Beastmaster of the Ages

The lion-like Huang Daoxiong stood out and said in a deep voice, ”The nightmare rabbit only matters for getting first place and has nothing to do with you all. All of you have already gained a lot of benefits in the chaos. You should know better and be on your way. If you do so, we won’t hold this against you.”

His deep and thundering voice had a chilling effect. However, that alone wasn’t enough to scare away the outer mundi geniuses. They simply stood there and waited for another chance to change their destinies.

Huang Daoxiong chuckled and his expression turned cold. ”Don’t be naive. I’ll remember every single black name up on the ranking. Even if you manage to get into Myriadpath Valley, I’ll make sure to settle this debt with every one of you!”

There was no avoiding it, since their names were public. It was a real threat!

”Huang Daoxiong, the trial on the Skyward Grandpath is supposed to be fair! Forget about scaring me—” one outer mundi genius stubbornly said, but he didn’t get to finish before a beam of crimson charged into the crowd and crushed that poor fellow’s head like an egg with his bare hand!

Huang Daoxiong held the body of that person up and tore it into pieces like a worthless rag. The outer mundi genius had died before he could even cry out in pain. ”Who told you that Myriadpath Valley is supposed to be fair? Hahahah!”

As he laughed, the outer mundi geniuses retreated with pale looks. Anyone who stood out first would be hammered down. They cautiously kept watch without daring to do anything rash.

”I’m going to count to three! Scatter! Anyone that stays here after that will be slain like that animal just now. Don’t think that numbers will help you. Before the likes of us, you’re nothing more than trash! I can kill five hundred of you alone! With my friends here, we can take on thousands!” Huang Daoxiong projected a domineering aura that was fitting for a lion, the king of the jungle. All the other monkeys and critters within it had no choice but to submit.

The outer mundi geniuses knew that there were only a hundred slots available, and they had taken quite a few of them already. At the end of the day, their lives were far more important. Not to mention, they’d already had a chance to vent their frustrations, so they began to scatter, though not completely leave. They backed off to the second line behind them, not daring to approach the nightmare rabbit, but they were still waiting for a chance near the center of the battlefield.

All of it was for a chance of making it into the top hundred. If someone got defeated and just happened to escape to where they were, killing them would give them the rest of the points. Additionally, outer mundi geniuses weren’t a monolith, either, and began fighting among themselves. The black names that’d risen in the ranking had done so by killing others and taking their places. If the outer mundi had been able to form a united alliance, Myriadpath Valley wouldn’t have stood a chance at all, but alas, that wasn’t the case.

With the outer mundi geniuses leaving the chase for the nightmare rabbit, only nineteen gold names remained. Tianming remained hidden, being the only person in the top twenty that wasn’t accounted for. He was also the one whom Huang Daoxiong and the rest thought would fight for the nightmare rabbit. Having cleared the battlefield of vultures who were waiting to pounce, the nineteen turned back to the nightmare rabbit with a greedy look.

”I should remind all of you that someone called Li Tianming managed to kill Huang Jihuang. He seems rather potent. With the nightmare rabbit having been revealed for quite some time now, he should be nearby. We should be wary of him and not let him take advantage of us,” Qiu Ciling said. She seemed to fit the profile of a female cultivator of Myriadpath Valley—cold, proud, noble, and narcissistic.

With the man to woman ratio in Myriadpath Valley being four to one, most male cultivators were unable to find partners. As such, female cultivators were incredibly cherished. While the powerful in outer mundi could easily gain multiple partners, it was the women in Myriadpath Valley who would have a number of husbands. There were only four women among the nineteen, Qiu Ciling being the most attractive among them. As such, her words held quite a bit of weight.

Once men and women matched up in Myriadpath Valley, their families would often get involved to ensure a good match between their talent and status. There were many specters in Myriadpath Valley, but most people were still humans. Beastmasters had the highest numbers, while totemancers and specters were about equal in number.

Specters and humans had difficulty producing offspring. As for marriages between totemancers and beastmasters, their offspring would only be one or the other. As such, most people married others with the same cultivation system as them.

The nineteen inner valley disciples were about the same age, so they naturally knew one another. While they were just as confused about the new rules of the Skyward Grandpath, they quickly adapted. First, they got rid of the meddling outer mundi geniuses. Then, they started competing among themselves.

Huang Daoxiong roared as their leader. All nineteen of them began to charge toward the nightmare rabbit. The high-ether-class wildbeast was comparable to a seventh-level cosmic cartographer in strength, so most of the people there weren’t its match. They merely kept close to the beast without daring to approach it until Huang Daoxiong and the rest came.

The final struggle had begun! Among the nineteen were specters, beastmasters, totemancers, and even one divine wonder user!

There were two steps to obtaining first place. First, kill the nightmare rabbit. Second, run to the exit of the Skyward Grandpath without being defeated or killed. Alternatively, one could also hunt down the one who got the points of the nightmare rabbit then run to safety. However, that would likely be difficult, since the most likely ones to kill the nightmare rabbit would be Huang Daoxiong, Chu Tianyu, and Qiu Ciling. Tianming didn’t have the option to kill them. ”The best way to go about this is to kill the nightmare rabbit myself and run.”

Huang Daoxiong and the rest also knew the game and quickly charged in. Tianming would have been attacked if he had made his move at that moment and ended up eliminated. Instead, he let the nineteen fight among themselves for the chance to kill the nightmare rabbit. The battle grew chaotic once more as lifebound beasts, totems, and divine wonders locked on to the nightmare rabbit while defending against attacks from the others that wanted it for themselves.