Beastmaster of the Ages

When Jiang Linxi brought up heavenly oaths, every dragonoid in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb stiffened. Some of their expressions turned dire as they began chattering.

”A heavenly oath?” Long Qian gazed even deeper at Jiang Linxi as the rage in her boiled. ”What’re you scheming now?!”

”You got it wrong, Long Qian! I’m giving you a chance!” Jiang Linxi chuckled. Her golden hair was long and soft. Even though she was a married woman, she still appeared to be in her prime. Every facet of her beauty was absolutely enchanting, especially due to her mature flair. Even though she was sixty meters tall, it didn’t change how appealing she looked. It was proof that foundationeers and overflowers were only different with regards to size. It wasn’t the same as the gap between higher and lower lifeforms.

On the other hand, one couldn’t compare normal gods to astral gods. Normal gods still had bodies of flesh and blood and couldn’t withstand the cosmoforce of astral gods. As a result, it was less likely that one would charm another; they would look at each other as different organisms due to the sensation of alienness that stemmed from being lifeforms of different tiers. It was precisely for that reason that overflowers, women especially, had a kind of unrestrained charm that was only bolstered by their increased physical size.

The totemancer Mo Fan, on the other hand, didn’t carry the same kind of charm. Instead, he looked more like a divine statue than an actual human. Either way, Tianming wasn’t attracted to people of the masculine gender.

”A chance?” Long Qian coldly glared at Jiang Linxi.

”That’s right!” The cult leader smiled and made her proposal. ”I’m sure you know just as well as I do what a heavenly oath signifies. Need I say more?”

”What kind of bet are you talking about?”

”The Cosmic God Palace is about to come, did you know?”

”Cosmic God Palace....”

Tianming noticed that the dragonoids around him were chatting in hushed voices with some anticipation.

”What about it?” Long Qian said.

”The descent of the Cosmic God Palace is a chance for anyone under a thousand years old from top bloodlines in the Three Great Cults to compete and develop their orders! Mo Fan and I can arrange for your kind to be given a spot to participate!” Jiang Linxi said.

”What?!” All the dragonoids were stunned. Long Qian furrowed her brows and said, ”Stop joking around. That’s a benefit that the Midsky Tristars offered you. We are merely a slave race in your eyes, so there’s no way you’d give us the right to fairly compete against your lofty selves. I think your lust for this divine astralship has driven you insane! How dare you just make up things like that as a joke?!”

”Girl, can you not be so crass?” Jiang Linxi chuckled.

”Long Qian, let me be straight with you. We’ll allow you slaves to participate. The results of your participation will be the bet we shall swear a heavenly oath on! If your final performance in the event exceeds that of my cult, I’ll release a million of them! If you’re able to surpass both of our cults, we’ll release two million! Think about it! The slaves that both of our cults combined only number two million! We’re betting all the slaves we have on this! How’s that for sincerity?!” Mo Fan said.

How could the dragonoids not budge at that offer? But it all seemed like a trap, one that they simply couldn’t resist!

”And what if we don’t perform well?” Long Qian asked. Everyone wanted to know the catch.

”Of course, we’ll expect you to obediently hand this divine astralship over to us,” Jiang Linxi said, not hiding her true desire in the slightest.

”You sure drive a hard bargain,” Long Qian said, shaking her head and glaring at them.

”Think about it. Heavenly oaths can’t be violated. They have to be carried through no matter what!” Mo Fan said.

”Long Qian, don’t you slaves constantly claim to be as strong as we are? Well, I’m giving you a chance to prove it, and it’s a promise that’ll be backed by a heavenly oath. But you still don’t dare to take up our offer. Looks like slaves will always be slaves! And to think you dare dream of liberating your kind? How could spineless cowards like you live as anything other than livestock for us to trample on?!” Jiang Linxi held nothing back at all and laughed.

The tens of thousands of overflowers in their ships joined in the mocking laughter. Even though everyone knew it was a tactic to agitate them, the dragonoids couldn’t help but feel unbridled rage at the sight of their disgusting expressions.

”Is that guy sick?” Tianming said, shrugging as he turned to Long Chen. ”This Middlekin Star Ruin is their territory. Why would we send our own to participate in their games? It’s such a transparent trap! There’s no way we’ll agree no matter how they agitate us!”

He found it laughable. The dragonoids had such a low standing in this Middlekin Star Ruin that even those who managed to escape were seen as nothing more than rats in an alleyway. All they had gained was some hope in the form of armed transportation. That wasn’t enough to get them to fight, let alone fight on enemy turf and on their terms! How could they be sure of returning alive, even if they won on their terms?

”Even if we win, will they really release the people they promised?” It was two million people! The fact that they only had two million dragonoids enslaved meant that the remaining three million belonged to the Wargod Cult. There was no way they would be willing to release the main workforce that they used to harvest the Middlekin Star Ruin. Who could guarantee that they wouldn’t go against their word?

”Not even a fool would trust that so-called heavenly oath. Who’s there to enforce it?” Tianming said.

”Big Bro, there’s no need to worry about fairness,” Long Chen suddenly said.

”What do you mean? Everything’s going to be on their terms! They get to set any rules they want for the competition—we’ll just get played!”

”No, you don’t understand. Heavenly oaths can guarantee fairness. As long as they dare to go against the terms they set, even the slightest bit, heavenly retribution will strike the oathmakers and reduce them to smithereens!” Long Chen said with a solemn look.

”Eh?” Tianming froze. Hearing Long Chen’s tone, he suddenly recalled what it was like back in Ebonia. The members of the Infinitum Bodhimanda had treated duels as if they were sacred. It seemed that oaths had a similarly special place here.

”What’s a heavenly oath, then?” Tianming asked.

”It refers to the first law made in the Upper Star Ruin since the Eightpart Pantheons took over. Anyone who goes against their oaths will be punished by the heavenly laws and exterminated on the spot! Even cosmic gods will perish!” Long Chen said.

”The heavenly laws?” Could anyone truly control heavenly laws? Tianming had heard of far too many people using that term. Suddenly, he realized that in the Upper Star Ruin, heavenly laws weren’t just abstract concepts, but an actual, tangible force!