“Li Tianming!!” Xuanyuan Muxue threw the astralsource away and her face purpled from rage.

“Calm down. I’m just joking with you.”

“Don’t cry out in pain later then!”

“At least it’s better than your moaning.…”

Xuanyuan Muxue charged over at Tianming. While she ran, she yelled, “Don’t rejoice so quickly. Compete with me and see who can fuse more astralsources if you have the guts!”

“So, what’s the stake?” Tianming smiled.

“How about this, the loser will call the winner ‘daddy’ for a year. What’s wrong, you don’t dare?”

“I don’t need you to call me daddy. Just introduce yourself as ‘this servant’ in the future when you see me,” replied Xuanyuan Muxue.

“I guess we have a deal then.”

“Let’s set a timeframe of fifteen days.”

“Sure.” Xuanyuan Muxue was still boiling with anger, but she was betting on the fact that Tianming’s arrogance would make him try to absorb astralsource of different elements over the next fifteen days. She knew that absorbing different astralsources would drive his body into chaos, even if he only absorbed one. It would only make his absorption more difficult in the future.

If she dared to compete with Tianming for a year, there was nothing for her to be afraid of for fifteen days. And in reality, she had guessed it correctly. Tianming thought highly of himself and was confident in his physique.

Even despite the reminder from Yi Xingyin, Tianming still wanted to give it a try. The Ancient Deepstar Godbody was similar to the Tribulation Sword Body. The whole concept around it was simple: endurance and willpower.

Everyone’s willpower was somewhat the same, especially descendants of the various clans like Xuanyuan Muxue. When those good-for-nothing rascals put their lives on the line, they were each more monstrous than the other.

The thing that drew them apart were their talents. Many people didn’t want to accept this fact, and emphasized the importance of bearing hardship above talent. But fortunately, talent could be increased, along with the ability to endure hardship.

They were things that real masters couldn’t lack. Tianming had climbed up from the lowest rung, so he knew the importance of talent and hardships.

His first choice was the fire astralsource. It was like a fire tribulation artifact, which gave Tianming a headache.

“How the hell am I supposed to shove something so big into my stomach? Will I get gallstones? No wonder Xuanyuan Muxue moaned so loudly.” Tianming smiled. “No way. I have to hold onto it. Now, let’s get started.” He was prepared to take the pain with his experience with the tribulation sword ki. But one second later—

“ARRRRRRGHHHHH!” An earth-shattering yell echoed across the pool.

……

On the other side of the Deepstar Pool, Xuanyuan Muxue burst into laughter when she heard Tianming’s screams. “Hahaha! Wait to call yourself ‘this servant!’” She laughed whenever she thought about it. But she had no idea that Tianming wore a disdainful smile as he screamed while fusing with the astralsource.

“She must’ve believed my screams. She’ll probably loosen up her nerves. When the fifteen days are up, I’ll make you cry!” There was nothing too cunning when it came to tactics. In reality, fusing the astralsource was easier than Tianming had imagined.

“The Primordial Chaos Beasts are too powerful. I remember how Ying Huo ate spirit ores when it was born, so it makes sense that it’s easy for me to fuse these astralsources. I should have high limits when it comes to them.”

It didn’t take long for Tianming to fuse the fire astralsource into his body. Although it was the first, he could sense the transformation in his body. The astralsource dispersed out and merged into his flesh, bones, and internal organs.

“Others might not even be able to fuse one astralsource in one go for their first time.” The second astralsource that Tianming chose was a thunder astralsource. It was a purple rock shrouded in lightning. When Tianming held it, he felt his hands going numb.

“If this thunder astralsource was placed in the Divine Capital, it’d probably be a treasure that could even kill Autarch Qian.” When Tianming started fusing with the thunder astralsource, he sensed the strong rejection by the fire astralsource in his body. It slowed down his refining speed, along with the sensation of intense pain, like his body was being ripped apart. But Tianming still persevered.

“If I fuse with one element, the speed will certainly be much faster. But if I fuse too much of one element, the rejection will be stronger when I try to fuse another element. Since I can, then I can try starting all of them at the same time. As for wood astralsources, I can leave those aside for now.”

This time, it took a long time for Tianming to fuse with the astralsource. When he tried fusing with a water astralsource, it was more challenging, took longer, and was more painful. It only got worse when he attempted to fuse an earth astralsource after that. Tianming’s forehead was covered in sweat; this time, he wasn’t acting when he screamed out.

But no matter what, it sounded like music to Xuanyuan Muxue’s ears. In the blink of an eye, Tianming passed out and was thrown out when he just finished fusing with the fourth astralsource.

“How many astralsources did you manage to fuse?” Tianming asked with a smile.

Xuanyuan Muxue merely replied with a glance, then turned to leave.

……

Back in the Heaven Branch, the Number One Pavilion. Lin Xiaoxiao was alone after Tianming went out early in the morning.

While she watched Tianming’s figure slowly get further away, the Archaionfiend smiled and said, “You tried so hard to enter the Heaven Branch, but he brought you here due to an unexpected turn of events. Consider him unlucky.”

“Yeah.”

“Spend more time around the Heaven Cauldron in the next few days.”

“I got it.”

“Put more effort into it. I’ll be able to free ‘them’ once I retrieve my eye. Tianming also won’t suffer any losses. Do you feel better this way?” asked the Archaionfiend.

“If only it’s that simple,” replied Lin Xiaoxiao.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s that simple.”

……

The Archaion Sect was busy preparing for the Number One Summit. It was a grand event in the Flameyellow continent, and the eight divine realms’ powerhouses would all come. It was a competition between the geniuses of the nine divine realms.

But it had nothing to do with Tianming. He was busy over the next few days with his cultivation divided into four parts. The first was making use of the Old Deepstar Path and spiritual energy spring to increase his cultivation, the second was cultivating the Ancient Deepstar Godbody every day in the Deepstar Pool, the third was spending two hours in the Heaven Cauldron absorbing tribulation sword ki to temper the Tribulation Sword Body, and the fourth was training the Hexapath Samsara Sword in the Hexapath Sword Palace and visiting with Feiling.

As time passed, the Ancient Deepstar Godbody gradually took form, and he gradually made it deeper into the Heaven Cauldron. He could already see the depths. It looked like a Tribulation Pattern Oasis, or a forest. But he still couldn’t get a more precise look at it.

“Almost there….” Tianming could feel his physique strengthening when he cultivated the Ancient Deepstar Godbody. Fifteen days passed in the blink of an eye, and Tianming had maintained the speed of fusing four astralsources a day. This meant that he had fused with a total of sixty astralsources over the last fifteen days, separated into four elements. It was comparable to what others would take three months to absorb.

“If I focused on astralsources of one element, I’d be able to refine ten a day and I’d have already fused with a hundred and fifty. On the other hand, Xuanyuan Yuheng probably only managed to fuse about three hundred in the year he was here.” Tianming knew how fast he was.

“I’ll probably be able to reach the bottom of the Heaven Cauldron after refining about one or two hundred astralsources.” That wouldn’t take too long if he carried on at his current pace. “I should be just in time for the Number One Summit.”

The first thing Tianming did every day was absorb Astral Wills in the Old Deepstar Path, then he absorbed four astralsources four hours later when the Deepstar Pool opened up. He had been repeating that cycle over and over. On the fifteenth day, Tianming directly made his breakthrough to the sixth level of the Empyrean Saint stage in the Old Deepstar Path.

“This should give me a higher authority among the Heaven Branch disciples. I wonder if I’ll be able to partake in the Number One Summit? After all, it’ll be helpful if I can spar with the continent’s geniuses.”

When Tianming finished fusing with the astralsources that day, Xuanyuan Muxue was already waiting outside the Old Deepstar Path. Looking at her, Tianming asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Isn’t it obvious? How many astralsources did you fuse?” Xuanyuan Muxue asked.

“Sixty,” said Tianming.

“Why don’t you say sixty thousand instead?” Xuanyuan Muxue had already expected that Tianming would boast.

“I’m serious. How many did you fuse with?”

“Seventeen,” said Xuanyuan Muxue with confidence.

“You don’t believe it? Why don’t we prove it then? Let’s wrestle using our physical strength,” said Tianming.

“Sure. Why should I be afraid of you? But you have to admit your loss if you lose!” Xuanyuan Muxue said.

“Admit it?” Right at that moment, there were many Heaven Branch disciples in the surroundings. Tianming greeted everyone and explained what was going on, and everyone became excited when they heard him. At least twenty people stood out as witnesses.

“I guarantee that I’ll proclaim myself as ‘this servant’ whenever I meet her if I lose. Muxue, what about you?”

Xuanyuan Muxue already panicked a little when she saw Tianming’s confidence. “I’m not playing anymore!”

“Don’t go. Muxue, it doesn’t hurt to call me daddy.”

Everyone laughed.

In the end, Xuanyuan Muxue couldn’t take it anymore. She turned around and asked, “You’re not trying to bluff, right? I clearly witnessed you trying to fuse with astralsources of different elements.”

“Then did you see how fast I was refining them?” Tianming questioned. “Go on. Don’t cower.”

Tianming crushed Xuanyuan Muxue under the eyes of everyone. A crack even sounded from Xuanyuan Muxue’s hand, and her face was pale from the pain.

“Honor your bet,” said Tianming.

“Screw your daddy!” Xuanyuan Muxue yelled before she ran off.

Her response made everyone laugh, and even Tianming was amused. He had good relations with others in the Heaven Branch. Honestly speaking, he was just trying to see how powerful his Ancient Deepstar Godbody was.

Everything was just as he had expected. His physique was a lot stronger than Xuanyuan Muxue, who had only fused with seventeen astralsources and had the Frostsnow Draconian Physique.

While Tianming was chatting with other Heaven Branch disciples, he didn’t see how Xuanyuan Yuheng turned away with gloomy eyes.

……

When Tianming came out of the Old Deepstar Path, he headed straight to the Heaven Cauldron. When he gave it another try, he discovered that he was only slightly away from the Tribulation Pattern Oasis. “It’ll probably take another fifteen days.”

As he came up, he saw Ouyang Jianwang looking at him with a smile. Ouyang Jianwang started reciting a poem, “Two orioles meet, and you’re the dog if you don’t treat me to wine.”

“A flower among the flowerbed, and you’re the bastard who dares to insult me.” Tianming refuted, which made Ouyang Jianwang furious.

“As the cloud scorched high in the sky with the wind blowing, who do I fear in terms of fighting?”

“As the river surged and rolled, come and fight then if you’re unhappy!”

“Not bad. You made improvements.” Ouyang Jianwang clapped.

“I’ve been practicing for today,” said Tianming.

“Not bad.” Ouyang Jianwang smiled, then continued, “There’s news from the Tribulation Peak. I’ll bring you over right now and let you feast your eyes upon the Archaionfiend Eye!”

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