When Li Tianming had been stirring up the winds and clouds among Lihuo City's younger generation, Li Xuejiao had still been a child.
She had made good progress over the past three years. At only fifteen, she had cultivated to the fifth level of the Beast Pulse Realm. As expected of Li Yanfeng's daughter: a tiger father had no dog daughter.
Her companion beast was a fourth-order companion beast—the Fire Plume Bird, a flame-type avian companion beast.
The moment Li Tianming showed signs of provocation, Li Xuejiao had already summoned the Fire Plume Bird from her Companion Space. A beastmaster's Companion Space was the best place for a companion beast to recuperate.
Circling above Li Xuejiao's head was a fiery red bird. Flames flowed across its feathers as though they were burning. Its pupils were vertical slits, while its most striking feature was its claws—sharp as poisoned daggers, wreathed in crimson fire.
"Tianming, since you don't have a companion beast, I won't make a move. Shall I let Fire Spirit give you a taste of being burned alive?" Li Xuejiao giggled.
"Who said I don't have a companion beast?" Li Tianming turned back. Little Yellow Chick was still sleeping like a log. It was time to drag it out.
"Is there any point in putting on a mysterious act? Everyone knows Jin Yu was plucked bare and died without a whole corpse." Li Xuejiao curled her lip.
Li Tianming did not respond. He opened the door and grabbed Little Yellow Chick, who was sleeping soundly on the bed.
"Li Tianming, damn it! I was in the midst of bestowing favor upon three thousand hens in my harem, and you woke me up!" The Eternal Purgatory Phoenix was hauled out by one leg, wearing an extremely displeased expression.
The instant Li Xuejiao saw Little Yellow Chick, she doubled over laughing, nearly laughing herself into cramps.
"Tianming, why are you so funny? You could make a living with that sense of humor. Did that chicken of yours come from a Blood God Contract? Is it breakfast for my Fire Spirit?" Li Xuejiao laughed until she was out of breath.
"Beauty, who are you calling a chicken?" Little Yellow Chick's feathers stood on end. It leapt onto Li Tianming's head with a vicious expression. Yet it looked far too adorable, so even its fiercest glare was especially comical.
"Don't talk." Li Tianming had a headache. Other companion beasts could only communicate telepathically with their beastmasters, but this fellow spoke aloud. Fortunately, parrots could talk too, providing a precedent; otherwise, it would draw even more attention.
"Stay out of it." Little Yellow Chick was furious. It stared at Li Xuejiao, then at the Fire Plume Bird speeding above her head. Suddenly, drool streamed from its beak.
"Beauty, believe it or not, I'll knock up that bird of yours." Fire blazed in Little Yellow Chick's eyes.
"You took a chicken as your companion beast, and it turned out to be as shameless and lewd as you." Li Xuejiao was utterly speechless. How much of a failure did someone have to be to end up like this?
"Eat it." Li Xuejiao spoke lightly to the Fire Plume Bird.
Hiss!
The Fire Plume Bird became a fiery red afterimage and pounced toward Little Yellow Chick.
"Love came too fast, like a tornado." Little Yellow Chick was in high spirits. Flapping its tiny wings, it charged at the Fire Plume Bird, which was several times its size.
"Take it easy. Your sizes don't match, so don't make fools of yourselves." Li Tianming rubbed his temples. This Little Yellow Chick truly had the audacity of lust. Still, he was not worried about its combat strength. The Eternal Purgatory Phoenix possessed the same Beast Essence and cultivation level as him, and he knew exactly how powerful he currently was.
His third-level Beast Pulse Realm Eternal Purgatory Beast Origin was absolutely comparable to an ordinary fifth-level Beast Pulse Realm cultivator! Moreover, he possessed the combat experience, cultivation techniques, and battle arts of the ninth level of the Beast Pulse Realm!
"It has been a long time since I stretched my limbs. You flesh target, you'd better be sturdy." He fixed his gaze on Li Xuejiao and loosened his joints. He was born for battle. Having found himself again, his blood was already boiling before the fight had even begun.
"Freak." Li Xuejiao could not understand that look in his eyes. She even wanted to laugh. "Do you still think you're Lihuo City's genius?"
She could not be bothered to say more. She attacked directly, crushing toward Li Tianming.
She struck with fierce speed. Judging from the opening stance, it should have been the Blazing Seal. Speaking of which, Li Tianming had once guided her in cultivating this battle art. Now she was using it against him. It was truly rather laughable.
As the battle art moved, her palm formed a seal and thrust forward with explosive force. The wind from her palm detonated, crackling fiercely through the air. Driven by her Crimson Fire Beast Origin, it directly ignited blazing flames in midair!
This Blazing Seal was ferocious and domineering, shooting straight for Li Tianming's chest. Whoever was struck would be scorched by raging fire, their chest cavity shattered.
Bang!
What she never could have expected was that Li Tianming did not dodge. He received the attack directly with his chest! The Blazing Seal struck him solidly!
One could imagine that his internal organs had likely been burned into charcoal by the flames!
That dull sound was nearly enough to pronounce a person's death.
"You're using my hand to kill yourself! How could your heart be so fragile?" Li Xuejiao finally understood. No wonder he had provoked her—he had been wounded in spirit and wanted to commit suicide.
Li Xuejiao hurriedly withdrew her hand. She knew she had surely killed someone. The corpse before her was, after all, related to her by blood. Panic rose in her heart, because her father would definitely punish her.
"Xuejiao, didn't you eat?" Just as Li Xuejiao was flustered, the youth who should have been dead raised his head, a calm smile on his face...
Li Xuejiao was completely dumbfounded. She saw Li Tianming's completely uninjured chest, and her mind went blank. This was impossible.
The truth was: Li Tianming was immune to fire!
This was a bloodline power he had gained from the Eternal Purgatory Phoenix. His Eternal Purgatory Beast Origin was molten lava at its hottest. Like Little Yellow Chick, his body was completely immune to fire. The flames of the Blazing Seal could not burn him at all. Only the impact of the Crimson Fire Beast Origin had shaken his internal organs slightly, and even that had been blocked by his formidable bloodline and physical strength.
Considering that the Eternal Purgatory Phoenix ate suns as if they were noodles, swallowing them string after string, it was obvious why it was immune to fire.
"Little sister, open your dog eyes and look clearly—this is what a real Blazing Seal looks like!"
Everyone had to pay a price for their foul mouth, and Li Xuejiao was no exception. At the moment she widened her eyes in panic, Li Tianming moved faster and more fiercely than her. He flung out a Blazing Seal, and with a sharp smack, struck her across the face!
Ah!
That scream was exceptionally piercing. Li Tianming's slap carried the terrifying power of the Eternal Purgatory Beast Origin as it landed squarely on her face. In that instant, half of Li Xuejiao's face was scorched black, several teeth flew out, and her whole body spun through the air before she was flung straight into the finest parasol tree in the courtyard!
"Three spins in the air, and the sow climbs the tree perfectly!" Li Tianming clapped his hands. This battle had immediately given him confidence. His mother had been right: he could rise again from the ashes.
He turned back at once. When he saw his mother's relieved and reassured smile, tears nearly welled in his eyes. He had finally returned. In his mother's gaze, he saw long-lost peace and reassurance, and the greatest satisfaction.
What could make someone happier than seeing their own child regain hope at such a moment?
To Wei Jing, that letter of divorce no longer mattered. What mattered was the joy in her heart at this moment.
"My son is amazing!" Just as before, she gave him a thumbs-up. This long-lost scene made Li Tianming smile through a tear. He remembered how she had always encouraged him this way. At last, that day had returned.
"That's because you gave birth so well." Li Tianming said with a smile.
"Then we're alike in that." Wei Jing smiled gently. At that moment, she seemed no longer to be aging. Her smile was so beautiful, as though she were still that beauty capable of toppling a city.
Things were beautiful on their side, but Lady Huang was another matter entirely. She screamed and went completely blank. Li Xuejiao was still hanging from the tree, and among Li Yanfeng's wives and concubines, Lady Huang was the only one with little cultivation. She could not climb the parasol tree, so she could only roll about on the ground screaming, crying out, "Someone come!"
"Li Tianming, you're no longer the heir! You dare hit my daughter? I'll make sure you die without a whole corpse!" Lady Huang wailed and cursed, her mind a blank. She did not understand martial cultivation well, but hadn't she heard that Li Tianming had been completely crippled? Why was this happening?
Li Tianming could not be bothered with her. She was rolling around on the ground; it was already merciful of him not to spit in her face.
The key was Li Xuejiao, who was still hanging up there screaming. Half her face had been completely ruined. There would be no point discussing her looks in the future—she might not even be more desirable than a sow.
On the other hand, Little Yellow Chick left Li Tianming staring in astonishment. He saw the tiny yellow chick go utterly berserk, its methods incredibly brutal. The Fire Plume Bird could not catch it at all. In a short time, it had instead been torn open by Little Yellow Chick with several bloody holes!
"Beauty, stop yelling. Even if you scream your throat hoarse, no one will come save you." Little Yellow Chick pinned the enormous Fire Plume Bird to the ground with a wicked grin. The Fire Plume Bird struggled frantically beneath its feet, but it was futile; its body was covered in wounds.
"Receiving this lord's favor is your honor." Little Yellow Chick was about to take action and knock up the Fire Plume Bird.
Li Tianming broke out in cold sweat. He truly could not figure out what equipment this little thing had that it could use to humiliate the Fire Plume Bird!
"Damn it, you're male? Why didn't you say so earlier? And why are you dressed so seductively?" In the next moment, Little Yellow Chick collapsed. In its breakdown, it became angry from humiliation and beat the Fire Plume Bird until it wailed and cried in pain.
"Brother Chick, enough, enough." Li Tianming hurriedly dragged it back. Otherwise, this poor Fire Plume Bird would be beaten to death.
"You foul thing dressed as a woman, don't let me run into you again. Your daddy will beat you to death." Little Yellow Chick continued chattering endlessly, looking like a petty villain drunk on success.
Even Wei Jing could not help laughing at its appearance. Today had truly been her most painful day, yet now it was also her happiest day.
"Li Tianming! I never expected you to recover your cultivation. You dared humiliate me like this. I will remember today's grudge, and one day, I will make you repay it a hundredfold!" Only then did Li Xuejiao jump down. She hurriedly applied medicine to her face while glaring at Li Tianming through gritted teeth.
"I won't leave Lihuo City. If you want revenge, come find me anytime. But I can't guarantee whether you'll be able to keep the other half of your face." Li Tianming said flatly.
"You aren't leaving Lihuo City?" Li Xuejiao narrowed her eyes. The mother and son had been divorced and crippled; by all rights, they should have left. Otherwise, they would be laughingstocks wherever they appeared.
"Is there a problem?" Li Tianming had more important reasons for remaining in Lihuo City. He absolutely would not leave like a homeless dog. He wanted to leave openly and honorably, with Li Yanfeng seeing him off.
He did not cling to Lihuo City, but he and his mother needed dignity.
"Do you know why Father crippled you and divorced First Mother at this crucial moment?" Li Xuejiao asked with a vicious expression.
"I'd like to hear the details." Li Tianming had found it strange too. Doing this would affect Li Yanfeng's reputation. Wei Jing had been ill for so many years, and Li Tianming had been crippled for three. There was no need for Li Yanfeng to choose today to divorce his wife.
"Father wants to marry a woman, and he wants her to be his principal wife! Of course he has to remove your mother." Li Xuejiao said.
Under Vermilion Bird Kingdom law, aside from the ruler, any man could marry at most three wives and four concubines. Of the three wives, one was the principal wife and two were equal wives. Li Yanfeng already had a full household. If he wanted to marry another wife or concubine, he had to divorce someone, much less if he wanted to marry a principal wife.
"At his age, can he even handle it? Isn't he afraid an iron pestle will get ground into a needle?" Li Tianming could not help sneering.
"You'll definitely be interested in who he's marrying." Li Xuejiao sounded slightly gleeful at his misfortune.
"Tell me."
"That woman's name is Liu Qing. She's in her twenties, not much older than you, and a famous beauty. More importantly, she's from Thunder Lord Manor. Once someone from Thunder Lord Manor becomes Father's wife, do you think there will still be a place for you in Lihuo City?" Li Xuejiao sneered.
"Thunder Lord Manor!" The flames in Li Tianming's heart burned again. Lin Xiaoting, the direct descendant of Thunder Lord Manor who had killed Jin Yu and taken the sacred beast legacy treasure, was from there.
Thunder Lord Manor could be called one of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom's most elite great clans. It had countless experts, stood as a regional overlord of the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, and controlled the lifeblood of nearly half the kingdom!
Everyone knew that Li Tianming and Lin Xiaoting of Thunder Lord Manor were enemies who could not exist beneath the same sky. If Li Yanfeng intended to marry someone from Thunder Lord Manor, naturally he could not leave a fly that Thunder Lord Manor hated in Lihuo City.
"Father probably wants to cling to Thunder Lord Manor. He wants to climb higher, so naturally he has to sacrifice the two of you. After all, you're worth less than nothing in his eyes. So if you stay in Lihuo City, you'll be opposing him. He's holding a grand wedding in ten days. If you don't leave and people from Thunder Lord Manor see you, you might die." Li Xuejiao was certainly not telling him this to protect him. She wanted him to despair, to know how insignificant he was now.
Besides, after being defeated and humiliated today, she naturally harbored hatred and fury. If Li Tianming left Lihuo City, she would have no chance to take revenge. But if she lured him to his father's wedding to throw himself into the fire like a moth, suffering another crushing blow, only then could she vent today's anger.
"Isn't that exactly the day the Yanhuang Academy Selection decides its chosen candidate?" Li Tianming frowned. This was, in fact, why he had to stay in Lihuo City: he wanted to return to Yanhuang Academy.
Yanhuang Academy was where his soul had been shattered, but it was also the dream of all young beastmasters. Those two people were still there. If he wanted revenge, he had to return to Yanhuang Academy openly and honorably, bearing the identity of a Yanhuang Academy disciple.
Lihuo City had one Yanhuang Academy selection quota, held once every four years. Four years ago, the one who obtained the final selection quota and entered Yanhuang Academy had been Li Tianming himself.
This time, he would seize that quota again. Then he could leave Lihuo City openly and honorably, bring his mother to Yanhuang Academy, and, more importantly, have Li Yanfeng send them away instead of leaving like homeless dogs!
"That's right. The wedding and the Yanhuang Academy Selection happen to coincide. Father's intention is to let the Yanhuang Academy Selection add to his wedding's festivities. In any case, barring surprises, the one who gets the Yanhuang Academy quota this time will also be his son." Li Xuejiao's words carried a hint of unwillingness.
The son she meant was not Li Tianming, but the son of Li Yanfeng's second wife—Li Tianming's second younger brother, Li Zifeng.
He was three years younger than Li Tianming and had missed the previous competition for Yanhuang Academy. During the three years Li Tianming had been crippled, Li Zifeng had risen swiftly. His current age and cultivation level were almost no different from when Li Tianming had obtained the Yanhuang Academy quota.
Li Zifeng's rise had made Lihuo City's people forget Li Tianming. Li Tianming had brought shame upon Lihuo City, but over the past three years, Li Zifeng had brought it new hope!
After all, as a remote city, Lihuo City's people still hoped their geniuses could enter Yanhuang Academy and challenge those favored sons of heaven from the Vermilion Bird Kingdom's core regions!
"I understand." Li Tianming understood it all now.
In that case, he had even more reason to attend the wedding in ten days.
Some dignity had to be reclaimed with one's own hands.
That included the woman from Thunder Lord Manor, as well as that heartless father.
Everything he had once lost also had to be reclaimed by walking this path again, fighting bravely, and taking back everything that belonged to him!
There was another point that mattered even more.
Before Li Tianming turned sixteen, he had asked Wei Jing whether there was any way to cure her strange illness. At that time, Wei Jing had mentioned a place—the Heavenly Court of Yanhuang Academy!
Even now, his mother had not told him why she knew the Heavenly Court could cure her strange illness. Li Tianming did not need to care about that. He only knew that he had to enter Yanhuang Academy to cultivate, and also strive to enter Yanhuang Academy's most central Heavenly Court. Once he entered the Heavenly Court, his mother would surely give him an answer.
Three years ago, he had possessed the talent to come close to entering the Heavenly Court. After obtaining the sacred beast legacy treasure, he would certainly have entered it, cured his mother, and extended her life. But Lin Xiaoting and Mu Qingqing had destroyed his hope.
Now he was already twenty, and Wei Jing did not have much time left. This Yanhuang Academy Selection was his only chance. If he missed it, he could only watch helplessly as his mother passed away.
Whether it was her life or his own, if it ended like this, he would never accept it!
"It starts with the Yanhuang Academy Selection. It starts with his wedding!"
He had divorced Mother just to marry this woman from Thunder Lord Manor, so that Li Yanfeng could climb even higher.
As for his own son having been crippled by people from Thunder Lord Manor, that no longer mattered to Li Yanfeng. His legitimate eldest son was no longer Li Tianming, the son in whom he had once placed his hopes.
"With so many prominent figures in Lihuo City there, if I make him lose face at his wedding, will he kill me?"
Li Tianming was very curious. He was already eagerly longing for that day to arrive.
After all, he had lain dormant for three years. Who would not want to return to their own battlefield and show everyone that they had not yet been defeated?
"Ming'er, let's go." Wei Jing no longer had anything she wanted to pack.
"All right, Mother." Li Tianming supported her. He walked away decisively, because there was not a single thing in the City Lord's Mansion worth his attachment.
"Pick up those Jades." After taking only two steps, Wei Jing suddenly said.
Li Tianming felt somewhat resistant. He truly did not want to accept Li Yanfeng's final charity. It was simply an insult.
"Child, a true man can bend and stretch. Naturally, you should take the benefits before you. What truly matters is the moment you reclaim your dignity, not worrying about losing even more dignity." Wei Jing said gently.
Li Tianming understood.
Wei Jing had shown him the clear road ahead.
In short: if there's a bargain to be had, you'd be a fool not to take it!
Chapter 6, updated tonight at 8 PM, carries a "prize question." The answer is within these six chapters. The first four people chosen at random to answer correctly in the review section will each receive 500. Post your Alipay account directly in your winning reply. Fair competition for everyone; if anything is rigged, may lightning strike me dead. The next event will be on Monday the 22nd. It will run for five weeks and distribute a total of 10,000 yuan, just for some fun—please send your blessings~ Also, remember to [add to bookshelf], so you can find this book faster then.
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