Beastmaster of the Ages

”Is she inside or outside the Ninth District?” Guided by Yin Chen, Tianming moved through the capital toward the meeting point.

”Outside it,” Yin Chen said.

”The Ninth District is sealed off, how could she get out?” Tianming said, somewhat surprised. He couldn’t help but sigh, ”It shows that her abilities have improved a lot, and there’s many secrets about her.”

Without an astralship to travel, it took Tianming half a month just to arrive. Toward the end, he used Fiveway Blitzrun with Meow Meow to speed up a bit.

Finally, they arrived at the agreed-upon location. It was a deep underground abyss within the capital, dark and silent and rarely visited by anyone.

Tianming dived into a pool of stagnant water and dug open a passage within the depths of the water, revealing a cavern. He emerged from the water and saw a purple-haired girl sitting at the edge of the cave not far from the water’s surface, hugging her knees, her somewhat vacant eyes watching his arrival.

He finally saw her. Seeing that she was unharmed, his previous worries were finally dispelled.

He walked over to her and comfortably sat beside her, lazily stretching.

”Seeing you like this, is everything settled back home?” Zi Zhen asked, looking at him.

”The big problem’s been resolved, now there’s just a small one left to deal with. I still need to work hard on it,” Tianming said.

”Were the order fragments... useful?” Zi Zhen asked.

”They were a great help. I’m really grateful to you,” Tianming chuckled.

”That’s good, it was worth it,” Zi Zhen bit her lips, then lowered her head again, saying, ”The Xenoabyss is so dangerous, why’d you come in again when there’s still a small problem back home?”

Tianming turned his head, looking at her waterfall-like purple hair. ”After that day, I often worried about your safety. Although Yin Chen said they probably hadn’t caught you yet, I couldn’t rest easy without seeing you with my own eyes.”

”Oh,” Zi Zhen relaxed a bit, a faint smile on her lips as she drew circles on the ground with her hand. ”Don’t worry, I’m not so easy to catch.”

”Yeah, it’s a load off my mind seeing that you’re okay. I’m really relieved. But always being worried and afraid, isn’t that a difficult way to live?”

”What’re you talking about? I’ve been used to it for a long time now... it’s just how I used to live,” she said.

”Alright! Now, there’s too many people looking for you outside. The entire capital’s in chaos, are you really okay?” Tianming asked with concern.

”Mm, don’t worry. Go and do your own thing, don’t mind me,” Zi Zhen softly said.

However, no matter what she said, in the current situation, Tianming still worried. ”Have you ever thought about leaving the capital?” he asked.

”Do you still need order fragments?” Zi Zhen asked.

Tianming was stunned for a moment, then said, ”I do need them, but....”

”No buts! As long as you need them, I’ll stay here to find opportunities. Besides, the capital is much tighter than the Ninth District. If I rashly appear now, I might just walk into a trap,” she seriously said.

Tianming fell silent.

”In the end, if we were a bit stronger, we could just ascend. Whether order fragments or Myriadpath Sourcespring, we could just seize them!” he fantasized. Now, their strength was still in the middle tier of Myriadpath Valley and Antiquitas Mortis, unable to reach the top. It was difficult to obtain supreme treasures with their current level of power.

”Myriadpath Sourcespring?” Zi Zhen was startled for a moment, those two words causing some confusion in her eyes.

”Yes!” Tianming slapped his forehead and laughed, ”Look at my memory, I forgot to tell you about something so important.”

He smiled and showed her his myriadpath ring, saying, ”Zi Zhen, didn’t I just say that there’s still a small problem back home? To solve that small problem, I need Myriadpath Sourcespring, so I went to Myriadpath Valley. I came here through the Myriadpath Celestial Formation there.”

”The Myriadpath Celestial Formation....” Zi Zhen reached out and touched his black ring, her gaze trembling slightly.

”What’s wrong?” Tianming asked.

Zi Zhen shook her head, then said with a bitter smile, ”It’s nothing, it’s just that I seem to have heard those names before... Oh right, what about Li Fan?”

”I’ve got him under control, he’s now my guide in Myriadpath Valley,” Tianming said.

”That’s good.... Are you safe there?” she asked.

”Hard to say, but, where in the world is absolutely safe? Such places also lack challenges and growth, so I think it’s okay to just go with the flow. If I’m taken advantage of, I can’t blame anyone but myself,” he laughed.

”Yeah, with your abilities and personality, you’re sure to shine,” Zi Zhen looked at him with envy.

They were opposites; Tianming was indeed a fiery personality, while Zi Zhen was different. She didn’t even like crowds, let alone his system of the masses. It was like one was an introvert while the other was an extrovert.

”Zi Zhen, I’ve inquired about it. The midsky essence of Myriadpath Valley has something in common with the xeno source here. When I have status and power in Myriadpath Valley, I can bring you over. You won’t need to stay afraid in this broken place. I also heard that if you adapt to midsky essence, you might even be able to adapt to nova source in the future!” Tianming grinned, his smile as bright as sunshine.

”Midsky essence?” Zi Zhen’s gaze trembled again. She shook her head, then looked at Li Tianming for a long time. He was thinking of her, which should have been a happy thing, but she still had worries in her heart so she quickly shook her head and said, ”With my constitution, there would be people coveting it in Myriadpath Valley. It could cause trouble for you.”

”That’s why I said it’s necessary for me to have status and power. Don’t worry, I won’t let you risk your life without certainty,” Tianming reassured her, patting her frail shoulder.

”Mm....” Zi Zhen nodded.

”Myriadpath Valley is the core of the Million Mundi. If I can dominate there, I won’t be far from being the strongest in the astralscape. And if I can control the Million Mundi and establish my system of the masses one day, I’d be absolutely terrifying!” Tianming had always been ambitious, and the drive to dominate was written all over his face.

He had become the emperor of the Infinitum Mundus, but after coming to Myriadpath Valley and seeing the governance system there, he’d seen the blueprint for the continued expansion of his Tianming Empire.