Beastmaster of the Ages

"I want a universal manna. Because my lifebound beasts are special, one is enough to transform all five of them. I'll have five eight-star divine beasts. That's my most powerful ability." Ye Chen's bloodshot eyes trembled. The words took so much energy from him that he was about to collapse.

"But, I've rejected you many times before this. The Divineglory Dynasty only has one manna imperius at the moment. It'll be given to my direct descendent," the sovereign said.

"I'm your son-in-law. My life and soul belong to you. I'm your direct descendant. Besides, my opponent shines so brightly that it's affecting our morale." Ye Chen replied.

"No matter how indomitable he seems, he's just a child. He won't be a real threat for a few hundred years," the sovereign said.

Ye Chen was extremely frustrated and envious of Tianming. After all, he didn't know about the obstacles Tianming had faced before acquiring the universal manna; all he could think about was the vigilance, suspicion, and reservations he'd received in return for his wholehearted support for the divineglorians and his affection for Princess Shenyu. Why was it like this? He had long been disheartened, but he didn't dare show it. The ups and downs of life could really put things into perspective. In his glory days, his feelings towards the Divineglory Dynasty was similar to how Tianming felt about the Violetcloud Imperium at the moment. Only after suffering defeat did he understand the fickleness of human emotion.

"Yes." Ye Chen lowered his head, ready to leave.

The sovereign threw a strange, black chain at his feet. Unlike a divine artifact, it alternated between a tangible and intangible state.

"What's this?" Ye Chen asked with a frown.

"The Chains of Destiny."

Upon hearing these words, Ye Chen subconsciously stumbled backward, his face turning pale. Obviously, he had heard of it. "What do you mean by this?"

"I can't just give you the eight-star universal manna, can I? After all, you're still young, and you aren't a divineglorian. Giving you such a precious thing is a huge risk. We aren't like the Violetcloud Imperium. Every manna imperius is related to the future of the entire Divineglory Dynasty, so giving you the Chains of Destiny is a guarantee for both of us. That's the only way I can give you the eight-star universal manna. Do you understand?" the sovereign said, his voice majestic and condescending.

"But if I receive the Chains of Destiny, I'll be your puppet." Ye Chen trembled.

"That isn't the issue. You can remove it once you become sovereign." His dark divinespring bubbling, he rose to his feet and walked toward Ye Chen with heavy footsteps. "Leave now, or take the Chains of Destiny and manna imperius. You choose. I won't force you, so don't think I'm plotting against you."

Ye Chen stared at the dark chains at his feet, his heart sinking into turmoil.

"How can the world be as simple as you think? You can ask Li Tianming if there was a price to pay for his manna. Does Sovereign Starfeather fully trust him?" the sovereign added as he looked at Ye Chen in silence.

Face covered in cold sweat, the young man closed his eyes. Whenever his eyes were closed, he could picture his defeat, feel Princess Shenyu's indifference, and see the world cheering for Tianming.

"I choose the Chains of Destiny!" Ye Chen grit his teeth. It seemed the sovereign had expected this outcome. Falling to his knees, Ye Chen solemnly swore, "Father, I'll do everything I can to win your trust."

"Good boy." The sovereign smiled.

Head lowered, Ye Chen grabbed the chain and said to himself, If I bring disaster to the Divineglory Dynasty one day, you must remember that it was you who schemed against me.... Of course, those words could only be buried in the deepest part of his heart. A few months ago, he was still a sunny and bright young man. It was beautiful then. But now, everything had changed.

...

Violetpeak.

In the center of Violetpeak was a place known as Warmglide Mountain. Xian Xian was usually rooted there while Lan Huang played nearby. There was a big lake not far away where Yin Chen took its bath every day. After Tianming took the Eightfold Desolation Furnace back, he placed it in a canyon on Warmglide Mountain out of fear that Ying Huo's absorption of the universal manna would damage the buildings in Violetpeak.

As soon as the red furnace was placed in the canyon, Ying Huo couldn't wait to jump in. According to Ying Huo, the manna was so powerful that it would give it a complete makeover. In view of Shuo Yue's recent attentiveness (cold shoulder) towards Ying Huo, it had to upgrade its image so Shuo Yue would be embarrassed (throw itself at Ying Huo).

The cauldron itself was much like a furnace. After Ying Huo was thrown inside, it seemed to stop moving. All of the Violetcloud Imperium paid attention to Ying Huo's transformation; even Old Master Shengui would drop by every once in a while to ask how Tianming's bird was doing. The transformation would take around eight days. In the beginning, there was no movement, but gradually, painful howling sounded out. Finally, the red cauldron continuously shook. Tianming knew that Ying Huo was pretending again.

He had originally planned to study the cauldron first, only to be preempted by Ying Huo. Finally, Ying Huo couldn't bear it any longer.

"Damn it! Open the lid. I'm almost cooked through!" it yelled, miserable.

"Hold on. Let me sprinkle some cumin first," Tianming laughed.

Even with the lid open, its condition didn't improve. Tianming looked down from above. A black and red fireball curled up in the big cauldron and Infernal Blaze burned, surging millions of meters into the sky. Like the Voidsky Flame Pillar, it extended beyond the clouds and mist. Over the next two days, deafening roars and the sound of splitting came from within Ying Huo's body, which attracted many onlookers. It seemed that Ying Huo's flesh was being transformed and his bones reconnected. Infernal Blaze had engulfed the mountain and caused shockwaves in Violetpeak.

"Are you dead?" Tianming checked from time to time.

"I'm doing very well, thank you very much. I might as well greet your ancestors too...." With gritted teeth, Ying Huo underwent the transformation and purification of flesh by the Eightfold Desolation Furnace. The universal manna would completely dissolve into its flesh and release the power in its blood. Although the process was very uncomfortable, the benefits would be amazing once it was complete.

"Can such a small lifebound beast withstand the manna imperius?"

"It's still fine. It might actually have a shot...."

"This phoenix is hideous. I hope it evolves to look better."

Ying Huo could faintly hear their words. The last comment, which involved the issue of its appearance, made it so angry that it shot out flames. "Shut up!" Ying Huo howled, spreading its wings and soaring into the sky. One could hear the crackling of firecrackers coming from its body. As soon as it took to the air, Tianming discovered that Ying Huo had grown a fair bit and its wingspan was now more than two thousand meters. In the sky, it resembled a sea of black and red flames.

"It's pretty much evolved." Right then, Tianming suddenly noticed ten fire vents on Ying Huo's unfolded wings. The vents continued expanding until they resembled the furnace's fiery vortex. However, Ying Huo had two more vents than the furnace had vortices. It looked spectacular. With a flap of its wings, the surrounding heat seemed to have been swallowed by the vortices and the temperature sharply dropped.

"Aren't these ten vortices on what used to be my bane-rings?" Ying Huo's bane-rings were located under its wings. It was clear the furnace and bane-rings had produced certain changes. Without a doubt, ten vortices was the perfect number. Only Ying Huo could demonstrate what kind of abilities the new transformation would bring. At this moment, there were a total of eight thousand, eight hundred and eighty-eight stars in its eyes.

"What a lucky number!" Tianming exclaimed.