Star Demon Peng

In the private room.

"Sister Qin, your Chen Ding is on stage!"

"Chen Ding is truly courageous. The trial battle has just begun, and he dares to go straight onto the stage to fight first."

"Chen Ding has already broken through to the Spirit Origin Realm, right? My Ying'er is still only at the Ninth Level of Beast Vein Realm."

"Don't worry, sister. Ying'er will definitely reach the Spirit Origin Realm within half a month."

"These two children have such a good relationship. Once they enter the academy, they'll cultivate together, growing up together like childhood sweethearts, progressing side by side. Young love, truly enviable."

"Sister Qin speaks the truth. But Chen Ding is so powerful, who would dare to step up and become his opponent?"

As they were chattering amongst themselves, Madam Xue Lan, seated in the center, raised an eyebrow and said, "We'll know when we see it."

Perhaps it was because Li Tianming's Companion Beast's grade exceeded expectations, but her mood had been less than pleasant since then.

As a result, her one sentence caused the atmosphere in the private room to become awkward, and the ladies didn't dare to speak much.

What's more, they couldn't figure out the reason for Madam Xue Lan's unhappiness, and they were afraid of saying the wrong thing and displeasing her.

Just then, under the gaze of the ladies, a young man in white appeared opposite Chen Ding.

This young man in white was tall and agile, giving off the feeling of a jade-like man from a painting, a peerless young master.

His eyes were deep and calm, possessing a maturity that didn't match his age. A faint smile played on his lips, showing his composure at this moment.

The only unusual thing was that his left hand was wrapped in dense white cloth, and he wore a glove on his palm. This attire made him look a bit peculiar.

"Is this that Li Tianming!"

"He actually dares to challenge Chen Ding... I remember, didn't Senior Master Mu Wan previously judge his realm to be the Ninth Level of Beast Vein Realm?"

"He's three to four years older than Chen Ding, yet his realm is inferior to Chen Ding's. Apart from his Companion Beast's high grade, he's utterly useless."

"He dares to find Chen Ding as an opponent. Once he's crushed by Chen Ding, he won't have any chance to perform."

"Yes, at his age, which is close to exceeding the limit, he'll probably be eliminated directly."

"This little fellow really has a habit of asking for trouble." The ladies were surprised by Li Tianming's actions and began to discuss heatedly.

"Sisters, Ding'er is also participating in such an important battle for the first time, and I'm not sure how he'll perform." Chen Ding's mother said.

"Sister Qin, don't be modest. Everyone knows that your Ding'er has the help of Young Master Chen Yao and has learned a lot."

"Teaching a lecherous scoundrel a lesson should be easy." The ladies chuckled.

"That's right, Chen Ding can teach a lesson to someone with ill intentions." Xue Lan, who had been silent, finally spoke with a smile.

This put the ladies at ease, and they began to chat and laugh.

As they were laughing and chatting, the battle on the stage officially erupted!

The second stage of the Palace Examination had just begun, and many people were observing. Those who dared to go up immediately were definitely people with great confidence.

After all, everyone needed to carefully choose their opponents to avoid a crushing defeat and to showcase their talents and combat power well.

At the same time, there were five stages in the five great halls, with five battles underway. However, the most captivating one was undoubtedly the battle between Li Tianming and Chen Ding!

"This shameless Li Tianming was already in the Spirit Origin Realm three years ago. After returning three years later, he's still only in the Beast Vein Realm. What a disgrace."

"At his age, he should be in the intermediate class, yet he's still bullying younger children here."

"He must know that passing the trial will be difficult, so he wants to challenge the Spirit Origin Realm Chen Ding. Only by challenging the limit might he be noticed by a Senior Master."

"I don't think so. Over the years, many people with the same idea ended up in crushing defeats, with no performance at all."

"For the trial battle, it's best to choose an opponent of similar strength."

"Three years ago, he was already a scandal and a joke. Today, he's going to embarrass himself again?"

That incident back then was definitely a topic of gossip for the people of Yandu.

Li Tianming's clumsiness and vulgarity in that story provided much amusement to the people.

In their minds, he was like a toad, stepped on and killed by a pair of swans.

Today, he brought a Sixth-Tier Companion Beast, like a toad getting lucky and finding a divine weapon. But could this change the toad's nature!

The answer, of course, was: no.

Chen Ding's Companion Beast had already been revealed. It was a High Grade Fifth-Tier Companion Beast—the Star Demon Peng! It was a Star-系的 flying beast Companion Beast.

The Star Demon Peng was enormous. As its wings spread, its dark purple feathers shimmered with specks of light, making it look like a starry sky from behind, brilliant and majestic.

In contrast, the Little Yellow Chicken on Li Tianming's shoulder looked yellow and tender, appearing delicious and appetizing.

If it weren't for the Star Stone test, no one would have believed that the Little Yellow Chicken's grade was one tier higher than the Star Demon Peng's.

"Let me ask you first, is this Companion Beast of yours male or female?"

Just as Chen Ding's gaze was stern, and he was stretching his muscles, ready to blast Li Tianming with a punch, the Little Yellow Chicken arrogantly asked first.

"Parrot talk! What if it's male, what if it's female!" Chen Ding strode forward, throwing a punch. Starlight erupted from his fist, the divine might of his punch causing the air to vibrate.

"If it's male, I'll castrate it. If it's female, hehehe." The Little Yellow Chicken crossed its wings on its hips, revealing a lewd smile.

Upon hearing this, the Star Demon Peng was extremely displeased and let out a sharp cry, flapping its wings and charging forward to fight.

"Damn, such a deep voice, and it's a male! Being the wrong gender is your original sin, Li Tianming, go get him!" Little Yellow Chicken commanded.

While others had Beast Masters commanding their Companion Beasts, it acted like a Beast Master itself.

"Aren't you my mount?" Li Tianming asked with a smile.

"You're thinking too much, you're my mount," Little Yellow Chicken said proudly.

Before the battle, they still dared to joke around, which infuriated Chen Ding.

The punch in his hand was an "Initial Grade Origin-grade Battle Art" called: Star Charging Fist. One punch to charge the stars, shaking all directions!

He was confident that he could knock Li Tianming away with one punch, both punishing Li Tianming and directly entering Yanhuang Academy.

The moment the Star Charging Fist hit Li Tianming, the figure before him turned into a blur of fire.

In his daze, Chen Ding thought Li Tianming had been scattered by his own attack.

"What kind of Spirit Origin Realm is this, so slow." The voice that suddenly came from beside his ear gave him a rather ominous premonition!

Chen Ding suddenly turned and threw a punch, and Li Tianming's body once again turned into a blur of fire and dissipated.

Only then did he see that the entire stage was filled with flickering fire shadows, and one fire shadow could burn for several breaths of time!

Speed was Chen Ding's weakness; in a short time, he couldn't even determine Li Tianming's position.

"This is definitely a Mid Grade Origin-grade Battle Art!"

Chen Ding suddenly remembered the four Battle Arts Li Tianming obtained that day in the Starry Sky Heavenly Palace. Everything sold in that place was an Origin-grade Battle Art!

His heart trembled. Could it be that in just a few days, he had learned a Mid Grade Origin-grade Battle Art?

After all, he had been honing the Star Charging Fist for a month!

He had no time to be shocked because Li Tianming was incredibly agile. As he charged forward directly, Li Tianming passed him by.

In the next instant, he and his Companion Beast, the Blazing Firebird, simultaneously performed the Shadowless Fire Step, entangling his Star Demon Peng!

"Eat this Netherflame Ghost Claw from your father!" Little Yellow Chicken, using the Shadowless Fire Step, was even more terrifying.

Because of its small size and smaller beak than the Star Demon Peng, it flickered even more erratically.

During these past few days, Li Tianming's main focus had been on the Nine Thunderous Lashes and the Shadowless Fire Step; he hadn't delved into the Netherflame Ghost Claw yet.

However, Little Yellow Chicken had already achieved results in both the Netherflame Ghost Claw and the Shadowless Fire Step.

As a Primordial Chaos Beast, even with Bloodline Shackles, its talent for cultivating Beast Arts was far superior to all other Companion Beasts.

Don't underestimate its small claws; the force of this single claw could tear through an iron wall.

Combined with its Shadowless Fire Step, it appeared on the Star Demon Peng's chest in a flash, directly tearing out a piece of flesh!

The Star Demon Peng was actually very strong, possessing the strength of the Spirit Origin Realm. However, it was unfortunately too large, making it perfectly countered by Little Yellow Chicken.

Within the Shadowless Fire Step, it couldn't catch up to Little Yellow Chicken. Crucially, Li Tianming had bypassed Chen Ding at this moment and was also targeting the Star Demon Peng!

There's an old saying: during the Beast Vein Realm, the Beast Master and Companion Beast have comparable strength.

However, upon reaching the Spirit Origin Realm, Companion Beasts become stronger than their Beast Masters.

This is because Spirit Origin Realm Companion Beasts possess "Spirit Origin Divine Abilities."

These are bloodline abilities distinct from Battle Arts, seized from "Fierce Beasts."

Once a Companion Beast unleashes a Spirit Origin Divine Ability, if it hits, the battle becomes very difficult.

Therefore, Li Tianming and Little Yellow Chicken, from the very beginning, relied on their speed and footwork advantages to directly target the Star Demon Peng!

He took out the Thunderfire Chain from Liu Qinyang with his right hand. Spirit Fire burned on this chain, and Spirit Thunder intertwined.

Li Tianming had pondered the Nine Thunderous Lashes for some time. Although he couldn't use many moves yet, it should be sufficient for this battle.

Using the chain instead of a whip would only make the Nine Thunderous Lashes more powerful!

Whoosh!

The moment Little Yellow Chicken attacked with the Netherflame Ghost Claw, Li Tianming's first whip of the Nine Thunderous Lashes tore through the sky, lashing directly onto the Star Demon Peng's back!

Although their Beast Essence was only at the Eighth Level of Beast Vein Realm, their Eternal Purgatory Beast Essence was incredibly potent.

The Mid Grade Origin-grade Battle Art displayed its ultimate power in their hands. Coupled with their instantaneous coordinated attack, the Star Demon Peng couldn't defend itself.

In a short period, Li Tianming and Little Yellow Chicken, using the Thunderfire Chain and Netherflame Ghost Claw, inflicted significant damage on the Star Demon Peng, directly establishing their advantage.

Li Tianming was indeed going all out, as he was fighting across a major realm.

Chen Ding was not useless; underestimating him would lead to his own defeat.

With such a significant age disadvantage, if he couldn't defeat Chen Ding, which Senior Master would dare to take him in!

Chen Ding looked back and gritted his teeth, charging back.

Li Tianming, having already wounded the Star Demon Peng, now directly blocked Chen Ding.

Amidst the flickering fire shadows, the Thunderfire Chain descended from the sky, like lightning and thunder, crazily lashing towards Chen Ding!