In a temporary Cultivator camp at the Thunder Pool, Liangyuan dejectedly tried to slip back to his tent.
"Liangyuan, come here." A slightly aged voice called out.
"Where have you been?" Inside the tent was Elder Sunx, the very man who had fought the Fifth-Transformation Golden Rhinoceros.
Liangyuan gritted his teeth, suppressing the bitterness in his heart, and knelt on the ground. "Master, I was wrong!"
Elder Sunx quietly gazed at his most prized disciple. "And where were you wrong?"
"I shouldn't have disobeyed your orders and challenged Li Tianyi." Liangyuan kept his head down.
Elder Sunx glanced at Liangyuan and shook his head. "That's not where you were wrong."
"Master, rest assured, I will beat him one day! This won't end until one of us falls!"
Liangyuan said, gritting his teeth.
"Utterly wrong!" Elder Sunx said calmly. "Lift your head!"
"Cultivation is survival of the fittest. It's fine to issue a challenge; the key is to understand the purpose of the fight. Losing a match is one thing, but losing your spirit is another. Losing to him this time doesn't mean you will lose to him for the rest of your life. Things have been too smooth for you these past few years; I'd be surprised if you've even taken half of my words to heart. Use this as an opportunity to reflect. Li Tianyi is from the Holy Hall's Li Family, which gives him advantages others can't hope to match. If you want to defeat him, you must clearly recognize this gap between you. If you're just fighting to save face, you'll never beat him."
Elder Sunx spoke in a low voice, each word striking Liangyuan's heart.
As one of the Nine Heroes of the Holy Hall, Liangyuan's comprehension was naturally not poor. He immediately bowed and thanked his master.
"Master, tomorrow I will face him with a smile!" Liangyuan's expression gradually returned to calm.
"Good. Now that is my, Sunx Changxing's, head disciple!"
At this moment, in another camp just over three hundred meters away, a playful old man was fiddling with a wooden carving.
"Mingren, where has that little brat Tianyi run off to?"
"Master, Junior Brother said he was going out for a walk."
"Mingren, as the Senior, you need to discipline that kid more. He does nothing but cause trouble for me from morning till night!"
The old man said.
"Master, don't blame Junior Brother. It's usually others who pick fights with him," Mingren said with a smile, knowing full well his master wasn't truly angry with the boy; he doted on him too much.
"Hmph. When that brat gets back, tell him to come see me. I don't know where that Golden Rhinoceros ran off to either. I'm leaving tomorrow."
"Yes, Master."
Li Daoming was Li Tianyi's master, a member of the Holy Hall's Li Family, and also his uncle. He naturally cherished his nephew dearly. The Li Family had entrusted Li Tianyi to him as a sign of their high regard, and also in the hopes that Li Tianyi would gain more real-world experience rather than just cultivating behind closed doors. To cultivate, one must first cultivate their character.
Mingren knew that, nine times out of ten, it was that fellow Liangyuan who had come looking for trouble. As a representative figure of the Holy Hall's younger generation, he definitely wouldn't be able to swallow his pride. 'Unfortunately, Liangyuan's skill is still lacking. This junior brother of mine... he's terrifyingly powerful.'
His master had given the order, so Mingren waited outside the camp. Mingren was an orphan Li Daoming had found and carefully raised from a young age. Mingren saw Li Daoming as a father, and because Li Daoming valued Li Tianyi so highly, Mingren treated Tianyi like his own flesh-and-blood brother. Of course, with Li Tianyi's strength, it was rare for him to encounter any real challenge.
Mingren's greatest trait was his patience.
A while after dark, Li Tianyi returned, looking desolate. Before Mingren could even greet him, Li Tianyi walked past with his head down.
Mingren shrugged helplessly. 'This junior brother of mine isn't a bad person, just a bit of a loner.'
"Junior Brother, Master wants you to go see him now that you're back," Mingren said. "Don't worry. Just let Master scold you a bit and it'll be fine."
Li Tianyi walked forward blankly, not saying a word.
Mingren froze for a moment. 'He usually chats with me a little. What's wrong with him today? He's completely off.'
'Could it be... No, impossible. With Liangyuan's strength, he's definitely not his match.'
"Junior Brother, Master is this way."
Mingren led Li Tianyi to Li Daoming's tent. Along the way, Li Tianyi remained completely silent.
"You stinking brat, you're back! I'll have you know..." Li Daoming began to scold him the moment he saw him. The Li Family hadn't sent him here to take a vacation. But today, Li Tianyi's condition was clearly very wrong.
Li Daoming glanced at Mingren, who just shook his head helplessly, equally baffled.
"Junior Brother, no matter what happened, Master will back you up. It's not the end of the world." Some things were better said by Mingren. Even if he had slipped up and seriously injured Liangyuan, it wasn't a big deal.
Li Tianyi's teeth ground together audibly. "I... lost."
The single word "lost" felt as heavy as a mountain, crushing Li Tianyi until he could barely breathe. It also stunned Li Daoming and Mingren, who thought they had misheard.
"How is that possible? Liangyuan..." Mingren said, stunned.
Li Tianyi shook his head. "It wasn't him."
Li Daoming's expression suddenly turned cold. "Don't tell me that shameless old fool Sunx Changxing made a move himself! Does he really think our Lingyin Hall has no one?!"
Li Tianyi shook his head again, which only confused Li Daoming and Mingren further.
"Was it a Demon Cultivator?" Mingren asked. The crowd that had come to the Thunder Pool this time was indeed a mixed bag.
Li Tianyi clenched his fists tightly. "He's from the Holy Hall... and he looked a little younger than me."
"That's... how is that possible!" Li Daoming exclaimed in shock.
When Li Tianyi described Wang Meng's general appearance, Li Daoming and Mingren grew even more confused. Among the even slightly famous disciples of the Holy Hall, there was no one who looked like that.
When they heard that his opponent had broken the Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword with a single strike, even someone with Li Daoming's formidable strength was shocked beyond words.
"Tianyi, the true power of the Nine Heavens Separation Fire Sword only manifests above the Twenty Layers. Don't let this trouble you. As long as this person is from the Holy Hall, we have ways to find him. You can just have another match then. Go and get some rest for now."
Li Daoming offered his comfort, but even he found his own words unconvincing. 'With such tyrannical Control Power, if that person could truly utilize it above the Twenty Layers, they would be completely invincible. When did the Holy Hall produce such a young master?'
Li Tianyi didn't even know how he walked out of the tent. He, who was called the Holy Hall's once-in-a-century prodigy, actually had to use a lie to cover up his failure.
Tears fell uncontrollably. 'This humiliation... I must reclaim my honor. I'll search the entire Holy Hall if I have to, but I will find him!'
Blood trickled down from his palm. 'I have to get stronger, much stronger. I... will never, ever lose again!'
「Thunder Peak.」
Zhang Xiaopang was frantically shooting at a Tiger Eagle. 'Damn it all! There are Tiger Eagles everywhere here, but these things are as cunning as ghosts. They vanish with a WHOOSH at the slightest disturbance. I haven't even managed to nick a single feather!' Wang Meng couldn't help him with this; he was busy cultivating the Nourishing Essence Technique.
'My body's innate talent is certainly poor, but it's not something that can't be changed. Saint Cultivator Cultivation Techniques are truly profound and steady. This Nourishing Essence Technique might be simple, but diligent practice will lay a good foundation and solidify my Life Mark. The Godhood left me with its comprehension, but none of its power. That Enchanting Spider Demon was just unlucky. For an Enchantment Class demon to run into the consciousness of someone from the Demigod Realm is a complete death wish. Even if its ancestors going back eight generations showed up, I could turn them to ash with a flick of my finger. If it had been a Demon Power-type Demon, however, it really would have been trouble. I have Secret Techniques I could use, but they all take a heavy toll on the body—especially when my physical aptitude is this poor.'
'Raising my Life Mark Level quickly is absolutely necessary.'