Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming began to understand. "So time is enough for old grudges to be forgotten to the point where the descendants of the oppressors and oppressed can peacefully coexist."

Wars between stars were too large in scale. Even after the great battle with the specters on the Flameyellow Continent, Tianming hadn't been able to wipe out every single specter there.

"Why are you asking all this?" Liu Wanwan asked oddly.

"Well, I was just testing your historical knowledge. You can't really think that I'm an alien, can you?"

"You're so extra." She rolled her eyes. Though she wasn't that powerful, there was a benefit to talking to her. She didn't really bother looking any deeper into what Tianming said and was rather simpleminded, which made her rather trusting. If Han Xingluan or Liu Xuanxuan had heard what Tianming had said, they would definitely doubt his origins.

"So Orderia and the Violetglory Star have some sort of connection with Skywolf Star. These two nova source worlds might not be as far apart as I thought." Tianming pondered for a while. "Wanwan, how long does the evaluation usually take?"

"A few days, I reckon. Let them take their time. To be honest, I doubt the top ten disciples will accept even if the challenges pass evaluation unless the duel committee orders them to."

"Alright." Even though there wasn't much he could do about it, it made sense. If he were in the top ten himself, he wouldn't bother accepting challenges from any random untalented person. Instead, he would only be itching to challenge the top three.

Lingfeng had already left with Liu Xuanxuan for their private battle. It didn't take long for her to come running back, crying.

"Did you drop out of the ranking?" Liu Wanwan said, shocked, then clutched her belly in laughter.

Dropping from six hundred plus straight to beyond ten thousand was a huge shock. "You're already almost thirty-one but you're still at Octasaint Sky, yet you dare to laugh at me? Leave me alone! I'll get back up in the ranking in a flash!" Liu Xuanxuan snapped. But before she walked far, she turned back and said, "Liu Wanwan, when that guy is going to fight someone in the top ten, tell me. I want to watch him get beat up."

After she left, Lingfeng was officially in the top ten thousand. After that, he made it into the top hundred like Tianming had. He then challenged a ninth-ranking totemancer from the Violetcloud Imperium and waited with Tianming.

......

After two hours, there was still no response.

"Let's go to train in the Violetglory Pagoda first. The sixth level should be much better than the Azuresky Bridge," Tianming said.

"Alright."

"Wanwan, thanks for showing us around. See you later."

"Sure thing! I'll be paying attention to the news about you. Tell me when your challenge finally gets accepted."

"No problem."

As Tianming and Lingfeng were about to head to the pagoda, quite a few people around them recognized him.

"Is that Lin Feng?"

"Yes, that's him!"

Many young men and women looked at him worshipfully. The further the news spread, the more people that came to watch. Some even asked Tianming to join their sect.

"Stop inviting him. It's embarrassing. He's almost definitely someone from the Divineglory Dynasty."

"That's already public knowledge."

The reason they didn't attribute him to the Violetcloud Imperium was because he had defeated Han Xingluan.

Right then, a commotion broke out in the crowd ahead of Tianming. He heard a few sharp cries before a sudden silence fell upon them. The crowd parted to form a pathway.

"Lin Feng, someone's looking for you. Don't leave," someone said from far away.

"Huh?" Tianming stayed there, wondering what kind of person had enough of a presence to instill silence in so many people. He could feel the respectful worship the young disciples around him were exuding. The person approaching them was definitely someone from high up. The crowd parted for him, not even daring to look up, though Tianming didn't feel a bit of pressure at all. As far as he was concerned, this wasn't even the real world. It was like he was dreaming.

He heard the young disciples' breathing grow heavier as they muttered, "Princess Shen Yu...." The soft mutters carried a kind of rhythm that rang in his head. Tianming didn't know who they were referring to, so he looked ahead.

He spotted a golden shooting star at the very edges of his vision heading toward his position. Blinking, he noticed that the shooting star was actually a girl. The first look alone shook him. He didn't think that even though they were all caeli within the wondersky realm, someone could have such an impressive presence or could inspire a sense of worship.

The girl was impeccably beautiful. Tianming hadn't seen anyone as beautiful as her here in the wondersky realm. Her beauty came not only from her features, skin, or figure, but also from an abstract, ethereal aura that could hardly be described by words. If a label had to be ascribed to it, it would be that she had a regal, imperial aura to her. She was the same kind of person as Tianming, with gender being the only difference. Though being of the fairer sex slightly dampened her inherent intimidating qualities, she was a natural-born ruler. Without even speaking, her expression and gaze seemed enough to completely seize one's loyalty.

She landed in front of Tianming. She had a head of long, light-blonde hair, each strand of it glistening with the glow of stars. Her hair curled slightly into multitudes of waves. The color somewhat resembled that of Zhan Yingying, the wargodean. However, they were in completely different leagues. For starters, the girl in front of him now wasn't that tall and not nearly as brutish as the wargodeans seemed. Instead, everything about her screamed subtle refinement.

Within her dark gold eyes were black stars. Tianming could tell from her eyes alone that she was born with high status. She seemed completely accustomed to looking at droves of people at once. That was why her gaze seemed rather empty and emotionless. All kinds of stars adorned her white and violet dress. They looked like countless butterflies dancing around her. Someone like her didn't require a podium or a platform to stand out; no matter where she stood, she would be the focus of attention.

The blood of rulers flowed in her veins, something others couldn't help but worship. It wasn't pride or arrogance. She didn't look the least bit proud, which was why others didn't feel discomfited in the least by adoring her. It just felt natural to submit to her will. Perhaps this was like how beasts of a pack willingly submitted to their leader. There would always be people born with the blood of rulers among humanity.

Tianming felt that she looked rather mature; it had nothing to do with her figure or curves, but solely her aura and demeanor. Her movements and gaze completely lacked any childish energy that young women of Feiling's age had. Though she looked to be only in her twenties, she resembled Sovereign Xi. In fact, her aura was even more powerful than the ruler of the moon, yet she didn't seem seductive like her. Instead, she was pure, lofty, and unattainable.

The reason Tianming was certain that she was a junior were the words above her head that read: Princess Shen Yu, rank 3. Unsurprisingly, she was backed by the strongest faction on the Violetglory Star, the Divineglory Dynasty. If she's a princess, she would have a status as high as Qingyu right now. They're both daughters of sovereigns....

Back then, Tianming had asked Liu Wanwan about the Violetglory Star's two sovereigns. The leaders of both top factions were absolute. Ruling from the apex of the hierarchy was their birthright.

The girl shot him a studying look. Her skirt fluttered, making the stars on it look like they were descending. Standing in front of her, Tianming found that she was emitting a kind of radiance that seemed impossible to miss. Then their gazes met. Everyone looked at the two of them in fearful silence, not daring to interrupt the princess.

"What's the matter, Your Highness?" Tianming asked as he would a girl he saw on the street.

The princess said, "Lin Feng, if you don't have someone backing you yet, will you join the Divineglory Dynasty? I'll make sure you're taken care of in all aspects."

Those words sent the crowd into an uproar. The revelation that the mysterious Lin Feng wasn't backed by either top faction was shocking. It made him seem even more impressive, but what was even more shocking was that the princess had offered to take care of everything for him. Such a promise wasn't made lightly, especially in front of the public. At the very least, it was a sure sign that his rise to the top was set in stone. This was the daughter of a sovereign that ruled a top faction on the Violetglory Star!

At the very least, the Divineglory Dynasty had surpassed the Violetcloud Imperium in recent years. Little did the others know that despite how badly Tianming wanted the support of an impressive faction, he didn't even know how far away he was from their star. So, all he could say was, "I appreciate the honorable invitation, Your Highness, but I already have backers right now. I'm obligated to live up to their expectations."

Those words made the crowd feel bad for him for missing out on such an opportunity.

"All is well. Let's meet again, fate willing." The princess seemed neither displeased nor happy about the outcome. She wasn't moved at all, regardless of the result.

"Fate willing indeed." Tianming waved back.

After bidding her goodbye, she vanished back into the starlight. Tianming didn't linger either and went straight to the Violetglory Pagoda. "Time for the grind!"