Beastmaster of the Ages

Lin Xiaoxiao was serious. After invading a territory, if you didn’t want to raze everything to the ground and kill everyone, it would be complicated to take over it and prevent any possible rebellions, assassinations, and revenge.

And that was just the Inkwell Sea. Unifying Gladeus, bringing back societal stability, and increasing its prosperity would take much, much more than just a war. It would take at least a hundred years.

But Tianming wasn’t anxious. The path of cultivation as an astral god was long.

“Little Fish’s power is inconsistent. For example, she ran the risk of soul attacks today as she’s only a solarian herself, so her own body is the weak spot. The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb is also an external item, so if a real expert comes, they can break in. In the end, personal strength is the most important!” He knew that a gap in strength existed between him and seniors that had cultivated for millennia. But in cultivation, greatness wasn’t achieved in one day, so he still had to respect their age.

“You can never rush cultivation!” Tianming already had access to the best reges mundi caeli. Thus, he remained calm despite the chaos in the outside world. Within the Hellstar Formation, he was without worries.

“But can Gladeus hold on when the expeditionary forces arrive?” That was the question that couldn’t be answered for now.

……

The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb returned to Skyhold Palace, which remained calm and peaceful. Of course, when Ying Huo and the rest were let out, it became lively. Especially Lan Huang, whose voice was loud enough to cover the whole palace.

“Boss! When can Big Sis Wu You come out! I want to play! Wrestle! Duel! Throw her over my shoulder! Last time I threw her all over the place!” Lan Huang started laughing when it recalled the scene.

“If you can get a girlfriend, I’ll take your surname.” Tianming rolled his eyes.

“Huh? You want to be surnamed Lan, Blue? You’re not Blue! Change the color... maybe Lu for Green?” Lan Huang started to fantasize. “My next girlfriend needs to be meaty! Strong! Tough! Not like Ling’er. She’s so ugly, look how thin she is!”

“Hey, keep it down before Ling’er hears!” Tianming felt himself sweating.

At that moment, blood-colored lightning and an aura of malice filled the area in which Xiaoxiao was living.

“Intriguing.” Tianming narrowed his eyes. “Let’s go and see if your Big Sis Wu You is tougher now.”

Lan Huang’s massive body flew over.

One man and one beast reached the palace gates. It was very large and meant especially for lifebound beasts. Just as they arrived, a giant beast in the form of a streak of lightning arrived in front of them.

“Archaionfiend?” Tianming noticed that its looks had changed somewhat, and some sigils had appeared on its black scales. Of course, the most noticeable change was its eyes. In the past, they were meant to provide vision, but now they had become the core of its bloodline, abilities, and cultivation, achieving the same uses as heptastar organs. The concentration of albi in the eyes was higher than the rest of its heptastar organs. Most likely, even its order would shift there.

Upon closer inspection, Tianming saw that Wu You’s eyes both had ten smaller eyes spinning around inside. The weird part was that all the eyes were looking in different directions, making it look creepy.

Tianming could clearly tell that Wu You had completely changed. Although its cultivation hadn’t risen, its bloodline had fundamentally transformed. Its aura had become more sinister and it looked more frightening than the Primordial Chaos Beasts—in terms of looks, at least.

Lan Huang’s head leaned toward Tianming as it sneakily said with a red face, “Boss, how spicy!”

“You meant Xiaoxiao?” Tianming asked with surprise.

“Huh? No, Big Sis Wu You!” Lan Huang was confused.

“What?” Tianming looked over. The Archaionfiend’s creepy eyes and sinister aura made it look like a demon, while its powerful body would be a nightmare to many wildbeasts. That was spicy? As expected of Lan Huang!

Tianming’s misunderstanding was caused by the fact that, after symbiotic cultivation with Wu You, Xiaoxiao’s eyes had turned much more crimson and bewitching while her skin had become much fairer and her aura had turned much more alluring. She was completely different from the fourteen-year-old girl he’d met in Ignispolis.

“Not bad, not bad, both of you have evolved!” Tianming clapped.

“It’s beyond your imagination.” The Archaionfiend proudly lifted its head.

“How so?”

“Hand over those bee-head caeli and those you robbed at the Inkwell Sea. Xiaoxiao and I will soon surpass you,” the Archaionfiend said.

“Really? I’m someone who can defeat seventh-phase orderans.”

“It won’t be hard. Your orders will grow slower and slower. That turtle of yours will also be trampled beneath my foot sooner or later as well,” the Archaionfiend proudly said.

“You sure it’ll be under your foot and not under your body?’ Tianming asked.

Wu You froze, then threw its head back and shrieked to the high heavens to vent its hatred. “I’ll be able to harm beastiae in a large area, and it will probably be fatal. After a while, let’s go to the underground world to try it.” Xiaoxiao smiled.

“Oh, I look forward to it!” Tianming trusted her words.

“Apart from killing wildbeasts, I’ll also surpass your lifebound beasts in other areas!” the Archaionfiend said.

“We’ll see!” Tianming maintained his smile.

“Alright, enough chatting. Play with me, Big Sis Wu You!” Lan Huang could no longer hold itself back and brutishly charged forward. It couldn’t be helped; none of its siblings could physically tussle with it so it had been so bored.

Tianming watched on while speaking to Xiaoxiao. “Right, it said it can remove the marks on my caelum?”

“We’ll improve a bit first. I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” Xiaoxiao said.

“I’ll wait for your good news.”