Chapter 183 - Are You Impressed Now? (1/2)
Li Tianming turned to look at Wei Jing. He would be embarking on his own journey now, and of course the one he was worried for the most was his mother. That was also why he wished to seek her opinion before leaving.
It would be a hard decision for any mother to send her own son into a new world filled with unimaginable risks and danger. But for Wei Jing, she simply gave him a thumbs up, and he immediately understood. She wanted him to make his own decision and follow his own heart.
Because of the rigging of the Abyssal Trials and the Sanctum Replacement Challenge, Li Tianming really didn’t have the best impression of Heaven’s Elysium. But then again, that might have just been because of the two vice-inspectors. He couldn’t tell what kind of a place the Elysium truly was simply by observing them.
On top of that, he didn’t have anywhere else to go. Every beastmaster in Vermilion Bird dreamt of stepping out of the nation to explore the world beyond, and Li Tianming was no exception. After overcoming the obstacle named Lin Xiaoting, he wanted to try out new challenges and interact with more powerful figures. For that to happen, Li Tianming would have to set aside his personal grudges with the two inspectors and replace Lin Xiaoting to become the new Elysium disciple.
This wouldn’t even have been an option while he was still causing trouble for the Elysium, but now the inspectors themselves had personally expressed interest in him. If he were to reject them now, it could even be a sign of disrespect and create another rift between them.
“That’s right, Li Tianming, join Heaven’s Elysium. That’s where a genius like you belongs!” Even the crowd was cheering him on.
Li Tianming barely hesitated. He looked at the inspectors and said, “But inspectors, what if I prefer to keep my own name?”
Both Jin Yixuan and Song Yixue smiled.
“Then ‘Li Tianming’ shall be the new disciple of Heaven’s Elysium!”
It was a deal! Li Tianming’s future was set to be a challenging, yet rewarding one.
“That’s the spirit. We’ll give you some time to bid farewell to your family. Three days from now, we’ll come and pick you up, then you’ll get to explore the vast world beyond Vermilion Bird!” For the inspectors, that was still an acceptable level of change to their plan. They were set to spend another three days in Aquamarine, anyway.
“Yes sir.”
After Li Tianming nodded, the two inspectors took their leave with the Yueling Clan tailing behind them.
“Yueling Ji,” Song Yixue called out to the slightly dazed girl.
“Yes, Madam inspector?” Yueling Ji replied.
“This Li Tianming is not too bad. Now that you’re both going to Heaven’s Elysium, it won’t hurt to make a good friend. Perhaps even more.” Song Yixue smiled gently.
“Understood.” Yueling Ji had been wholeheartedly convinced by him during their battle.
“Thankfully, there was nothing between you and Lin Xiaoting. Guess that Gelding Blight did a good deed,” Song Yixue added.
“Yes, madam inspector.” Yueling Ji suddenly recalled something else. “But from what I heard, Li Tianming already has a lover—the daughter of the Vermilion Bird King.”
“He will forget about that good-for-nothing girl soon. Worst case scenario, you’ll just need to erase her.”
“Understood.”
“I wonder if Lady Long is done with her vacation yet,” Jin Yixuan spoke up.
“She’s probably at Aquamarine now. I reckon she’ll like that country, since it has really good scenery and their sanctum is positioned on an island. Aquamarine is quite a peaceful place, and would make a good home for the Yueling Clan.”
“Sorry for troubling the two inspectors, and using up another three precious days of your time,” Yueling Hong immediately apologized.
“Doesn’t matter, we’ll just take it as a road trip.”
With that, the group stepped out of the stadium, leaving tens of thousands of citizens staring at Li Tianming in envy. Only Lightning Manor was still moaning and crying for their loss. When the inspectors expressed interest in Li Tianming, they knew that all was lost for the Lightning Manor.
“Back, back!” the Lightning Seigneur commanded, puking out more blood. Only the weak and old remained in the group, and they faced countless jeers and laughter from the crowd.
Lightning Manor had finally gotten a taste of their own medicine. In a world where strength was beyond all, they had no other choice but to face cruel reality. From now on, Lightning Manor was no more, and Li Tianming and Mu Yang were destined to be the peak of Vermilion Bird!
……
There were many others in the stadium who were deeply absorbed in their own thoughts, one of them being Li Yanfeng, hidden beneath his black cloak. He stood in a corner of the stadium, his fist repeatedly clenching and unclenching. Finally, he let out a bark of laughter.
“d.a.m.n straight, Li Tianming. I have never been this impressed with someone before, and never would I have imagined it would be the ‘son’ I never cared about. It’s too bad I chose the Lightning Manor, and there was never any kins.h.i.+p between us. Even though you treated me like a real father for sixteen years of your life, I never gave anything to you.
“It was my mistake to choose the Lightning Manor. Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are way more heartless than I thought. Even though I was just using them for my own benefit, and they were using me for theirs, I won’t rest until I make that b.a.s.t.a.r.d pay!
“I hope that before you leave Ignispolis, you’ll hear one more tale about me….” Li Yanfeng silently left the stadium, trailing behind the remnants of the Lightning Manor. No one knew that he had returned on the third day, that he was impressed by Li Tianming just like everyone else, or that he was filled with regret then and there. Of course, no one would notice him leaving, either, as most people were still cheering the young man who returned to his family a hero.