Beastmaster of the Ages

"Are you safer now, or in more danger?" Tianming asked. It sounded like the xenofiends had wanted to consume him before, only to be killed by him instead. They managed to call for reinforcements right before dying.

"I'll be fine as long as I'm not discovered for the moment. But when I am, it'll be over for me. They won't show any mercy after I killed some of them," Ye Lingfeng said.

It seemed that he was now in real danger. He was no longer just waiting to die; instead, they were actively hunting him down. It was much riskier than before.

"I might come here less often. If necessary, I might even leave this wondersky realm. The only thing I fear is that I won't be able to find my way back here later," Ye Lingfeng said.

"No matter what, I want you to survive," Tianming said with a strict look.

"I will." Even with the debilitating circumstances, he still seemed to possess a strong drive to survive. Tianming was relieved to see that he was even dedicated enough to cut his arm off. "Brother Tianming, I'll be leaving now."

He pursed his lips and smiled. It wouldn't be easy for them to meet again.

"Go on your way, young man," Tianming said.

Ye Lingfeng's caelum vanished, returning to his physical body. This could be the last time they met. Tianming stood there for a moment blankly. It seemed that there was a common theme linking Li Wudi, Qingyu, and Ye Lingfeng's affairs: experimentation.

"I'll seek out an answer starting from Feng, then!" Tianming had the advantage of talent and a limitlessly bright future. However, he was hampered by not having proper backing, which always came at the expense of obstacles in his journey.

"However, I have Ying Huo, Meow Meow, Lan Huang, and Xian Xian! Not to mention, I have Ling'er and Xiaoxiao's help. If I can get Qingyu and Feng to join me in the future, the five of us can grow stronger together and rebel against fate."

Tianming knew that all of them possessed different perks and strengths. They all had to face their own respective tribulations.

"As their boss, I have to toughen up."

......

After returning to the Divine Moon Realm, the three of them went to a nearby city to keep an ear out for recent news. They went to a rather busy inn. Almost immediately, Tianming heard about the most discussed topic in the Divine Moon Realm.

"Are they talking about Huiye Shi?" He couldn't be sure if he was hearing things.

"That's right, pretty boy," said a seductive woman in red behind him. She served him some moon tea and smiled. "I'm the hostess here. Just call me Sister Yin."

"What happened to Huiye Shi?" he asked.

"It's a long story."

"I'd love to hear it, Sister Yin."

Sister Yin smiled and glanced at him. "I heard others describe how you look before. You're the Li Tianming, are you not?"

That was the reason she had taken the initiative to talk to him to begin with. However, she was just a fresh ascendant, so wasn't an elite by the area's standards. Since she hadn't caused a commotion, Tianming wasn't afraid of being found out.

Initially, he had wanted to get an update on the killer; however, now he was more curious about his sudden fame and Huiye Shi's whereabouts.

"That's right. I'm Li Tianming. But it really makes me wonder why so many people know of me now. I'm just a nameless passerby."

"Far from it. Your name will turn heads on the streets." She couldn't help but sigh in awe as she watched him closely. "Are you really seventeen? My own child is about your age, but he looks like a dumb fool."

"How did I get that famous?" Was it just from destroying a bane-ring? He knew that Huiyue Jie was dead, but nobody could possibly pin it on him.

"Looks like you've been in hiding for quite some time. You've guessed right. Ruining one of Huiyue Jie's bane-rings wasn't enough to spread your name all across the Divine Moon Realm. However, we've been informed that as long as you don't show up within half a month, Sovereign Xi will have Huiye Shi killed. There's only a few days left."

All three of them were shocked to hear that. It made no sense for the whole Divine Moon Realm to be notified to seek him out just because of a single bane-ring!

"It has nothing to do with Huiyue Jie. Think about it. You're a seventeen-year-old rootbeast and even defeated Huiyue Jie with your impressive talent. Your future is endless," Sister Yin said.

"So? Does she want to be my master or something?"

"What're you talking about? She wants you to be her man."

Tianming spat out all the moon tea in his mouth. "Isn't... isn't she more than five hundred years old? How many generations of my ancestors have died while she was alive?"

Feiling and Lin Xiaoxiao were surprised to hear it too. They didn't know much about Sovereign Xi.

"What're you talking about? Even if Her Majesty's age is a little... advanced... she's the top beauty across the whole realm. She stands at the very apex of beauty and power. Even now, any man that has seen her can vouch that time hasn't left a mark on her. You can say what you want now, but once you meet the sovereign, you'll see what a real woman is. At the very least, Her Majesty is far superior to those two lasses," Yin said with a worshipful tone. Feiling had used Dreamdemon Arcana to change her looks, only to be belittled by her.

"The recent batch that entered the royal harem are all below the age of fifty. However, there hasn't been one as young as seventeen before. You're one lucky child. You managed to charm the most beautiful woman in the realm into spoiling you. I bet you'll definitely be the most treasured concubine in the harem, second to Her Majesty alone."

She seemed all too envious of Tianming, which confused him even more. He couldn't help but say, "Are the divine moonrace sick in the head?"

He had heard Huiye Shi mention the sovereign's harem before, though he never would have imagined he would one day be among their ranks.

"How could you say that? Isn't it only natural for talented men to be paired with talented women? All of the talented men across the realm have been taken into Her Majesty's harem. Huiyue Jie was supposed to join, too, but you defeated him, proving your talent. So it was only a matter of time until you got taken in."

"Huiyue Jie?" Tianming furrowed his brows. His doubts were finally cleared when he heard that. Huiyue Jie probably provoked him for no good reason to get him to take his place in the harem.

"You should look past the matter with Huiye Shi. Many people think Her Majesty is just using this chance to spread the word. So stop hiding and leap into Her Majesty's embrace. You get to enjoy unlimited wealth and love in exchange for your looks and talent. Isn't that just prime?" Yin said.

There's nothing good about that! Tianming was rather confused. He had returned to try to reach Sovereign Xi in the first place, and was considering how he could sneak into Divine Moon Skycity to find a way to rescue Ye Lingfeng, but it seemed the doors had opened themselves for him.

"Young one, you may hesitate now, but once you get a taste of what a real woman is like, you'll know how lucky you were. Stop waiting and head straight to Divine Moon Skycity. Her Majesty has been waiting for a long time."

"I'll take my leave now!" Tianming took Feiling and Lin Xiaoxiao with him and left hurriedly.

"Wow, he's going just like that? Come to think of it, I was the first one to find him. Do I get credit for that?" Sister Yin said, face full of smiles.

......

The three of them went to the city's outskirts.

"Sounds like this sovereign is an old vixen that preys on talented young men!" Feiling spat.

"She isn't a good person by any stretch of the imagination. What's troubling is that Feng's survival depends on her," Tianming said.

"Big Brother, even Huiyue Jie didn't seem too willing to join the harem and tried all kinds of tricks to get you to replace him," Feiling reminded.

"I know. It definitely won't be simple."

"However, Feng has been surrounded by xenofiends. You have no choice but to look into it."

"I know. But joining a harem as a concubine... it's too distasteful!"

"Did I hurt your manly pride?"

"Of course not. If I could, I would've wanted to sneak into the skycity under another identity. If it weren't for Feng's urgent situation, I could probably get close to Sovereign Xi in a year or two."

"However, Shishi might die because of that," Feiling said.

"Yeah...."

Huiye Shi wasn't someone they could just ignore. Despite starting off rough, they didn't want her to die for their sake.

"Then you should go. At the very least, even if Sovereign Xi doesn't save Feng, you should be able to figure things out somehow," Feiling said. It was far better to stay there and wait for a chance. How could he know if it was hopeless without even trying?

"Then we have to think of a way to protect your chastity..." Ying Huo said. It wasn't a joke.