Beastmaster of the Ages

The delay wasn't a gamble Tianming could afford, but he didn't falter even if it seemed like he wouldn't be able to catch up. The distance between the Boundless Flamehawk and Ninedragon Imperial Tomb widened more and more, further emphasizing the size and mass of the Orderian ship. It was like a huge black bear chasing down a hawk, unable to touch it in the slightest.

"This is impressive, Sovereign!"

"That brat behind us can only eat the dust!"

"He's still a bit too new at this. There's nothing he can do apart from freaking out."

As the specters intensified their mockery, the sovereign spoke up, "Calm down. This is nothing special, just a normal consequence of me having a hundred lifetimes more experience than he does. There's no competition."

Having shaken off the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, they turned their attention back to the beautiful landscapes of the sun. "How beautiful! It's far prettier than the plain white of the stars of Skywolf. It’ll make for a bountiful hunting ground."

While a few other sovereigns had perished, Sovereign Boundless still felt lighthearted after successfully escaping. His spirits rose again at the sight of the distant sea of flames. "I have to record the beauty of these sights in the form of a poem!" Sovereign Boundless was also known as the sovereign poet in Skywolf Blaze, boasting a reputation of being among the most accomplished people with words. He was one of the finest inheritors of their lupine culture and often earned great praise for his efforts.

"What a good poem!" the specters cheered.

"I haven't even started yet! Keep your flattery to yourself!" A rebuke though it was, it didn't change the fact that he felt happy at their blatant attempts to get on his good side.

"Sovereign, you’re truly a master of the fine arts with impeccable talent. Even a single breath from you is nothing short of a masterpiece!"

Praises were heaped on him one after another.

"Hahaha you flattering rascals.... I won't fall for it, you know." He cleared his throat and solemnly added, "True power doesn't need to be shown off. Carrying talent is like carrying a child. In time, it’ll show even if you try to hide it."

"Well said!" That didn't seem to stop the torrent of praises that came his way.

"Truly, words for the ages!"

"Alright, enough." The sovereign stroked the back of his bald head, and almost immediately, inspiration struck. "Listen up!"

The recital began.

"Today

"The boundless wolf soars

"The great hawk's wings spread

"Across the bright skies

"I am elated.

"It's over!"

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Thundering applause followed. Everyone knew that the sovereign's talent was an inside joke, but they didn't mind as long as he was happy. Little did they know that the sovereign's last words, 'it's over', didn't refer to the poem, but rather their predicament. He yelled out in panic, but the others were too busy clapping and internally laughing at him. They failed to notice how his expression had changed.

By the time they finally snapped out of it, they looked at what the sovereign saw and immediately paled. A thick black fog had come down through the layer of flaming clouds just ahead of the ship, containing billions of baleful souls that glared menacingly at the divine astralship. The darkness fell on them like a beast that was around a thousand times the size of the Boundless Flamehawk. Its terrifying red eyes were glued to the metallic wolf-bird, much to the dismay of its passengers.

"What in the world is this?!" Sovereign Boundless barked as he busied himself with the controls, turning the ship completely around.

"Great poem!" Some of them were still ignorant of the situation and thought that the sovereign's exclamations were just a series of experimental lines he had tossed into the joke he called poetry.

The mechanical bird had flown too fast trying to escape Tianming. Coupled with the fun and games they were having just moments before, it was a little too late for them to change course once they had finally noticed the Primordial Demon. The wave of darkness came sweeping toward them and seeped into the inside of the ship, swallowing it whole!

"Aaaaagh!"

Countless cries echoed, coming from both living and dead. What had happened to Sovereign Bluedepths was repeating itself in Sovereign Boundless's ship.

"Run!"

Alas, it was already far too late. The Primordial Demon was still growing at a staggering rate. It had only grown more and more powerful, to the point that even the sovereign himself was being overwhelmed by the countless baleful souls. The ship struggled to break out of the black cloud; even with the best efforts of the sovereign, it was far less agile than before.

Soon, Tianming managed to catch up and saw everything. "Feng, that's amazing!"

Lingfeng understood his intentions too well. Tianming had been charging up while he was giving chase. And now, the avian ship was a cornered beast while its passengers’ souls were tortured nonstop. Even those that rushed out of the ship were dismayed to see the mass of baleful souls outside, but that wasn't all—there was a nine-colored sun behind them. "It's over!" By now, nobody was bothering to praise the sovereign for his poem.

From the surface of the sun, one could see the nine-colored ball of light explode. Countless invaders were wiped out in those glorious fireworks, their corpses completely vaporized in the process, Sovereign Boundless included. His fourth imperial soul wasn't spared from being sucked into the Xenoworld Gate, either, joining the ranks of the baleful souls within Lingfeng's Primordial Demon form.

While it was still a question whether Lingfeng would survive this experience, the Primordial Demon was far too useful. Without it, Tianming wouldn't have been able to kill even a single sovereign, but now three of Skywolf’s sovereigns had fallen, thanks to Tianming and the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

To say that it was a devastating blow was to heavily understate it, but the only way they would react to the blow was to fight even harsher. They had been driven into a corner with nothing to lose, after all.

Tianming wouldn’t show any mercy to those that invaded the sun. As the fireworks scattered, the darkness rose back above the flaming clouds. He didn't even get a chance to bid Lingfeng goodbye, not that he needed to. Lingfeng was so large that he was basically everywhere on the sun. Even if Tianming went to the next battlefield, Lingfeng was sure to be found there and would fight together with him.

While the baleful souls that filled the skies had mouths that cried out for the destruction of everything on their own accord, Tianming knew they were now a part of Lingfeng. He had helped him during the past two sovereign kills, so he was definitely still conscious to some degree. Tianming had nothing else to say about his impressive sworn brother.

"Now, only one of the six rexes remains." Before they had caught up to Sovereign Boundless, Yin Chen told Tianming how the sun emperor was doing. So far, around a billion specters had made it through the formations, all of them ninth-level ascendants and above. Enemies could be found all across the sun. As most of those from the Myriad Solar Sects were inside the Sky Palace Formation, and most of the normal folk quite widely scattered, the damage the enemy wrought was still rather small. As for the celestial orderians, they had an incredibly organized society, with every settlement having protective measures that would hold up against any threat—barring divine astralships—in the short term.