The nine star heavenly pattern formation finally vanished, dispelling the illusory battlefield. All the participants reappeared in the Dimensional Battlefield. Before the battles had ended, everyone got a look at the rankings and more or less knew how it would turn out. However, there was only one name that stood out: Li Tianming.
"Next, I shall announce the rankings!" said a middle aged man standing at the very top.
"Whoâs that guy?" Tianming asked.
"My uncle, Jian Binghe," Jian Xueyi said proudly.
"He looks a little weird." Tianming squinted harder, somehow feeling that something was amiss about the man. He just couldnât quite tell what.
Right as he was thinking about it, the man began his announcement. "Rank one: Swordking Faction!"
The Swordking Faction disciples cheered loudly.
"Top ranking faction lord: Jian Xueyi!"
"Uncle, the lord of our faction has changed to Li Tianming!" Jian Xueyi yelled.
"Oh, alright! Top ranking faction lord: Li Tianming. Given your ability, you qualify to be a disciple of the Earth Branch. Report there after all this."
"Understood!" Tianming respectfully said. That meant he would get to cultivate in the Heaven Cauldron.
Jian Binghe continued announcing the rest of the rankings, including Dragonmightâs at the twelfth place. Many of the Dragonmight Factionâs disciples hated Tianming with a passion for singlehandedly causing them to drop so far from first place. However, there was little they could do. After the ranking announcement, the audience left, followed by the disciples.
"Tianming, weâre going to hold a celebration. Are you joining?" Jian Xueyi asked excitedly.
"When is it?"
"Right away, of course"
"Then Iâm afraid I canât join."
"Whatâre you going to do?"
"A date."
"I begrudgingly wish you all the best! Now scram!"
Begrudgingly? It sounded rather salty of her.
Tianming left the Dimensional Battlefield. After half a month, it was finally over. He hadnât seen Feiling for far too long. He hurried his way to Xuanyuan Lake, really anxious to meet her.
"I should head to the Sword Insight Rock first and try to comprehend more of the Hexapath Samara Sword before reporting to the Earth Branch and going to the Heaven Cauldron." He already had his next steps planned.
"Why donât you go to Heaven Cauldron immediately?" Ying Huo asked.
"Itâs more urgent to solidify my understanding of the sword art while my battlefield experience is still fresh."
"Nonsense. Youâre just hurrying to see Lingâer. You donât care about our little colorful egg at all!" Ying Huo mocked.
"Come on, do I look like the kind that favors my girl before my bros?"
"Yes," all three of them unanimously said. Even the little colorful egg seemed to nod.
"Dammit!" He decided he would ignore them and what they wanted.
He happened to run into someone at that point. It was none other than the sect master of the Human Branch, Jian Wuyi.
"Sect Master," Tianming greeted.
"You did well in the fight. I saw it all. The two weapons Her Eminence granted you are amazing indeed. They must have at least seven or eight tribulation patterns, right?"
"Thank you for the praise, Sect Master." Tianming dodged the question about the Grand-Orient Sword and Prime Tower.
"However, you were a little too hasty. Her Eminence is someone of the Archaic House of Xuanyuan. It isnât too appropriate that you killed one of her descendants."
"Got it. Iâll be more careful next time."
"Where are you heading now?"
"The Sword Insight Rock at Xuanyuan Lake."
"To practice the Hexapath Samara Sword, I presume."
"Yes."
"I also happen to be going there. Letâs go together."
"Sure." Tianming nodded and tagged along.
......
The way to the Sword Insight Rock was right in front of Soulburn Hall, so Tianming had to pass through.
"Do I need to go in to greet Her Eminence?" Tianming asked.
"No need. Just go straight down, nobody will stop you. You donât need to disturb Her Eminenceâs cultivation."
"Understood." However, Tianming knew that she would definitely come to him upon knowing that he was there.
Jian Wuyi soon left, and Tianming went down by himself. There was nobody there. It seemed that after the previous disturbance, the Archaion Sect no longer allowed anyone to meditate there. While he waited for Feiling to come, he pondered the intricacies of the sword art using the Sword Insight Rock.
As expected, she showed up a day later. Having been rather busy as of late, it took her a while, but she knew he was there as they knew that that was where they were supposed to meet. However, she was accompanied by many other elites, like Xuanyuan Dao and Fang Qingli. Soon, she took a seat opposite him and began pondering the sword art like he was.
"Why havenât you come since your breakthrough half a month ago?" she asked.
"I participated in the faction battles that were held in the Human Branch. I successfully elevated myself to the Earth Branch."
"Work hard and go to the Heaven Branch quickly."
"Understood, Your Eminence."
They couldnât say anything else; this was the only means of communication they could use. They felt rather frustrated meeting like this, having no privacy at all and being strictly observed at all times. Fang Qingli in particular didnât take her eyes off Feiling, even for an instant.
"Let us continue pondering the sword art," she said.
"Understood."
Tianming started comprehending from the first formation without using his black arm. That might be helpful to guide his understanding of the Hexapath Samara Sword. The two spent the following three days like that. Even without being able to speak, they knew what each other were thinking by the look in their eye alone.
"Your Eminence, Iâll be taking my leave now."
"Alright." She kept her eyes closed as Tianming rose. "By the way, do you need anything for your cultivation?"
Tianming scratched his head and said, "Your Eminence, my lifebound beastsâ levels are a little low, with the highest only having eighty-seven stars. Itâs quite a far cry from the others."
"I see. Xuanyuan Dao, give him three third grade tribulation manna."
There were nine grades of tribulation manna, and all of them were far superior to empyrean manna. They were the reason the Nine Divine Realms were so prosperous. Third grade tribulation manna was already really good. If the evolution succeeded, lifebound beasts would be able to have more than three hundred stars, which was a complete and utter change for Ying Huo and the others. There were few lifebound beasts in the Archaion Sect that had so many stars.
"Your Eminence, an empyrean saint can usually only refine up to second grade tribulation manna. I worry that the lifebound beasts wonât be able to take it..." Xuanyuan Dao hesitantly said, wondering why the goddess seemed to lack common knowledge.
"Just do as I say. If he canât use it, then itâs his problem." Feiling said.
"Understood!"
"Li Tianming, you should tell the Earth Branchâs sect master what types you need."
"Thank you, Your Eminence!" Tianming was overjoyed at the âallowanceâ he received. He then told Xuanyuan Dao about what he needed.
"Your Eminence, it will take quite some time to get the types he needs. Iâll send for someone to retrieve them and have them sent to him," Xuanyuan Dao said.
"Okay." She turned to Tianming and continued, "After your lifebound beasts evolve, focus on advancing through the Empyrean Saint stage. Make up for lost time."
"Iâll do my best, Your Eminence!"
He was overjoyed and could tell that Fang Qingli and Xuanyuan Dao werenât too happy at the gift he had received. Had he gotten something like that from Feiling the moment they arrived, it would be even worse and they might do something about it. Now that he had proven himself, however, their reaction wasnât so drastic. They could see that Feiling saw something in him that they couldnât.
Itâll get better. Iâll grow stronger until I can truly reunite with her.
Tianming hated the fact that he couldnât take advantage of flirting more with her. Now he could barely talk to her, to say nothing of inappropriately flirting. He couldnât wait to change everything.
"Sect Master, Iâll be transferring to the Earth Branch soon. Will you be able to find me after gathering the manna?" he asked Xuanyuan Dao.
"Donât worry. Heâll be able to find you even if you turn to ash, as long as youâre within the Archaion Sect," Fang Qingli said.
"Understood." Even though she sounded rather annoyed, it didnât matter. He got tribulation manna and that was what counted.
Next, he left the place, only to meet with two people who blocked his way. The one on the left had a golden third eye and seemed rather resentful of him. He was Xuanyuan Yuheng. The one on the right was a girl in a white dress. She seemed superbly beautiful, like a lotus flower, making her easily the prettiest woman Tianming had seen to date since coming to the Archaion Sect. Though she seemed much younger than him, she gave others a pleasant feeling. It was as if her icy blue third eye could see through oneâs soul.