Beastmaster of the Ages

The flames receded back into Ying Huo's body as if they were never there. That instant, a brand new Aeternal Infernal Phoenix stood before Tianming's eyes. Its crimson feathers were now black with hints of red, looking fiendish and blazing at the same time. Ying Huo looked more like a demonic bird. Coupled with the black bane text that covered its feathers, it looked incredibly menacing. It finally looked impressive for once.

"Quick, mirror!" Ying Huo cried the instant it succeeded.

"Take a look!" Tianming took out Feiling's mirror from his spatial ring.

Ying Huo immediately smiled. "I look so cool! Ahahahaha! It's finally my time!"

"How many stars are there?"

"More than forty-seven hundred! It grew by more than three thousand! As expected of universal manna."

The star count limit for universal manna was five thousand stars, so that was already a decent result. Normally, one-star universal manna could only help a beast evolve to a limit of two thousand stars, while three-star manna had a limit of three thousand. The ultimate tribulation manna Tianming had used before couldn't be counted as universal manna, so its limit was a thousand stars.

"I look perfect. From now on, call me Sir Insidious."

"Sir?" Tianming burst out laughing. "There's nothing insidious about you."

"You're just jealous! I can smell it!

"Why do I have to be jealous of you? Well, show me what else you can do now." Tianming took a few steps back.

Ying Huo was now about as big as a person. While its agility hadn't been negatively affected in any way, it had definitely gained a lot of damage-dealing ability. At the very least, its Cosmic Blade feathers were now the size of a normal dagger.

"Challenging me, are you? Shudder in fear, puny human!"

Ying Huo really did have a domineering aura. Tianming didn't hesitate to bring out his four cardinal godswords. Now that he was at the second level, his swords were thirty meters long. Even with its recent size increase, Ying Huo was still dwarfed by them.

"Eat this!" Ying Huo's brutish manner remained the same as it charged toward Tianming and used Infernal Haze. The black and red feathers on its body immediately formed into ten thousand identical clones that were as large as it was now. Tianming noticed that they were far more realistic than before, and even more corporeal than his totems. In fact, each and every haze clone resembled the four black flame birds from before, a clear sign that the ability had grown much stronger. Tianming felt like he was facing off against ten thousand Ying Huos as they smashed toward him like a meteor shower.

"This is the second stage of Infernal Haze: Death Inferno!"

The clones formed a deathly hellscape as they attacked alongside Ying Huo's main body. It looked like the world was about to end.

While Ying Huo and the rest were still able to harvest abilities from wildbeasts to awaken their own, they were hitting the limit using that method. Since Xian Xian had hatched, it mostly relied on manna for new abilities, which its three older siblings also mirrored. Death Inferno was a result of evolving using Flamefiend's Shadow.

Tianming blocked the blow with all four totems. They cut through many haze clones, but that didn't matter as they began exploding with fire and fury. He couldn't neutralize the entire move at all.

"Impressive!" Since it was only a test, they weren't going to fight for real. Now he had a rough idea of Ying Huo's improved power. Looks like Ying Huo can take on totems at the Hexaunity Sky level after evolving with Flamefiend's Shadow, coupled with Blazebane, Cosmic Blade, and its battle arts.

Despite the tough process, the results spoke for themselves.

"How is it, son? Pissing yourself from fear yet?" Ying Huo said, wings on hips.

"Oh, it's leaking alright. You're really badass now." Tianming was genuinely glad for Ying Huo, as the power of its bloodline would also be transferred to him thanks to symbiotic cultivation.

"Amazing!" Now that Ying Huo was done, the hall finally quieted down once more.

Tianming sat on the cobblestone floor with Ying Huo stretching its wings out onto his shoulder. "I have some good news to tell you."

"What good news?"

"You see... I just went through puberty. So all the beautiful avians across the astralscape of order will swoon in the face of my vigorous adult form!"

"Sorry, I need to be alone for a while from all the cringe."

"Hahahaha!" Ying Huo's delusions caused it to smile stupidly and drool on the floor.

Tianming was truly impressed, having witnessed how it grew from a little chicken to its current splendorous form.

"What about them? Didn't you say they'd be done soon?"

"I was just messing with you."

"Hmph! Toying with my feelings again? Meanie...."

"Gross! Get off me!"

As they spoke, Meow Meow finished up in the lifebound space. Thanks to its great affinity with the lightning and fiend aspects, it completed its evolution without issue. It was as if the manna had been made for it.

Meow Meow emerged from the lifebound space in its Regal Chaosfiend form, immediately causing black clouds to gather above. When it roared, its lightning-charged fur sparked and caused the entire palace to grow bright. Then it tilted its head and asked, "Do I look cool?"

It had absorbed Blitzfiend's Eye, so naturally the majority of the changes were visible in its eyes. They were now deep pools of lightning tinged with a dense red. It was as if the lightning bolts themselves were swimming in a sea of blood. Now, its eyes stored its lightning reserves and were the place its abilities would burst forth from.

"Very cool. Now show me what you can do," Tianming said.

"Meow!" While it was a little odd seeing a huge beast meow like a little cat, it certainly didn't look that way. Meow Meow in its Regal Chaosfiend form was as threatening as ever.