Beastmaster of the Ages

Every generation of the celestial orderians were de facto rulers of Orderia. Among them, few, if any at all, could possibly compare to the sons of the sun emperor. The only exception to that was the Ninedragon Emperor's generation. Yet Tianming had surpassed even that, all while being less than half of Li Shenjian's age!

Li Shenjian had hidden himself among his justice emblems. Though his injuries were far from severe, his emotions were already crumbling from the crippling pressure. Like Li Haochen, he wasn't built to last under stress and a single loss would shame him for life. When Li Haochen returned to his kin, he had lost all sway and wasn't even able to leave his home, and now Li Shenjian's loss was even worse than that.

"No, I still have a chance! I haven't lost yet!" The injury on his thigh was nothing for someone with an astral physique. Not to mention he still had six of his eight totems. "I just underestimated him, that's all!"

Once more, he mustered the courage the sun emperor's son should have and acted. "Li Tianming, that didn't count. I truly underestimated you. Our fight isn't over yet."

He opened up his justice emblems and let his power surge once more. His totems could absorb the divine hazard sword ki that the infernal dragon sword ki left behind and they began glowing bright red. Right as he was about to get back into the fight, he found that Tianming and his beasts were out of sight. "Did he run again?"

Just as he was about to laugh, he noticed something above him. Looking up, he saw that Tianming had left the battlefield from the opening of the volcano long ago. "Don't leave!"

If Tianming left just like that, the battle would end with Li Shenjian's loss! He could never accept that, but Tianming had achieved his goals and even got the Dragonblood Desecration back so there was no need to stay there any longer. He left the arena, holding the Grand-Orient Sword in one hand and Dragonblood Desecration in the other as millions of people looked at him. As someone close to Xiaoxiao, Tianming was recognized by the weapon's artifact soul as someone who would bring it back to her, so it didn't resist.

Currently, his black and gold eyes brightly glowed and his white hair fluttered behind him. The five great strands of sword ki emanated from his body in the form of illusory dragons; even their piercing roars could vaguely be heard. He was divinity incarnate! Even though Li Shenjian didn't want the fight to end, he had already lost his chance when he turtled up in his totems. Even the celestial orderians silently admitted that Tianming had won the duel, voicing no opposition to it at all.

More than twenty million people chanted his name. The sound was like a tidal wave that crashed against him before hurling toward the celestial orderians and Veildragon Palace. The moment he came out, he felt a wild rush of faith. It was as if his soul had clashed against twenty million others and his divine soul was growing at a rapid rate. Their faith seemed to convert into Omnisentient Will that filled his albi and nurtured his Imperial Will. Every single sword in his albi grew larger and stronger, stabilizing the astral discs they were impaled into more and more. "Maybe this is the start of the path to becoming a world god!"

He felt completely transformed. The growth of his Imperial Will caused his aura to resemble an emperor's more and more. "Come!"

He didn't dare to show himself before everyone else. With the recent progress of his divine will, he could now break through to the seventh level of the Constellation stage. This victory had been unimaginably huge—it had single-handedly raised up the morale of the oppressed Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. Even though he and Li Shenjian were considered young disciples, their statuses were far too symbolic. Now, Tianming had become the mental pillar of support for the entire Ninedragon Army.

He stood at the top of the volcano with his arms wide open as he turned to face the celestial orderians and those of the Veildragon Palace. He was absorbing nova source, his body like an invincible vortex. Despite being a youth in his twenties, the energy in his body was infinitely nearing that of his centuries-old seniors. Rampant nova source condensed into flame as it flooded into his body from all directions, clashing wildly against his sword ki. The vortex of flame and sword ki looked like subjects surrounding their emperor.

Li Shenjian had just managed to catch up and was about to strike, only to see Tianming absorbing nova source. He was stunned at being relegated to the background once more. Even though he wanted to win, there was no way he could attack now. Something like that would be beneath a person of his so-called stature.

"What are you doing? We haven't decided the victor yet, stop putting on a show!" Li Shenjian said, but there was no reply. The situation became really awkward.

Tianming was still absorbing nova source on his own accord, increasing his reserves of astralforce. The Ninedragon Army wildly cheered as they watched him while those on the other side coldly watched the scene. Li Shenjian merely stayed nearby without fighting; the sun emperor's son was being made to wait like an idiot.

"Li Tianming, I'm giving you one last chance. If you don't stop, don't blame me for not warning you." However, people still ignored him. In the eyes of everyone, he had already lost.

"You are shameless!" People from the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect began mocking him. After the first insult was thrown, the rest followed.

"Leave, Li Shenjian! You already chickened out just now. So why feign bravery now?"

"He just wants to quit on his own terms."

"What shameless behavior coming from the son of the sun emperor."

"He's already more than fifty years old, double Li Tianming's age! Yet he was completely defeated. Is there anyone else among the celestial orderians that can possibly step up to Li Tianming?"

"Li Tianming was right. The sons of the sun emperor are just pushovers."

Every word felt like a knife to Li Shenjian's heart. "No, the fight isn't over yet!"