Beastmaster of the Ages

In the days that followed, Tianming immersed himself in the mystery of order within the caeli of his ancestors. ”The divine will is the key to opening the ordered sea and the core order of the cosmic laws is granted by that sea. To possess my own order, I must first understand and experience the order of a million others.” That was what Dongshen Yue had imparted to him. To become an astral god, the caeli of countless ancestors and their orders was the most important element. It was almost impossible for the people of a deific-class world to become orderans, as they didn’t have order from their ancestors, much less those from heliacal- and skypiercer-class worlds or below.

”On the path of cosmic cultivation, descendants enjoy the shade of trees planted by their ancestors. Generation by generation, they continue rising. It’s how they flourish. There are very few cosmic cultivators who start from scratch like me.”

From mortal to saint, the four mortal stages were Beast Vein, Spiritsource, Unity, and Heavenly Will, then Earth Saint, Sky Saint, Empyrean Saint, and Samsara. Some young cultivators on Ebonia hadn’t even heard of those stages. Starting from nothing and going through hundreds of breakthroughs was an experience that made Tianming very different from the cultivators there. In fact, he was even more experienced than his grandparents when it came to breakthroughs.

”I understand the cosmos better because I started from nothing.” So he was more astonished than others when he encountered the core law of the cosmos, order. Hungry for more, he approached the caeli one by one, touching the orders they left behind and observing their path of cultivation. Most importantly, he was learning how they controlled the cosmos. Even if a lot of the information was complicated, mysterious, and too profound, he still lapped it up with gusto. When he first encountered order, his Imperial and Lifesbane Wills both underwent explosive growth. Then, they stabilized. After all, most of the caeli in the fourth level were in the intermediate levels of order and weren’t very strong. They couldn’t compare to the cosmic cartographers in the sixth level, where Feiling was. That was the stage where order really took shape! But even if the effect wasn’t as great as the first touch, Tianming wanted to keep exploring.

At that moment, Dongshen Yue called for him.

”Okay, I’ll stop here.” Tianming didn’t even know how many days had passed. After leaving an ancestor’s caelum, he left the fourth level.

”When I first entered the Caeli Vault, all I had to do was fall in, but I have to climb out of a channel called the Zenith Way with rich and stable liquid nova source that’s suitable for disciples who just left the Caeli Vault. It’s there to supplement and strengthen them so they can break through to the next level.” Tianming quickly found the channel amidst the stars; he had become familiar with the place and was now a qualified Lin Clan disciple. As soon as he entered the channel, liquid nova source enveloped him like milk. Above him was the sky over the Infinitum Swordsea and below him was the starlight of the caeli in the Caeli Vault. He shot upward until he reached a stable position and sat cross-legged in the water.

”The sun can’t compare to the nova source of an infinitum-class world. A drop of water from here, if it were to be placed in Flameyellow, would enable millions to cultivate for an entire month.” The difference in strength was larger than he had imagined. However, their intelligence wasn’t so far off; after all, they were all human beings with the same three souls—caelum, terra, and vita. Their basic conditions were the same, but vision and experience were the key factors that affected judgment. With the bloodline and power of comprehension from their ancestors, Ebonia’s cultivators were definitely better at grasping high-level battle arts, creating formations, and using celestial patterns. Fusion formations, astralships, and fullstella battle arts were the crystallization of the wisdom of generations.

Amidst those profound emotions, Tianming absorbed the endless nova source. Transformed by its extraordinary power, his astralforce and genesis ancestral nova source rose by a fair bit. In each of his albi, five astral discs, tinged with a layer of pink from the genesis ancestral nova source, rotated at a high speed, growing more majestic. Both his Lifesbane and Imperial Wills were growing stronger and sturdier than before as he continued absorbing nova source.

”I’m already a ninth-level solarian.” But it wasn’t over yet! ”Tenth-level!” He had broken through two levels in a row, but felt that he could continue absorbing nova source. His Lifesbane and Imperial Wills could still take more. Advancing to eleventh-level solarian wouldn’t be a problem at all.

”I should take it slow and not bite off more than I can chew. At my current level, I should be able to take on a fifth-level sovereign. Lin Jianchen wasn’t very strong, so I can’t let that one victory go to my head.” It would be dangerous if his astralforce exceeded his divine wills’ range of control. Therefore, he remained a tenth-level solarian for the time being. When his strength was stable and his divine will continued growing, it would be much easier for him to reach the eleventh level.

”The orders within the caeli of advanced cosmic deities are really important for my future. Visiting Ebonia wasn’t for nothing after all. How could I have advanced so quickly if I’d remained on the sun?” That didn’t mean that he would forever be stuck in the Solar stage, but his progress would be slow! If no one had top-level caeli, he would still be faster than his peers. The problem was, everyone here did have them. And if others had them, then he must have it too.

”The effect of the fourth level is already so amazing. The caeli of cosmic cartographers in the sixth and seventh levels must be even better.” This time, his breakthrough was also due to the previous stagnation and accumulation of strength. He didn’t think he would continue making such speedy progress in the fourth level. ”I must at least enter the sixth level for even faster growth!” The advancement of his disciple grade was permanent. If he were to remain content with the fourth level, he would fall behind in the future. Even Lin Jianxing cultivated in the sixth level; and most importantly, Lin Jianxing wasn’t even the son of a branch master or mistress and wasn’t given any special privileges. He was actually a proper grade-six disciple.

Tianming shook his head and laughed, ”Even the children of concubines are treated as one grade above their actual level. If I were Lin Jianxing, I would be pissed off!” He left the Zenith Way and soared into the sky.

”Grandma’s looking for me. They’re probably going to pick the myriadstar manna now.”

......

In another Zenith Way, a girl dressed in blue was wrapped in colorful, shining wings as she floated, bathing in liquid nova source. The glow of the colors against her crystal-clear skin, her lustrous hair, and breathtaking countenance made her seem dreamlike and unreal, like a woman living in a crystal. She seemed to be the world’s most beautiful creation. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly in the water. The scene made many Lin Clan disciples in the Zenith Way stop and blankly stare at her, their eyes filled with the brilliance of her colorful wings.

”Looks like the perfect butterfly...” some girls murmured.

”She’s Lin Feng’s wife and number one on the daisy ranking, a primalwinger named Jiang Feiling.”

”I thought she was really beautiful when I saw her on Mount Grandsect, but now....”

”How about now?”

”She’s perfect, every boy’s dream girl. That’s it.”

”Yeah, how can a person be so beautiful? Is this because she’s a primalwinger or what?”

”I don’t get it! You’re all exaggerating. Why don’t you call her the most beautiful girl in the Infinitum Swordsea? You’re comparing her to us Lin Clan girls?” One of the girls pouted.

”Don’t be angry. We’re just appreciating her beauty....”

”Too bad she’s married, and to the most despised man, too. It’s like a fresh flower stuck into cow dung....”

”Cow dung? Didn’t you hear what happened at the Prime Myriadsword Corporation?”

”I did. Lin Feng might be capable, but considering his age, he’s cow dung compared to this girl.”

”You’re right.”

Feiling had never expected she would attract so much attention while cultivating in the Zenith Way. In fact, there were very few people who could enter the sixth level aside from the elders.

”Congratulations. You’ve entered the second level?” Just as Feiling put away her wings, a familiar voice sounded from not too far away. She looked over to see a young man in blue robes standing over there. He was tall and slender, with a pert nose and deep eyes. He was the grade-six disciple Lin Jianxing. Many people watched as he approached Feiling.

”They seem to be a better match,” someone said.

”Yes, Lin Jianxing is elegant and has a good temperament. He’s about to represent the Lin Clan in the minor ranking.”

”I think what Jiang Feiling values is Lin Feng’s status as the branch heir, which allows her to be treated two levels above her grade so she can enter the sixth level. Lin Jianxing won’t be able to give her that so he can forget about it. Anyway, she might not let Lin Feng touch her.”

”That makes sense!”

They seemed to have come to a realization. However, they didn’t expect Feiling to merely glance at Lin Jianxing before heading up.

”Miss Ling’er.” Lin Jianxing went up to her. Staring fixedly at her, he somewhat reticently said, ”I just want to apologize. I didn’t know you were so talented. Please forgive me for offending you.”

”So offending me would be okay if I wasn’t talented?” she expressionlessly asked.

”No… you misunderstood,” Lin Jianxing said.

”You didn’t do anything to us when you caught Lin Feng, so you don’t need to apologize.” With that, Feiling continued on her way.