Beastmaster of the Ages

First, they began construction of a new capital for the Tianming Dynasty at the Specter Mountains. Taiji Peak Lake would be the second imperial core. Tianmingpolis was located at the heart of the human-shaped continent. It fit well, as there were major arterial road networks linking it to all other parts of the continent. Li Caiwei, the former master of the Yinyang Demon Sect, remained there to run things. Xuanyuan Dao, on the other hand, stayed at Taiji Peak Lake to manage the Old Deepstar Path and guide the future generations of imperial citizens.

Apart from them, most of Tianming’s friends and family were at Taiji Peak Lake. As for the chaos skyjail, Ye Shaoqing remained to manage the Decimo Dao Nation. Tianming’s seniors and friends, such as Master Mu Wan, Bai Zijin, and the other ‘high-tier mounts’ remained at Taiji Peak Lake. Jiang Qingluan was also among them. Having returned without Feiling, Tianming couldn’t quite bring himself to see her.

Most of his interpersonal relationships were rather simple. Jiang Qingluan, for instance, was almost like a lower-level lifeform compared to a god like Tianming. But as far as he saw it, she was the elder sister of his wife, who wouldn’t hesitate to beat him up.

Quite a lot of people were waiting for him at Taiji Peak Lake. While the chaos skyjail itself was protected, it was nevertheless not an ideal place to live. As such, Tianming had most of the people he knew move out of it. Xuanyuan Dao naturally helped a lot with accommodating them.

They gathered near Taiji Peak Lake with their breath held. When three beams of light descended from the heavens, they all cheered with the brightest of smiles. That person had changed the entire world as they knew it!

”Wow, what a merry crowd! Is everyone here to welcome me?” Tianming said, feigning a smug look. Everyone could feel the power from his Imperial Will and had been a little nervous. They were worried that he would now be an unapproachable mighty god who didn’t laugh or cry. But when they saw him acting like the youth from back then, they relaxed.

”Self-conscious much? I’m here for my Ling’er,” said a beautiful girl in green with a look of displeasure. Jiang Qingluan was still as beautiful as before. Thinking back, the whole euphemism about breasts being heavenly pattern barriers had started with her. Now, her ’heavenly pattern barriers’ had leveled up even more than before.

”She’s doing well. I’ll bring her here next time,” Tianming said, brushing it off.

”Any babies?” Jiang Qingluan said, glancing at him.

”Well... I’m trying my best,” Tianming said.

”Useless! Your cousin Wei Guohao already has three children!”

Facing his ex-rival and god of the continent, Wei Guohao awkwardly scratched his head and smiled. ”I didn’t think that my procreation skills would match his cultivation skills....”

”Hmph, stop boasting. If it weren’t for Jiang Qingluan mentioning you, you wouldn’t get any screen time today,” Wei Lingxuan said, rolling her eyes.

”I don’t want to hear that from you of all people.”

There were far too many people Tianming had to catch up with, but the seniors took precedence. He bowed to Wei Tiancang and asked how he was doing. The others, seeing that he wasn’t throwing his weight around, truly relaxed and acted as they normally would. It was quite a merry gathering, and Tianming felt like he had really returned home.

”Tianming, have you seen your mother? I miss her a lot.” Wei Tiancang seemed to have aged a lot and didn’t seem to have long to live. The main reason Tianming returned was to help him and Li Jingyu extend their lifespans, which wouldn’t be difficult. With the cultivation resources and caeli he had, they could live a few hundred more years as empyrean saints.

”Once or twice, I guess.”

”How is she doing? What about that kid Mu Yang? Is he treating her well?” No matter the true identity of his daughter, Wei Tiancang felt regretful toward her. At the very end, their misgivings had been resolved, and now he only missed her.

”He’s treating her fine. Even though they aren’t in the best of situations, they should be okay.”

”Good.... All is well, I hope.” Wei Tiancang shook his head and continued, ”Grandpa here is merely a frog in the well. I don’t know how you fared up on the sun or whether you’ve gotten some kind of official position, but one thing I do know more than you is the importance of human connections. Make sure to make some good friends out there and earn people’s respect. Always tread on the right path and help those in need. When you have many friends with you, nothing can keep you down.” No matter how big the astralscape was, getting along with people would always be important.

Tianming understood much about the principle of helping others, thanks to his Imperial Will, and Wei Tiancang put it even more succinctly. ”I will listen to your advice.”

”I can tell that you’ve grown a lot. And even after all that, you still didn’t turn your back on your home and know when to show respect to others and life itself. That’s the most precious thing. I’ve seen too many people who lose themselves after some minor achievement. People like these always meet the end of their paths someday, but you won’t.”

”Understood. Grandpa, I brought a lot of gifts for you. At the very least, you’ll get to live for a few more centuries.”

”Haha, what more can a man ask for after getting such a wonderful grandson?”

”Grandpa, don’t think you’re that old. I’ve met people in their eighties who still consider themselves young.”

”Such people exist? People in their eighties should already be halfway into their coffins!”

That aside, Qingyu met up with her grandmother. To stop others from worrying, she covered the changes in her face with a veil. After finding out that Qingyu was getting together with a decent lad like Lingfeng, Li Jingyu almost cried out to her friends to celebrate.

Despite the cold weather of Taiji Peak Lake, human warmth didn’t fail to spread. No matter how powerful other worlds were, it was like Flameyellow was a miniature paradise separated from all that. Most people were on relatively equal ground, unlike the crazy hierarchies built to suit people who lived for millennia elsewhere. If the people here got stronger, they did so together.

Li Caiwei was quite talented in terms of management. Tianming had met many other seniors and friends, including Xuanyuan Dao, Ouyang Jianwang, and Yi Xingyin, reminiscing the past over drinks. Their impression of Tianming was that he both seemed like he had and hadn’t changed. Some even went so far as to flatter him, saying that his looks had improved. He even ran into Xuanyuan Muxue, who was now good friends with Jiang Qingluan. She had changed a lot since becoming Tianming’s staunch believer and was the one who’d benefited the most from his Imperial Will, being close to Ascension in her twenties. Her talent was similar to Huiye Shi’s.

”I haven’t seen the snow here for a long time,” he melancholically said, thinking about their fights here.

”Do the stars above not have snow?” Xuanyuan Muxue asked. She was the same cold, quiet girl from before... at least on the outside. Within, she was burning with curiosity.

”I’ve only gone to two nova source worlds. The first was hot as an oven, while the other was like a much larger Divine Moon Realm, tranquil and beautiful.”

”The sights must’ve been stunning, huh?”

”They’re serviceable. They have their own charms, but nothing can compare to the snow here,” he said, smiling.

”Are you sure your homesickness isn’t playing tricks on you?”

”No, I mean it. I’ve seen many races across the astralscape. In comparison, the Archaic House of Xuanyuan isn’t faring too badly. You just lack the opportunities and legacies that others have.”

”Really?” A newfound confidence oozed out of her third eye.