Dazzling Radiance

When Li Tianming walked toward Instructor Mu Wan, not many people noticed.

For instance, in one of the private rooms, the ladies from the Chen Palace were still immersed in the pride of Chen Yao's dazzling performance.

The ladies of the Chen Palace were all graceful, luxurious beauties.

Led by "Madam Xue Lan," they were youthful and enchanting, brimming with charm. Every gesture they made exuded nobility.

Their husbands jointly controlled the lifeblood of the Starfall Chamber of Commerce, and practically every one of these women was rolling in wealth.

"Sister Lan, you truly know how to raise children. Both your sons possess such extraordinary talent, and they are both incomparably handsome. It really makes one jealous."

"Chen Hao and Chen Yao must have captivated countless girls in the Flame Capital."

"Sister Lan is truly remarkable. You have a way with both supporting your husband and raising your children. If we could learn even one ten-thousandth of what you know, happiness would be within reach."

"Chen Yao has truly grown up. He is young and exceptional—how many people his age in the Flame Capital could compare to him? Sister Lan is so fortunate."

The women's shameless flattery made Xue Lan feel as though she were floating on clouds.

She had long since grown accustomed to being surrounded, praised, and envied. Such a perfect life truly was the envy of all.

"You only envy me because you don't know how much I have given for this family. The men and boys alike all need looking after," Xue Lan said with a smile.

"That is true. Sister Lan's devotion to her family is truly great."

"As for me, I only hope Yao'er performs well and delivers as usual."

"Then he can take first place in the upcoming ranking battle, enter the Heavenly Court, and cultivate alongside Hao'er. Only then will I be at ease."

Xue Lan looked at the boy blazing brilliantly in the arena, her voice full of hope.

"Sister Lan can rest assured. Yao'er will absolutely take first place." The women flattered and praised her, and their words were indeed pleasant to hear.

Xue Lan suddenly thought of Wei Jing. She remembered that Wei Jing's overage child also seemed to be trying to pass the trials and enter the ranking battle.

"That child is already so old, yet he is only at the Seventh Layer of Beast Pulse Realm. He probably has no chance of getting in."

"Besides, his companion beast is even a ferocious beast. His hopes are even slimmer." Her smile suddenly turned much colder.

I kindly arranged a place for you to stay, yet you put on airs and stood me up. Since you insist on acting so high and mighty, why did you come begging me in the first place?

When your child has no hope of passing, and you are not far from death, I want to see just how miserable your final days in the Flame Capital will be.

All of that was only in her heart. The women beside her all thought she was still taking pride in Chen Yao.

Naturally, she had no idea that Li Tianming was about to undergo the companion beast test!

Although it was somewhat awkward to see Instructor Mu Wan again, Li Tianming still braced himself and went over.

At that moment, Instructor Mu Wan sat atop the high platform. Her slightly fitted long dress outlined her perfect figure.

Her captivating, curvaceous waist and her snow-white legs, dazzling beneath the sunlight, left the young men dry-mouthed.

With a righteous expression, Li Tianming stepped forward and announced, "Instructor Mu Wan, I am Tianming."

Instructor Mu Wan's gaze had been on the "starstone" earlier, and she had not noticed the youth approaching.

Upon hearing this, she lowered her head slightly.

When she clearly saw Li Tianming's appearance, her icy gaze froze for a moment. Then she narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him for a while longer.

Then, her red lips parted as she asked, "Couldn't take it anymore, so you came here to humiliate yourself?"

"No. I have returned to make a comeback," Li Tianming said.

"On what basis?"

She was surely puzzled, but she was an intelligent woman.

She looked Li Tianming up and down. Naturally, she could tell that he had not lost all of his Beast Essence after losing his companion beast.

"Instructor, please watch." As Li Tianming spoke, he summoned the Little Yellow Chick from the Companion Space, letting the tiny creature appear before everyone.

"You are quite filial, bringing your instructor a gift the moment you meet. I happen to be dieting, and this little chick would suit me well."

As Instructor Mu Wan spoke, her delicate brows furrowed slightly. She seemed to feel that Li Tianming had come to cause trouble.

Causing trouble without the capital to back it up was the desperate act of someone with nowhere left to go—a coward's behavior.

"Instructor, you jest. This little fellow is my new companion beast," Li Tianming said solemnly.

Instructor Mu Wan's brows relaxed. From how he seemed, Li Tianming did not appear to be someone who had lost his mind.

"Fine. Let your instructor see what medicine you have hidden in your gourd." Instructor Mu Wan propped up her chin with one hand and looked at Li Tianming lazily, charmingly.

"Please look." Li Tianming led the Little Yellow Chick before the starstone.

His peculiar companion beast had actually already drawn quite a bit of attention.

Chen Ding and Chen Ying in particular were seeing Li Tianming's companion beast for the first time, and they were already laughing so hard they could not straighten their backs.

"Did he come in here just to be funny?"

People shook their heads helplessly. A forest was large enough to contain every kind of bird.

Only Instructor Mu Wan watched him with great interest.

In her memory, aside from that incident, Li Tianming had always been an upright and diligent child.

Three years had passed, and he had actually returned. He seemed to carry an aura unlike the one he had possessed back then.

That calm composure was not something a child of his age could possess.

Thus, many people watched as Li Tianming cut open the little creature's chicken leg, squeezed out a drop of blood, and let it fall onto the starstone.

Under the gazes of the crowd, the starstone absorbed the blood and began to display a blood-red radiance.

"Red? A First-Order Companion Beast?"

"Damn, this has to be the funniest scene Yanhuang Academy has seen in a thousand years!"

Just as everyone was preparing to burst into laughter, the starstone abruptly turned orange, and its glow seemed to brighten.

Generally speaking, a starstone displayed its color directly. This sort of situation was rather rare.

When this happened, the later color generally represented the companion beast's true grade.

"Yellow!"

A Second-Order Companion Beast was also a joke, but before people could even double over with laughter, the starstone had already turned yellow.

After that, the colors changed more quickly, and the radiance became increasingly dazzling!

In the blink of an eye, it had turned green, indicating that the Little Yellow Chick was already a Fourth-Order Companion Beast.

Yet in the next breath, the starstone changed to cyan, and it shone even more brilliantly than ordinary cyan.

This had already eclipsed the companion beasts of many youths testing at the same time.

Most who received a Yanhuang Order had Fifth-Order Companion Beasts, whether low, middle, or high grade.

Among them, high-grade Fifth-Order Companion Beasts were already leading talents within the academy, for this was practically the highest standard in the entire nation.

The Little Yellow Chick's dazzling deep cyan clearly signified a high-grade Fifth-Order Companion Beast!

However, no one had expected the starstone's changes to continue!

The next instant, the starstone transformed into blue.

Blue was the mark of a Sixth-Order Companion Beast. Chen Yao's Six-Star Radiant Lion was deep blue.

So far, the academy had tested one-tenth of the youths, yet there had only been a dozen or so Sixth-Order Companion Beasts.

Most were low-grade, and the only high-grade one was the Six-Star Radiant Lion.

Most of these Sixth-Order Companion Beasts were fierce and resplendent.

For example, the Six-Star Radiant Lion was dazzlingly magnificent. That a Little Yellow Chick could actually be a Sixth-Order Companion Beast was truly difficult to accept.

Possessing a Sixth-Order Companion Beast basically meant that this youth would have a bright future at the academy!

Ranking within the top two hundred of the junior class would be no problem!

But was it over?

It was not!

Everyone watched with their own eyes as the starstone's radiance shifted from light blue and ultimately became deep blue!

This deep blue was exceedingly rich, already close to purple!

This meant that the Little Yellow Chick was a high-grade Sixth-Order Companion Beast, on the same level as the Six-Star Radiant Lion.

What was more, people could clearly see that the deep blue now displayed by the starstone was even richer than that of the Six-Star Radiant Lion, and its radiance was even more dazzling!

It was precisely this dazzling radiance that allowed Li Tianming and the Little Yellow Chick to directly replace Chen Yao as the focus of the entire venue!

The light did not continue changing after that. Had it continued, people would likely have assumed the starstone was broken.

After all, Seventh-Order Companion Beasts were beings known as "Heavenly Beasts." They required top-tier divine sources to evolve, and it was basically impossible for them to be born among common folk.

"Could the starstone be broken?" Many people watched Li Tianming and the Little Yellow Chick, discussing the matter in hushed voices. At that moment, the entire arena's attention was on them.

"Bring another starstone. Test it again."

Instructor Mu Wan had actually stood stunned for quite some time. Only now did she come back to herself.

She had someone bring another starstone and, beneath the eyes of the crowd, had Li Tianming try again.

The result was still deep blue, still even more dazzling than Chen Yao's!

Starstones were already difficult to damage, and it was even more impossible for two of them to break at once. Thus, this completely proved that Li Tianming's Little Yellow Chick was absolutely a high-grade Sixth-Order Companion Beast.

Moreover, under everyone's watchful eyes, Instructor Mu Yao examined the Little Yellow Chick's eyes. Sure enough, there were six star points within them—irrefutable evidence.

For a time, the entire Yanhuang Battlefield seemed to fall silent.

Discussion of Li Tianming arose at once, because most people did not know who he was.

"Tianming, it seems your luck is rather good? You even found a cub of a Sixth-Order ferocious beast. As far as I know, the success rate of the Blood God Contract is extremely low."

Instructor Mu Wan's red lips parted, and the way she looked at Li Tianming had already changed.

"Instructor, they say handsome people really do have good luck. It seems there is indeed evidence to support that," Li Tianming said with a smile.

"Fine. Your mindset has changed. You hardly feel like yourself anymore. It seems I must find some time to have a proper private talk with you." Mu Wan blinked.

Her ripe-peach allure could make people's thoughts run wild with nothing more than a glance.

"Alone? If people find out, would that be inappropriate? I am afraid your admirers will chase me down with knives," Li Tianming asked.

"You little rascal, do you think that having a Sixth-Order Companion Beast means what awaits you next will be easy?"

Mu Wan truly could not understand where his confidence came from at that moment.

She knew very well how great an impact the events of three years ago had caused. Now that his identity was exposed, the storm and rain ahead would be more than enough for him to endure.

"It will not be easy, but I have prepared for three years, Instructor." Li Tianming put away his smile. When he said those words, his gaze was exceptionally resolute.

That resolve made Mu Wan even more interested.

She found it difficult to imagine that a person could change so greatly in three years.

She could not help wondering what this child had experienced over the past three years.

"Fine. Let me watch your performance."

Mu Wan was very good at judging people. She could see Li Tianming's confidence, so she began to look forward to it.