Beastmaster of the Ages

Yueling Li’s demise on the battlefield had propelled the fight’s intensity to staggering, unprecedented heights. Though they had just successfully decimated a large number of ghouls and should have been able to push for victory, the Violetblitz and Yueling cosmic gods were immediately disheartened by the tragic news of Yueling Li’s death. They felt as if they had been hit over the head with a club.

Three quasi-imperatores all dead!

No other starcage even possessed the might to sustain such extensive losses. In Violetblitz, Lin Xiaoting was the sole individual possessing the talent of a quasi-imperator. The firemaples had no such figure at this time. Even if Yueling Zhao was included, Yueling Starcage’s number of quasi-imperatores had fallen from nine to five. It was a significant blow that effectively halved their future.

An imperator had a decisive influence on any starcage’s stability and momentum. Yueling Li’s death sparked a massive uproar among the tens of billions of spectators. In fact, the ensuing chaos outside was even more severe than within the Ruinless Zone itself. The Violetblitz and Yueling cosmic gods were completely devastated. The problem was, the battle was far from over.

Amidst the chaos, Tianming caught up with Imperator Ji’s fifth son who was just about to regroup with his brothers. Following a fierce clash, Tianming slaughtered him using the same tactics as before. By the time his four remaining brothers finally drew close, it was too late; Yueling Kan was already dead.

Consumed by boundless rage, they launched a frenzied assault on Tianming and were nearly vomiting blood from the sheer force of the backlash. Yet, the two 40,000-meter and two 50,000-meter cosmic gods failed to leave a scratch on him.

After slaughtering the fourth one, Tianming nonchalantly took their attacks, keeping his hands behind his back. His dismissive attitude drove his opponents mad. In the audience, many Yueling cosmic gods were so infuriated they nearly vomited blood. Yueling Xiao felt as if his insides were tearing apart after witnessing the death of yet another grandchild.

Beginning with the Primospirit Ancestral Tree, everything that transpired was self-inflicted, a classic case of shooting oneself in the foot. Upon discovering the Primospirit Ancestral Tree, it was Yueling Xiao and his father who chose to capture Nullity cosmic gods to nourish it. Now, karma had come full circle, and Tianming had exacted a heavy toll.

”Ahhh!”

Wailing inconsolably, Yue Lingxiao collapsed onto the ground before the spectators, like a drowning dog. With the exception of the Violetblitz and Yueling cosmic gods, no one felt any sympathy for him. Instead, they were completely awestruck by Tianming’s terrifying power!

”He’s a one-man army, taking on an unimaginable force of over a billion heavencosmic gods and a hundred primocosmic gods. Even if he has the help of the skypole stars, his power is truly heaven-defying!”

”They mocked his uselessness and cultivation level when he first returned. But look at him now, does cultivation level mean anything?”

”All I can say is that it was truly selfless of his grandparents to transform into the skypole stars.”

Those witnessing this historic battle were utterly captivated.

”The cosmos is full of ’main character’ types, but none can match the terrifying might of the Skyplunder imperial son.”

”Are those monsters on his body really lifebound beasts? The silver insects, the pink star, and what about the eye on his chest? And there’s also what looks like a soul-type beast in his sword... They’re all so powerful.”

A handful of spectators could still identify the origins of Tianming’s abilities, which all seemed invincible.

”Of course, the lifebound beasts themselves are superb, comparable to the first imperial son’s. They account for much of his individual combat power.”

”Imagine the imperial son’s might once his cultivation progresses.”

”I was convinced Yueling Starcage would rule the Realm of Chaos with four, potentially thirteen, imperatores. Now that the imperial son is back, I’m not so sure.”

”Me too!”

”Exactly! Yueling Xiao himself set up this deathtrap for his own grandsons! They’re down to only four surviving Yueling imperial sons. Sure, they’re stronger than Li Tianming now and might survive this fight, but who can predict the future? If they all die today, who’s left for Yueling Starcage to send out? Waiting for Imperator Ji to breed more children will take forever. It’ll be too late!”

”Yeah, easier said than done. How can the Yueling imperial sons surrender? If they do, will the four female imperatores become Li Tianming’s concubines? Now, that’s just preposterous! If that happens, it means the Skyplunder imperial son has unified the entire Realm of Chaos!”

With further reflection, it became increasingly clear that there was no solution. Imperator Skyplunder had completely crushed Yueling Starcage.

”By accepting the bet, the four female imperatores walked right into a trap!”

”I don’t think Yueling Starcage should drag this out any longer. Victory is impossible. They might as well break the bet, ignore the Adjudicator’s mediation, and launch a direct attack on Nullity. With forces several times that of Nullity, they still stand a fighting chance if they fight to the death.”

”Ignore the Adjudicator? Hah...”

The scene became incredibly heated as tens of billions of heavencosmic gods engaged in a furious debate.

At Yueling Starcage’s moment of greatest despair, Imperator Ji’s voice finally echoed across the battlefield. The death of her four sons finally spurred her into action.

”Halt all attacks and avoid confrontation.”

The call to avoid battle was, in effect, an order for full withdrawal. Simply put, the billion-strong army had been repelled by one man. Regardless of their fury and resentment, Yueling Qian and Yueling Kun had no choice but to retreat when they heard the order.

After Yueling Kan’s death, they bombarded Tianming relentlessly, yet not one hair on his head was harmed. The skypole stars were the source of their despair.

”Retreat!” Yueling Qian’s voice, thick with rage, echoed across the battlefield.

They surrounded Tianming, expecting to wear him down only to withdraw like a tiger that had bitten a hedgehog, fleeing in agony with a mouth full of blood and a pierced throat. Though they were reluctant to accept defeat, the heavencosmic army contained their immense rage and fell back, almost in tears. It was only then that the chaotic battlefield began to quiet.

Yet, many were lost there forever. When Yueling Qian tallied the casualties, he found that 200 million heavencosmic gods were now severely wounded and incapacitated after transforming into mere cosmic-god essences. Furthermore, nearly 100 million heavencosmic gods had been completely shredded and slaughtered by the ghouls. That meant they were left with seventy percent of their forces.

”This was all done by one person...”

Tens of billions of people were left speechless.

In reality, nearly three billion of Tianming’s five-billion-strong ghoul army were wiped out on the battlefield. His losses were higher than the enemy. But as long as he had sufficient Xi Hwa hell source, he could still summon another army of five billion when he recovered.