Beastmaster of the Ages

There were many viewing booths in the Violetcloud Battlefield, each with the best view. Unsurprisingly, every starlit viewing booth was occupied. Only the crème de la crème of society could enter the place; ordinary folk could only crowd outside to watch the top three disciples.

The viewing booth was full, indicating that a large number of the Violetglory Star’s influential figures had descended on the battlefield to witness the performance of the Violetglory Star’s second miracle. Such interest of epic proportions had only been seen before when Ye Chen challenged the Violetcloud Imperium’s number one disciple, Gong Yin. At the time, Gong Yin was still first on the Violetglory ranking, towering over Princess Shen Yu. But now he had been pushed to second place. However, Gong Yin, an octabane, was still number one among the totemancers. That battle had been witnessed by most of the people present today.

In less than ten breaths, Ye Chen, the “first miracle”, had avenged the beautiful princess, crushed Gong Yin, dominated the Violetglory ranking, and caused a sensation in the world. The unprecedented event remained vivid in their minds. Today, Lin Feng was challenging Princess Shen Yu, whose strength was almost equivalent to Gong Yin. It was a battle of equal significance.

“It’s time to find out if Lin Feng is comparable to Ye Chen, and whether or not he can be called a miracle.”

The battlefield was filled with deafening cheers as the spectators gazed upon two of heaven’s chosen. Even in the closed viewing booths, the vibrations caused by the millions of spectators were felt.

The Violetcloud Imperium disciple, Gong Yin, stood by the window, recalling the fear he had once felt under Ye Chen’s power. On a day as sensational as this, he became the foil as feelings of helplessness, surrender, and resignation swept over him. He couldn’t accept it, but he had to admit that he would always be second.

He was an emperor’s son. And today, another sovereign’s child would face a heaven-defying genius, another child of destiny.

“I hope I won’t be the only royal descendant that’s been suppressed by another….” Gong Yin’s gaze was fiery. He supported Lin Feng and longed for his victory.

Behind Gong Yin stood Han Xingluan and the five grand Violetcloud Disciples—three men and two women, all of whom were young geniuses atop all living beings. They came from the Violetcloud Imperium’s most prominent clans and had arrived two days ago. Gong Yin had been watching Tianming since he appeared.

“Senior Brother Gong, will you be able to accept it if this man joins the Violetcloud Imperium and robs you of your position as the first disciple?” Han Xingluan asked.

“Yes. I’m willing to do anything as long as we can suppress the Divineglory Dynasty,” Gong Yin solemnly said.

“How open-minded of you, Senior Brother Gong.”

He was truly a man of character. Despite being the emperor’s son, he was willing to give up his position.

“It’s about to begin….”

At that moment, the door opened and a dark figure walked in. The five grand Violetcloud Disciples turned around and respectfully said, “Greetings, Old Master.” The dark figure slowly approached them. It was a hunchbacked old man dressed in plain cotton clothes. His hair had fallen out, his teeth were almost gone, and he shook with every step he took.

Logically speaking, his astralforce should have failed by now. A man this old would be unable to defeat the Violetcloud Disciples, yet his aura was extremely imposing and the Violetcloud Disciples respected him very much. His unusual features were visible when he appeared in the light. He had only one large eye which sat just above the bridge of his nose, occupying almost half of his forehead. Although he was old, his one green eye was lively and sharp.

“Why have you come, Old Master?”

Gong Yin lent him an arm for support, but the old man pushed him aside. Playfully looking at him, the old man said, “You don’t have to help me. I might look old, but my body is stronger than yours. There’s nothing I can’t do in the heavens above and the earth below, even picking up beauties!” With that, his big green eye stared indecently at the two beautiful female disciples for a long time.

“I’m impressed!”

Gong Yin and the others exchanged a look, their mouths dry.

With his hands behind his back, the old man walked to the window and stared at Princess Shen Yu, his voice filled with praise. “Ah, that face, that tiny waist, that cute ass, those long legs… the little divineglorian is very exciting!”

The Violetcloud Disciples didn’t look surprised. Turning his attention to Tianming, the old man said, “This is Lin Feng? The kid everyone has been talking about? Is he the one I’m here for?”

“Yes, he’s the one. Old Master, you’re so experienced and knowledgeable—”

Stroking his beard, the old man cleared his throat. “You don’t have to flatter me. The longer you live, the more amazing things you see.” He looked Tianming up and down. “A totemancer and beastmaster? Logically speaking, he was originally a totemancer, while his lifebound beasts were acquired via a blood pact. His lifebound beasts are a complicated mix of different types and they appear to be the spawn of wildbeasts. However, he’s fifth on the Violetglory ranking despite the over-elaborate, garbage cultivation practice, which proves there’s something special about him….”

“Yes, and therein lies our doubts,” said Gong Yin.

“Are you sure he’s a heptabane?” the old man asked.

“Yes, I fought him! At the time, he defeated me without his lifebound beasts, then defeated Mu Sha with his lifebound beasts alone,” said Han Xingluan.

“I’ve come to a conclusion.” The old man stroked his long beard.

“What do you mean, Old Master?”

“Behind him is a great alchemy guru who’s been feeding him pills since he was a child. After the success of the blood pact, his progress was slow because of the wildbeasts’ limited intelligence. He reached his current cultivation level relying on pills alone. That kind of cultivation method is putting the cart before the horse. It has exaggerated results in the early stage, but he’ll be useless after that. He isn’t even as valuable as you, Han Xingluan.” The old man sneered. “There’s all kinds of people in this world. The kid is probably some alchemy guru’s pill tester. How could anyone be so despicable as to ruin a child?”

Upon hearing that, the five Violetcloud Disciples were stunned.

“In the past, people have made similar remarks but we didn’t believe it then.”

“Who would’ve thought he’s actually a pitiful ‘pill furnace’? He’s exhausted an entire life’s potential within his first thirty years.”

“He’ll be useless past the age of thirty.”

Taking a deep breath, Gong Yin asked, “Are you sure you won’t take a second look, Old Master? Others have said the same, but those who’ve seen him fight don’t seem to think so. If he’s really a pill furnace, there’s no way he can be this smooth.”

“Alright then. I’ll watch. I’ll make you a bet. If he’s not a pill furnace, I’ll unscrew my head and let him use it as a chamber pot.” The green-eyed old man confidently smiled.

……

A few people were in another viewing booth that was located right above the battlefield. The entire area belonged to the Divineglory Dynasty. A middle-aged man clad in black stood next to the window with one of his hands placed at the edge. The eye in his palm stared at the battlefield, while the mouth below chattered endlessly.

“Uncle, I’m here.” Behind him, a figure entered the booth.

In a dark corner, a man leaned into his seat, lazily crossing his legs. He seemed comfortable and at ease.

“You’re rather cavalier about all this. The battle’s about to begin.” The middle-aged man looked out at the Violetcloud Battlefield, his lips curling in a smile.

“I can’t help it. You recently opened the Astraldome for me. They’re all aliens from other stars, so fighting them is much more interesting. My schedule is packed with battles. I haven’t had the time to keep up with what’s happening here.” The voice was low and magnetic—very charming. It obviously belonged to a young man.

“Why do you work so hard? You’re already stronger than your peers,” The middle-aged man laughed.

“Stronger than my peers? The astralscape of order is enormous. How dare I claim such a thing? There’s always someone better than you. Modesty is the way of the king.” The young man smiled.

“There you go again. No wonder they call you ‘Great Pretender Ye’,” the middle-aged man said.

“God, that sounds horrible!” The young man was horrified.

His nickname had the middle-aged man bent over in laughter. When he finally composed himself, he said, “The princess said that you suggested she kill Lin Feng if he can’t be controlled?”

“You can say that. I noticed that she’s recently become entangled with this person. It’s a waste of her time. He won’t be a problem if he’s dead. Happiness is the most important thing. Anyone that makes us unhappy should die and be reincarnated. In eighteen years, he’ll be a young man again.”

“You don’t want another person with the same exceptional talent and luck as you on the Violetglory Star, do you?” the middle-aged man teased.

“He’s merely a heptabane and a pill furnace. What’s so great about that?” the young man scoffed.

“He has secrets that we have yet to learn.”

“Then I must pay attention. But there’s one thing you need to understand….”

“What is it?”

“I might not be extremely confident, but I like being free and unrestrained. I want to protect the people I love. But here’s the thing, if you think I’ll fear someone with the same talent and luck as I have, and if you think I’ll kill him for that, you’re wrong. There’s only one reason I suggested Wanwan kill him, and that’s because he upset her. My dearest Wanwan shouldn’t be troubled. I attach great importance to a harmonious family!” He was referring to Princess Shen Yu.