The moment he saw the 'soul' word in his third eye, his eyes hurt and he found himself in a world of darkness. The mountains, trees, sun, moon, and stars had all vanished. Within that dark and lonely world was nothing but a sole red eye. He could see nothing else. That wasn't the Archaionfiend Eye; in fact, it was even larger and had a diameter of more than a thousand meters. It was formed from fresh blood and looked even more sinister and threatening, like a blood sun, and applied huge pressure on his eyes. The pain caused him to close them, but he couldn't see anything when he did.
"So as long as I can use the Soulshaker Eye in combat, darkness will fall and leave nothing but blood in the sky. Opening this eye will cause my opponents to shut theirs. This is far more powerful than Bewildering Eye, as it's a special technique that can grow with the number of meridians that’ll allow more saint ki to flow through them. Simply amazing."
Even with a single meridian, the technique was still really effective. He would have to continue exploring how he could further strengthen it.
......
As Tianming trained the Soulshaker Eye, two other disciples came. They didn't say anything, nor did they disturb the others. They were Xuanyuan Yuheng and Xuanyuan Muxue, but they hadn’t come at the same time, nor did they sit at the same place. Both of them were shocked to see Tianming there; this place was usually reserved for members of the Trioptic True Dragon Branch.
"He has an eye on his palm. It looks like a decent one," someone told them.
"On his palm? How obscene," Xuanyuan Muxue said, poking her tongue out. She turned to look and could indeed see it.
"It's good enough that it didn't grow on his butt," joked the male senior.
She felt rather annoyed that she would have to train with him. It was one thing to be training together in the Deepstar Pool, but she didn't expect she would run into him at the Fiend Trials as well.
However, Xuanyuan Yuheng was even more annoyed. "He just keeps haunting me...."
It almost felt like a dream that a former sky saint would one day climb to his level and train with him at the same location.
Right after Xuanyuan Yuheng entered, the door at the entrance opened once more. This time, the commotion was so large that almost everyone stopped training to take a look. It was a middle-aged man dressed in a black-white robe, wearing a pleasant smile as he stood at the entrance. He had a third eye between his brows, a mark that he was also of the Trioptic True Dragon Branch. The eye was gold in color down to the iris, signaling his high status in the Archaic House of Xuanyuan.
"Greetings, Spiritstream Lord," the disciples saluted.
Spiritstream Hall was one of the nine great halls in the sect. They were in charge of spirit ores, herbs, and tribulation artifacts, basically the resource distribution across the Archaion Sect. It was a really important position.
The lord of the hall, Xuanyuan Xiao, was famed throughout the entirety of the Archaion Realm. He was probably the third highest ranking member of his house, not to mention he was Xuanyuan Yuheng's father. While his status wasn't as high as Fang Taiqing's, it was nothing to scoff at.
"Li Tianming, I didn't think you'd come here. I've been looking for you all day," he said as he came over.
"Me?" Tianming knew that he was Xuanyuan Yuheng's father, so he didn't expect him to be so friendly. "Spiritstream Lord, do you need me for anything?"
"Not in particular. Her Eminence has awarded you with a grade-four tribulation manna. Since I was passing through, our house king asked me to hand it over to you. Take it," he said as he handed over a sealed box, which Tianming hurriedly accepted.
"I am grateful to Her Eminence, Sect Master Xuanyuan, and you, Spiritstream Lord." He couldn't be happier about getting yet another treasure and secretly praised Feiling as he thought about how lucky he was to mooch off her. She had managed to prepare this before his fourth lifebound beast had even hatched.
The other disciples around them were incredibly envious at the sight of such a valuable treasure. Who knew how much effort they would have to put in to be granted such a thing? Though there was nothing they could do about it.
"He's favored by Her Eminence, after all."
"He's so lucky."
"I can't be more envious."
As they chattered about it, Xuanyuan Xiao came to Tianming and said, "Young man, Her Eminence sees a bright future for you. You might even become someone who expands the reign of our Archaion Divine Realm. Perhaps you'll even be Her Eminence's right-hand man one day."
"Understood! I’ll do my best!"
Xuanyuan Xiao nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Xuanyuan Yuheng and glared at him. "Tianming, I know you and my son have had some conflict, so I’ll take this chance to get an apology out of him today."
"Dad!" Xuanyuan Yuheng's eyes sank immediately.
"Come here," his father said with the same smile.
Xuanyuan Yuheng knew from that expression that there would be no negotiation, so he grit his teeth and came forward.
"Now, apologize," he said as he patted his son on the shoulder with so much force he almost made him kneel.
Xuanyuan Yuheng took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Brother Tianming, I was at fault when we met and almost injured you gravely. I earnestly apologize for my mistake and hope you won't continue to hold it against me."
All of this had been brought about thanks to Tianming's current status. Feiling's status was so high that a simple tug from her had rocketed him into the skies. But he couldn't say how stable his current position was. The higher status they had, the harder they would fall if the shit hit the fan.
"Do you mean it?" Tianming asked with a smile. All the other top disciples of the Xuanyuan house were watching them.
"Yes," Xuanyuan Yuheng replied with a smile.
"Clasp hands as a gesture then," Xuanyuan Xiao said.
Xuanyuan Yuheng hurriedly stretched his hand out. "As the saying goes, we aren't true friends until we've fought. Your recent progress has truly astonished me and I hold you in great regard. Let's put old grudges behind us. Since we're friends, feel free to ask for my help at any time."
"Alright." Tianming held the hand that wasn't nearly as warm as the smile on his face. But this was something Tianming had to accept, as Xuanyuan Xiao had gone out of his way to make them reconcile with each other. Xuanyuan Yuheng also responded in kind, ditching all semblance of disdain for him. Though that didn't mean Tianming forgot the grudge entirely, especially with how he still felt that Xuanyuan Yuheng had a bone to pick with him.
Since I have to focus on cultivating and getting the Archaionfiend Eye, I don't have time to waste on him. I'll prove myself one day when I finally exceed his level!
When he had first come to the sect, his days had been difficult, but now he was able to force Xuanyuan Yuheng to apologize with his status alone, so he took the win. Xuanyuan Xiao was also happy to see them get along.
"Son, Tianming must have a lot he doesn't understand yet, as it's his first time training here, so you have to look out for him," he said.
"Understood, father."
"Very well. I've disturbed you all enough, so I'll take my leave."
"See you, Spiritstream Lord!"
After he left, Xuanyuan Yuheng asked, "Do you need me to explain anything?"
"No need," Tianming said with an amicable smile.
"Then I’ll be on my way."
"Goodbye."
"Likewise."
They each went their own way back to where they previously sat, as if nothing had happened. Xuanyuan Muxue witnessed the whole thing and pouted, then sighed and resumed her own business.
"Muxue, Muxue...."
She didn't think that Tianming would come to her right after she closed her eyes to cultivate. "What is it?" she asked a little nervously. Even though she no longer wanted to mess with him, she didn't want Xuanyuan Yuheng to think she was close to him.
"I have a question. When do disciples here usually leave?"
"Why do you ask?"
"Well I want to have a private rendezvous here with you with the Archaionfiend Eye alone bearing witness."
"Go to hell!"
"Just messing with you. Now, back to my question."
"Forget it. Brother Yuheng will train for at least ten days straight or more without leaving. Ocular arts are his forte," she said.
"Damn, that's a shame." To think he wanted to fly up to the eye and see how he could reclaim it while nobody was around.
"Don't come so close. Leave. You and I will never work out," she angrily said.
"Self-conscious much? That third eye of yours really throws your whole face out of balance. I wouldn't fall for you," Tianming mocked before he left.
......
It was nighttime and Tianming left, seeing that Xuanyuan Yuheng wasn't going to leave anytime soon. He had to go to the Old Deepstar Path and the Deepstar Pool. Eventually, the people would gradually leave the Fiend Palace, leaving him there alone. Everyone knew that he would stay until nobody else was there.
His lone figure looked incredibly small in that gigantic hall. In time, the black and red miasma within grew more and more dense and seemed to swallow Xuanyuan Yuheng whole. He gripped the flesh on his thighs tight and pierced his fingers, that were now golden claws, into them. Soon, the golden eye between his brows began changing from the miasma, slowly being dyed a sinister red.