Chapter 1632 - Chalk Draconians
Forming a party was quite awkward for Tianming. He was a newcomer to the scene, after all, so he knew nobody there. He had only spent a total of three or four months to reach the fourth level, and was even sent to the absolute lobby because of his age. The entire time, he had been acting alone.
The absolute lobby had been open for quite a while, and the others had had the time to demonstrate their abilities and network around. Most parties already had five members and there were few that had any space left. Tianming had tried to approach them, only to be refused before he even said a word. They claimed they were waiting for others.
In fact, quite a lot of parties were already full. According to Yin Chen, the lobby had been open for the past seventeen days, so most parties were already rather well formed. It was also crucial for them to practice as a team, so letting in new members this late in the game could be a disadvantage.
"If only Ling'er, Feng, Qingyu, and Xiaoxiao could come. That would make for five people. Even though their abilities aren't equal to mine, their teamwork is great and I just have to carry them."
Lingfeng was incredibly proficient at soul attacks, Xiaoxiao had mastered the Dragonblood Desecration and could fight well at range, Feiling had recently caught up with the rest and could use her finger abilities as support alongside Xian Xian, while Qingyu basically fought similarly to Tianming. She could take up the main attacker role with him. Tianming had seen her totems, and they were quite powerful too. As heavenly being totems, they were different from Tianming's sword totems. Not to mention, she had a kunpeng lifebound beast, meaning she inherently had more potential than normal nonabanes.
Then again, that was all still speculation. There was no way they could come here in a short thirteen days. Even gaining the right for Tianming to go to the Astraldome had taken a long time.
"There is... a target... over here," Yin Chen suggested. There was a party of four that needed one more—just perfect! Tianming would be happy to even get a party at all, so he wasn't picky. He headed in their direction, intending to feign coincidence. Soon, they were close. Tianming saw them coming his way as well. He didn't expect that the one who first met his eyes would be a girl. Based on the way she walked, he had assumed that she was a guy.
While she was dashing and well put together, she wasn't burly like Princess Feifei from Longbeard; instead, she had pretty and refined features. No doubt, she could pull off the stunning beauty look with a simple makeover, though Tianming had to admit that her boyish way of dress suited her the best. She had much shorter hair than Tianming that glistened silver and was clad in a tight-fitting gray outfit that showed off her impressive figure. Overall, her silhouette was clean and striking. Her white eyes were filled with stars, a sign that she was a specter. That was why her physique seemed powerful and fierce. He even saw white dragon scales on her neck, the back of her arms, and her waist. The confidence she radiated, coupled with her heroic aura, gave him the impression that she had quite a high status.
Her name label read 'Whitechalk Star Disciple Bai Feng'. Even her name was simple and short like a man's. Coupled with her outlook, that made for quite an impression. Such an aura had a great deal to do with one's status, identity, and talent. People like Bai Feng, who others would remember for the rest of their lives, were quite common among the group here. There was a dragon-like aura about Bai Feng that seemed sacred and inviolable. It seemed that her line of specters also had dragon blood.
As they were looking for another member as well, they immediately spotted Tianming. Bai Feng stopped and asked, "Friend, are you alone?"
"Yes, all by myself with no acquaintances. Perfect for a party that needs one more," Tianming said with a smile.
Surprised, Bai Feng said, "How’d you know we needed one more?"
"It was a random guess."
"Huh... well, you aren’t wrong. Your name's Tianming.... Heaven's fate, eh? Almost as if fate brought us together. Want to join us?"
"Sure thing! Though, would you have not invited me to join if I was named something else?"
"Haha, what a lame joke..." she chuckled, her eyebrows twitching a bit.
"It made you laugh, didn't it? Surely that did something."
"You're a smooth talker, but I ain't buying it. Let me make it clear out front. I don't like guys, so don't try to flirt with me or unnecessarily draw my attention, alright?" She patted his shoulder in a friendly manner and to test him.
"Self-conscious much? Don't worry, you aren’t quite my type."
Though she got burned, she didn't mind it too much. She was quite happy that Tianming didn't back off. For his part, Tianming also found her quite interesting. He hadn't yet met a woman who would publicly proclaim that they liked women.
"Very well. A team without ulterior motives is a powerful team," Bai Feng said. When a group had many eligible bachelors and bachelorettes, the romantic tension could cause some friction. "Come, I'll take you to the others," she said, tucking her short hair behind her ear.
"The other three won't reject me, will they?"
"No. I'm the leader of the party, so they do what I say. Not to mention, many other groups already had their pick, even some weaker ones. We came late, so we're lucky to even find someone."
"In other words, I'll be fine if I more or less match your standard."
"Yeah. Granted, if you're much better than us, I'll fall asleep smiling tonight."
Tianming found that she was a straightforward and direct person who spoke of anything that came to mind. It was quite a masculine trait, and she seemed to be rather firm minded too. People like her were easy to get along with. Tianming believed he was quite lucky to have encountered her.
The two of them headed toward the center of the lobby where her party was waiting. After they met, they would have to use the remaining time to build up their teamwork and ensure they had a higher chance of winning. On the way, Tianming saw many other parties already making plans for their formations and combinations.