Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming and the rest were heading for Voidback City. Skyhold Bridge kept on flowing along the Dreamstream, the city growing closer and closer. It was no longer just an aspirational dream. Feiling had gone back to rest and Ji Ji was gone thanks to his second totemic calamity, leaving him alone.

”Congratulations, Master! Praise be! You managed to overcome the trial of Skyhold Bridge and became the greatest warrior, as recognized by the divine wonderians! This servant of yours is too proud to have you as my master!” the wondersky fairy exclaimed when it came out. As usual, it was rocking a lascivious figure, its every action and movement radiating with temptation.

”Go back to your hole,” Tianming said.

”Master, don’t be like that. Your wife isn’t around, and neither are your lifebound beasts. Not to mention, Skyhold Bridge’s viewport is closed. You’re free to steal a few glances at me without being discovered,” she encouraged.

”Oh? So I can cut you apart and nobody would complain?”

It opened its arms wide and lewdly cried, ”Of course! Master, I love being tortured by you! Cut away!”

Tianming ignored it and focused on his destination. The gigantic bridge finally connected to the shore and everything around him changed.

”Welcome to Voidback City, Master.” The wondersky fairy changed to a different outfit, though considering how revealing its new outfit was, it barely made any difference.

”The city is... an astralscape?” He saw stars peppered all over the void of space after he entered the city walls. Each of the stars seemed to have a hall. Even farther away was a central area with the biggest star. Turning to the wondersky fairy, he asked, ”What does this mean?”

”The small stars are called warworlds. There’s cultivation techniques, battle arts, and legacy caeli on them, as well as secret manuals to construct formations or divine astralships. However, only one person may enter each world. So you have to defeat the warworld’s current occupant to be able to cultivate there.”

”In other words, they’re arenas and anyone that wishes to stay there has to defeat challengers, right?”

”Yes! Naturally, it isn’t the same as Skyhold Bridge, which has an age limit. In Voidback City, you’ll only find the most powerful elites in the Skydome Mundus. Even though you’ve overcome the Skyhold Bridge, you’ll still meet hardship in Voidback City.”

”Alright!” Tianming nodded. This was the true arena of the powerful. Geniuses wouldn’t get any handicaps. ”What’s that large star in the middle, then?”

”That’s Voidback Star, the largest arena in Voidback City. People are allowed to place bets on the fights, or join in themselves. Bets that’re made here have to be realized in the real world as well!”

”Got it!” It wasn’t a complicated affair. However, the real reason he had come to Voidback City wasn’t foundation caeli or battle arts.

”Senior Voidback, I’ve come. Where are you?” he whispered.

”Warworld Thirty-eight,” said a cold voice within his mind. While it didn’t sound as haggard as before, it was recognizably Old Man Voidback’s voice.

”So I’ll have to conquer that warworld, eh?” Tianming figured it wasn’t the end of his fights after all. He felt a little speechless at what he still had to do. I struggled and cleared the Tranquil and Skydome Battlefields and even got a win streak of ten on the Skyhold Bridge to get here, only to be greeted with even more fights... Who knows how powerful the occupant of Warworld Thirty-eight is? I heard that people who came to Voidback City without using Skyhold Bridge are at least sixth-level cosmic cartographers....

He felt like crying, as if he had been played. How would he stand a chance? ”Take me to Warworld Thirty-eight,” he said, relenting in his mind.

”Alright, Master. Your wish is my command.” The wondersky fairy chuckled and added, ”Unlike Skyhold Bridge, everything in Voidback City is really secretive. If you can conquer a warworld, you can do anything you want in it without anyone outside finding out.”

”For instance?”

”Well, for example... naughty things,” it said as it motioned like it was shyly twirling its fingers around its nonexistent skirt.

Tianming knew that that would be its response. ”Useless!”

He glared at the fairy’s captivating limbs before following it to his destination. It was a small azure star with buildings all over it. Its surface area seemed to match Taiji Peak Lake’s. ”Who occupies this warworld? How powerful are they?”

”Let me do a search.” The wondersky fairy cracked a beaming smile and stood there, frozen. After a few moments, it suddenly snapped out of it and excitedly jumped. Tianming did his best to avert his eyes. ”Congratulations, Master! The former occupant of Warworld Thirty-eight is Fengqing You. They were defeated by you at Skyhold Bridge and have been forbidden from entering the Skydome Battlefield for a year, so this warworld is unoccupied. You can take it without having to challenge anyone.”

”Fengqing You? Wow, looks like my shit luck is finally turning around.” He had thought that he would have to fight some old expert. If he’d had to go against a ninth-level cosmic cartographer or higher, he would be utterly stupefied.

”Master, do you want to occupy this warworld?”

”Yes, of course.”

”Congratulations, Master. You’re now its master.”

”No, the only thing I’m a master of is you.”

”Master, you meanie!”

Tianming took a deep breath and descended toward the azure star and Old Man Voidback’s voice rang in his mind once more. ”Vastvoid Hall.”

”Got it.” Tianming nodded and looked for the hall. There were many grand halls dotted around the warworld, but he found himself standing in front of a straw hut. The words ’Vastvoid Hall’ were sloppily carved into the wooden door of the hut, as if it was done without much care. ”This seems promising.”

He pushed open the wooden door and stepped into darkness.

”Squat down and ponder,” said the voice.

”Why?” Tianming couldn’t help but ask.

”Most great realizations come as a result of long squats at the toilet.”

Tianming did as he was told, then noticed a stool-shaped light fall out from his caelum.