Beastmaster of the Ages

As cold as Lan Yun was, Tianming’s words made her laugh, if only for a moment. But her expression quickly turned frosty once more. ”This is the first time, so I won’t punish you. But if you speak like that again, I will.” It was obvious she knew that it was intentional, not a slip of the tongue. Tianming couldn’t hide his thoughts from her; she knew that he wanted to bring them closer through this little joke.

”Yes.” Tianming nodded.

Lan Yun placed her hands on her legs and straightened her back, accentuating her perky breasts. She was certainly smarter than Demoness Yin. Although she seemed cold and unapproachable, she used little tricks to show off her beauty and figure, tantalizing the young men while prohibiting contact with the opposite sex. When the time came, she wouldn’t even have to make the first move. All she would have to do was beckon them and they’d immediately pounce on her like beasts.

”Be specific. What do you want?” Lan Yun said.

Tianming thought for a moment and said, ”I want the Myriadpath Sourcespring.”

”The Myriadpath Sourcespring?” A solemn expression formed on Lan Yun’s face. ”Are you serious?”

”Yes.”

”That isn’t surprising. All outer mundi disciples come here for the same thing, but you’re the only one who’ll admit it.” She stared at him, her voice sinking. ”My advice to you is this: don’t overestimate yourself. Everyone wants the Myriadpath Sourcespring, which makes it almost impossible to obtain, more so than ordered manna. In Myriadpath Valley, merit can be exchanged for anything except that. There’s thousands of people who want it, so you have to be better than them to even stand a chance. You’d have to be a supreme genius to stand above thousands of Myriadpath Valley disciples.... Do you think you are?”

”I... I don’t know yet,” Tianming admitted.

”It doesn’t matter. You’ll understand when you hit a wall,” Lan Yun coldly said. The woman changed her tune faster than turning the page of a book. Being told she was beautiful had made her happy, but she grew icy as soon as they spoke about his ambitions. The entire courtyard was infected by her cold demeanor.

”Li Tianming, do you know what your biggest weakness and disadvantage is?” Lan Yun asked.

”I’m a tainted beastmaster with fragmented totems....” Tianming knew that was what she wanted to hear.

”Yes! It seems you’re self-aware. So even if you can defeat a seventh-level cosmic cartographer, a core disciple of Myriadpath Valley at your age, you’ll always be despised and remain at the bottom. Myriadpath Valley’s entire system was built upon a chain of contempt!

”As far as disciples are concerned, the disciples of the top ancient houses look down on those from the ordinary ancient houses, and they look down on ordinary gold myriathpath ring disciples, who look down on black myriadpath ring disciples! To the inner valley disciples, those wearing black myriadpath rings are outsiders and country bumpkins who’ve come to snatch their resources. And the outer mundi disciples despise you for being a mongrel. Do you understand? There are some who jokingly call this place ‘Scorn Valley’,” Lan Yun explained.

”I understand, but it’s still horrible. I must be the only one who’s despised by all of Myriadpath Valley,” Tianming said with a wry smile.

”You’re right. There’s no point pretending to be optimistic. It’s just a fact. It’s a mark on you that’ll never disappear. Even your three senior brothers were confused and disgusted when they saw your hands. Did you notice that?” Lan Yun bluntly said.

”I did.” Tianming nodded.

”Everyone in Myriadpath Valley, and most of the people in the Million Mundi believe that tainted beastmasters have little potential. Even if you quickly progress in the early stages due to special circumstances and you’re stronger than your peers here, they’ll remind you time and again that you will soon be surpassed and eventually fall to the bottom!” Lan Yun said, intensifying her voice.

It wasn’t easy to accept, but Tianming couldn’t argue against it. However, before he could say anything, Lan Yun continued, ”I see that you have many tricks. You have lifebound beasts, totems, and wonders, but your lifebound beasts are joined to your body—they don’t even have their own physical form. You have many totems, but they’re all fragmented. You look like an all-rounder when you fight, so you must be very proud, right?”

Tianming shook his head. ”No.”

”That’s good. You may seem accomplished in every area right now, but you’ll end up failing at all of them the further up you go. After all, humans have limited energy and Myriadpath Valley is filled with people who are more talented than you. They specialize in one thing, whether it’s lifebound beasts, totems, or wonders. They’ll eventually succeed at whatever it is they focus on while you struggle to juggle everything. You have to learn to let go.” Lan Yun didn’t sound like she was joking. From the tone of her voice, it seemed that she was guiding Tianming based on her knowledge and experience.

”Yes, you’re right. I understand.” Tianming didn’t want to argue with her, as it was pointless.

”How many orders do you possess?” Lan Yun asked.

”Eight...” Tianming replied without hesitation.

”My goodness!” Lan Yun palmed her forehead, rolling her eyes as she continued, ”You’re the most greedy cultivator I’ve ever seen. If you want to grow stronger, you have to learn to give up certain cultivation methods and orders and specialize in one.”

”I’ll think about it and make a choice,” Tianming said.

”Alright.”

Lan Yun seemed to take him for his word. She thought Tianming’s style of cultivation was outrageous; although he had many tricks and techniques and made quick progress, wouldn’t his cultivation level be even higher if he focused on just one method and order? Skipping levels sounded impressive, but it was also a disadvantage if one was perpetually stuck at a lower level and had to leapfrog all the time.

”You’ve taken first place on the Skyward Ranking. It’s recorded on the myriadpath ring. Huang Daolie failed to kill you, so he can’t change that fact. Once you’ve settled down, you’ll go to a place called the Heavensource Starriver to receive your reward. What you want is ordered manna, right?” Lan Yun asked, her voice cold.

”Yes, Master.” Tianming nodded, taking note of the place. Although he didn’t know how to get there, Li Fan did.

”Alright then. From now on, you’re to focus on cultivating and familiarizing yourself with Myriadpath Valley. Go to your senior brothers if you have any questions and build a good relationship with them. If you want to leave, it’s best you go with them. Don’t give the Huang House an opportunity to kill you. I don’t have time to keep an eye on you,” Lan Yun said. It was rare for her to talk so much. She certainly hadn’t said as much to her other disciples the first time they met.

”Yes!” Tianming nodded again.

”One last thing—” Lan Yun stood up in front of Tianming and a frosty chill rushed toward him. ”You said that you want the Myriadpath Sourcespring?” Lan Yun asked.