Beastmaster of the Ages

While Tianming's trip to the Kunlan Realm's entrance seemed short, it had actually taken an entire month. When he rejoined the rest, Lingfeng was basically fully recovered. He took them to Gong Xiong and the rest, who had nothing but praises for all five of them. Not to mention, they didn't suspect that they weren't Violetglorians at all. After all, there was no way people of their age could possibly have divine astralships that let them make voyages between stars. Even so, one thing was clearly different between Ye Chen and Tianming: Ye Chen's background was known and set in stone, while Tianming was a blank slate filled with only mystery, not that Gong Xiong bothered to pry.

"Your friends are all decent. It's hard to imagine how people like you could gather together. The Divineglory Dynasty won't be able to do anything but cry when they find that we've got five of you while they only have one," Gong Xiong said.

"You flatter us, Brother Xiong. Me aside, these four still have a lot to learn," Tianming said.

"Very well." Gong Xiong nodded in agreement.

Having experienced the speed of the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, the astral battleship felt like a snail to Tianming. It practically crawled through the astralscape paces at a time. Thankfully, it didn't require him to input any power to pilot it.

Since he had nothing better to do, he spread Yin Chens all over the ship. There were tens of thousands of people here retreating from Primary with Gong Xiong. Though they hadn't been forced to leave, they worried that Gong Xiong's absence would cause them to come under pressure from those of the Divineglory Dynasty. Not to mention, they could help protect Tianming if they followed along. After Tianming arrived, they could return to Primary, though their leader probably wouldn't be Gong Xiong anymore since he would have rendered great merit by bringing Tianming back and wouldn't have to be posted to the sticks anymore.

Given the speed of the ship, it would take at least three months for them to reach the Violetglory Star, during which cultivation could only be done in the wondersky realm's Violetglory Pagoda in particular. Tianming paid attention to what was being said by everyone on the ship during that time, learning a lot about their destination in the process, including about Gong Xiong and his achievements, as well as the Violetcloud Imperium's manner of operation. Based on all that, he surmised that Gong Xiong was a short-tempered man that easily offended others, but his sense of justice and steadfast principles had earned him much respect. Many among the group here had willingly come with him.

"There can't be a better evaluation of him than what people close to him say about him." While three months sounded short, it was more than long enough for Tianming to gather information. After all, what could they do on the ship but talk? With enough information, he could pass himself off as a native Violetglorian without any issues. Even if there were still those that doubted him, they wouldn't be able to spot any inconsistencies from his knowledge. The more he learned, the more reassured he became.

However, there were many clans and interfactional struggles in the imperium, which was actually organized along similar lines as the Archaion Sect. There were six top clans in the imperium, among whom the strongest would rule as sovereign. All of the power was concentrated in those six clans. That kind of multipolar organizational structure was inherently less stable than the Divineglory Dynasty's absolute rule, which resulted in more infighting. Though the Gong Prime Clan was in power now, there were still intricate relations within the imperium that Tianming had to be wary of.

......

They arrived after three months. Though they weren't exactly there yet, Tianming could see the star from the deck of the astral battleship. This was the second nova source world he had ever seen. Tianming and the others were immediately charmed by its beauty. Unlike the sun, this star glowed with a light purple hue. It didn't look scorching; instead, it felt more refined and mysterious. There was a noble tranquility to its air. Many other shining objects surrounded it, all of which were stellunar source worlds that served as outposts. The star looked like a beautiful purple pearl.

"How pretty...." Anyone seeing it for the first time would no doubt be awed by its beauty.

"It looks like a bigger version of the Divine Moon Realm," Tianming said, reminding the rest of the beautiful and tranquil lunar world that boasted a certain elegance that was reflected in the Violetglory Star as well, but with more noble mystery, as expected of a nova source world.

As the ship descended, it passed through some clouds that were similar to Orderia's, though they looked considerably different. Tianming saw violet clouds surrounded by countless star-like flashes. That layer of clouds were called violetstar clouds and they seemed to be something out of dreams. Tianming couldn't feel any heat coming from them as the ship passed through, a sign that the nova source of this star was much gentler and well rounded, unlike Orderia's, which was mainly of the fire element. Not only did it not feel scorching hot, it even made him feel a sense of comfort, almost like he was bathing in high-quality spiritual energy. He even saw many people cultivating in the midst of the clouds. The violet starlike dots around the clouds continually let out a violet mist.

Eventually, the ship burst through the sea of clouds. "Whoa!" Tianming couldn't help but exclaim. The Violetglory Star wasn't just a bigger Divine Moon Realm, it was even more impressive. Mountains and rivers could be seen dotted everywhere, shrouded in violet mist. Even the trees and rocks seemed to glimmer. The shining stars looked like jewels in the sky and the crystalline sea looked like a huge ocean of fine blue wine. The Violetglory Star truly was a beautiful pearl forged by the universe itself. If the sun was a brutish man, this was a beautiful goddess. It reminded Tianming of Princess Shen Yu; as expected, only a world like this could give rise to a person such as her.

"Onward to Myriadmile City!" The ship cruised along toward the imperial core, the city that spanned myriad miles, all of which belonged to the Violetcloud Imperium!