Beastmaster of the Ages

Huang Jihuang froze for a bit. He hadn’t seen Tianming’s name, nor did he care who ranked in the seventies. All he knew was that Ji Qianqian was both lovable and smart. She was also ruthless and calculative, memorizing every single name on the ranking. There was no way that she wouldn’t know that Tianming, someone from the outer mundi like her, was trailing behind her in rank. Since the moment she’d seen his name, she had already given him a death sentence.

Huang Jihuang chuckled under her gaze. ”How can a gentleman not satisfy the wishes of his lady? I’ll kill as many people as you want to protect your smile.”

”Do you like seeing Qianqian smile?” she said, looking down shyly.

”What do you think?” His arm slid down from her waist, closing in on her rear.

”Unnhh....” She blushed, but still glared at Tianming with killing intent in her innocent googly eyes.

”That isn’t right. I already gave you two the beast, yet you still want to kill me?” Tianming’s face was pale and the smog in his eyes swirled. His hands seemed to be twitching.

”Ahem.” Huang Jihuang didn’t seem that happy about having his intimate time interrupted. His gaze turned ice cold as he let out the aura of a peak specter from his body. He was indeed much stronger than Li Fan and probably had six cosmic charts, giving Tianming about the same pressure as Mister Taihe had thanks to his bloodline.

”Brother, this is Myriadpath Valley, not the backwater you came from. Since you’ve come all the way here, you should understand that whether you live or die isn’t up to you,” Huang Jihuang haughtily declared. His hair flared up with power and his eyes flashed red. His sharp teeth glinted coldly in the light.

”Then who’s it up to?” Tianming asked.

”None other than... me! In fact, everyone that wears a black myriadpath ring like you, the so-called outer mundi ‘geniuses’, are here to be our slaves and servants, understood?” Huang Jihuang smirked, completely unafraid of saying the uncomfortable truth. That was the reality of the situation that people tried to avoid bringing up; not that it mattered since only Tianming and the others watching from Skyward Hall could hear it.

Huang Jihuang wasn’t worried about Ji Qianqian, another black ring holder, overhearing him either. In fact, he had intentionally said it so that she would know her place and how much their statuses differed. He turned to her and said with a gentle voice, ”Don’t worry. I’ll help you change your ring to a different color.”

”Thank you, Brother Huang!” Ji Qianqian gleefully cheered.

Huang Jihuang felt that trading the life of a nobody for a chance to act cool before a girl was a great deal. No man would scoff at the chance to show off their good side to a beauty, and Ji Qianqian knew full well how to place herself in that role. Huang Jihuang let go of her and stared at Tianming like prey. Then he transformed into his bestial form, covered in crimson-and-gold hair and charged straight at Tianming!

”Did you think that Myriadpath Valley was a place where trash like you can simply join?” Huang Jihuang relished the experience. He expected Tianming to flip out after being humiliated and engage him in a fight. That was how all outer mundi geniuses would react, and that was also how they died.

Even though Huang Jihuang was young, he had heard of too many stories of proud geniuses from outer mundi who came to Myriadpath Valley thinking they were hot shit, only to die pathetic deaths because they weren’t willing to accept any bit of pushback. However, Tianming was different. He immediately turned and ran when Huang Jihuang came chasing.

Huang Jihuang was so taken aback that he chuckled, ”So you do know your place, after all. But do you think prey like you can escape from their hunters? Everyone might have come in with myriadpath rings, but their roles are determined by the color of the rings, you see.”

Gold rings were for hunters, while black rings were for the hunted! Even though many people knew that these competitions were merely one way for Myriadpath Valley to shave away the most talented people in different mundi, they still couldn’t help but send their very best for a chance of allowing them to reach the top echelons of the known universe!

After all, should one actually manage to overcome the inherent adversity of being an outsider, Myriadpath Valley actually offered a fair chance for them to advance. All the outer mundi geniuses had to do was be powerful enough!

However, most of the time, they couldn’t compete with the inner valley geniuses. Even Ji Qianqian was nothing more than prey, though she was prey that knew how to use her gifts well by serving those who were more deserving.

Tianming had encountered far too many women like her. Way back when, Mu Qingqing had betrayed him in the most nightmarish fashion to side with the Lightning Manor. He smiled savagely even though he was running, probably because he was reminded of those deeply buried memories.

Huang Jihuang came bearing down on him like the sky itself had fallen! ”Do you think you can run?!” He had killed quite a number of black ring holders, but he still enjoyed the sensation of the hunt. Bringing down a prideful genius and stomping them beneath his feet was the ultimate bliss! Ji Qianqian stood there coldly watching, her long hair fluttering in the air and her luscious lips curved up in a smirk. Her true personality was showing through. ”Myriadpath Valley, I’ve dreamed of coming here for three hundred years, and I’ve finally arrived. Once I get into House Huang’s good graces, my life will be smooth sailing. I’ll stand far above millions of mundi and obtain what rightfully belongs to me.”

Everything had gone according to plan. There was no shred of shame in latching on to Huang Jihuang at all. It was merely the first step toward achieving her ambitions! She could see her dreams unfolding when she watched Huang Jihuang chase Tianming down like the pathetic dog he was.

”Saints... reverends... and eminents.... If I can become an eminent one day, everyone across millions of mundi will kneel at my feet.” The mere thought of that allowed her to taste a hint of satisfaction.

”Hehehehe...” she couldn’t help but laugh. Her body shook uncontrollably! But all of a sudden—

”What?!” She froze and noticed arcane and mysterious words appeared all around her, forming a kind of cage that kept her locked down. The words spread across her smooth skin, interlinking before sinking into her body, endlessly duplicating and entering her astrons.

”Begone!” Her brows furrowed as she surged her cosmoforce to dispel that weird energy, only to cry out in pain. Her face paled as her body immediately shattered and her three cosmic charts heavily trembled. ”Aaaaah!”