Beastmaster of the Ages

There was a huge reddish-purple tower on a mountain in the Divineglory Dynasty. From the very top of the tower, one could see half of the capital. And in that prestigious place stood a white-clad youth. The strong winds caused his hair to flutter, revealing his harmless face and clear, yet abyss-deep eyes. In his arms was an unparalleled beauty clad in a tight purple and white dress that highlighted her sensual curves. The divinespring in the center of her chest brightly glowed, giving her an even more impressive aura. They were the most famous power couple that gave the Violetcloud Imperium a headache, the prodigal Ye Chen and Princess Shen Yu, pearl of the dynasty.

"I heard he quickly accepted the challenge. It seems he's not the least bit afraid of you," Princess Shen Yu said, stroking her long hair. Her voice was gentle, yet cold when it came to Tianming.

"There's no need for him to fear me. The fact that he was able to fight me to a draw already shows that he's more incredible than anyone I've ever fought in the Astraldome. I respect him for answering my challenge so quickly this time around. Not to mention, I've also experienced my fair share of growth. It's about time I made up to the me from a few months ago," he said with a bright smile.

"That's right. It wasn't my intention to speak ill of him. However, according to the information we gathered, his actions since his appearance have been rather high profile. It seems that he doesn't share the same respect for us that we have for him. It truly is laughable," she said, pouting.

"It matters not. The higher up he thinks he is, the harder it'll be when he falls," Ye Chen said, stretching lazily. "To be honest, I've been fighting a lot in the Astraldome and the wondersky realm lately, but there's no sense of danger like real-life battles at all. Had Lin Feng not shown up, I would've wasted away from the boredom. His appearance is a good thing for me, so I have to properly thank him for it."

"Hey, he's called Li Tianming now," she said, hitting his chest.

"Sigh... it angers me the more I think about it. I thought the two of us would be brothers with our plain names, yet his real name sounds so bombastic. It won't do. I have to change my name as well."

"What would you change it to?"

"Ye Ritian. How is it? It evokes the sun in the embrace of the sky."

"Stop it, you naughty boy," she said with a tempting look.

"What's naughty about it? You are my sky—your boundless bosom, that is. There's nothing wrong with this name!" Ye Chen proclaimed as he felt her up.

The princess started off shy, but eventually caved in. Right as she was about to commit to the intimacy, the two of them heard someone clear their throat behind them and awkwardly turned around. It was the Minister Supreme.

"Uncle..." the princess greeted with a red-flushed face.

"The arrangements are ready. It's time to go. They're about to reach the Observatorium," the man said, as if he hadn't seen anything.

"Alright. Many of my techniques were limited back in the wondersky realm. This time around, I can finally go all out in real life! I'll have to relish the fight!" Ye Chen said, referring to his lifebound beasts. "Now that I'm only a step away from becoming a solarian, hopefully I'll get something out of this fight."

......

The tallest mountain of the Violetglory Star was located near the center of the two main factions' territories and was called Mount Starsight. Its peak even extended beyond the layer of violetstar clouds above, reaching millions of meters high, which made it even taller than the Azurecloud Divine Tree.

The Observatorium was built upon that mountain and was famous for being a place where duels to the death were carried out. It was a sacred arena to the Violetglorians much in the same fashion as the Infernal Dragon Purgatory of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. In fact, it had even more prestige as it was recognized by everyone, regardless of faction. Not just anyone could fight there, and most people wouldn't even be able to get a spot in the audience. But today, the entire place was filled with people before the main fighters had even arrived.

The crowd was divided into north and south sections. One side was occupied by the Violetcloud Alliance, while the other was occupied by the Divineglory Alliance. The cultivators of Mystgod Pavilion, for instance, sided with the imperium and rooted for Tianming. Both sides were hostile toward each other and itching to fight, despite the normally peaceful and refined nature of Violetglorians.

"The Violetcloud Imperium has arrived!" someone cried. Others made way so the escort could send Tianming to the Observatorium. Tianming was shocked to see so many people there to witness the battle. It was far more full than the Violetcloud Battlefield in the wondersky realm had been!

"What in the world? Since when was I so famous? Or are the Violetglorian weaklings just ignorant?" Ying Huo said with its beak agape.

"Maybe Ye Chen and I just so happen to represent the two greater factions of the Violetglory Star. I represent the totemancers with my nine totems, while he's made his name among the countless peoples of the astralscape," Tianming said. While they probably wouldn't individually draw such a huge audience, the powers that backed them would—it was an indirect clash between titans. The people that came weren't only there to see Tianming fight Ye Chen, they wanted to see the imperium take on the dynasty! It was a clash between the two great alliances, one part in a long string of conflicts that stretched back millions of years.

At the end of the day, Tianming was a hired gun, and he made sure to be aware of his situation. "If I lose, I'll have to accept their criticism and disappointment." He had already been paid by the imperium to represent them, so losing now would greatly impact his right to claim cultivation resources. He was all too aware of where he was coming from. After all, he hadn't been born in the imperium and their prestige had nothing to do with him, nor did he have a grudge against the dynasty.

Eventually, they arrived. Tianming stepped into the crowd and descended into the ancient arena without a word.