yes.
He had also given Xue Lan a slap on the face as he did so. While it wasn’t a physical slap, it definitely smarted and stung.
Li Tianming tried to find his mother in the crowd, but it wasn’t easy. However, he was sure that his mother was definitely crying with happiness for him now, because he had proven himself before tens of thousands of people.
It was exactly this kind of happiness that life needed!
Were those cruel and heartless people watching as Li Tianming stepped on Chen Yao and trussed him up like a little puppy?
This was the real him, possessing the courage and guts to do this! In fact, some would even go as far as to say the current Li Tianming instilled some reverence in them.
However, Li Tianming still felt this was far from enough. This was only a declaration, and he didn’t qualify to appear in front of his real enemies yet.
“So, how does it feel, Chen Yao?” Li Tianming said conversationally as he lifted his foot off. However, that didn’t remove the large footprint or swelling on Chen Yao’s face.
“Urk…” In his pain, Chen Yao could only tremble and gasp for breath. Of course, when he imagined all of the mocking words he had said to Li Tianming, the pain was surely magnified!
“Yao’er!” Li Tianming finally heard Xue Lan’s voice. The beautiful moment had finally arrived.
“Li Tianming, I swear I’ll kill you! I will definitely make you pay thousandfold the price. I’ll kill your whole family!” Chen Yao was half howling, half gasping for breath.
“Oh my god! Young master Chen Yao really is the badass among badasses. However, let me tell you, the person I respect the most is Li Yanfeng, currently working for Lightning Manor. If you kill him somehow, I fear I’ll be so, so unbelievably sad,” Li Tianming chuckled.
“LI YANFENG! I’ll remember that name!” Chen Yao gritted his teeth. Unfortunately, he was missing several teeth, which made it quite the arduous task.
“Release my Yao’er! Let me go up!” That shrill voice punctuated the air again. Li Tianming turned to see Xue Lan was indeed below. Her clothes were dishevelled and her hair a mess. Combined with her pale countenance, she looked less elegant, and more like a shrew now.
However, Hall Overseer Wei Zikun prevented her from going up. It wasn’t very appropriate to let her interfere with Flameyellow Scions Institute’s sacred tradition of ranking battles after all.
Mu Wan threw a wink from the side. “Madam Xue Lan, calm yourself. Chen Yao only has some flesh wounds. It’s very embarrassing for you to cause all this hoo-hah!”
Two young men joined Xue Lan, each taking an arm. Both of them were also wearing cold and ashen expressions, boiling with killing intent as they focused on Li Tianming.
Li Tianming recognised them. They were Xing Que and Chen Hao, both his age. They had ranked in the top five the previous batch. At that time, Li Tianming didn’t qualify to interact with them with his low rank.
Now, they were Heaven’s Sanctum disciples, while Li Tianming was still stuck fighting with their little brother.
They didn’t levy any vicious words, only supporting Xue Lan and whispering a few words into her ear. Even then, Xue Lan still fixed Li Tianming with a death glare.
Li Tianming couldn’t wrap his head around how such an elegant madam could make such a ferocious expression.
“You’ve won, Li Tianming. Let him go and don’t do anything unnecessary. I declare your victory,” Wei Zikun said.
“No problem, Hall Overseer!” Li Tianming had already enjoyed himself. Most enjoyable was Xue Lan’s expression, as if she had been made to eat some dog shit.
“Madam, don’t worry. I’ll return Chen Yao to you right away. Still did you eat something bad? You’re not looking too good there! Be careful, you have to watch your diet when you’re getting on in age. I may not have tried it, but I’m sure dog shit isn’t any tasty!”
Li Tianming tossed out Chen Yao. While Xing Que managed to catch him, it provoked another yelp of pain.
Xue Lan nearly fainted when she took a closer look. Her darling son had never been mistreated like this before. Her entire body shook as she looked at Li Tianming, speechless.
“Madam, why are you shaking? Is the weather too cold for you? You can’t skimp on clothing just because you want to look good!” Anyone could hear the blatant sarcasm in Li Tianming’s tone.
No one knew what conflict existed between the two, but what they did know was that this was Li Tianming publicly setting himself against the behemoth, Xing & Chen Merchantry.
From start to finish, Li Tianming had carried a smile on his face, leaving others unable to read his emotions.
As for Xue Lan, this was perhaps the first time she had ever felt like this. Her body shook uncontrollably as she struggled to find words.
If they weren’t being watched by an audience, she would have probably ripped apart the whole Flameyellow Stadium. She was actually at a rather high cultivation stage, having access to Xing & Chen Merchantry’s resources.
“Mother, don’t bother talking too much. He may have won now, but all he can do is spew some nonsense. Such juvenile behaviour only goes to show he won’t live for long.” Xue Lan’s elder son, Chen Hao, patted her on the back, trying to calm her down.
“True. No one can offend our Xing & Chen Merchantry without paying a price.”
“After this, I’ll see who dares to protect him. What’s the big deal with him beating Yao’er at his age?”
“He only won with his age advantage. After entering the institute, he would be at the bottom of the heap.” Xing Que narrowed his eyes.
The two exchanged a look, immediately making many plans to torment Li Tianming.
“Fine.” Xue Lan finally relaxed, but her expression, as Li Tianming put aptly, looked like she had eaten some dog shit. She could only declare that Li Tianming and his mother would see what the Xing & Chen Merchantry was capable of.
Li Tianming didn’t have much time to act cool before a new commotion arose. On the other stage, Lin Xiaoxiao defeated Li Shufan as expected and defended her prime disciple position.
Fervent gazes landed on the two respective winners.
Li Tianming was now third as he had defeated Chen Yao. Second place had fallen.
Hence, while unbelievable, the conclusion was that Li Tianming now had the right to contest for prime disciple.
Lin Xiaoxiao and Li Tianming. Between these two, who would become the prime disciple?