With a loud wham, a gigantic beast appeared in front of Tianming. He had to look up so far that his neck almost snapped. The strong sun after the snowstorm made him a little dazed.
"Swimming!" Lan Huang said before it jumped into the hot spring, only to cause such a big splash that all the water from the hot spring was emptied out.
"Huh? Why’d the pool turn into a puddle?" Lan Huang asked in a booming voice, turning its two heads around curiously.
"That's because you grew bigger...."
Tianming felt even more troubled; Lan Huang was far too huge. How could a tribulation beast that wasn't even mature yet, with only three hundred and ninety-four stars, be close to Fang Qingli's phoenix in size? He recalled her phoenix had almost eight hundred stars.
"It wouldn't surprise me if Lan Huang's within the largest size class of lifebound beasts in the whole sect, perhaps even the largest in the entire Flameyellow Continent!"
That difference was far too stark; Meow Meow and Ying Huo were no doubt among the smallest, and were even more dwarfed by Lan Huang. Tianming estimated the distance from its head to tail was two hundred and fifty meters, with the tail itself taking up half that distance.
"Dang, even this fool's length matches that 'lucky number'!" [1]
Tianming couldn't help but give him a beating. The hot spring he had wanted to bathe in with Feiling was ruined when it jumped in.
He closely observed the changes that weren't just limited to its size; the most obvious was the change in its draconic scales. The scales in the sea and on the mountains on its back as well as on its heads, claws, and tails seemed to shine with an astral l.u.s.ter. It was almost like someone had plastered a star map all over it. The stars were so dense that they could be seen everywhere on its body. No doubt, Lan Huang's defensive power had risen even more thanks to the stars fusing into its body.
"Let me test out your defenses then."
"Boss! Don't go too hard... I'm scared of pain!"
"Just shut up!" Tianming slashed with the Grand-Orient Sword, only to hear a loud clang. The instant of the clash, Tianming saw that the stars all across its body gathered at the point of the strike. Not only had it blocked the attack, it even managed to deflect it.
"Waaah! It hurts!" Lan Huang screamed at ludicrous volumes.
"Keep quiet...." Tianming didn't know how to respond. There wasn't a single wound on it. Even though I didn't use much power, it still managed to block the Grand-Orient Sword. With its size, most people shouldn't be able to pierce its Infinite Stardragon Diagram. Lan Huang can finally fulfill its true calling as a damage sponge!
"Wow, I look handsome!" Lan Huang had just noticed the sparkles all over its tails. All of a sudden, its eyes widened. "I wonder if I can bite my tails?"
It then started chasing its tails in circles, causing many buildings in the surroundings to shake and begin toppling over.
"Stop! Stop!" Tianming had run out of tears to cry. These three are all fools... I hope the fourth one will be kind to me...
......
Since Ying Huo might need more time for its evolution, Tianming left the Number One Pavilion and went to the Human Branch alone.
"Faction Lord, I'm your fan!"
"You're so handsome, faction lord!"
Tianming had become quite a celebrity in the Human Branch. He returned to his previous residence and knocked on Lin Xiaoxiao's door.
"Xiaoxiao," he called out.
There was no response. He opened the door and was speechless when he saw her shriveled on the ground unconscious, with her face pale.
"Other people feel refreshed after breaking through, yet you look like you're about to die from it...."
He picked her up and put her over his shoulder before preparing to return to Number One Pavilion.
"Nice to meet you and your lady, Lord!" a disciple of the Swordking Faction greeted.
Tianming had considerably improved their lives and was now their faction lord, though they still addressed Jian Xueyi in that manner too.
"Hey, phrasing," Tianming said, not wanting to be misunderstood.
"Apologies. Good day, Faction Lord, Faction Lady!"
He was speechless.
"Why don't you princess carry her? It looks like you're carrying a bag of rice."
Tianming couldn't take it any more and summoned Meow Meow, put Lin Xiaoxiao on its back, and had it zip away at lightning speeds. When he was about to enter the Earth Branch, the guard asked, "Isn't this inappropriate? You knocked her out and want to make her your maidservant by force? How are you different from a thug?"
Tianming showed him the Human Sacred Seal.
"Fine, here's a servant emblem. Go on your way."
When Tianming got back, Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly awoke. She seemed a little nervous, but calmed down when she saw him. "Where are we?"
"The Earth Branch."
"I shouldn't be able to enter as a disciple of the Human Branch, though...."
"You can now that you're my maidservant. Serve me, do my laundry, and feed my pets and you'll get the right to live here. Here's your emblem. I already got it settled for you."
"Forget it!" She felt really humiliated.
"Hehe, you can never escape my grasp. Submit to your fate!"
She stared at him in abject horror.
"Come on, it's just a joke. I offended some people, so I was worried you'd be dragged in. Might as well follow where I go. I have many rooms here, so pick one."
"Okay, I'll go look for a room."
"Don't go back to the Human Branch for the time being."
"Got it."
"What level are you at?"
"The fourth."
"It looks like you'll die if you keep on going like this."
"Worried about me?"
"Nope."
"Then don't bring it up."
"Well aren't you a feisty one?"
She glared at him and turned to leave. She hadn't been going to the Old Deepstar Path lately. In fact, she had stayed home for the most part. Tianming figured that the lifebound beast of hers had some special method she could use to break through.
"Meow Meow, your mission is to watch her and listen to what she usually says," Tianming instructed.
"No! It messes with my sleep schedule!" it snapped, shaking its head furiously.
"Would you rather have your balls messed with?!"
"You think you can catch me now?" the black cat snickered.
"Dammit, you're disobeying me now?!" Just as Tianming wanted to grab it, it vanished.
It seemed that cats didn't have owners, only butlers, and it applied all the same to Meow Meow. He could only count on Ying Huo to act as a spy.
......
A day later, Ying Huo finally finished evolving after struggling for quite some time in the lifebound space. The moment it flew out, the surrounding temperature rose. If it weren’t for its small size, Tianming would have thought he was facing some kind of great beast.
Outwardly, it hadn’t seemed to change much, but Tianming could feel that its feathers were now on a completely different level. They were now Diablos feathers that burned like molten steel. Not only were they hot, they also contained Skypiercer Ki that could cause pain just from the sight of them. The dense Diablos feathers covered its entire body, making it impenetrable, while the ones on its wings were sharp as swords. Coupled with the Wings of Agni, they could even rival tribulation artifacts in sharpness.
There was no doubt that Ying Huo was far stronger than before. It was particularly terrifying to imagine how much more powerful its Skyscorch Featherblast would be. With its small body, it would even excel at assassinations. While it was small, its defense could rival Lan Huang's. The only disadvantage was that it didn't occupy a lot of space, making it less useful for blocking attacks. Regardless, being small allowed it to remain in hiding, making it even more terrifying especially considering it could execute battle arts.
Tianming counted four hundred and eighteen stars in its eyes. Now, all three of his lifebound beasts had evolved. "Let's test out your Skypiercer Ki."
"Don't cry if it hurts too much. I don't want Xiaoxiao to think I'm bullying you," Ying Huo said sneakily.
"Haha, hit this spot," Tianming said as he pointed at his black arm. He would never actually take an attack from Skypiercer Ki using his own flesh.
Ying Huo then thrust at the arm, causing it to shake furiously.
"That was intense!" Not even Xuanyuan Yufeng's Dragonking spear, with two tribulation patterns, had that kind of effect. When Ying Huo got an empyrean gold body and reached the Samsara stage, the penetrative power of its Skypiercer Ki would be even more powerful.
"Haha, praise me more!" Every time it evolved, the bloodline in Tianming's body improved. His body was one that combined the strengths of all three Primordial Chaos Beasts.
They quickly started symbiotic cultivation to fuse the Aeternal Infernal, Genesis Chaos, and Primordial Terraqua Bodies together. It also considerably elevated their bloodlines. This time around, Tianming had gained quite a lot; he could tell that his constitution and talent had greatly increased.
"The talent coming from having Primordial Chaos Beasts is truly well rounded. I feel that all my attributes have been rather evenly boosted. On the other hand, the talent from my Lifesbane mainly comes in the form of excellent comprehension."
Tianming now felt as if he himself had become a Primordial Chaos Beast. The next day, all of them reached second-level empyrean saint.
"Two more levels to go." Tianming was filled with confidence.
1. 250 is a Chinese slang that can also mean 'fool'.