Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming’s attitude was indeed a sincere one for him to come personally to the Ancestral Void Realm to welcome the flameyellow voidkin. All of their gazes fell on him. Dongfang Taisheng, Mushan Hong, Beitang Yan and the rest of the imperial-star elders could tell that the white-haired youth was there by his own will and not a puppet of another. The fact that the people from such a large place like the Primordial Sands united under the banner of this child was truly mind boggling.

Tianming knew that he was nothing but an infant in their eyes. It required tremendous courage to place the fate of their entire kind in an infant like him. As for the notion of maintaining order, he did have his thoughts on the matter. With the brightest voice he could muster, he said, ”In the future, the territories in the Upper Star Ruin where my rule extends will undergo a fundamental change. Back during the Flameyellow and Eightpart Pantheons’ eras, the races or factions in the inner circle would be treated preferentially, but fairly among one another. Overthrowing the Eightpart Pantheons would give all a chance to prosper and grow. Naturally, given the flameyellow divinities’ contribution to restoring order in the universe, you deserve to be the main ruling faction in the dynasty.”

Tianming took out a jade slips and continued, ”This is some information about how my dynasty is run in the Lower Star Ruins. Please take a look.”

The slips levitated towards the massive cosmic gods. Their expressions turned solemn after they heard Tianming’s pitch. The main difference in going from a tribal structure to a dynastic one was that in the dynasty, the ruling tribe would be given priority. The factions of the Flameyellow and Eightpart Pantheons had propagated from peak existences since time immemorial. They used to rule the entire universe with only their tribes, but even they reached their limit.

A tribal ruling system did favor the ruling factions much more, but the disparity that it creates between them and the tribes being ruled would widen with time. For instance, the Eightpart Pantheons had sidelined those that didn’t belong to their faction more and more in the Upper Star Ruin. The Heavenly Dao belonged solely to them and not any of the other races and factions. Instead, it was used to enforce the rulers’ will on them.

In a dynastic system, however, there were still some traces of tribalism. The rulers would be from the main ruling tribe, but there would be a new set of regulations that would take the place of the Heavenly Dao and apply equally to everyone, whether they were the rulers or not. Punishment and reward for all were the same. Talent would be nurtured regardless of origin. That was what Tianming had shown to the flameyellow divinities.

”Naturally, this means that the ruling tribe must divide some of their resources and spoils. However, it would create many opportunities for them to exploit in the future and aid the development of the entire Realm of Order. We would have an even better control over the distribution and consumption of resources. In fact, we can reshape the Heavenly Dao to be the main enforcement mechanism.”

”Understood.” Dongfang Taisheng knew that Tianming had come prepared after seeing the jade slips. The fact that he had shown them so openly was also a sign of good faith. He wasn’t trying to trick the flameyellow voidkin to join an agreement where they would have to share their spoils with others after they joined the fight and it was too late to turn back. It was an open fact.

It wouldn’t be that complicated to scale up this structure across the universe either. Even the Vermillion Bird Kingdom in the mortal world was being run with a scaled down version of this. In more advanced worlds, however, stronger tribes would form and consolidate their power, and it wasn’t something the dynasty could prevent. Ties of blood were greater than laws on books, after all. Even so, Tianming emphasized fair development and opportunities as much as he could.

Dongfang Taisheng finished reading all of it and said, ”It’s not hard to understand what you’ve presented here. In other words, you would be the first emperor of your dynasty while the Flameyellow would be the imperial faction.”

”That’s right. I am also a successor of the Flameyellow’s legacy, so that makes me one of you.”

”Who would be the second emperor to come after you?” Mushan Hong asked.

Tianming suddenly smiled and pointed at the red-haired man beside him. ”I present you, the successor of the Flameyellow Coffin and master of the Flameyellow Guard Formation, the number-two genius in the Upper Star Ruin, my godfather, Li Wudi.”

Li Wudi coughed wildly and pointed at Tianming. ”Are you daft? What kind of son would make his old man the emperor after he’s done with the role?!”

”Umm...” Tianming glared at him. They were in a formal setting, so why was he disputing him like this?! ”Fine, I’ll just focus on dealing with the Eightpart Pantheons and founding the dynasty. You can be the first Universal Emperor.”

”No way! Do you think I’m Ye Shaoqing or something?” Wudi immediately refused. [1]

”You won’t be able to refuse,” Tianming said.

”Why?” Wudi was speechless.

”Because you’re the ideal candidate in the eyes of the seniors.”

”Huh?” Wudi looked at the elites and met their scrutinizing gazes.

”Isn’t becoming an emperor your ambition?” Moran asked Tianming.

”Yes, but if the dynasty is founded in my name, I wouldn’t just be revered for one generation, but all generations. I’ll be the true Galactic Emperor in their hearts. The actual emperor serving the role is nothing but a figure that enforces my will,” Tianming said.

”I see...” Moran understood the intent. To the elites of the flameyellow voidkin, Tianming’s decision seemed like a good compromise and a good faith at handing over power.

Dongfang Taisheng looked around and asked, ”Everyone, what are your thoughts?”

”I agree we should move away from tribal rule in favor of dynastic rule,” Nantian Huo said.

”Me too,” Qinghe Xiao said.

”I don’t,” Mushan Hong said, taking a deep breath. ”The flameyellow divinities that precede us were at the very peak. We have laid low and suffered for so many generations without abandoning our customs. If we change how we rule and share our resources with others, our ancestors in the afterlife would disapprove.”

”I don’t agree either,” Beitang Yan said, looking at Tianming and Wudi. ”These two are successors indeed. Wudi, especially, has the blood of the ancestors running in him and is the incarnation of their will. I trust in their abilities, no doubt, but what happens after the rule of them both? We would still need a powerful emperor to be able to control the dynasty for countless generations to come.”

1.