Beastmaster of the Ages

“Dragonoids?” Tianming was surprised.

“Yes! Among our people in the Middlekin Star Ruins, our lifebound beasts and totems are mostly dragons!” Long Chen said with pride.

It reminded Tianming of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. He had even brought quite a few people from the sect, such as Long Wanying, to the Upper Star Ruin. She had a strong affinity for absorbing the Flameyellow Bloodsoul, and Tianming was curious to see if she could interact with the cosmic god blood in the future.

“I heard from my seniors that, long ago, our people were numerous and the three great fortuna-class worlds surrounding this Middlekin Star Ruin, along with the ruins itself, all belonged to us. Back then, they were called the Three Greatdragon Stars! But now....”

Long Chen lowered his head and awkwardly smiled, saying, “That rumor is probably false. We all have the heavenly shackles; how could we have ever ruled over fortuna-class worlds? We don’t even have a home. Generation after generation, we’ve been sent to the Middlekin Star Ruins to risk our lives mining middlekin stars for the powerful figures of the three great worlds.”

“The Three Greatdragon Stars?” Tianming fell silent. He knew the stories of their ancestors had to be true. But over time, their descendants had lost the courage to believe in them.

It meant that the Midstar Myriadpath that Myriadpath Valley used to be had probably fallen from somewhere near this Middlekin Star Ruin, but it wasn’t one of the Three Great Dragon Stars. It might be connected, or it might not be.

“Little Chen, you all don’t have a home?” Tianming looked at the determined young boy.

“No, how could we? I was born in this Middlekin Star Ruin, and for years, the people of the Three Great Cults sent us wherever they pleased. My sister led some people in escaping and built a secret base, which we call the Dragonsburrow. But....” Long Chen hesitated and didn’t continue.

“But what?” Tianming placed his hands on Long Chen’s shoulders.

“That place is on the outskirts of this Middlekin Star Ruin. Energy’s extremely thin there, making it very difficult to cultivate. That’s why we often come to steal middlekin stars. Without them, we wouldn’t survive in the Dragonsburrow. So, for us, it’s just a temporary home.” Even then, Long Chen’s expression still carried warmth when he described his home.

“I see.” Tianming nodded. The Upper Star Ruin was vast, and filled with darkness. The three great fortuna-class worlds surrounding them existed, but couldn’t be seen.

Even if they had escaped the control of the Three Great Cults, so what?

Even if they possessed an astralship, where could they go in the endless dark? Those three great fortuna-class worlds? They would likely be hunted down.

Other than this Middlekin Star Ruin and the three fortuna-class worlds, the rest of the Upper Star Ruin was like an endless ocean to them. Without nova source to sustain them, leaving meant death.

“What’s the highest-class astralship you possess?” Tianming asked.

“We only have deific-class ships... and they’re all stolen. Many can’t even be used because they have trackers embedded in their astralship formations. Once they’re activated, our location would be exposed,” Long Chen explained.

So they truly couldn’t leave the Middlekin Star Ruin. Even if they did, there was nowhere to go.

“My sister works very hard to give everyone a home, but it’s impossible!” Long Chen scratched his head and continued, “Big Brother, sorry for making you laugh at us.”

“Little Chen, very soon, you’ll have a home.” Tianming smiled.

Long Chen was clever. His eyes lit up as he asked, “Big Brother, do you have a way to take us to the Lower Star Ruins?”

“The Lower Star Ruins is a sewer. Do you all really want to go there?” Tianming asked.

“Yes! As long as we have a home, we can go anywhere!” Long Chen excitedly said.

“But if you go there, you won’t be able to become cosmic gods,” Tianming pointed out.

Long Chen hesitated for a moment before replying, “Big Brother, even if we stay here, we have almost no chance of becoming cosmic gods. The heavenly shackles have locked away our talent, and even if we do manage to ascend, many people below our level can fight us due to our natural disadvantages.”

“Understood.” Tianming nodded.

“Big Brother, please take us to the Lower Star Ruins. Although this is the Upper Star Ruin, supposedly the pinnacle of the universe, we don’t want to be slaves anymore....” Long Chen abruptly dropped to his knees with a thud and bowed his head to Tianming.

“Stand up!” Tianming commanded.

“Yes.” Long Chen grit his teeth and rose.

“There’s no need to kneel before me. It’s my responsibility to do this.” Tianming looked him in the eye.

“Responsibility?” Long Chen was confused. He only understood that Tianming was truly going to take them away. For some reason, he absolutely trusted Tianming.

“Yes, responsibility!” Tianming nodded. “And I’ll give you all a home, but not in the Lower Star Ruins.”

“Then where?” Long Chen asked.

“That’s a secret.” Tianming smiled.

“Alright!” Long Chen grinned and repeatedly nodded.

“Lead the way to your Dragonsburrow,” Tianming said.

“Okay, okay!”

The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb moved toward the outer regions of the Middlekin Star Ruin. Clearly, their base was located in a relatively remote area. Along the way, Tianming questioned Long Chen about the Three Great Cults and gained a better understanding of the three fortuna-class worlds.

“Big Brother, you have the power of the Lower Star Ruins in you. Whatever you do, don’t let anyone besides us see it. They’re extremely wary of that kind of energy!” Long Chen warned. He didn’t reject it himself. He had seen Tianming slay an overflower as a foundationeer and commanded a fortuna-class astralship. That was why he firmly believed Tianming was either incredible or had powerful backers.

“Is there a way to get rid of that power?” Tianming asked.

“Do you have a maniverse-class artifact?” Long Chen asked.

“Yes!”

“You can use it to pierce into a middlekin star and extract a portion of its pure essence. Then, replace the cosmoforce in your body with that energy. That way, from the outside, no one will be able to tell you come from the Lower Star Ruins.”

“That simple?” Coincidentally, he had just collected a middlekin star that Long Chen had stolen.

“But because of the long-term absorption of Lower Star Ruins energy, your astrons have an inherent flaw. That can’t be removed, and it’ll affect your ability to become a cosmic god.” Long Chen explained.

“Who says so?” Tianming asked.

“Whenever people talk about the Lower Star Ruins, that’s what they say....” Long Chen lowered his head. “But honestly, everyone wants to go there. I’ve heard it’s a free and boundless world, unlike the Upper Star Ruin, where everything is rigidly hierarchical, shrouded in darkness, and soaked in blood and strife. They say the starlit sky in the Lower Star Ruins is beautiful.”

“It really is beautiful.” Tianming agreed. In the Upper Star Ruin, only the unguarded Middlekin Star Ruins had a view. Beyond that, there wasn’t even a single star in sight. It was pure darkness that sent chills down the spine.

“Come on, let’s go take a bath.” Tianming turned to Moran and Qingyu. After washing up, they wouldn’t be looked down on as filthy sewer rats anymore.