It was late in the night and stars were shimmering in the dark sky.
Sky Mountains was veiled with an air of mystery as if a dragon was entrenched under the night sky. At this time, all of Sky Cloud Sect's Warriors were either deep in cultivation or slumber.
It was peaceful around the waterhole until ripples appeared in the waters and out dashed a figure.
"I'm finally out."
The figure landed by the waterhole. He scanned his surroundings before he curled his lips to a faint smile.
After Li Lingtian left Fire Dragon Cave, he dived down the waterhole and kept swimming. The pathway in the waterhole was similar to the passageway and after two whole hours, he finally arrived.
He took a look around before he moved swiftly, making a dash towards his residence.
This waterhole was the region of the peripheral disciples, so he made it back to his room in less than five minutes. It was a single cultivation room.
Although he was a peripheral disciple, he had quite the background. He was the only son of Sky Dragon Empire's Nobleman Pingbei, which made him an aristocrat of the Sky Dragon Empire.
In the Sky Dragon Empire, be it the prince, princess, or aristocrats, were required to get an apprenticeship in a sect to cultivate, and Li Lingtian was no exception. If they did not advance to Warrior by the age of fifteen, they would be sent back to their families.
Soon, Li Lingtian returned to his residence. He was originally a Fire-path Warrior Soul Warrior but he was now a Tier Three Warrior. With his powerful abilities, his dripping wet clothes were soon dried off with his True Qi.
Sitting inside his room with his legs crossed, he circulated the Heaven and Earth Reincarnation to absorb the spiritual Qi in the air before he converted it into True Qi in his Dantian.
He used to cultivate Fire-path True Qi, which absorbed spiritual Qi that was of fire element while eliminating the spiritual Qi of other attributes. Now with the Heaven and Earth Reincarnation, he could absorb both water and fire attributes. Compared to other Warriors, the amount and variety of spiritual Qi were naturally doubled.
"Flaming Divine Fist."
After an hour of cultivation, he left the room and arrived at an empty space behind his residence. It was late at night so the other disciples were in deep sleep. There would not be anyone around at such a time.
He swiftly demonstrated the Flaming Divine Fist he cultivated. For a moment, the air was filled with such a devouring force of scorching heat, it was as though the air could be lit on fire.
"Wham!"
Pouring a stream powerful Tier Three Warrior's True Qi onto his arm, he smashed a heavy Flaming Divine Fist onto a boulder with a loud bang. The 3-foot boulder was smashed to smithereens.
"A Tier Three Warrior's Flaming Divine Fist is incomparable to any other Warrior. I doubt a Tier Four Warrior can handle this.
"Huh, has Flaming Divine Fist reached its peak?"
Li Lingtian let out a faint smile at the sight of the smashed boulder but he immediately felt that there was something amiss. His Flaming Divine Fist was only an Amber level inferior skill. In other words, it was the worst skill yet it could produce such strength.
Apart from cultivating this skill to the fullest, he had become well adapted to this world after the memory and soul had perfectly integrated.
This world was called the Divine Martial Continent. Sky Cloud Sect was only one sect within many others in the Sky Dragon Empire. The Divine Martial Continent adhered to the survival of the fittest and only the fittest deserved wealth, money, and women.
In the Divine Martial Continent, it was not only an individual's Warrior Soul that decided the fate of who was the fittest, but there were also skills, techniques, pills, and weapons.
If he were to take a metaphor from his past life, a Warrior Soul and talent was a gun while skills were bullets. Only a high cultivation level could bring these skills to full play.
Skills were divided into Amber, Onyx, Earth, Heaven, Sacred, and Divine level, with each level differentiated into inferior, moderate, or superior.
Most sects had only managed to get their hands on Amber and Onyx level skills in the Divine Martial Continent. It had been several centuries since an Earth level skill had made an appearance while Heaven level skill techniques were merely a legend.
Regardless of the skill, cultivation was required to drive its force. The degree of force consisted of Completion, Fruition, Summit, and Conception.
A regular genius could only cultivate the skill to Fruition, and Summit was out of the question, let alone Conception. Conception would only happen when one outdid themselves by evolving the original force; it was an abnormal existence.
Flaming Divine Fist was the most common Amber level inferior skill in Sky Cloud Sect of which peripheral disciples were allowed to cultivate. Li Lingtian, as a Fire-path Warrior Soul had cultivated several years just to achieve Fruition and this was because he became a Tier Ten Warrior Apprentice by the age of fourteen. More so, it was by achieving Fruition in his Flaming Divine Fist that had earned him the reputation as a genius.
It had never crossed his mind that after the merging of their souls, paired together with his past's twenty-first century wisdom, he was able to master the skill at first glance.
"Flaming Divine Fist in Summit may not live up to the force of an Amber level superior skill but they do not differ much in comparison. I'm already a Warrior but entering the outer sect isn't my goal. Humph! Geniuses of the inner sect, just you wait!"
...
It was early the next day when Li Lingtian got up. He could feel the energy running through his veins and he was in great spirits. He could not keep down the faint smile on his face.
As he took a steady pace toward the training ground, countless disciples sneered and scorned at the sight of Li Lingtian. This once genius would never be a Warrior.
"Hehe, if it isn't Senior Brother Li, are you going to cultivate today?"
"Haha, Senior Brother Li, although you've been cultivating in Fire Dragon Cave daily, don't even think about breaking through to the Warrior state. It's best you return to the Li family to spend the rest of your life."
"Zhang Luo, aren't you a Tier Eight Warrior Apprentice? Don't you know that Senior Brother Li is a Tier Ten peak Warrior Apprentice?"
"Haha, I may be a Tier Eight Warrior Apprentice but I can still be a Warrior. It's far better than someone who will always be stuck as a Warrior Apprentice."
Those who used to follow behind Li Lingtian mocked him with disdain. When Li Lingtian was formerly a genius, they used to hover around him like a lackey to earn his favor. Yet, now that he was a good-for-nothing, they could not resist the chance to hit him.
"Are you going to catch a shriveling disease if you don't open your mouth? Get lost!"
Smiling faintly, Li Lingtian gazed at these Tier Eight Warrior Apprentice disciples as though they were monkeys doing tricks. Following a shout, he glared at these Warrior Apprentices with cold eyes.
"You, you..."
These Warrior Apprentices were taken aback with fear at Li Lingtian's cold gaze.
A skinny camel still triumphed over a horse; even if he went from a genius to a good-for-nothing, he still reigned prominence over them. Not to mention that he was now a Tier Three Warrior and these Warrior Apprentices were nothing against him.
Li Lingtian was about to head straight to the training ground when a cold taunting voice stopped him in his tracks. A murderous intent surged within him.
"Li Lingtian, you're not dead?"
It was a cold voice but it carried a hint of shock. He had personally knocked Li Lingtian down the Fire Dragon Cave five days ago, yet here he was, unscathed. It was fairly unusual.
"You must be surprised that I'm not dead, right? I bet you never expected it. I don't know whether to thank you or hold a grudge against you."
Li Lingtian turned around to glance at the Warrior with piercing eyes. Yang Tianfeng who was a Tier Four peak Warrior was the person who shot Yang Xiangguang and him down the bottomless flaming abyss with his fist force five days ago.
He would never forget this voice and looks even if he turned to ashes. As a man who died twice, Li Lingtian was not going to allow any threat to appear before him. Instead, he was going to nip the threat in its bud.
During that time, more disciples came over and encircled Li Lingtian and Yang Tianfeng with curiosity.
As an outer sect disciple and Tier Four Warrior, Yang Tianfeng often threw his weight around the peripheral disciples, so there was barely anyone who did not recognize him. It seemed that these peripheral disciples had found gratification in Yang Tianfeng picking a fight with Li Lingtian.
"Since you're not dead, I'll cripple you today."
Yang Tianfeng was dumbfounded by Li Lingtian's calmness and he felt a tightness in his chest. How could a piece of trash that could never be a Warrior carry himself with ease?
Upon recalling his plot against Yang Xiangguang and Li Lingtian, he was filled with killing intent. It was against the rules to get involved in scuffles and slaughters among fellow disciples in Sky Cloud Sect. He would not see the end of it If Li Lingtian were to inform the higher-ups.
He would only be safe if he crippled Li Lingtian, which would then force him to be sent out of the sect.
"Oh really? I would've dragged you out anyway if you didn't come to find me today."
Li Lingtian said in a calm demeanor before he walked towards the training ground, ignoring Yang Tianfeng completely. The other disciples were amazed to see how Li Lingtian carried himself.
For him to be arrogant in front of a Tier Four Warrior was like knocking on death's door, because a Tier Ten Warrior Apprentice would not survive a Warrior's single move.
"You think you can leave?"
Noticing Li Lingtian walking away, Yang Tianfeng came in Li Lingtian's way in a flash. The killing intent was apparent on his scornful face.
"Don't you want to cripple me? I'm fulfilling your wish."
Li Lingtian pointed at the platform in the middle of the training ground. The sixteen feet high and a thousand square feet platform was made especially for matches between disciples.
This training platform served another purpose and it was to allow fights between disciples who held grudges. Similar to the Life or Death Canyon in the outer sect, it was not against the sect's rules if the fight happened on the platform.
After saying those words, he ignored Yang Tianfeng and walked steadily towards the training platform, leaving behind the disciples with their jaws dropped.
"He's courting death."
"I guess he doesn't want to live anymore?"
"It looks like the genius who can't ever become a Warrior has lost it."
"Isn't that challenging the authority of a Warrior?"
"Is he out of his mind?"
The disciples finally came back to their senses when Li Lingtian had made it up on the platform. They immediately gathered around the platform after noticing Li Lingtian was up there.
"I'll fulfill your wish to die then."
Yang Tianfeng was stunned to see Li Lingtian on the platform. Was this Li family's disciple really seeking his death?
Nevertheless, something did not sit well with him. This Li Lingtian gave out a different vibe and he felt threatened by that.
However, his thoughts were reeled back to the fact that Li Lingtian was only a Warrior Apprentice while he was a Tier Four Warrior genius that could eliminate him with a smack. It was a rare opportunity to cripple Li Lingtian. His cousin would be elated and he, of course, would reap the benefits.
For a moment, more than a hundred disciples looked on with disdain, gloat, apathy, and mockery. Sympathy was the only sentiment they did not have for Li Lingtian who was on the platform.
"Isn't this blatant provocation?"
"It's still an honor if he dies. He challenged a Tier Four Warrior genius after all."
"I heard Senior Brother Yang Tianfeng is at Tier Four peak."
"He has attained an Amber level moderate Massive Tear Palm. He can even fight a Tier Five master."
"Can you guess, how long will trash Li last?"
"I'm guessing, three seconds."
"I guess two seconds."
"I say, instant kill. A Tier Four Warrior who has mastered an Amber level moderate Massive Tear Palm would cripple a Warrior, let alone a Warrior Apprentice in a single move."
"..."
The disciples started to place bets to see how long Li Lingtian would last on the platform.
Still, Li Lingtian smiled calmly as he concealed his murderous intent within. Yang Tianfeng must be cripple. After all, this Tier Four Warrior stood no chance against his Divine Flaming Fist.
"Humph, don't blame me for knocking at death's door."
Yang Tianfeng was overwhelmed with anger. How dare a useless Warrior Apprentice challenged him? What would be made of him if he showed his face amongst the outer sect seniors?
"Are you just full of sh*t? If bullsh*t works, you'll reign supreme in this world."
Li Lingtian looked down his nose at Yang Tianfeng. A warrior who could not keep his cool during a battle would not amount to anything.
"Haha, haha."
"Haha."
"Hehe..."
Laughter roared beneath the platform. Although they thought nothing much of Li Lingtian, he still had the guts to humiliate a Tier Four master. It was a rare sight indeed.
However, at the sight of Yang Tianfeng's furious cold eyes, they immediately shut their trap before getting the worst of it.
"Go to hell."
Yang Tianfeng blew his top. Without another thought, he circulated his Tier Four Warrior True Qi and suddenly, a tearing force expanded at the lift of his arm.
"Massive Tear Palm, die!"
The air was ripped apart by this force. This Amber level moderate skill and True Qi from a Tier Four peak Warrior shocked the disciples below.
They could feel this terrifying ripping force even though they were a distance away from the platform. The disciples would definitely be ripped apart if they were the ones against him.
The receding shadow of a ripping palm that carried a fierce pressure was slammed towards Li Lingtian. The velocity was so fast it could not be captured by the disciples' naked eye.
The disciples watched this palm with horror, as they could imagine Li Lingtian killed and crippled by this palm.
"Rumble."
Forces exploded on the platform amid sounds of dull crashes, and the powerful pressure blinded the disciples' eyes shut.