Beastmaster of the Ages

"Chief Instructor Gujian is already more than a thousand years old, yet he's only gotten one seven-star universal manna in all his life."

"If you ask me, a grade-eight divine herb still needs an alchemy guru to refine it into a treasure. However, a seven-star universal manna can be used right away, so it's definitely far more valuable."

"Guess the celestial orderians are making a huge bet to recover their honor."

"That manna probably belongs to Li Wushuang herself."

"Man, the stakes have been raised more than ten times in value."

"I bet Li Tianming would've agreed with a six-star universal manna alone. His lifebound beasts are only four-star divine beasts, after all. They can't compare to Long Youyou's."

"It's the perfect bait."

"Tell me about it. Li Wushuang really struck right at the heart. She wants to bait Tianming into handing over the divine herb."

Discussions filled the air after the offer was made. Initially, they were all trying to convince Tianming to refuse the offer, but now even Gujian Qingshuang and Shi Yan were keeping their mouths shut. Even Yan Nuxia and the rest were stunned. Only Long Wanying alone said, "Li Wushuang is truly sharp. Tianming, I know you really need a seven-star universal manna as well, so it's up to you. Are you confident?"

"Aunt Ying, you're not going to stop me?" Tianming asked.

"Of course not. I believe in your decisions. I only want to remind you that this son of the sun emperor is a little different from the other two, so don't underestimate him."

"I understand that well. However, the bow has already been drawn and it must be released. Not to mention, a grade-eight divine herb isn't as important to me as a seven-star universal manna. Even if I did get the herb, I won't know what to do with it at the moment, so losing it won't be a huge deal either. At the very least, Feng and Xiaoxiao's performance earned us some modicum of respect. And even if I lose against Li Haochen, it won't be anything humiliating, right?"

"Of course. Had it not been for those two outperforming everyone's expectations, nobody would have expected you to fight Li Haochen at all. Losing won't be that big of a deal."

"That sounds great. However, I have another aim."

"What is it?"

"They said that the manna is Li Wushuang's own, so if I get it and make her suffer a huge loss, I'll be able to get back at her for you. Just wait and watch her freak out."

"You little... fine, I'll support you. Make sure to win!" she said, helplessly shaking her head with a smile.

"I've never backed down from a fight in my life. Not to mention, I can afford to lose right now, as my fame and status is far inferior to his. I can afford to be scorned by others, but he can't. If he loses, he'll suffer endless humiliation!" Cruelty flashed across Tianming's eyes for a moment.

"That's right." Long Wanying had to admit that he had a good grasp of the bigger picture. This would be a fight that Li Haochen could absolutely not lose, a fight he had asked for by raising the stakes, too. The mental pressure the two of them felt was different, and Tianming wasn't afraid as there was no risk of him dying with so many seniors around. As long as he wasn't at risk of dying, even a fight with only a thirty percent chance of winning was worth the challenge. Everyone watched him talking to Long Wanying about it. Not even Jiang Qingliu said a word. Shi Yan could clearly tell that Tianming had no real relationship with Jiang Qingliu, but cared for Long Wanying a lot instead.

"Is he your new son?" Li Wushuang made a snide remark.

"So what if he is?"

"You better watch out, lest a senior like you have to send off another junior to the afterlife."

"I'll send you off if you keep on going!" Yan Nuxia snapped, immediately shutting down the taunting.

As Li Wushuang was glaring at Yan Nuxia, Li Haochen asked, "Li Tianming, have you made your decision?"

Everyone waited for his word. Tianming was straightforward and didn't put up any airs. "Show me the seven-star universal manna. I want to know if it's a good fit for me."

Li Haochen called out to his aunt, who took a red-hot furnace out of her spatial ring. She opened it and revealed a golden flaming bird within. It wasn't an actual living bird; instead, it was actually seven flaming stars, each one like the sun, arranged in the form of a bird. The moment the furnace was opened, a heatwave filled the tens of thousands of meters around them.

"This manna was something I obtained within the nova source. It's called Solar Nucleus. I'm sure you can feel the power it contains," Li Wushuang said.

"Good." Tianming could immediately tell that it was a good fit for Ying Huo. There were many fire-element manna on the sun to begin with, much to Ying Huo's benefit.

"How can we be certain that you'll willingly hand over the manna if you lose?" Long Wanying asked.

"Shut up. Denying our own loss is something that's beneath us," Li Wushuang said.

"Hmph, we can't be so sure," Long Wanying said, the unspoken implication highlighting the many underhanded methods they used to gain power.

"If I don't give it, simply make fun of me," LI Wushuang said, not caring about Long Wanying at all. She turned to Li Haochen and said, "Go. Don't embarrass me."

"Rest assured, Aunt," Li Haochen said.

"Aunt Ying, don't worry. I trust that the mighty celestial orderians are at least able to keep their word. Otherwise they'd be no different from mindless animals," Tianming said, his words stoking the flames of the fight.

Everyone made way for the top junior of the celestial orderians and the first ranker of the imperial star ranking. One was the son of the sun emperor and the other was a Sky Palace disciple. These two impressive-sounding names, Li Haochen and Li Tianming, were matched with two youths that stood above the rest. One burned with the powerful flames of his birthright while the other stood firm with the vastness of the deepest oceans. Even though Tianming couldn't match Li Haochen in terms of background and upbringing, Lingfeng and Xiaoxiao's victories had put him on a much higher pedestal. Now it truly seemed like the first-ranking Sky Palace disciple would be able to match up to the sun emperor's child. The moment their gazes met, the battle began.

"I'd never have thought that I would see a disciple of the Myriad Solar Sects face up against the son of the sun emperor so bravely in my lifetime," Long Wanying said.

"That's right. It's like a dream. Even though there's been instances of such meetings, the disciples on our side didn't even have the right to challenge the sun emperor's children. Any of them could easily crush our first rankers," Yan Nuxia lamented.

Everyone concentrated on the upcoming fight with full intensity.