Beastmaster of the Ages

The sixth astral phase was the end point for the first half of the Order stage. Its main purpose was to form a basis for the next phase by bearing heaven-unity resonance. Dazzling starlight referred to the ordered starlight coming from his astrons. At that phase, one could see the light emanating from the astrons with the naked eye. It marked the beginning of a cultivator’s transition from a body of flesh to that of an astral giant.

Tianming and his beasts had successfully made it to the sixth phase, and he’d also finished replenishing his totem ki. On all fronts, Tianming had grown stronger. His cosmoforce and Ji Ji’s genesis ancestral nova source flowed through his body, causing him to brightly glow!

”Too many things have been happening lately. While it seems like a long time has passed since my last breakthrough, this one actually took less time than the last one.” That was mostly thanks to the order fragment.

”I heard that Yi Daiyan’s power suddenly skyrocketed in the span of fifty years and she rose from an orderan to a foundationeer before defeating Shenxi Xingtian. Perhaps she also found something like order fragments....” That was definitely a likely possibility. According to Tianming’s observations, the bloodlines of the blazetigers and silverfoxes weren’t that much better than that of the Lin Clan, but all of them had such high cultivation levels. No doubt, that had something to do with the nourishment of order fragments. If the Sea of Order was the core of the laws of the universe, then the many races in the Xenoabyss had the benefit of living right beneath it. They were constantly being nourished in some way.

”Up next, I’ll shoot for the Skyhold Bridge while exploring the Xenoabyss from the Sun!” Those three locations were where he would be spending most of his time and effort. ”I haven’t fought using Omnisentient Will for a long time. Let’s try it out on Brother Lingxiao!”

......

After hearing about Tianming’s intentions, Lin Xiao, Lin Changkong, and Xiaodao decided to organize a grand duel.

”Everyone on the Sun, including those of the Lin Clan, think you’re still an orderan. If someone younger than a hundred years old like you holds your ground against a third-level cosmic cartographer, it’ll be a miracle!” Lin Xiao nodded nonstop as he stroked his beard.

”My son used to be fifth on the minor reges mundi ranking. He’s unquestionably among the most talented disciples the clan has ever had. Not even Xiaodao has much over him. Not to mention, he’s absorbed quite a bit of Flameyellow Bloodsoul, in addition to his thousand years of cultivation. If you’re able to defeat him, you’re basically the next Yi Daiyan,” Lin Changkong said.

”Well said!” Xiaodao said as he drank, lying on the ground. ”We’re creating a god! I’m not young anymore, so while I can still hold the fort, I can’t claim to be a god among gods. Only Feng’er possess that potential! His imperial cultivation is terrifying. We have to get more and more people to have faith in him. Maybe we can even build a shrine and create more mythical battles! While the people of the Sun have absolute faith in him, there aren’t many among the clan that feel the same. While we aren’t that many people, all things considered, our cultivation is much higher, so getting all billion of us as believers would be like gaining trillions of followers!”

”Good! Let’s get my son here right away!” Lin Changkong chuckled. The poor guy didn’t even know that his father was going to use him as a sacrificial pawn to boost Tianming’s reputation. ”By the way, Feng’er, do you want Lingxiao to hold back against you?”

”What’re you talking about? Are you looking down on my grandson?!” Lin Xiao snapped, glaring at him.

”What? No way....” Lin Changkong looked deep into Tianming’s eyes and sighed, ”When I was his age, I was still playing in mud puddles. But he’s already been fighting people thousands of years his senior. People a thousand years old aren’t too far off from those who peaked at three or four thousand. In other words, this duel could actually cause him to rank in the actual reges mundi ranking!”

It was incredibly rare for a sixth-astral orderan to join the true reges mundi rankings. Naturally, they were aware that Tianming had the benefit of fighting on the Sun, his home ground. He would still be weaker than cosmic cartographers in other places like the Xenoabyss.

”Come, let’s create some hype. We’ll have the duel held inside the Sky Palace Formation so that as many people from the clan can witness it as possible.”

”Make sure to be wary of assassins.”

”No problem. We’ll keep our eyes open!”

......

Ten days later, the duel was about to start within the Sky Palace Formation. When the people of the new Sun heard that their young ruler was about to challenge a thousand-year-old genius, they were filled with excitement. The original denizens of the Sun believed that Tianming could do it without question, but those of the Swordgod Lin Clan and the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan were more skeptical. After all, most of the actual fights in recent conflicts had depended on Xiaodao, and Tianming was still young and much weaker. They saw him as their future hope, not their present savior. As such, he had to win their hearts as soon as possible.

......

The arena within the Sky Palace Formation was rather expansive, covered in sand. It was a microcosm where life didn’t thrive.

The billion-plus members of the former Ebonian clans took seats closest to the gigantic arena for the best possible view. As for the original denizens of the Sun, they could watch the battle through their Omnisentient Threads.

As countless people watched, two geniuses a thousand years apart in age stepped into the arena.

While it was only supposed to be a spar, the duel had drawn a lot of attention and hype. Lin Lingxiao was famous in the Lin Clan for being the most talented person in the new generation, while Tianming was a swordgod disciple. Most people didn’t think the two of them were on the same level, yet—one was a child, while the other was a youth.

”I recall that the strongest foe Lin Feng managed to best was an orderan, right?”

”His true power lies in his control of the Sun’s fusion formation and his infinitum-class ship. His actual combat capabilities are probably superior to those of people around five hundred years of age, but he should still be far off from Brother Lingxiao.”

”Why’s he in such a rush to challenge him, then?”

”Yeah. Not to mention all the hype around a simple spar. I really don’t get it.”

”If you don’t, don’t think about it! Just enjoy the fight!”

”In an astral war, I fully support Lin Feng. But in a duel, I can’t logically root for anyone apart from Brother Lingxiao!”

”I’ve been Brother Lingxiao’s loyal fan since I was young!”

Though the debates were intense, both contestants were members of the same clan, so they weren’t vitriolic. Unsurprisingly, the original denizens of the Sun only cheered for Tianming. Now that the two groups had begun mingling, they knew that Lin Feng was just another name for Tianming. In fact, there were two narratives about his age, one holding him around fifty while the other claimed he was around a hundred. Either way, it didn’t matter as long as Tianming was strong.

The cheers within the Sky Palace Formation spread like powerful waves. The Gladean Ruins and Ninedragon Imperial Tomb were parked beside the arena to protect Tianming, and all the elites of the Swordgod Lin Clan formed a protective circle within and without the formation, making it almost impossible for the ancestral world monster to sneak in.

Countless people watched as the blonde Lin Lingxiao stared at the white-haired youth with a faint smile and his arms behind his back. He’d been quite surprised when his father had brought up the duel with him. He knew that its purpose was to allow Tianming to gain the recognition of everyone in the clan, and had even considered going easy on him. But when he got a good look at him, he seemed to have a terrifying hallucination of billions of people standing behind Tianming. Not only that, the impetus of the ether-class Sun seemed concentrated on him, causing him to radiate a terrifying aura.