Beastmaster of the Ages

“See that? It really is a Chaos Star Ruin!”

“It’s that close to us? We didn’t sense anything at all before this...”

“Good thing we happened to notice the dazzling radiances!”

In the Realm of Chaos, dazzling radiances symbolized fortune. The etymology behind the name was that it was the light of luck descending to guide them toward Middlekin Star Ruins.

No one knew what it was really called.

At that moment, the thousand cosmic gods all felt they’d been blessed with great fortune. That was, until they drew nearer and saw a young man with white hair floating there. His aura was so unique that anyone from the Realm of Chaos could recognize him at a glance.

“General Li... that’s the Skyplunder imperial son!” The cosmic gods immediately reminded the fiery woman leading them.

That woman glanced at Tianming, lips curling slightly. “I see him. Keep advancing.”

And so, their entire host surged forward like a flood of molten lava toward Tianming. The fiery woman nearly collided with him. She was nearly nine thousand meters tall, almost rivaling Mushan Feng.

The heat of her presence alone struck Tianming like a wave of living fire.

“I am Li Nianjiao of the flamemaple race,” the woman said with a charming smile, her tone lofty yet courteous. “Greetings, Imperial Son.”

“I saw you some time ago in Skyplunder Capital,” Tianming said evenly, without moving an inch.

He noticed that as he spoke, many of the flamemaple warriors behind her seemed restless, itching to dive into the Middlekin Star Ruin below. A gesture from Li Nianjiao kept them back.

Li Nianjiao laughed softly. “Indeed, I followed Imperator Feng that day to congratulate the imperial son on his triumphant return. I didn’t expect that you’d still remember a minor figure like me.”

“He remembers all the good-looking ones,” Ying Huo quipped.

“Is that so?” Li Nianjiao laughed again, her sultry expression so fiery and alluring that every movement set hearts ablaze.

But soon, she asked softly, “It seems Nullity was the lucky party this time to discover this Middlekin Star Ruin first?”

“Indeed. You’re a little late,” Tianming replied.

Li Nianjiao gave a wry smile, “So the imperial son alone is standing guard outside... meaning there must be plenty of people inside? Perhaps even the first imperial son himself?”

“You mean Li Tianzi? He’s not here.” Tianming eyed her coolly. “No need to probe. I’ll save you the trouble, there’s no one else inside but me.”

Tianming didn’t care to spin lies. They’d try to confirm it anyway.

“Only him?” Sure enough, the thousand cosmic gods all exchanged heated looks. They feared Li Tianzi, but not so much Tianming. Still, some suspected a trap and held back.

The woman gave him a deep look and said, “Since the imperial son is so frank, we’ll be honest as well. Imperator Feng once ordered us not to become enemies of the sky plunderers. So we won’t lay a hand on you. However, the Middlekin Star Ruin concerns the very foundations of every starcage. Thus, I wish to enter and see for myself.”

“Doesn’t matter if you go in or not, I’m still alone. Say what you really want,” Tianming said flatly.

Li Nianjiao wasn’t used to this kind of bluntness and couldn’t quite read his intent. Still, it was easy enough to verify. With a wave of her hand, she sent a fifth-level heavencosmic god down into the abyss.

Moments later, that man came rushing back up, face alight with excitement. “General Li! There’s truly no one below! And there are so many middlekin stars!”

At that, every cosmic god’s eyes burned with desire.

“If it’s just this one imperial son here, and he’s not that strong, shouldn’t we just take it all for ourselves?”

“But extracting middlekin stars isn’t done in a day. We’ll need to report back and bring an army to garrison the area.”

“Even if he’s alone, he’s probably already sent word back.”

They all turned toward Li Nianjiao for a decision.

After a moment’s thought, she stepped forward and said seriously, “Imperial Son, may I speak my mind?”

“Go ahead.”

“According to the treaty among the major starcages, our flamemaple race also qualifies as a discoverer. We propose to jointly develop it with Nullity, We’ll build a fort together and split the spoils half and half. Would that be acceptable?”

“And if I say no?” Tianming smiled faintly.

“Then...” Li Nianjiao took a deep breath and said, “Then it’ll depend on whose reinforcements arrive faster.”

“You’re not going to capture me first? That’d at least give you some bargaining leverage.” Tianming laid bare exactly what many soldiers were thinking.

Li Nianjiao froze for a second, then smiled and shook her head. “The imperial son jests. We would never make enemies of the sky plunderers.”

“At least you’ve got some sense.” Tianming chuckled, then added, “Since we’re on the same side, it’s only fair to share. Here’s my offer: fight alongside me and help hold off the threats coming behind you. In return, I’ll grant you one-tenth of the middlekin stars here.”

“Threats... behind me?” Li Nianjiao was taken aback.

“Three more forces are converging from different directions,” Tianming said. “Roughly four thousand cosmic gods in total. They hail from Violetblitz, Torch Dragon, and Aqaumarine Starcages.”

He paused, looking her straight in the eyes. “So? Do you have the guts to fight by my side?”