Chapter 3178 - Reluctant Admission
Yumo Yuanni was a dangerous person. He would no doubt want revenge right away, so Tianming immediately distanced himself and returned to Suishen Yao's side.
The pink-haired girl rushed toward him from a distance. Tianming saw a dreamy smile on her face. The way she looked at him was completely unlike when she treated him as a mere toy. He had fought for her glory and avenged someone she cared about. At the very least, he was now a toy she would be proud to call hers.
Compared to her, Suishen Zhao was already someone who treated Tianming like a true friend. The ways the siblings looked at him were still somewhat different. Either way, Tianming found the duel to be incredibly worth it, now that he had earned Suishen Zhao's true friendship. He was a reasonable person, at the end of the day, and Tianming had caught his eye.
"Very nice!" Suishen Zhao hugged Tianming before Suishen Yao could as everyone in the colosseum watched. He turned to look at Yumo Yuanni and relished the sight. "You really did completely toy with him...."
"I did my best to restore your honor," Tianming said with a reassuring smile.
"Thank you." Suishen Zhao gave him a deep look before turning to address the crowd. "This is my brother, Li Tianming! I believe everyone here has witnessed his capabilities. I believe that any sensible person who can push aside their prejudices would never be able to insult him ever again by calling him a tainted beastmaster to boost their own sense of ego."
Calling Tianming his brother showed how emotional he was feeling. Suishen Zhao was absolutely touched! Despite his youth, he continued passionately addressing all the cultivators of Myriadpath Valley.
"Many people will say that he's just a black ring disciple from an outer mundus, or that his lifebound beasts are problematic. Even though he’s achieved so much while being under a hundred years old, there are still those who slander his future potential without any proof. I know that many here still hold those laughable views, but I’ll tell you now that all of you are blind!"
The crowd still hadn't snapped out of the shock of seeing Yumo Yuanni defeated. They were indeed shocked by Tianming's combat experience and techniques, but there were those that still clung to the thought that his messed-up bloodline ensured that he would never reach the Foundation stage, let alone become a reverend or eminent.
Quite a lot of people were speechless at hearing Suishen Zhao’s words. However, there were still some who continued holding the opinion that Tianming's potential was limited. Seeing their gazes, Suishen Zhao struggled to hold in his laughter.
He pointed at Tianming and said, "There's something that I haven't told all of you. Since this is a good chance, I’ll make you understand!" Suishen Zhao had gotten a lot of attention after the vitality idol was cleared. While he was still young, his words held quite a bit of weight and everyone turned to look intently at him.
"Listen up!" Suishen Zhao paused, his voice agitated. "I’m in the same team as Tianming on the Prehistoric Path. I swear on my honor that I was not the one who cleared the vitality idol in thirty breaths—Li Tianming was!"
"What?!" An even bigger storm erupted once the truth was out. All of a sudden, Tianming defeating Yumo Yuanni no longer felt so important. Everyone had believed that Suishen Zhao was to be credited for the amazing achievement, yet he’d just sworn that Tianming, a black ring disciple looked down upon for being the lowest of the low and a tainted beastmaster, was the one who’d done it!
It was such a big turn of events that people couldn't believe it at all.
"Why would Suishen Zhao need to give his credit to someone else? It must be the truth!"
"If nobody from House Suishen comes out to shut him up, then it must be."
"Who can truly call someone who cleared the vitality idol in thirty breaths' time trash with no potential? That kind of comprehension’s better than even the monstrous geniuses of the Three Exalted Houses!"
It was the first time that Tianming's talent had ever shaken Myriadpath Valley. There were many people in the audience, all of them elites. All the myriadpath saints there were at least at the level of Mister Taihe. They might have their biases, but they weren't fools. The mocking looks of disdain slowly shifted into expressions of dumbfoundment. The ones who had stubbornly tried to put Tianming down felt like they’d just been slapped in the face.
The other disciples of Grandblue Palace who had lost their master were also there in the crowd. They were already shocked to see Tianming defeat Yumo Yuanni, and the revelation made them even more flabbergasted. "That brat...." Gongsun Yan's expression was complex. The death of Lan Yun was a huge blow to them. Grandblue Palace was being disbanded as a result, so they had lost their shelter. They didn't know how Lan Yun had died, but that didn't stop Gongsun Yan from directing his hatred at Tianming.
But when he realized that he was no match for Tianming, he felt rather torn about it. Since the time he had fought Tianming a decade ago, he hadn't improved even the slightest bit. But at the same time, he clearly saw Tianming improving by leaps and bounds. It was a sure sign of talent!
"That isn’t all," Suishen Zhao said, once more piquing people's curiosity. They all turned to look at Tianming oddly.
"Before the Prehistoric Path opened, I sparred with Tianming again and lost fair and square. But that isn’t the meat of it. In fact, he broke through a few days ago after we fought! What all of you don't know is that he had reached the condition for breakthrough thanks to the vitality idol! He only kept it quiet and chose to break through in private because he knew that doing so in public, given his humble status, would draw the wrong kind of attention!"
Shock piled upon shock in the Ascension Colosseum.
"What? Not only did he clear the vitality idol in that short time, his order also magnificently grew?"
"What kind of comprehension power is that...."
"This kind of talent definitely isn't something that’ll fall off in the future! Even in Myriadpath Valley, it’s still insane, right?"
They almost immediately changed their tune. Most people still had their prejudices against Tianming, but the average person's weren't that heavy. It was all being overturned by reluctant admission of his prowess.