Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming needed a peaceful life, because he had a lot to learn and improve on. His divine soul was one aspect. Simulacra were also an unknown field. Right now, what lay in front of him was the Grandvoid Swordfiend and Unisword Goddess’ grade two sword arts. Tianming focused his attention on Flowerfall Flow. He could practice both Delayed Capture and Unistrike Singularity at the same time, but it was impossible to master both sword arts now. He had to take his time. Feiling’s full cooperation was required as well. She recreated the scene of Flowerfall Flow in Perpetia City.

”Flowers floating down, water flowing eastward... If time flows backward, the falling flowers will fly back to the branches and the flow of the water will be reversed. Repeating this back and forth four times is the true meaning of this sword!”

Tianming spoke to Feiling while cultivating.

”Time flowing backward? Got it. Try it now.”

She was indeed a master of time and space, revising and adapting the scene to give Tianming the best possible environment. The two were completely immersed in their discussion. Of course, they would stray into a “different” sort of discussion every once in a while.

”Can you reverse time with your Cicada Blast?”

”I’ll try…” Feiling said, blushing.

”Holy smokes!” Tianming had to admit that this was an excellent opportunity to practice sword arts.

”Can you stop?” Feiling complained, her voice sweet and melodious.

”What do you know?! This is called applying what you’ve learned. How can I master this move if I don’t leave you utterly defeated?” Tianming had been confused for quite some time, completely unable to grasp the sword art. But after this battle, and swinging his sword numerous times, he slowly found his way. ”Ling’er, you’re really my lucky star! Perpetia City is the biggest contributor to my success!” he said after half a month.

”It has nothing to do with me. It’s because you’re talented and full of cunning methods.” Feiling retorted. She had long accepted his “wonderful” ideas.

”As they say, learning is like sailing against the wind. If you don’t move forward, you’ll fall back. I’m a hardworking man, so of course I must practice again! Come on!”

”Weren’t you just practicing?” Feiling whined.

”I’m already out of practice. Young people shouldn’t be lazy. We must work hard and go the extra mile. A better life is just around the corner.”

”I’ll kill you!” Feiling could no longer stand that shameless man!

......

Tianming cultivated while practicing the sword in the Gladean Ruins. With the guidance of flameyellow divinity caeli, he felt a change in his orders; they had grown much stronger.

However, it was Feiling that broke through to the fourth astral phase after three months, or rather she had returned to that level.

”I have you to thank.” Feiling wickedly smiled.

”For what?” Tianming asked.

”Practicing your sword every day has kept me in good shape. That’s how I made progress.”

Tianming wanted to cry, but his tears wouldn’t fall. Comparing himself to her would only make him mad. However, the speed at which she recovered her cultivation was unremarkable, compared to Xiaoxiao. In just two months, she had consumed numerous caeli and reached the fifth astral phase. Tianming also discovered that she experienced less side effects than before. She now had a solid foundation and even stronger order.

”I told you you’d feel depressed,” Xiaoxiao cockily said.

”Yeah, yeah, keep bragging. Can you still show off when you’re out of caeli?” Tianming snickered.

Although she’d made rapid progress, she had also used up a lot of caeli. The caeli of the bee-headed people were just caeli. It was impossible for her to advance to Cosmic Cartography in such a short span of time, even if the caeli she ate were those of cosmic cartographers.

”I still have quite a few!” Xiaoxiao retorted.

”So what? You can’t beat me.” Tianming rolled his eyes.

”Just you wait!” Xiaoxiao was eager to conquer him, so she returned to consuming caeli. Although she had made the most progress, she was still the weakest among the four.

Tianming was speechless. Right then, Lin Xiaodao returned. Finally seeing another “normal” person made him feel much better. Lin Xiaodao was a beast at cultivation in the eyes of others, but when he returned to Skyhold Palace, he thought that Tianming and the girls were the beasts.

“Not bad, my good disciple. I heard about your feat in the Inkwell Sea from Lin Xiaoxiao!” Placing his arm over Tianming’s shoulder, Lin Xiaodao grinned.

”I heard that the situation’s grown tense. Why are you here?” Tianming asked.

”I miss you of course. I’m here to see you and improve our relationship,” Lin Xiaodao solemnly said.

”Enough bullshit!” Tianming laughed.

Glaring at Tianming, Lin Xiaodao said, ”I suddenly recalled your connection to my astralship and I happened to pass by, so I might as well study it. The ebons’ expeditionary army is almost here. If we can’t resist them, I’ll have to use this infinitum-class astralship. It’s best that I know more about it before that happens.”

”The ebons of Ebonia are coming?” Tianming frowned.

”It’s worse than that. They’ve already surrounded Gladeus. Some have reported seeing their infinitum-class astralship, which shows that they’re determined. We’re about to face a life-and-death battle.” Even the carefree Lin Xiaodao was grim-faced.

”Who knows? The second rex mundi might be here as well…” Tianming said.

”It’s very likely.” Gritting his teeth, Lin Xiaodao continued, ”So as long as we make it through this, no one will provoke us in the next millennium!”

At the moment, the tenth branch relied on Yin Chen to nibble away at the ebons, continuously building their advantage. But it would be useless once the Hellstar Formation was broken. The stars would be the real battlefield.

The situation was most tense.

”Over the next few days, our opponents may launch an attack once everything’s in place. It’s difficult to obtain information outside Gladeus, so we won’t have an advantage like we do on the ground.”

Although Yin Chen could turn into eight-starred ladybugs and fly out to space, infiltrating ether- and infinitum-class astralships was difficult.

”Master, you mentioned the Gladean Ruins?” Tianming asked.

”Yes, how much do you know about these two astralships?” Lin Xiaodao said.

The flameyellow divinities were related to the imperial-class sun, which was one of Tianming’s most important secrets. Therefore, he was still hesitating. ”Let’s enter the ruins.”

They entered Opensky Hall and soon arrived before the Gladean Ruins.