Beastmaster of the Ages

“Don’t overthink it. My constellation just isn’t very useful. That’s why I never really brought it out,” Tianming said.

“Whew, you scared me for a moment there.”

“How’s the Soulfiend?” Tianming asked Lingfeng.

“It needs a while to recover,” Lingfeng replied. The Soulfiend had a parasitic relationship with him.

Tianming had seen the amazingness of the Grand-Orient Sword, so he said, “Treat it well. It’s treated you so well, and risked its life for you.” How could the Soulfiend that had served the Primordial Demonlord be weak?

“By the way, the slots for the final fight have been decided…” Yu Ziqian weakly joined in.

“They have?” Tianming had been out of it for a while during his breakthrough. So, which of the three was going to encounter Weisheng Moran?

Yu Ziqian pointed at the imperial star rankings.

Tianming lifted his head and saw that the first four names were no longer gold. The names were now particularly eye-catching. Tianming and Weisheng Moran’s names had turned white, while Yu Ziqian and Lingfeng’s names had turned black.

“I’m up against Weisheng Moran?” Tianming asked.

“Yes.” The others chorused.

“It’s fine. That means we have the chance to snag two slots,” Tianming said. After his breakthrough, he had a better chance than Yu Ziqian or Lingfeng, though he did have the hardest match now. Even as a constellier, he didn’t dare say he was confident.

“Big brother, I’ve made my choice.” The first match was the internal battle for the Azuresoul Palace and Yu Ziqian and Lingfeng were about to step up. Lingfeng had spoken up before it started.

“You want to let him win?” Tianming asked softly.

“Yes.” Lingfeng nodded.

“Why? It’ll be pretty good if you can get the candidacy. Gan Gangan isn’t too steady a person. He may not pass the final test even if he gets the candidacy.”

“He has the Divine Worldeater Cauldron. We don’t know how it is outside. It’s possible his master alone can’t keep the cauldron. If he leaves like this, he may lose it, but I don’t have anything on me.” Lingfeng knew that although Tianming had given away the cauldron, he didn’t want to lose it. He was surely thinking of Yu Ziqian using it in the future to help improve his status on the sun.

Although it was rather ambitious, it was still a hope.

If Tianming and Yu Ziqian could both take the Sky Palace’s test, four scenarios were possible. They went in together, only Tianming went in, or only Yu Ziqian went in. If neither of them joined, they would most likely lose all their treasures.

But as long as just one of them joined the Sky Palace, they could keep the Divine Worldeater Cauldron, and not even the Myriad Solar Sects would be able to easily seize it.

Tianming could understand Lingfeng’s thoughts. It was a gamble! They would either win everything, or lose everything. The Sky Palace was their only path forward.

“Feng, you’ll be much safer when we take away Qingyu if you’re a member of the Sky Palace,” Tianming said in a low voice.

“Not necessarily. Our enemy may be that person. He can kill us even if we’re a member of the Sky Palace.” Lingfeng was referring to the sun emperor.

“Who are you talking about that dares to kill someone from Sky Palace?” Yu Ziqian was confused.

In the end, Lingfeng was making a sacrifice. He wasn’t doing it for Yu Ziqian, but for Tianming so he could keep the cauldron.

“Listen to me this time. I believe in Ziqian. Just one of us needs to join for the protection to cover all of us.”

“Hey… can I say something?” Yu Ziqian said awkwardly.

“Yeah, talk.” Tianming nodded.

“I’m naturally grateful for this chance. But the pressure is too great. I’m worried I can’t handle it. How about no?”

“No, Feng means that if you’re kicked out now, we’ll lose the cauldron. However, you’ll be able to join the Sky Palace for a while until they announce the results, then I’ll be able to protect it after I’m a member. As for whether you can join, I’m not holding out hope.” They weren’t relying on Yu Ziqian, just preventing him from being kicked out.

The cauldron had once incited a war among the Myriad Solar Sects and was no joke.

They couldn’t have Yu Ziqian give Lingfeng the cauldron either. They had tried it before. As a grade-eight divine artifact, it wasn’t stable being controlled by a young junior. It expanded into a massive form as soon as it left Yu Ziqian, and Lingfeng couldn’t move it at all. Tianming also couldn’t handle it, since he had to fight Weisheng Moran. Thus, they could only hope Tianming could join the Sky Palace and become the cauldron’s protector.

“Wow. Give me back my gratitude.” Yu Ziqian continued, “But what if you lose to Weisheng Moran, or neither of us get in? They both have a pretty big chance!”

“Yes, but what other choice do we have? The potential wins from this gamble are just too high. And most of all, there is no way we’ll throw out this cauldron before the final conclusion,” Lingfeng said.

Tianming was deep in thought. If he had known this would happen, he would have absorbed the exalted blood himself. He wanted to let Lingfeng challenge the Sky Palace’s tests, but how could he have known these rules ahead of time? Furthermore, Yu Ziqian’s myriad dao pill was very useful, and Tianming wasn’t an alchemy guru.

“Last chance, are you sure?” Tianming asked.

“Yes.” Lingfeng nodded.

“You have an appetite for risk.” Tianming shook his head.

Lingfeng simply chuckled. Perhaps because of his rescue from the xenomemory space, or the spirit of sacrifice deep in his bones, Lingfeng was constantly trying to make things better for Tianming. But for himself, he was less caring.

“Fine, then it’ll be up to me,” Tianming said. Lingfeng’s gamble was betting on Tianming winning.

“I’ll look for Xiaoxiao outside and wait for your good news.”

“Yeah, hold on and wait for me.”

Lingfeng quitting was a form of pressure for Tianming.

“You all…” Yu Ziqian sighed. “Whatever the case, you’ve all given me too much, not just glory. I’m really thankful to you. I said before when I got the cauldron that my life is yours. I’m still young, so if I don’t give it a shot with you all this time, I’ll regret it for life.”

Yu Ziqian looked at Tianming with a scorching gaze. “Thanks for thinking highly of me. We met by chance, yet you’ve done so much. I swear to you I’ll do my best to protect it! If there’s a chance, I’ll personally refine pills for you all day, every day!”

Actually, this was cause and effect. Tianming wouldn’t have gotten the cauldron without Yu Ziqian’s myriad dao pill. Still, people could only mutually help each other when they met someone suitable.

“Don’t be so disgusting, I’m about to puke,” Tianming said derisively.

“Haha.…”

The three young men had made their choices. No matter what the outcome was, their trust in each other was unshakable.

“Wait for me,” Tianming said to Lingfeng one last time.

“Yes!” Lingfeng nodded, before being sucked into the battlefield.

“Gan Gangan, I have a new name for you. Easy Win King!”

Yu Ziqian had an embarrassed look before he entered the battlefield. After entering the Voidsky Realm, easy wins had piled up again and again. He had only shown some skill during the fight for the Lifesteal Silverdragon. Truly, his path to the Sky Palace had been one of easy wins.

……

The first deciding match for the Sky Palace’s candidacies was between the third place Yu Ziqian and fourth place Feng, an internal battle of the Azuresoul Palace.

The Myriad Solar Sects were already in chaos before the match started. It was like a dream, how two second-rate sect’s disciples were here.

Lingfeng still gave a show, though it wasn’t one that would fool an expert. The battle started, they fought and Lingfeng’s imperial star formation was broken. The process was very smooth, finishing in under fifteen minutes.

The cultivators were all speechless when Lingfeng was kicked out. They were utterly confused about this kid who had shown some boldness before willingly leaving. And now the candidacy for the Sky Palace had effortlessly gone to some fake genius, a true joke.

Most importantly, the Sky Palace hadn’t considered this against the rules. Yu Ziqian’s name immediately began brightly shining.

Now, only one match was left.

Li Tianming of the Azuresoul Palace versus Weisheng Moran of the Dreamless Celestial Nation.