“Do you want me to help you with your revenge?” Mu Yang asked.
Li Tianming shook his head. “Nope.”
“Why?”
“It will be meaningless unless I kill him with my own hands. Besides, he's your disciple, and I don’t want you to dirty your hands,” Li Tianming replied.
“You want to kill him? Do you know how big the gap is between the two of you?” Mu Yang asked.
“I don’t need to know, since I will eventually catch up.” Li Tianming smiled with unreadable confidence.
“Are you sure? At your current level?” Mu Yang didn’t want to look down on him, but the truth was undeniable.
“Of course.”
“Then I will sit back and watch. To be honest, I’d say you are dreaming.”
Li Tianming laughed. “That’s perfectly normal. I’d be more worried if you believe that I can do it.”
“Confident, eh? But let me give you one word of advice.”
“I’m listening,” Li Tianming said.
“Don’t be impulsive, wait for your chance. If your mother has to prepare your funeral, your enemy’s going to get off scot-free.”
“I will keep that in mind.” Li Tianming nodded. But he felt that Mu Yang had no idea how strong his burning hatred was. Rage, impulse... these words were insufficient to describe it — and when the time came, it would be with a frightening calm that he faced his foe.
“Care for a drink?” Mu Yang produced two jugs of liquor and placed it on the table in the yard.
“Why not?”
“Interesting, I haven’t met anyone who could surpass me in drinking.” Mu Yang smiled.
“Then today I will prove to you that you have never met anyone who could drink.”
“Young man, cockiness has a price.”
“We’ll see who’s going to pay.”
“Haha…”
With the blood of the Primordial Chaos Beasts and the Aeternal Infernal Body, Li Tianming could handle the strongest alcohol. And so, the two drank to their hearts content within Rainforest Pavilion.
“Not bad, not bad!” Mu Yang exclaimed.
“Nothing to brag about.”
Mu Yang suddenly realised that Li Tianming wasn’t that impetuous, hot-headed young man he’d imagined. He was, in fact, composed and thoughtful, and it was hard for outsiders to read what he was thinking.
“Back at the Hall of Ancestry, I saw Wei Guohao destroy your weapon.” They had been drinking for quite a while and even Mu Yang was getting slightly dizzy.
“Yes, that guy clearly didn’t want to give me any chance.” Li Tianming’s face was slightly flushed too.
“I do have a weapon that may suit you, take it.” As he spoke, Mu Yang took out a beastial weapon and tossed it at Li Tianming.
“I never congratulated Jing’er for her marriage and her child, so just keep this as a gift.”
“You don’t have to find a reason to give me a present. I generally just accept all gifts.” Li Tianming smiled as he picked up that weapon.
“A grade five weapon?” Li Tianming saw the blue heavenly patterns on the weapon and asked. A mysterious power, furious and powerful, seemed to be oozing out of the patterns.
“That’s right.” Mu Yang nodded. Back at the ranking test, Lin Xiaoxiao and Chen Yao both had grade four weapons, which were superior to Li Tianming’s Thunderfire Chain. And when he faced off against Wei Guohao, the weapon just shattered on the spot. All these pointed at the fact that the Thunderfire Chain was no longer enough to support Li Tianming’s current level.
He would have been much stronger with a grade four weapon. As for grade five ones, those were the strongest weapons that people his age could possibly wield. Many beastmasters only owned such weapons after reaching Unity.
Even the Goldfault Sword that Wei Tiancang gifted Wei Lingxuan for her eighteenth birthday was a grade five weapon — it went without saying just how precious this gift from Mu Yang was.
“What’s it called?” Asked Li Tianming.
“Blazing Dragon Chainblade.”
It was a crimson chain even thicker and longer than the Thunderfire Chain. The Thunderfire Chain was made from metal rings that were linked onto each other, while this Blazing Dragon Chainblade had round scale-like pieces joined together instead. The scales had razor sharp edges, and it was not hard to imagine the damage it could cause when it tangled its foes.
The tip of the chainblade, a sharp blade resembling the tip of a spear, also had a unique design. With it, the Blazing Dragon Chainblade would pierce through its enemies with tremendous ease.
“The Blazing Dragon Chainblade is effectively made up of two different grade five beastial weapons, namely the chain part and the Blazing Dragon Fang part.” Mu Yang pointed at the tip of the chainblade. The addition of the fang had no doubt enhanced the flexibility of this weapon, and gave Li Tianming more versatility in attacking.
“The raw material used for this weapon was crimson quartz. It was forged with blazing dragonfire, and finally infused with the blood of a Blazing Dragon. The quality of this weapon is better than most other grade five weapons, and all the spirit ores and hazards used in its production had blue heavenly patterns.”
As Mu Yang introduced this weapon, Li Tianming waved it a few times. This weapon clearly suited him, and it was far better than the Thunderfire Chain to boot. With the spirit hazard, the blazing dragonfire burning on the chains, Li Tianming even felt like he was controlling a real fanged dragon.
“Finally, here is our Disciple’s Order for the sanctum, freshly made.” Mu Yang tossed a white medallion at him.
Li Tianming caught it and felt its weight. He knew that this was a proof of identity for a disciple of the sanctum, and the order itself was made out of high-grade spirit ores. It was impossible for an outsider to replicate the item. On its front, the word ‘Heaven’s Sanctum’ was stylishly written on it, while on the back the name Li Tianming was engraved into the stone, proving that this order was his and his only.
Li Tianming had read about such orders before, and he knew that other than his name, there was supposed to be one more name as well. That would be the name of his supernal mentor, but currently he did not have one.
“You may not have a supernal mentor, but that shouldn’t stop you from cultivating in Flameyellow Pagoda. This order would also allow you to collect battle arts, martial arts, weapons, spirit ores, spirit herbs, spirit hazards as per normal,” Mu Yang explained.
“From now on, just leave your mother to me. If you focus on cultivating, you may reach the average standard for youths in the Wei Manor. If your performance is impressive, maybe my master will even reconsider his words and give you a chance to talk to him.” Mu Yang rose to his feet. He had everything arranged for Li Tianming.
“Average standard?” Li Tianming remembered every word Mu Yang said. He knew Mu Yang was talking about his talent. He may have put up an excellent show back during the ranking test, but that wouldn’t hide the fact that he was already twenty. And in the Wei Manor, the average standards of a twenty year old should at least be able to beat Wei Lingxuan who was just eighteen.
Li Tianming was only at first level Spiritsource, and the difference was obvious. Luckily, the difference in strength wasn’t that big. If he could compare with those youngsters raised in the manor, Wei Tiancang would definitely not look down on him like he did today.
Mu Yang was right in that Wei Tiancang wasn’t the friendly old grandpa that he had imagined. He wasn’t going to listen to Li Tianming, unless Li Tianming showed him what he was capable of. That was Li Tianming’s only way to save his mother!
Mother was still in the Wei Manor, and Li Tianming needed the power to protect her from all the demeaning words his ‘relatives’ were throwing at them. Mu Yang had pointed out the path for him, which was to cultivate and get stronger. While he couldn’t help with his mother's situation, he had made it to the sanctum — it was time to make good use of the resources here to give himself a good boost!
Furthermore, Mu Qingqing, Chen Yao and Xing Que were all inside the sanctum! If he could improve fast enough, then he would soon catch up with those of his age, and become strong enough to enact revenge. When the rest of the disciples were grovelling at his feet, could the Potentate still disregard him the way he did today? Li Tianming could feel his passion burning.
“Vice-Potentate, just one last time. Lin Xiaoting is your disciple, so are you sure you are not going to stop me?” Li Tianming stood up as well, and he too was slightly dizzy from drinking so much.
“I told you, I believe in truth and justice. If you can prove your innocence, then I will not take sides,” Mu Yang replied calmly. Then again, he wouldn’t side with Lin Xiaoting in the first place when Li Tianming was Wei Jing’s son……
“One last question.” Li Tianming stared into his eyes and asked, “Back in the Hall of Ancestry, you mentioned that you will take me as your disciple if I defeat Wei Guohao. Does that still count?”
“Of course, I’m not one to take back my words. But let me be honest with you. I don’t think you can match Wei Guohao within the next five years, and there’s no way for you to reach Lin Xiaoting’s in the next ten. They just have too far a head start, and do you really think you can catch up with them?”
“Definitely,” Li Tianming replied without hesitation.
“We shall see.”
“Suits me,” Li Tianming said.
“I shall take my leave.”
“I will send you off.”
“There’s no need for that.”
Mu Yang was not one to dilly-dally, and right after finishing his last cup of drink he disappeared from the pavilion.
“Bro, I have something to say.” The little chick popped up with a perverted look on its face.
“What?”
“I reckon this guy must have really loved our mother back then, and even if she didn’t choose him, he still didn’t give up. Look at him now, single for the past twenty years like a monk. He must really be heartbroken.” Ying Huo grinned as it gossiped.
“You are pretty creative aren’t you?” Li Tianming smiled. It was all stories of the past that younger generations like them did not have to bother with. He only had one question: Why did Wei Jing choose that Li Yanfeng over the handsome Sage Chen or the talented Mu Yang? Surely their lives would have been drastically different if one of the other two had been chosen.
“Hmm how do you reckon he does that? Does the esteemed Vice-Potentate do it with his own hands or does he visit brothels?” The little chick let its imaginations run wild. If Mu Yang was still here, he might just have strangled the little chick.
“Ying Huo, do you know how we can make a chicken tastier?”
“Huh??”
“We neuter it!”
“Tsk, just tell me if you are jealous of my manhood.” The little chick’s audacity sure knew no boundaries.
Jokes aside, Li Tianming’s cultivation journey in the sanctum had officially begun! Flameyellow Pagoda was the most famous place of cultivation in the nation, renowned for its incredible effects. Li Tianming had always wanted to take a look there, and see what opportunities await him.
But before that, he would make a trip to Princess Qing’s place first. His true intention was, of course, to find Jiang Feiling.