Beastmaster of the Ages

”It’s all good now that they’re back. Right on time, in fact. Had he returned ten years later, who knows if I’d be able to deal with him based on the rate of his growth? He’s giving me a chance. I just so happen to be ready to deal with him soon, and the spare Solar Wheel will be complete soon. It’s the perfect time for me to run other experiments. These lab rats really know to do the right thing at the right time without giving me extra trouble,” the sun emperor said. Had Tianming and the rest returned earlier, it wouldn’t have been ideal, either, as he had other things on his mind. But this was the perfect timing.

”Wonderful.” He shook his head with a smile as he slapped the coffin, causing the sound to reverberate through the empty Divine Sun Palace. It almost sounded like a heartbeat. ”The show’s about to start. Let’s hope my little commotion here isn’t noticed by Flameyellow. Otherwise it won’t be fun anymore.”

......

A month later, the attendees of the grand assembly had mostly arrived at the Myriaddragon Mountains. The day Tianming had been waiting for had finally arrived. As only the sect masters had come, there wasn’t too big of a crowd. As for the factions that had lost their homes, they brought everyone along, including their families, which created a bit of trouble. That also made them easier targets for the celestial orderians, but thanks to Yin Chen’s reports, the casualties had been kept to a minimum.

In one short month, the number of people in the Myriaddragon Mountains grew to three billion, crowding the place quite a bit. However, that wasn’t the end of it. After things at the Azurecloud Continent went south for the celestial orderians, many other sects had placed their hopes in the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, which was ranked first among all of them. They hoped they would be able to fight together to avenge those they had lost. They may have left their home, but they kept their bravery and fighting spirit.

The Myriaddragon Mountains was now a core location for the entire Myriad Solar Sects, even though it was only home to a second-ranked sect a few years ago. By now, the combined might of the people there far outstripped that of the capital of the dreamless celestial nation, Somnium. In fact, whether the dreamless celestial emperor would join the assembly wasn’t something people were even concerned about. Most of the Orderian natives had already lost confidence in the immigrant races and had only come for the First Dragon Imperial.

Tianming already knew that the dreamless celestial nation and Voidword Shrine wouldn’t be participating, despite occupying the second and third place on the faction rankings. The Voidword Shrine had issued an official statement that they wouldn’t be participating, which was in line with their usual actions. They were even more detached from the Myriad Solar Sects than the dreamless celestial nation, yet they didn’t serve the celestial orderians, either, unlike the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean. They were almost entirely neutral. Their weird behavior was quite intriguing during peacetime, with many people trying to find out why, but people had quickly forgotten about it when the chaos started.

As for the dreamless celestial nation, they didn’t respond to the First Dragon Imperial’s invitation, so their attendance couldn’t be counted on. And it was a given that the traitorous wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean wouldn’t be there. Apart from them, the leaders of the other top ten factions were all present.

There were also a hundred and twenty leaders of second-rate factions like the Azuresoul Palace. Most of them were either there themselves or had sent representatives. The third- and fourth-rate sects were the first ones to suffer from the chaos, so most of them had sent representatives if their sect masters couldn’t attend. More than ninety-five percent of them did, and some even came as a whole faction of refugees, making quite a large number. They even included some who had been injured in battles.

In total, the faction representatives alone numbered almost ten thousand, all of whom were fifth-level solarians or above. Regardless of the rating of their factions, those that stood at the top were nothing to scoff at. In essence, the Myriad Solar Sects were mostly present, much of them thanks to Tianming’s decabane status. If he hadn’t returned, there would be no way for the Saintdragon Emperor to gather them in this fashion with his reputation alone. Tianming’s performance would be incredibly important.

”Where’s the Imperialdragon Princeps?”

The crowd watched as Tianming came to the grand hall with the other Dragon Imperials. He radiated his most dignified aura and demeanor before the crowd, his black and gold eyes radiating imperial majesty while his body exuded impeccable sword ki. The first impression most people got of him was that he shone the brightest, even though a mighty senior like the Saintdragon Emperor and a stunning beauty like Long Wanying stood beside him. His youth only made him stand out further. People weren’t able to look away from him if they tried. Even with the sheer number of people there, the venue was really quiet.

”Respectful greetings to the Imperialdragon Princeps.” Tianming was now the representative of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. He sat upon the main throne, high above all others; this wasn’t time to be humble. He had to stand out and be judged. The representatives of the Empyrean Sword Sect were situated to the right of those of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, while to their left were the representatives of the Divinemight Empire, ranked fifth and sixth respectively. It was a shame that the second-, third-, and fourth-ranked factions weren’t really a part of the Myriad Solar Sects.

Apart from those, the leaders of the remaining factions in the top ten were also present, such as the aunt of Yan Nuxia, Yan Lingxian of the Group of Celestial Maiden Halls, which ranked ninth. She was a senior on the same level as the Saintdragon Emperor. It was said that she used to hold the title of the most beautiful woman during her youth. Even now, it was clear to see that she was beautiful back in the day, still retaining her dignified and elegant aura. Tianming thought that she was the most beautiful old lady he had seen.

The Northdipper Swordsage, Ninesun Martial Lord, and Yan Lingxian were among the most important figures in the Myriad Solar Sects. The Northdipper Swordsage, for instance, had the advantage of being quite young, and his authority could almost rival the Saintdragon Emperor’s. Tianming’s goal was to convince them, unify the Myriad Solar Sects, and gain the right to command their armies.

”Everyone, please be seated.” Tianming didn’t look out of place in the slightest among the ancient and powerful people surrounding him.