Beastmaster of the Ages

Suishen Yao and the rest came forward to ask how Tianming and Suishen Zhao had succeeded. While they were still dumbfounded that it was even possible, it wasn’t too shocking, considering all the other miracles Tianming had already created. Not to mention, he hadn’t managed to upset the ranking this time.

”House Suishen already has the second and fourth spots, so it’s still an amazing result!” Suishen Shuang said, seeing how crestfallen they were.

”Nonsense! My disciple and I are still going to challenge the ancestral idol!” Suishen Yao said. The next idol would come in fifteen days, and that was the true end of the Prehistoric Path.

”The ancestral idol?” The name made Tianming rather hopeful.

”That brat’s truly shrouded in mystery,” Suishen Yue said when he saw that Tianming had actually qualified for the next round. Quite a few others had the same reaction. Suishen Yuan, on the other hand, kept his eyes glued on Suishen Yue, intending to best him during the trial of the ancestral idol.

The results seemed settled after the sixth round, though. Some people started celebrating, while others sighed and seemed filled with regret. Even the reverends and eminents believed that things wouldn’t change much. Tianming and Suishen Zhao were in fourth place, as they had expected. The results of the Maniverse Path weren’t mindblowing, either.

Just like that, the Prehistoric Path would soon come to an end, with the final showdown scheduled for fifteen days later. Tianming and the rest returned to Suishen Cave to prepare for the ancestral idol. Though the results seemed set in stone, many still endeavored to work hard to face the next idol. Perhaps that was the miracle they needed to shake things up.

When they arrived at Suishen Cave, Suishen Yao turned around and said, ”Little Zhao, Shuangshuang, you two should go spend some time together. I have something I need to tell my disciple.”

”Oh? What’s so private that you can’t say it with other people around?” Suishen Zhao teased.

”Shut up.”

”Fine!”

Suishen Zhao hurriedly pulled Suishen Shuang away to create an opportunity for his brother. He already had fourth place set in stone, and his fivefold multiplier made the rewards quite substantial. He would be getting more than Qitian Jian, who was in first place! Suishen Zhao was absolutely elated; everyone else in Myriadpath Valley were discussing the sheer amount they would be rewarded thanks to the multiplier.

Once they were gone, Suishen Yao stared at Tianming.

”Little Master, can I help you with anything?” he asked.

”The thousandface idol was too challenging. I’m sore all over, so give me a massage.” Suishen Yao found a large, flat stone slab and laid on top of it.

”Alright!” Tianming had no choice but to comply.

Suishen Yao was quite pleased with the massage. With her eyes closed in pleasure, she said, ”Once we deal with the ancestral idol, I want to go into seclusion to try advancing to the second level of the Foundation stage. I’ll be needing your help.”

”Huh? Little Master, how can I help with your advancement? I don’t think there’s anything I can do.” ”If I say you can help, you can help. Just listen to what I say when the time comes.”

”Alright, will do. Is there any preparation that I need to do?”

”No need. Just be there. It’s also a huge boon for you. Consider yourself lucky,” Suishen Yao said with a pout.

”Okay!” Tianming couldn’t figure out what she needed from him, no matter how hard he tried. However, he knew there was no way she would harm him at this point. ”Little Master, I wish to use my merit points to get some manna for my lifebound beasts to evolve. It might take a few days. What do you think?”

”A few days is fine, just keep it short. I only have a year left myself, so my time’s also limited!” she said.

”A year?” Tianming immediately thought of the date of her marriage. What in the world does she want to do? Tianming was waiting to use his merit points and springwater to grow even more. Putting aside the ancestral idol, the fifth idol had greatly improved his infernal and genesis orders. He wanted to try to make his next breakthrough.

After some time, Suishen Yao was finally satisfied enough to let him go and he rushed to Suishen Ancestral Hall to prepare for his breakthrough.

***

There was a region deep in Suishen Cave where midsky essence turned into a black mist. It seemed like a fiendish, sinister world. While it seemed like it should be something found in Yumo Cave, it was unmistakably within Suishen Cave. Within that region, the burly Suishen Yue quickly advanced, barely able to suppress his smile.

”Father!” He reached the black mist and saw a bottomless hole. There was a plaque next to it with the name of the place. ”Midsky Well!”

Suishen Yue had indeed called out to his father before the mist that surrounded the Midsky Well. The well shook, causing the mist to roll. He unconsciously took a few steps back and paled.

After some time, a similarly huge figure appeared in the mist. His skin was crimson and covered in black, snake-like patterns. He was also bound with black chains. The chains kept the man with the black myriadpath ring sealed within the well.

Seeing him, Suishen Yue agitatedly said, ”Father, I placed third on the Prehistoric Path after clearing the thousandface idol. Suishen Yuan’s ranked thirteenth, far below me!”

The man’s blazing eyes stared back at Suishen Yue. ”Why aren’t you ranked first?”

Suishen Yue awkwardly said, ”House Qitian and House Yumo have eminent-class major pathkeepers. It’s rather difficult for me to rival them as I am now. But once I marry my cousin and use her Suishen Blood to break through and become an eminent, I’ll be able to equal them! I only need a year!”

”A year?” The figure moved, causing the chains to rattle. He scratched his head and suddenly smiled manically. ”Ranxing.... You really trust me, your elder brother, so much. Even in my current state, you’re still willing to let your daughter marry my son to show how fair and just you are....”

”Father, Uncle has indeed treated me rather well across the many years,” Suishen Yue said.

”Shut up!” The man glared at his son and said, ”He was the one who took everything from me and put me here, got it?!”

”Yes!”

All of a sudden, something flew out of the man’s mouth. It looked like a black stone the size of a fingernail. Suishen Yue caught it and found that it was hot to the touch. Like a thing with a will of its own, it tried to burrow into Suishen Yue’s body. ”What’s this, Father?”

”You don’t need to know. All you have to do is to put it into her body after you marry Yaoyao and engage in totemic bonding with her.” The man sinisterly chuckled.

”Will she notice it?”

”Not at all!”

”That’s good.” Suishen Yue put the thing away and nervously asked, ”Father, can you tell me what it does?”

”What? Are you saying you won’t use it if it doesn’t do anything good?”

”No! Father, you’re the most important person to me.”

”It’s good that you still remember. I bet it hasn’t felt pleasant all these years to always be inferior to others, right?” the man said with a cackle.

Suishen Yue merely kept his head low.

After a pause, the man said, ”Once it enters Suishen Yao’s body, it’ll absorb her totemic quintessence for you. Your totems will grow stronger and stronger while her talent, totems, and lifespan grow weaker and weaker. She’ll die around the age of two thousand.

”Throughout the process, nobody will notice anything weird about it. I’m the only one who knows something like this exists! All you have to do is absorb the talent of someone with a top-tier bloodline and surpass Ranxing and your grandfather. Eventually, you’ll be the master of House Suishen and you can even aim to be the next valley lord!”

”What?” Suishen Yue’s eyes were wide with shock. His hands shook and he couldn’t calm down. ”Is what you said true, Father? Does something like that actually exist?”

”Of course! It’s the reason I broke the taboo. However, neither your father nor grandfather know that I actually got my hands on it, nor do they know its true effect. The reason I’ve fallen so low is because of it! Do you know how much I sacrificed for your sake now, my son? All my dreams and hopes are yours to bear. You have to make sure you perfectly pull this off! Never let me down!” the man resolutely said with an intense glare.

”Father!” Suishen Yue’s eyes turned bloodshot with emotion. He knelt and kowtowed to the man as his tears flowed. In the most earnest voice he could muster, he said, ”May lightning strike me down if I disappoint you! My life was given to me by my parents, so my heavenly duty is to repay my parents for that grace!”

”Very good!” The man seemed satisfied by the response. ”You should know what to do next, right?”

Something flashed across Suishen Yue’s eyes. ”Uncle brought me up because his son is far too young and won’t be able to stand at the forefront of House Suishen. He wants to make up for how he wronged you by raising me. How can we call that a genuine act of kindness? Yaoyao and Little Zhao have never truly respected me, either. I’ve done all that I should to contribute to House Suishen, but they still continue letting me down. They’ve let you down. I won’t show them any mercy.”

The black-ring-wearing man wholeheartedly agreed. ”That’s right! You have to avenge me! Once two streams of top-tier bloodline talent have gathered within you, you’ll rise to the top of House Suishen within a thousand years. The current valley lord will be in decline from old age by then. That’s your chance to take over Myriadpath Valley and become the ultimate ruler of the astralscape! Only then will you be able to save me, got it?”

”I understand!” Suishen Yue’s greed began fueling his ambition.

”I’m sure you know the pleasure of being completely invincible in the Million Mundi and everywhere else, right? Nobody will be able to make you bow ever again! You’ll grasp the power to destroy their star worlds! All their lives will be in your hands!”

”Father, I have endured so long for the sake of eventually becoming my own master. I know how that must feel,” Suishen Yue said with a fierce, hoarse voice.

”Good!” The man believed that he had said enough and waved him away. ”Now go! I’ll wait a year for the good news. From now on, don’t come to see me unless you can’t help it.”

”Yes!” Suishen Yue immediately teared up from the tragedy of not being able to be with his family. The Midsky Well was House Suishen’s prison. He took a deep breath, bade farewell to his father, and left with renewed resolve.

Only after that did the man with the black ring reveal a most sinister smile. ”Ranxing... do you think you can match me, Suishen Hongtian? Everyone might think you’ve won, but the battle isn’t over yet....”