Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming followed Mu Qingqing through the dark and ruined arena. The air within it seemed to be filled with violence. It was quite rare for a place so full of cosmic gods shining like stars to look so dark and sinister. The ones that appeared in the corner of their eyes were completely different from the people that Tianming had met during the banquet. In fact, these people’s behavior towards him was far more representative of most people in the Realm of Chaos. All that politeness and calm on the surface was fake and they would be all too eager to see Tianming dead. Otherwise, his grandparents wouldn’t have so decisively sacrificed themselves for his safety. If not for the skypole stars, everything would be different, which was clear from the sinister hushed whispers around them.

Word of Tianming’s arrival spread throughout the arena. Soon, they arrived at a dilapidated building that was tens of thousands of meters in height filled with many chaotic cosmic gods. It was the base of the Nullity Guild. The cosmic gods there heard the commotion outside and tens of them came out to welcome Tianming. Only heavencosmic gods dared to go to the Dongshen Arena; the ones that came out were at least three thousand meters in height, not that much different from Tianming’s size.

”Greetings, Imperial Son, Princess Qing!”

”Drop the formalities. Let’s talk inside,” Mu Qingqing said.

”Very well.”

All of them entered the guild building, after which an armored sentry shut the main gates. Then, the sentry came over and introduced himself. ”Imperial Son, Princess, I am Dao Feng, the vice guild leader. Ancestors like the two of you can simply call me Little Dao.”

”Alright,” Mu Qingqing said, easily adapting to ancestor status, but Tianming felt otherwise.

Dao Feng turned to look at Tianming respectfully. ”I just heard that you achieved two great triumphs in the Inverse Battlefield, Imperial Son! Repaying Violetblitz a hundredfold of what they did to us and destroying the three armies at the Chaos Star Ruin really earned our respect and worship! Brothers, make sure to honorably salute the imperial son!”

Tens of cosmic gods saluted Tianming like he was a legend. However, he noticed more than a thousand cosmic gods of the Mu Clan remain in their own corners, seated without bothering to approach. In fact, they didn’t seem to be in any good shape. Some were standing while others lay down, looking rather uncomfortable. They seemed really pessimistic and down unlike the other members of the Mu Clan that he’d met, not even reacting to Tianming’s arrival.

Mu Qingqing noticed it too and whispered, ”Don’t mind them. They have suffered a lot and many have lost hope.”

Dao Feng asked, ”Ancestors, do you need our help? Why did the two of you come so suddenly to the arena?”

Mu Qingqing answered, ”The imperial son has come here to fight. Just treat him like a normal lifebettor. I’m here to accompany him, so there’s no need for you to do anything specific.”

”A lifebettor?” The cosmic gods all looked at Tianming’s skypole stars blankly. How could he make any bets in that state? They exchanged seeming glances of understanding, thinking that Tianming had only come here to taste what life at the arena was like. He had a choice, unlike them, whose lives revolved around the Dongshen Arena. For him, it was nothing but a short training excursion.

Though he felt a little uncomfortable, Dao Feng said, ”Either way, feel free to let us know if we can help with anything. The Nullity Guild is here for this purpose.”

”Very well. Just be at ease. We will be going out on our own soon,” Mu Qingqing said. When she turned to Tianming, she noticed him looking at the cosmic gods of the Mu Clan in the corner. All of a sudden, he approached a petite girl who seemed rather unkempt. Her eyes were wide, but her expression was filled with fear and anxiety as she withdrew herself defensively.

”Imperial Son...” She struggled and tried to kneel, but Tianming stopped her. Though she was a cosmic god, her movements were stiff and slow like a decaying old person far past their prime.

”What’s your name?” Tianming asked.

”Ying He,” she weakly said.

”She’s my distant relative!” Ying Huo said, popping out and perching on Tianming’s head. Ying He felt far less nervous after seeing Ying Huo.

Tianming looked at her body for a moment and said, ”Most of your middlekin astrons no longer circulate chaotic cosmoforce... They seem to be going haywire and leaking energy nonstop. Your life is seeping away as we speak.”

Tianming turned to look at the thousand cosmic gods around him and noticed that most of them shared Ying He’s symptoms. Chaos cultivators needed to circulate chaos nova source within them to stabilize themselves and seal the energy in. Tianming was doing the same thing too. Yet, the middlekin astrons of the girl looked like middlekin stars that Ji Ji had overloaded to the point of explosion. But unlike rapid astral explosions, the explosion of the middlekin astrons seemed to be happening in slow motion. Speed aside, both processes only led to certain destruction. It was an odd condition indeed, but unlike Mushan Feng’s curse, it came from within the body itself.

”Qingqing,” Tianming called out. When she came to his side, he asked, ”What is this?”

”The imperial son isn’t even aware of this?!” People around them began to shoot him weird looks.

Mu Qingqing explained, ”The imperial son has been born again and lost his memories. He has just returned to the Realm of Chaos.” She turned to Tianming and continued, ”This is the divine defect, also known as chaos defect.”

”How did it come about?”

”It’s a defect inherent in chaos cultivation and has been around from the very beginning. Normally, it arises when energies aren’t properly stabilized during cultivation, or when cultivation progresses far too rapidly. It’s also somewhat hereditary, making it a rather common disease in the Realm of Chaos. One’s energy will slowly degrade and lead to death.”