Regardless, those who were spectating would never begrudge the matter for blowing up even more. Licking a shoe or kneeling while admitting to being a perverted degenerate were both exciting stakes. The Flameyellow Pagoda was a place of quiet cultivation, and hadn’t been so lively for a very long time.
‘Well, aren’t you eager.” Wei Lingxuan glanced at Li Tianming’s dirty shoes. She trembled somewhat, but she was so full of confidence that she wasn’t deterred.
“Excited to clean my shoe? Don’t worry, an hour will fly by.” Li Tianming smiled, approaching the Flameyellow Rock, Jiang Feiling in tow.
The Heaven’s Sanctum disciples cultivating by the Flameyellow Rock all halted when they heard of the bet. Stepping out of the rings, they watched Li Tianming and Wei Lingxuan with rapt attention.
“Is there something wrong with Li Tianming’s head?”
“There must be. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been dumb enough to attack Mu Qingqing three years ago and ruin himself.”
“He’s a sensationalist. You actually expect him to act low-profile?”
All of them shook their heads, looking at Li Tianming with pity. Their minds were already full with the amusing events to come.
Wei Lingxuan’s cold voice cut them off just as Li Tianming and Jiang Feiling were about to enter the rings. “Li Tianming, this bet is between you and me. Jiang Feiling is not allowed to go in. Don’t keep thinking of getting a girl to help you, coward.”
“Ling’er.” Li Tianming stopped, giving her a smile.
“Will you be fine?” Jiang Feiling asked.
“Just wait and see.”
“I’m still worried big brother may lose…” Jiang Feiling pouted, her eyes full of worry.
“Why would I be afraid of losing? You’ll help me take the punishment, right?” Li Tianming grinned.
“No way!” Jiang Feiling giggled. She stopped walking after seeing how confident Li Tianming was. She watched with concern from the side as Li Tianming, with a yellow little chick on his head, walked into the outermost ring.
Everyone else could easily see the beginnings of a girl’s first love.
Li Tianming stood in the region for level one synchronisation. As a rule of thumb, that was where most disciples belonged to, an unspoken requirement of sorts.
“A spiritual energy storm?” From this distance, Li Tianming could already feel the spiritual energy emanating from the Flameyellow Rock. The ancient rock in front of him, which had experienced the vicissitudes of time, seemed to have an ancient story to tell. Rather than an inanimate object, it gave him an impression of an elder.
The spiritual energy storm was like a gentle breeze when it swept past him, the whistles that passed by his ear sounding like it was trying to communicate with Li Tianming. The spiritual energy wove in and out of his body a moment later, and it felt like the Flameyellow Rock was examining him was its hands.
“For our Primordial Chaos Beast physiques, there’s nothing we’re less scared of than violent energy. We can withstand even the spiritual energy chaos eating spirit jades puts us in, so who cares about some puny rock? If there weren’t so many people around, it’ll be in my stomach by now,” the little chick declared arrogantly, sitting in a nest made from Li Tianming’s messy hair.
“Hey, you said it! Don’t screw me over, or else you’re joining me when I kneel later!” Li Tianming continued his approach to the rock.
“Bro, you must be dreaming! I’m not the one who made the bet,” the little chick cackled madly.
“So you do admit you’re screwing me over?”
“Naturally.”
“And you’re supposed to be my lifebound beast? What about the bonds of brotherhood?”
“My only dream is to see you humiliated in front of sister Ling’er so that I’ll look better.”
“You beast!”
“When egg two hatches, I’m abandoning you.”
“Do you believe I’ll go to the lifebound space right this moment and crack all nine runts?”
“How impressive of you.”
Li Tianming had already reached the third ring as he chatted with Ying Huo. It was also where Wei Lingxuan cultivated.
Li Tianming closed his eyes to better sense the spiritual energy storm here, which was far stronger. The density of spiritual energy here was ten times as large as outside. However, standing here was like being besieged by howling wind and torrential rains. The difficulty of absorbing and converting spiritual energy into beast ki was ten times harder.
A moment of carelessness might allow the spiritual energy storm to disrupt the process of cultivation. If that happened, the cultivator would lose control of their beast ki and suffer severe internal injuries.
The Flameyellow Rock was an area of great fortune, but also of great danger. That was what made knowing your personal degree of synchronisation important. Overestimating yourself would only lead to ruin.
Wei Lingxuan actually had sinister intentions in proposing such a bet. She didn’t want Li Tianming to kneel, but to suffer severe injuries. That was the only way for her to dispel her hate. She was the pampered, spoilt princess of Wei Manor. Flameyellow Scions Institute was the manor’s territory, which made it her’s too. How could she allow Li Tianming to get off scot free after provoking her in her own territory?
“Let’s get started. It’s just one hour — time to see if you’re a real man!” The little chick was enjoying itself.
“Wait.” Li Tianming felt the spiritual energy storm.
“Scared?”
“How could that be? Let me tell you something, don’t look down on a youngster now just because he’s weak now.” After Li Tianming finished his words, he continued on, walking towards the rock.
The geniuses of Heaven’s Sanctum were all waiting for Li Tianming to cultivate in the third ring. When they saw him proceed inward, they all called out, “Li Tianming, don’t waste time!”
Their natural assumption was that Li Tianming was only posturing, and would come out after walking around a bit inside.
Li Tianming simply ignored them and entered the fourth region.
The intensity directly doubled!
The region where Lin Xiaoting and the other core Heaven’s Sanctum disciples cultivated really was out of the ordinary. The storm was like the continuous attacks of a fierce beast. Anyone who could somehow cultivate here was impressive.
The little chick frowned. “You want to cultivate here?”
“What, I can’t?” His back facing everyone else, Li Tianming crossed his legs and sat down.
The little chick whistled. “Gusty!”
“I’m not like you. I’m only pretending to be scared, while you’re actually scared!”
“Are you looking down on grandpappy chicken?”
“You said it.”
“Hmph. Come come, let’s start our symbiotic cultivation, I’ll show you what a real man is!” the little chick said confidently.
Naturally, symbiotic cultivation was even more effective than cultivating alone here. And it was especially effective when the lifebound beast was outside the lifebound space than when inside.
The lifebound space was a miraculous area. Most lifebound beasts would feel very comfortable inside. Furthermore, the space was connected to the beastmaster by the beast veins, so symbiotic cultivation could proceed even if the beast was inside.
The beastmasters present would generally cultivate with their beast inside the space. Of course, although most lifebound beasts preferred to stay in the space, exceptions like Ying Huo, who liked to prance around outside, existed.
The man and chick disregarded the shock of everyone else as they actually sat down in the fourth region and began cultivating, with Li Tianming running his Aeternal Infernal Codex. Li Tianming and Ying Huo’s beast veins connected a heartbeat later, their infernalsources linking together. Now a singular entity, Aeternal Infernal Beast Ki began to rush madly through the connections.
Li Tianming had never seen any other cultivation technique’s description to be as domineering as their Aeternal Infernal Codex. Combined with their Primordial Chaos Beast Bodies, they had no equal when it came to resisting such a storm.
The Aeternal Infernal Codex could forcefully devour, convert and suppress spiritual energy. Eternally undying, the Aeternal Infernal Body could survive the battering of their beast ki with absurd ease.
The moment they began cultivating, Li Tianming was clear today’s bet was a guaranteed win.
Level four synchronisation? Nothing much.
The spiritual energy storm seemed to have found a storm drain, and it gushed into the symbiotic cultivation system set up by Li Tianming and Ying Huo. It raged around violently, trying to tear apart Li Tianming’s body.
However, the Aeternal Infernal Codex was a bottomless hole that devouring everything effortlessly. Every scrap of ordinary spiritual energy ignited, turning into the magma-like Aeternal Infernal Beast Ki that flooded towards the infernalsource to strengthen it.
Like a volcano, the area around Li Tianming immediately spiked up in temperature.
It was the same for the little chick. Its tender little wings began to emit blistering waves of heat. Although its wings were merely the size of a pinky, flapping them unleashed tempestuous heat waves that should have only been unleashed by a massive beast. For a moment, everyone almost mistook it for having sky-spanning wings!
The two of them were beginning to bring the Heaven’s Sanctum geniuses a sense of absolute suppression, as well as a hint of reverence none would ever admit to feeling.
The more they saw Li Tianming’s specialness, the more vehemently they would reject those feelings.
After all, it was human nature to follow one’s first impression. Who would ever admit that someone they once saw as a joke could instill reverence in them?