Beastmaster of the Ages

Finally, the two million audience members left the colosseum, some opting to go on mundus missions, some going back to cultivation, and others going to make even more merry.

There were a lot of cultivation resources at Myriadpath Valley, most of them coming from the infinitum-class worlds of the Million Mundi. Much of them were also part of the haul from distant and ancient secret realms. Myriadpath saints, like the late Mister Taihe, would travel various mundi to hunt or search for treasures. Only by parasitizing the Million Mundi was Myriadpath Valley able to achieve its current supremacy.

Everything seemed to return to normal, save for the fact that people were discussing Tianming’s miracles all over the place. They no longer derided him for being a tainted beastmaster or a black ring disciple. Instead, they called him ’Pathkeeper Li’, since there had been no record of any pathkeeper, major or minor, with the ’Li’ surname. Everyone knew who ’Pathkeeper Li’ referred to.

In addition to that, Suishen Yao and Suishen Yue’s marriage was another hot topic. Most people were aware that the bride wasn’t enthused about the marriage at all, and wondered whether it had something to do with Tianming. Soon, all sorts of rumors would spawn.

”House Suishen now has four minor pathkeepers, putting them on par with House Qitian.”

”Well, as a human myself, I also hope House Suishen grows stronger.”

Many humans weren’t afraid of making such statements even if there were specters around them. Yumo Yuanni was constantly infuriated whenever he heard it. He had watched Tianming soar to greater heights on the Prehistoric Path with his own eyes.

”To think that a black ring taint that dared to talk back to me has become a minor pathkeeper.... It’s the greatest humiliation of Myriadpath Valley in all of its history!” Yumo Yuanni had felt like he was going to explode since Tianming had been given the title.

”Ridiculous! It’s nonsense! How could House Yumo not do a single thing against something so preposterous?! How could we let that taint crawl above us to show off?! The Three Exalted House’s reputation would be ruined if word that a tainted piece of shit became a minor pathkeeper!” Yumo Yuanni cursed nonstop as he walked.

”Enough. Keep your mouth shut.” The charred and sickly-yellow-looking person glared at Yumo Yuanni, forcing him to reluctantly shut up.

Yumo Xue coldly continued, ”Eminent Ranxing and Eminent Muyu both acknowledged it. Coupled with the indisputable Myriadpath Sacred Code, it isn’t something we can change. What infuriates me is that, even though my father wasn’t there, Eminent Jiguang didn’t even ask for House Yumo’s opinion. It looks like House Suishen no longer wants to remain number three.”

Unlike Yumo Yuanni, Yumo Xue was a cold and calculating person. Like the water in the yellow springs, his entire body gave off an aura of death.

”They don’t want to be number three? We don’t even want to be number two! Apart from the valley lord of House Qitian, they can’t be much stronger than us!” Yumo Yuanni growled.

Yumo Xue pondered for a moment, then said, ”Forget it. It’s something that our seniors will worry about. I’m sure they understand more about the implications of what happened today than we do. The only thing we can do is cultivate. Our seniors have their own minds about how to deal with things.”

”Cultivate? The problem is, that tainted blood already far outstrips me in terms of power thanks to the Prehistoric Path. He might become a foundationeer in a few years. I think he’ll eventually compete for the top spot on the Fortuna Ranking against you.”

”Is that so....” Yumo Xue seemed to be in a daze as he smiled. ”I do hope he becomes eligible to challenge me soon. Since he started the precedent of killing Huang Daosheng in the Fortuna Arena, I believe Father can keep things together in the event that I accidentally kill the new minor pathkeeper. He isn’t a true member of House Suishen, anyway.”

”Aren’t you worried you’ll let that taint create another miracle like he did with me?” Yumo Yuanni had had enough of being someone else’s stepping stone. Every time, he had thought that Tianming wouldn’t be his match, only to lose faster each time. The distance between their capabilities was already that far and he was worried that history would repeat itself.

”I’m nothing like you,” Yumo Xue said, calmly looking at Yumo Yuanni.

”How so?”

”I’ve seen death, much more than you have. You still don’t have the fiendish aura of House Yumo, so that’s why you easily lose,” Yumo Xue said.

Yumo Yuanni was stunned for a moment. ”You’re talking about starblood, right?!” The moment he realized that he had said that, his face paled. The desperation he felt almost caused him to swallow his words.

”That’s right. A single drop of starblood is made through refining a trillion lifeforms. Only after using it to reinforce your body can you be considered to have the true fiendish aura of House Yumo! I’ve already refined nine drops of starblood myself.”

Yumo Xue smiled at Yumo Yuanni. From his expression and smile, one could almost feel the nine trillion tortured souls sealed within his astrons. Yumo Yuanni could even hear their cries with his vita. Though he feared it, he couldn’t help but yearn for it at the same time.

”Reinforce your body and gain the true fiendish aura that a rightful member of House Yumo possesses,” Yumo Xue repeated. ”Yumo Yuanni, your body will be able to take a drop of starblood in fifty years. Then you’ll come to realize that the world you’ve known so far is completely different from the real world out there. You’ll rebuild your worldview from scratch.

”Only through the baptism of starblood can you become a truly powerful specter. Once your body’s filled with countless baleful souls, the mere unleashing of their malice will cause your enemy to shudder before you. Killing them will be as easy as breathing,” Yumo Xue eerily hissed.

”I see....” Yumo Yuanni took a deep breath. He couldn’t wait for the time to come. However, he still felt rather perplexed and couldn’t help but say, ”Refining even a single drop of starblood will take a trillion lives, which is almost equivalent to an entire heliacal-class world. And we don’t include lifebound beasts or wildbeasts in that calculation. Killing so many people in one go is gruesome.... Don’t our seniors... and you, for that matter, feel anything weighing down on you for doing that?”

Yumo Xue burst out laughing and patted Yumo Yuanni on the head. ”Foolish child. Why do you think we cultivate? To seek greater heights as an apex lifeform, of course! And now we stand at the very peak in the universe. Even though we may seem similar to mortals or normal gods, we’ve long since transcended them.

”A trillion sentient lifeforms is nothing but dust for gods like us. Why should we care about their plight? There’s only Three Exalted Houses out of the Million Mundi. What do you think that means? Even a single specter from our house commands ultimate respect from the lower lifeforms in the Million Mundi.

”You’ve grown up in Myriadpath Valley, so you don’t know how truly revered we are by the outside world. You should go to more mundi and see how those specks of dust behave toward you. Then you’ll learn how truly lucky you are to bear the Yumo surname.”

Yumo Yuanni’s doubts and worries were instantly dispelled by Yumo Xue’s speech.