A day in the life of Li Tianyan

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DEMON FOREST

A bloodied young man of about fifteen years old was currently dragging the mangled corpse of a Blood Tooth Wolf, a demon beast that was commonly found around the outskirts of the Demon Forest, this Blood Tooth Wolf however had its long blood red teeth peaking out of its mouth which indicated that it was of a high level, at least with such long teeth it should have already formed a core!

If anyone else were present, their jaws would undoubtedly drop from sheer shock, a Blood Tooth Wolf's power could be graded from the length of their teeth, and the site of a fifteen year old dragging the corpse of a Core Formation realm beast that he seemed to have killed himself was an inconceivable concept to anyone who set their eyes on it, yet this fifteen year old, Li Tianyan had done it and he seemed extremely familiar with the process, judging from his following actions.

After dragging the corpse of the Blood Tooth Wolf all the way to the cave where he and Zhao Ming had been training for the past twenty-one days, he sat down heavily at the mouth of the cave and use a small dagger which he had just taken out from his spatial ring to tear a small hole below the abdomen of the Wolf corpse and dug out a dark red core with practiced precision before tossing the body onto a pile of identical wolves by the side of the cave.

"Hehehe... My gains this time have exceeded my expectations, how satisfying." Li Tianyan let out a chuckle as he carefully put away the core he just dug out into his spatial ring, after doing that he took a deep breath and stood at the mouth of the cave as if he was afraid to go in.

"Do you plan on standing there forever?" Suddenly a chilly voice sounded from within the cave, causing Li Tianyan's body to involuntarily shiver. This voice naturally belonged to his newly accepted master, Zhao Ming.

"C-coming." Li Tianyan didn't dare to delay another moment as he dashed into the cave with a frightened expression.

As soon as his feet touched the grounds of the hall where the alter dedicated to the Xuanhu stood, he was attacked by non other than Zhao Ming.

BAM!

A soft palm carrying the power of a falling boulder crashed into Li Tianyan's back, sending him flying across the spacious cave and slamming heavily against the wall.

"Tch...tch what a useless disciple you can't even take this bit of power yet you hope to bear the burden of the Xuanhu? How pitiful." Zhao Ming who had successfully sneak attacked Li Tianyan stood by the entrance of the inner cave, leaned against the wall looking smug. Her current expression was starkly different from the cold and indifferent arrogance she exuded during their first encounter, this was because as master and disciple, their relationship had naturally deepened.

She suddenly pushed herself off the wall fluidly and started walking towards Li Tianyan steadily. Her silky smooth silver hair blew without wind and her similarly silver eyes glistened with a strange luster, she had recovered considerably from the first time they met as her complexion was no longer sickly and pale, this only served to accentuate her beauty. It went without saying that she was a beauty that could topple nations.

Li Tianyan who was crouching on the floor in pain didn't have the strength neither was he in the mood to appreciate her beauty, to him, her steady steps and light smile looked extremely sinister, and the fact that she had horns didn't help the matter at all.

Seeing her getting closer and closer, the panicking Li Tianyan couldn't help but think of a way to save him self from this predicament in which he found himself every day, to him this wasn't "Training" it was torture, torture in the hands of a crazy woman who was after his life.

Being in such a predicament constantly, naturally led him to develop an antidote, although this "antidote" of his didn't help him avert the crisis completely, it nonetheless lessened the suffering he had to endure in the name of training. He adapted quickly, as soon as he noticed that his master took her appearance very seriously he quickly developed a gilb tongue to compliment his way out of such gruesome training, but such tactics only worked once or twice and the rest times only resulted in him suffering less.

Li Tianyan quickly straightened himself, his face still pale from the earlier blow but adorned with a fawning smile. "Master, your beauty today is truly unparalleled. Your silver hair gleams like the finest threads of moonlight, and your eyes—they could put the brightest stars to shame. It is no wonder that even the heavens dare not send storms to this forest, fearing to disturb your serene radiance."

Zhao Ming paused mid-step, her lips curling slightly into a faint smirk. "Oh? You've grown quite adept at using that silver tongue of yours, haven't you, little one?" Her voice was laced with amusement, though the cold glint in her silver eyes suggested she wasn't entirely swayed.

"Flattery may buy you a moment's mercy," she continued, "but it won't save you from the training you so desperately need."

Before Li Tianyan could respond, Zhao Ming's figure blurred, her silhouette vanishing like mist under the morning sun. A chill ran down his spine as he instinctively leaped backward, narrowly avoiding a sweeping palm strike that cracked the ground where he had been standing.

"Training begins now," Zhao Ming said coolly, reappearing a short distance away. "Let's see if you've made any progress or if you're still as hopeless as ever."

Li Tianyan barely had time to draw a sharp breath before Zhao Ming was upon him again, her movements graceful yet terrifyingly swift. She launched a series of rapid strikes—palms, fists, and kicks—each one carrying enough force to shatter boulders.

He dodged as best as he could, his body twisting and turning like a serpent evading an eagle's talons. Sweat poured down his face as he parried a palm strike aimed at his chest, the impact sending a numbing shockwave through his arm.

"Good," Zhao Ming said with a nod, though her strikes did not relent. "At least you're not completely useless. But you're still far too slow."

With a flick of her wrist, a wave of energy surged toward Li Tianyan, forcing him to leap into the air. He retaliated by channeling his own energy into his fists, throwing a punch that sent a ripple through the air. The two forces clashed, creating a shockwave that echoed through the cave like a thunderclap.

"Hmph, not bad," Zhao Ming remarked, her tone a mix of approval and disdain. The training session between the two carried out for a while longer before Li Tianyan collapsed on the floor, thoroughly exhausted and beaten.

"At least you can barely withstand one percent of my full power, you've improved a little." Zhao Ming waved her hand and strange for draged Li Tianyan's battered body, to the corner where a man-made pool filled with a thick black liquid laid, he directly drop into it and it's medicinal qualities worked to quickly heal his wounds.

"W...what? Only one percent?" Li Tianyan who had felt like he was starting to give this immortal master of his some trouble came to realize just how far from the truth that was, it was foolish thinking on his part to believe that someone of his level could contend against an immortal. Saying he could barely withstand one percent of her power was leniency on Zhao Ming's part, even if it was 0.00001% it was sufficient to crush Li Tianyan completely.

Zhao Ming didn't pay his words any mind as she walked to her corner by the altar and sat to meditate.

After reluctantly digesting the fact that he was only an ant before this master of his, he revealed a small smile, because today he had reached the peak of ninth level of the Foundation Establishment Realm and was only one step away from forming a golden core, today was also the day he would return to the Li clan after twenty-one days of endless training with Zhao Ming.