Beastmaster of the Ages

”Senior Huang Qi, may I ask why you were sealed here?” Tianming said.

While the voice was of few words, it still properly answered the questions. After a pause, she said, ”It’s a long story with incredibly complex details. It’ll take a few days to fully tell it. I hope you understand that I have not the slightest bit of malice toward you, nor toward the sixth-level nova source world connected to this ancestral world. If I can be born again, my wish is to return to the home of the order apians. You’ll also be greatly rewarded for rendering me this boon.”

”Is that so....” The rough idea Tianming had of this being’s power was enough to scare him into raising his guard. If all the bee-headed people were at least as powerful as cosmic cartographers, that army would be able to sweep through Ebonia in a flash. ”I’d like to know if the thousands of disciples that came here to this ancestral world with me survived and left.”

”Apart from the ones who died during the first phase, the rest are still alive. The rules here were designed to leave a deep impression at the very start, which would fuel the paranoia of the participants in the following rounds,” Huang Qi said.

”Senior, are you the one who came up with the trials here?” Tianming was relieved to hear that Dongshen Xiaoli, Lin Hongchen, and the rest were still alive.

”Of course not.”

When Tianming thought about it, Huang Qi didn’t really seem to benefit from who won or lost either. ”Then may I ask what I’ll obtain if I’m able to defeat Shenxi Shang? The completely fused part of the six mini stars?”

”Hehe...” she chuckled for a while, then smiled. ”No. Do you remember the first black star you saw when you were coming here?”

”I do. I’m inside that star right now.” When he had landed there with Lin Hongchen, he noticed that the gravity was incredibly strong.

”That black star is the reward for the final victor. In a way, it’s the legacy itself. The last one standing will claim it. Child, I was the one who opened a path to this ancestral world to take you all into here. You’ve obtained the gifts I’ve given you and were able to easily defeat your enemies. Eventually, you’ll become the inheritor of this Order Relic. That’s my reward to you. Having the Order Relic will allow you to stand at the peak in the astralscape of order in the future.”

”So the black star is called the Order Relic?”

”Yes.” She sounded much more amiable when talking about it.

”So if I get the six mini stars, I’ll be able to control the Order Relic.”

”That’s right.”

”And getting it will let me soar to the top in the astralscape of order?”

”Verily.”

”Senior, you must have some deep ties with the Order Relic, right? It feels like the trials we’ve been through are similar to yours in some ways.”

”That isn’t surprising. These trials were left behind by an important friend of mine.”

”I see....” He nodded and earnestly asked, ”Why would you give something so precious from an important friend to me? Wouldn’t your rebirth be even more perfect if you had it? That’s why you spared so much effort to take so many people in here, right?”

The voice remained silent in the face of the repeated questions.

”Apologies for my transgressions, Senior. I’m just curious, so I hope you won’t mind.”

”Your curiosity is hardly the only thing. I’ve patiently answered your questions and given you so much to let you rise up through the trials when you were only a participant on the periphery. Yet, when it comes time to repay me, you’re cowering in fear and putting up your guard against me. It truly saddens me,” Huang Qi said in a melancholic tone.

”Apologies, Senior. This is a matter far bigger than me. I would be unable to bear any consequences of such a huge affair, so please understand my hesitation. How about this? I’m confident in myself to a certain degree in being able to defeat Shenxi Shang. Once I do so and obtain the Order Relic, I’ll repay you. That way, I’ll know that what you’ve been saying is true and will be better prepared mentally. What do you think, Senior?”

”Are you really certain?”

Tianming had a feeling that Huang Qi wasn’t a pleasant being upon hearing that tone of voice. Her patience had been stretched to its limits. Through their conversation, he had only grown more and more wary. Everything, from what he had experienced to her urgency of wanting Tianming to free her before defeating Shenxi Shang, seemed to point to the fact that she wanted the Order Relic for herself. It was just a possibility, but it was too big to be ignored. He knew that releasing such a being into the world without knowing enough beforehand would be far too risky.

The slightest mistake would cause him to unleash an unstoppable force into the world. While it was true that Huang Qi had indeed helped Tianming throughout the minor reges mundi ranking event, that could well be a tactic to lure him into a trap. Had she done everything without malicious intentions, there wouldn’t be a need for him to be so suspicious. He was almost certain that his feelings were right. Before I learn everything about this being, I’ll never release her!

With Yi Taoyao still here, Tianming had more than enough time. There was nothing Shenxi Shang could do in his claustrophobic state anyway. Tianming already heard a negative tone when Huang Qi asked if he was really certain. He took a deep breath and smiled. ”Senior, you’re too terrifying to the likes of me. Can you understand how I feel? Please give me some time to process this and get through my fear.”

”Fine. You don’t have to fear any more.”

”Huh?” Her tone of voice had changed completely from the gentlest of ripples to that of an ancient, cold divinity.

I was able to enter the mysterious ring after unlocking it last time. Surely she can’t just drag me into it, right? If that was the case, there wouldn’t be a need for her to waste so much time conversing with him. But at that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his head. Crap! It’s those walnuts!

Given that they were on the turf of Huang Qi’s friend, Tianming figured they were of the same kind. During the second round, around four hundred people had each obtained six walnuts that entered their heads. They remained there unchanging, for a time, but now they seemed to be causing Tianming incredible pain. He had been thinking of a way to remove them! Had he been an astral god, it would have been as easy as cracking his head open to take them up before healing up. The walnuts fractured into countless shards that were embedded in his head, seemingly infesting every single albus within.

”Huh?” Tianming felt like his sea of consciousness had been sealed and his eyes turned completely green. Then his eyeballs split into countless sections in compound eyes at a rate the eye could see.