Beastmaster of the Ages

Gong Xiong laughed when he saw it. "Looks like somebody's desperate."

"What's wrong, Brother Xiong?" Tianming knew it had something to do with him.

"It's Ye Chen." Gong Xiong shrugged. "News of you coming to our imperium has shaken the Violetglory Star, and the Divineglory Dynasty now knows about it. I know Ye Chen is trying to put pressure on you in real life, but I didn't think he'd be so desperate."

"How desperate?" He had just arrived and hadn't done anything yet, but he was about to request tons of resources. No doubt, that would ruffle some feathers. But if he took down Ye Chen, that might just give him a free pass.

"He wants to fight you half a month from now at the Observatorium, which is located at the border. That means we have to head there now if we're to make it on time. What do you think?"

"Since he asked for a beating, we'll give him one."

"Badass!" Gong Xiong was already penning a reply. Soon, he sent the transmission stone off. "Now that you've agreed, countless people will be flocking there." Even he felt a little taken aback by all this. They were only two rival youths vying for the top, but the impact felt like a battle between two sovereigns instead. "Still, be careful. Ye Chen forged a well-deserved reputation for himself in the Astraldome. He's much stronger than before."

"Got it." Tianming couldn't wait to fight someone that was actually a match for him. "Looks like I have to head to the Astraldome to see all the fighters there for myself."

......

The first thing Tianming needed to do was cement his contributions to the imperium by stealing Ye Chen's thunder. While the imperium was still all too happy that he joined them, based on his previous achievements, that wouldn't last for very long. Eventually, people would be asking questions. But before that could happen, Tianming had immediately accepted the challenge. The entire imperium was rife with excitement.

"Tianming, my master has been waiting for you for too long. Let's go!" Before they returned to Violetpeak, Gong Xiong took him to Shengui Island.

They flew past large lengths of the city and came to a unique place: an island amidst a sea of stars that looked like a tortoise. When the two of them landed, a flamboyantly dressed, hunched old man took large steps toward them with a huge smile on his face. Tianming immediately saw his oily green eyes and sly smile. Without question, this was Old Master Shengui, with whom Tianming had agreed to cooperate back in the wondersky realm. In fact, he could be argued to be the true tie that Tianming had with the Violetcloud Imperium, with Gong Xiong being their intermediary.

Tianming still recalled the old man's white beach in the wondersky realm. According to the information Yin Chen had gathered, he learned that Old Man Shengui was actually the personal servant of Sovereign Starfeather. While he wasn't from a top clan of the imperium, his hard work and impressive power had earned the sovereign's trust. Now, he commanded a lot of authority. In fact, his will represented the sovereign's will. Though he was far from as powerful as he was in his youth, he still had high status.

"Lin Feng, oh Lin Feng! I finally got you to come! Amazing!" the old man said as he shuffled over and pulled his pants up higher, then used the hand he had just used to pick his nose to hug Tianming and passionately slap his back. Then he gave him a look up and down and seemed satisfied. Seeing someone in real life was completely different from seeing them in the wondersky realm; the old man had a unique aura that was only felt in real life.

"Young man, do you want me to assign tens of beauties to serve you?" he said with a dirty look.

"No need, Old Gui. Stop embarrassing yourself. He's not someone who'll be swayed by that. Also, his real name is Li Tianming, so stop calling him Lin Feng," Gong Xiong said, rolling his eyes.

"Li Tianming? What a backwater name. Lin Feng sounds more elegant!" He sure had odd sensibilities.

"Old Master, since I was fateful enough to meet you in real life, I'll be in your care from now on," Tianming said.

"Of course. Don't hold back when it comes to me. I'll be counting on your efforts in the future. Once you get powerful, I'll bathe in your limelight! Let's look out for one another. Here's to great cooperation between us!" He pulled one hand out of his pants, dusted it off, and tried to shake Tianming's hand, but Tianming backed away.

"Old tortoise, stop it! Seriously!" Gong Xiong said. These two were truly one of a kind.

"You're my disciple, so know your place! Is that how you speak to your master? Want me to beat you up?"

"Come on then! It's not a few hundred years ago anymore. Do you think your old bones can take my punch? I came back to pay you back for all the beatings you gave me!"

"Dammit, you bear! Let's see your pathetic ass take this!" Shengui charged toward Gong Xiong and pushed him down on the beach, making quite a scene. After messing around, he slapped Gong Xiong's head and said, "Stupid fool, keep your temper to yourself and stop antagonizing people. You were lucky you brought Tianming back and gained merit for it. Take care of him well. This is the chance we've been waiting for, understood?"

"I don't need you to tell me that, you old tortoise."

If it weren't for Yin Chen, Tianming wouldn't have been able to tell if they were just acting or for real. Tianming had been monitoring Gong Xiong the entire time since they'd departed from Primary, and had also sent Yin Chen to Shengui the day before. It seemed that this really was how these two communicated. It wasn't an act at all, and Tianming appreciated the refreshing directness.

Though one thing was for sure; Shengui was of a common background, and Gong Xiong had a lot of enemies. Each of them were trying to ride Tianming's wave, so they would no doubt do their best for his sake. They were the two key figures that he had to rely on, so he had Yin Chen properly monitor them.

After a quick chat, Shengui brought Tianming to his residence. It looked even grander on the inside than the outside. Though there weren't beautiful servants all over the place, the 'high art' paintings all over the place were enough to make one bleed from the nose.