Beastmaster of the Ages

”What? So everyone despises Little Li?”

They were dumbfounded.

”Are you kidding? Don’t we look cool?”

Ying Huo couldn’t accept the fact. It thought Tianming looked extremely handsome and attractive the way he was. Primordial Chaos Beasts were eye-catching, after all.

”Um.... Is there some mistake? The Yishker Clan is pretty good, right? Would they also be despised?” Tianming asked, wide-eyed.

”They’re alright.... We consider them high-class tainted beastmasters. After all, five of the seven lifebound beasts they own are normal. The other two don’t change their bodies to a large degree, and give them an exotic vibe. They certainly don’t look as wild and savage as you.” Li Fan sighed and continued, ”I’m telling you this to mentally prepare you. There’s going to be prejudice and discrimination against you. You’ll be avoided, ignored, and despised.

“Myriadpath Valley is a highly hierarchical society. Competition between people, as well as good and evil, is even more extreme. Every genius lives in a really competitive atmosphere. It isn’t uncommon to kill just because you disagree on something and it’ll be even harder for you because of how you look. I hope you have a strong heart. I can tell you, no girl is going to approach you!”

Li Fan’s last sentence stabbed Tianming hard! He felt his vision go dark. Tainted beastmaster! He was speechless. Fortunately, there was no shortage of beauties around him. He also believed that he would be able to rise as long as he performed well, even if he experienced discrimination.

After regaining his composure, he suddenly thought of something else. ”What about totems? I have ten.”

”How many levels of simulacrum?” Li Fan asked.

”First level.”

”First level....” Pursing his lips, Li Fan said, ”Try to increase your simulacrum level as soon as possible. Ten totems is a lot. In fact, it’s more than anyone in Myriadpath Valley has, but the first level is too low. They’ll think you have no potential or talent. Ten stones are nowhere as valuable as one piece of gold, understand?”

Tianming went silent.

”I noticed that you attach your totems to your sword. People here are going to assume your totems can’t stand on their own. We call that ‘fragmented totems,’ which basically means that they’re handicapped and require artifacts to function. You’ll also be scorned for that, so you’ll experience twice the discrimination,” Li Fan added.

Tianming grew even more speechless. He had been worried that his incredible talent would draw too much attention to him, but in reality, he was about to face twofold discrimination. He could already predict the strange looks that would follow him everywhere.

”Anyway, you don’t have to worry that others will notice your talent. When the Skyward Grandpath opens, you’ll be lucky if you can enter without any discrimination,” Li Fan said.

”I understand.” Tianming nodded. ”So it’s okay if I use both lifebound beasts and totems?”

”Of course! There’s many like you in the Million Mundi. They usually have various disabilities or deformities that lead to such an impure inheritance. Although there isn’t anyone like you in Myriadpath Valley, the lower-class stars are filled with them. Most of them are only able to reach the level of normal gods. And they have crappy methods like blood pacts....”

His words stabbed Tianming once more!

”But!” Looking up, Li Fan said, ”There’s legends about dual cultivators. Though, again, they’re all stories from generations ago. Maybe a miracle like dual cultivation did exist in ancient times! Anyway, I don’t know much about it. You might have the potential for it.”

”It’s fine. I know what I’m in for. It’s going to be depressing.” Tianming couldn’t be bothered to talk about the issue any longer. He thought he was awesome, but he was really a joke in Myriadpath Valley. Regardless of how unhappy he felt, it wasn’t easy to change public opinion so he got over it and remained optimistic. For now, he just had to patiently wait for ten thousand people to gather before the Skyward Grandpath finally opened.

During the wait, he cultivated the Imperator’s Mural on the platform with other participants who were doing the same.

”I came to challenge Myriadpath Valley when I was stuck before I was even five hundred. At the time, I was a second-level cosmic cartographer. You experienced my strength at the Skyhold Bridge,” Li Fan said.

”If a weakling like you can pass, I don’t think it’ll be a problem for me,” Tianming said.

”That isn’t necessarily true. I was lucky because most of the participants in that round were weak and there weren’t many Myriadpath Valley geniuses competing. Generally speaking, you must be at least a third-level cosmic cartographer to even stand a chance. It’s safer if you’re a fourth level, which is why I don’t think passing will be a problem for you. The key is your ranking,” Li Fan explained.

”Is ranking important?” Tianming asked.

”Of course! For the geniuses of Myriadpath Valley, their ranking is the clan’s glory and the basis for their elders’ bragging rights. It’s a resume, of sorts, and affects the grading of their talent as well. For outsiders like us, the higher we rank, the more likely it is for us to be noticed by myriadpath saints, taken under their wing, and protected on the path of cultivation.”

”And that’s all? Tianming said.

”Of course not. The top ten on the Skyward Ranking will be rewarded with cultivation resources.”

”Like the Myriadpath Sourcespring?” Tianming asked.

Li Fan rolled his eyes at him. ”Do you think the Myriadpath Sourcespring is some cheap scrap that they give you as soon as you enter?”

”Alright.... So what’re the rewards?”

”They haven’t announced the rewards for this round, but according to past rules, beastmasters are rewarded with manna. A thousand years ago, when I entered Myriadpath Valley, first place on the ranking was rewarded an entire set of three-hundred-aperture ordered manna that would allow any lifebound beast to evolve to three million stars.”

Three million! Although it was less than the manna he already had, it would be perfect for Tianming.

It’d be great if I could get that. Maybe Ying Huo and the others can restart their evolutions and take their time. They might be able to unearth the power of the previous manna as well. It’d be even better if they could leave my body and reshape their own, he thought.

”If you take first place, you’ll get the best of everything, not just cultivation resources! It’s almost impossible to get your hands on three-hundred-aperture manna if you were to enter Myriadpath Valley as an ordinary disciple. In fact, you still wouldn’t be able to obtain them after several hundred years,” Li Fan said.

”Got it.”

The Skyward Ranking was rather insignificant in Myriadpath Valley. Only ten thousand participants were required for each round, and each round only lasted a short period of time, yet the first on the ranking was heavily rewarded. After all, few foundationeers had lifebound beasts with three million stars. For example, Xiaodao’s lifebound beast had less than a million, which was rather sad.