Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming found it hard to imagine how far his combat power would soar if his cultivation or omnisentient power rose even further.

“Imperatores are the pinnacle of cultivation for primocosmic gods as well as the two realms... except, perhaps, for those Number Monsters.”

He was aiming to obtain an imperator–level battle strength now to alleviate the pressure he faced in both realms.

Tianming felt as if he were drifting through an ocean of power. He knew that Jiguang and Yaoyao deserved much of the credit for this. Establishing the supply lines looked simple, yet required handling countless details. Only with their help could he feel at ease.

“To continue improving, I still have to return to the Realm of Chaos and obtain more dazzling radiances,” he concluded. He decided to make a trip to the Vermilion Bird Starcage.

“To be blunt, Yueling Starcage, the Adjudicator, and that bunch of clowns can’t really restrict my cultivation. The only thing that can restrain me is dazzling radiances. And right now, the only source left aside from the Vermilion Bird Starcage would be to start a war.”

In truth, his enemies there were still holding back precisely because they all knew that Tianming’s method of upgrading with dazzling radiances had reached its current ceiling. They could tolerate it as long as he had not yet achieved imperator–level battle power.

The next key step lay with the Vermilion Bird Starcage.

“They must already be putting pressure on Vermilion Bird, yet Jiang Qingluan still gave me a chance. That means... ahem!” What was there to be afraid of? It was only a Jiang Qingluan.

Tianming distributed his leftover dazzling radiances from this breakthrough to Wudi, Qingyu, and the others, then returned to the Realm of Chaos.

He reconverted his power back to unordered cosmoforce, his power becoming more subdued. Though his personal strength barely changed, the loss of omnisentient threads left him feeling slightly hollow.

***

Not long after, Li Muyang and Wei Jing came to the Kunruler Palace to meet Tianming.

“Ming’er, Lord Chen said you plan to go to Vermilion Bird?” Wei Jing asked with concern in her eyes.

“Yes. Do you have any advice?” Tianming asked humbly. He was completely unfamiliar with the Vermilion Bird Starcage. It wasn’t the Vermilion Bird Kingdom of the Chaos Skyjail, no matter how many familiar names existed.

“Just act according to your discretion,” Wei Jing smiled. “Your mother has a good relationship with Xue Lan of Vermilion Bird. I’ll go with you this time and help smooth things over.”

“Xue Lan?” A long-forgotten figure surfaced in Tianming’s mind. The scene felt strangely familiar.

“Sage Chen’s wife?” His expression turned odd.

“Yes, but she’s different from the one in your memories,” Wei Jing said helplessly.

“I understand.” Tianming had only ever visited Nullity and none of the other imperial-class worlds. He had spent most of his time in the Inverse Battlefield.

“This is the star map of the Realm of Chaos.” A cosmic map unfolded before them, vast beyond measure like the Upper Star Ruin.

Tianming looked up. Numerous distinct points of light marked the imperial-class worlds: Vermilion Bird, Aquamarine, Torch Dragon, Violetblitz, Yueling, and more. In addition, countless fortuna-class and maniverse–class worlds dotted the map.

“The Realm of Chaos is also a complete world...” he murmured. He had visited so few places that he had mistakenly thought it small, yet in truth it rivaled the Upper Star Ruin in immensity.

On the map, Nullity appeared as a black spherical vortex, while Vermilion Bird, not too far away, took the form of a flaming whirl.

“There’s no order here, and thus no astralships,” Tianming said. He would have to physically fly there.

“No time to lose. Let’s depart,” Wei Jing said. She and Li Muyang exchanged a glance and nodded.

Wei Jing then brought Tianming into the sky, bringing him to exit Nullity.

“When you first came back, you were only this big,” Wei Jing said fondly as they crossed the stars. “In the blink of an eye, you’re nearly as tall as your mother.”

Her seventy-thousand-meter height no longer seemed towering to him.

“It’s thanks to my big brother,” Tianming said modestly. “Without him sourcing goods for me on the inverse Battlefield, I wouldn’t have broken through so quickly.”

“Now you’ll have to rely on yourself,” Wei Jing laughed.

“Yes...” Li Tianzi could not help him with this excursion. With Yin Chen, they didn’t worry about being intercepted and quickly accelerated to full speed.

***

In the boundless starry sky lay the Vermilion Bird Starcage.

Just as shown on the map, it was an enormous flaming nova source. It lacked a fusion formation like Nullity, its inward-rotating structure forming a stable spherical inferno. Countless vermilion birds seemed to soar within the spiraling flames, their cries echoing endlessly. The surging energy within was palpable despite its stable state.

Nullity was like a dead sea, but Vermilion Bird was warm and passionate, evoking a completely different feeling.

Wei Jing brought Tianming to the outside of this world. After notifying the guards, they entered.

Not long after, it was as though they burst through a bubble. The infinite flames receded, and their vision suddenly cleared, revealing Vermillion Bird Capital. Countless citizens were gazing up at the newcomers, their attention especially upon Tianming.