Beastmaster of the Ages

Everyone turned their fervent gazes to Tianming. He laughed and said, "This is only the beginning! I'll prove to you all that even geniuses from deific-class worlds in the Mysterium Cluster aren't a match for me!"

The crowd broke into another wave of cheers. The way they looked at him grew more and more proud.

"Kill!" His roar inspired the audience to respond in kind. He was a symbol that the Violetglorians had never had before. Even sovereigns rarely commanded such an ability to unify people.

"Even though I'm a divineglorian, he's my hero! Forget Ye Chen!"

As they intently watched Tianming, his Imperial Will grew even more.

"This is the sovereign of the astralscape!"

Tianming felt rather pumped by the fact that so many people saw him like this. Every one of his believers weren't just numbers. He knew a lot about them through their Omnisentient Threads, which allowed them to make a mark on him. "I shouldn't underestimate them. Instead, I should get to know them and be their friend, understanding their joys and pains. We're all walking the same path, and I'm their leader along the way." Respect was to be mutually given.

"The sea can both transport and flip over ships. One must never lose their respect for the sea!" When his Imperial Will interfaced with everyone's divine wills, mutual respect and concern was born. "Everything's interrelated. Just as I gain the power of faith from them, they'll be able to gain insights better than those gained from looking through caeli. As I grow, they grow too! If I'm able to reach a new high, they might be able to break through as well."

Given his current divine will, if he returned to the Flameyellow Continent, he would probably create an age of countless gods. "A sovereign ruler is one with his people. Together, they form a gigantic will that projects itself throughout the universe!" They were all on the same path, and Tianming was their center.

"Those who aren't on the same path as I am won't support me in the first place. The ones that are with me now, like the others from the Flameyellow Continent, are all on the same path. Once the paths diverge, the sovereign will lose his subjects, leaving only a lone ruler of nothing." Sometimes, contemplating insights was more important than hard training on the path of cultivation. Seeing all their different looks, he had gained a new understanding into the path he'd chosen to walk.

......

Tianming left the wondersky realm and returned to the real world, awakening from the dream while being able to recall it perfectly. The first thing he felt was the strengthening of his Omnisentient Threads, a huge spike since the loss of his fans in the past two months. He saw a white veil surrounding the sky around Violetpeak, which was actually a representation of the countless Omnisentient Threads that stretched from everywhere on the planet. Each of them was connected to one of his albi, specifically the sword-shaped Imperial Will. The path they walked tightly united them. Crushing Long and going back to give that speech had drawn many people who still had doubts straight to him.

"Three hundred million threads!" It was an explosive increase that came with observable benefits. Even though that number was a small one, relative to the total number of Violetglorians, they weren't just simple numbers. Each of them represented a life with their own experiences and stories, and they were just as real as Xiaoxiao was. It was like three hundred million Xiaoxiaos had gathered by his side.

"I wonder how powerful I'll become if I use their power?" While he wanted to hold back and keep his trump card as a last resort, he felt an increasing urge to use it. He still clearly remembered how he had fought tens of thousands of gods alone back at the Flameyellow Continent.

"Alright, I have to keep on going." The Astraldome was incredibly beneficial for him, allowing him to challenge the best of the best across the astralscape. "But before returning to the Bloodbath Arena, there's something more important that I have to attend to." He had to calm his mind and keep striving to reach the Solar stage, and this would be a good chance. He felt his connection with the three hundred million believers through the threads as the constant flow of Omnisentient Will nourished his Imperial Will more and more.

"I'll unite all of those who are on the same path as me. There's no challenge we can't overcome together." Even normal folk, when standing united, could crush anything with their combined might! The hardships of those in the lower echelons would be heard all the more!

"Rather than studying caeli imperius, I might as well analyze the life experiences of those connected to me, see things from their perspective, and empathize with their feelings. Everyone has their own joys and hardships. Such is the nature of life."

A rich life wasn't limited to strong cultivators. Even the short-lived mortals of the Vermillion Bird Kingdom went through all kinds of hardships and experiences, weathering one sickness and childbirth after another. Some even had their dignity trampled on. Tianming had inscribed their experiences onto his Imperial Will through the Omnisentient Threads.

"I'll face it all together with them." Analyzing the hearts, souls, joys, and sorrows of these three hundred million Violetglorians might be even more important than scanning caeli imperius. "The role of 'ruler' is just a title. A true ruler walks the same path as his subjects. In other words, Imperial Will doesn't represent the rule of a ruler over his subjects. It isn't a way for me to suck the subjects for power like a vampire. If I grow prideful because of it, I'll have betrayed its true essence."

He felt like he was on the cusp of a breakthrough. The power came flooding in, but was also fleeting. It could only be maintained as long as mutual respect and connection was maintained. It would be mistaken of him to think himself above them. Finally, the growth of his Imperial Will reached an apex as he resonated with his thoughts, and it began transforming.