Beastmaster of the Ages

”I want to break through in the next divine idol and tear him to shreds!” Yumo Yuanni growled.

”I hope you can do it or you’ll be crippled for life,” the youth said.

”I only need a bit more. If I had ten cosmic charts, I wouldn’t have lost like this! I’ll challenge him again after two more idols!”

”Young Master, do you need me to kill him?” Yu Mo asked.

”We’ll give Yumo Yuanni a chance,” the youth said.

”Understood.”

***

The commotion finally ended once the Yumo specters were gone. It was only then that the crowd dared to discuss the affair more openly. Some turned and looked at House Yumo’s camp, and others looked at Tianming’s camp.

Tianming also watched as the Yumos left. He turned to Suishen Zhao and asked, ”How’s the name of that guy in yellow pronounced?”

”Yumo Xue? The ’Xue’ is pronounced the same as ’cave,’” Suishen Zhao said.

”Second on the Fortuna Ranking, huh....” Tianming remembered seeing that name on the Prehistoric Path. He was a rank higher than Suishen Yao, and taking the top spot was Qitian Jian. All three of them were minor pathkeepers. Yumo Xue had recently risen in the ranking from the fourth spot.

”Yumo Xue is a yellowspring variant hellfiend skyghoul, making him somewhat fiercer than normal hellfiend skyghouls. He’s around fifty years younger than my sister and Qitian Jian. Once my sister and Qitian Jian move to the Maniverse Ranking in twenty years, Yumo Xue should be able to occupy the top spot in the Fortuna Ranking for around fifty more years. Everyone says that if it wasn’t for the age gap, Qitian Jian wouldn’t be able to defeat Yumo Xue.”

”I see....”

The yellowspring variant was probably similar to brilliant goldlion variants of beast-type skyghouls. Yumo Xue’s sickly appearance seemed to be an outward manifestation of that trait. Tianming was well aware that he wouldn’t be able to trump Yumo Yuanni in a contest of brute strength. If the Fortuna Arena had been smaller, he probably wouldn’t have won.

”Little Zhao, let’s go look for Dad!” Suishen Yao said.

”Is Dad here?” Suishen Zhao nervously asked. ”I wonder what he thinks about us causing a mess like this.”

”He would’ve stopped it long ago if he thought it was problematic. On the surface, he pretends to be all prim and proper, but I bet he’s secretly reveling in all this,” Suishen Yao said with a pout.

Fen Nu pointed the siblings to where their father was.

”Let’s go back. Fen Nu, take Little Li back to Suishen Cave first,” Suishen Yao instructed. If she hadn’t been feeling a bit perturbed herself, she would have brought Tianming to see Eminent Ranxing as well.

”Understood.” Fen Nu nodded.

Tianming didn’t expect that he would have an eminent bodyguard from then on. ”Thank you, Senior!”

”You’re welcome.” Fen Nu was used to serving and didn’t have much of any airs to throw around. Tianming followed him through the crowd and left the colosseum. It was quite a glorious sight.

This was no doubt one of the most historic moments ever in Myriadpath Valley. Tianming had finally cast away the perception of him as a pariah. He was even more revered than disciples from some internal houses of Myriadpath Valley and he had also obtained more room to control his own progress.

”At the very least, I can go to the middle ruins to cultivate now! They have peak-tier caeli there.” That was thanks to Tianming’s rank rising to the thousands. He also had a feeling that he would be allowed to train in Suishen Ancestral Hall.

***

The Suishen siblings and Suishen Shuang walked quite a distance through the crowd. Eventually, they saw a few eminents and Major Pathkeepers Suishen Yue and Suishen Yuan. They were on a rather tall platform and could see everything in the colosseum. The siblings felt rather unnerved at being called over.

”Whatever you guys say, I won’t stand to see my little brother be bullied like that! That Yumo brat was so arrogant. If I didn’t teach him a lesson, he would’ve done it a second, and a third time! Little Zhao would always be pushed down by him! But now we’ve crushed his mindset in one fell swoop. Let’s see if he dares to mess around in the future,” Suishen Yao said, stealing the first word.

”Dad! I was the one that caused House Suishen to lose face. Don’t blame Sis for this,” Suishen Zhao said, bowing.

As long as Eminent Ranxing didn’t say a word, the others behind him wouldn’t, either. However, their expressions were rather different. Some furrowed their brows, some seemed lukewarm, and some seemed troubled.

Suishen Yuan was among the ones who were troubled by the situation. He had believed that Tianming would no doubt die, yet that supposedly tainted beastmaster was brave enough to go against House Yumo. Not to mention, he was the true genius behind the record breakthrough time of the vitality idol!

The siblings’ harsh payback on Yumo Yuanni would no doubt worsen the relationship between the two houses. Even though it was a children’s spat, it could still have huge consequences. As such, they all wished to know what Eminent Ranxing thought about it.

”Don’t blame your sister, you say?” Eminent Ranxing’s starflame-filled eyes turned to Suishen Yao. In a calm tone, he continued, ”For the sake of standing up for you, she almost ruined your future. If things had been slightly different, you would’ve ended up like Yumo Yuanni.”

Suishen Zhao grit his teeth and said, ”No, Father! The path of growth has always been fraught with obstacles. I was prepared to kneel and kowtow to him if I had to, and even then, I wouldn’t fall! Not to mention, since Li Tianming appeared a few years ago, I’ve noticed a huge change in my mental state. I never used to have feelings of urgency and desperation to catch up like I do now!”

”Did you hear that? Little Zhao’s matured! He isn’t as weak as you think. How can a man lead House Suishen without first being tempered through hardship? Don’t tell me you want to rely on us women to do all the work?” Suishen Yao added.

Eminent Ranxing was somewhat delighted by the siblings’ performance, otherwise he would have dragged them home long ago. ”How confident were you that the black ring disciple would win? Do you understand him that well?”

Suishen Yao seemed a bit panicked, but steeled herself. ”I understand my disciple, of course. He told me that he was certain he could defeat the enemy. Would I really bet Little Zhao’s reputation if I wasn’t a hundred percent certain?” she lied without batting an eye in the slightest.

Suishen Zhao was quite shocked too. The Little Demon King of Myriadpath Valley was capable of making a boast sound like the truth. He recalled that Tianming was only half certain of his victory!

”A hundred percent?” Eminent Ranxing seemed to believe her. He turned and looked at the other eminents.

”This child is a bit too bold,” said Suishen Cang, Suishen Yuan’s father. He seemed calm and didn’t seem to favor or disfavor Tianming.

”Perhaps he was a bit overboard,” Suishen Yuan daringly added.

Suishen Cang glared at him, causing him to shut up. Suishen Yuan didn’t really want to target Tianming for no reason. He couldn’t even be bothered to look at him when he had dragged Tianming out of Suishen Cave. However, he simply felt too disgusted at seeing what Tianming had been doing with Suishen Yao that time. It felt like a dirty beggar had defiled his goddess.