Chapter 70 - Grandfather
The prime disciple’s name, ‘Li Tianming’, spread to every corner of Ignispolis, throwing it into an uproar and even shook the whole country. He was now a household name.
He was definitely a hot conversation topic, given his special identity and the incident three years ago.
However, whether it was to praise or curse him differed for every individual.
The only constant was a sense of pity for Lin Xiaoxiao, who was truly suited to be the prime disciple in both age or talent.
By evening, petitions to revise the rules of the ranking battle had made their way to Flameyellow Scions Institute. They didn’t want a similar incident to happen again, where a genius would feel resentment and a fake genius would receive benefits. Only time would tell whether the petition passed.
The commotion in the day finally died down by nighttime.
Now that he had accomplished his first goal of joining Heaven’s Sanctum, Li Tianming got Auntie Li to prepare a scrumptious feast. They gorged themselves on the meal, enjoying the peace and happiness.
Whenever Wei Jing had mobility issues, Li Tianming would personally feed her.
“When you were young, you were a picky eater and I had to feed you. Now the places have switched,” Wei Jing said, touched.
After the meal, Auntie Li kept the dishes while Li Tianming brought his mother to the courtyard. The night sky tonight was particularly beautiful, the stars lined up in a beautiful river. Fire seemed to burn within the river of stars, dying it a faint red.
Li Tianming had finally reached the point where his mother was willing to talk about the past. “Tell me, how I can help you remove the Lifesbane?”
Li Tianming sat on the stairs next to her, his eyes shining like the stars.
As for the little chick, it had eaten its fill and was currently burping as it watched them from the roof.
Now, Li Tianming was at his second goal — to extend his mother’s longevity and return her youth. It wasn’t just any pressing matter; it was the most important matter in his life!
He thought of Xue Lan and her sons’ mockery of his mother’s state, his mind replaying their words of delivering a coffin to him. He thought of Wei Jing telling him that she didn’t want to die.
Wei Jing sat on her chair and looked at the stars. “Only one person can remove my Lifesbane in Heaven’s Sanctum. And even for him, it’s an exhausting matter. It has lurked in my body for twenty years, so it’s deeply rooted in my body now.”
“Who is it?” Li Tianming asked.
“He’s the Sanctum Potentate of Heaven’s Sanctum, the master of Flameyellow Scions Institute.” Wei Jing’s expression turned complicated.
“That can’t be. Shouldn’t the chancellor be the controller of the institute?” Li Tianming asked doubtfully.
“You don’t know this, but actually, the Sanctum doesn’t belong to the institute, but rather, controls it. That’s why the Sanctum Potentate is higher than the institute's chancellor in status and authority,” Wei Jing said.
“I see…”
The Potentate had always been a mysterious figure. The chancellor was always the public face of the institute, so Li Tianming didn’t know this relationship.
“Mother, you mean it’ll be hard to get this potentate guy to help because it’s too exhausting for him?”
“No, that’s not it.” Wei Jing lowered her head, a bitter smile on her face. “There’s another reason.”
“What, you offended him?”
“The reason is that I was once the potentate’s daughter. Furthermore, I offended him, and very severely at that.” Wei Jing lifted her head, looking helplessly at Li Tianming.
“What?” Li Tianming thought he had misheard. She was the Sanctum Potentate’s daughter. Didn’t that mean the person currently in control of Flameyellow Scions Institute and Heaven’s Sanctum was his grandfather? He had speculated that Wei Jing had some family background in Ignispolis, but this was a tad ridiculous.
“That was once upon a time. I was disowned twenty years ago and our relationship ended. That’s why he can remove the Lifesbane — I inherited it from him.” Wei Jing spoke of these old matters with a light smile, but the smile was filled with some bitterness.
“What made him so angry with you?” Li Tianming asked.
“I was pregnant, but he didn’t like Li Yanfeng,” Wei Jing said frankly.
“...” Li Tianming could only say that was life. If she had known that Li Yanfeng would abandon them twenty years later, would she have made that choice?
“Do you think I reaped what I sowed?” Wei Jing asked.
“How could that be? If so, I wouldn’t be alive now,” Li Tianming said. Wei Jing wouldn’t have had to marry Li Yanfeng if she wasn’t pregnant, and the potentate probably wouldn’t have been so furious that he disowned her. Furthermore, they had seen neither hide nor hair of him in these twenty years.
For the potentate to be this heartless with his own daughter showed how furious he was.
Li Tianming didn’t know the full story. However, he could infer from the bits and pieces he had about how severe a crime Wei Jing had committed.
And to save her, Li Tianming definitely had to face this grandfather who had been so heartless then. The difficulty was obvious.
“I told you someone in Heaven’s Sanctum could save me primarily to give you hope, to motivate you. However, you now know he dislikes me more than anyone else. Seeing me in this state will only make him happy. Let’s not mention the Lifesbane. If he knows I’m here, he’ll probably try to expel me from Ignispolis so that I don’t embarrass him. Just like Li Yanfeng, he places high importance on his face,” Wei Jing said helplessly.
“So what now?” Li Tianming asked.
“Now just cultivate in Heaven’s Sanctum.” Wei Jing grabbed his hand and looked gently at him. “Child, believe me. There’s no chance.”
“I don’t believe it.” Li Tianming pulled his hand out and smiled, “Why so serious? Let me give it a shot. I’m the kind of person who won’t regret it even if I smash my head against something and it bleeds.”
“Ming’er…” Wei Jing’s eyes turned misty. “It’s hard on you, being my son.”
“Alright, enough with the exaggerating of how hard it is. Tell me, how do I meet this Sanctum Potentate?”
“Heaven’s Sanctum has a ‘Wei Manor’ inside, but an ordinary Heaven’s Sanctum disciple can’t enter.”
“Then who can?”
Wei Jing considered it. “When you seek out a supernal mentor in two days, try getting ‘Mu Yang’ if possible. If he accepts you, you can tell him my circumstances and that you’re Wei Jing’s son. He might be able to bring you to the Potentate.”
Li Tianming finally had a lead. “I’ll remember the name.”
“This Mu Yang wouldn’t happen to be another admirer of yours, would he?”
“Don’t talk drivel,” Wei Jing said anxiously.
“Look at how antsy you are. I knew it, my mom used to be a super beauty in Ignispolis.” Li Tianming smiled, trying to lighten Wei Jing’s mood.
“Wait. You said ‘another admirer’. What did ‘another’ mean?” Wei Jing suddenly stared at Li Tianming.
Li Tianming had said that because he had met Sage Chen.
“Haha…”
“Don’t give that dumb laughter. Explain, who did you meet?”
Under her harassment, Li Tianming could only sell out Sage Chen.
“Don’t meet him again. He’s Xue Lan’s husband,” Wei Jing said.
“Okay. Still, do you have to be considerate for her sake?” Li Tianming felt nauseated when he thought of that woman.
“How others act or think should have no bearing on my own actions and thoughts,” Wei Jing replied seriously.
Li Tianming agreed. Unfortunately, the other party was clearly longing for Wei Jing’s death.
His mother had been gone from Ignispolis for very long and hence knew little about this Mu Yang right now.
Before joining Heaven’s Sanctum, Li Tianming had to make a trip to chief mentor Mu Wan’s residence to get an understanding of all the supernal mentors. Hence, on a dark and stormy night, he made his way to Mu Wan...
His only hope was to maintain his personal integrity that night.