The battles in the Skyorigin Battlefield were only appetizers for what was to come later. During the Number One Summit, nothing but the Number One mattered, not even the runner up. Only the powerful would stand a chance, so there wasn't really a need to show all of one's tricks during the first phase.
Yet Feng Daoyi, the disciple of the Hexapath Swordfiend, was facing off against Tianming in an amazing clash. While they weren't the cream of the crop among the participants, they both had notable backgrounds, especially considering the grudge between the Archaion Sect and the Hexapath Sword Sect.
Many people wanted to see how an empyrean saint like Tianming could deal with a third-level samsaran genius, though Feng Daoyi was a little disadvantaged in terms of age. Had the Number One Summit been held five years later, he would be ranked in the top ten or twenty, especially considering the tutelage of the Hexapath Swordfiend. Perhaps he would even get a chance to become Number One. It was a shame that he ended up being killed by Tianming on the spot. There would be no more future for him; he was no more than a stepping stone for Tianming to make his debut as the only disciple of the goddess in the entire Flameyellow Continent.
......
The fifth sector in the Human Branch's Dimensional Battlefield was where those from the Hexapath Sword Sect viewed the battles. They were all top figures from the sect, and the one who sat in the grandest seat was a man in a gray robe. He seemed rather young, and even a little petite. His facial features and aura were so average that he would blend in perfectly with any crowd, but his average appearance made him stand out among the swordmasters of the sect.
However, his gaze was clear and flowed like spring water, giving him an almost childlike innocence without a hint of impurity. His appearance made it hard for most to even imagine that he was the Hexapath Swordfiend, Feng Qingyu. Sometimes demons just didn't look particularly demonic.
Sitting atop his tall throne, he had his eyes on the Skyeye Formation, which was broadcasting many battles that were taking place. The largest viewpoint, however, showed a white-haired youth pointing directly to the viewers with his sword and cussing.
"Impudence!" the higher ups of the Hexapath Sword Sect behind Feng Qingyu cursed.
"That accursed thing!"
"How dare he kill Feng Daoyi?!"
"Even though Daoyi was talented, his power is only average. Does that fellow think he's a bigshot after defeating him?"
"He doesn't even know the predicament he’s in.... How truly tragic."
"Even if nobody can deal with him in the Skyorigin Battlefield, he'll come to learn true pain in the Nether Battlefield."
"Is the Archaion Sect filled with naive people like that? How amusing."
They were full of rage for the loss of a genius from their sect. Gingerly, they looked at the grey-robed man, who was holding his chin in thought.
"My Dear Qian," he called out.
A woman wearing a black veil walked out from behind him and gently asked, "What do you need of me, Sect Master?"
"Daoyi is your son. What do you think?"
"Sect Master, I believe we should proceed according to the plan."
"Alright."
Most of the rest didn't dare to approach the woman he had addressed so affectionately. They were all too aware that their sect master cared nothing for managing the sect and only focused on cultivating his swordsmanship, leaving her in charge of everything else.
......
The Swordsoul Mountains within the Hexapath Divine Realm was a huge mountain range that was filled with dense spiritual energy, thanks to the multitudes of ley lines underneath it. There was also a Skyeye Formation there, broadcasting the fight between Tianming and Feng Daoyi. Hundreds of thousands of disciples gathered around to watch, either laughing or cursing at the turn of events.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
"May the disciple of the goddess die!"
"Cut off this mutt's head and impale it on his sword! Bring it back and hang it at our doors!"
"Hahaha!"
"Feng Daoyi, kill him!"
At the most exciting moment, everything suddenly changed. Using his Grand-Orient Sword and working with his four lifebound beasts, Tianming managed to kill Feng Daoyi, someone with Quadrasword Talent. He waved Feng Daoyi's head around and mocked the audience watching the battle, instantly enraging the disciples of the Hexapath Sword Sect. The entire battlefield seemed to shake from the sheer commotion.
"Kill him!"
"Tear him to shreds!"
"All the disciples of the Monorigin Sect should be ground into meat paste!"
That kind of mockery was even able to cause the calm disciples studying the way of the sword to lose their minds in the group frenzy.
"Li Tianming will die for sure!"
......
Fang Taiqing, Xuanyuan Dao, and Jian Wuyi were also watching the battle from the Human Branch.
"Brilliant!" Ouyang Jianwang cheered and clapped. "I have a poem to dedicate for this occasion.... Ahem.... O' goddess's disciple Li Tianming, merciless to his foes, ruthless in his culling!"
The others merely talked quietly among themselves without loud proclamations like Ouyang Jianwang's.
"Even though Li Tianming did well, the other disciples aren't faring as good. They're pretty passive for the most part," Jian Wuyi said.
"Look down there," Fang Taiqing said.
Xuanyuan Dao silently grit his teeth and looked at the Skyeye Formation.
While Li Tianming's killing of Feng Daoyi was a joyous occasion for the Archaion Sect, it was only the beginning. Something far worse would happen that would sour all their faces....
......
Having dealt with his two opponents, Tianming took out a venomspike ironplate warpig and roasted it for Xian Xian, as the Nether Battlefield hadn't opened up yet since there were still battles ongoing. Soon, the fragrant smell of cooked meat wafted all around.
"Aaaah, the smell!" Xian Xian was already drooling.
"Flower Sis, if you eat so much, you'll grow fat," Ying Huo said.
"Waaah! Chicken Bro is being mean to me!"
"Ouch!" Before Ying Huo could react, Tianming's palm came slapping toward it. "Hey! You're violating my avian rights!"
After Xian Xian finished eating and restored its vines, it stroked its belly satisfactorily. Tianming then had all of them return to the lifebound space while he sat on the cloudy platform and listened for sounds of battle from afar. "Soon, we’ll know how we are doing relative to the other divine realms."
He was all too aware that while he was having a good time, the same couldn't be said for the other disciples of the Archaion Sect. They were probably at risk of losing their lives, too.
Around an hour later, the first phase of battles finally ended. The cloud he was sitting on vanished and he descended along with the other participants that passed through the first phase. As for the other people or corpses that fell without slowing themselves down, they had been eliminated. Tianming turned to Yi Xingyin and approached him as the other disciples returned to their respective camps.
Even from afar, he could see bloody corpses all around Yi Xingyin, all covered in bloodstained white cloth. There were people and beasts alike who had left this world for good. Many people rushed there and hugged their bodies as they cried. Even Tianming felt a little uneasy at the sight of all that lost young talent. Agonizing cries sounded out from all over. As Xuanyuan Muxue had said, this was the worst case scenario. He saw Fang Yuewei hug a cherished friend's corpse as her shoulders shook.
"Come here, Li Tianming," Yi Xingyin said with some relief.
"Palace Lord, the losses...."
"More than forty are gone for good. There’s also more than a dozen crippled," he said with a hoarse voice.
That was a staggering number. A quarter of the Heaven Branch disciples were out of commission after just the first phase. Of the total number, more than a hundred and fifty had been eliminated, with eighty-nine lucky survivors that hadn’t suffered huge losses. Tianming's body shook with killing intent.
"Five of the eight other divine realms killed our disciples specifically without any mercy."
"Which ones are there?"
"Biritual, Quadform, Hexapath, Heptastar, and Nonahall."
It wasn't surprising that the Biritual and Hexapath Divine Realms were doing so, but the actions of the Quadform, Heptastar, and Nonahall Divine Realms were equivalent to a declaration that they were in the camp that was trying to kill the goddess, leaving only the Triflair Celestial Sect, Pentaphase Earth Sect, and Octagram Heart Sect on the Archaion Sect's side. They had always had rather good relationships with them, the Triflair Celestial Sect especially. If not for the Archaion Sect, they wouldn't have been able to reestablish their rule in their divine realm.
"Those five...." Tianming committed them to memory. The sight of the motionless dead and the despairing living filled him with volcanic anger. His blood boiled as the smoke of death was visible through his eyes.
"They died for the Archaion Sect.... For Her Eminence...." If Feiling had a choice, she never would have wanted to become the goddess. That was a cruel twist of fate. "I can't even call myself a human if I don't avenge them!"