Beastmaster of the Ages

”You reminded me of something, though,” Tianming said, his eyes lighting up.

”Oh?” Chen Tianyong seemed curious. ”Last time, Yumo Yuanni’s father traded an 800-aperture ordered manna for a grade-seven order fragment from the antiquitean imperials. I should ask Eminent Jiguang to see if I can use my status as a minor pathkeeper to trade with them.”

”Do you have any ordered manna?” Zi Zhen asked. Tianming had used six 999-aperture manna and gave Zi Zhen one. He also kept two more for himself, but they were too precious to be wasted.

Tianming smiled. ”An 888-aperture manna costs over a million merit points, and I have around eight million. My yearly stipend is seven hundred thousand, so I’ll have ten million in a couple years. It shouldn’t be a problem for me to trade for five or six 800-aperture manna.”

Tianming’s stipend for reaching second place before the age of a hundred was staggering. Myriadpath Valley’s founders probably hadn’t expected that a monster like him would ever exist.

Tianming had spent 1.5 million merit points on four 700-aperture manna, but that amount could only get him a single piece of 800-aperture manna. Most people couldn’t afford to spend merit points like he could, but he would squeeze Myriadpath Valley for everything they had, converting merits to actualized power.

”That seems possible. You should ask Eminent Jiguang to see if she has any contacts with the antiquitean imperials,” Chen Tianyong said.

”It’s no rush. I don’t have any springwater with me right now, so it’s something I’ll only have to worry about around five years from now.” Tianming turned to Zi Zhen and continued, ”Why haven’t you used the manna I gave you last time? Chickening out?”

”No....” She pursed her lips, seeming a little troubled.

”Then why?”

”I wanted to use it when you’re here....”

”I see.” Tianming nodded and patted her shoulder. ”Alright, I’ll watch over you while you use it. Go ahead!”

Chen Tianyong read the room and said, ”Alright, I’ll take my leave.”

Once he was gone, Tianming stared at Zi Zhen so hard that she felt the hair on her body stand on end. ”I don’t need you to stand guard. Just watch.”

”Are you saying that you feel safe with my presence alone?” Tianming said.

”Why’re you teasing me like this when you have so many sweethearts in Myriadpath Valley?”

”Because you’re nicer to me than they were.” Tianming was technically telling the truth; Zi Zhen had risked her life for him in a way that Suishen Yao probably couldn’t match.

”Enough. Just wait and watch.” She took out the manna and went to the deepest part of the cave. Tianming could only see her shadow. Oh, she’s grown. Her figure’s much better.

Zi Zhen didn’t hesitate and immediately began refining the 999-aperture manna. Yin Chen kept watch the entire time, standing by to warn them if someone came.

Specters refined manna in a similar manner to lifebound beasts. Tianming could feel the storm that burst forth from the evolving bloodline. He heard her muffled groans and saw her transformed skyghoul form.

I really wonder, what exactly is her relationship with House Yumo? Tianming felt rather perplexed, as he hated House Yumo with a passion. I must be overthinking things. So what if she’s a member of House Yumo? She’ll side with me no matter what and kill other Yumos if I tell her to.

He was certain of that fact; that was the Zi Zhen he knew. Since he had healed her of her grade-ten xeno fatigue, she’d pledged to give everything to him.

After a day, Tianming saw a change in her shadow and her bestial aura grew much more potent than before. Tianming could even feel the power of her bloodline pulsing within her, filling the entire underground cavern. When she finally succeeded, her shadow reverted to that of a girl.

Tianming moved past the mist and saw a cold, purple-haired girl walking toward him.

”Eh?” He saw that her purple irises were filled with countless stars, a sign of a successful evolution. Her visage and aura seemed to have changed somewhat as well and she seemed even more cold and beautiful than before. The exoticness she exuded was even stronger than it used to be. Tianming saw an additional slit between her brows that looked like a closed eye.

”What’s wrong?” Zi Zhen asked.

”It’s bigger....” Tianming said.

”What is...?” She followed his gaze and looked down, only for her face to instantly turn red.

”Congratulations,” Tianming said with his arms open. ”Come give me a hug.”

”Okay!” She nervously looked at him, but did as she was told. She seemed a little shy at the thought of his previous comment. But at least the hug turned out to be rather tame.

Tianming patted her back and said, ”I know that you’re usually quite lonely and don’t have anyone to talk to. And Uncle Yong isn’t much of a conversationalist, either. However, it can’t be helped for now. Just wait. One day, I’ll take you to Myriadpath Valley.”

”It doesn’t have to be Myriadpath Valley,” she said.

”Then where will you go?”

”Where you go, I’ll follow.”

”Pfft!” Tianming pinched her cheek with a smile. ”You’re already asking for so much just because your figure grew a bit curvier. What’ll you ask for next?”

”You!” She couldn’t stand it any longer and turned to run. ”You should go back and gather your springwater!”

”You don’t want me to spend a few more days here with you?”

”No!”

Despite what she said, Tianming still spent a few more days with her before rejoining Tang Xiao and going back to the Myriadpath Celestial Formation.

”When you go back, make sure to say that you didn’t find anything in Intrepidus,” Tianming instructed.

”Alright.” Being made a hexapath slave on top of having Tianming’s Imperial Sword Prison used on him left Tang Xiao with no choice but to comply.

With that, Skydome and Intrepidus had been dealt with. Let’s see if you can still cause trouble for me, Lan Yun.

When Tianming returned, his attention shifted to the Grand Myriadpath Ruins. It was a true divine astralship that was built for warfare. The Hellfiend, a mobile stareye, couldn’t compare with it in the slightest.

”I’ll go to the upper ruins, then. I also haven’t seen the cleaner grandpa for quite a while now.”