Tianming didn't really react, as he didn't know who Dugu Jin was. Were his disciples really that famous?
As he was thinking about it, Jian Lingchen and his four sisters dashed past him, leaving him far behind as he stood there. Based on the reaction from the Astral Formation, the pursuer was right ahead. Tianming looked up and saw seven Heaven Branch disciples coming his way. All of them were really powerful and fast, being samsarans. They ran so quickly that the ground cracked and shook.
"Li Tianming!" Jian Lingchen called out, only to grimace; Tianming was already surrounded.
"Lingchen, let's go! We can't afford to bother with him anymore! He would just have to stall them for us! He has Her Eminence's backing after all." Jian Nichang said.
"It won't do! We said we’d be allies! Running away by myself doesn't conform to my creed as a swordsman," Jian Lingchen said as he turned back.
"You idiot, you’re really making us mad!" The four girls looked at each other with a troubled expression. "We shouldn't have taken Li Tianming along with us. Sheesh, let's go back."
And so, they rushed back.
"Li Tianming, don't you know to run?" Jian Liuyang said angrily, holding her urge back to pull his hair out.
"Why would you run when the dishes are served? I think they’re at least in the top twenty. If we take them all down, we'll profit!" Tianming said as he glared at the seven, who slowly spread out and surrounded the six of them as they summoned their lifebound beasts. Both sides had many points, and they might even stand a chance against the first and second ranks.
This scene was now the main focal point of the audience. Deepstar Hall had a viewpoint for each of them, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
"They’ll definitely fight under such circumstances. The loser will be eliminated and the winner will rise!"
The audience cheered. It would be a battle between twelve Heaven Branch disciples. Those young fellows would be huge figures in the future.
"This is getting really interesting. One side is the disciples of a tribulation elder, while the other is the core members of the Draconis House of Jian."
"Even though Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu are from the Draconis House of Jian, they aren't really highborn and wouldn’t have a chance to perform, but Elder Dugu Jin saw potential in them. I'm sure they’re quite unhappy with the core members of the house."
"They have long dreamed of proving themselves with Jian Lingchen."
"Fight!"
"Jian Lingchen's chances are far too low. Not only does his group have one person fewer, Li Tianming isn’t a Heaven Branch disciple."
"Jian Lingchen is two years younger than Xuanyuan Yutuo, Jian Chenzhong, and Jian Mugu. Even though they’re about the same level, Jian Lingchen has more talent, but he’s at a disadvantage."
"The others around him are women, too...."
Jian Lingchen's group was under a lot of pressure. "You have no choice. We must fight the best we can and leave no regrets! They won't get my points so easily," he said.
The twin brothers before him laughed. They were both tall and slender, with really sharp brows. One was dark and the other was fair. They both had hawk noses and long, slender fingers that seem rather worn out, a sign of their hard work.
Compared to them, Jian Lingchen did indeed look like a rich kid. Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu weren't their original names; Dugu Jin had given them new names.
"Senior Brother Yutuo, leave Jian Lingchen to us. He’s in third place and is the top genius of the Draconis House of Jian under twenty years old with his Quadrasword Talent. Compared to him, we’re relatively unknown and would like to challenge him," said the fairer Jian Chenzhong.
"You’re pretty smart. Most of their points are with Jian Lingchen," said Xuanyuan Yutuo, the leader of the seven Heaven Branch disciples. He had a really big physique and stood almost two meters tall with really well-defined musculature, a messy head of dark red hair, and a fiery third eye, a sign that he was from the Trioptic True Dragon Branch.
"Senior Brother, please understand, this is really important to us. We only want to prove ourselves to the Draconis House of Jian. After this, the two of us will do the best we can to push you to first place," said Jian Mugu in a hoarse voice as he glared at Jian Lingchen with hate and envy.
"Fine, go ahead. Just leave Li Tianming to me," Xuanyuan Yutuo said as his third eye locked on to Tianming. "Yufeng was a brother of mine. Even though his cultivation was rather weak, he was also one of the Trioptic True Dragon Branch. I must have someone answer for his death."
The other disciples with them weren't members of the three great houses, but the fact that Dugu Jin paid them any heed was because their talents were far higher than normal disciples. There were very few in the Archaion Sect that could become a Heaven Branch disciple before the age of twenty.
"Go!"
Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu both had their eyes on Jian Lingchen. His four sisters shielded him, but they were facing off against too many. The other four disciples of Dugu Jin each took on one of the sisters, forcing them away and opening the way for Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu to attack Jian Lingchen and take his points.
"You two crooks! How dare you side with outsiders?!" Jian Nichang cursed so furiously her body shook.
"What do you mean outsiders? Since when did the house treat us like one of them? Jian Nichang, the four of you share one man. I haven't heard of anything so shameless, so you have no right to ridicule us. We all know that your parents are just trying to lick the boots of Jian Wufeng," Jian Mugu mocked.
"Nonsense! Jian Lingchen is far more talented than the two of you could ever be!" Jian Yini said angrily as she fought.
"Then let him prove himself!"
They had trained so hard and the day had finally come. There was nothing more liberating for them than defeating Jian Lingchen before an audience of so many. They summoned their lifebound beasts, finally giving Tianming a glimpse of the legendary swordbeasts of the Draconis House of Jian.
The reason they were called swordbeasts was that they were a special kind of transformed lifebound beasts. It was the sign of talent for those of the Draconis House of Jian. When they reached the age of fifteen, some of their lifebound beasts would be able to awaken the bloodline of the swordbeasts, thereby becoming one.
The swordbeast talent of the Draconis House of Jian was denoted by the number of swordbeasts they had. Just because someone had three lifebound beasts didn't mean they would have Trisword Talent. That would only apply if all three of their lifebound beasts evolved into swordbeasts.
Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu both had three lifebound beasts. However, their talent was probably rather low, as they were from branch families. But if they ever managed to awaken it, their fates would change.
Swordbeasts were strong because they could change into swordbeast spiritforms and enter their beastmaster's weapon. Even though they would have fewer fighters, the benefits of the fusion were definitely worth it, especially when they had more swordbeasts.
For instance, Tianming saw that Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu had three lifebound beasts each. Jian Chenzhong's were three gold rhinoceri, and could cause a great deal of damage to the terrain just by stampeding. Jian Mugu, on the other hand, had three silver elephants, all of them huge and having more than three hundred and ten stars. However, all of those lifebound beasts turned into lights that entered the tribulation greatsword and longsword of Jian Chenzhong and Jian Mugu, respectively. The two swords now contained the will and power of their lifebound beasts and worked synergistically with their beastmasters, making them far stronger than any normal combatant.
"So Jian Lingchen has Quadrasword Talent?" Tianming said as he watched. As expected, four qilin lifebound beasts appeared beside Jian Lingchen, each one with more than three hundred and forty stars. They were crimson red, inky green, water blue, and dark purple respectively, ostensibly of different types.
"A quad beastmaster, eh…." Tianming had heard that quad beastmasters existed in the Nine Divine Realms, but he didn't think that Jian Lingchen would be one. Not to mention, he had Quadrasword Talent. Tianming watched as the four qilin lifebound beasts turned into spiritforms and entered his sword. Now his aura far exceeded those of the other two. It was no wonder that they wanted to gang up on him even though they were samsarans at the life phase of the first level.
"Those with Swordbeast Talent are among the strongest in the Draconis House of Jian. Even those four girls with high status don't have it."
As Tianming was marveling at the swordbeasts, the battles had begun. "Lifebound beasts are truly mystical. There’s even plant species. I'm sure I’m but an ignorant bumpkin in the Nine Divine Realms."
It only meant that Ying Huo and the other Primordial Chaos Beasts could speed the change even more in the future, starting with the fourth rare plant species lifebound beast.
To avoid being injured by the shockwaves from the intensifying battle between Jian Lingchen and the other two brothers, Tianming moved further away.
"Li Tianming," said a young man, furiously glaring at him.
"Come on, I’m just a weak empyrean saint. Why did you leave the boss to me?" Tianming said exasperatedly.
"You should think yourself lucky. It’s an honor to be dealt with by me," Xuanyuan Yutuo said.
"Fine. I like you for being so direct. Come on then!" Tianming said.
Xuanyuan Yutuo stepped forward and two crimson dragons appeared beside him. They were giant flarehorn dragons. Each of them had a sharp horn on their heads. They were huge and powerful and covered in thick dragon scales, making them especially suited for brutal close combat. Xuanyuan Yutuo, standing between them, was covered in dragon scales himself, becoming a terrifying crimson draconian.