Oath

"So this lady means for us to wait at the 'Chenyao Inn' they own, and once she arranges our lodging, she'll send someone to pick us up?"

Li Tianming drove the carriage through the streets of Yandu.

Chenyao Inn was one of the largest inns in Yandu, and staying there for even one night was incredibly expensive. With their current funds, they didn't even have enough to stay at Chenyao Inn for a short while.

"We're not going to Chenyao Inn," Wei Jing said from inside the carriage. She meant that she was giving up on the lodging Xue Lan had arranged for them.

Li Tianming had seen enough of the world's indifference. How could he not understand the sharp, biting words in Madam Xue Lan's tone?

If she was like this in front of others, one could only imagine how she would mock and ridicule them in private.

"Don't look for these so-called 'sisters' anymore. When people are doing well, there are always those who flock to them. When they're down and out, even demons and monsters want to kick them while they're down. And that's for a friendship from over twenty years ago," Li Tianming said, shaking his head.

"She wasn't like this before," Wei Jing's voice was a little weak.

"Mom, I don't want you to beg for me, and I don't want anyone to hurt you."

Li Tianming felt heartbroken by what she had experienced today.

The more you trust someone, the more it hurts when they "play" you like this.

If she hadn't considered Xue Lan a true sister, she absolutely wouldn't have come to her asking for a place to stay, only to humiliate herself.

"I understand." She nodded.

She didn't want to show her inner turmoil to her son, but Li Tianming knew she was more upset than anyone.

"Li Yanfeng's carriage is quite decent and worth some money. Let's sell it first. At least we can afford to stay at an inn in Yandu for a month."

"I'll figure something out once I get into Yanhuang Academy," Li Tianming had made his plan.

Xue Lan would certainly arrange lodging for them; it would be easy for her. But Wei Jing wouldn't even go to Chenyao Inn.

This "sister" wasn't worth mentioning again.

When one is destitute and arrives in such a huge city, it's easy to feel lost. The road ahead is still difficult, but Li Tianming wouldn't lose hope.

Yandu was like a giant vortex of flames, where everyone struggled.

Li Tianming secretly vowed that from this moment on, he would never let anyone have the chance to hurt her again in his life!

"Mom, you should tell me about the Heavenly Mansion. What is the 'Little Life Tribulation,' and who is the Mansion Lord?" Li Tianming asked.

The Heavenly Mansion was a mysterious place. Li Tianming longed to cultivate there, but he knew nothing about the people within it.

"You're too young. Knowing these things won't do you any good. I'm already content just to be able to return to Yandu and see it," Wei Jing said, pulling back the curtain and forcing a smile for Li Tianming.

"So, you have no hope for me and just want to be forgotten and quietly leave this world, is that it?" Li Tianming looked back, staring blankly into her eyes and at her white hair.

Wei Jing still smiled. This was likely her thought.

"Mom, listen to me. I will enter the Heavenly Mansion. I will cure your illness. No matter how difficult it is, I swear I will do it!"

Li Tianming's gaze was burning. Every word he spoke was a vow he was making to his mother at that moment.

"It's very difficult. Entering the Heavenly Mansion is difficult, and curing the illness is even more difficult, harder than climbing to heaven," Wei Jing shook her head.

"I know it's difficult, but you have to believe in your son, and I believe in my mother. You are not a coward who bows to fate, nor are you a failure who retreats in the face of difficulty!"

"You must not be resigned to this life! So, even if I have to give everything, I will accomplish everything I've said!"

Li Tianming hadn't been this emotional in a long time. He took his mother's hand and looked her directly in the eyes, his gaze firmer than anyone's.

"Tianming..." Wei Jing was a little lost.

Li Tianming had actually hit upon many of her inner thoughts. But fate was cruel, pressing down like Mount Tai; how could she not bow her head?

"Mom, this life you gave me. If you die, I'll die with you. I won't let you be alone on the road to the underworld," Li Tianming said this, absolutely not as a joke.

"Don't say that, child. You have a bright future ahead of you."

"Without you, no matter how glorious or how far my future may be, it's all meaningless."

"I'm not admitting defeat. I just want you to understand that I will fight desperately against this so-called fate, fighting to the death. So, please, don't give up either!"

These were the very principles she had taught him. Without her encouragement, how could he have gotten through these past three years!

"Okay, I promise you. Once you enter the Heavenly Mansion, I'll tell you everything." She finally had hope and was no longer so disheartened.

Tears, however, welled up in her eyes at this moment. Seeing her like this made Li Tianming's heart ache even more.

"Alright, stop crying. Pinky swear," Li Tianming wiped away her tears and said with a smile.

"Okay, pinky swear, and if you break it, you'll be hanged for a hundred years." She still had a childlike side, and the tears at this moment were tears of happiness.

They linked fingers just like when Li Tianming was a child, making a pact to fight to the end in the future.

"Mom, I'm telling you, we don't need the alms from this turtle and bastard named Xue Lan."

"One day, your son will buy you the biggest house, better than the Pavilion of Listening to Rain, so you can live comfortably with a group of maids serving you," Li Tianming said.

"No, no, as long as I can see you, as long as you are happy and joyful, even the smallest house will be a happy one," Wei Jing finally smiled, her eyes crinkling like an eighty-year-old child...

Yandu was vast. So vast that a carriage driving through the streets wouldn't attract anyone's attention.

Everyone was in a hurry, busy with their own affairs. Only the "Palace Examination" at Yanhuang Academy in three days' time generated anticipation.

But Li Tianming didn't know that while they were talking, a man stood in the shadows of a street corner.

He watched them walk by with deep eyes, even following them for a while before finally stopping, a complex smile playing on his lips.

"Life..." He shook his head and continued to follow.

Li Tianming sold the carriage and received thirty Treasure Jades of Orange Heavenly Pattern, containing Fire Jade, Wind Jade, Gold Jade, and Lightning Jade.

Because the carriage and its three fine horses were all Fierce Beast level, they could fetch such a price. An ordinary carriage wouldn't even sell for one Treasure Jade of Crimson Heavenly Pattern.

Although Little Yellow Chicken was tempted by the Treasure Jades, it couldn't eat them now.

These thirty Treasure Jades needed to sustain the mother and son's livelihood for a long time. Especially since his mother needed a place to stay and recuperate, which would cost a lot of money.

Li Tianming had the Palace Examination in three days, so he found an ordinary inn, took a room, and paid for a month's rent upfront.

The room only had one bed, which naturally belonged to his mother. He only needed the floor to cultivate.

After obtaining the Eternal Purgatory Body, his physique was incredibly sturdy and powerful, allowing him to go days without rest.

After settling in, Li Tianming brewed the Pure Spirit Grass into medicine for Wei Jing. Soon after, Wei Jing fell into a deep sleep. Li Tianming and Little Yellow Chicken prepared to cultivate.

On the streets of Yandu, ordinary people were forbidden from letting their Companion Beasts roam freely, which was why Li Tianming finally let it out of its Companion Space.

After all, some Companion Beasts were enormous and could easily cause destruction to the streets.

Since Wei Jing was sleeping, Little Yellow Chicken was well-behaved after coming out and didn't make a fuss like before.

"Having no money is the biggest difficulty in the world," Li Tianming chuckled. "Fortunately, I snatched Liu Qinyang's Thunderfire Chain. If I were truly destitute, selling it would almost be enough to buy a place in Yandu."

"What sin did I commit in my past life to end up with a poor guy like you," Little Yellow Chicken complained disdainfully.

"Damn it, you say that when we're facing hardship together. Are we still brothers?" Li Tianming said with a wry smile.

"What brotherhood is there without money? Naive. My stomach is completely empty, where's the brotherhood in that?" Little Yellow Chicken sneered.

"Trash," Li Tianming scorned it.

As they were talking, Li Tianming suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

He turned around abruptly. Standing behind him was a man.

The man wore a loose black robe, but it couldn't hide the brilliance of his eyes. He stared at Li Tianming, having appeared here silently.

"Shh, don't disturb her." Fortunately, the man harbored no ill intentions. When Li Tianming noticed him, he lowered his voice, his tone gentle.

Li Tianming's guard relaxed because of this, but he judged that this person was definitely extremely powerful.

His ability to appear silently meant he suppressed Li Tianming by countless times in terms of strength, at the very least.

Moreover, judging from the aura he exuded, it was an existence beyond Li Tianming's imagination.

"Who might you be?" Li Tianming withdrew his hostility, knowing that such an existence wouldn't bother with him; he wasn't qualified for such treatment.

"Not important," the man said, appraising him.

"Then, senior, what are your instructions?" Li Tianming asked.

"Li Tianming, I know you," the man said, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"Should I feel honored then?"

"Do you know why I know you?"

"Please tell me, senior."

"Because I know you obtained the Saint Beast Battle Soul, but it ended up benefiting Lin Xiaoting."

"Three years ago, you were a nobody in Yandu, hence your tragic end. But undeniably, you were the first to obtain the Saint Beast Battle Soul, and it recognized you."

The man only revealed his eyes, but undoubtedly, his gaze was incredibly sharp.

Upon hearing this, Li Tianming's body trembled because he had never told anyone about this matter.

He knew very well that the people from the Thunder Venerable Mansion controlled public opinion. Even if he told the world that the Saint Beast Battle Soul belonged to him, no one would believe it.

In the path of cultivation, only by breaking through the Beast Vein Realm and reaching the Spirit Origin Realm would one understand how crucial the Saint Beast Battle Soul truly was!

In simple terms, the wealth of ten Lihuo Cities combined couldn't compare to the Saint Beast Battle Soul.

Lin Xiaoting's talent was not enough to become the number one genius of the Heavenly Mansion, but the Saint Beast Battle Soul allowed him to climb to that position!

The highest level of Companion Beasts is the Saint Beast, which exists only in legends. The battle soul left behind by a Saint Beast can grant a Companion Beast heaven-defying combat power, an absolutely limitless asset!

Top-tier Divine Sources are treasures of heaven and earth, and the value of a Saint Beast Battle Soul is equally high.

For example, one could spend a large sum of money at the Starry Sky Merchant Association to buy ordinary Divine Sources, even Yellow-grade and Mysterious-grade Divine Sources, but never a Saint Beast Battle Soul.

Li Tianming was incredibly surprised to suddenly have someone appear before him who knew that the Saint Beast Battle Soul originally belonged to him.