Perhaps Tianming wasn't anything much to the really powerful elites. But after this battle, his foundation in the Earth Branch would definitely be cemented, and he might even stand a chance to join the Heaven Branch.
"I recall that not even Young Master Xingque made breakthroughs at such speeds when he was at the Empyrean Saint stage."
"What is wrong with this guy?"
More and more people among the audience began recognizing Tianming, but the fact that he was brought to the sect by the eminent was still not so well-known yet.
"He managed to defeat nineteen disciples of the Sterling House of Fang alone!"
When the battle ended, the viewpoints around the Starlord Formation changed, but people still talked nonstop about the previous battle.
......
"That fast, huh?" Xuanyuan Yuheng didn't expect he would be seeing something like this when he just wanted to relax and watch the show. "To think that he can even refine fourth-grade tribulation manna...."
He squinted and felt really disturbed. "It seems that I’ll no longer be able to kill him with a lift of my finger."
Closing his eyes, he thought back at how Tianming had risen to the top in such a short time within the sect. "How could he, how could he?! I am the one with the Xuanyuan name! I can't let this go on. I have to do something."
His eyes were bloodshot.
......
"I didn't think we'd meet again so soon," Tianming said, wielding the Grand-Orient Sword as he approached Fang Xingying with his three lifebound beasts.
"What a coincidence," Fang Xingying said as he took a few steps back.
"Don't worry. You gave me so much useful information that I used to join the Deepstar Battle, and I even became Fang Xingque's prey. I wouldn't eliminate you like that," Tianming said.
"I only said that so I would survive."
"The fact that you're trying to explain yourself means you're just trying to hide it," Tianming said with a smile, then turned serious. "I was just joking around, don't mind me. Let me ask you another question."
"Ask away," Fang Xingying said as he looked at Tianming's three lifebound beasts, confused.
"Do all members of the Sterling House of Fang that entered the Deepstar Battle have to stay right by Fang Xingque's side?"
"Of course. The few hundred of them have come with the sole purpose of protecting him."
"That doesn't sound fair." Currently, Fang Xingque was ranked in second place. In other words, he would only have to defeat a few hundred others to take first place.
"What's unfair about that? The fact that you were able to join is already fair in itself. The only unfair thing was how Xuanyuan Muxue and Fang Xingque managed to gain their spots in the Deepstar Battle without doing anything."
"How is sending a few hundred bodyguards to protect him different from making Fang Xingque the victor of the battle?"
"It is different. At least the Xuanyuans aren't doing the same."
"It’s just because of their pride, isn't it? The Sterling House of Fang, in comparison, just looks like unreasonable bullies in comparison," Tianming mocked.
"You don't understand. The Sterling House of Fang was originally from the Biritual Divine Realm. We were chased out of it like dogs, and our ancestors had to suffer a lot of hardship for us to achieve what we have now. Naturally, they won’t take any chances and let something like that repeat again."
"Biritual Divine Realm? So, the Yinyang Demon Sect?"
"That's right."
"Isn't that a little like the Draconis House of Jian?"
"That’s the difference. The Draconis House of Jian was the original house and the Hexapath Sword Sect's Tai'e House of Jian branched off from them. They were chased out by their own branch family while we were completely exiled!"
"I see. It's really boring. I'm not too interested in your family history," Tianming said as he rolled his eyes. "So, since you have so many people together, does that mean you can't go out to train at the Old Deepstar Path?"
Returning to the Deepstar Battlefield would place one in a random location, so it would be hard to gather together again.
"Yeah. They just can’t leave. It's only one month, so how much would they be losing out on?"
"Quite a lot, it seems."
Fang Xingying clicked his tongue. As far as he was considered, Tianming was a monster. "Back then, I could’ve assassinated you, but now I’m no longer your match," he said, downcast.
"Just get used to it."
"Where’d you get that tribulation manna from?"
"It has nothing to do with you."
"Since you use a sword, are you the son of the Human Branch's sect master?"
"Haha, goodbye." Tianming no longer cared about chatting with Fang Xingying. He had better things to do, like going to the Old Deepstar Path.
......
The rankings revealed themselves again the next day. Now, Tianming could find his name on it. He was in seventieth place with seventy-three points. Defeating those eighteen had earned him more than forty points.
"It seems I’m rather lucky." Even though he was still very far off from the top, he wasn't in that much of a rush. He would go about it at his own pace. After all, he could just make it up during the last three days.
With this name getting on the rankings for the first time, someone was bound to notice. As expected, Fang Xingque did.
On a tall, black mountain in the battlefield were close to two hundred people huddled together. They all belonged to the Sterling House of Fang. A group like them was almost invincible on the battlefield and could do whatever they want. No matter who they ran into, they always scurried away. Even though Fang Xingque wasn't the strongest among them, there was no doubt that he held the most authority.
"Did you see that? Li Tianming is in seventieth place!" he said.
"I believe he’ll be able to defeat another sixty or seventy people given his abilities. He seems to have rather good luck," said a youth clad in black standing beside Fang Xingque. He was about the same age and his hair was red, blue, and green. It wasn't dyed, but rather his natural hair color. That was a sign of his talent in the Sterling House of Fang, inferior only to Fang Xingque's rainbow colored hair.
"Let's ignore him for now and focus on surpassing Xuanyuan Muxue. It displeases me that a woman like her is above me."
Fang Xingque looked into the distance at his cohort of two hundred. If he couldn't defeat Xuanyuan Muxue like that, he would be a laughingstock. He felt humiliated every time he saw the rankings board appear.
"The point gap is only three hundred now, and will only continue decreasing. We only need a few days to pass her," said the youth.
"Chenyu, do you know why Xuanyuan Muxue is so impressive?" Fang Xingque asked.
"I don't."
Nobody dared to approach as they were speaking. They all knew that even though they weren’t siblings, they were actually much closer than that.
"Whatever. We'll talk after we pass her. Our group here just grows bigger by the day. Let's see who dares to touch us during the last three days."
"Don't worry. The spots in the Deepstar Pool will definitely belong to you. I’ll kill anyone that dares take them from you."
"Chenyu, has your father returned from trying to recruit the other divine realms?"
"He has, but it doesn't seem to have worked out well. The Quadform Divine Realm ignored him," Fang Chenyu said coldly.
"It's good enough that he's back. To be honest, I didn't think it’d work out either. Your dad is one of the 'three hands' of the Sterling House of Fang and controls the Judgment Hall. He’s the chief inquisitor of the sect. As someone from the Sterling House of Fang, he shouldn't be risking his life for the Archaion Sect."
"You mean to say...."
"That’s just my personal opinion. I don't know what my father and the rest think about it."
"The Sterling House of Fang originated in the Quadform Divine Realm, rose to prominence in the Biritual Divine Realm, and dominates in the Archaion Divine Realm. But do you know what those from the Quadform Divine Realm called us?" Fang Chenyu asked angrily.
"What?"
"The three-faced house pets!"
"Damn it!" Fang Xingque's eyes were burning with anger. "What house pets? The Archaion Divine Realm is ours! Even the Xuanyuans have to step aside for us!"
"I want to wipe out the Quadform Divine Realm one day!"
"Let's do it together!"
After some venting, they calmed down. "Let’s proceed on our hunt!"
They split up, but kept in touch, allowing them to spread out wider for more frequent encounters.
"Xingque, we ran into Fang Shuyu. She wants to see you," Fang Chenyu said.
"Her?" Fang Xingque waved for the girl in pink to be brought over.
"Young Master Xingque, all of us were wiped out by Li Tianming. He even killed Fang Chenhuan!" Fang Shuyu said with teary eyes.
"What?" Many of them turned grim when they heard it.
"Aren't you an eighth-level empyrean saint?" Fang Xingque asked.
"Yes, but he managed to defeat Chenhuan with a single strike," she said, pale with fear.
"That's impossible! He wasn't nearly as powerful two weeks ago during the faction battles!" Fang Chenyu exclaimed.
"It’s probably due to his lifebound beasts evolving," Fang Xingque said.
"He’s really troublesome. We have to kill him as soon as possible. By the way, he isn't a samsaran, so how was he able to breach the Astral Formation and kill Fang Chenhuan?" Fang Chenyu asked.
"It seemed to be some kind of ability of his lifebound beast. It pierced the Astral Formation and exploded," she said.
"Ability?" Everyone grew furious. Li Tianming was really getting on their nerves.
"I didn't think he’d even dare to kill someone from the Sterling House of Fang... hehehe...." Fang Xingque bit his lip.
"Young Master, I have a plan," she said.
"Elaborate."
"I had Fenfen scatter some jade powder onto Li Tianming's lifebound beast. That bird of his likes to perch on his shoulder, so some of it is bound to have gotten on him. The powder of the Whitejade Phoenix is hard to detect. Only my phoenix can track it."
"You mean to say we can track him down?" Fang Xingque asked.
"That should be the case."
"His lifebound beast is really fast. Even finding him might be pointless," Fang Chenyu said.
"Not necessarily. We can lay in ambush and instantly kill him when he lets his guard down. He won't even have the time to summon his lifebound beasts!" Fang Xingque said deviously.
"So should we head out now?"
"Of course."