Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming devoted most of his time in Skyplunder Capital to cultivation, while analyzing what his opponent’s “ultimate move” might be. The four Yueling imperatores had fully embraced their new status as Skyplunder wives, finding happiness and contentment as they moved freely throughout the city, and he was powerless to control them.

Tianming had Yin Chen monitor them to look for any suspicious behavior. Based on their body language, it seemed they were searching for something. He reported this discovery to Li Muyang without asking further questions. Although he didn’t know what treasures Nullity contained, he trusted that all important items would be securely safeguarded during such a critical time.

The wait dragged on, until Li Tianzi at last delivered good news. He had personally secured the first batch of dazzling radiances from the Inverse Battlefield. These dazzling radiances were scattered across locations Tianming had identified early on. Some were hidden within other starcages or fortresses, others in remote areas, and some even held by other individuals. Regardless of where they existed, Li Tianzi could appear and vanish at any location, moving unpredictably and often without detection.

”How many are there?” Tianming asked eagerly when he arrived at the Qianruler Palace.

”Some, but not a lot,” Li Tianzi said as he produced numerous dazzling radiances, their red glow instantly bathing the entire Qianruler Palace in crimson light.

A glance around the room revealed hundreds of dazzling radiances of varying sizes. The largest was several hundred times the normal size, and their total volume was more than 3,000 times greater. This combined mass significantly overshadowed the ”problematic” dazzling radiance Tianming had obtained in the Ruinless Zone.

”That many?” Tianming exclaimed in surprise.

Li Tianzi chuckled. ”I got lucky. I was just about to leave when I stumbled upon a group from Yueling Starcage trying to move some dazzling radiances. Naturally, I relieved them of it on my way out.”

”That’s great!”

Wasn’t that a coincidence?

”Based on your information, I still have a few locations to check. I’ll collect them for you later,” Li Tianzi said.

”What do you mean ’later’? Go now! The more the better. In fact, I want them all,” Tianming said.

Li Tianzi shot him a speechless look. ”Alright! Lend me Master Chen and I’ll be able to find even more.”

”Thanks!” Tianming dropped the politeness. As their closeness grew, so did his shamelessness.

This will benefit both me and Zi Zhen. And soon enough, I reckon my godfather and Qingyu can absorb them, too.

Tianming thought to himself as he put away the dazzling radiances. The future suddenly seemed bright again. He was currently a fifth-level heavencosmic god with a lot of room for growth.

With that, he returned his focus to cultivation. Only a few peaceful days had gone by when Lingfeng abruptly appeared in Skyplunder Capital and headed straight for the Qianruler Palace.

”Brother Tianming, something’s happened!” Lingfeng said, his expression slightly tense. He brought news from the Realm of Order.

Tianming immediately assumed it concerned Feiling, and his heart constricted with worry.

”What happened?” he asked urgently.

”Something’s amiss with Big Sis Little Fish. She left the imperial star without a word and has been unreachable ever since,” Lingfeng replied.

”Her?”

Tianming had personally vouched for Moran as he knew that his trust was crucial to her. He had endured everyone’s skepticism about Tian Jiu, confident she would remain true to herself... How could anything have possibly gone wrong?

”Is that all?” Tianming asked.

If all she did was leave, that wasn’t really a problem, was it?

”We have another, more troublesome issue. A breach has appeared in the astral barrier near the entrance to the Fiend Ruins, revealing a passage. It’s not large, but the passage reportedly leads straight into the Eightpart Pantheons’ territory,” Lingfeng said.

”How is this possible?”

Tianming frowned. He knew that a section of the barrier might be compromised, but a human breaking through? That was impossible. Even the shortest passage required significant time to traverse. Who could possibly create one in such a short time?

”The imperial-star elders have confirmed it’s manmade. Word spreads quickly, and the news can’t be contained. The Eightpart Pantheons will learn of this soon, and after their heavy losses last time, they’ll certainly use this opportunity for revenge,” Lingfeng said, frowning.

”Got it. I’ll head back and check it out.” Tianming nodded.

This was indeed very bad news for him. Conflict within the Realm of Chaos had reached a fever pitch, and tensions were running extremely high. And now, right at this pivotal moment, the main conflict in the Realm of Order was suddenly brought to the fore. Fighting a war on both fronts would present a significant challenge, not least because Yin Chen couldn’t oversee both realms at the same time.

The timing couldn’t have been more coincidental, and now Tianming’s plans were completely derailed. He had intended to cultivate his strength in the Realm of Chaos, reach the pinnacle of power, and only then return to deal with the Eightpart Pantheons and revive Flameyellow.

But he wasn’t one to whine about spilled milk. Instead, he went straight to Li Muyang to explain the situation.

”I see. You should head back and check on things,” Li Muyang said.

”But what about the situation here?” Tianming asked.

”Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered. Your job is to cultivate your strength, and with the dazzling radiances, you can do that anywhere.” Li Tianzi chuckled.

Tianming then turned to Mu Qingqing’s ten-thousand-meter-tall clone. ”If you need anything, come find me right away.”

Mu Qingqing nodded gently. ”I know, be careful.”

Tianming smiled. ”Don’t worry, the skypole stars are just as useful there.”

The more time they spent together, the less Tianming teased her. He no longer saw her as just ”Mu Qingqing.” In his mind, Comma Girl had transformed into a wonderful and unique person.

”Keep my departure a secret, don’t let those four find out,” Tianming said. His presence served a deterrent to Yueling Starcage.

He left immediately after saying his piece.

Mu Qingqing opened the pathway to the Realm of Order. Once there, Tianming dispersed the chaotic power with the chaos worldbangle and began absorbing the boundless nova source from the maniverse-class Sun, restoring his former fiery state.

The flameyellow divinities.

He had too many promises to keep.

***

Once he was gone, Li Muyang and Li Tianzi stood silently in the palace, gazing for a long time toward the direction he had left.