Beastmaster of the Ages

The redbrush ghoul caused a new mark to appear.... With how huge the gray coffin is, I’m guessing I’ll need to fill up its surface before Eighth will have enough energy to achieve its hatching condition. That felt more like how it should be. Apart from Bai Ye, who had gathered its own energy to achieve its hatching condition, other lifebound beasts required enough specific resources to gain enough energy to go through all the stages of cultivation and reach parity with Tianming’s.

Ying Huo, naturally, was the exception and had hatched when Tianming had no cultivation at all, having had it ruined after losing Midas. The fiery chick had a foundation fortress with eleven floors, just like Tianming’s, having built up every single block from the start all the way to the minor zenith of the Foundation stage.

”Eighth probably needs quite a lot of energy from killing devas to catch up. I wonder if Wargod Haven would have enough ’resources’ for me,” Tianming said, a cold light flashing across his eyes.

By the time Eighth calmed down, Zhantian Le’s astral god physique and divine soul had sustained heavy injuries. Tianming took away all her imperial-class cosmic artifacts and had Moran keep her suppressed as they escorted her into the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

”Long Qian,” Tianming called as he emerged from the Soulshaker Bell.

”We’ve safely moved everyone over,” Long Qian said. The only other two people remaining in the Feng Capital Ghoul were Tianming and Moran.

”Alright.” He breathed a sigh of relief. The nine million weren’t just batteries for his power. They were comrades who were in this together—real, living, breathing people whom he had to convince to borrow energy from.

”Let’s go back!” Tianming, Long Qian, and Moran reentered the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb through its tail.

”Li Tianming, you’re nothing compared to the Midsky Tristars! With all those burdensome slaves with you, you won’t be able to find anywhere to rest in peace!” Zhantian Le yelled from within the Soulshaker Bell.

”First, they aren’t burdens! Second, I have a place where I can rest all I want! Third, we have a bright future ahead of us. It’s too bad you won’t live to see it!” By the time he was done speaking, he had entered the largest hall in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. There were a total of fifteen million slaves and fifteen million lifebound beasts there. The nine million plus that had just joined them still felt uncertain about everything that was happening, as if they were merely dreaming. Nothing they were seeing could possibly happen in their reality.

Then the Soulshaker Bell fell to the ground. The nine million heard Zhantian Le’s cries and backed away in fear, their faces paling. It was an instinctual sense of terror that came from the depths of their mind. Far too many had died in the hands of Zhantian Le on the way there; the gigantic specter was nothing short of a harbinger of death to the slaves she had escorted.

Tianming didn’t say another word, but simply opened the bell before everyone else. Instantly, Zhantian Le whipped up a gray storm and charged toward the ones who had just been emancipated! ”Even if I die, I’ll drag you slaves to hell with me!”

Countless people began shrieking in fear.

”Fear not, I’m here!” came Tianming’s booming voice. His body magnificently shone as the sword in his hand extended to a hundred meters in length, infused with totem ki. Amidst the slashes, it turned into a monochrome sword wheel as Tianming unleashed the Yin-Yang Immemorial Art on Zhantian Le. With a loud cry of pain, her zombie-like form was bisected by the figure that stood shorter than two meters.

It was such a stunning sight that all nine million people widened their eyes and slumped to the ground. As if what they were experiencing hadn’t already been dreamlike enough! Tianming jumped back in and unleashed his sword arts and abilities again and again, causing the entire Ninedragon Imperial Tomb to rumble. However, none of the rampaging cosmoforce harmed any of the fifteen million people behind him.

”Li Tianming! You and everything you stand for will be slaughtered by the devas in the worst way possible! You’ll never even reincarnate to see your next life!” Zhantian Le desperately yelled. From the way an overflower like her survived his barrage of attacks despite being helpless against them, it was clear that a cosmic god would be even harder to kill.

When Zhantian Le finally dropped dead, her body turned into gray ash and scattered all over the place. Every one of the former slaves were able to pick out ashes from the air. They were all flabbergasted and mute. Slowly, they looked up and saw the youth that Long Qian had called ’emperor’ descending with his Grand-Orient Sword, obviously pulsing with totem ki.

After the battle, Ying Huo and the other beasts also left his body, showing their weird, diminutive forms to the rest. Most important to them was the two-headed dragon! Even though Lan Huang looked rather odd by dragon standards, two-headed dragons were incredibly common as lifebound beasts among flameyellow descendants. It was a clear aspect of Tianming’s that the flameyellow descendants could resonate with.

They had all had their talent suppressed by the heavenly shackles, being put at the bottom of the hierarchy in the Upper Star Ruin. Something like feeling superior over others was everything but part of their natures, yet Tianming had proven that they were capable of doing so through his combat capabilities.

”Everyone! I brought her to be slaughtered before your eyes, not because I wanted to show off, but because I wanted to make a point that even the most talented devas can be killed! They die, too! Most importantly, they can die by our own hands!”

The hearts of nine million people shook as their eyes brightened. A girl gingerly asked, ”Who... who are you?”

”Me?” Tianming took a deep breath. ”I’m the weapon you will use in your righteous rampage across the Upper Star Ruin!”

”Weapon?” They looked at each other in some confusion. While Tianming had planted a seed of confidence in them, it hadn’t sprouted yet. But it would in time, along with their hopes and dreams.

”Bai Ye, it’s your cue!” Tianming said.

”Easy. Let’s get this show started from the very beginning!” Bai Ye said. Its soul seeds and omnisentient soul power were huge boons to Tianming’s cultivation path of sovereignhood. It also helped that the flameyellow descendants had lived lives of extreme hardship and desperately wanted to wield a weapon they could lash out at their oppressors with, along with a hero that could lead them to rise up. Tianming was the perfect candidate for what they needed; they shared the same destiny and walked the same path, dispelling the darkness ahead!