The woman had two lifebound beasts, and she was seated on one of them. They were two snow-white foxes with at least three hundred and sixty stars in their eyes. The male fox had a robust figure with sharp claws and was covered in crimson flames. The female fox was charming and slender, leaning on the male. The two lifebound beasts were a pureyang fiendfox and blackyin dreamfox.
The woman belonged to the strongest house in the Yinyang Demon Sect, the Demonic House of Yinyang. Most of the house’s descendants were twin beastmasters, and their lifebound beasts were of different genders. The two genders complemented each other, like yin and yang. Their fighting prowess wasn’t any inferior compared to a triple beastmaster.
Because of this trait, they would often bask in ‘joy’ during their growth. After all, they were a perfect match made in heaven.
“Wow!” The woman’s eyes lit up when she saw Tianming. She seemed somewhat surprised. When the two stages combined, the woman charged at Tianming with her lifebound beasts.
“I know you! You’re that goddess’ disciple. You’re an odd person who can defeat someone in the second death phase of the Samsara stage in the Empyrean Saint stage. Holy shit! Aren’t I lucky?” The woman blinked her eyes in pleasant surprise.
“What do you want?” Tianming asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? I want to claim the bounty! The Archaion Sect are all fools to put you in such a high position. In our eyes, you’re no different from a pile of shit. The brothers and sisters of my sect have taken out treasures and created a prize pool. Anyone who takes your head will be able to claim the pool. You’re unlucky to encounter me, Dong Jingjing!” Dong Jingjing’s eyes lit up as she spoke.
“You’re so confident that you can claim the prize pool?” Tianming smiled.
“Well, I still have to give it a try regardless.” Dong Jingjing laughed.
It wasn’t easy to tell the level in the Samsara stage, and Tianming could only determine that she was using death tribulation energy. This meant that she might be in the second or third death phase, but not the fourth.
If she was in the third death phase of the Samsara stage, Tianming could only try his best to protect himself. But he still had to test her strength to determine her cultivation. In the blink of an eye, Ying Huo had already charged over.
“Adulterous couple, watch my sword!” Ying Huo was very unhappy with the pair of foxes and stabbed out with five hundred tribulation sword ki, attacking with the Hexapath Samsara Sword right at the beginning.
Among the Infernal Haze, Ying Huo stabbed its sword at the pureyang fiendfox, and the fox retaliated by turning into a scarlet sun and smashing at Ying Huo. However, the penetrative ability of Ying Huo’s Sky Piercer Ki stabbed into the fox.
“Second death phase of the Samsara stage.” Ying Huo determined Dong Jingjing’s cultivation from the might of her lifebound beast. But since she was at the same level as Xuanyuan Yuheng, there was nothing for Tianming to be cautious about.
“Go!” Tianming’s four lifebound beasts attacked together. Meow Meow’s lightning ability enveloped the entire stage and Xian Xian had already unleashed its Radiant Vines along with the crimson petals, forming a Bloodrain Sword hiding within Meow Meow’s Chaos Disaster.
This left Dong Jingjing dumbfounded. She knew that Tianming had killed someone in the second death phase of the Samsara stage, but she had no understanding of Xuanyuan Yuheng’s strength. Now that Tianming’s lifebound beasts began unleashing their abilities, the entire stage instantly fell under Tianming’s control.
She was an illusion-type beastmaster, and she would usually try confusing her opponent with the blackyin dreamfox while the pureyang fiendfox would tangle with the opponent. But now, how would the pureyang fiendfox be able to withstand the ability bombardment?
“Hold on a little longer. We’ll throw our enemy into an illusion!” Dong Jingjing’s face suddenly changed when the Bloodrain Sword struck the pureyang fiendfox and countless Radiant Vines wrapped themselves around it. Then, Lan Huang held the pureyang fiendfox down under it and started biting the fox. Right at that moment, Ying Huo appeared once more and left a massive gash on the fox’s stomach.
The pureyang fiendfox wailed out in pain. It hadn’t even moved before it died. It might be in the second death phase of the Samsara stage, but there was nothing it could do after being surrounded by Tianming’s lifebound beasts.
After Xian Xian was born, its powerful control ability had significantly strengthened Tianming’s team. The pureyang fiendfox was caught up in the Radiant Vines right from the beginning, not to mention that the Bloodrain Sword was absorbing the fox’s blood. It had lost the initiative right from the start, and death had taken it in an instant.
The blackyin dreamfox was only able to execute its Cloudpeak Dreamland after the pureyang fiendfox’s death. It was a powerful ability that instantly swept Ying Huo and the rest into an illusion. On the other hand, Dong Jingjing sang an enticing song with her dreamy voice.
Her illusion was all in her voice, which was a perfect fit for the blackyin dreamfox’s Cloudpeak Dreamland. If the pureyang fiendfox had lasted a little longer, their combat prowess in the second death phase of the Samsara stage wouldn’t be weak. But it was a pity that everything was too late.
Just when the Cloudpeak Dreamland was formed, a figure appeared beside the blackyin dreamfox and slashed down with the Grand-Orient Sword. The fox was surprised; it had never expected that Tianming would be immune to its illusion. The strike contained eight hundred strands of tribulation sword ki.
When Tianming’s sword descended, the blackyin dreamfox was decapitated. Blood splattered and sprayed on Dong Jingjing, leaving her stunned. When she turned around, she was restricted by an enormous net of lightning that even her death tribulation energy couldn’t resist. In addition to the sword-shaped petals and Ying Huo’s Skyscorch Featherblast, how could she possibly withstand it?
“You!” Dong Jingjing’s defensive tribulation artifact shattered. As fear rose in her heart, Tianming charged over. She wanted to escape, but she was covered in wounds from the flames, petals, and lightning.
“I heard that you want my head?” The cold voice sent chills down Dong Jingjing’s spine.
“It’s a misunders—” Before she could finish her words, the Grand-Orient Sword swept past, and her head flew.
“Get lost.” Tianming waved his sword and sent Dong Jingjing’s corpse off the stage. At the same time, the Radix World Tree threw the two foxes' corpses out. Dong Jingjing’s death meant he had successfully passed the first round.
“You want to kill me? Then you must be prepared to die.” This wasn’t only for Dong Jingjing, but all his enemies. He hadn’t come to the Number One Summit for a friendly spar.
Tianming tidied up briefly, then the cloud stage continued onward. He needed to defeat another person to make it through the Skyorigin Battlefield. His next opponent would be strong, because it would also be someone who had defeated one enemy.
“If the other eight divine realms know that I’m Feiling’s in-name disciple, they should’ve witnessed my methods.” Tianming looked up ahead with the four lifebound beasts.
Xian Xian’s spiritual body flew above his head and hugged Tianming’s neck. It then spoke out in a pampered voice, “Half-daddy, Xian Xian is hungry…”
“Don’t lie. None of your branches were damaged.” Tianming smiled.
“Xian Xian don’t care! Xian Xian is hungry!” Xian Xian began rolling around unreasonably.
“Eat, eat, eat. All you know is eat!” Tianming took out the barbecued meat he had prepared in the spatial ring. Xian Xian started gobbling up its food.
“Can I take a short nap, too?” Meow Meow’s eyes lit up.
“Sleep your head!” Tianming lifted Meow Meow by the neck.
“No fair! You value females over males! There are no cat rights around here!” Meow Meow grumbled.
“Suck it up even if you’re unhappy with it.”
“I’ll start throwing tantrums!”
“Shut up.” Tianming clamped Meow Meow’s mouth together. The cat could only struggle by swinging its claws around, but Tianming’s left hand wasn’t afraid of them.
“Haha!” Ying Huo laughed with its wings on its waist.
“You too!” Tianming clamped Ying Huo’s beak shut. In the end, Ying Huo could only glare with its eyes open and flap its wings about. They were having fun playing, but many people in the Flameyellow continent were coldly watching them through the Skyeye Formation.
Did they think that killing Dong Jingjing was impressive? There were sixteen hundred disciples, and plenty of experts hidden among them. If he was unlucky and encountered one of the stronger disciples, his corpse would be the one being thrown down.
As the spectators discussed among themselves, Tianming finally met his second and last opponent for the day. His stage was larger after having fused with Dong Jingjing’s stage. The Skyorigin Battlefield would eliminate three-fourths of the participants, reducing the numbers to four hundred.
Tianming looked at his second opponent. It was a young man dressed in azure clothes with his hair tied in a bun. He stood straight like a sword, and sword ki emanated from his body. He seemed pretty young, probably only a few years older than Xuanyuan Yuheng, putting him around the same age as Tianming.
But for him to have such strength at his age meant his talent was outstanding. At the very least, he was a genius on the same level as Tianming. When the youth saw Tianming, he said in an indifferent voice, “Li Tianming, I’ll be able to obtain a sixth-grade tribulation manna by killing you. Don’t you think that’s a great deal?”
“The Hexapath Sword Sect? Tai'e House of Jian?” Tianming asked.
“That’s right. My name is Feng Daoyi.”
“I believe your rank isn’t low, right?” Tianming asked.
“It’s nothing compared to yours,” said Feng Daoyi. He drew out his sword and continued, “It’s perfect for me to enter the Nether Battlefield wielding your head.”
“Then do you need to exclaim that you’ve got good luck?” Tianming asked.
“That’s right. How do you know?”
“Because the last person who did that’s dead,” replied Tianming.