Beastmaster of the Ages

”All barks need bites to back them up,” Imperator Yin said, offering a nugget of wisdom.

”Indeed...” The elderly cosmic gods bowed and left, leaving the hall peaceful like it used to be.

Imperator Yin immersed herself once more in the colorful galaxy and closed his eyes. At that moment, a red figure appeared near his chest and asked him, ”Is that really what you think?”

Imperator Yin pursed her lips. ”I said what I needed to to pacify the masses.”

”So?”

He took a deep breath. ”For now, it seems that we devas have no choice but to take this bet. Tens of millions of generations ago, our ancestors made a bet on the dream called the Eightpart Pantheons, changing us from the slaves of beastmasters to the masters. And this time around...”

”Will we continue to be masters or will we release the slave beasts?” the shade asked.

”It depends on whether we’ll still be able to remain the masters. If we can’t, then becoming slaves would be better than having our kind completely exterminated. Once exterminated, there will be no way we will be able to reach the height of power once more, but if we survive, there’s a chance. Who can say who will have the last laugh?”

”Fortunately for you, you still have a choice. The other seven, on the other hand, don’t,” said the red shade.

”Make it six! The chaos umbral race is nothing but part of us in name. Their fight isn’t here and the worlds they rule are on the other side.” Imperator Yin sank deeper into the depths in silence.

***

The imperial star that was five times the size of a maniverse-class world cruised through the Flameyellow Divine Path. Tianming had removed the flaming-cloud layer of the defensive formation to let everyone in the Sun see the vastness of the path. The many flameyellow descendants teared up at the glorious sight of their ancestors’ legacy. The many flameyellow descendants who weren’t there with them also witnessed the same thing through Tianming’s eyes.

The seeds that had been sown within them sprouted into the dream of a Flameyellow Imperial Star, which had become the biggest crutch they had to rely on during their time of suffering. Tianming had never disappointed them on this long journey, and the next crucial step would take place in the Primordial Sands.

***

Wudi, Qingyu and the rest of Tianming’s seniors surrounded the little gold star in Tianming’s embrace within the Sky Palace Formation.

”Is this my... granddaughter?” Wudi’s mouth hung agape. ”This rock?”

”There’s no way it’s just a rock!” Qingyu snapped, annoyed at her dad’s reaction.

Tianming handed the child to her and said, ”Once we reach the Primordial Sands, you will be in charge of taking care of her, Auntie.”

”No problem. I’ll talk to her every day,” Qingyu said happily. She would remain in the safe boundaries of the Sky Palace Formation, defended by Wudi. ”I haven’t seen Ling’er for a long time. Hopefully she’ll be able to overcome her tribulation soon and return to our family!”

”Feng as well,” Tianming said, hope filling his eyes.

”And that bastard little brother,” Bai Ye added. Even though it was the smallest in volume among the triplets, it saw itself as the eldest one.

”That’s right.” Tianming looked at the people around him and thought, and my parents too.

Having everyone he cared about living in the Sun and liberating the flameyellow descendants from slavery, eventually expanding his dynasty to encompass the Lower Star Ruins and Upper Star Ruin was the ideal outcome. Yet, in reality, everything from Feiling’s tribulation, Lingfeng’s struggle against Di Yi, Tianming’s parents shaking off their pursuers to the restoration of Flameyellow was all incredibly tough.

”I already have half of all omnisentient threads that can be gained in the Upper Star Ruin. If I get the other half, I should be able to do quite a lot in the Primordial Sands. However, it’s still impossible to shake the imperial-class folks in the Eightpart Pantheons...”

He knew that there was a hard limit to omnisentient power as there were only so many subjects he could convert to his cause. He was but a mere second-level cosmic god, so his basic capabilities were far too low to begin with. He would still have to count on his own efforts to truly realize the dream of restoring the Flameyellow’s glory.

”As usual, step by step.” He had many advantages on his side and didn’t have to rush. With that in mind, he continued to cultivate until the Sun arrived at its destination.

Tianming had picked somewhere more remote in the Primordial Sands to open up the Flameyellow Divine Path and used the cloaking formation of the Sun before it emerged. The cosmic gods from the distant Grand Jiang only saw a quick flash and thought their eyes were playing tricks on them, ignorant to the fact that a hidden star five times their size had arrived nearby. Tianming looked at the golden crystal star of Feiling with intense fervor. ”Ling’er, your man has brought his star to fetch you home!”