Beastmaster of the Ages

After killing Shuntian Bohan, Tianming stayed in the primeval-source-filled fog for quite a while. Yin Chen had spread throughout the entire room, giving him a view of the entire place. Even though his head had returned to normal, there was still no way for him to leave the place.

He did see Shuntian Boling’s belongings in the distance. She had a cosmic artifact, which Tianming pocketed. ”A deific-class world is only capable of producing a single cosmic impulse. I didn’t think infinitum-class worlds could have so many. Before I reach the Order stage, I won’t be able to use the four-aperture manna I got from Shuntian Bohan. I wonder if I’ll have to return his cosmic artifact, Cardinal Weight, and his other belongings to the Central Shuntian Clan when I leave....”

At the thought of that, he shook his head with a smirk. ”Sending his things back after killing him might be taken as a challenge, so there’s no need for that. I’d be better served selling them for some cash instead. The problem is, can I even leave this place?” The true tragedy would be if he had to say goodbye to Feiling for good.

......

Yin Chen scouted the entire area and told him there was nothing else there apart from him. Other than his head returning to normal, nothing else about the room had changed.

”There’s roughly six thousand people in total, and half of them have to die. I guess it’ll take some time. They must still be fighting in the other rooms. Once every room only has a single ’chrysalis’ left, this round will be over. I wonder what’ll happen next.... Will we keep having to kill each other?”

If that was the case, there would be no end to the killing. Tianming confirmed with his touch that his head was still his normal, handsome one rather than the insect one. Then he took out the green skeletons and placed them before him.

”I have to wait anyway, so I might as well stabilize my cultivation. I shouldn’t think of raising it even further. Let’s detoxify the poison I took to level up!” Breaking through twice in a row had indeed raised his combat prowess, but it was a detriment to his foundation. Only someone like Xiaoxiao, who had never had a good foundation to begin with, could risk living on a tightrope like that.

Tianming had Yin Chen keep watch while he immersed himself in the world of caeli, gaining insight from the nest-like orders of cosmic cartographers.

”That astral giantess was able to control billions of bee-headed people with her ring. If every single one of them was as powerful as a member of the Lin Clan’s council, how powerful was the giantess?” Even that casual notion was terrifying to contemplate. ”I’m guessing that not even the top rex mundi of the Infinitum Mundus would be her match.”

There were around three thousand rooms in the bees’ nest. Most of the pairs were randomly matched, and there would definitely be some among them who would have trouble starting the fight. Those like Shuntian Bohan, who was able to kill a family member, were among the few rare ones that succumbed to panic and confusion. As long as the place didn’t actually force the participants to fight each other, the first phase probably wouldn’t end. Tianming waited for more than thirty days, but nothing changed.

”It can’t possibly drag on forever. Wouldn’t people eventually go insane if their heads stayed as a bee’s head?” Those that were hesitant to fight in the beginning would eventually cave in. One’s human nature was only ever truly tested in the face of despair. Tianming used this time to absorb large amounts of primeval source to stabilize his cultivation. While he didn’t make a breakthrough, he was still much stronger than when he had defeated Shuntian Bohan.

......

Eventually, two months passed, and Yin Chen finally told him something had changed. Tianming hurriedly put the skeletons away and stood up.

”Come back!” Large numbers of Yin Chens turned into a sea of silver that flooded into his lifebound space. He didn’t want to waste any of the five billion remaining Yin Chens he had. All the while, he was paying attention to the room and fog. It didn’t take long before the nest began shaking, probably a sign of the formation changing. It lasted two hours before it came to a stop and he noticed that the fog-like primeval source in the air was denser than before.

”Looks like the place finished transforming. That might mean I’ll need to face off against a new foe.” Tianming sent Yin Chen out once more when it was clear that the sensation of a threat from the controller of this nest had come down on them again. It was an invisible pressure that caused his mood to sour. He pointed his Sky Plundering Eye straight at his face.

”Phew, I’m still handsome as usual.” Even thinking about his bee head sent chills down his spine. That was something that could make a beauty the likes of Yi Taoyao look vomit-inducing, so he was glad he wouldn’t have to go through that again. However, he did spot a green glow coming from his face.

”Don’t tell me....” He saw that his face, hair and everything else was glowing eye-piercingly green. As the light spread, he turned completely green. The light pierced through the fog around him for quite a distance, but he was still relieved that his head hadn’t turned back into a bee’s. Nobody else would be in such a rush to start unless there was a compelling treasure to be had.

”So the green light must be something that makes it easier for us to find enemies, right?” Tianming scanned his surroundings. ”There!”

He saw a single green spot not far away in the fog. Are we fighting in pairs for one of us to survive again? Tianming guessed. Nobody in the fog made a sound. Right after that, a third green light appeared, followed by a fourth and fifth. Every light symbolized a survivor; an opponent! Tianming noticed nine of them in total. ”Does that mean there’s ten including me?”

Yin Chen spread out rather quickly, with most of its bodies heading toward the green lights. The rest went exploring the new battlefield to seek out its borders. They would also notify Tianming if they found any treasures or special spots. Though the number of opponents was high, Tianming still had the initiative thanks to Yin Chen.

He decided to stay far away from those lights to avoid being killed in a second. Instead, he focused on finding the edge of the battlefield so he could leave using his hand if the enemies were as scary as Yi Taoyao.

”Looks like everyone’s being really careful.” Even though it was easy to see someone’s presence thanks to the lights, nobody knew who they were going to run into, so none of them dared to act carelessly.