Beastmaster of the Ages

”You can say that, but it hasn’t recovered fully. It might get even stronger one day,” Tianming said.

”The legacies of our ancestors truly strike awe,” Mushan Xue said, before turning to him with an odd look. ”You don’t seem like a normal flameyellow divinity. You just happen to have lifebound beasts and totems. I really don’t understand why our illustrious ancestors have chosen to hand this amazing legacy to you.”

”Perhaps you’ll understand one day when you visit the imperial star. I am that which ties everything together.”

”And now you’re putting up airs.” She rolled her eyes at him before whispering, ”On this note, the flameyellow voidkin are not fully united on this issue. If you hear some people voice their doubts and dissent, don’t be too bothered by it.”

”Got it. It’s only natural. Of course, even if they don’t understand me now, they will come to accept that there is no better candidate than me in time.”

The entrance to the Ancestral Void Realm suddenly flashed.

”Oh, is King Feng here?” Tianming looked up, thinking that he would be beholding a terrifying astral giant tens of thousands of meters in height. Little did he know that the one who emerged from the gateway was a messy-haired youth with a completely dispirited look. It was the same feral man from before.

”Big Brother,” Mushan Xue greeted. She was quite used to seeing her brother in this form.

”Li Tianming greets you, King Feng,” Tianming said, saluting with both hands. He didn’t expect that the feral man from before was actually a young and capable genius who had orchestrated the elimination of the armies of the Eightpart Pantheons!

Even though Mushan Feng still looked unkempt, he was lucid this time around. The sight of the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb shook his expression somewhat. ”The Ninedragon of legend...”

He turned to look Tianming deeply in the eye. ”In other words, the Flameyellow Coffin is in your possession as well.”

”That’s right.” Tianming didn’t deny it. It was already fact that he was the one who had been given the mission to restore the flameyellow divinities to their former glory. Mushan Feng had no doubt learned about that before coming.

His focus only waned for a single moment. Mushan Feng kept a close eye on Tianming and said, ”Where’s Tian Jiu? Did she not come?”

”King Feng, there’s something I should clarify. My lover, Weisheng Moran, might share some characteristics with Tian Jiu, but she is her own person. I do not wish to label her as merely ’Tian Jiu’.”

”Understood,” King Feng said, not disputing it.

”Thank you. I didn’t take her with me this time.”

”It’s too bad. I would’ve liked to witness the miracle with my own eyes. After all, she was the number-one culprit that triggered the fall of the flameyellow divinities. Well, since you said that she’s not Tian Jiu, I’ll trust you on this.” Mushan Feng’s words put quite a bit of pressure on Tianming. It seemed obvious that the flameyellow voidkin hated Tian Jiu and the wonderians. Whether they would transfer that hatred onto Moran depended on the individual. Different folks had different opinions on the matter.

After a moment of silence, Tianming said, ”King Feng, if you are able to trust me, I will take responsibility if anything goes wrong. I will even stake my life to ensure that this wouldn’t affect our future plans.”

”I understand,” Mushan Feng said, still staring intensely. ”Even if someone you love and trust risks wiping out the entire Upper Star Ruin as we know it, no man would abandon her over that risk alone, especially not when she could also play a grand role in helping one achieve one’s ambitions.”

Tianming had a rough assessment of Mushan Feng’s personality through his frank attitude.

”Li Tianming, eighty percent of our elders are against handing over the cosmic-god essences. Most of them admire you for carrying this heavy burden and know how much difficulty is in store for you in the future. However, they believe that betting on a new Tian Jiu will bring about the same disaster that wiped us all out from before. They see her as the vicious fiendess reborn. My brother was the one who vetoed their decision in favor of you,” Mushan Xue said.

Tianming’s respect for Mushan Feng immediately grew. What kind of guts would someone need to be able to take such a huge risk to advance one’s interests?

Mushan Feng laughed and said, ”I’ve observed you in the lower ruins for far too long. There is indeed some energy about you that’s different from what others have. Not to mention, your women are deathly loyal to you, so I’ve decided to bet on you!”

”Initially, the seniors insisted that your wife would only be allowed to absorb the essences under my brother’s supervision. Yet, my brother has agreed to let you transport the essences away. In other words, we’re going all in on the bet on you,” Mushan Xue said. ”Once we return, my brother will be chewed out pretty heavily even if we win the war.”

”It’s fine. Those of us in the Ancestral Void Realm are tied together by fate. We are all in the same boat, and once that boat flips, it’ll be over for all of us. The elders are not wrong for being cautious, and I respect them for that. But, Li Tianming, what I want is to smash the status quo!”

Tianming breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. ”When faced with one such as you who understands myself, words aren’t required. I will be on your side for life.”

He held out his hand to Mushan Feng and continued, ”Since King Feng regards me so well, I will make sure not to disappoint you.”

”Hahahaha...” He patted Tianming on the shoulder and kept on laughing without saying anything else. Their mutual understanding transcended mere words. Then, he turned around and told the rest behind him, ”Move all thirty million cosmic-god essences onto the Ninedragon!”