Beastmaster of the Ages

It wasn't far from Tianming's guess. "How many nova source worlds does your star cluster have?" he asked.

"Oh not many, just ten thousand or so," Ranran Zi smugly said. "Compared to lonely worlds like yours that're off in some godforsaken place, my—"

Tianming gave him another slap to stop him from chattering.

"Can you get from one world to another in this cluster by flying yourself?" Tianming asked.

"More or less. They're all pretty close and one or two months is enough for most. The more distant ones take a few years to get to by astralship."

Tianming understood. Star clusters were areas with many nova source worlds, and the cultivators in the area could easily fly to the others. He simply couldn't imagine how big this super cluster would be. It was no wonder Ranran Zi was so cocky. If the astralscape had a core, it would be such clusters!

However, he was still puzzled. "Wouldn't there be many wars over nova source if you're so close?"

Ranran Zi laughed, looking at Tianming like he was ignorant.

Tianming had to punch him in the nose, breaking it and reminding him of the pecking order. "Seriously?" he prompted.

"Okay, okay!" Ranran Zi hurriedly replied. "There's a lot of races in the Mysterium Cluster, so there used to be a lot of wars. But it's better nowadays, ever since we established the Wondersky-Mysterium Alliance. The divine wonderians and the mysterian race united the Mysterium Cluster, bringing order and rules and putting an end to war!"

He grew more passionate. "Today, the Mysterium Cluster is united and happy serving the alliance. Only our Astral Armada snatches others' nova sources, no one takes from us! My Mysterium Cluster is the core, the center and lord of the astralscape."

He didn't notice how hypocritical it sounded to Tianming, who was from Violetglory and Orderia.

"Taking others' nova sources?" He frowned.

"Of course! Our alliance is so huge, so we use up so much nova source! We need to replenish it, so for example, if we find out your Violetglory Star's location, our armada will find your world, burn it down, and take your nova source! Not even grass will be left!" Ranran Zi's tone grew more vicious.

Tianming finally got it. The ten thousand stars of the Mysterium Cluster weren't a battlefield filled with internal strife. Instead, they were a united superpower and an apex hunter of the astralscape. The Skywolf Star had nothing on this Wondersky-Mysterium Alliance.

"Wait." Tianming realized something. It's called the Wondersky-Mysterium Alliance, so the divine wondersky race are equals in this?"

"Yes. Where would the wondersky realms come from without them? Our Mysterium Cluster is a branch of the divine wondersky race. My Longbeard Star has some of them, and every one of them are real gods!"

"Hey, the Violetglory Star's wondersky realm was built by them. Doesn't that mean they already know our location?" Tianming frowned.

Ranran Zi was stunned, then shut his mouth. "I didn't say anything. Don't make wild accusations. It's the Mysterium Alliance, how are the divine wondersky race involved?"

"Have they gone to every nova source world with a wondersky realm?" Tianming seriously said.

"Don't cause trouble!" Ranran Zi ignored any punishments from the Astraldome, electing to return to reality and vanish from Tianming's sight. He wouldn't be able to return for a long time after leaving like this.

Tianming was left behind alone, his hair standing on end. "The Violetglory Star is like a dish being prepared by others. And there are many more like it."

Ranran Zi had been frightened after being beaten up by him, so he'd accidentally said some things. However, to the divine wondersky race, Tianming was just an insignificant speck. It didn't matter what he knew, or even if his entire star had doubts. After the wondersky realm was built, they were naught but a prepared dish, all alone. They couldn't change anything.

Of course, that was just a pessimistic guess of his. Everyone knew that the divine wondersky race had used their mighty abilities to uplift the 'poor' and allow the astralscape to enter the 'Wondersky Era'. The Wondersky Era was exciting. Perhaps it was so exciting that no one noticed some nova source worlds at distant, far-flung corners of the astralscape going missing.

"There's no need to think so much. It'll be enough if I can go back to Orderia and save my godfather. There's no divine wondersky race back there." Violetglory wasn't his home, either, so it wasn't like he had to stay with them through thick and thin.

"I'll just tell Sovereign Starfeather when I get back and see what he thinks."

Tianming looked back up at the Myriadeyes Wonder. "So, there must be many super geniuses from that Wondersky-Mysterium Alliance there. I wonder how good they are?" He was quite interested in meeting them, but he wasn't anxious for it; he needed to whet the Violetcloud Imperium's appetite first.

His limit for the Tranquil Battlefield now was the first five levels. Once he was done with those, he didn't know how he would maintain his stock.

He was now a tenth-level constellier and felt like he still had some ways to go. He had recently been cultivating in the Imperious Ruins, and it had been going well. There were many caeli imperius there, so there was much for him to dissect.

"I'll leave for now." Before he left, Tianming imagined it. In front of him, an insignificant speck, there were over ten thousand suns—or Violetglories—forming a dense sea.

If every nova source world could bring him as much shock as the sun, that super cluster of over ten thousand stars would be unimaginably frightening. Worst of all, their armada of astralships could sweep across the universe, invincible. Where they went, people carried the crime of possession and many nova source worlds were extinguished.

That dead star Tianming had seen may have had that ending. And with its death, so too came death for its people. Not even an insect could hope to live.

That was the Mysterium Cluster, and the Wondersky-Mysterium Alliance. They were the apex hunters hidden in the astralscape! Other nova source worlds were prey with marked locations.