Beastmaster of the Ages

”You aren’t even a twelfth-level cosmic cartographer?!” Eminent Jiguang was stunned with disbelief.

Tianming knew that she wouldn’t believe him, so he showed her his cosmic charts right away.

”Where’s the rest?” she asked, looking around wide eyed.

”That’s all of them,” Tianming said with resignation.

”You’re lying! Auntie’s no naive young girl, I’ll have you know!” She came closer and turned him round and round, fussing over him from top to bottom before backing off with exasperation.

”That’s really all I have,” Tianming said with a shrug, yet Eminent Jiguang wasn’t able to calm down at all as she looked at him.

”Are you saying you’re able to fight five levels above you as a ninth-level cosmic cartographer, even defeating second-level foundationeers?!” It was difficult for her to even utter such a ridiculous statement. That was the extent to which she was at a loss.

”I should be able to take down an average third-level myriadpath saint as well,” Tianming honestly answered.

”Alright! Let me collect myself.” Eminent Jiguang grabbed a pillar to support her as she sat down, head lowered and pink eyes brooding. Thoughts were rapidly racing across her mind.

”Auntie, what’ll happen if I announce this?” Tianming asked. He had a feeling that Jiguang perhaps wanted to protect him even more than Suishen Yao and Jian Qinghe. Suishen Yao was still young and didn’t have any power to speak of, after all, while Jian Qinghe, on the other hand, wasn’t that close to him yet. They were only walking the same path in terms of principles.

Eminent Jiguang, on the other hand, was someone Tianming incredibly respected. She was kind but straightforward. Someone like her was really rare in a cesspool like Myriadpath Valley.

She looked up at him. ”Well, your talent’s already shocked everyone so much that we’re all numb to it now. However, it’ll still cause some people in the Three Exalted Houses to overthink things. You were right to have kept it a secret—it’s simply far too ridiculous. I worry that some people would be unable to accept it and start going on about how you’ll be a threat to all of us again.”

”A threat?”

”Basically, some people are saying that you’d better finish the job if you decide to destroy Myriadpath Valley or you’ll die a horrible death.” Eminent Jiguang properly explained the point of view that some held to him, and the fact that she did proved that she was firmly on his side.

She grit her teeth and continued, ”I have a few things I wanted to tell you when you returned. You have to make sure to keep a low profile, especially now that you’ve risen to the top of the Fortuna Ranking. You have no real rivals that can help lower your perceived threat and you’ve performed well, too, and you’ve even been accepted into House Suishen. Everyone in the house is convinced by your talent, so there’s no need for you to remind them of it any longer. No more surprises.”

”Auntie, does that mean you want me to keep this a secret?” Tianming asked.

”Of course. Does Yaoyao know?”

”She doesn’t.”

”Then don’t tell her.”

Tianming could tell that the eminent had considered the deeper implications based on that statement alone. Like she said, he had already proven himself through the Prehistoric Path’s idols. It just so happened that there was nobody he could fight any longer in the Fortuna Ranking, either.

”Should I avoid fighting anyone stronger than a second-level foundationeer?”

”Well, can you actually avoid them?”

”I’ll be careful, but I doubt I can keep the act up for long. That’s why I want to find another way to reach the Foundation stage as soon as possible.”

”That’s right. You have to become a foundationeer as soon as you can. Don’t fight anyone before that.” Once Tianming rose to the Foundation stage, he would be stuck not being able to fight anyone stronger than the sixth level as well.

At this point, he no longer needed to hide anything from this woman, whose first priority and concern was his safety. He gave her his full trust. ”Auntie, I have a way that I can use to rapidly make it to the Foundation stage, but I need your full support. Can I count on it?”

”You have one?” Her eyes brightened. ”Tell me right away. You don’t have to hold back with Auntie.”

”Of course.” He told her everything about his plans. ”Auntie, do you remember the rapid breakthroughs Yumo Yuanni achieved before the Prehistoric Path that allowed him to suddenly grow much stronger than Brother Zhao?”

”I know. I heard he used a grade-seven order fragment from the Xenoabyss and a keg of springwater to breakthrough twice in a row without affecting the foundations of his order.”

Since she knew the details, Tianming saved quite a bit of time. ”Currently, I have four kegs of springwater and I used eight million merit points to trade for four 800-aperture manna. Auntie, can you help me reach out to the antiquitean imperials to trade for a few order fragments?”

”That....” She pursed her lips. ”Putting aside whether or not I can reach out to them, we still don’t have concrete proof of whether using order fragments like that has any side effects. Not to mention, they’re only effective at the Cosmic Cartography stage and won’t work at the Foundation stage. That’s why Myriadpath Valley doesn’t think much about them.”

”Isn’t that perfect? I’m still a ninth-level cosmic cartographer, so it’s the perfect time for me to use them. I won’t be able to take advantage of this method in the future.” Normally, fortuna disciples suffered an awkward phase that lasted around a thousand years after leaving the Fortuna Ranking, during which they were unable to rank on the Maniverse Ranking. They would have to work very hard to rebuild what they had obtained from the Fortuna Ranking.

While Tianming wasn’t five hundred years old yet, he had already reached the top of the Fortuna Ranking. Soon, he would have to contend with that awkward phase as well. He was currently unmatched among fortuna disciples, but still far from a match for reverends or eminents. Coupled with the fact that he had to be careful when defeating opponents too many levels above him, he really hoped that he could quickly move past his own awkward phase.

Fortunately for him, the springwater method was the perfect way for him to do just that. While others still believed that he was experiencing his early-Foundation-stage growth spurt, he would take the chance to actually reach the Foundation stage.

”At your level, you should be laying your foundations. Aren’t you worried that that method will affect your cultivation in the Foundation stage?” Eminent Jiguang worriedly asked.