Beastmaster of the Ages

All Li Haochen could hear was a humming sound. It felt like water had entered his mind, the bitter water of suffering. The fluid seeped into his organs, making his body ache all over. He didn't dare to look up and meet the gazes of the hundred-odd thousand people there, knowing that he would find a range of expressions of shock, disbelief, and flabbergastment. He was nothing but a laughing stock; however, he was the son of the sun emperor, someone born to be the absolute best. There was no way he could fall this low. The internal contradiction caused him to feel a twisting sensation in his chest. It was as if he was tasting snake bile. He had never experienced such despair that could completely crush his pride and confidence.

"Huff... huff...." He widened his eyes, breathing raggedly and feeling as if the golden figure in his mind was a towering mountain that pressed down on him from above, crushing every single albus in his body to dust. During the twenty-five years of his life, he had stood at the very top, enjoying the admiration and adoration of all, only for him to crash and burn right at this moment. His body and soul had been turned into a bloody paste by someone of his age. He began contemplating death. His clan's pride, father's monitoring, and race's hopes had forbidden him from losing, but that was exactly what he'd done. He had besmirched the name of his so-called invincible race. They would suffer this humiliation with him, and death was the only release. This was the first time in his life that he thought about seeking an escape.

"Once I die, it'd be as if nothing happened, right?" Lowering his head, he smiled bitterly. Everything was as Tianming said. He couldn't afford to lose, and his clan's glorious history wouldn't permit a failure like him to exist. He didn't even look up, but he knew that the people were now worshiping Tianming and pitying him. Never would he have thought that the word 'pity' would ever be used to describe him! His throat felt like it was burning.

"I'm sorry...." His thoughts were going down a death spiral. Each pity-filled gaze he saw was like a slap on his face, accelerating his death. He found it hard to breathe and thought that he had in fact died. He didn't need Tianming to kill him at all.

"It's over... Haha...." His forlorn laughter was like a farewell to the world. It wasn't that he couldn't endure any hardship at all, but the children of the sun emperor all carried a burden that was far too heavy for them. If they weren't the best, they were useless! He raised his hand, causing the Crimsoncloud Dragonbane to fly into it.

"Li Haochen, are you refusing to admit your loss? You still want to fight?"

Many people cried in shock and Li Haochen felt even more agonized after hearing it. All he wanted to do was to end himself, and if he were to do that, he had to be fast. There was no other way for him but death. Quickly, he pulled the blade toward his neck, fully intending to decapitate himself!

In a flash, Tianming stopped the blade with his sword. "What're you trying to do?"

"I'm seeking release," Li Haochen said with a hoarse voice.

"Save it. Your 'release' will cause me to be targeted by your race for all eternity. You're trying to mess things up for me."

"You don't get it! Someone of my status can't afford to fail!"

"Oh, please, I've heard that line countless times before. Not being able to fail just because of your status? Tell me. Has there ever been mighty elites that have risen to the heights they've reached without any hardship? Even if there were, I can guarantee that people who've never been forged through trial and failure will be complete trash. If you're really someone who deserves to stand at the top over all others, the least you can do is to not be afraid of failing. What's more important is having the courage to stand up after the inevitable failures."

"Are you lecturing me?" Li Haochen didn't think that the one who would pull him out of his spiral of despair would be his opponent, rather than his own allies.

"Lecturing? I'm not qualified for that. I just don't want you to die because it'll get really troublesome. If you really want to kill yourself, make sure to do it after a period of time so you don't get me involved."

"Hahaha...." Li Haochen suddenly laughed, putting his blade down and clenching his fists. He finally looked up, turning his reddened eyes to look at Tianming. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-four... more or less."

"A little younger than me, yet you are stronger. You were even able to defeat my Vastsun Truegod. I'm suddenly really full of admiration for your strength."

"Now that's the right attitude to face failure. There's nothing embarrassing about praising the strength of the one that defeats you. In fact, I think I've done you a favor. From now on, you'll be able to accept your loss and move on. Those who can do that are able to rise up even stronger than before. There's lessons to be learned in failure. Those who have never failed all their lives will often crumble at the slightest sign of hardship," Tianming added, still afraid that Li Haochen would suddenly die and cause him to be hunted down for eternity. Tianming had already gotten what he wanted and he saw that Li Haochen was truly fearful of the consequences of not being able to live up to his clan's heavy expectations.

"You're right. That makes a lot of sense!" Li Haochen snapped out of it, his gaze growing stronger by the moment. Standing up, he turned to Tianming again. "I wasn't weak at all. I'm the first one to have ever awakened a second totemic calamity, so that makes me far better than many of my elder brothers. I only lost today because I encountered a genius of the Myriad Solar Sects, an anomaly that hasn't appeared in millions of years. You're far too powerful, but that's good. My life will only be more interesting with a rival like you in it. I needed to be humbled and shown how inadequate the current me is. You're both my enemy and my motivation!"

"Alright, I get it. It's good that you got that out of your system, but don't go on a long tirade about it," Tianming said, smiling. In fact, if he wanted to ensure Qingyu's safety, it was best that he didn't antagonize someone of such high status that could potentially approach her. Not to mention, Li Haochen seemed to be the understanding type. It was clear to see that his entire personality was constantly adapting and evolving. At the very least, the way he looked at Tianming now suggested that he had resolved himself to surpass Tianming one day. He was no longer a proud and aloof fellow, like he was before. Tianming had indeed rendered him a huge favor, if he dared say so himself.

"One day, I'll come for a rematch to win my reputation back." Li Haochen raised his fist straight out.

"You're welcome to do so anytime," Tianming said, giving him a fist bump.

"Before that day comes, I'll make sure nobody bothers you for defeating me. You're an opponent I respect, after all." Li Haochen had gone through a complete heel-face turn, his willpower greatly increasing to new heights. Perhaps this was the ideal outcome.

"Let's meet again," Tianming said as he turned to the crowd. "Make sure your aunt does what she promised," he finished, then returned to his allies' side with his lifebound beasts.