Beastmaster of the Ages

The surroundings were already heating up before the battle even began. People gathered outside the arena like swarms of ants, queueing up far into the distance. All of them were passionate and ready for the action they were about to witness.

In recent days, the celestial orderians had brought the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect lots of problems, but they had no choice but to endure it for the bigger picture. As such, their rage had festered to the limit. Tianming had never expected that this duel that he'd set up would be such a hot topic among the tens of millions of people on both sides. The hype could even rival that of a war between sects. The Ninedragon Army's rage was on full display, while the celestial orderians were coldly watching with obvious restraint. The entire situation was volatile, with the people on both sides resembling gigantic wild beasts, perched outside the Infernal Dragon Purgatory and waiting to pounce. Tianming and Li Shenjian were like two crickets fighting in a bowl.

……

Long Renshe, dressed in black, rushed over to his father, the Torchdragon Emperor's side. "Dad, where's Shenjian?"

"He's already gone inside."

"Oh, I see."

"Come here." The father and son stood together and privately spoke with their army in front of them. "I heard your relationship with Shenjian has run into some issues. He didn't involve you in this grand plan of his, eh?" If Long Renshe was in it in the beginning, things would have gone much smoother.

"I don't think that's it…."

"Then why'd he do this?"

"He bears some animosity toward the goddess because of how much the sun emperor spoils her. I thought it was a little inappropriate. Right now, the goddess is at the Myriaddragon Mountains, so I should be going there more often," Long Renshe said with his head low.

"I see…." The Torchdragon Emperor nodded and patted his shoulder. "Your logic is sensible, but the better thing to do is to offend neither of them. That's how the Veildragon Palace has survived for so long, understood?"

"Yes, Father."

"What of the goddess?"

"Same old. She didn't come to see me."

"You have to be patient."

"Will do."

The Torchdragon Emperor looked ahead at the warriors clad in golden armor. The celestial orderians they passed looked extremely respectful of them. "It's the Sunscorch Guard. I'm guessing the goddess is here."

As expected, the thousand guards were escorting Li Yunxi and Qingyu to the Infernal Dragon Purgatory. Crowds parted and bowed toward them.

"Even the goddess is here… the stakes are even higher now." Compared to the last time, Qingyu had shown up in person to witness this fight. Many celestial orderians were thrilled to see the Ninemoon Goddess with their very own eyes, some of them even stretching out their necks to get a better look at the girl. Words of praise incessantly escaped their mouths.

"As expected of the daughter that the sun emperor dearly loves."

"Her aura shows how much of a talented genius she is…. A nonabane indeed."

"If it weren't for her having wasted her earlier years of cultivation, there's no way the kids from the Myriad Solar Sects would be able to reach her height."

Had they known that she was actually Tianming's sworn sister, they would probably vomit blood. They all thought that she had come to support her so-called brother, Li Shenjian, but she'd only come to get a chance to see Tianming and Lingfeng. There were many copies of Yin Chen in her residence; though she managed to establish contact through it, Yin Chen's words were monotone and packed no emotion at all, which was hardly a replacement for a proper reunion. Even being able to see the two in real life despite being separated by armies was important to her. Though, to hide it better, she did her best to look coldly at the Ninedragon Army.

Her arrival caused the crowd to grow even more incensed. The green-haired Li Yunxi was right beside her, so she couldn't speak to Yin Chen now.

"Tell them to have Li Tianming hurry up. The Ninemoon Goddess has personally come to witness the battle. How dare they make her wait?" The Torchdragon Emperor did as Li Yunxi said and smiled at her, much to her satisfaction. The suggestion to wait two hours before the fight was Li Shenjian's, but it wasn't strictly necessary.

Both sides had assembled at the arena in a short fifteen minutes, entirely filling the place. Tensions were already at their peak; on one side were the Seven Dragon Imperials, while the other was led by the Veildragon Palace's Three Dragon Imperials, Li Xiaoyan, Apothecary Li, and Li Yunxi.

Li Shenjian had already entered the arena in advance, and Tianming didn't delay any longer either. People parted for him to make way. Tens of millions of people watched the white-haired youth.

"Even though he was forced to join this fight, he's really impressive to have accepted the challenge."

"What a young age to be renowned as a hero. I wish him the best!"

Though they were impressed by his character, their worries still heavily weighed upon them. The nature of this trap was far too obvious.

"If Li Shenjian kills him, I don't think there's much the Sky Palace can say, given the precedent with Long Wangyu."

"If the Seven Dragon Imperials couldn't stop it, what can we do about it?"

Tianming left the Ninedragon Army and appeared in front of the Veildragon Palace and celestial orderians' troops, immediately subject to their pressuring looks. Despite how stressful it might seem, Tianming felt a warmth coming from his chest when he saw the look of his family far ahead. It was none other than Qingyu. He could tell she was trying hard to keep her expression stoic, hiding the yearning and hope she had for him. If it weren't for the people in their way, she would have wildly charged at him, no doubt. But now she couldn't even smile, much less move.

Tianming gently smiled, seemingly resolving the contempt the tens of millions of people felt toward him. Only Qingyu knew that he wasn't faking his calm. He was heartfeltly smiling at their reunion.

Tianming took a deep breath and gave Qingyu a signal with his gaze to where Lingfeng was among the army, not far away from the Dragon Imperials. Lingfeng had spotted Qingyu long ago, but she hadn't spotted him as he was mixed in with the crowd. But now she saw the red-eyed youth looking back at her from afar, with both hands tightly clasped. A single glance seemed to last ten thousand years.