Beastmaster of the Ages

”Every time I ingest a drop of starblood, I feel absolutely nothing. Food chains are something that exist in nature. Even in the most mundane of mortal forests, fierce beasts feed on sheep, mortal humans feed on those beasts, and so on. The nature of the world is that the strong devour the weak.

”That’s how the balance and order of the universe is maintained. It makes no sense to judge these things as good or evil. Do mortals regret hunting down fierce beasts? No! You’ll easily understand as long as you don’t group humans and specters together as one race. Treat them separately and put them on a food chain, then you’ll see what it’s truly like.”

Yumo Xue looked in the direction of Myriadpath Valley’s main entrance and continued, ”Many heliacal- and skypiercer-class worlds are filled with mortals. They’re basically cockroaches who only waste nova source, leading to a net drain in the universe’s total energy. If we don’t cull them, the universe will eventually run out of energy and become a quiet world of absolute desolation.

”That’s why, as specters who are on the top of the food chain, we have to eat the mortals and refine them, thereby maintaining the balance of the universe. Such is our sacred duty. It isn’t like we’ll ever run out of mortals to feed on since they keep multiplying like cockroaches. That’s the nature of House Yumo’s burden!”

Yumo Yuanni’s horizons were greatly expanded by the speech. In a daze, he said, ”Is this a realization that you came to on your own?”

”No way!” Yumo Xue chuckled. ”It’s a truth that our house has been aware of since antiquity, passed down from one generation to the next. When it’s your turn to refine starblood, the seniors will also brainw—instill the truth of the world into your mind! Either way, I’m just giving you some mental preparation for when the time comes.

”Don’t go around telling anybody else about this. House Yumo’s burden might be a heavy one, but it’s one that we silently bear. It isn’t something we need to claim credit for. After all, there’s many in Myriadpath Valley that consider mortals people just like they are. Those folks are hypocritical vampires who suck the Million Mundi clean while pretending to be their betters. The so-called mundi missions are nothing but lofty excuses for extortion and robbery.”

”Are House Qitian and House Suishen among those crooks?” Yumo Yuanni asked.

”Shh....” Yumo Xue shook his head. ”Some truths are better not spoken. You need only to know them by heart. They also know what we’ve been doing, but they don’t stop us because, deep down, they also know that there’s far too many lives in the astralscape. Imagine living in a house with ever-increasing dirt and trash. When someone steps out and offers to clean it up, why would they complain?”

”I see! It’s no wonder that after all I’ve suffered, the seniors don’t seem to hate House Suishen much at all. Perhaps my fight really was just a children’s spat in their eyes. The Three Exalted Houses have to maintain balance at the end of the day....” Yumo Yuanni seemed to have realized something.

”Well, that’s what it is on the surface, but let me say this much: even if Li Tianming maintains that level of talent and keeps growing, he’ll have a tragic ending. Putting us aside, even House Suishen would wish for his death!”

”Why?”

”Because he’s an outsider. He’ll never have the same goals as we do! As he isn’t much of a threat now, the seniors can still be swayed by Eminent Jiguang’s antics. But once he becomes stronger than reverends and eminents, he’ll eventually be wiped out.”

”Then why don’t we just kill him right now?”

”Because the undercurrents of profit and loss between the Three Exalted Houses are complicated. We might share the same mindset, but our goals aren’t always perfectly aligned. We also have our misgivings with House Suishen. Eminent Jiguang is one of those among her house that stands against working with our house.

”There’s also people in House Qitian like that. There’s two million cultivators in Myriadpath Valley, and many of them don’t understand us. Their ancestors have come from the Million Mundi, so they always want to change our ways in one way or another. That’s why it isn’t a good thing for an outsider like that to enter our ranks. Those who are aware of what things are really

like are already paying attention to the changes,” Yumo Xue said. ”I see. So Eminent Jiguang and the cultivators here who aren’t members of the Three Exalted Houses are on the side that supports Li Tianming,” Yumo Yuanni said with a nod.

”He’s just a brat, so there’s really no need to throw a fit about it. First, we don’t even know if his talent will last. Perhaps he’ll really be successfully brainwashed by House Suishen and become one of their best supporters, which will put an end to that issue. We can count him as one of us by then.

”House Suishen can even use him to put pressure on us, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t at least try. Not to mention, he’s rapidly improved his reputation among the other cultivators of Myriadpath Valley. With everyone watching and him having the title of minor pathkeeper, not even the Three Exalted Houses can make any careless moves, and that’s all thanks to Eminent Jiguang’s meddling! Her move was a masterful one indeed.”

”What if that brat ends up being a true monster that grows into the strongest cultivator, like the previous valley lord?”

Yumo Xue couldn’t help but laugh at the question. ”Fool, cultivating at the Foundation stage is completely different from cultivating at the Cosmic Cartography stage. A miracle like the Prehistoric Path only happens once in a lifetime. You’re just shocked by his progress because of his lucky stroke. But once he reaches the Foundation stage, even if he has ten times our talent, it’ll still take him decades to break through once.

”In that time, there would be countless people in Myriadpath Valley who are capable of killing him. Nobody can ever become a top elite overnight, no matter how talented they are. At the end of the day, there’s no need for us in the Three Exalted Houses to make a fuss. Let Li Tianming have his time in the limelight as the model cultivator of Myriadpath Valley.”

”The Foundation stage is truly the highest path to ever be tread, and also the hardest!” Yumo Yuanni wholeheartedly agreed.

All the myriadpath saints, reverends, and eminents were stronger than Tianming. As it currently stood, only House Yumo believed that killing Tianming was the right move so that they didn’t raise someone who would come back to bite them. However, the two million cultivators of Myriadpath Valley wished to protect him and make him a symbol for the cultivators who weren’t from the Three Exalted Houses. Everyone had different agendas, and that factored into Eminent Ranxing’s considerations.

”Based on what people are saying about Li Tianming, most of it’s positive. If House Suishen really does something to him, it’d ruin the public trust and goodwill the Three Exalted Houses have. At the very least, House Suishen would try to nurture him for now. Even if Eminent Ranxing doesn’t want that, there’s many others who do,” Yumo Xue said.

”It’s that Eminent Jiguang again, isn’t it? That woman’s sick in the head! Why does she keep butting in? Don’t tell me she fell for that taint? Is she going to use her Suishen Blood on him? I can’t believe it!” Yumo Yuanni snickered.

”I think she’s crazy, too,” Yumo Xue agreed.

”It isn’t just her! It’s one thing for Suishen Zhao, young and impressionable as he is, to be a fan of that taint. But his sister, Suishen Yao, is also mad! She’s older than you and should understand the Three Exalted Houses’ affairs better, yet she doesn’t show it in the slightest! How short sighted!” Yumo Yuanni complained.