Beastmaster of the Ages

Suishen Cave was one of the most sacred spots in Myriadpath Valley. It was a historical ruin from the time Myriadpath Valley was still a nova source world. Totemancers from all over dreamed of making a pilgrimage to it. It resembled a chaotic crucible, being situated in the deepest parts of Myriadpath Valley like the eye in the abyss. But within it was a paradisiacal haven.

Within the misty idyllic haven was a completely sealed, white palace, adorned with dense divine celestial patterns. Many layers of formations kept the palace locked away. A long, red-haired youth was walking toward it.

”Little Zhao, Little Zhao, I know it’s you. Quickly, open the door for your big sister!” someone said in a pleasant voice from within the palace.

The red-haired Suishen Zhao’s expression stiffened as he sighed in resignation. ”Big Sister, can you not stop? You’ll finish serving your term in another three months. If you leave now, Grandfather will add even more time to your sentence.”

”Nonsense! My good behavior during my imprisonment should’ve earned me an early parole! Let me out now, or I’ll beat you up once I eventually leave,” the voice harshly said.

”Good behavior? By whose standards? Grandfather’s?”

”Oh, I myself said so, of course.”

”You... you’re already around four hundred years old. Can’t you be more mature? Grandfather was already mad enough that you meddled in the Skyward Grandpath trial last time. Just wait patiently for another three months. You’ll be free in a blink of an eye!”

”That’s all in the past! My dear brother, please open the door for me!”

”Sis!” Suishen Zhao’s eyes were stern. ”Behave. There will be another Doomsday Shuffle soon. Who’ll be responsible for upholding House Suishen’s honor?”

”I’m not happy that you’re bringing that up. I’m third on the Fortuna Ranking! Why can’t I be responsible for it?” the girl said in annoyance.

”Sis, you’re only ranked third. In the future, I’ll be ranked first,” Suishen Zhao said.

”Keep boasting. Totemancers grow really fast at the start but eventually slow down. I’ve also experienced the same growth spurt that you’re in the middle of right now,” she said, dissatisfied.

”That’s what everyone says, but I’ll prove them wrong.” Suishen Zhao’s gaze blazed, causing the flaming lotus between his brows to burn.

”Are you going to let me out or not?” the girl impatiently asked.

”No, lest I be imprisoned as well! I don’t want to waste my cultivation time,” Suishen Zhao said before he turned to leave.

Just then, a red figure within the mist quickly appeared beside Suishen Zhao. They were short, being not much taller than a meter, but they had a huge head, one that was much larger than Suishen Zhao’s. The figure’s eyes looked like bronze bells and it was covered in fiery red skin, which was decorated with flaming patterns. ”Young Lord, Young Lord!”

”What is it, Fen Nu?” Suishen Zhao asked.

”That Li Tianming brat defeated three ninth-level cosmic cartographers at the Ascension Colosseum today. He’s just issued you a formal challenge and is waiting for you there,” said the odd person called Fen Nu.

”Today? Are you certain?” Suishen Zhao asked, squinting. He’d only made the invitation earlier that day and had intended to give Tianming around twenty years to accept it. He didn’t think the challenge would be issued so soon.

”Yes. News of this has spread far and wide. Many people have gone to the Ascension Colosseum to see you. Young Lord, are you going to battle right away?”

”Of course.” Suishen Zhao made sure his attire was neat and tidy. ”It isn’t easy for me to encounter a rival my age who’s achieved what I couldn’t. I’m sure there’s something I can learn from someone like him.”

”How humble you are, Young Lord. He’s but a tainted beastmaster who used shortcuts to expedite his early growth, yet you’re so charitable toward him.” Fen Nu was about to keep laying on the flattery, but Suishen Zhao interrupted him.

”Enough of that. It’s pointless to say all that. I’ll know his standards once I fight him.”

”Very well, Young Lord. This way, if you please.”

Right as Fen Nu finished, the girl in the white palace asked, ”Wait, Little Zhao, did someone in the Ascension Colosseum challenge you? Someone you extended an invitation to, no less?”

Suishen Zhao looked back. ”That’s right. What about it?”

”Who is it? The name sounds familiar—what house are they from?”

”I can’t be bothered to tell you. I have to go.”

”You don’t want me there to see you embarrass yourself, eh? That way, you’ll no longer be able to boast to me about how hardworking you are and call me childish ever again.”

”You really have the richest imagination.”

”Sigh! I really want to see my amazing brother trip up for once! But alas, I don’t have a chance. I really want to see you beaten and crying. There’s only three short months left, and Grandfather isn’t in Myriadpath Valley, either! What a shame!”

”Suishen Yao!” Suishen Zhao called out her boyish-sounding name. ”What’s the point of doing all this?”

”Nobody asked you to be so arrogant toward me at your age. Do you think you’re the first proud little brat I’ve come across?” she said with a smile.

”You!” Suishen Zhao groaned in frustration and held the moon-shaped lock at the entrance of the palace. With a loud click, the door opened and a pink-haired, pink-eyed girl in a short white dress came running out barefoot.

”I love you so much, my stupid little brother!” she giggled and vanished in a pink storm before Suishen Zhao could react.

”Young Lord, you fell for it again,” Fen Nu said, resisting the urge to laugh.

Suishen Zhao looked at the crescent-moon lock and grit his teeth. ”Having a childish elder sister like that frustrates me to no end! Sigh.... Let’s just go to the colosseum!”

***

More and more people went to the Ascension Colosseum. There were even maniverse disciples and myriadpath saints along with the fortuna disciples. The foundationeer myriadpath saints made up the largest number of people in Myriadpath Valley. They were all older than two thousand years old. The age ranges were rather diverse, with some even being near death.

Duels between peak geniuses would always draw a lot of attention. Normally, such duels only occurred between members of the Three Exalted Houses. However, Suishen Zhao had nobody else his age who could match up to his talent. When everyone heard that he had picked a black ring disciple who wasn’t even a hundred years old to challenge, they wanted to watch the duel for themselves!

Apart from the younger disciples, all the other people in the audience were foundationeers. Myriadpath Valley was a place where the best of the best in the astralscape gathered. Putting aside young family members, the proper members of the valley were at least cosmic cartographers or stronger. Ebonia’s population, on the other hand, was mostly made up of ascendants. It was naturally quite a lot of pressure to face so many foundationeers on the level of Mister Taihe.

All of them were discussing Tianming. Even Lan Yun was in the crowd. As Tianming’s master, she was on his side. Even though she seemed cold and unapproachable with her arms crossed, quite a few people came over to offer their congratulations.

There were also quite a lot of reverends in the crowd that watched the whole thing while adopting a low profile. Aside from Reverend Daolie, who had gone to the Xenoabyss, Reverends Qingyuan and Shujian were there with Huang Daosheng. They couldn’t do anything but watch as Tianming rose higher and higher, their expressions just as sour as the Little Lion King’s. Even if Tianming lost this duel, he would still gain honor and prestige. The only thing those three could do would be to gain some solace by laughing at how he lost.

Reverend Qingyuan turned to Huang Daosheng and said, ”Don’t get ruffled up at this taint’s short blaze of glory. In another hundred years, he’ll surely fall into obscurity. You, on the other hand, like Suishen Zhao, will become an eminent in the future and rise to the very top. You’ll be the true master of others at the end of the day.”

Reverend Shujian added, ”That’s right! Don’t be led astray by what happens here. In cultivation, bloodline is the most important. Without it, whatever glory that taint gets will be nothing but a mirage of the past.”

”Thank you for your guidance, Reverends.” Huang Daosheng felt much better after hearing his seniors’ words of guidance.

”Those two?” Tianming turned to look at the crowd from afar and saw Jian Qinghe and Uncle Hei. They were watching from a mountain peak farther away. Yin Chen didn’t dare to get too close, but it was certain that they had come for Tianming, not Suishen Zhao. Apart from those two, the rest were there to see the totems that could be the strongest of them all in the future.

”Li Tianming, enter the Fortuna Arena and await your opponent!” As this duel was a rather high-profile one, the Ascension Colosseum had assigned an announcer to hurry along the proceedings. It was like they were worried that the crowd would have nothing to see if he got cold feet and dropped out of the fight.

Tianming landed on the battlefield, standing tall and waiting.

”To be fair, this kid has quite a decent aura despite being under a hundred.”

”He was fierce in those three prior battles.”

”So what? Can he really compete against someone from the Three Exalted Houses?”

”All I’m saying is that there must be something special about him compared to the other disciples in Myriadpath Valley.”

Such discussions carried on until Suishen Zhao’s arrival. The moment the red-haired youth and his servant, Fen Nu, descended from the sky, everyone in the colosseum cheered. The crowd watched with awe and respect as someone from an apex bloodline arrived.

”Suishen Zhao!” Countless people fervently called his name. He was able to muster such a huge support base in Myriadpath Valley, let alone the Million Mundi. While Myriadpath Valley wasn’t really a dynasty, Suishen Zhao was nevertheless their crown prince.

Tianming felt a powerful rush of totem ki the moment Suishen Zhao met his gaze. He had thought that this would be nothing but a friendly spar, but the crowd and the surrounding atmosphere was so intense that his fighting spirit kept rising. A flame burned within him; it was as if two stars were colliding.

Under such circumstances, a casual light spar was out of the question. The burning passion immediately spread to everyone in the audience, including the pink-haired girl that was laying flat against a floating cloud, watching the proceedings with snacks in hand. The moment she set her sights on the arena, she froze.

”Huh? Why does he look familiar?” She gave it some thought and blinked with surprise. ”Wait, isn’t this that little taint fella?”

It was because of her messing around at Skyward Grandpath’s trial that caused her to get imprisoned for more than three years! ”Wait, that guy was only a seventh-level cosmic cartographer back then. How’d he come so far? Didn’t my brother say that he found someone who isn’t yet a hundred years old?”

At the thought of that, she looked at the Fortuna Ranking. In the three thousands, she saw an eye-catching red-and-black name. ”Whoa... that little taint isn’t even a hundred years old.... Tch! He looks like some middle-aged uncle.”

If Tianming heard her say that, he might actually vomit blood. That pink-haired girl looked too young, with her eyes still wide and large. She was dressed in a set of smooth white pajamas. Her sleepy demeanor made her resemble Ji Ji’s spiritform, but aged up a bit.

”Fen Nu! Fen Nu! Get over here right now!” she called.

”Young Miss, your servant is here!” Fen Nu said.

”Tell me more about that little tainty boy.”

”Little tainty boy?”

”Him. Li Tianming. His name doesn’t sound like anything special, but he seems confident.”

”Him?” Fen Nu gave it some thought and proceeded to tell her about everything.

The girl seemed to get mad once she heard all of it. ”Huang Daolie, oh, you.... How dare you try to cripple the one I chose to get first place the moment I was gone? Once he finishes this fight, I’ll go break Huang Daolie’s neck!”

”Young Miss, please don’t! The old master still doesn’t know that you’ve left three months before the end of your sentence! If you cause trouble and draw attention....”

”Fine. I’ll let that lion dog live for three more months,” she said, arms against her waist. ”Keep talking.”