Incomplete Madman

It turned out Liu Tian had overestimated his own speed and underestimated the change in weather. By the time he arrived at Tian Dao's home, a drizzling rain had already begun to fall from the sky.

The fine rain was like needles, like silk, like ox hair, piercing through one's thin clothing and chilling the heart.

Of course, none of this mattered to Liu Tian, who had already reached the Martial Artist realm and was sprinting wildly on this path under Tian Dao's vigorous urging.

His robust physique and surging blood and qi were enough for him to ignore this light rain that could make one catch a cold. In fact, the stimulation of the cold raindrops made his senses sharper than usual.

Thus, his intuition detected something, something that he normally wouldn't have been able to detect.

A feeling made him stop outside Tian Dao's door.

This feeling was quite peculiar, as if it were telling him that what lay before him was not the familiar courtyard of Tian Dao, but rather a tiger's den where a perpetually insatiable fierce tiger was resting.

Accompanying this intuition, Liu Tian's heartbeat subtly quickened a little. His body's adrenaline secreted rapidly and uncontrollably, and his fast-flowing blood carried the hormones to every part of his body.

His body's instincts prepared for battle before his brain could even issue a command.

A subtle sense of pleasure surfaced in Liu Tian's heart, even giving him the urge to unfurl a banner.

And just as he was contemplating his next move, Tian Dao's door opened, and a man he had never seen before appeared before him.

This was a man with a towering, eight-foot frame even larger than Liu Tian's. Three blood-red tribal markings, representing wildness, were clearly visible on his forehead, their edges sharp as knives.

This stranger's powerful physique, his steel left arm, his disdainful gaze, and even the intangible feeling he exuded all told Liu Tian that he was strong!

Stronger than Tian Dao!

Unimaginably strong!

Strong enough to make Liu Tian's hair stand on end and excite him to the point of wanting to unfurl a banner!

But Liu Tian's rationality told him that he was far from a match for this man. If he were to fight him now, he would be cut down by this unprecedentedly strong enemy in less than three moves.

"May I ask if you are the Senior Brother Cinan that Master often mentions?" Without any panic, Liu Tian looked past the man in front of him and through the gap to the door. The moment he saw Tian Dao sitting unharmed in the courtyard, sipping tea in the rain, he identified the most likely person and asked tentatively.

"This is our first meeting, isn't it?" Bai Cinan pulled at the corners of his mouth, smiling like a tiger shark baring its sharp teeth, greeting his junior brother whom he had never formally met. His right fist moved like lightning, and before Liu Tian could react, it tapped his brow before slowly opening.

A gem, a red gem the size of a cat's eye that was clearly valuable at first glance, appeared before Liu Tian.

"I heard you've been interested in the remnants of the Lost Empire recently." Seeing with satisfaction that Liu Tian hadn't retreated and had even prepared to counterattack the moment he realized the attack, Bai Cinan retracted his imposing aura. "Senior Brother doesn't have much prepared, so I brought you a local specialty from the Dawn Alliance."

"I thank you for this, Senior Brother."

The moment Liu Tian took the gem, a powerful warmth surged into his body. It was a warmth he had never felt before, even greater than the warmth he felt when he first encountered the Prism Pillar.

This unexpected gain made Liu Tian involuntarily smile. He took a slight step back, bowed deeply, and clasped Bai Cinan's large hand tightly. "Thank you very much, thank you very much for this meeting gift, Senior Brother."

"My family is average, Junior Brother, so I don't have any impressive gifts." As he spoke, as if the previous tension had vanished, Liu Tian released Bai Cinan's hand and walked forward. "However, my tea-making skills are quite good. Master always said that if my martial arts could improve as much as my tea-making skills, I wouldn't be where I am now."

"I don't have much to entertain you with, Junior Brother, so allow me to offer you a cup of tea..."

Because of Bai Cinan's arrival, the day's martial arts training was canceled. It seemed Tian Dao also didn't want Liu Tian to have too much contact with Bai Cinan. He only asked Liu Tian to make a pot of tea, chatted briefly, and then eagerly sent Liu Tian home.

Tian Dao's expression made one suspect that if this world had mobile phones, Liu Tian would have received a text message canceling today's activities on his way here.

Although Liu Tian didn't quite understand why Tian Dao didn't want him to have more contact with this Senior Brother who clearly screamed "rich," Liu Tian himself disliked being around someone who could potentially threaten his life and whom he didn't know well.

Because of this, when Tian Dao casually provided Liu Tian with an excuse, Liu Tian rolled down the stairs.

Bai Cinan, on the other hand, seemed lost in thought. Although he clearly had some scheme in mind, he didn't try to keep Liu Tian. He simply sipped his tea and watched Liu Tian's retreating figure disappear into the night before slowly uttering, "This Junior Brother is indeed an interesting person."

"Do you know, Master? Senior Brother Bai asked with a smile. "In recent years, your dominance, your sharpness, your killing intent have all faded. Even your battle patterns have gradually disappeared. You are now like an ordinary, robust old man."

"If your enemies from ten years ago saw you now, would they be happy? Or angry?"

"Tian Dao, who once roamed the battlefield like a great white shark, has now degenerated into a small goldfish confined to a fishbowl. It truly makes one feel sad."

"Cinan..." Tian Dao fell silent. After an unknown amount of time, he let out a sigh. "It is I who have failed you. But this is no longer our era."

"No, Master, you have never failed me. I have never forgotten that you took me from that living hell, treated me like your own son, and taught me the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao."

Bai Cinan refuted with a smile, then poured another cup of tea for Tian Dao and himself.

"It is merely that I, your disciple, was foolish, was stupid, could not withstand provocation, and could not see through traps. Everything that followed was my own doing."

"But it's all in the past. I'm living well now and no longer care about the past. Master, you don't need to keep dwelling on it." Bai Cinan paused. "It's all in the past..."

"But I thought Master would never teach the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao to anyone else again. I didn't expect you to make an exception in the end? Can you tell me what you were thinking?"

"Were you preparing bait for me?"

"After all, mutual slaughter, mutual devouring, severing emotions and desires to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, isn't that the essence of the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao?"

"For practitioners of the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, if they want to take that final step, they will eventually have to kill each other." Bai Cinan was still smiling, but his eyes gradually grew cold. "I originally thought I only had one choice and was hesitating. It seems now, Master, you have found me a second choice?"

"Cinan..." Tian Dao wanted to say something, but before he could continue, he was interrupted--

"However, if Junior Brother is to become my bait, he is still lacking considerably and needs more training. But I am not in a hurry for now, there is still plenty of time." Bai Cinan interrupted Tian Dao without politeness and stood up.

Bai Cinan's voice, taller and stronger than Liu Tian's, cast a shadow under the lamplight, a shadow that enveloped everything about Tian Dao. "And, Master, you have misunderstood one thing from beginning to end."

"Our era has never passed."

As he spoke, Bai Cinan raised his hand, one finger at a time, slowly opening and then tightly clenching. "And the future, right now, is in my hands."