Beastmaster of the Ages

Even though Tianming went to the Ascension Colosseum without intending to draw much attention, he and Suishen Zhao still somehow managed to draw a large crowd.

”Did Pathkeeper Li improve once again?”

”It can’t be. The ones that rank above him are foundationeers. He doesn’t seem to have qualitatively changed and still lacks the physique of a minor astral giant, so he wouldn’t be able to challenge them.”

”So why’d he come? Oh, I get it. Is he here to accompany Minor Pathkeeper Suishen Zhao, who’ll be the one issuing challenges instead?”

”He and Pathkeeper Li seem to be getting along better and better.”

”Of course. He’s one of House Suishen, after all. Perhaps he’ll join them for real one day.”

Even though people didn’t think that Tianming would actually keep climbing the ranking, he was still a rising star that drew in quite a lot of spectators.

”Brother, are you sure?” Suishen Zhao asked again. It was far from the first time he had posed the question.

Tianming looked at the Fortuna Ranking and asked, ”I can only rise a single rank at a time in the top ten instead of jumping up a few ranks at a time like the lower ranks, right?”

”Of course. The top ten represent the most talented people. Not just anyone can issue them challenges.”

”In other words, I have to start from the one in tenth place and climb the ladder.”

”That’s right. If you want to join the top ten, you have to start by challenging the tenth ranker.”

”Being tenth place seems to carry quite a lot of pressure. Everyone who wants to join the top ten has to go through the tenth rank first.”

”The fact that she’s able to stay there means she has her own skills.”

The eighteen foundationeers that ranked above Tianming were all from the Three Exalted Houses. The green-and-gold name in tenth place read ’Yumo Lingyue’.

”Yumo Lingyue is Yumo Xue’s cousin. Her mother’s Eminent Yinyue, and her father’s Eminent Baigui. She belongs to a core bloodline in House Yumo. Like Suishen Yong, she’s just a step away from becoming a minor pathkeeper,” Suishen Zhao introduced.

House Yumo had three minor pathkeepers: Yumo Xue, Yumo Yuanni, and the one who had accompanied Yumo Xue on the Prehistoric Path, who also happened to rank sixth in the Fortuna Ranking.

Yumo Lingyue’s parents are both elite figures. She’s around four hundred years old, so she’s probably assimilated starblood, like Yumo Xue. At that thought, Tianming’s gaze turned even colder. He didn’t say another word and immediately issued her a challenge.

The generations of House Yumo that came after the mobile stareye, the Hellfiend, finished construction, were much stronger than before thanks to the increased availability of starblood. However, the ’minor pathkeeper’ title was limited. Just because someone lacked the title didn’t mean they weren’t capable.

”Will she accept, I wonder?” Suishen Zhao decided he would support Tianming’s decision, as hard as it seemed.

”She might, I think. Yumo Yuanni suffered quite a bit due to my actions, and nobody’s managed to stand up for him yet. Not to mention, I represent House Suishen now. I’m only issuing a challenge. With the spotlight centered on me, I doubt she’ll turn down a chance to fight for House Yumo’s glory,” Tianming said. It also wasn’t that risky for her, since astral gods—foundationeers especially—seldom died in a fair duel.

”Alright, you have my full support, Brother. It sounds like your cultivation session with my sister went pretty well,” Suishen Zhao enviously said.

”Why don’t you cultivate with your Sis Shuangshuang then?” Tianming teased.

”I can’t. I’m still young,” Suishen Zhao said, blushing.

”Am I not young, too?”

”That’s my sister’s problem.”

Seeing his innocent smile, Tianming couldn’t help but have his doubts. He wondered if Suishen Zhao knew about the existence of House Yumo’s starblood. He nonchalantly decided to bring it up. ”Why doesn’t Yumo Yuanni have any of that baleful aura that Yumo Xue has, even though they’re both minor pathkeepers?”

Suishen Zhao scratched his head in puzzlement. ”I don’t know either. I’ve always thought that those Yumo folks are more terrifying than most. Quite a lot of them will start emitting that kind of baleful aura around the age of three hundred, which allows their potential to soar all of a sudden and causes them to shoot up the Fortuna Ranking.

”Even in the Maniverse Ranking, they compete against House Suishen, and even House Qitian to some extent. The one ranked first on the Maniverse Ranking is from House Yumo. I heard he’s much stronger than Brother Yue and rivals my aunt in power.”

”Is that so?” Tianming could be certain that Suishen Zhao didn’t know anything about starblood. Even if he did, there would be no point for Tianming to be disappointed by it. Unless he could fundamentally change the young man’s heart and keep it that way until he took over House Suishen, there wasn’t much he could do to challenge the interests of the Three Exalted Houses.

People could change and compromise on their values, after all. Regardless, Suishen Zhao was currently Tianming’s best friend in Myriadpath Valley. As long as he didn’t turn against Tianming, he would consider him a brother.

We’ll see, then! People didn’t get to decide their lot in life. Suishen Zhao just happened to bear the burden of furthering the legacy of House Suishen and the Three Exalted Houses.

***

It didn’t take long before Tianming’s opponent arrived. Within that time, the people in the colosseum spread word about the challenge, causing even more people to gather.

”Pathkeeper Li’s challenging a foundationeer from the Three Exalted Houses!”

”Is he a foundationeer already?”

”It doesn’t seem like it!”

”We’re in for a great show. There’s never been precedent of an external cosmic cartographer of the Three Exalted Houses challenging a foundationeer core disciple before.”

”Quick, we have a show to catch!”

By the time Yumo Lingyue arrived, the Ascension Colosseum was filled to the brim. Even though the crowd was smaller than that of the Prehistoric Path, it still added up to around three hundred thousand people.

Myriadpath saints were foundationeers. While most were older than two millennia, with some nearing five, their combat prowess couldn’t compare to the disciples from the Three Exalted Houses that ranked in the top ten. Duels like these were great opportunities to witness combat on a higher level and hopefully learn from it.

Myriadpath saints were comparable to rulers from the Million Mundi on Shenxi Xingtian’s level. Some were even less talented, but still made it because of the abundant resources of Myriadpath Valley.

Tianming immediately spotted Yumo Lingyue in the crowd, as well as Yumo Yuanni and Yumo Xue. He was familiar with the latter two, but he hadn’t seen Yumo Lingyue until now. She was a beauty, pale from top to bottom. She seemed cold and lanky, but it gave her a kind of graceful frailty.

As women of House Yumo’s core bloodline didn’t have a mask for a face like the men, they were far more pleasing to the eye. Even powerful specters had some who cared about outward appearances.

But Tianming could instantly tell the difference between the three specters after having learned about starblood.