Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming turned to the purple figure as the cheers continued around them. He knew that Zi Zhen’s efforts were the main reason that he was able to face off against the wonderians and Shen Wu without worrying. She was the one who had crushed the alliance among the Eightpart Pantheons, killing Imperator Yinne, Imperator Yan, Imperator Cang and Imperator Mo on her own!

”As expected of my girl,” Tianming said as he pulled her into his embrace.

”Hey, there are others all around here,” she mumbled softly before falling silent in the tight hug.

Imperator Yin, Yingsang Daiqiong and the other devas smiled at the sight. Quite a few devas cheered loudly, knowing that while the two hugging people seemed much shorter than the imperatores, they were the ruler of the Tianming Dynasty and one of his consorts respectively.

Imperator Yin breathed a sigh of relief. ”The Eightpart Pantheons is finally no more. Tianming has become the undisputed ruler of the universe!”

Yingsang Daiqiong seemed rather touched too. ”My dear, I was mistaken. Our ruler was indeed able to create miracles. I regret not listening to you back then.”

”Haha, it’s fine. You were doing your best for the devas too. To be honest, even I am surprised by how things turned out. I didn’t think that we’d win to this degree either! Our ruler truly is a god among us!”

The other four Specter Kings were more than convinced by Tianming’s supremacy. They could see the wisdom of their leader and knelt in admiration. Back then, they had no other path to take, but they also weren’t turncoats who switched sides easily. After choosing Tianming’s side, they persisted on that path till the end. Tianming had never disappointed them in turn.

As countless cosmic gods watched, Imperator Yin approached Tianming. First, he half knelt and declared that he accepted the position of guardians on behalf of the entire devan race. Then, he handed over the Heavenly Dao formation core that belonged to the devas to Tianming.

”From this moment onward, Emperor Tianming will be the ruler of the devas! The Heavenly Dao shall be wielded by him alone!” Imperator Yin made sure not to swear any oaths like defending the Flameyellow till their deaths. All he did was acknowledge the rulership of Tianming over the devas.

This made it a far easier pill for the devas to swallow. They had seen the flameyellow divinities as mere slaves for tens of millions of years, after all, so there were some hard feelings when they suddenly became the rulers. However, Imperator Yin reframed it in a way that implied that the devas and flameyellow divinities would defend the Tianming Dynasty together. It was a subtle shift, but it was something that the devas could accept. They also developed a sense of belonging to the Tianming Dynasty.

Tianming looked at Imperator Yin, impressed with his wit and inwardly praising him for his sharp instincts as one of the most powerful individuals in the universe. He had incredible control over the situation. Though in practice, the status of the devas wouldn’t be any different, what mattered was the devas themselves felt better about the whole arrangement from the reframing.

Coupled with the spoils Zi Zhen looted from the other imperatores and Imperator Shen’s Undying Invincibility and Immortal Eternity, Tianming had gained full control over the Heavenly Dao. To think that not too long ago, the Heavenly Dao was something that seemed so high out of reach. Now, it’s under my control! That also meant that Tianming and his country became the true masters of the Realm of Order.

Apart from that, he also gained the formation cores of the other imperial-class worlds.

He kept his arms around Zi Zhen and addressed Imperator Yin and the others. ”With the exception of Deva Imperius, the other imperial-class worlds in the Realm of Order shall be sealed off! None of the members of the Eightpart Pantheons shall be allowed to leave their worlds!”

Imperator Yin felt a chill when he heard those words. The other devas also wore heavy expressions, knowing that it was time for debts to be paid. This wouldn’t just involve Tianming’s personal grievances against the Eightpart Pantheons. Instead, there was tens of millions of years’ worth of grudges held by the flameyellow divinities to account for! The Eightpart Pantheons had enslaved their entire people for far too long. As such, the time of reckoning would no doubt be harsh and unstoppable.

All the devas felt lucky that they emerged from this unscathed after siding with Tianming early enough to matter. Otherwise, they would be on the list of debtors. Their current status as guardians made them far better off than the rest of the Eightpart Pantheons.

***

As Tianming took Zi Zhen back to the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, she asked him, ”How are you planning to deal with them?”

Tianming’s expression turned cold when he thought about six groups among the Eightpart Pantheons. ”They had slaughtered flameyellow divinities to the point that they didn’t leave a single cosmic god alive. How do you think we should deal with it?”

”If you ask me, we should kill them all,” Zi Zhen said. ”But that’s just me. If you really want to keep a few beauties around for your own pleasure, I wouldn’t have anything to say about it.”

Tianming snapped and said, ”Hey, am I that kind of person to you?”

She pouted and said, ”I wouldn’t know, but your lifebound beasts do, right? Should I ask Ying Huo?”

Tianming’s expression was filled with disdain. ”There’s no point in asking Ying Huo. You know what it’ll say.”

He took Zi Zhen to a quiet secret room in the ship.

She pulled his arm and asked, ”Where is she?”

”She’s stabilizing herself after assimilating far too many wonders at the Sun.”

Zi Zhen chuckled. ”I heard that she killed Imperator Shen. Otherwise, you’d have shrunk into baby Tianming.”

”Hey, who told you that?”

Zi Zhen opened her hand to reveal a tiny silver cockroach.

”You little! You dare ruin my good name!”

Yin Chen said, ”Good name... my ass... those who... know, know! By the... way here’s... what Chicken... Bro has... to say... Little Li... you are... quite the... hardcore sugar... baby you... know that? You count... on your... women so... so much...”

”Tch! So what? Are you jealous of my charms?!” Tianming sent the cockroach flying with a slap.

Ying Huo and the rest were messing around in other parts of the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, so the room was quiet and peaceful.