Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming turned back and looked; Yu Ziqian had been referring to the Whitedragon Empress.

"The Seven Dragon Imperials can be considered grade six, so they have higher status than our master or chief instructor. That means there's six grades in the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect for those above a hundred, with the Seven Dragon Imperials taking the highest spot. They have at least a hundred cultivators with grade-five status there," Yu Ziqian said.

In other words, the graded status didn't necessarily represent power. For instance, Long Wanying might not necessarily be stronger than Jiang Qingliu or Gujian Qingshuang, but her status and influence—especially coming from her sect—was higher. It was clear how much stronger the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect was than the Azuresoul Palace, considering they had a hundred grade-five cultivators while the latter only had six. Not to mention, they had a few Dragon Imperials that could defeat Gujian Qingshuang. As Long Wanying had only assumed her post a short time ago, it went without saying that she was weaker than the others.

That was the difference between the rank two sect and the rank thirty-eight sect. In any faction, there would be far more cultivators over the age of a hundred than the number of youthgrand disciples. However, most swordtroops and swordcitizens were spread out across the Azuresoul Palace's territories. Only swordpupils trained on the Azuresoul Sword Mountain, being the elites among elites. They numbered about the same as normal disciples.

"I knew the hierarchy on the sun would be much stricter. It's no surprise that they have such fine distinctions when it comes to position and status." Those of higher status had huge sway over those of lower status, which served as the main motivation for people to continue improving. The Azuresoul Palace occupies half of the Azurecloud Continent, which is a few times larger than the Flameyellow Continent, and the lifeforms here are much more powerful, too, most of whom are gods with astral physiques. I wonder how much more powerful the Omnisentient Threads will get if I get them to worship me.... But that's thinking too far ahead. I'm not a proper member of the Sky Palace yet, just a disciple. I'm not even a youthgrand disciple. If I want to replace grade-five swordpupils like Gujian Qingshuang, there's still a lot to do.

As urgent as matters were, he still had to take it step by step. Though, he still needed ambition. As much as he wanted to settle down and lead a peaceful life, he knew this wasn't his destiny. There were far too many people that he cared about now, including his lover, lifebound beasts, friends, and his parents who were on the run. The fastest path of growth for him was through the relationship between a sovereign and his subjects. Becoming the pillar in which others put their trust in was his destiny. Only by rising up could he ensure that those he cared about could truly be free.

The Azurecloud Continent was in his vision now. Though it was on the sun, it looked far wider and more ancient than the Flameyellow Continent. It made his blood boil. I want to conquer this place. His blood pulsed with the desire to become the absolute ruler of this new place.

......

"What's that?" As they got nearer, Tianming saw a gigantic tree in the middle of the continent. It stood tens of thousands of meters tall, almost reaching the flaming clouds above. Even Xian Xian, the Radix World Tree, looked like a sprout in its presence. The tree's branches and leaves spanned about a third of the continent, casting a rare veil of shadow on the surface of the sun. Even as the flaming rain fell, the leaves simply stopped them from reaching the ground. Countless vines also hung from the branches of the tree, making it look like a forest of its own. There were countless animals, birds, and insects under the tree; it was nothing short of a paradise for all life.

"It's the Azurecloud Divine Tree, of course." Yu Ziqian was already used to how Tianming didn't know even the most basic things.

"But it's still far too big. Is it some kind of grade-seven divine herb or plant?"

"It's not a divine herb, but part of the sun itself. Many of its roots are intertwined with the fusion formation and in contact with the nova source. The tree is doubtless the oldest life form in Orderia, having lived for millions of years. The reason it isn't a divine herb is because divine herbs grow from its flowers and fruits!" Yu Ziqian said with a look of awe. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I'm one of many who grew up under the shade of the tree. We call it the Allmother Tree. People consider it a miraculous life form. Every ten thousand years, it bears fruit, which is a blessing to those living on this continent. Some, however, consider it a leech for consuming the nova source of the continent and leaving its shade a barren place for cultivation. They even try cutting it down. It's complicated. What I know is it's an ancestral decree in our sect to defend the tree with our lives."

"It's truly miraculous. Look at that size!" Tianming didn't often feel as moved or awed as he did now.

"Come to think of it, the ten-thousand-year cycle is about to come to pass again. At that time, all kinds of divine herbs will grow on the tree for an entire year, ranging from grade one to seven. There's even records of grade-eight divine herbs sprouting, which can be used to refine incredible grade-eight divine pills. Ten thousand years ago, it's been said, the tree produced five billion divine herbs. I wonder how many there'll be this time...."

"Five billion?" How many divine pills could be made from that? "Since the Azuresoul Palace and Supracloud Sanctuary are situated so close, you guys really hit the jackpot, huh?"

"Nope. Looking back at history, getting even ten percent of the full harvest is already good enough. Most of the top quality herbs get taken by the first-rate factions."

"How does that work?"

"Well, look at it this way. In terms of nova source, our continent gets the least, which makes sense according to the theory that the Azurecloud Divine Tree is absorbing most of it. That's why the Sky Palace has historically given the divine herbs of the tree to the sects of the continent and prevented other sects from sending large numbers here to wage war for them as a form of compensation.

"However, rules are meant to be broken. It's true that we get to pick some of the normal grade divine herbs. There'll be many other sects that come to 'help' us with the harvest. In essence, they take the lion's share. Not to mention, any grade-seven divine herb that appears will always be spirited away. Neither the Supracloud Sanctuary nor our sect can do anything about it. Even so, we can't not ask other sects to come help with the harvest, either, as the Supracloud Sanctuary definitely will. If they have helpers and we don't, we won't be able to compete at all!"

That was why there were some that wanted to cut down the tree. Not only did it rob them of nova source, slowing down cultivation for most, the divine herbs that were supposed to make up for that would also be taken away by so-called 'helpers', leaving the actual inhabitants of the continent with scraps that couldn't even begin to make up for the lack of nova source. It was a love-hate relationship where the tree was concerned.

"Honestly, the tree has historically produced many grade-eight divine herbs. Legends even speak of grade-nine divine herbs. But the amount has gradually been decreasing over the cycles. Now, there isn't enough supply to meet the crazy demand."

"I see." Tianming was still marveling at this miracle of nature. Now that Yu Ziqian had the Divine Worldeater Cauldron, large numbers of divine pills could be produced, regardless of grade. That would still be a huge boost for Lingfeng and the Azuresoul Palace; the divine tree and the cauldron were a match made in heaven.

As they spoke, Long Wanying and Jiang Qingliu came over. The old master sighed and said, "The Xuanyuan Dragon Sect was supposed to be our helper this time around, but with what happened at the Myriaddragon Mountains, that won't be possible. The Supracloud Sanctuary will have the wargodeans and Blueblood Starocean helping them out. It looks like we won't even be able to get scraps for this harvest."

"Nonsense. I have help," Long Wanying said as she sent out a transmission stone.

"Who?"

"My girlfriends!"

"Huh?" Jiang Qingliu shuddered at the thought.

......

A gigantic sword of stone pierced through the flaming clouds, the sword ki paving a way through the clouds. Thousands of elites dressed in swordsmen robes stood atop it, emanating powerful sword ki. A flaming transmission stone caught up to them and landed in the hand of the leader, whose skin looked like stone.

The leader was a woman. Her features and figure looked completely normal, though her stone skin stood out quite a lot. Even her eyes looked like rocks that had been embedded into her face. There wasn't the slightest sign of life coming from this person. She stretched out her rocky fingers and unfurled the note on the stone, then her stiff mouth began shaking as she chuckled and raised her hand.

"Everyone! The Northdipper Swordsage ordered us to head to the Azurecloud Continent to help the Azuresoul Palace with the harvest!"

The crowd blew up in cheers.

"Did that Gujian Qingshuang brat invite us?"

"Of course not," the woman said. "Fellows, change course! The Azuresoul Palace has stood out quite a bit for their exploits recently, so it's about time they paid the price."

"That's right! They're supposed to have branched off from our Empyrean Sword Sect, yet they immediately submitted to the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect to get their help! How naughty of them!"