Beastmaster of the Ages

Ancient slave race? Tianming closed his eyes. As expected, the victors had rewritten history. Even in the Ancient Oldgod Domain, some knew about the war between flameyellow and the Eightpart Pantheons, and the Original Sin Pool that was left behind. But here in the Upper Star Ruin, all that remained in the public record was the judged ancient slave race.

A civil war? No. In the current historical narrative, it was merely the suppression of a slave rebellion.

”Have you heard of Flameyellow?” Tianming asked.

”The elders say that word is taboo. If you say it, you die...” Long Chen quickly replied.

”Is your race numerous across the Upper Star Ruin?” Tianming continued.

”Yes! We’re everywhere. Every Middlekin Star Ruin has a lot of us.” Long Chen’s eyes reddened further.

”What do they do?” Tianming asked.

”We hold the lowest status in the Upper Star Ruin, so we do all the grunt work. In maniverse- and fortuna-class worlds, we’re slaves and servants. In Middlekin Star Ruins, we’re miners. We risk our lives to enter the divine channels and drag out middlekin stars because astralships can’t enter! Because of that, my parents, my grandparents... they all died in the divine channels!” Long Chen said.

”So in the Middlekin Star Ruins, all of you are miners?” Tianming took a deep breath.

”Yes! We’re three-quarters of the population in the Middlekin Star Ruins, all of us using our lives to mine middlekin stars!” Long Chen wept.

Tianming had never imagined the flameyellow divinities had fallen to such a fate. He had risen from the Sun and finally returned with his imperial star. But upon arriving, everything he saw and heard filled his heart with the same sorrow and anger as the young boy in front of him!

How could this be? Why must they always bow their heads? There was only one answer: the heavenly shackles! It was just like xeno fatigue, but instead of causing death it locked away talent.

If their lifebound beasts’ crests and totems’ simulacra could never exceed nine, how could they ever compete with others? It meant that their race could never produce true powerhouses and would forever remain enslaved.

”The Eightpart Pantheons... how ruthless!” Anger surged in Tianming’s chest. He finally understood his true mission in coming to the Upper Star Ruin, and how difficult, yet meaningful it was!

How can one live a life as a slave?

Theirs was a race that had once swept across the stars, ruling everything, and were even capable of establishing the Flameyellow Divine Path. After nine generations of imperators, how could they be an ’ancient slave race’?

Tianming knew that what he had learned so far was only the tip of the iceberg. How long had such humiliation gone on? How could their ancestors rest in peace...?

The crimson ”slave” brand on the young boy’s back was horrifying. The so-called slaves of the Ancient Oldgod Domain were nothing more than temporary oppression, a fleeting hardship at worst. But the descendants of the flameyellow divinities endured a bloodline-etched slave brand that bound them for eternity!

Tianming’s eyes blazed and his emotions violently churned for a long, long time. While he finally calmed down, a fire had ignited within his heart.

I’m a descendant of the flameyellow divinities, and I must bear this responsibility. I’m also the prince of the sky plunderers, who owe them. It would be a grand endeavor that involved the suffering of countless billions and the tyranny of foreign oppressors.

And all of it was far more important than mere romantic entanglements.

With great power comes great responsibility! This is my mission and the duty I must fulfill in exchange for all the fortune I have received!

The sky plunderers, the Primordial Chaos Beasts, the flameyellow divinities, the Sun, the Original Sin Pool, the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.... All of them had granted Tianming incredible opportunities in life. Was he only meant to enjoy them?

Of course not! Every single piece of his immense fortune had been bought at an unimaginable price by his ancestors, his forebears, and his parents.

At that moment, it finally became clear what they wanted him to accomplish. The sorrowful and unyielding young boy before him was just one of the many people waiting for him here.

Tianming took a deep breath as the greatest purpose of his life was established. He was silent for a long time before asking, ”That woman earlier, was she part of the Eightpart Pantheons?”

”Huh?” Long Chen shook his head. ”Impossible. The core bloodlines of the Eightpart Pantheons are too noble. They rarely come to the Middlekin Star Ruins. That woman was from the Scorchmoon Cult.”

”The Scorchmoon Cult?” Tianming looked at Long Chen.

”The Middlekin Star Ruin is surrounded by three fortuna-class worlds. The Scorchmoon Cult is a faction from one of them and is responsible for mining middlekin stars here. There’s three such factions in total! Each of them enslaves countless members of our race, using our lives to madly extract middlekin stars!” Long Chen gritted his teeth.

The three fortuna-class worlds were unseen, but they surely existed.

”The three worlds are ruled by the wonderians, the devas, and the third is jointly shared by the Sundown and Starfall Pantheons. It’s said that their cosmic gods are part of the Eightpart Pantheons!” Long Chen explained, his voice filled with despair.

”Are all members of the Sundown Pantheon surnamed Luori?” Tianming asked.

”Not exactly. The Luoris are just one branch. The Sundown Pantheon is a beastmaster alliance of over a dozen lineages. The Eightpart Pantheons are spread across the entire Upper Star Ruin,” Long Chen said.

Tianming nodded. The Upper Star Ruin was vast, and the wonderian race had countless branches as well. The Sundown and Starfall Pantheons, both at the peak of their kind, had also split into many factions.

”The leader of the Scorchmoon Cult, Jiang Linxi, is a member of the Sundown Pantheon. She’s an extremely powerful beastmaster and one of the top figures in this Middlekin Star Ruin!” Long Chen coldly said. It was clear that he despised that woman.

”Jiang Linxi?” The name sounded rather ordinary. It seemed the Eightpart Pantheons were even larger than Tianming had imagined, spanning the entire Upper Star Ruin!

”Big Brother, many of us have secretly escaped and formed a resistance group against their tyranny. You have an astralship, so can you help us escape? Will you come with me? We have tens of thousands of people!” Long Chen excitedly said.

”Tens of thousands? All from your race?” Tianming asked.

”Yes! All of us have lost family, friends, or loved ones to the divine channels. We can’t bear this life anymore! Don’t worry, our leader is my sister. My big sister is amazing, everyone listens to her! She won’t covet your astralship!” Long Chen earnestly said.

”Alright, I believe you. Let’s go!” Tianming agreed without hesitation.

”That’s great!” Long Chen leapt with joy.

”Is your sister strong?” Tianming asked.

”She’s the most hardworking person I’ve ever met! Even though we can’t break the heavenly shackles, she’s no weaker than the so-called geniuses of fortuna-class worlds! Our race is born with deficiencies, but we can put in a thousand, or even ten thousand times more effort! My sister’s that kind of person! No one can defeat her!” Long Chen passionately said.

”Good, I look forward to meeting her. Lead the way!” Tianming smiled.

”Big Brother!” Long Chen’s eyes blazed with hope.

”Things will get better....” Tianming smiled, ruffling his hair.

”Mhm!” Somehow, Long Chen knew Tianming was different. He didn’t know why, but he had seen hope from the very first moment he laid eyes on him.

”By the way, Little Chen,” Tianming gazed ahead and continued, ”what’s the name of your resistance group?”

Long Chen’s eyes burned as he firmly spoke two words: ”The dragonoid race!”