Beastmaster of the Ages

”There’s only one thing left on my mind, though. I wonder what happened to the Prime Tower. The Kunlan Realm is now closed, and I don’t know what I can do about it.” The best he could do was leave a few Yin Chens here to watch for any changes. He had only wanted to check on any possible changes to the tower, yet he’d managed to lose it and expose his identity in the process. Fortunately, they gained something just as valuable: Feiling’s Flashsoul Skywings. Perhaps she would be able to defend herself now, and even be a great help to him. It was undoubtedly good news.

Gong Xiong formally bade Lady Floral farewell and the latter took it well, a sign that they were now fully convinced of Tianming’s abilities and didn’t have any lingering resentment. Though Gong Xiong found it a little boring, much as he understood that this was in the nature of primalwingers. ”Goodbye, my friends. If there’s a chance, I’ll come visit at a future time.”

”You’re always welcome.” Though they said that, the primalwingers couldn’t wait for him to leave.

Gong Xiong then took Feiling and Tianming along without anyone stopping them. The overlord of the primalwingers didn’t show up either, allowing them to leave the astral hole just like that. The moment they left, they turned back and looked at the flower of the galaxy that was still spinning further and further away from the Violetglory Star. The two worlds’ paths had diverged and they would only grow further apart from now on. If it weren’t for the fact that the Violetglorians weren’t interested in a dying world, they would have gone to war with the primalwingers long ago.

”I heard that most fusion formations never last longer than the nova source itself, which always results in worlds collapsing into astral holes unless their nova sources are forcefully taken away. If the Violetglory Star ever reaches that point, countless people will die. Only ascendants and beyond will be able to survive,” Gong Xiong said with a tinge of melancholy, unbefitting someone that looked as burly as him.

”How much longer will it last?” Tianming asked.”Violetglory? Probably around two or three million years.”

”Well, it’s not like you’ll ever live that long, so why worry?”

”You have a point, haha!” He laughed so hard that even his thick clothes shook. He seemed to be a man with quite the aura.

”By the way, three of my friends are nearby. I’ll take them to the Violetglory Star with me.”

”You’re talking about Feng and Lin Xiao, right? Those two are amazing in their own right.” Gong Xiong envied Tianming’s youth and friends.

”That’s right, and there’s one more. She’s my sister.”

”Lin Xiao isn’t your sister? I’d think she was from her name.”

”No, she isn’t.”

”I see, so that’s your concubine and this is your main wife!”

”You—! Let’s not be so hasty, alright?” Tianming said as he felt a fatal force digging against his waist.

”Ah, you’re a man of deep sentimentality, I get it! I, too, am someone who can only loyally love one. We’re the same.”

Hearing that Xiaoxiao had been misunderstood to be his sister because of his alias, he made a decision. ”Brother Xiong, my real name isn’t Lin Feng. I only made that name up when I went to the wondersky realm.”

”Oh? I knew it. Someone like you couldn’t possibly have such a common name.” Though that criticism worked just as well on Ye Chen.

”I’m Li Tianming, and this is my lover, Jiang Feiling. She isn’t a primalwinger, but her body’s regressed in age due to certain circumstances. Feng’s full name is Ye Lingfeng, and Lin Xiao is actually Lin Xiaoxiao. My sister is Li Qingyu. The five of us might have to be in Brother Xiong and the Violetcloud Imperium’s care for the time to come.”

”No problem! We’re all friends here!” He patted Tianming on the shoulder with a bright smile. ”I can tell from your words that you aren’t a proud person. That arrogant side of yours is just an act, while you’re actually someone who thinks things through. I was lucky to have met you today. Since we were fortunate enough to meet, I’ll consider you a brother! To be honest, the imperium is huge and there’s all kinds of people there, so don’t be surprised if not all of them have your best interests in mind. But as you can see, I’m nothing if not direct. If anyone dares to touch you, I’ll beat them until even their parents don’t recognize them!”

”Brother Xiong sure is impressive!” Tianming said. The reason he hadn’t wanted to go to the Violetcloud Imperium right away was that he had wanted to research them first, but trouble always seemed to find a way. Still, the fact that Gong Xiong had been sent to a foreign world was a sign that he was powerful, though it also suggested that he didn’t work well within the larger group. However, people like that were usually worth getting to know well. Even so, only time would tell whether Gong Xiong was truly capable and direct or whether he was just simpleminded and headstrong. Either way, there was no way Tianming wouldn’t be cherished by the Violetcloud Imperium as long as Ye Chen continued rising as a future threat, but that didn’t necessarily mean that the road ahead would be easy, either.

All things considered, the situation on the Violetglory Star is better than on Orderia, where only one person reigns supreme. With the entire sun being dominated by the sun emperor, Tianming wouldn’t have been able to escape without the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. That made him realize that Ye Chen’s existence was beneficial for him. Without him around, the Violetcloud Imperium probably wouldn’t have that much of a reason to care for him. Still, that was just his preliminary judgment about the imperium. With there being all kinds of possibilities, he would only be able to decide on his next move after going to the imperium to see them for himself.

If it doesn’t work out, I can just escape again with my ship. There was still a way out for him. Though Lingfeng and the rest had stayed behind at the ship, Tianming already had them waiting outside the astral hole. From there, it would take around three months to reach the Violetglory Star on Gong Xiong’s ship. Since he didn’t know how long he would be away for, he couldn’t just leave the three of them in the boring Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

He was quite optimistic about Gong Xiong and the imperium, given how Shengui had made a good impression on him. Even if things didn’t turn out exactly as he expected, it probably wouldn’t be a big deal. Trust was fundamental for cooperation, and Tianming didn’t even need to trust them as he could check everything out with Yin Chen. It was his trump card to get out of any dangerous situations. When he reached the imperium, he would spread his cockroaches all through the area. That way, anything that was said behind his back would be exposed to him.

The Violetcloud Imperium would no doubt be a new battlefield for him, though he would have more trump cards than the time he had been at the Voidsky Realm. They headed in the direction of a violet star once they boarded the ship. Naturally, this was no divine astralship, but rather an astral battleship. It required the astralforce of the pilot to move and could only be used for short voyages, and cultivating on the ship was not possible. As such, Tianming spent the three months of the voyage in the wondersky realm.

One thing he could be glad about was that Feiling was gradually growing back to her normal size. ”Not bad, she’s growing up nice and fine.”