Beastmaster of the Ages

”Damn!”

Tianming asked without thinking, but the answer he received left him completely speechless for what felt like an eternity.

”Lin Xiaoting?”

He looked at Mu Qingqing, and the face of the man he had ruthlessly tortured to death flashed in his mind. The memory of that particular act of violence, of every single blow, was hauntingly clear. How could he forget this person?

Seeing his strange expression, Mu Qingqing said, ”Don’t be too surprised. Order and chaos are two sides of the same coin. Your real life exists here. Your entry into the Realm of Order is perhaps a rebirth that carries karma of your past.”

”Is that even possible?” Tianming expressed doubt.

”You perceive it as people reappearing in your life, but for me, your parents, and everyone here, we’ve always existed. The people you met in the Realm of Order are mirror images of us from another world,” Mu Qingqing said.

”You’re all astral gods who’ve lived hundreds of thousands of years, while those from Vermillion Bird live for only a few short decades...”

From this angle, it seemed that the Realm of Chaos was the true origin.

”The chaos skyjail is a strange place, a mirror for many worlds. Everything you experience there might not be real; it’s merely a manifestation of cause and effect. The truth is, you were never born there. You simply transformed, returned to your original state, and chose to start over again... I know you won’t believe me, but it’s okay. One day you’ll understand,” Mu Qingqing said quietly, looking at his face.

”My parents in the chaos skyjail are also causal relationships I brought with me. They’re not real; they’re illusory?” Tianming asked, arching an eyebrow.

”You won’t believe the truth.” Mu Qingqing shook her head.

”Bullshit!” Tianming shook his head, feeling a little sick.

Her words carried an air of truth, yet contradicted his deepest convictions, making them impossible for him to accept.

He paused, then looked at her and asked, ”Well, I have questions about a few people from the Realm of Order.”

”Go ahead,” Mu Qingqing bit her lip.

”Is Feiling here?” He examined Mu Qingqing.

”I’m your one and only wife in the Realm of Chaos. You’ve laid with me, but I have yet to bear you a child yet,” Mu Qingqing said, her eyes slightly red.

Tianming was speechless. Laid with her? Ah, his head hurt.

Dismissing these thoughts, he continued. ”There’s someone else I’d like to ask about. She was also in the chaos skyjail but she’s been away ever since I took her with me.”

”Lin Xiaoxiao.” Mu Qingqing nodded.

”Is there a Xiaoxiao in the Realm of Chaos?” Tianming asked.

”No,” Mu Qingqing said.

”Why not? Isn’t she Lin Xiaoting’s sister? Why doesn’t she exist here?” Tianming pressed on.

”Lin Xiaoting doesn’t have a sister.” She looked at him with a hurt expression before lowering her head. ”As I said, no other place contains as many variables as the chaos skyjail. Perhaps that’s why you chose it. Lin Xiaoxiao was born from the Archaionfiend’s karma. Although she’s found her way into your life, she’ll eventually leave.”

”Just call it a cosmic mystery, and you can explain everything.” Tianming chuckled.

Unwilling to argue, Mu Qingqing merely nodded.

Tianming looked outside. Imperial son Lin Xiaoting continued his tirade in the violet lightning. Even though Tianming believed that this Lin Xiaoting was unrelated to the one from Lightning Manor, his deep-seated hostility and biases made him feel physically ill at the sight of the man.

Turning his gaze to Mu Qingqing, he asked, ”Don’t you want to know what that Mu Qingqing and Lin Xiaoting did to me in the chaos skyjail?”

”I know...” Her eyes were slightly red-rimmed as she gripped his hand. ”It’s not like that at all. I was engaged to him when we were young, but we called it off later. You’ve always been the only one for me and my devotion to you has never wavered.”

Tianming knew it was true. She had waited here for a hundred thousand years, day after day passing in agony, with only him in her heart and an old portrait, until he finally returned.

”Okay. Anyone named Lin Xiaoting is a formidable enemy–that’s all I need to know. Whether he’s the original or born from karma, he must die,” Tianming said.

”He was once beneath you. You repeatedly crushed him, but after a hundred thousand years, he’s become an opponent you can’t defeat,” Mu Qingqing said with concern.

”I know, but what’s the rush?” Tianming wasn’t anxious at all; he had plenty of time!

”Let’s go meet this ’rival’ of mine.”

In fact, he was rather curious about the Realm of Chaos. Thinking back to his old friends from Vermillion Bird, Tianming asked, ”Do Jiang Qingluan, Sage Chen, and Sage Xing exist here?”

Mu Qingqing nodded. ”Well, yes...”

”Holy smokes! Two Jiang Qingluans! Who’s the original one?” Tianming’s head buzzed at the thought.

Jiang Qingluan was doing well on the Sun. Tianming’s rapid ascent benefited his friends and family, and she would soon become a cosmic god.

”What about Wei Tiancang?” Tianming asked again.

”Your grandfather... He’s passed away.” Mu Qingqing paused before adding, ”Consider them two different people with the same name. The Mu Qingqing you knew and I have entirely different lives.”

”That’s true. I used to fawn over you, but now the roles have reversed.” Tianming laughed.

While his words weren’t pleasant to hear, they explained the fascinating karmic relationship between the Realm of Chaos and Order. His curiosity intensified. He stared at the raging pool of lightning in the east that stretched over a billion meters, demonstrating the immense power of the arriving cosmic god.

”You relentless bastard! Are you out for a stroll?” A familiar, arrogant voice echoed through the thunder.

Just the sound of his voice makes my blood boil!

Tianming gritted his teeth, soaring into the air. Like a meteor, he shot towards the violet lightning.

”It’s the imperial son!”

”There he goes!”

Numerous cosmic gods in Skyplunder Capital turned their attention to it.

”Lin Xiaoting has made a lot of progress over the years, but he’s also become really rude.”

”He used to get beaten by the imperial son, and now all he does is show off.”

”There’s nothing to be done, is there? The imperial son’s cultivation has fallen so far... Fortunately, he has the skypole stars!”

”The two ancestors are so protective of him. They must be expecting some kind of trouble at the banquet.”

With all eyes on him, Tianming floated in the air, a single, bright speck facing the overwhelming, billion-meter-wide pool of lightning. Countless feather-like streaks of lightning wove themselves into the shape of wings. Beneath this colossal storm, Tianming’s light was nothing more than a faint flicker.

”After a hundred millennia, the long-lost coward finally appears!”

Out of the violet lightning came a massive face, kilometers wide, heralded by a deafening roar.