Beastmaster of the Ages

Lin Xiaoxiao’s Electric Twined Shot was an intermediate source-ranked battle art. Its power was formidable on its own, and it would be further boosted when used together with the Roaring Thunder Bow and the Luminous Lightning Arrow. This was precisely why Lin Xiaoxiao was famous for this killer move of hers!

Lin Xiaoxiao was smart. She had the Vajra Berserk Ape, a melee-ranged berserker-type beast to confront the enemy up front, while the Tri-Coloured Darkthunder Bird would distract the enemy with flanks and sudden attacks. Because of that, she could use ranged weapons like a bow to safely deal damage from a distance. The arrow was deadly to a tee, and if it wasn’t because she detested perverts like Li Tianming, she wouldn’t have aimed at his chest.

Like lightning, the killing flash streaked towards Li Tianming. The sheer speed of the Luminous Lightning Arrow was sufficient to elicit compliments from the onlookers. It was clear that Lin Xiaoxiao was far stronger than Li Shufan or Chen Yao, and she could probably even defeat opponents of the fourth level Spiritsource. Facing such a terrifying opponent, no one would be surprised if Li Tianming was defeated immediately.

A sharp screech pierced through the stadium, and Li Tianming skidded backwards, having taken the blow head on.

“Is he dead?” It wasn’t that hard to imagine Li Tianming getting pierced through the heart and dying in that one shot.

“Not yet!”

But an incredible sight greeted them. The Luminous Lightning Arrow had been blocked by Li Tianming, the deadly projectile clutched in his left hand!

In fact, he had reacted calmly, reaching out and catching the arrow without any fluster. Even though the impact of the arrow had knocked him back, the arrow didn’t even get to touch his torso.

“No way!” Lin Xiaoxiao was stunned by that result. She was clear of the speed and power behind that shot, and catching that would qualify as a miracle. On top of that, the arrow was covered with spikes, and anyone other than her who attempted to even hold it would have his or her palm ripped open by those thorns.

But she didn’t know that Li Tianming’s left hand was invulnerable. Those spikes on her vaunted arrow were useless against it.

She wasn’t alone in asking that, however. Even some of the strongest cultivators in the stadium had the same query as Lin Xiaoxiao. How did he catch that arrow bare handed?

“Come back!” Using the Roaring Thunder Bow, Lin Xiaoxiao guided the arrow back towards her. Yin and yang-type lightning were opposites that attract, and she used that particular property to pull the arrow back to her.

The power from the attraction was almost about to pull the arrow out of Li Tianming’s hands. But what she didn’t expect was that Li Tianming had grabbed on tight to the arrow, lifting his feet off the ground.

The Luminous Lightning Arrow zipped back to her, dragging a stray Li Tianming along with it. The speed of the returning arrow even allowed him to dodge the bird and the ape’s attack!

Having realised that their targets were escaping from them, the two lifebound beasts turned back to chase Li Tianming.

“You go deal with that bird,” said Li Tianming.

The little chick raised an eyebrow. “You sure you can fight the two of them?”

“Watch.” Li Tianming tossed it out into the air, so as to let it take on the bird for him. Life would be much easier for him when he didn’t have to worry about attacks from above.

Li Tianming had his eyes on Lin Xiaoxiao. The Vajra Berserk Ape was fast, golden bolts running through its furs. But when Li Tianming used the Confounding Mirage Walk, he could easily confuse the ape.

“Return me my arrow!” Lin Xiaoxiao was clearly unhappy, her still chubby face blushing red with anger.

“Here you go.” Li Tianming was quite close to the girl already, as he held the Luminous Lightning Arrow with both hands and exerted force using his left. The arrow was pretty thin, and he wanted to test how strong a grade four beastial weapon was.

With a crack that tugged at one’s heartstrings, the Luminous Lightning Arrow snapped into two on the spot!

What kind of monstrous strength did it take to break a grade four weapon with his bare-hands? Sure, the arrow was pretty thin, but that didn’t make this feat any less astounding.

At that sight, Lin Xiaoxiao’s eyes teared up, ready to fall anytime.

“This was a birthday gift from my elder brother!” If her feelings towards Li Tianming just now was just aversion, it had changed completely to hatred. It was her beloved weapon, and Li Tianming had returned it to her in two pieces.

“Don’t cry, I’ll get you another one next time.” Li Tianming could feel his eye twitching. The girl had started crying in the middle of such an intense battle, and he had no idea what to do about it.

“It’s not the same.” Lin Xiaoxiao wiped her tears. She knew that Li Tianming had no idea how important that Luminous Lightning Arrow was to her, but the biting chill in her eyes intensified anyway.

For those who knew Lin Xiaoxiao better, they recognised her enraged stance at once. This was a prelude to her foes’ nightmare.

“Hoo boy, Li Tianming touched Xiaoxiao’s reverse scale. He’s doomed for sure.”

“Xiaoxiao generally doesn’t injure others too much, but this time, that’s not gonna be the case.”

While the discussion carried on in the Stadium, the Vajra Berserk Ape and the Tri-Coloured Darkthunder Bird had both sensed their master’s fury. The bird was battling the little chick, while the ape was still looking for every opportunity to pounce onto Li Tianming. The ape’s berserker strength would devastate him utterly, should it land a direct hit.

“Li Tianming must still be proud to break the arrow. If he thought Xiaoxiao only knew archery, then he would make a costly mistake.”

“That’s right, as compared to bow and arrows, Xiaoxiao is actually stronger in terms of melee combat. Don’t forget that she has the berserker strength of her Vajra Berserk Ape as well.”

As the audience spoke, Lin Xiaoxiao produced a new beastial weapon. It was a battleaxe that contradicted the aesthetics her image and size created. The battleaxe was gigantic and imposing, its bluish purple body like a dragon with electricity flowing across its body. It was the Voltaic Dragon Battleaxe! It was one of the standard weapons in the Lightning Manor, a hand-me-down from her brother. It was with this battleaxe that he conquered the talents of his time during the ranking test and became the prime disciple. And now, it was in Lin Xiaoxiao’s hands.

Although there was something incongruous about a huge battleaxe being used by a petite girl, no one would be stupid enough to doubt her right and her ability to wield it. Furthermore, by her side was the Vajra Berserk Ape.

Every second was critical in combat, and the two flying beasts were having their own battle in mid-air, unable to provide any aerial support. On the ground, Lin Xiaoxiao and her ape had leaped up at the same time, the two of them closing in on Li Tianming.

“Lin Xiaoxiao knows an advanced source-rank battle art known as the Sky-Ripping Three Strikes, and both her lifebound beasts could use the beastial counterpart too. Li Tianming can’t possibly deal with that.”

As expected, the tiny Lin Xiaoxiao leaped through the air with the gigantic battleaxe, striking from above! Powered by her formidable beast ki, the battleaxe tore through the air, drawing a downwards trajectory towards Li Tianming!

The Vajra Berserk Ape with the Sky-tearing Three Claws was equally scary. Li Tianming was unaware, but the beast had already used its spiritsource ability, the Vajra Stance. It made the ape’s fur and muscles stronger than steel, rendering it practically indestructible to normal methods.

Against the two foes, Li Tianming had only the Thunderfire Chain, a miserable grade three weapon nowhere as threatening as the Voltaic Dragon Battleaxe. But Li Tianming was calm as the sea. His fighting spirit burned stronger than ever, especially since Mu Qingqing was spectating his battle. If he admitted defeat today, how could he gather his will to face even stronger opponents? To become the prime disciple was only a means to an end, and Li Tianming’s real goal for returning to Ignispolis was to take revenge and take back what he had lost! He had already met Mu Qingqing today, and he was finally back on the same playing field as his archenemies, even more qualified than he was three years ago. Vengeance... was it still far away?

He had already prepared himself for Lin Xiaoxiao’s attacks. Other than the Aeternal Infernal Beast Ki from his infernal source, Li Tianming had many other trump cards, like the black arm or the Bewildering Eye on his palm.

After some trial and error, he found that the Bewildering Eye was way more effective on lifebound beasts or wildbeasts. This was because beasts usually had weaker mental defences, as compared to beastmasters.

The Vajra Berserk Ape was already in front of Li Tianming, while Lin Xiaoxiao was still in mid-air, having just leapt from her original position.

To be fair, her moves were clean, but that wasn’t enough to win her the battle!

“Can the Vajra Berserk Ape take on my seduction?” Li Tianming grinned. The Bewildering Eye might be a dirty trick, but it was just too useful!

As the ape’s claw was about to reach Li Tianming, his left palm suddenly opened up. The ape was greeted by a creepy red eye in the center of his palm. Activated by his beast ki, the effects of the Bewildering Eye struck the ape. Having spent time to master the technique, the results showed immediately.

With a roar, the Vajra Berserk Ape almost stopped in its tracks, its attack dissolving instantly due to its lack of focus.

“Don’t you move!” The next moment, the Thunderfire Chain wound around the ape, and its neck in particular.

“Come here!” With a mighty heave, Li Tianming pulled the Vajra Berserk Ape’s colossal body towards his position.

This had all happened in a single second, and Lin Xiaoxiao had no idea why her ape would freeze up on the spot, allowing itself to be hit by the chain. Before she could react, Li Tianming had already jerked the body of the ape between the two of them!

All this time, she was still in mid-air, and it was too late for her to change the course of her attack. Her target had changed from Li Tianming to her own lifebound beast!

The Voltaic Dragon Battleaxe was a powerful weapon, but its drawback was its inflexibility. Once she had launched an attack, it would be difficult to change course, and attempting to do that could even harm herself in the process. But Lin Xiaoxiao had no choice. She had yet to master the berserker style of battling completely, and could only try her best to divert the direction of her battleaxe.

“Despicable!” She had no wherewithal to speak, however, and her scream never came out fully. Despite her best efforts, the Voltaic Dragon Battleaxe still landed a direct hit on the ape’s back. Even while it was in Vajra Stance, the strike still managed to tear open a bloody gash on its body!

The aped roared loudly in pain as blood spurted out from the wound, painting its golden fur a bloody red. Had Lin Xiaoxiao not tried to control the force of the axe, it would have been decapitated.