Beastmaster of the Ages

One against twenty-seven was an impossible dream. Not to mention, every single one of Tianming's enemies were top geniuses. For them to have survived until now, they were no doubt as powerful as Ying and Yanwu Ming, and even three people of their caliber would be enough. Not even Tianming, who defied ridiculous odds, could change this fate.

"Well, not that getting disqualified at this point matters much to me. The way the wondersky realm recorded my abilities, there's no way I'd be able to last till the end. However, I still have to fight beautifully and leave a deep impression on the countless worlds that are watching. I have to properly convince the Violetglory star as well."

He already had a red name and would soon be surrounded by geniuses. Even gracefully losing wouldn't be easy. Chances were he would be wiped out in an instant. His name seemed like it was dripping with blood and he furrowed his brow as he watched the wave of red coming his way.

"The greatest advantage I have is that these folks don't know me, nor do they know I've defeated Yanwu Ming and Ying. As far as they're concerned, I'm just a normal non-mysterian, so they probably won't send their full force to take care of me."

There was no way that all twenty-seven of them would come at once, as there was no doubt a hierarchy among them. It was unlikely that the proud high-level disciples would participate in a menial task like wiping out non-mysterians, which was a chance for Tianming. It turned out that, while the whole group was heading his way, there was only a vanguard of ten or so people in front that seemed to be specifically coming for him. The rest of them were following, but they were in no rush. Instead, they were simply coming along until the time came for them to fight among themselves for the highest rank.

"Yin Chen, Meow Meow, it's your turn." Yin Chen would be his eyes and Meow Meow his ride, which he really needed to be able to spread the enemy group out. Not all of them would be able to keep up with him, so that could probably buy him some time. He couldn't face off against all ten of them at once, after all.

Even so, it was already quite an honor for them to send out ten people to deal with him. The twenty-ninth-ranked non-mysterian that got eliminated before him had basically surrendered after being captured. Now, it seemed that they were scared that Tianming would break through their encirclement, so they had sent ten at once. If they spread out and let him kill any of them, his name would no longer be red and he could evade them for another three days.

"Dragging this out is the only option available to me." He already had information about their formation before they arrived. "Let's go, Meow Meow!"

The group of rednames were brashly and openly coming for him. The leading group of ten had already begun accelerating, entering Yin Chen's range. Seeing that the rest behind that group were not in a hurry to keep up, they probably believed the ten lackeys in front of them could easily take care of Tianming.

"Looks like the ones coming after me are the weakest among them, then." He could tell based on their speed. Meow Meow moved faster, too, evading the ten. It hadn't revealed its full speed right at the beginning, but had merely moved slightly faster than the group of ten, and that alone was tough enough for them.

"As long as they don't split up, the faster ones will be held back by the slowest one in their group." Tianming felt quite relaxed as a result. Even without Meow Meow, he would be capable of shaking them off.

"The one in front, listen up! We mysterians are sweeping the battlefield! You're already guaranteed the twenty-eighth rank, the highest of all non-mysterians! Be proud! Your ancestors have been honored! Heed our advice and forget your ceaseless struggles, or you'll face the consequences! Antagonizing the mysterians isn't something you or your world can afford!" The warning came loud and clear before they themselves arrived.

"Sheesh, just listen to that authoritative voice." Tianming chuckled at how they didn't even seem intent on giving chase, choosing to resort to threats instead. It was quite beneath their status to make petty threats; after all, most non-mysterians within the Mysterium Cluster would no doubt cave to their unfair demands. Even then, it was rather lazy of the young mysterians to resort to threats, even if they couldn't be bothered to seriously fight with non-mysterians before they competed with their own. To them, this was the fastest way to chase away annoying flies. They had already taken for granted that the non-mysterians wouldn't fight back. What they didn't expect, however, was that Tianming would run despite their warning to surrender.

"How pointless...." The ten weren't angry, but excited. It was a game of cat and mouse, an appetizer before the great competition between mysterians. They accelerated to keep up, but Tianming sped up even more, causing the vanguard to move further away from the main group behind and giving him more time to toy with them.

"He's that fast?" The faster they chased, the faster Tianming ran. All he did was sit on Meow Meow's back and gauge the distance. If this went on, his pursuers would eventually change their mind about this whole game. If they didn't do things right, it would be quite embarrassing for the ones who gave them that errand; their embarrassing display was being broadcasted to the Mysterium Cluster, after all. As they didn't have any understanding of Tianming's capabilities, someone soon suggested, "Let the three of us faster ones go ahead and stop him. The rest of you guys had better catch up fast."

"Alright!"

There was no way they would keep chasing their quarry like fools. Tianming turned back, knowing that his chance was here. The red pillars of light around them were too obvious. And now that they were within range, even if there were those without red names among them, Tianming would easily be able to find out.

Eventually, the faster ones split up from the group. No doubt they were specters, who were inherently faster. Tianming didn't continue accelerating, so they would keep thinking that splitting up was a good idea. As far as they were concerned, they would be able to hold him back long enough for the rest to catch up.

"Almost there!" They were getting closer and closer. The group of ten had split into a few smaller groups, with three at the very front. The closest one to Tianming had left the others quite far behind. It wasn't the first time they'd had to hunt down prey who wouldn't surrender, and there were times when they'd also had to split up. Too bad for them, they were up against Tianming this time around.

"Guess you're first!" Tianming would score that kill and buy three days' time for sure. They were doubtless still underestimating him. Even as he maintained his current speed, he managed to spread them thinner and thinner. While the fastest among them was getting close, it still took a whole fifteen minutes for him to close the distance.

"Mongrel, do you hear me? We mysterians are demanding that you depart from the Astralium Seeking! This is our battlefield!" As expected, he was a specter.