They stopped laughing upon hearing Tianmingâs words and a frosty look formed on their faces. Huang Daoxiong forgot about his remaining lifebound beasts; all he wanted to do right now was to denigrate Tianming for his âdisabilityâ. Now that he had achieved his goal, he waved his hand and said, "Take your dog food and get out of here! Iâll think of it as giving to the poor. Your lifebound beasts will get a good meal before they go so they can at least say theyâve seen the world."
Tianming burst out laughing. "Youâre so shameless! Youâre bragging in front of me? Have you forgotten how easily I beat you? If youâre really so brave, fight me. I can take all of you at once. Letâs see who pisses their pants first!â
"You!" Huang Daoxiong was furious.
The others didnât look happy, either. Although they wanted to stand up and fight Tianming, most of them had yet to recover from their injuries. Huang Jihuangâs death had also shocked them to an extent, so they didnât dare respond to Tianmingâs challenge. Their plan had been to humiliate Tianming for his tainted bloodline, but he didnât care at all.
"Pedigree only matters for dogs. Got it?" Rolling his eyes at them, Tianming picked up his ordered manna and walked away.
After Tianming left, Huang Daoxiong punched himself hard. "Iâm not a man if I donât make him regret being born!"
Tianming poked his head back in from outside the door and said, "Youâre right. Youâre not a man, youâre a dog."
Huang Daoxiong was so mad he almost breathed out flames. When they were sure that Tianming was really gone, Huang Daoxiong gritted his teeth and said, "Fuck! I'll get the others!â
......
Outside the Heavensource Starriver.
"Lan Yunâs returned to the Grandblue Palace. Does she know I killed Gong Xuan? Howâd she react?" Tianming asked Yin Chen.
"She didnât... She just... said one... thing thing," Yin Chen replied.
"What?"
"Trash! A... four hundred... year old... killed by... a one... hundred year... old. He... deserved to... die die," Yin Chen repeated her words.
Tianming understood. "Really? What happened next?"
"She sat... in your... courtyard and... sheâs still... there. Sheâs... probably waiting... for you... to go... back back," Yin Chen said.
"Crap!" That wasnât a good sign. He was even more hesitant to return and met up with Li Fan instead.
âReverend Lan Yun just sent me a message asking me to take you back. Let's go, brother,â Li Fan said.
"No. Letâs go to your Skymartial Blacksea," Tianming said.
"Why wonât you go back? Donât worry! Your senior brothers are cruel, but Reverend Lan Yun will stand up for you. You should believe in her. After all, sheâs already offended the House Huang for you," Li Fan sincerely said.
"Shut up, Iâm not going back."
"Whyâre you so timid? Do your senior brothers scare you so much? Did they burst up your back door...?" Li Fan exclaimed. He couldn't figure out what a bold guy like Tianming had to be afraid of.
"Lead the way, dammit!" Li Fan was shocked by Tianmingâs impatience. It seemed his mindless words must have hit the mark!
Just as I expected of them! Reverend Lan Yunâs disciples are so cruel! Poor thing! he thought. He couldnât help but feel lucky that his talent wasnât high enough to enter the Grandblue Palace.
"Fine, let's go to the Skymartial Blacksea first."
The two of them traveled across the bustling Myriadpath Valley. Li Fan advised Tianming to hide his arms, thighs, and myriadpath ring.
"Aren't we all lower-class folk? Why should I hide?" Tianming asked.
"Brother, we donât have to be so obvious," Li Fan said.
"Thatâs crazy! Everyone in this damn place is crazy!" Tianming muttered to himself. He had been feeling a lot more manic ever since he entered Myriadpath Valley.
Soon, they arrived at the Skymartial Blacksea. Tianming looked ahead and saw a vast black sea in front of him. The black waters and white clouds resembled a yin yang diagram; it was a magnificent sight.
"It looks amazing from a distance, but youâll see that it really is the slums of Myriadpath Valley once you enter. Itâs where the lower-class people gather and those with the gold myriadpath ring disdain to enter."
"Okay, you donât have to keep emphasizing that. It's annoying." Tianming followed him into the black sea.
Although the buildings, and the formations protecting them, were simpler, it was more lively there. Other parts of Myriadpath Valley were majestic and shiny danger zones, while this place was more down to earth.
"Weâre here!" After walking for some time, Li Fan finally arrived at his residence, which was almost as luxurious as the Grandblue Palace. After all, it was still within Myriadpath Valley.
Tianming asked for a hall as soon as he entered. "Don't disturb me,â he said.
"Whatâre you doing? Healing up?" Li Fan asked with concern.
"Why would I need to do that?" Tianming was stunned.
"I know itâs hard to talk about this kind of thing, but itâs okay. I have medicine specifically meant to treat injuries in the seventh astral organâ"
Smacking him hard in the head, Tianming cursed, "What the fuck are you thinking? Why donât you go to hell?!"
"Yes, yes! I understand." Li Fan quickly ran away.
"Then again..." Tianming said, staring at him, "why would you have that kind of medicine?"
"Me?" Li Fan turned around and scratched his head. "Let me make myself clear, Iâve never used it. But as you know, the male to female ratio in Myriadpath Valley is four to one. Thereâs just too many monks and not enough meat to go around. Some things canât be avoided when the fires are stoked. I bring this with me for protection...."
"You mean too many monks and not enough rice?! Or do you mean to say too many wolves and not enough meat, brother?"
"Itâs the same thing. As long as you understand, words are just words."
"Get out of here! Scram!" Tianming slammed the door.
In the past, his lifebound beasts could absorb ordered manna on their own, but he had yet to figure out what to do now that they had been joined to his body. The first thing he did was take out all five ordered manna and put Ji Ji's aside in his lifebound space. He also kept Yin Chenâs manna and placed the remaining four in front of him.
"You know, girls donât like you and this place is filled with men. Wouldnât it be good to ask Li Fan for some of that medicine?" Ying Huo furtively said.
"Are you sick? The kind that canât be cured? The kind thatâs going to cost you everything?" Tianming retorted.
"Don't get angry. Itâs good to have it just in case. Men are really kinky. You might be a tainted beastmaster but maybe someone likes that. Iâll be sure to watch closely if that happens!" Ying Huo said.
"I wouldnât want Chicken Bro to feel lonely, so Iâll watch, too, but not because I want to," Meow Meow chimed in.
Tianming was now at the bottom of the chain of contempt because of his lifebound beasts, but they didnât think it was their fault. In fact, they were still cheerful.
Dammit! I hope this three-hundred-aperture manna chokes you to death. Eat up! Tianming secretly cursed them.
"I'll go first." Xian Xian stretched out thousands of black roots from Tianming's leg.
"Holy crap, your legs are so hairy." At that moment, Li Fan opened the door and entered the hall, his heart pounding when he saw the scene.
"Scram!"
Li Fan quickly closed the door again.
Xian Xian enveloped the manna with its roots, the divine source of its order, and slowly transformed it into an evolutionary power, absorbing it into Tianmingâs thigh. It wasnât a problem for Lan Huang, either. Its heads were located on his knee. Thus, his right leg expanded so it could open its mouth and swallow the manna. Although it took Ying Huo and Meow Meow some effort, they, too, eventually managed to take in the remaining two ordered manna.
âHow do you feel?" Tianming asked.
"You âll feel it soon," Ying Huo replied. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Tianming resembled a specter due to the fusion of their flesh. The ordered manna rushed out of his lifebound beasts and poured into his body, creating a storm-like force.
"Ah!"
His astrons shook as the inside of his body was tossed up and down like a real storm.
"Absorb!"
Gritting their teeth, Tianming and his four lifebound beasts began facing the tumultuous power that could unlock their bloodline shackles....