Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming was well aware of the advantages of this simulacrum. Without it, he could gang up on an opponent with sheer numbers. But after the simulacrum, his single-target combat capability soared explosively, making it even easier for him to go in for the kill! Not to mention, it would be harder for others to take note of his totems, unaware that he was using all their power! Not to mention, he also had his lifebound beasts and divine wonder at his disposal. His Fiendsky Arm also greatly boosted his pure physical strength.

”That’s one more thing in my arsenal that makes me even stronger.” The Swordgod Lin Clan wasn’t purely defined by their swordbeasts. Tianming didn’t necessarily have to rely on his simulacrum either. Even then, he still looked forward to other surprises of future simulacra. He already had a foot in the door, so it would be easier for him to open it wider in the future.

”Great! I’ll go to the Skydome Battlefield to test out the power of my simulacrum.” He didn’t go to Skyhold Bridge yet because the cost of losing a fight there was substantial. In the Skydome Battlefield, however, he could fight freely without worry. He couldn’t afford to lose his privilege to access foundation caeli of the divine wonderians, after all. That was the reason quite a few members of Skyhold Bridge still showed up there.

”Since my simulacrum doesn’t have a name, I’ll give it one.” He gave it some thought and decided to call it Swordheart. He didn’t have an actual swordheart, but this simulacrum made him resemble members of the Swordgod Lin Clan even more. ”It’s a shame that a clear energy connection is still visible if I use it. I still have to hide my totems to not be found out.”

......

Tianming went to the Skydome Battlefield alone without his lifebound beasts. He didn’t use his divine wonders either. He fought a penta-beastmaster with his primary simulacrum, easily breaking through the defenses of the beasts to take down the beastmaster. While it no longer looked as flashy as before, his single-target combat capabilities were even stronger than those of actual members of the Swordgod Lin Clan. The different aspects of his totem swords were infused into his six types of cosmoforce, making for easily the most complicated combination of energies the universe had witnessed. It completely perplexed his opponents.

”Using it with the spacetime sword arts of the two reges mundi makes it even more potent.” Tianming was glad that his totems were finally up to par with the others. They were finally more useful than the prime wonder.

”Even so, my level is still not high enough. Looks like there’s still quite some ways before I clear Skyhold Bridge.” The strongest fighter there should be similar to Fu Yan, but were five hundred years old or older. By his estimations, they should be nearing cosmic cartographers in power. As such, he chose to make the best use of his ten-year-long permission to train using foundation caeli to nurture the growth of his orders.

His cultivation continued for days, then years, alternating between a month at the Reges Mundi Pillar and the Gladean Ruins. It was quite an effective regimen. These two places were filled with foundation caeli, which offered him a vast expanse of possibility.

His various orders, infernal, primordial, and radix, to name a few, weren’t present within the sea of order itself. So, observing the workings of other people’s foundations wasn’t too conducive to Tianming’s improvement. However, he eventually came to realize that there were similarities between different streams of order. For instance, many flame-type orders of the flameyellow divinities resembled Ying Huo’s infernal order, which could in turn help with its growth.

Tianming even had a theory that all those flame-type orders combined actually made up the infernal order in its entirety. As such, while his cultivation speed wasn’t comparable to Feiling’s or Xiaoxiao’s, he was at least ten times faster than geniuses the likes of Fu Yan. Additionally, few if any others in both mundi had nearly equivalent to the kind of access to cultivation resources that he boasted. Tianming didn’t really notice the passage of time at all and thought that only three or four months had passed. When he began to start his advancement towards the third astral phase, Feiling told him that three years had passed since he awakened his primary simulacrum.

”Alright, I’ll have to start considering years like I did months. That makes me feel much better about it.” The fact that even geniuses had used five centuries to reach the Cosmic Cartography stage meant that cultivating at the higher levels normally required decades. Fortunately, the third astral phase, soul head permeation, was strongly related to the soul. Only those with fifth holy souls could undergo it. As its name suggested, it was the fusion of the divine soul with the astral brain organ. The sea of consciousness would manifest more solidly in this phase and completely fuse with the brain. From then on, there would be no more sea of consciousness. The vita would also form a whole with the astral brain, making it different from other astral organs in that every single astron would be shaped like the soul, building an even more powerful foundation for the soul’s future growth.

”If not for Teacher Gongyang’s help, I wouldn’t be able to reach the third astral phase.” It had been three years of careful progress; he had been afraid of messing up this step. ”I wonder if the Soul Tower has changed as well.”

He looked forward to seeing it. With the sea of consciousness gone, the Soul Tower opened a pathway for Tianming’s soul to leave it to go to the brain. After fusing with the astrons there, the brain’s galactic area bloomed with a multitude of colors that the other astral organs didn’t have. After succeeding, Tianming’s soul sensed a completely different world through the brain. Soul and flesh were now one. He took a deep breath.

”Soul Tower...” He shifted his attention to the little, white tower, only to notice a tiny purple tower beside it. ”Isn’t this the Purple Tower?”

It had appeared at the same time as the Soul Tower. Initially, it had protected Tianming, but ever since he became an ascendant, the Purple Tower changed forms to protect his albi instead. But as it was too widely dispersed within his body, it didn’t have a pronounced effect. Why did it reappear after Tianming became an astral god?

As he watched, the two towers fused together to form a purple-white tower that was oddly shaped.

”Is that a skull?” He didn’t even know what to make of it. The tower was in the shape of a skull, which fit right over his head, seemingly protecting the entire brain region. ”So, does this new tower protect both the soul and the flesh? Looks like my astral soulbrain is well protected!”

The new tower was incredibly tough, and it was known as the Skysoul Tower. The Skysoul Tower protected his head and the Greenspark Tower rejuvenated his body. Both were a part of the Prime Tower. Even the prime wonder was only a part of the Prime Tower.

”I’m even more stable and secure than before. I should try to take the next step at Skyhold Bridge.”