Chapter 36: Duel of Flames
"The disciple is deeply flattered by your acknowledgment, senior."
Li Lingtian bowed respectfully at Tian He. One knew that they could never bear the consequence of offending this Warrior Ascendant Powerhouse, especially when he had a Fire-path Warrior Soul and a nasty temper.
"This disciple has a Flaming Sacred Body and is indeed envious of the senior's Heaven and Earth Conflagration skill, but as a disciple of the Sky Cloud Sect, I can't betray them."
"Can one still be a man of integrity if they betray their own sect?"
"If there ever was a disciple as such, he'd be nothing but bad news even if he was a genius. I wouldn't want to be such a person even if I had a low cultivation level."
Such words of integrity moved the hearts of every other warrior present. It was not easy for a Warrior to stand up to a Warrior Ascendant Powerhouse. Sects detested traitors in the Divine Martial Continent. If there was ever one present, orders will be given to pursue them to their deaths.
"Even so, the disciple is ever so intrigued by senior's Heaven and Earth Conflagration."
Li Lingtian spun the topic around and met Tian He's eyes unwaveringly.
"Having said all that, he is still tempted by the inferior skill. What a shame."
"How brazen."
"I thought he was a righteous man, but he turned out to be so shameless."
"..."
Numerous warriors despised Li Lingtian after they heard him. Anger grew among Sky Cloud Sect's disciples, but they dared not speak before Bai Yan and the elders did.
"Haha, f*ck off y'all. This is his choice, and a good one I'd say."
Tian He roared. His grin deepened as he looked around indifferently.
Silenced by fear, all the other warriors looked down, trying to avert their gaze. They all cursed Li Lingtian quietly for being so spineless and brazen.
Those scornful looks did not go unnoticed by Li Lingtian. He seemed calm and appeared to be unaffected.
"If senior has been cultivating the Heaven and Earth Conflagration skill, you should have quite some confidence in handling blazing flames."
Li Lingtian was making his own plans as he eyed Tian He. An Earth Tier inferior skill was exactly what he was looking for. He was still cultivating Flaming Divine Fist and had not found other suitable Fire-path skills. His ability would be brought to a whole new level if he got his hands on Heaven and Earth Conflagration.
"That's for sure. One with a Fire-path Warrior Soul is considered the strongest among the other warriors within the same tier. Even if I'm just a Tier One Warrior Ascendant, I wouldn't necessarily lose to a Tier Three Warrior Ascendant."
Tian He was startled. He did not know what Li Lingtian was thinking to boast about his own cultivation level.
"Since the disciple also has a Fire-path Warrior Soul, it would be great to experience Senior Tian He's Flaming Strength and receive some guidance. Should the senior outperform the disciple, the loss will be accepted with grace and the senior will be my master. However, if the senior loses, then the senior shall bestow Heaven and Earth Conflagration upon this disciple."
"This disciple wonders if Senior Tian He would take up this challenge."
Li Lingtian was all relaxed and cheerful as he uttered his words in a breeze, only to stop and look at Tian He for a reply.
"What?"
Everyone was stupefied and they shot looks of disgust at Li Lingtian.
A Warrior who wanted to compete against a Warrior Ascendant on Flaming Strength. If there was no master and disciple business taking place, one would think Li Lingtian had either lost his mind or was a natural fool.
Tian He wanted Li Lingtian to take him as a master but Li Lingtian had falsely rejected him. Was Li Lingtian looking for a way out through this competition now?
If he lost, Tian He would become his master; if he won, the Heaven and Earth Conflagration skill would be his. The former could only happen without a doubt as there was a great disparity between the strength of a Warrior and a Warrior Ascendant.
"Hah. Hahaha. Great, great."
Tian He burst out laughing. In a world where the strongest were respected, it was wise for one to change their actions accordingly.
"You're a Warrior. I wouldn't want to take advantage of you with my cultivation level. I'll only use a Tier Nine Warrior level's Flaming Strength to compete with you. Remember, you will obtain Heaven and Earth Conflagration if you win, but if you lose, you'll acknowledge me as your master."
Tian He's face brimmed with delight. A disciple with Flaming Sacred Body was worth nurturing as he had unlimited future potential. The Warrior Ascendant did not want to bully a junior in front of so many too.
However, everyone knew that even if a Warrior Ascendant capped his strength at a Warrior's level, a Warrior still would not be able to stand a chance in defeating them. This head-to-head challenge on Flaming Strength was fully reliant on one's experience and perfection of the skill. The situation was unfavorable towards Li Lingtian.
"The disciple is grateful that the senior remembers. Enlighten me then, senior."
Li Lingtian beamed and smiled from ear to ear. It was very much interpreted as a dishonorable act by the other warriors. Tian He, on the other hand, had a sudden jolt of apprehension upon seeing this curious smile. Was he being fooled? Yet, he would not believe that this Warrior could beat him.
"Right, here we go."
Tian He suppressed his True Qi to a Tier Nine Warrior's cultivation level right after his words landed. At the same time, a shot of truly perfected Flaming Qi blasted towards Li Lingtian. The Flaming Strength morphed into a fireball that was three feet in diameter. Despite being capped at a Tier Nine Warrior level, it had the power to melt every being on earth.
"This is the Warrior Ascendant. How freakish is that? Even after suppressing his cultivation level, not even a Warrior Spirit can beat this, let alone a Warrior."
"Sigh, you can't tell whether he's just courting death or plain shameless."
"He must be shameless. How wild to think that a Warrior can beat a Warrior Ascendant."
"..."
All the warriors were deep in discussion. Eyes glimmering with fright, their sight never moved away from Tian He's fireball.
"Hah!"
Li Lingtian's face was solemn. He elevated his True Qi to the peak of a Tier Nine Warrior and initiated Heaven and Earth Reincarnation. Fire Dragon's Heart rose from his Dantian and channeled through his arm. It left his palm and revealed its shape in the air.
All the plants within a 110-yard radius wilted into ashes as an exquisite little Fire Dragon appeared in the sky. The heat was so intense, even a Warrior Spirit level disciple had to enter cultivation mode to protect themselves from the heat.
Bai Yan and his elders were pleased to see Li Lingtian's flaming display. Tian He was just being manipulated by him all this while.
He had a plan so well thought out that he even took the Warrior Ascendant's moves into account. He had the Fire Dragon's Heart, and no one in the same Tier could ever defend against that.
"The Fire Dragon's Heart."
"Fire Dragon."
"It's a Fire Dragon!"
Long Haotian, Celestial Fairy Qing Ling, and the other elders cried out in disbelief. The scornful disciples from Four Great Sects were now bewildered.
"Fire Dragon's Heart? You piece of sh*t, you dare mess with me."
Something was off as Tian He felt Li Lingtian's Flaming Qi. No Warrior level disciple should ever be that strong, even with a Flaming Sacred Body.
This Qi made him tremble too. The situation was finally made clear to him when he saw the Warrior's Fire Dragon's Heart, but it was too late for him to react.
As Tian He's great fire orb darted towards Li Lingtian, the Fire Dragon's Heart swooped toward the orb. As soon as they met, Fire Dragon's Heart devoured the fireball like a delicacy in no time.
"Rumble rumble."
The air was in a constant stir and the earth rumbled. In a blink of an eye, Fire Dragon's Heart had completely consumed the fiery sphere and was then reclaimed by Li Lingtian.
"Bai Yan and the rest of you b*stards. You let him master the Fire Dragon's Heart, and play dumb in front of me."
"Fine. Whatever. I can't care less about you all."
Tian He was furious, but he had to contain it due to his social status. A loss was still a loss. It was, of course, humiliating to lose to a Warrior, but this was not the case. He lost to Fire Dragon's Heart instead.
"That Flaming Qi was horrifying indeed."
"I didn't expect that a Warrior could contain such a strong Flaming Qi."
"Even I wouldn't be able to handle such flames."
"Hmph, of course you can't. You're only a Tier Six Warrior Spirit. It's not possible even if you cultivate for a hundred more years. Even the Warrior Ascendant's flames have been devoured, what more a nobody like you."
The astounded warriors woke up from their daze. What happened just then felt unreal. A Warrior-level disciple had mastered the mystical Fire Dragon's Heart and swallowed a Warrior Ascendant's Flames.
"He never thought of wanting Tian He as his master. He was just eyeing the senior's Earth Tier skills."
"Truly shameless."
"Shameless? Why don't you give it a try you piece of sh*t? At least he has what it takes. You're not even worth scraps."
Some of the warriors finally came to understand that this disciple had no intention of making Tian He as his master. He was eyeing Tian He's Earth Tier skill all along.
The surprised warriors looked at Li Lingtian who had sat down to meditate. He was rendered motionless temporarily after summoning the Fire Dragon's Heart and downing a Warrior Ascendant's Flaming Qi. What he did could backfire if he were even slightly careless at that point.
"I'm stuffed."
All the warriors were unable to react to Li Lingtian's words. After he took in the Warrior Ascendant's Flaming Qi, he claimed that he had overeaten. They were all speechless.
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