Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming finally heard the words he had been waiting so long for. Sixth’s vita’s rebellious streak ran bone-deep, and it had been the hardest sibling to win over.

Ironically, Tianming felt he should thank the Mayfly Brainlord the most. Sixth’s vita’s once-unyielding resolve would never have cracked if that creature hadn’t starved the Sixth’s vita of power and tormented it so savagely.

From the moment it told the Mayfly Brainlord its true name, Bai Feng, its will had already begun collapsing. Everything it did today had just been to give itself a way to step down gracefully. Tianming simply had Bai Ling and Bai Ye perform this play with it.

Of the triplets, Bai Ye was the sharpest and most cunning.

Bai Feng was also smart in its own way, but it was stubborn and thus prone to going to extremes. Regardless, once symbiotic cultivation began, Bai Feng’s would enter a path of no return, its very nature of existence changing fundamentally.

Tianming immediately initiated the Celestial Sourcepath Codex, cultivating the soul technique together with Bai Feng! He finally let out a long breath of relief when their lives entwined together.

“No more Primordial Chaos Beasts lost out there...” The three little Sixths had always been a weight in his heart. He had truly exhausted himself earning their acknowledgement. Their return was recognition of his “poop-scooper” duties.

His conscience was clear as a beastmaster of Primordial Chaos Beasts, but Sixth’s vita had persistently given him the nagging feeling something was still wrong, or that he hadn’t done enough.

Now, his heart was finally at ease.

“Eight innate orders... yet I now have ten Primordial Chaos Beasts!” Tianming preferred to treat Bai Ye, Bai Ling, and Bai Feng as three separate beasts. Even if they had split from a single egg, they had independent personalities.

Bai Ye — clever and devious.

Bai Ling — brutish and dramatic.

Bai Feng — sensitive and hot-blooded.

Each of his ten Primordial Chaos Beasts had their own bold personality. How could he not love them?

“You are all... the most important part of my life,” Tianming said sincerely.

“Enough babbling. I want to get stronger,” Bai Feng snapped. Now linked directly with Tianming’s brain, their connection resembled the beast veins Tianming once had with Ying Huo.

From its tone, though still arrogant, it had accepted its fate.

As long as it accepted that, Tianming had full confidence he could help it blend into the family.

It was Bai Feng’s first time with the Celestial Sourcepath Codex, so Tianming guided it patiently, reshaping its soul. Although it was almost like domesticating a wild creature into a house pet, it undeniably strengthened and completed it, removing its flaws.

“It shows that you and I were meant to be one. Like husband and wife, neither is complete without the other,” Tianming joked.

“Eww,” Bai Feng growled coldly. Its fiery temper wouldn’t be changing overnight.

As the head of the family, Tianming didn’t bother arguing. As a poop-scooper, he needed to accept everything with a smile. Such was the basic code of conduct.

Meanwhile, Zi Zhen was still locked in battle with Huang Qi, and Tianming was relying on the damaged skypole stars to hold back the undying aeternals. Time was very tight. He had to raise the Sixth’s vita’s strength quickly!

As they continued their symbiotic cultivation, Bai Feng’s level soared. Starting from the most basic beast veins, it improved through the third regal soul, seventh foundation soul, and finally reaching eighth overflow soul...

That was when they stumbled. Bai Feng was so weakened now that its stolen soul energy over the years wasn’t enough. Its momentum had run out.

“What now?” Tianming had forgotten this issue in his rush to strengthen it. He could have taken it into the Ancient Oldgod Domain to absorb the power of some gourd spirits, but they were trapped in a siege.

Tianming feared this would be hard to resolve until Bai Ye spoke up. “Relax. Us elder brothers can lend the little thirdling a push!”

That was their internal positions.

“Screw off! I don’t need you!” Bai Feng snapped. It wanted strength for revenge. It couldn’t accept charity from them. “I’d rather die than use your power!”

“It’s not up to you,” Bai Ye cackled.

“Watch Big Bro drown you in power,” Bai Ling grinned wickedly.

The two pounced and wrapped tightly around Bai Feng.

Tianming saw that the moment the tripartite souls aligned, they formed a perfect three-way structure, complementing each other with stability. All their infant souls combined into a single titanic Celestial Sourcepath Progenitor!

“Sixth gained the most from becoming a lifebound beast... who knows how high their upper limit will reach when combined?” Ignoring Bai Feng’s “tragic and frustrated” screams, Tianming pressed on.

“Poor kid,” Xian Xian sighed. “It owes Bai Ye and Bai Ling now. It’s lost the moral high ground if it tries to take revenge.”

“You feel sorry for it?” Ji Ji asked.

“Don’t you? It’s your Sixth Brother too,” Xian Xian replied.

“Sixth? There’s seniority here. It goes after Xi Xi,” Ji Ji said and then turned to the tiny baby Xi Xi crawling on the ground. “Congrats, Eighth Sister, today you’re a big sister now.”

Clearly, Ji Ji had decided to form an alliance.

“Mhm?” Xi Xi gnawed on a pacifier Ying Huo had made her, looking completely lost.

Tianming, however, seized the moment. He relied on Bai Ye and Bai Ling’s support and some aeternal source to help Bai Feng achieve a cosmic soul!

All forty-five infant souls were finally full. Although they were still a bit malnourished, slightly smaller than Bai Ye and Bai Ling’s, that would recover with time.

“Success!” A weight lifted off Tianming’s chest.

He looked at the triplets, who were already gearing up to fight again, and just as he felt relief, his vision warped violently.

“A dream?”