Beastmaster of the Ages

The Star Hunters had left behind far too much wealth. Tianming let Wudi deal with all of it and heard it took an entire year just to collect the loot that had dropped all over the Sun. Most of the ether-class or better treasures were the first to be collected and gathered in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. The most important pieces of treasure included ordered manna that were ten apertures or above, which was in Tianming’s hands. For now, the denizens of the Sun wouldn’t be able to use them. There were also techniques, rare ores, herbs, currency, and normal manna, which were handed to Wudi to distribute. Tianming had seen the mountain of treasure and all he could say was, ”All this plus the Flameyellow Bloodsoul should be enough for us to build an army of tens of millions on the scale of the Star Hunters’, right?”

Even if it would take time for an army like that to form, he was more than happy with the mere prospect of it. The Flameyellow Bloodsoul was not to be squandered. The other huge haul they received was the divine astralships of the Star Hunters. While more than half of them had been destroyed, there were still thousands that could be restored and used.

With the policy of the Tianming Dynasty being one that rewarded people who made good progress in cultivation, everyone on the Sun did the best they could over the past year. The atmosphere was quite merry. People were so busy cultivating that they barely had any time for dating; as such, Wudi made sure to announce that cultivating should not come at the cost of relationships. It was still necessary to produce the next generation, which would be far more talented thanks to the improved Flameyellow Bloodline, especially if they started cultivating from a young age.

As the strength of the people grew, Tianming’s strength also grew. Every day, somebody managed to become an ascendant. Initially, stellaminors were a minority on the Sun, but within a short year, their number grew to hundreds of thousands. The solarians of the Sun and Violetglory made rapid breakthroughs that would probably only slow once they became astral gods. In fact, there was already an astral god: Wudi. He had benefited the most from the Flameyellow Bloodsoul and reached the second astral phase, much to Tianming’s shock. Even he was only at the fifth astral phase. The Sun had a brand new monster: the middle-aged genius, Li Wudi.

”That’s insane! If you make me desperate, I’ll activate the Order Relic and suck up all that Flameyellow Bloodsoul goodness!” Though he said that, he had a feeling that the Flameyellow Coffin would send him flying. The Order Relic seemed to be a thing that had entirely cut him off from the Flameyellow Bloodsoul. Either way, everything on the Sun was making rapid progress. The people forged ahead with passion and high hopes.

”And I’m reaping the most benefit of all!” While Tianming didn’t get to enjoy the Flameyellow Bloodsoul, his Omnisentient Threads had at least grown much stronger, much to his delight. After some tests, he found that his true power on the Sun was threefold that of his abilities in the wondersky realm. While that wasn’t the biggest boost, it was made within one short year. The number would no doubt continue to grow.

”Ah, this is the fruits of back-breaking labor,” Tianming said.

”More like the shameless bloodsucking of a greedy landlord,” Feiling teased.

”Nonsense! It’s the return on my investment, alright? For someone with such high cultivation, your brain sure could use some work.”

In the past year, the best times he spent not cultivating had been spent cruising around the Sun with Feiling in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. He hugged her from behind and looked ahead. ”Ling’er, look! This is the star I promised to give you.”

”It isn’t pretty. It’s nothing but yellow dirt,” she said.

”Then, what should I do?”

”Plant some flowers and trees. Turn it into a sea of flora. With Xian Xian here, it shouldn’t take too long to grow. Eventually, it’ll become as pretty as the Flameyellow Continent.” Feiling held her chin as she recalled the Vermillion Bird Kingdom, Grand-Orient Realm, and Taiji Peak Lake’s sights.

”Oh, right. Well, due to the volatile nova source inside worlds like these, even if there are good sights to see, they’re more monotonous, like those of the Divine Moon Realm and Violetglory. They won’t be as varied as the mortal worlds,” Tianming said.

”Varied as they are, they’re merely for mortals....” The difference between a mortal realm and a nation of gods was hard to imagine. Nova source worlds were places where advanced cosmic lifeforms like gods lived. But as the two of them had come from the mortal realm, they found those sights to be prettier.

”How about we try making this place look like the mortal realm? That way, we can go traveling all the time!” Tianming said with enthusiasm.

”Let’s not be that rash. Things aren’t stable yet and there will be more war to come. Most people are still taking refuge inside the Sky Palace Formation. Even if we start planting, they might get destroyed,” Feiling said. It was a realistic conundrum to consider. The Infinitum Mundus wasn’t at peace yet, and Tianming’s grandparents were still engaged with their own problems.

”That’s right. It’s quite a shame.” Tianming would love for the Sun to look like the mortal realm, but for now it was going to remain a bloody battlefield.

The Ninedragon Imperial Tomb cruised ahead, causing Feiling’s long hair to flutter in the wind. She looked much more mature in recent years. The tranquil, frosty aura seemed to be ever present in her eyes.

”Little Li... Big Li... is coming!” Yin Chen reported.

Tianming turned back and saw the Gladean Ruins descend from the sky above near the Sky Palace Formation. ”I guess it’s about time my godfather tried out a few secret rooms.”

Tianming turned the tomb around and returned to the Sky Palace Formation. With so many people there, it was quite cramped, making life somewhat inconvenient. Many lifebound beasts weren’t allowed to be outside their lifebound spaces for long, much to their and their beastmaster’s distress, but it couldn’t be helped. Fortunately, living close to others improved group cohesion. They always had a common topic to talk about: Tianming.

”Dammit... he said I’m still a little ways off! Does he look down on foreigners or something? Trust me. The next time you come here with your fine wine, I’ll be eighty percent done!” Wudi said, face flushed and burping.

”No... no problem! We’re at peace now... so it’s no rush! Let’s... let’s keep drinking! When I last went to the fragrant bluedragon, it closed its legs tight when it saw me and pissed itself! It was so nice, but my gourd didn’t want to catch the piss for me, so I had no choice but to get it myself. Don’t I smell good? I smell so good that I can’t get myself to bathe and wash it off!”