Beastmaster of the Ages

"General Shi wants you to lose, but I hope you'll win, Li Tianming," said Gujian Qingshuang.

Shi Yan didn't agree with his words. "It's better if you win, of course. It'll prove you're invaluable. Youths of the Myriad Solar Sects haven't defeated the celestial orderians for millions of years, because they have hundreds caeli imperius guiding them. Even Long Youyou, a descendant of the Veildragon Palace who isn't a Saintdragon Talent, was able to become a sixth-level constellier. You can see how useful caeli imperius are. If you defeat the sun emperor's son today, you'll be creating history. A million years from now, people will still know your name. All of the Myriad Solar Sects will be proud of you!" By this point, Shi Yan was impassioned.

"Really? Then I'll fight to the death." Tianming never imagined this duel would be so important. That was what he desired, for the people of this world to gradually develop a belief in him and their faith to integrate with his Imperial Will. He desperately needed a mind-blowing situation like this.

More importantly, Tianming wasn't the one that had provoked the enemy. Instead, their opponents thought them weak and wanted to oppress them. They were forced to resist and fight. In the eyes of the world, it was the celestial orderians who invaded their territory to oppress them, while Tianming resisted on behalf of the Myriad Solar Sects. The resentment the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect had been repressing finally had an outlet.

Long Wanying, Yan Nuxia, Shi Yan, and Gujian Qingshuang were all moved by Tianming's strong conviction. It wasn't an easy task convincing them to believe in him, especially Gujian Qingshuang. The passion in Tianming's eyes could move others.

"You never suffered defeat in the Voidsky Realm. I hope you'll keep up your performance." Jiang Qingliu silently watched them.

"You've all inspired me. I hope to fight to my heart's content," said Tianming.

He wasn't supposed to be the protagonist today. It was Li Haochen who pushed him into the spotlight.

……

The moment Gujian Qingshuang announced their decision, the audience boiled with excitement.

"What's the head instructor thinking?"

"Isn't it obvious they're giving the enemy the divine herbs?"

"In the past thousand millennia, no one has defeated the celestial orderians before the age of thirty."

"Maybe the Ninedragon Emperor succeeded. There's too many versions of history."

A wave of pessimism swept over the people of the Azuresoul Palace. However, there was no point in being pessimistic once the words had been spoken. They had to accept the fact. Even if they were defeated, it wouldn't be as humiliating as losing a duel between experts. After all, only a small part of Tianming's team represented the Azuresoul Palace. A disciple of the Sky Palace—that was his main identity. Even if he was purely representing the Azuresoul Palace, wasn't it an honor for the disciple of a second-rate sect to fight a leviathan like the celestial orderians?

"We have one condition. We'll each send out three disciples, but our disciples will choose their opponent." Gujian Qingshuang added.

As Long Wanying had expected, Yun Tianque shook his head. "That's impossible. The strong will compete with the strong. His Solar Majesty's son, Li Haochen, has decided to fight Li Tianming, the number one disciple on the imperial star ranking. The others aren't qualified to fight him."

"Then we get to decide the other two matches." Gujian Qingshuang replied.

"No problem." Long Youyou and Li Ruoshi were the other two.

"Send out your three disciples who'll be competing," said Yun Tianque.

Thus, Tianming, Lingfeng, and Xiaoxiao appeared before them. Long Youyou noticed Lin Xiaoxiao at once. "Big Brother Haochen, that's the woman who's holding our ancestor's Dragonblood Desecration. The Veildragon Palace has been too busy trying to suppress the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect to take back what's ours. If I defeat her today, can I take the Dragonblood Desecration?"

"You can try, but she might be too afraid to fight you," said Li Haochen.

"She'll choose Youyou." Li Ruoshi chimed in.

"Why?"

"The soul of that disciple named Feng is supposedly at the third regal soul level. He's extremely lethal to totems. He'll definitely challenge me," said Li Ruoshi.

"It'll be like throwing straws against the wind."

Judging from their strength in the imperial star ranking battle, Long Youyou regarded them with contempt.

"Yes, Yu Ziqian is such a loser. He's second on the imperial star ranking, but he's too afraid to fight. I really don't know how a person like him could become a Sky Palace disciple." Li Ruoshi frowned. She had assumed that Yu Ziqian would be a formidable opponent.

"I'm ranked second in the celestial orderian clan, but I'm supposed to deal with a nobody who ranks seventh on the imperial star ranking. That's like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut," Long Youyou pouted.

Squeezing her cheeks, Li Haochen said, "You'll be fine, but Shishi will have to be a little more careful. If your totems don't feel right, it's alright to concede defeat."

"Big Brother Haochen, don't worry. I won't embarrass the soul tribulators and celestial orderians. Even if we're inhibited, we can't lose to these insignificant Myriad Solar Sect juniors." Li Ruoshi said softly. Although her voice was gentle, her thoughts were bold.

……

During the conversation, they had already agreed on the order of the matches. In the first duel, Long Youyou of the Veildragon Palace would face Lin Xiaoxiao, who ranked seventh on the imperial star ranking. Despite the similarity in their names, one appeared vivacious while the other was aloof. Coupled with Xiaoxiao's possession of the Dragonblood Desecration, it almost seemed as if the two were natural enemies. Although the two were young women, their duel would be interesting.

In the second round, Li Ruoshi of the soul tribulators would duel Feng, who was fourth on the imperial star ranking. It would be a confrontation between a totemancer and specter. Many thought that was the only match that the Azuresoul Palace had a small chance of winning. As for the third duel, Li Haochen, the sun emperor's son, was up against Tianming, who was first on the imperial star ranking. It was a duel between Lis, a showdown between the celestial orderians and Myriad Solar Sects.

"Xiaoxiao, if you perform well, I won't even need to fight." Tianming laughed.

"Alright, then we won't inconvenience you today," said Xiaoxiao.

"So confident?" Tianming said in amazement. Why was everyone so certain today!? They were probably inspired by Jiang Qingliu.

"Well, she's quite similar to the one I challenged on the Violetglory ranking. They both have five lifebound beasts. However, her contempt for me is much stronger. It'll be an opportunity for me," said Xiaoxiao. She was obviously extremely clear-headed.

In her final imperial star ranking battle, Xiaoxiao had been utterly defeated by Weisheng Moran. Throughout the Voidsky Skirmish, she hadn't clocked any notable achievements. Aside from being lucky enough to obtain the Dragonblood Desecration, she was simply a nobody to the audience. Her brilliance was less than a thousandth of Tianming's.

Her opponent, Long Youyou, was the Veildragon Palace's number one disciple under thirty and the daughter of the Veildragon Palace's first dragon imperial. She cultivated under the guidance of caeli imperius since she was a child. In terms of cultivation, she was two levels ahead of Long Longlong, the Saintdragon Talent. As a beastmaster, she had suppressed countless celestial orderian geniuses. Long Youyou and Li Ruoshi were evenly matched; she was second only to Li Haochen.

There was a vast difference between the two. To put it bluntly, Xiaoxiao had nothing but the Dragonblood Desecration. In their eyes, she was inferior in terms of identity, status, strength, and talent. How could she compare? It was clear that Long Youyou was filled with impatience and dissatisfaction toward her opponent. Born with a golden spoon in her mouth, she had grown up surrounded by older brothers and sisters. Even Li Ruoshi's duel with Feng seemed somewhat challenging. At least her opponent had defeated Kong. On the other hand, Long Youyou's opponent seemed humble in comparison.

"Never mind. I'll win so Big Brother Haochen praises me."

……

Xiaoxiao and Long Youyou stood face to face on the Azurecloud Divine Tree. The battlefield was large enough for them to fight to their heart's content. Although her opponent had a few cards, there were hundreds of thousands of seniors watching. Long Youyou felt a hint of nervousness for the match.

"The sword is blind. Don't blame me if I accidentally kill you." Long Youyou condescendingly said with her chin raised.

Xiaoxiao found that Long Youyou was somewhat similar to Huiye Shi. When Huiye Shi had first descended upon the Flameyellow Continent, her contempt was no different. However, Long Youyou was even more detestable than her.

The ferocious Archaionfiend sprang from behind Xiaoxiao, surging with red lightning. Its bone spurs, armor, thick claws, blade-like wings, vicious face, and fangs made a strong visual impact. Being stared at by it at close range startled Long Youyou.

But when she only saw four thousand stars in the Archaionfiend's eyes, she couldn't help but laugh, "You only have a four-star divine beast? I've not encountered such an easy opponent in almost eight years. If it weren't for the Dragonblood Desecration and today's situation, you wouldn't be qualified to be my opponent even if you cultivated hard for a thousand years." Long Youyou pursed her lips.

"Yes, you're really amazing. I don't understand at all. A girl like you should have had a proper education, but it doesn't seem like you have," Xiaoxiao mocked.

Long Youyou frowned. She couldn't believe it. Was this a provocation? A nobody like Xiaoxiao, who only managed to stand here due to chance, was speaking to her about proper education? In front of her elders and those at the same level, Long Youyou was modest, polite, conscientious, dedicated, and well-liked. But why did she have to be polite towards an insignificant opponent?

"You don't want your tongue anymore, do you?" The absence of her lifebound beasts demonstrated her contempt for Xiaoxiao. She didn't even bother pulling out her weapon, but struck with her hand, aiming to slap Xiaoxiao.