Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming was an eleventh-level constellier, as he had only started his cultivation anew when he was twenty. It had only been some five years since he started again. The others here, however, were close to thirty and from higher class worlds filled with resources and good teachers. They had six times as much time to cultivate as Tianming had.

As he was still a constellier, it wouldn't be apt to reveal his actual cultivation level. Fortunately, Bai Feng wouldn't ask to inspect his sacrosun, so he made something up. "I'm currently a second-level solarian, but I've defeated third and fourth-level seniors before." At the very least, it was an honest evaluation of his combat strength.

"Second level? The level alone doesn't say much. Who's the strongest opponent you've defeated?" Bai Feng asked. She was quite a meticulous person, despite her straightforward personality, and wanted to make sure of everything for the good of the party.

"Hmmm..." Tianming scratched his head for a moment and continued, "When I was at the third level of the Tranquil Battlefield, I defeated a third-level solarian faceless specter."

His words came as quite a shock. She laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "You even dare to defeat faceless specters, so you're no coward. What was that person called? They have too many top geniuses, but I basically know all of them."

"I think he's called Xiao and there's Whitejade on his label as well."

"Ugh...." She stared at him speechlessly. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I defeated him and came here. He claimed to be nineteen. Is he famous?"

Bai Feng was scrutinizing him from top to bottom with a different look from before. "Yeah, he's famous alright, and he's of incredibly high status. Too high, in fact. As a disciple from a distant star, it must have been a feat that shook the Skyway Tristar for you to defeat him and come here."

Her expression was far more serious than before. Even though she'd only been looking for someone to fill up their ranks, she was quite lucky and had found an elite helper like Tianming.

"I don't think it'll be to that extent. They don't recognize me anyway, and probably think I'm close to a hundred."

"Even so, they'll have their answer once they see you here. Xiao himself will be completely crushed when he finds out your age isn't too far off from his. He must be having a bad time," she said, feeling a rush of satisfaction.

"Hey, aren't you going to doubt my claim one bit?"

"Anyone who's able to come here wouldn't do something pointless like that," Bai Feng said. "However, let me remind you to keep it to yourself. That's pretty embarrassing for the faceless specters. Spreading it around might be inviting trouble."

"It's enough that you know. I won't spread it around," Tianming said.

"Good boy." She pointed ahead and continued, "Alright, we've familiarized ourselves with each other already, so let's join the rest over there."

Tianming saw where she was pointing, but there was only one person there instead of three. "Qiao Xingzhou, where's the other two?" Bai Feng called out.

"Sister Feng!" The youth spotted her and his eyes brightened. He was wearing a beautiful robe and seemed very well put together. He was a rather handsome lad with youthful features and skin that seemed smoother than even Bai Feng's, making him look like quite an adorable little brother. That didn't, however, mean he was a pushover. Everyone here was definitely somewhat capable. He only seemed a little soft in comparison to the headstrong and direct woman. In the mortal world, he would constantly be flocked by fangirls based on his looks alone and have no worries about life. His label read 'Bluemarked Star Disciple Qiao Xingzhou'.

"Sister Feng, you've been gone for so long and left me alone here! I've been waiting for quite a while!" he said with a whiny tone like a newborn puppy. Even Tianming felt a little unnerved by his coquettishness.

"Ahem... given the current situation, it took time to find people to join us. Where's my brother and Rou?"

"They went looking for people as well, since you were away for so long. That way we'd be able to find people and start practicing sooner." He spotted Tianming and raised his brow. "Who might this be?"

"Our new comrade! He's called Li Tianming. Get acquainted, we'll be counting on each other from now on."

"Oh? What's his background? Where is Violetglory?" When Bai Feng glared at him, he stopped and nodded at Tianming. "I'm Qiao Xingzhou from Bluemarked, a world not far away from Whitechalk. We can travel to each other's worlds in a month without a divine astralship."

Tianming knew what his declaration meant. It appeared that the youth liked Bai Feng and felt some rivalry with Tianming, though Bai Feng didn't like men anyway, so what was the point?

"Alright, I'll be in your care," Tianming said.

Seeing him keep his distance from Bai Feng, Qiao Xingzhou seemed somewhat relieved. However, he didn't get too chummy with Tianming. "When Rou and Bai Huai come back, let's figure out a plan, alright?"

"Sure." Bai Feng crossed her arms and nodded, not saying anything else.

Tianming noticed that Qiao Xingzhou looked to be a human. For a human to dare to like a specter showed that procreation wasn't a big concern where they were from. Instead, true love seemed more important. Qiao Xingzhou constantly circled around Bai Feng. Even though she responded courteously, a sign of her emotional intelligence, she did seem somewhat annoyed. Though, as this was a team event, there were some compromises she would just have to make. The reason she didn't just kick Qiao Xingzhou out of the team probably had something to do with her younger brother and a girl called Rou.

When the other two returned, Tianming knew what was up. Bai Feng's younger brother, Bai Huai, was a chalk draconian like his sister. There was a cute girl dressed in a short, blue-green dress next to him who was also from Bluemarked, like Qiao Xingzhou. The pair seemed like they were dating.