Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming didn't need Yin Chen on the third level of the Tranquil Battlefield; he just needed to head in the direction of the giant pillar.

"Disgusting." He grew more uncomfortable the closer he got to the pillar. Those dense eyes kept wandering and looking everywhere. Even though the eyes were green and like transparent crystals, looking at them was still disgusting.

He had zero idea about the rules for the third level of the Tranquil Battlefield, so when he ran into someone leisurely making their way to the pillar, he hurried to catch up. He saw the words above his head before he reached him.

"Longbeard Star, Ranran Zi. Strange nova source world name and person name." Longbeard Star? There was no gravitas; it seemed to be quite behind Orderia in stylishness.

When Tianming blocked him, he realized why this man had the word Ran (髯), the word for beard, in his name.

He wore white robes that were unsullied by dust and had elegant features. He was clearly a man of culture and literary skills; however, his most distinctive feature was a beard that had grown to over a meter long, reaching his knees. It was a very fine beard, and was decorated with various jewel accessories. Was it a must for people from the Longbeard Star to grow such long beards?

Just as Tianming was feeling curious, Ranran Zi's eyes widened. "Who're you? Why're you blocking me?"

"The person who wants your life." Tianming took out Lifesteal Silverdragon and immediately used Blissful Union of the Goddess Flowerfall art. Flowers filled the area, and hidden within, a silver dragon instantly punched through Ranran Zi's defenses. It wrapped around his body and tightly bound him.

"How bold! I'm from the Mysterium Cluster, and if you touch me, my apprentice-brothers will tear you apart!" Ranran Zi tried struggling out of the chains before realizing that was beyond him and resorting to threats.

Tianming smiled and retracted the Lifesteal SIlverdragon, pulling the fellow closer. "Don't panic. This is the wondersky realm! I just got to the third level and don't know how it works around here. So I just wanted to ask some questions. If you help, I'll let you go on your way. If not, well, come back next month."

"Violetglory Star, Li Tianming? What kind of backwards place is that? I've never heard of it! Yet someone as lowly as you still dares to be so arrogant. I advise you to release me before there's no place left for you on this third level!" Ranran Zi maintained his arrogance.

"Well if you want." Caeli couldn't die, but they could still feel pain. Thus, Tianming directly started punching him until his face turned green and he shouted in pain.

"Can we talk nicely now?" Tianming asked.

"You! Cease—"

Tianming continued the reeducation until he finally beat all the nonsense out of his new friend. Ranran Zi was still glaring at Tianming, but at least he had shut up.

"What's that?" Tianming pointed at the pillar.

Ranran Zi snorted, his eyes filled with disdain. "How do you climb to the third level and not know what the Myriadeyes Wonder is? Clearly, your Violetglory Star is the backwoods trash of our astralscape."

"Yet I'm not the one being beaten up right now." Tianming found this arrogance from 'higher stars' quite amusing. Tianming was quite curious about the levels of these 'higher stars'.

"The Myriadeyes Wonder has some relation with getting to the fourth level, right?" Tianming asked.

Ranran Zi's eyes only held disdain, a clear sign that he didn't want to speak. So Tianming tightened the chain; even caeli bled, as it turned out.

"It'll be much more comfortable if you cooperate, you know?"

The Astraldome was different from normal wondersky realms. It wasn't so easy to return to the real world from there, so Ranran Zi was stuck here with Tianming.

He finally knew what to do after suffering for a while more. "Yes, the Myriadeyes Wonder is the place to get to the fourth level. The rules are simple: everyone starts from the bottom, and whoever can reach the top will reach the next level." He was finally speaking normally.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Do the rules allow conflict?"

"Of course. Especially at the top—the entrance to the fourth level is tiny. It's very competitive there. And even before that, you can knock people down," Ranran Zi coldly said.

"So what's the difficulty in getting up?"

"The Myriadeyes Wonder itself is a masterpiece of the divine wondersky race. Every person who climbs it has to endure endless environmental hazards. Only the best of the best can reach the top." There was yearning in Ranran Zi's eyes. It seemed that he had been stuck here for years.

"I get it. So it's harder to pass this level than the previous two," Tianming concluded. The previous two levels just needed him to kill his way through. Maybe it was different for others, but Tianming found it easy to kill a hundred then endure for one day. But this third level had a lot of variables.

"Obviously. This is multiple times harder than before. The peak geniuses of my Mysterium Cluster have to spend a lot of effort." Ranran Zi became much prouder every time he mentioned the Mysterium Cluster.

"Cluster?" Tianming was curious about this thing that gave Ranran Zi his confidence.

Or was it arrogance. Tianming clearly knew it after having risen up from the mortal world. Wherever there were people, there would always be a hierarchy, and arrogance would follow. Even back in the Vermilion Bird Kingdom, the disciples of Ignispolis would look down on youths from the sticks. The arrogance of those higher up was absolute.

Ranran Zi shrugged, not surprised at Tianming's confused look.

"What's a cluster?" Tianming asked.

Ranran Zi laughed and Tianming gave him a tight slap.

"A star cluster is just an area with a bunch of nova source worlds," he answered with a swollen face.