BOOM!
The Flameyellow Rock shook, and the black heavenly patterns began to wriggle, as if it was trying to form some kind of picture. The changes to the formation was immense!
When the Flameyellow Rock shook earlier, the whole pagoda had shuddered along with it. Such a development would have alerted a lot of people, but Li Tianming was past caring about that now.
“LET GO!” the little chick screamed. Li Tianming could feel the impact too. If it wasn’t for the black arm enduring the shockwaves that came from simply touching the rock, the outburst of spiritual energy would have blown his entire arm off.
It was too dangerous. Had he held his hand there any longer, it would have sundered his Aeternal Infernal Body, and ripped Jiang Feiling out of his body too!
Thankfully, the black arm managed to absorb the hit, allowing him to break contact with the rock immediately, saving his own life. It was an encounter that left two humans and one chicken in shock and awe.
“I saw the patterns form some kind of a picture just now, but I wasn’t able to endure the spiritual energy storm,” Li Tianming said.
“I saw it too, and it looked quite mysterious. There must be other secrets hidden in this rock other than its spiritual energy,” Jiang Feiling agreed.
“No, you won’t make it out alive if you touch it again,” the little chick said worriedly.
It was right. Li Tianming knew that at his level, he wasn’t able to withstand the storm. It wasn’t the right time to discover the secrets of the rock.
“Well, well, weren’t you quite the daredevil earlier, so why are you backing down now?” Li Tianming laughed.
“Me, scared? I was just worried that the two of you would both die here without any offspring.” Ying Huo smirked.
“You don’t have to find yourself an excuse for being a timid chicken.”
“Ha!”
Li Tianming reconsidered his plan to explore the Flameyellow Rock. For now, he would focus on cultivating, and he could prove himself to have perfect synchronization if he could last an hour here. In fact, it was a lot easier with the help of Jiang Feiling. The spiritual energy gushing into his body could be guided by her. Not long later, Li Tianming and Ying Huo started their Aeternal Infernal Codex and began to refine the immense spiritual energy the stone was emanating.
“Ling’er, word has it that you aren’t related by blood to the Vermilion Bird King. Do you know about your own past?” Li Tianming asked randomly. While she did not have any lifebound beast with her, the powers sealed within her fingernails were simply incredible.
“I don’t know. Father said he picked me up right after I was given birth, and even my umbilical cord was freshly cut.” She sounded a little moody. That was only natural, since she didn’t even know who her true parents were.
“Where did he find you?”
“In the Abyssal Battlefield.”
Abyssal Battlefield again? It wasn’t much of a surprise, considering that it was the most mysterious place on the Flameyellow Continent, home to some of the greatest mysteries of the age. For example, it was there where Li Tianming found his Saintbeast War-Soul.
“Oh Ling’er you poor thing. But worry not, as big brother Ying Huo will shower you with love, and be the harbour for your soul,” the little chick consoled.
“Nah, you are more like a little brother that needs taking care of.” Jiang Feiling grinned.
The little chick could only sigh as it turned its attention back to the spiritual energy storm, diverting its attention away from its failed attempt to charm the girl. For now, the three of them would focus on cultivation only.
For Li Tianming, the so-called one hour mark didn’t even bother him now. He would prove that with his perfect synchronization, the innermost ring was his and his alone, and he could stay there for as long as he wanted!
A burst of flame engulfed both him and Ying Huo and formed a fiery tornado. No matter how violent the spiritual energy storm looked, it would be absorbed by the tornado the moment it got close to Li Tianming. The spiritual energy was then sent to the pair’s infernalsources, which would then expand rapidly. In fact, it was even more effective than eating spirit gems!
Entering the sanctum was the correct move after all! Only in this sacred place would Li Tianming find the resources that could let him maximise the potential of the Primordial Chaos Beasts, allowing him to catch up with those his age! The day when he could surpass them was drawing close.
The Flameyellow Rock had brought him hope like never before, not to mention that he had perfect synchronization. Putting these thoughts at the back of his mind, Li Tianming went back to cultivating.
……
Even Li Tianming himself had no idea how much of a commotion he had caused when the Flameyellow Rock shook. Everyone thought he was looking for his own death when he had touched the rock. That was because the sanctum had strictly forbidden any disciple from touching the rock. Historically, anyone who had tried touching the rock all left the ring as a corpse, without a single exception.
The disciples hadn’t even managed to react when Li Tianming touched the rock, such was their shock. But before they could yell at Li Tianming, he had already drawn back. Furthermore, Li Tianming acted as if nothing had happened, and sat down within the fifth ring to cultivate.
“Why hasn’t the spiritual energy storm torn him apart?”
“No way, when was the last time a disciple with perfect synchronization appeared?”
“More importantly, why can that fool do it? Is there something wrong with the rock?”
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
Many were eager after hearing that. They refused to believe that Li Tianming was more talented than any of them there, choosing to blame it on the rock’s sudden malfunctioning instead.
“I’ll go, I’ll go.”
Soon a handful of them entered the rings, some of them at level three synchronization level. But when they tried cultivating in the fourth ring, every single one of them ran out, beads of sweat dotting their foreheads.
The conclusion was obvious. There was nothing wrong with the Flameyellow Rock.
Every disciple in the sanctum had endured the spiritual energy storm before, and naturally they understood what a feat it was to cultivate in the fifth ring. And to make things worse, the one who achieved it was someone they had looked down on and despised! Those who were still jeering at Li Tianming just now could only stare at Li Tianming with dropped jaws.
“What’s going on?!” A cold voice sounded from the stairs leading to the second floor of the pagoda, as two women dressed in long white robes walked down the stairs. The one in the lead was a middle-aged lady, her slender feature mature and charming. But the freezing aura that she released was enough to keep disciples away from her.
She was none other than Supernal Mentor Liu Xueyao. Following behind her was an alluring teenage girl who gave off the impression of a white lotus, her expressions calm and unreadable. The pair walked down the stairs, their expressions puzzled from the commotion happening on level one.
If Li Tianming wasn’t that focused on his cultivation, he would have turned around to find Mu Qingqing and her supernal mentor, Liu Xueyao.
“I’m asking a question, right? What’s going on here?! The pagoda is not a place for disciples to fool around!” Liu Xueyao gazed at the disciples crowding outside the rings, her expressions clearly annoyed.
“Supernal mentor, please look at that.” One of the disciples pointed to Li Tianming.
“That’s—!” When Liu Xueyao’s eyes landed on Li Tianming, her frosty expressions melted instantly, shock and surprise written all over her face. The fiery tornado had blocked Li Tianming’s appearance, and thus she did not recognise him.
“Which disciple is that to challenge perfect synchronization? Since when did we have someone like this in the sanctum?” Liu Xueyao’s jaws were slightly apart with a look of disbelief on her face. The same could be said for Mu Qingqing, as she frowned at the back of the teenager enveloped in fire. Why did that person look familiar?
“Supernal Mentor Liu must know him. He already met all the supernal mentors at the Hall of Ancestry.”
“Wei Guohao?” Liu Xueyao mentioned the first name on her mind. But that shouldn’t be the case, since he didn’t have the talent for that.
“No, it’s Li Tianming,” another disciple replied.
“Li Tianming? Who?” Liu Xueyao was startled for a moment. She didn’t remember any genius in the sanctum by the name of Li Tianming.
But Mu Qingqing shuddered when she heard that name, her gaze falling on the boy in the fire. Her pretty face contorted at that moment, her beauty vanishing like dust in the wind.
“That can’t be real, you must have gotten the wrong person!” she shouted, her frenzied voice trembling madly, her nails digging deeply into her own palm.
For the second time in three years, she was panicking. The first time it happened, Li Tianming had just defeated Lin Xiaoxiao and was flaunting in front of her. His presence then had already made her feel threatened. How could a boy she had abandoned and long forgotten come back to haunt her again?
Today was the second time. But this time, she could no longer take the boy as a mere joke! Even if she had strong willpower, she could no longer stay calm as she gawked at Li Tianming, who was right beside the Flameyellow Rock.
“There is no mistake about that. Li Tianming has been there for a while, and he even had a bit of conflict with Wei Lingxuan and the Wei Manor just now.”
“What conflict?”
Liu Xueyao finally recalled who Li Tianming was. It was that fool of a prime disciple who was unwanted by all of the supernal mentors, and without Vice-Potentate Mu Yang he wouldn’t even be in the sanctum by now.
It was only a few days, and that jester had overtaken Lin Xiaoting to become the new top genius of the sanctum?!
Liu Xueyao’s eyebrows knitted together as she thought of what she said about Li Tianming back at the Hall of Ancestry. For some reason, her face felt rather sore.