Beastmaster of the Ages

”I even mocked him back then, only to be completely flabbergasted today. Li Tianming’s comprehension abilities are truly stunning. His totems aren’t fragmented, either!”

”Even though his lifebound beasts are stuck on his body, how could people have ignored how strong he is for so long?”

”Maybe this brat really will become someone that’s even more fiendishly talented than anyone from the Three Exalted Houses....”

”How could he be trash? Even someone from one of the Three Exalted Houses is calling him a brother. It’s clear that he’s also been in touch with the elders. Everyone thought that he would die in battle for sure, but think about it. House Suishen must’ve already backed him. How else would a black ring disciple dare to challenge someone from House Yumo?”

”So it was planned all along!”

”Maybe he might even marry into House Suishen.”

Tianming’s reputation soared in Myriadpath Valley, and that was before he revealed his full hand.

”I used to look down on him, but now I just realized that I was the clown all along! Sigh....”

All a million people in the Ascension Colosseum were left in shock after hearing about that miraculous vitality-idol breakthrough. Huang Daosheng, Reverend Daolie, and the others had been frozen in shock three times back-to-back. The first was when Tianming defeated Yumo Yuanni, but they were soon excited about the prospect of Tianming being killed by House Yumo. But now, Suishen Zhao’s words caused them to freeze again and again.

The looks they were getting from the people next to them were as if they were being laughed at. Everyone saw how happy they had been before the fight began, only for everything to be turned upside down like that.

”Dad... how’s this possible?! A piece of trash from an outer mundus.... How?!” Huang Daosheng said, turning to look at Reverend Daolie, conflicted. The more Tianming rose to prominence, the more he seemed to pale.

Having badmouthed Tianming the entire time and prematurely mocked him for the losing battle, the reverends all felt like they had been forced to swallow their words.

”Don’t worry! He’s already offended House Yumo, so he won’t have long to live. There have been some precedents of people rising to the level of the geniuses of the Three Exalted Houses, but didn’t they all end up having tragic fates?” Reverend Daolie coldly said.

”That’s right! Without any proper roots or backing, no amount of talent can elevate one from being cannon fodder. They’re nothing but tools! Even though the Three Exalted Houses seem like they’re constantly at each other’s throats, they actually work together to rule Myriadpath Valley and the Million Mundi. They can’t afford to let anyone rise above them,” Reverend Qingyuan said.

”That brat thought that by offending House Yumo, he would be able to curry favor with House Suishen. He’ll come to understand that, in the eyes of the seniors, he’s nothing but a convenient tool that can be dumped at any time. He’ll end up crippled and abandoned like all the other outstanding outsiders in the past!” Reverend Shujian said, gritting his teeth.

”The higher he rises, the stronger he is, and the more likely someone from on high will wipe him out! We don’t have to worry about him in the slightest!” Reverend Daolie yelled in a self-assuring way.

”Okay!” Huang Daosheng nodded. Even though it was the only thing he could do to console himself, at the very least, thinking so made him feel less worse off.

Even so, the gazes he was getting from the crowd around him were unbearable. He wanted to go to the Fortuna Arena himself to crush Tianming so bad. If I ever fight that brat, I must make sure that the Fortuna Arena isn’t too big! I have to use my connections to ensure that we fight in the smallest possible arena so that he has no room to use that speed of his. Yumo Yuanni had been defeated by Tianming’s hit-and-run tactics.

Then, everyone recalled the bet that Yumo Yuanni had taken before the fight. He was still in the Fortuna Arena, defeated. Having shrunk to his normal size, his mask appeared once more and he was once again surrounded by black miasma. While his six irises seemed stiff, they were filled with murderous urges. The figure called Yu Nu stood beside him.

There was little doubt when it came to defeats recognized by myriadpath rings. Tianming’s fame spreading far and wide felt like waves of new humiliation to Yumo Yuanni. Every single cheer felt like a sword stabbing into his heart. He had spared quite a bit of effort to recover his astral organs using his cosmic charts, only for his heart to feel like it was at its breaking point again from the cheers.

”Li Tianming, Suishen Zhao!” He grit his teeth and glared at them.

”What’re you looking at?!” A pink-haired girl stepped in front of Tianming with a mocking smile. She seemed absolutely delighted.

Raising her eyebrow, she said, ”By the way, didn’t you make a bet on the dignity of House Yumo before the duel? I’m sure you wouldn’t dare to besmirch the name of one of the Three Exalted Houses like that, right? I definitely wouldn’t, or I’d be labeled my house’s public enemy. Face is more important to us than our lives. I’m not someone who would be shameless enough to want to live after losing all my dignity.”

The crowd had thought that she would let Yumo Yuanni off without fulfilling the bet, since he already had it pretty bad. Yet she came in and delivered a perfectly placed stab right after her brother publicized the deeds that polished Tianming’s reputation up.

”Why aren’t you saying anything? Weren’t you really arrogant when you beat up my brother by relying on the eighty-year age gap when you thought nobody was watching? Why’re you suddenly so quiet before all the elites of Myriadpath Valley? All you do is glare, how pathetic. Weren’t you gonna show us what House Yumo was made of? If I was as weak as you, I’d kill myself to apologize for humiliating my house!”

As expected of the Little Demon King, she delivered the coup de grace without the slightest bit of mercy. Her brother definitely couldn’t match her when it came to vindictiveness. ”Hurry up and stop wasting time! We have to go back to prepare for the rest of the idols on the Prehistoric Path. If you don’t want to kowtow to us, feel free to leave. Let everyone here witness the cowardice of House Yumo!”

Tianming’s amazing performance had given her a lot of leeway. Any other person would have put an end to the matter after Yumo Yuanni had been defeated, but not Suishen Yao. The entire colosseum was silent, watching Yumo Yuanni’s every move.

The black-clad specter youth tightly clenched his fists and glared at the three people before him. He would never forget this humiliation for the rest of his life, yet he had been its chief architect! He was being roasted on the spit with every moment that passed.

But no matter how much he wanted to freak out, it was useless against Suishen Yao.