Beastmaster of the Ages

"Something happened?" Tianming froze.

When he realized that his amazing performance in the Violetcloud Battlefield might lead to trouble for Liu Wanwan, he had temporarily cut off contact with her. The Violetglory Star was a world divided in two between the Divineglory Dynasty and Violetcloud Imperium. With that kind of structure, the three top ten disciples of the Violetglory ranking who had no backers at all would indeed attract everyone's attention. They were extremely eye-catching.

"What happened?" Tianming asked.

"When she first disappeared, we couldn't find her even if we looked everywhere. Then Ni Hongyi, a grade-seven assassin of the Redcloak Ghost, said that Wanwan was in her hands. She made an announcement, calling you to Qianyuan Imperial City within the Deepwind Continent, or Wanwan dies!" Liu Xuanxuan said anxiously. Although there was conflict in the family, she was worried for her cousin when it involved life and death.

"Who're the Redcloak Ghosts?" It was as Tianming expected. He knew he had to calm down.

"A very powerful assassin organization.... If you think of them as a sect, they're equivalent to one of the top ten forces," said Liu Xuanxuan.

"Are they loyal to the Divineglory Dynasty or Violetcloud Imperium?" Tianming asked.

"Neither. They don't have dealings with anyone. They don't even have a gate or rule over a territory. Their lives are hidden and they come and go without a trace, taking whatever they lack." Liu Xuanxuan shook her head. As an outsider, Tianming knew little about the Violetglory Star.

"A top assassin organization captured Wanwan to force me to show myself?" There was trouble afoot.

"Yes! Lin Feng, you must save Wanwan. This matter involves you. It has nothing to do with her." Liu Xuanxuan's eyes turned red.

"Don't worry, let me think." Tianming pondered the matter. Although it sounded simple, there were quite a few mysteries to it. Logically speaking, the Divineglory Dynasty and Violetcloud Imperium were the only ones capable of such a feat. Now that the Redcloak Ghosts were mixed up in all this, who did they serve? More importantly, Liu Wanwan was only a small fry in the face of this kind of power struggle. Her relationship with Tianming wasn't that good, either. At most, they could be considered friends who had met by chance. In reality, they were too far apart. She almost seemed a little illusory to him.

The smart thing to do was ignore the matter, but there was one problem. No matter how unimportant their relationship was, he felt uncomfortable at the thought of a young woman hundreds of millions of miles away, kidnapped, imprisoned, and waiting to die because of him. That would always be his debt. He had underestimated the turmoil caused by him joining the top ten on the Violetglory ranking. They might have chosen to deal with Liu Wanwan because she was the only person Tianming had had contact with. Even if the odds were low, many would attempt to force Tianming to make an appearance.

"If I was in the Violetglory Star, I wouldn't want to cause her any harm. I might even choose to show up. But the point is, I'm not there!" Therein lay the problem. He had no way of saving her at all. "Deepwind Continent, Qianyuan Imperial City!" Getting there was impossible.

"You must go and save her! Bring your master and elders!" Liu Xuanxuan said. It seemed that the entire Violetglory Star was waiting for him to appear.

"Also, Ni Hongyi has requested that Feng and Lin Xiao follow you. As long as you go to Qianyuan Imperial City, she'll let Wanwan go," Liu Xuanxuan added.

Ni Hongyi wasn't necessarily in Qianyuan Imperial City. If news of the matter were to spread, many would wait for him in the city. Who would be the ultimate beneficiaries? It obviously wasn't the Redcloak Ghosts, who had been paid to execute the matter. Finding out who had paid them was more important.

Upon further contemplation, Tianming decided he didn't want to implicate Liu Wanwan. He would take the lead instead. "Xuanxuan, look for someone from the Violetcloud Imperium." Tianming said.

"Han Xingluan is here as well. He came with me," Liu Xuanxuan replied.

"Call him." Tianming knew that the Mystgod Pavilion was one of Violetcloud Imperium's forces. They had previously urged Liu Wanwan to ask him if he wanted to meet them, and Han Xingluan was one of the Violetcloud Imperium's disciples.

"Did Violetcloud Imperium do this?" Tianming asked.

Han Xingluan shook his head. "Although the elders have expressed their intention to accept the three of you, there's absolutely no need for us to do this. The Mystgod Pavilion is on our side. It's to our advantage that Liu Wanwan is on good terms with you. We have no reason to turn that advantage into a disadvantage by offending you. It'd be a stupid move."

"That makes sense." Tianming nodded. "But you're wrong about one thing. I've met Liu Wanwan a few times at most, and our relationship isn't that good. However, I hate implicating anyone. I'd like to ask the Violetcloud Imperium for a favor. Is that possible?"

"Go ahead. I'll convey your words to the elders," said Han Xingluan.

"I may not be able to go to Qingyuan Imperial City. You can think of me as trapped somewhere, incapable of dealing with anything that happens outside. Therefore, I hope the Violetcloud Imperium can help me save Liu Wanwan. You're the top force on Violetglory Star and you have people everywhere. It won't be difficult for you, will it?" Tianming asked.

"Trapped? Alright, I understand. No wonder you haven't shown up in person and you have such mysterious origins." Han Xingluan nodded.

"What about saving her?"

"I'll convey your request to the elders."

"Tell them that if they help me with this, if I make it out one day, the first thing I'll do is visit the Violetcloud Imperium and see if we can work together." Tianming said.

"Really?" Han Xingluan's eyes lit up.

"Yes." Tianming nodded. The promise meant nothing to him. After all, there was no way he could ever set foot on the Violetglory Star. The only thing he could do was entrust the Violetcloud Imperium with the task of saving Liu Wanwan in exchange for his promise.

"Liu Wanwan, I hope you're safe."

After saying his farewells to Han Xingluan and Liu Xuanxuan, Li Tianming decided to pay someone else a visit—Princess Shen Yu. He got the wondersky fairy to send her a message, asking if they could meet. As soon as the message was sent, Princess Shen Yu responded with a letter, inviting him over to talk.

"Let's go."

The wondersky fairy took him to Princess Shen Yu's reception room.