Beastmaster of the Ages

After Jiang Qingulan personally acknowledged his victory, Tianming withdrew the Grand-Orient Sword.

Jiang Qingluan stepped back and looked at him expressionlessly. “Li Tianming, you’ve won the wager. The dazzling radiances are yours. From this day onward, you have nothing to do with us. Never set foot in the Vermilion Bird Starcage ever again!”

Seeing her cold demeanor, Tianming understood that she was not truly heartless toward him. Rather, she had to put on this display so that she could openly and legitimately give him the dazzling radiances.

Though he didn’t know what had happened a hundred thousand years ago, Tianming could feel the affection she still held for him...

He wanted to ask more, but Jiang Qingluan didn’t give him the chance. “Little thief, don’t get smug. Once I break through, I’ll wash away today’s humiliation!”

As her words fell, she casually flung out a massive pile of dazzling radiances, bathing Tianming in brilliant crimson light.

By the time Tianming finally finished collecting the crimson orbs, Jiang Qingluan was already gone from before his eyes.

“Little Li, something’s definitely going on,” Ying Huo finally dared to poke its head out, snickering. “If that had been a man just now, you wouldn’t have hesitated to stab him.”

“Ultimately, you just couldn’t bring yourself to hurt a beauty,” Bai Ye sighed.

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Tianming said sternly. “She’s the imperial daughter of the Vermilion Bird Starcage. I was only here for the dazzling radiances. How could I seriously injure her?”

“I’m just afraid you also stole the young lady’s heart,” Ji Ji sneered coldly.

Several new words were busy appearing on Xian Xian’s tree trunk: Grand-Orient Sword + Heavenly Pattern Formations!

It was even accompanied by an illustration of a sword thrust toward two mountain peaks. Though drawn in a childlike style, it was undeniably vivid.

Tianming felt a headache coming on. He quickly put away the dazzling radiances and returned to Wei Jing and Xue Lan.

Whether it was the citizens, Xue Lan or the others, all of them were now thoroughly convinced by Tianming.

Although his battle with Jiang Qingluan was not the overwhelming suppression of his earlier one-versus-three fight, Jiang Qingluan was an eighth-level primocosmic god. Tianming’s endurance of her nine furious lashes was proof enough of his strength.

The final clash might have had a hint of “sneak attack” to it, but the outcome proved that he truly possessed the ability to defeat Jiang Qingluan.

This was simply unbelievable as Tianming was only fifty thousand meters tall. The Skyplunder Imperial Son, the prodigy who had once shocked the world a hundred thousand years ago, had truly returned!

“What a pity. Our imperial daughter waited for him for a hundred thousand years, yet she lost today’s duel...”

“That Heaven-Stealing Imperial Son is truly heartless. He just took the goods and left.”

“Still, we really just gave him all that dazzling radiance? Even if it’s useless to us, other starcages would never let it leave so easily.”

“No choice. He won the wager, so we have to honor it. Look at the Yueling Starcage. They had to obediently marry off four female imperatores, didn’t they?”

“When you put it that way, our losses are actually relatively small?”

***

In everyone’s eyes, Jiang Qingluan’s anger was clearly resentment born of a hundred thousand years of waiting. Proposing a wager was entirely reasonable.

After Tianming won what should have been impossible, there was nothing left for others to say.

When Tianming returned to Wei Jing’s side, he saw Xue Lan smiling at him. “I never expected that after a hundred thousand years, Tianming would still be able to catch up like this. Now I truly admit defeat... compared to you, my two boys are really disappointing.

“Jing’er, Tianming, how about coming to my residence for a visit?” she invited.

“Little Lan, it’s not very appropriate,” Wei Jing shook her head. “This matter was already difficult for Vermilion Bird. It wasn’t easy for Qingluan to come up with a solution. We shouldn’t create any further complications, lest outsiders seize upon it.”

Xue Lan understood. She nodded and glanced at Tianming. “Very well. I hope this situation can be resolved soon so that we can properly get together.”

Her previously low expectations of Tianming had been overturned after the battle, like Sage Chen and Sage Xing.

Tianming noticed it. Though many things were still unclear to him, he understood how heavy the responsibility on his shoulders had become...

“Tianming, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. You’re not alone.”

At that moment, Sage Chen stepped forward, looking at Tianming with admiration. “We humans of the Realm of Chaos have endured for countless ages. This is our world. No matter how powerful the Adjudicator may be, he ultimately does not belong here. For that reason alone, our Vermilion Bird Starcage will fight him to the very end!”

“Indeed,” Sage Xing nodded solemnly. “The Adjudicator seeks to turn this realm into his own. We will never agree, so we stand on the same front.”

Tianming nodded heavily. Vermilion Bird was indeed a reliable ally.

“Alright, the wager is over. It’s time for us to ‘part on bad terms,’” Sage Chen said with a smile, his expression suddenly turning cold.

Raising his voice, he shouted, “Didn’t you hear what our imperial daughter said? The Vermilion Bird Starcage does not welcome you. Stop being clingy and get lost!”

After saying this, Sage Chen brought his group away.

To outsiders, it truly looked like an unpleasant breakup.

However, Sage Chen’s shouting left Tianming feeling both amused and helpless. Chasing him away while accusing him of being “clingy” felt a bit like adding insult to injury.

“Let’s go,” Wei Jing said helplessly as she came over to take Tianming with her.

He nodded.

Before leaving, he took a brief look at the dazzling radiances he had obtained this time. There were over thirty thousand units worth of them, three times what he had absorbed last time.

Within that brilliant crimson glow, it even seemed as though Jiang Qingluan’s warmth still lingered.

***

After Tianming departed, a young woman stood dazedly in Ignisruler Palace, watching Tianming’s figure grow smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared from her sight.

It was none other than Jiang Qingluan, the imperial daughter of the Vermilion Bird Starcage, who had just appeared so cold and heartless.

“If you like him, why hide it in your heart?” After a faint sigh, Imperator Cheng’s voice called out from the depths of the palace.

Though he hadn’t made a personal appearance, he had seen everything that had just happened. How could he be blind to his daughter’s feelings after seeing her reluctant expression?