Beastmaster of the Ages

”Okay! Leave it to me.” Xiaoxiao nodded.

“Thanks.”

Xiaoxiao smiled and said nothing more.

”This time, I’m going to enter the Kunlan Realm... I’ll return later,” Feiling said.

”I’ll wait for you. I won’t go anywhere,” Xiaoxiao replied.

”Alright.”

Perhaps it was at that moment that they established a deep friendship stemming from mutual understanding and empathy. With that, Feiling closed her eyes, wrapped her arms around herself, and formed a brilliant sphere with her wings, then sank into the Kunlan Realm.

You have to come back… Xiaoxiao thought, her eyes filled with hot tears.

“I hope she dies,” Wu You coldly said. Only when she was dead could the Bloodrose Curse be removed.

......

Tianming stood atop Great Saintdragon Peak, the highest point in all of the vast Myriaddragon Mountains, higher than Azuresoul Sword Mountain. Above his head were fiery clouds from which fire plummeted, shooting past him. A man on top of the Great Saintdragon Peak looked like a speck of dust from a distance. The world was enormous and man was insignificant, yet able to control nova sources and boundless territory with the fusion formation.

He was experiencing that feeling of insignificance. After returning from the Soulburn Hall in the wondersky realm, his heart had undergone a cleansing. Thus, he climbed to the top of the mountain, came to the highest place with the Grand-Orient Sword in both hands, and looked to the north. In that direction, an army of three hundred million celestial orderians destroyed the weak and occupied the Myriad Solar Sects’ lands. Sooner or later, they would kill their way into the Myriaddragon Mountains.

He stared in that direction for a long time before raising the Grand-Orient Sword, the gold and black blade reflected in his eyes. Seven grade-eight sword ki strands overflowed from within his body, forming a sea of swords that soared into the sky, competing with the fiery clouds.

Both outside and inside, his sword intent was growing. Since the fusion of the seventh sword, he had begun contemplating the eighth strike of the Ninedragon Tribulation. It was called Skydragon, Skysword Apotheosis. Without a doubt, it was more complicated than the previous sword strike. As the saying went, cultivating the sword began with mastering sword intent. The spirit of this strike was the essence of the matter.

Orderia only grew more and more chaotic with each passing day. No matter how Tianming meditated on the moves and tried his best to simulate them, what he obtained was the opposite result. He found that he didn’t understand Skydragon, Skysword Apotheosis at all. What was the sky? What was the essence of apotheosis? In any case, it was more advanced than the Saintdragon Annihilation.

The Ninedragon Tribulation was supposedly an eighth-realm divine art, but in fact, Skysword Apotheosis alone was stronger than that. With his Trisoul Prime, Tianming possessed excellent comprehension. The reason he found the eighth sword a challenge was because he thought a few months were too long, while others spent their whole life mastering an eight-realm divine art. Right now, seclusion wouldn’t be as effective as a moment of enlightenment in terms of understanding more profound sword intent. Such epiphanies often arose from an inner calm after a transformation, or from looking at problems with fresh eyes. That was exactly how he felt at the moment.

Sword in hand, he stood on the peak. Trouble was approaching and powerful enemies were almost at the door. There were obstacles everywhere. His godfather and sister were caught in a vortex of disaster.

”These fiery clouds symbolize the power of Orderia’s nova source. At this moment, it covers the top of my head so I can’t see ahead or the stars. Perhaps it’s also a sort of sky.”

What were heaven and earth? With a bigger picture in mind, the sky was the universe. Perhaps one could expand that further to the laws of this world, or perhaps the fundamental laws of the entire universe. Birth, old age, sickness, death, cultivation, divine providence, as well as the creation and destruction of nova sources were all carried out under the laws of the universe.

However, he could also view it at a micro level. It could be the blazing clouds in front of him, or the predicaments he encountered. In the face of such grave circumstances, Tianming’s heart burned with hatred. Only battle intent remained in his bones. It would be difficult to comprehend the meaning of this sword in that state.

With Feiling’s gentleness and playfulness, the parts of him that her fingers had brushed were filled with a sweet crispness. Tianming was able to integrate water and fire, combining the warmth of fire with the gentle and thoughtful nature of water.

”Skydragon, Skysword Apotheosis! Split the void and refine heaven and earth. That alone attests to how domineering and destructive the sword is. It’s a sword of devastation that erupts under adversity. Its spirit is one of defiance of the natural order and altering destiny, much like the Voidgod Sword Intent.” To be more precise, the strike was an infinite expansion of that same Voidgod Sword Intent. The moves, fusion, and totem formation were all extremely complex. Tianming had long figured out its many complicated parts. What he needed now was ten thousand times what he had with the Voidgod Sword Intent. [1]

”Since it’s a sword of destruction, power is fundamental. It requires courage to advance, regardless of life and death, and a purer, more intense killing intent!” He still had time, so he was exploring it step by step. ”Where the sword falls, the sky shatters, trouble fades, and gods and ghosts bite the dust!”

Compared to the Saintdragon Annihilation, Skysword Apotheosis seemed more ferocious, cruel, and sought only destruction. Because the two attacks were completely different, Tianming had taken numerous detours on the path to comprehending the strike.

After a lengthy contemplation, his spirit swelled and sword intent gradually emerged from the four corners of the world, settling in his heart. He opened his eyes. The fiery clouds in front of him violently billowed. Like the sun emperor and celestial orderians, they bared their fangs and brandished their claws. And beyond the burning clouds were two approaching incandescent stars, bigger shadows pressing down on his head.

”Those who are against all living beings are evil, whether it’s enslaving the common people or plundering nova sources. They will all be wiped out from my territory!” At that moment, Tianming had finally integrated with the sun and defined it as a star he guarded. Perhaps he hadn’t belonged there before and could only look up at the sun, feeling its warm rays. But now, he possessed the belief and blessings of a billion people. The moment Tianming merged with them, he was connected to the land by blood.

1. Voidgod Sword Intent was first introduced in chapter 250. ☜