Beastmaster of the Ages

"I can turn back, of course. I'm in my dryad form right now. My usual tree form also has its advantages, but my dryad form has more agility and better abilities. I'll be stronger against individual foes in this form." Xian Xian's tree form was better suited for large battles. With two flexible forms, its former great weaknesses were gone. Xian Xian no longer needed to be protected and would be able to play pivotal roles at the front lines of battle. Having unlocked more of its bloodline chains after becoming a sovereign beast, it had become even more perfect.

"Very good!" Tianming gave an approving nod.

"Don't worry, Little Li, I'll give it my all and beat up that sun emperor with all of you." Xian Xian was quite confident. Her dryad form appeared as cute as ever.

Then it was Yin Chen's turn. Most of its bodies were still inside the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, devouring the Eight-starred Pearls. Not far from where Xian Xian was, a silvery light shone. One after another, the silver locusts suddenly turned into a new kind of insect that was much larger and more majestic than before. Still covered in a metallic sheen, the most eye-catching part was the eight distinct silver stars on each of its backs. Every single bug had eight stars that profusely shone. When tens of millions of them were together, they became a mass of boundless silver light. The strength of the glow looked like the light from a nova source world!

"Ladybugs?" Tianming recognized the insect type.

"Eight-starred Ladybug!" Yin Chen gleefully responded.

"What can this form do?" Tianming asked, always looking forward to Yin Chen's new forms.

"Watch and... learn well...." Even at this point, it still didn't miss the chance to feign an air of mystery.

"You're too bright! My and Chicken Bro's eyes are going blind!" Xian Xian said.

"Xian Xian... put on... low class... make up!" came the voice from the tens of millions of bugs at the same time as they rolled their eyes in unison.

"Stupid Yin Chen! You're a meanie! Wait until little sixth hatches! It'll deal with you!" Xian Xian had thought its glamorous makeover was something to be proud of, yet Yin Chen's comment had cut deep.

Finally, after circling around nonstop in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, the five sovereign beasts were finished assembling. Even on the brink of death, they didn't seem to flinch in the slightest, almost seeming childishly ignorant of that prospect. It was that precise quality that had brought much stability to Tianming's psyche. However, even he knew that there was no delaying the crucial moment for too long.

"I won't stay as the prey forever." He exchanged glances with the five of them. As long as they stayed within the ship, there was a chance that the coffin would damage it. The endless wild chase had no doubt made the sun emperor even more irritable.

"I wasn't able to finish practicing the ninth strike, so I hope this fight gives me some answers and insights!" Some sword techniques couldn't simply be mastered in the practice room alone. "Qingyu, take care of Feng. If I fall, I’ll order the ship to leave right before I die."

He then left the ship with his brand-new sword and evolved lifebound beasts. A crimson and gold meteor came flying from the chaotic sun ahead, its course set to punch through the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. But when the white-haired youth appeared and the ship flew away, the meteor suddenly stopped.

The sun emperor was burning all over his body. The flames of the coffin covered both him and his clone, forming a combat-ready whole. The beasts of the Flameyellow Guard Formation gathered around him like he was the true ruler of the sun. "You’re finally willing to make the right choice."

Tianming's appearance had caused the sun emperor to stop, but that only served to further raise his killing intent. "I've never feared you. I was just waiting for a trump card that'll let me kill you."

"Oh, that's good! Ending it like this is much more meaningful, after all," the sun emperor chuckled.

"Enough nonsense. Let's not disappoint our audience on the sun. They've been waiting far too long! Come!" Tianming flew across the starry sky. He wasn't like the sun emperor, who had the impetus of the sun backing him, seemingly fused together with the world itself. Tianming, however, had the Omnisentient Threads of fifty billion denizens of the sun. Everyone's hearts were thumping hard. Tianming's will guided their own, leading them to stand firm together with him. One side was supported by the world, while the other had the support of its people!

"You’re an outright miracle. You deserve the right to at least die struggling." The coffin behind the sun emperor flared and his eyes mirrored the flames. The carvings that represented his totems manifested themselves before turning into nine three-legged golden crows that furiously glared at Tianming. "You don't even have totems. You've just lost your greatest asset, yet you came out of your ship to fight me? You and what army?!"

The sun emperor laughed heartily, his crows cawing in unison. They flew around the sky near the sun, almost seeming like the world's protectors. Li Wudi's nine blood-colored bestial totems also surfaced from the Flameyellow Coffin. In total, there were eighteen peak totems, all of them grand beasts covered in majestic flames as they roared at Tianming. He had never felt so insignificant before now. The starry sky just highlighted how terrifying the eighteen totems were.

"Did you always ramble this much?" As he spoke, Tianming's five lifebound beasts emerged by his side. Above him was the Aeternal Infernal Phoenix. To his left and right were the Primordial Terraqua Dragon and Genesis Chaos Thunderfiend. Xian Xian hovered behind him in its dryad form, and all of them were surrounded by masses of eight-starred ladybugs. Yin Chen shone so bright that it made the surroundings look like a dreamscape. It was a single lifebound beast, yet it looked like an entire galaxy.

Tianming's totems were usually so attention-grabbing that few noticed his lifebound beasts, who were the actual core of his combat capabilities. The totems couldn't compare to his five lifebound beasts in terms of might. When the pandemonium sacrosun appeared above them, the beasts' powers rose thanks to the Omnisentient Will of fifty billion people.

"I’m a beastmaster, while you're a totemancer!" No matter what others said, Tianming would always identify as a beastmaster first, perhaps only as a beastmaster and nothing else!

The sun emperor nonchalantly chuckled, but when he saw Tianming draw his sword, his brows furrowed. He could clearly feel the power that came from it. "So that's your new trump card, eh?"

The only answer he got was Tianming's attack. "The Grand Dao, good and evil, good and bad karma, none of that has anything to do with our fight today! Sun emperor, the reason I'll be killing you is personal! One shall triumph, one shall fail, and let the whole sun bear witness!"

Though he said that, when both of Tianming’s hands held the Grand-Orient Sword, he felt the struggle of two different paths of rulership from the power of faith he received. It was him, his sword, and five lifebound beasts against a coffin, two people, and eighteen totems! The numbers definitely weren't on his side. However, the sun emperor only had a singular will, while Tianming and his lifebound beasts had distinct, complete souls. They were fighting together, through life and death!

"Go!" The flames of the Flameyellow Guard Formation came flying toward them. Tianming and the five charged straight through! Wielding his sword in both hands, he allowed the full power of the Flint Infernal Impulse to surge. The two sides were like meteors crashing into each other.

Before they were even remotely close to each other, beast abilities and totemic calamities clashed! Purgatorial flames, chaotic lightning, and Xian Xian's agile blasts of abilities swarmed toward the calamities of the eighteen totems and seemingly had the edge! Tianming could see Bloodrain Swords and Demise Greenloti that were completely elevated to another level, capable of dealing substantial damage to the totems. The explosive reaction between the fire and lightning caused huge explosions. The three-legged crows weren't nearly as durable as the Flameyellow Coffin and lost their wings from the blast.

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Ying Huo and the others' abilities had greatly benefited from Tianming's fifty billion Omnisentient Threads, but even that wasn't enough. The strongest weapon in the sun emperor's arsenal was still the Flameyellow Coffin, and as long as it persisted, he wouldn't be defeated.

"Grand-Orient Sword, come!" Tianming raised the sword high with both hands. The star closest to the hilt glowed brightly. "Die!"

Boundless flint infernal sword ki came bursting out like a torrent, forming gigantic dark red swords that almost seemed corporeal. A large domain of swords formed around Tianming and the sun emperor, keeping them locked in. The sword ki strands ran wild within the formation, attacking the sun emperor from all directions. From the ground below, it looked like a bloody red ball had sealed off all routes of escape.

The Grand-Orient Sword was the core of the formation. As long as Tianming wielded the sword, the Imperealm Sword Formation moved with his will, sending countless sword ki strands flying toward the sun emperor. He displayed far more power than he did in their previous fight, backed by an even more resilient force of will.

Facing all that, the sun emperor shrugged and laughed in a relaxed manner. "That’s your trump card? Is this the extent of what you have? Then it's my turn now!"