Beastmaster of the Ages

The members of House Suishen were truly torn, neither wanting to see their patriarch die, nor to lose Eminents Jiguang and Xiyue. They didn’t dare to intervene in the battle between Tianming and Ranxing’s group, but when it came to Jiguang and Suishen Xiyue, they couldn’t bear to stand idle.

Several eminents stepped forward and the eminents of House Qitian and Yumo were taken aback.

“You’re betraying the valley lord and Myriadpath Valley!” they bellowed, pointing at Suishen Cang.

“Oh shut it!” Suishen Cang rolled his eyes.

Their interference allowed the previous valley lord, Jiguang, and Suishen Xiyue to exchange glances before breaking out of the encirclement and joining the battle on Tianming’s side to face off against the old patriarch, Qitian Muyu, and Yumo Diyan.

Meanwhile, Qitian Muyue had also entered the fray. As a member of House Qitian, she had unexpectedly turned against her own brother, stopping him from attacking Tianming.

The onlookers were stunned.

“It’s utter chaos!”

Thus, all attention focused on the most critical battlefield: the clash between Tianming and Suishen Ranxing!

Among them were five hundred thousand astral gods watching with intense gazes. They clearly saw that Tianming was engaging the super-zenith Eminent Ranxing, yet showing no disadvantage. At that moment, they finally dared to offer their unwavering faith to him.

Five hundred thousand astral gods were a quarter of Myriadpath Valley. They were also fervent believers, whose faith not even the arrival of the wonderians could shake.

Tianming already possessed the power to face a super-zenith combatant. What did it mean to add five hundred thousand peak cosmic cartographers and foundationeers as believers?

He cast a sweeping gaze over them. “Everyone, lend me your strength and we shall sweep away all enemies before us. I vow to share the dual inheritances of Myriadpath Valley and the Yin-Yang World with everyone after this battle!”

His conviction was as unyielding as the heavens themselves. Moran was desperately fighting for him, while Jiguang, his mother-in-law, and the previous valley lord were all giving their utmost to shield him. Five hundred thousand steadfast believers were willing to stake their lives and stand with him, unyielding even in adversity.

Those people, their emotions, and their determination deeply moved him, igniting a fighting spirit within him.

The omnisentient threads of five hundred thousand astral gods were like thick, gold-and-black divine dragons entwined around Tianming’s astrons. Their power was so close it seemed to directly merge with his own. The rumors spread by the likes of Fallengrace Peak couldn’t shake the resonance between them and their emperor.

The sheer quantity of faith was one variable, but when followers gave it their all, their power exponentially multiplied. Myriadpath Valley’s collective strength filled his body to the brim, nearly matching the effect of the million omnisentient threads he had wielded after defeating Qitian Xiao earlier.

Tianming’s body erupted with the most intense radiance in Myriadpath Valley. Even Suishen Ranxing’s imperial might paled in comparison, and his ten totems, the blazing star immortal emperors, were all eclipsed by the Galactic Emperor’s aura.

His mind consumed by a battle frenzy, Suishen Ranxing was undeterred by Tianming and roared in defiance. Gripping his mid-maniverse-class weapon, the Star Divider, he activated the simulacra of his totems.

“Tenfold Simulacrum, Fiery Immortal!” It was evident that he surpassed Jiguang. Her simulacra had been fast-tracked by Tianming, whereas Suishen Ranxing had achieved his through personal effort. His super-zenith cultivation, his tenfold simulacrum, and the support of the Three Exalted Houses was the foundation of his confidence.

“Still showing off your glowing tricks?” Suishen Ranxing maniacally laughed, slashing with a blade imbued with the third fold of the Greatsun Suishen Art. It seemed like tens of thousands of nova sources had been condensed into a single blade as it obliterated everything in its path.

“Glowing trick?” Tianming combined his Grand-Orient Swords into a single greatsword, gripping it with both hands as the power of the Galactic Emperor erupted from within him.

His gold and black eyes met Suishen Ranxing’s. His voice seemed to resonate with countless worlds, shaking the soul. “You and I walk the same path, yet you’re but a speck of light attempting to compete with the brilliance of the moon!”

That single statement exposed the fundamental difference between the two. Suishen Ranxing had reached the pinnacle of what Myriadpath Valley could achieve, but Tianming was someone who had transcended that pinnacle!

As Suishen Ranxing attacked, he seemed to see the images of five hundred thousand astral gods overlapping with Tianming, swinging his sword with him!

Tianming sought not only to defeat his enemy’s body, but to entirely break his spirit. Thus, he chose not to use the Yin-Yang Immemorial Art, but the second fold of the Greatsun Suishen Art to counter Ranxing’s third fold instead.

When the Grand-Orient Sword struck, its black-and-gold divine radiance immediately swallowed the light of Suishen Ranxing’s blade. It was just as Tianming had described—a speck of light attempting to compete with the brilliance of the moon.

The black-and-gold sword light obliterated Suishen Ranxing’s totems and sword ki; not even an alpha wolf could stand up to a tiger.

“Suishen Ranxing! You cannot alter the course of the astralscape. This Million Mundi now enters the era of my Tianming Dynasty!” Tianming followed with the Pentagram Suishen Art, continuing to use the battle arts of House Suishen as the Galactic Emperor.

The terrifying divine power of an emperor was like the weight of ten thousand mountains pressing down upon Suishen Ranxing. His mid-maniverse-class artifact shattered on the spot, and his tenfold simulacrum totems were reduced to nothingness.

In the end, only his physical body remained, but under the Pentagram Suishen Art, it repeatedly exploded into a mist of blood. A super-zenith astral god had been reduced to a mass of flesh under a single sword strike!

He let out a heart-wrenching roar, his face twisted in despair. He was unwilling, but his spirit was truly broken. Tianming hadn’t defeated him through cunning or deceit, but in a straightforward confrontation of strength. At his strongest, most confident peak, Suishen Ranxing had been crushed by the Greatsun Suishen Art!

It was only natural for him to be plunged into despair. His resolve, which had been tightly wound around his belief in his own overwhelming strength, had been mercilessly shattered by Tianming.

The boy, in the moment of his greatest pride, had become his nightmare.

However, Suishen Ranxing accepted his defeat and didn’t regret not letting the wonderians kill Tianming first. In his heart, he still wanted to personally suppress him, utterly crushing the nightmare-like boy. Never had he imagined it would be so simple and humiliating to become a stepping stone for that boy’s rise to the pinnacle of the astralscape.

Suishen Ranxing was reduced to a mass of flesh, and even his totems had been destroyed. He could no longer even muster the strength of a major-zenith astral god; he had been utterly defeated. The moment he was defeated, the gold-and-black radiance around the boy on the other side became an eternal nightmare in his memory.

Most importantly, everyone had clearly witnessed him being suppressed by Tianming’s sword and his body destroyed. There was no more impactful scene than that!

To some—like House Qitian, House Yumo, and those of Fallengrace Peak—it was like being struck by lightning. Of course, the old patriarch was the most devastated, as if struck by lightning dozens of times. His heart nearly gave out from grief, his body uncontrollably trembling.

But to others, it was a moment of celebration, frenzy, and cheers! For instance, the five hundred thousand astral gods who fought alongside Tianming, and Suishen Xiyue, who loathed Ranxing.

As for the remaining 1.5 million, their minds were still in their final conflicts.

After Qitian Xiao’s death, some had begun forming omnisentient threads with Tianming, only for Suishen Ranxing and the wonderians to sever them through fear. Suishen Ranxing’s super-zenith cultivation had snuffed out their hope in Tianming’s victory, and the arrival of the wonderians had only further shattered their faith in him.

But now Tianming had crushed Suishen Ranxing with the most domineering methods, proving to the wavering crowd that he was the best hope for the future of the astralscape. Suishen Ranxing’s defeat meant he was out of the competition.

As for the wonderians, sorry, but they were even more of an outsider than Tianming.

With Suishen Ranxing’s fall, Myriadpath Valley would henceforth have only one new emperor, Li Tianming.

The wonderians powerhouses couldn’t sway the thoughts of any cultivator in Myriadpath Valley. Their existence only made people yearn for Tianming to completely annihilate them and restore the glory of the astralscape.

No one wanted to cede territory, and the decision to appease the wonderians had already caused much discontent. How many countless people would lose their homes across a thousand mundi to hand them over to these outsiders?

Suishen Ranxing didn’t care, but many of the ordinary astral gods of Myriadpath Valley hailed from a mundus.

All of that transformed into a surging tide of belief converging upon Tianming. The young emperor had become the sole hope of Myriadpath Valley.

”Emperor Tianming!!” Cheers erupted once again. Aside from House Qitian, House Yumo, and Fallengrace Peak, even the many august houses and House Suishen made their stances clear without hesitation.

“The new emperor ascends to the throne!”

Two million omnisentient threads united as one, signifying the moment that Tianming had finally, truly conquered Myriadpath Valley. A Galactic Emperor stronger than ever before, surpassing his glory even in the Infinitum Mundus, was born!