Chapter 2535 - Rex Mundi's Children
There were no other opponents for Tianming in Gladeus apart from the ebons who had run and were hiding underground. As such, Skyhold Bridge and the Skydome Battlefield were crucial places to temper his abilities. Skyhold Bridge, especially, was a constant source of temptation to him as it was the key to reaching the most powerful divine wonder. Now that he had breakthroughs, he decided to risk one year of not being allowed to cultivate with divine wonderian foundation caeli for a challenge. But if he won, he would be able to progress and gain ten more years of cultivation time.
The most rational thing to do would have been to wait nine years before making the next challenge, but he wasn't one to shy away from a fight, especially one with high stakes that would make it even more exciting. Fighting in the Skydome Battlefield just didn't feel the same as wins or losses didn't really matter.
His own progress wasn't the only source of his confidence, naturally. Feiling was an eighth-astral orderan, while Xiaoxiao was a ninth-astral orderan. In the past three years, Feiling made many breakthroughs and recovered her stability quickly, rising up two levels. Xiaoxiao, however, 'only' managed one level due to the instability of her caeli consumption. Though, she did say that she was not far off from reaching the tenth level of the Order stage. Just as Tianming thought he had been progressing quickly, hearing about theirs humbled him greatly once more. Fortunately, it seemed that his simulacrum would be the crux of their might this time around.
"I hope we'll be able to run into similarly powerful opponents to train those two even more." Feiling and Xiaoxiao's combat experience was definitely among the lowest among those in Skyhold Bridge, which couldn't be helped since Tianming did most of the fighting.
Apart from their progress, Moran also finally made it to the Stellaminoris stage thanks to an abundance of the best cultivation resources in Gladeus. While that was nothing compared to Tianming and the others, she was still moved by the progress she had made. Her own astralforce still wasn't capable of supporting her divine wonders to the full extent, it was better than before. She was able to ignite her divine wonders and get them to 'burn' slightly.
"Little Fish, wait for our good news!" After Feiling and Xiaoxiao said their byes to Moran, they joined Tianming in the wondersky realm.
So far, Tianming received no news about Qingyu from the wondersky realm, but he was already used to it. He went to Natal Hall, and then straight to Starting City. With a flash of light, they arrived at their destination.
"Big Brother, over here!" Feiling waved to Tianming on a snowy street ahead. The winds caused her dress to flutter. Her refreshing smile and graceful posture soon drew the eyes of many elites in Starting City.
Tianming noticed that those 'geniuses' under two thousand years old in the Skydome Mundus liked to hang around at Skyhold Bridge for no good reason. Perhaps that was how they socialized.
Starting City resembled the Divine Moon Realm and Violetglory, two tranquil, picturesque places that were amazing for gatherings of all kinds. The Infinitum Mundus, on the other hand, was ill suited for that purpose, whether it be Gladeus or Ebonia. The residents there were focused on hard cultivation without sparing much time for elegance or culture.
So far, the folks in Starting City merely looked at them from afar without reaching out. It was all part of a calculated ploy. Before they knew Tianming's identity well, they refrained from befriending or offending him all the same. The constant stares, however, didn't help Tianming, Feiling, and Xiaoxiao loosen up. Though, Tianming had gotten used to this weird atmosphere after spending years here.
"I think the weirdness sort of started when I refused Fengqing Yin's banquet invitation…." Even without Tianming trying to find out about it, he had heard enough rumors around the streets to have a rough idea of Fengqing Yin's identity. Fengqing Yin, more precisely, Fengqing Yinguang and Fengqing Yinye, were the children of the rex mundi of the Skydome Mundus. In terms of status, that was superior to Shenxi Shang and Shenxi Yao's. Shenxi Xingtian was no longer the first rex mundi, after all.
It was said that the rex mundi pair of the Skydome Mundus already had seven to eight generations of descendants, a large number to be sure. They were both young and from an incredibly prestigious line, not that it mattered in light of how Tianming had killed someone of almost equivalent status, namely, Shenxi Shang.
What he didn't expect, however, was that Feiling and Xiaoxiao would run into a large group of noisy people when they were heading towards Skyhold Bridge excitedly. It was almost a direct confrontation. Tianming didn't clearly see who they were, but he hazarded a guess that they were not of low status. So, Tianming made way for them to pass.
What he didn't expect was that they would quiet down and stop in front of him after they recognized him. Odd smirks could be seen on their faces. Tianming looked around and saw a young man and woman in the midst of those infinitum-class geniuses. The man was handsome while the woman was enchanting. In terms of looks, they were definitely among the best in the entire mundus. Every single detail on their bodies seemed to be chiseled to perfection.
Divine wonderians shared the common trait of being so beautiful that it was hard to distinguish males from females. This couple seemed to embody this trait to the extreme. The young man had rare white hair and eyes, while his skin glowed snow white. There didn't seem to be a speck of color on his otherwise perfectly fair skin. The girl, on the other hand, was riding on his back with both arms around his neck. They seemed to be messing around. She had black hair and eyes, but skin just as fair. Her countenance and figure didn't look too different from the guy's. It was as if they were identical twins aside from their sex. The combination of white and black seemed to balance each other out perfectly.
It didn't take Tianming much brainstorming to know that they were Fengqing Yin. The fact that they share one name is merely a technicality that allows divine wonderian pairs to be counted as one person. How sneaky.
Tianming also noticed a familiar face in the crowd: Fu Yan, the hallowed shamaness. As she had almost equivalent status, she stood incredibly close to Fengqing Yin. Tianming noted that the information window atop her head listed her as an eighth-astral orderan. She had made a breakthrough after losing to Tianming. Someone of her level who reached the hexagonal forbidden zone phase with tertiary simulacrum at the age of a hundred and sixty definitely deserved to stand among the elite.
Yet, Tianming still wasn't too interested in them, so he tried to circle around them. Before he could walk far, however, Fengqing Yinye's seductive voice called out to him. "Li Tianming."