First-Order Companion Beast

Ten days had passed since he received that letter of divorce.

Ten days. Finally, on this Wind-Listening Platform, he stood before Li Zifeng. At this moment, Li Tianming's gaze was firm, his battle intent soaring to the heavens!

Li Zifeng, on the other hand, only sneered inwardly. He wasn't the least bit worried about anything going wrong.

Taking down this older brother of his with a light flick of the wrist—he probably only needed the span of two breaths.

He was already at the Seventh Layer of the Beast Pulse Realm, even stronger than Li Tianming had been four years ago. What did he have to fear?

"A few days ago, I said you were a stinking wild dog. I didn't think you'd bring your stench here today. Sure enough, you reek to high heaven—the whole City Lord's Mansion stinks of you." Li Zifeng pinched his nose, putting on a show of being overwhelmed by the smell.

After his father left, his bond-beast, the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird, rose to its feet, its gaze fierce and murderous as it stared at Li Tianming. Before it, Li Tianming was nothing more than a tiny insect.

"Little brother, I never actually disliked you before. I even thought your youthful arrogance had some character. Now I realize I was wrong. You're just like him—a cold-blooded bully who only lashes out at his own." Li Tianming had seen through these people completely.

What was family? In all of Lihuo City, only his mother had ever given him the feeling of kinship.

"Little brother? Cut it out. What right do you have to call yourself my brother now? After today, Father will personally drive you and your mother out. For the rest of your lives, the farther you rot away, the better."

Li Zifeng was in a foul mood. Because of Li Tianming's appearance, the Yanhuang Order still hadn't reached his hands.

"Li Tianming, I can't be bothered to waste words on you, lest you get too big for your boots. Just get lost. Beating a drowning dog is one of my favorite pastimes." As he spoke, Li Zifeng suddenly quickened his pace, lunging straight at Li Tianming.

He turned his hand into a blade, appearing behind Li Tianming in an instant, and chopped toward the back of his neck, planning to knock him out cold and drag him away.

They weren't in the same world anymore. One more word seemed like a waste.

At least, that was what his mother, Lady Mo, had told him. As long as Li Tianming lived, he would never have a way out.

With just this one hand-chop, the world would fall silent.

"Father will be satisfied with my swift and decisive methods too!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, his attack landed on Li Tianming in an instant.

Clang!

In that flash of sparks and stone, a violent collision sound suddenly rang out. The crowd was stunned to see Li Tianming whip around, raise his left arm, and block Li Zifeng's hand-chop head-on!

Normally, Li Tianming's arm should have been crippled.

But to everyone's disbelief, it was Li Zifeng who was sent stumbling back several steps!

His face twisted in pain as he clutched his right hand with his left. Looking closely, one could see his palm trembling, the edge where it had formed the blade now bright red, even tinged with purple!

"Did you wrap your arm in a layer of iron?" Li Zifeng ground his teeth. But thinking it over, that didn't add up. Even a layer of iron shouldn't have been able to block his hand-chop, which had been reinforced with a certain amount of beast ki.

"It's your hand that's too soft." Li Tianming's voice was low.

The hot blood in his veins began to boil. Especially after blocking that attack with the newly emerged dark arm, he felt his body starting to burn.

The blood-red eye hidden inside the glove had now turned savage and ferocious.

"Playing tricks!" Failing with his first move, Li Zifeng's impatience was written all over his face. Still, he narrowed his eyes in confusion and asked, "Didn't you lose your beast ki? Then why can I feel its power from you?"

"Simple. I used a Blood God Contract and found myself a new bond-beast. Otherwise, how could I test you? Did you really think I came here to die?" Li Tianming said.

People were starting to change their minds. After all, before this, everyone had assumed he was throwing his life away just to smear his family's name.

The odds of a successful Blood God Contract were extremely low—almost one in ten thousand. Many beastmasters who had lost their bond-beasts had tried, but almost all failed.

"How interesting. Then show us your new bond-beast. Let everyone see what grade of fierce beast it is. You're so confident—could it be that it's beyond the fifth rank, reaching the sixth?" Li Zifeng let out a derisive laugh.

He really hadn't expected Li Tianming to actually challenge him. If Li Tianming hadn't been crippled, at his age, Li Zifeng truly wouldn't have been a match. But times had changed!

Without another word, Li Tianming summoned the "Eternal Purgatory Phoenix" from his bond-space.

As expected, when the Little Yellow Chick made its earth-shattering entrance, hopping onto Li Tianming's head and glaring ferociously at its surroundings, the entire City Lord's Mansion fell into dead silence. Then, a roar of laughter erupted.

Such a tiny little thing, standing before the Purple-eyed Storm Swallow—no matter how you looked at it, it was cute to the extreme.

"What an adorable little chick!"

"Is that a bond-beast? Haha!"

People were doubled over with laughter. Even some of the highest-ranking figures present couldn't help but crack a smile.

"Got to hand it to him, Li Tianming has a good attitude. He must be here to be funny today, using his comedic talent to liven up the City Lord's wedding."

"We misjudged him. Looks like this kid is turning over a new leaf, planning to make a living off his sense of humor?"

Even Li Zifeng was stunned. He stared wide-eyed at the fierce-looking Little Yellow Chick in front of him, then laughed so hard he nearly cramped up.

Even his Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird froze for a moment, then displayed a very human-like laugh.

"Brother Tianming, this chicken of yours isn't even enough for one stir-fry dish. You're using it as a bond-beast?" Li Zifeng laughed until he could barely breathe.

But Li Tianming was dead serious.

The Little Yellow Chick was dead serious too.

The Little Yellow Chick's eyes, at a visible speed, turned blood-red.

"Dare to look down on me? I'll make your limbs cramp and your mouth foam!" In that flash of sparks and stone, the Little Yellow Chick turned into a streak of yellow light, shooting straight at Li Zifeng.

This streak of blazing light came too fast. Li Zifeng was still laughing, and by the time he sensed the danger, it was already too late.

Bam!

Li Zifeng was sent flying as if struck by a giant beast, crashing heavily to the ground. What was worse, a patch of charred black covered his chest, the center of which was a bloody mess.

"Your meat tastes terrible, too sour!" The next moment, people saw the little yellow chick appear atop Li Tianming's head, a small piece of flesh dangling from its beak.

Needless to say, it had been torn from Li Zifeng's body.

"You're asking for death!" Li Zifeng finally stopped smiling, his face twisted in pain as he bared his teeth. He had been through countless battles, but never had someone ripped a piece of flesh from his body!

That scene, the little yellow chick's brutality, silenced the entire crowd. Many still wore smiles, but they had frozen stiff.

Unnoticed, a thick smell of gunpowder had filled the air.

Li Zifeng's face had turned purple from the bite. At that moment, the beast origin of the Seventh Layer of the Beast Pulse Realm erupted, and the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird beside him spread its wings, its gaze turning sinister.

"You've already lost all restraint—arrogant, reckless, cold-blooded. If no one else will teach you a lesson, I will," Li Tianming said.

"Don't make me laugh. What the hell do you think you are? Relying on that First-Order Companion Beast with only a single star in its eye?" Li Zifeng exchanged a glance with the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird, then pressed forward menacingly toward Li Tianming and his companion.

Li Tianming was communicating mentally with the little yellow chick.

"Brother, you go deal with him. Leave that big bird to me—I'll rip its guts out," the little yellow chick said, eyeing the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird, which was many times its size, with full confidence.

"Young man, don't be so violent," Li Tianming said.

"You're overthinking it. My methods are quite gentle. But do you have what it takes to beat your opponent?" The little yellow chick looked at Li Tianming with disdain.

"If we're just talking about beast origin, even though our Eternal Purgatory Beast Origin is stronger than Li Zifeng's, a gap of three whole realms isn't something the nature of the origin can make up for. His beast origin is far more abundant than mine. But unfortunately, he's fire-attributed. There's no way he can take me down."

Fire immunity was the reason Li Tianming dared to challenge Li Zifeng across three realms.

"Then stop wasting words. Let's go!"

At that moment, the little yellow chick was already pumped up like it had been injected with stimulants. It was a fanatical warmonger, loving nothing more than picking fights with beings far larger than itself, and this Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird suited its tastes perfectly.

"Trash bird, come out and fight one-on-one. Come feel your grandpa's warmth!" it directly taunted.

The crowd couldn't help but chuckle at that. They hadn't expected this little chick to talk like a parrot.

Other companion beasts could generally only communicate mentally with their beastmasters.

Though the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird couldn't speak, it understood the little yellow chick's words. Enraged by the provocation, it took off before Li Zifeng even spoke, spreading its massive wings and locking its gaze on the little yellow chick.

"Come on, then." The little yellow chick leaped up and darted off into the distance. Anyone watching might think it was fleeing, but in truth, it was pulling the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird away to give Li Tianming room to fight.

As the Purple-eyed Double Pupil Bird chased after the little yellow chick, only Li Zifeng remained before Li Tianming.