Beastmaster of the Ages

Suishen Shuang couldn’t help but sigh as Suishen Yao’s husband-to-be had firmly been decided. The outcome was expected by many. While Suishen Yuan was decent, it would be hard for him to conquer the ancestral idol.

It also marked the end of the idols on the Maniverse Path. Since nobody was able to clear the seventh, the eighth wouldn’t descend. While the audience was a bit disappointed, it was a common outcome. No matter how talented a generation of disciples was compared to the previous ones, it still wouldn’t change the fact that Myriadpath Valley reigned supreme over the Million Mundi.

Not to mention, not everyone was unhappy about the outcome. Among the eminents of House Suishen was a woman clad in gold robes. She seemed completely elated and went over to Suishen Yue right as he returned.

”Mother!” Suishen Yue bowed to the woman, filled with emotion. ”You’ve done well! So well!” she said, smiles beaming.

”To be honest, I was panicking a little when I was eliminated. Thankfully, Little Yuan didn’t hold up much longer either,” Suishen Yue said in a hushed, but gleeful voice.

”The ancestral idol’s far too difficult. There aren’t many people who’ve cleared it all throughout history, so don’t take it to heart. All that matters is that you’ve succeeded in what matters.” She paused for a moment. ”Come, let’s go greet Uncle Ranxing. I believe he’ll be making the announcement soon.”

”Okay!” Suishen Yue’s heart was pumping with excitement. His marriage to Suishen Yao would soon be announced!

When Suishen Yuan returned, he immediately paled and seemed completely crestfallen. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was in the public eye, he would probably break down. His father, Suishen Cang, could do naught but sigh. He was worried that his son would lose it from the grief and immediately tried to take him back to Suishen Cave.

”Dad, I don’t want to go!” Each word that came from Suishen Yuan was heart-rending to listen to. Unlike Suishen Yue, he had a measure of true feelings for Suishen Yao.

”Listen to me, Son. You must take your loss with grace. Ranxing already views you highly, or else he wouldn’t have even given you a chance,” Suishen Cang said. Being denied something that one wanted so badly no doubt felt horrible.

Suishen Yuan grit his teeth and pointed at the Fortuna Path. ”No, I know that I lost my chance. I’ll only embarrass myself if I keep staying here, but I want to see how that brat does.”

He was talking about Tianming! Everyone else had already been eliminated, save for him and Suishen Zhao. More than two million people were paying attention to the outcome!

”Is he still holding on?” Suishen Cang seemed completely shocked. ”Little Yuan, even if he manages to clear the ancestral idol, it has nothing to do with Yaoyao and Suishen Yue’s marriage, got it?”

”I know! But I want to see,” Suishen Yuan said, reluctance clear in his eyes. He didn’t dare to tell his dad that even though he had lost hope, he wanted Tianming to succeed and ruin things for Suishen Yue. He would rather let Tianming have Suishen Yao than Suishen Yue!

He hated Tianming, but he hated Suishen Yue even more. Everyone in Myriadpath Valley believed Suishen Yue to be some just, reasonable man. Only Suishen Yuan knew that it was all a facade. Suishen Yue’s entire being was fake and he would only show his ugly side when he was alone with Suishen Yuan! Nobody would believe Suishen Yuan if he told anyone else about his rival’s true nature, after all. That was why he was so disgusted by his older rival.

”I may be out of the game, but Suishen Yue, I curse you to lose everything you have!” Suishen Yuan didn’t even want to look over to his rival, for he knew that the latter would only do something that would disgust him even more. He had never expected that the day when he would pray for Tianming’s success would ever come.

Everyone only grew more nervous as time passed.

”If he really clears this....”

”He would’ve broken the highest record ever! It’d completely eclipse his previous achievements!”

”It shouldn’t be possible. Even the maniverse disciples have been eliminated!”

”Who could’ve predicted that a black ring disciple would become a legend during the opening of the Prehistoric Path?”

Tianming had no idea about the complex thoughts and feelings that were brewing outside. He was entirely focused on the ancestral idol. Starlight filled his surroundings as he struggled to open his eyes, only to see nothing but more light. Each star seemed to be an actual, real world.

”Wake up! Quickly!” Ji Ji’s voice rang out in his ears nonstop. ”Look up at the sky! Your woman is still alive!”

”Sky?” Tianming looked up and noticed that he could see through the bright lights of the ancestral idol. He saw the golden crystals of the Upper Star Ruins. ”Ling’er’s even brighter now.”

”How can she not be when you’re constantly fooling around? She’s overcoming her trials and rushing back to slay you,” Xian Xian said.

”Huh?” Tianming only managed to snap awake just then. ”Whoa!” He had been trapped within the boundless starlight. The ancestral idol seemed impossibly large and had built an endless cage for him.

”Arise, ancestral order!” The ancestral order was quite unique, even within a body like his. It didn’t have the normal hexagonal structure. Instead, it persisted within every single one of his astrons and formed a sea of order.

When it manifested, it began resonating and soon had an effect. The starlight in the surroundings began to recede, causing the ancestral idol to shrink faster and faster. The smaller it became, the more Tianming’s awareness recovered. The starlight seemed to be absorbed by the ancestral order that was in his body.

The ancestral order was the hardest one to nurture, with few things in the universe that could stimulate its growth. There was no way normal cultivators could walk such a path.

At that moment, the starlight fully gathered around Tianming’s body.