Chapter 44 - Radiant Stargazer!

“I like this!” Li Tianming had favoured daggers in the past. He had tried sabres, spears, swords and halberds before, but they weren’t his style either.

After he obtained the Thunderfire Chain, he found his true love. The explosiveness when attacking was definitely devastating. The Nine Flying Bolts also offered a repertoire of tricks he could play with the Thunderfire Chain.

Chen Ding was full of power, but he was incapable of approaching Li Tianming.

With over four metres of reach, Li Tianming’s Thunderfire Chain was definitely a ranged weapon. Employing both the Confounding Mirage Walk and the first whip of Nine Flying Bolts together, he lashed at Chen Ding, who could only suffer a one-sided beatdown helplessly.

“LI TIANMING!”

POW!

Li Tianming found an opening, when Chen Ding screeched in fury. The chain snaked toward Chen Ding, striking him right on the cheek.

Chen Ding was sent flying, as three of his teeth arced through the air. Truly, this battle had been a superb display of skill by Chen Ding like no other.

“Mouthy, aren’t you?” Li Tianming sniggered.

“Li Tianming, you!” Chen Ding’s words were garbled after losing his teeth. His face was starting to swell up and resemble a pig’s.

“Take a good look in the mirror. There’s no difference between you and a pig now,” Li Tianming chortled.

For Chen Ding, this was an utter humiliation!

Honestly speaking, a brute force style beastmaster like Chen Ding was destined to be suppressed by Li Tianming. Li Tianming could wield the Thunderfire Chain as dexterously as his own arm. With his range advantage and the Confounding Mirage Walk, Chen Ding had no chance to approach him.

Li Tianming could feel a strange power suffusing the stage when he landed his blow on Chen Ding. He realised it was the Magical Star Roc going crazy after he turned his head around. Its eyes began to spit out piercingly bright starlight, which proceeded to stab at the little chick like swords!

“That’s its spiritsource ability! Radiant Stargazer!” Li Tianming heard such comments from the audience.

His actions before to suppress the roc were born from his worry of this ability. Now that it was heavily injured, however, the roc’s spiritsource ability was definitely weakened.

Fortunately, Li Tianming had defeated Chen Ding now. At the critical moment, Li Tianming’s Thunderfire Chain flew out again, smashing into the roc’s head.

In the next moment, its aim was thrown off and the starlight flew into the skies instead.

“Wow, so if I don’t shoot you, you think that makes it alright to shoot me?” The little chick was furious and turned into a blur using the Confounding Mirage Walk. Another chunk of meat was torn off the roc.

“That’s enough!” Li Tianming finally heard the stern announcement from the chief mentors.

Li Tianming wasn’t an idiot, and immediately stopped. However, the little chick was still in the midst of enjoying itself, and Li Tianming had to use his chain to physically restrain and drag it over.

“Whatcha doing! I wanna end that nugget!” Evidently, the little chick was still at the age where being hot-blooded came naturally.

“It’s over.” They couldn’t continue once the chief mentors had made their decision. This wasn’t a fight for the purpose of determining a winner or loser, but for the chief mentors to evaluate each person’s talents.

Mu Wan was the one who had declared the halt, and Li Tianming stopped out of respect.

However, Chen Ding was still furious. He endured his injuries to force himself to his feet. “I don’t accept this, Li Tianming! One more round!” he snarled.

Li Tianming smiled gently. “Since when did losers have the right to demand things?”

Chen Ding wanted to rebut his words, but Chief Mentor Mu Wan cut in. “Come and take the Disciple’s Order. There are still a thousand people queueing up.”

While these words were said brusquely, Li Tianming liked them. He looked up to see her smiling at him.

The other nine chief mentors were all crossing their arms as they maintained their silence.

“Mu Wan, you’re well aware of what he did three years ago. He’s a stain on the institute’s prestige, as well as an eyesore to Lin Xiaoting and Lightning Manor...” A male chief mentor at the side gave her a soft reminder.

“What does my choice have to do with you?” Mu Wan rolled her eyes, before tossing a Disciple’s Order to Li Tianming.

The other battles hadn’t reached their conclusion yet, which made Li Tianming the first to pass the entrance exam.

“I appreciate this very much. You definitely won’t regret this.” Li Tianming knew how difficult it had been for him to get the order again. However, he had finally succeeded. He was very grateful to Mu Wan for this, as it was likely no other chief mentor would dare to want him.

They could easily use age as an excuse to disqualify Li Tianming.

“Chen Ding. You’re young and have peerless talent. You may have had a poor performance today, but that’s only because Li Tianming was crafty. I’m willing to accept you as my disciple." Chief mentor Li Kui, who was the one who had spoken to Mu Wan just now, took out his Disciple’s Order.

“I’m willing too. You may choose your chief mentor, Chen Ding.”

“I third that.” The other chief mentors followed suit, and in the end nine were willing to accept him.

In truth, Chen Ding was among the most outstanding participants given his talent and background. It wasn’t anything strange for ten chief mentors to willingly give him their Disciple’s Order.

However, his performance just now had been utterly disastrous. He hadn’t been able to do anything to Li Tianming from start to finish, and the maturity he had shown had been lacking as well.

In the end, that performance had netted him nine Disciple’s Orders, while Li Tianming was only offered Mu Wan’s. The contrast was rather funny.

Still, Li Tianming only wanted Mu Wan’s. As for the other stinking men, who wanted them?

“Prepare for the ranking test, Tianming.” Mu Wan’s words were a reminder for Li Tianming to ignore these interpersonal relationship matters and focus on what really mattered.

The institute’s ranking test would be far grander than today’s admission test. Even if they weren’t first, ranking higher meant that disciples would gain better positions and resources.

Flameyellow Scions Institute also had some secret zones, where the time disciples could cultivate inside for was determined by the ranking tests.

The Hall of Phoenix still had at least five hundred matches. With an uncertain time for each of them, it would likely take days to resolve.

Then, the ranking test would begin.

For now, admitted disciples could first enter the institute to familiarise themselves with the environment. However, Li Tianming had spent one year there already, so he chose to go and tell his mother the good news instead.

After bidding farewell to Mu Wan, Chen Ding and him left the stage. Chen Ding’s eyes were still bloodshot, and he still hadn’t let go of his killing intent yet.

“Li Tianming.” The Hall of Manibeast’s Chen Yao met up with Chen Ding as he descended the stairs. That young master of Xing & Chen Merchantry hadn’t taken part in the practical battle yet.

“Yes?” Li Tianming asked.

Truthfully, Li Tianming’s performance, including both his lifebound beast’s tier and how he beat Chen Ding, left Chen Yao very uncomfortable.

“Oh, it’s nothing much. I just admit I did underestimate you. I didn’t expect you to possess some modicum of luck and skill despite your horrendous reputation and dismal character.”

“I’m sorry, was that a compliment?”

“Take it however you want. You’re the very definition of a pathetic person becoming arrogant after some minor success now. Don’t forget who you are, laughing stock of Flameyellow Scions Institute.” Chen Yao’s face was expressionless.

“What is it you want? Stop beating around the bush.” Li Tianming’s mouth twitched.

“I just wanted to let you know since you beat up my brother today, pray you don’t meet me in the ranking battles. No one is there to say stop. If you meet me, I’ll repay you with ten times the injuries Chen Ding suffered today.”

Li Tianming chuckled coldly. “I see no need to pray. I dream of slapping you around, letting your face swell up and your teeth drop out. After that, I’ll watch you go home and throw a tantrum, after which your mother will make your favourite herbal soup for you.”

Chen Yao’s eyes narrowed, before he turned and left.

“It seems you’ve gotten tired of living.” Chen Yao’s sinister tone was filled with killing intent. He had never expected that laughable joke to end up being able to arouse such killing intent in him.

Their mothers were once as close as sisters, and they should have turned out to be like a brother to each other.

However, that sisterhood had been lost when Xue Lan had tried to display her superiority in Chen Chateau that time. Xue Lan was now living in the lap of luxury, while Wei Jing had fallen into poverty. Also, one’s son had boundless prospects while the other was a joke. Although Xue Lan may not have done anything, her seemingly casual words that time had been the most incisive knife possible.

Perhaps Wei Jing didn’t mind and only lamented the lost relationship, but Li Tianming did mind. Li Tianming would never forgive and forget such people.

“Let’s just wait and see then.” Today, he had revealed a six-star lifebound beast and beaten Chen Ding, which had shut the mouths of many who were laughing at him before.

Li Yanfeng and Liu Qing were two of them. They hadn’t spoken a word since.

The women in the private room were another lot as well. When that particular madam saw her son get toyed with by Li Tianming, then soar through the air together with his teeth, she had gone pale and almost shattered her tea cup.

“What a piece of trash, that Chen Ding!” The women hadn’t expected the angriest to be Xue Lan. She had stood up, flipped over the table in her fury before leaving.

The remaining women all exchanged bewildered looks. Why was Xue Lan even angrier than Chen Ding’s own mother?

As long as they didn’t know Li Tianming was the son of that graceful and elegant woman in Ignispolis twenty years ago, they would never guess the answer.