Beastmaster of the Ages

The Jiang Royal Palace

”Grand Chen’s Chen Qing and Grand Lin’s Lin Shenjian have arrived.”

Following the report, Chen Qing and Lin Shenjian proceeded into the palace, accompanied by a group of cosmic gods. Tianming and Jiang Tianzhou were both present.

Jiang Tianzhou looked up, his solemn gaze fixed on Chen Qing and Lin Shenjian. ”Arrangements can be made through our transmission stones. What brings you both here?”

”Brother Jiang... Are you ready for some brutal honesty?” Lin Shenjian asked with a sigh.

”Go ahead!” Jiang Tianzhou nodded, his eyes grim. He could probably guess what they were about to say.

”Reports of over a billion cosmic gods descending upon us and Mi Shen’s orders to exterminate our three stars have crushed the peoples’ morale. Panic and chaos has seized the population. It’s like an apocalypse out there. All civilians and warriors will flee if the star isn’t sealed. The astralguard formation has become a prison, trapping our own people inside. Isn’t that ironic?” Lin Shenjian looked utterly defeated, his eyes gloomy.

”Grand Chen is experiencing the same situation. Talk of the end is everywhere and few believe we can stand against over a billion cosmic gods from the Eightpart Pantheons. The order for a starwide execution is a decree of merciless genocide. The overwhelming power wielded by the Eightpart Pantheons is the basis for their ruthless tyranny. No one has ever stood against them and survived unscathed,” Chen Qing said, his eyes red.

”We can’t blame them for running. They’re just trying to stay alive...” Lin Shenjian sighed.

They avoided Tianming’s gaze while speaking, afraid he would misinterpret their words as blame. In truth, public outcry from all three stars against Tianming and Jiang Tianzhou had already reached the high heavens. Neither the confidence Tianming had once inspired nor the fact that Empress Xia needed land mattered. Right now, he was the only one they could blame for their predicament.

”So you came all this way to see the situation on Grand Jiang for yourselves?” Jiang Tianzhou asked after a momentary pause.

Chen Qing shook his head, smiling bitterly. ”After arriving, I realized that the unrest here is even worse than ours.”

”Perhaps it’s because you still have followers of the Pu clan here,” Lin Shenjian said.

”Indeed. They’ve mobilized over a million cosmic gods to rescue Pu Fengyun and have him facilitate their surrender to the Eightpart Pantheons, in hopes of survival. The remaining members of the Pu clan are looting and killing, taking their anger out on civilians. They hope to seize enough riches before hiding away in a fortuna-class world,” Jiang Tianzhou said calmly.

Chen Qing and Lin Shenjian exchanged a glance, their eyes gloomy. Although they had anticipated this, they couldn’t have foreseen how quickly society would crumble under the threat of a powerful force.

Given their individual interest and agendas, uniting against such overwhelming power was a fantasy. Not even Tianming’s control over the captives was enough to overcome the people’s fear of the enemy’s formidable power. The impending starwide extermination left them trembling with fear. They scrambled to please the enemy, hoping to ensure their survival and reap some benefits.

”As you’re well aware, Empress Xia and the Grand Xia imperials seek to control at least three maniverse-class worlds, if not more. The people cling to the fantasy that the Eightpart Pantheons’ strength is a sign of civility, but you should know that war is our only path,” Jiang Tianzhou said, his voice deep.

”We know! We’re just helpless. Though the Eightpart Pantheons have never entered the Primordial Sands, their power has brainwashed our people’s minds for countless generations,” Lin Shenjian said solemnly.

”Indeed. The grim reality is that our three stars are almost out of fighting power.” Turning to Tianming, Jiang Tianzhou said, ”Young Master Li, we’re deeply sorry. I feel as if we’ve let you down.”

”You don’t have to apologize. This is human nature. You can’t blame them when they see no way out.” Tianming smiled. ”Don’t worry. If we give them even a sliver of hope, they’ll fight.”

”The question is, how can we convince them there’s still hope of victory?” Chen Qing asked.

”The first battle will be crucial.” Taking a deep breath, Lin Shenjian looked at Tianming cautiously. ”Young Master Li, our starlord sent us directly to you to find out if the flameyellow voidkin will provide support.”

”The Eightpart Pantheons’ main objective is Flameyellow, so they’ll double down if the flameyellow voidkin engage. The only viable strategy is to deal a devastating blow so they have no choice but to keep on fighting,” Tianming said.

”But how do we do that?” Chen Qing asked.

”Leave that to me,” Tianming said.

”Hmm?” Lin Shenjian was stunned. ”Young Master Li, are you serious? I owe Grand Lin an explanation.”

”I’m serious.” Tianming nodded. ”Maintain stability and prevent your people from fleeing when you return.

”Stay! There’s no other destination, nova source is our home!” He added. Tianming knew it would be difficult to gain the trust of so many people. Insults were an inevitable part of the initial stage, and he could bear it.

”There’s one more thing,” Lin Shenjian said, gritting his teeth. ”We have received information that the Eightpart Pantheons are targeting our ancient ancestor. It’s a calculated effort to divide us. Although we share a common goal of survival, we can’t rely on the Tian Jiu Cult to defend our ancient ancestor outside the astralguard formation. What will we do then?”

”Then we can only sacrifice her to protect the people,” Tianming said.

”You’re not going to protect her?” Chen Qing exclaimed in shock.

Tianming shook his head helplessly. ”No, I’ll only be met with harsher words if I do. In these turbulent times, save the living first. ”

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing and Lin Shenjian lowered their heads. A sense of relief washed over them. They had been concerned about Tianming’s devotion to the ancient ancestor.

”Excuse me, I’ll be leaving first.” Tianming rose to his feet and ascended into the sky without a moment’s hesitation.

”Brother Jiang, have we disappointed him?” Lin Shenjian asked helplessly.

”You underestimate him.” Jiang Tianzhou sighed deeply as he looked at the two. ”It hasn’t been easy for the three of us to persevere till this point. We’ve already come so far, so why not take a chance and put our faith in miracles?”