Beastmaster of the Ages

Since the beginning of the Realm War, Zhao Lingzhou and Shangguan Yunfeng had remained hidden, knowing that it wasn't a simple treasure hunt. It was smart for them to avoid battles that could easily take their lives. Now that Tianming had brought them out to sea, they could only stare in awe at the eight disciples tied to Archfiend.

"I'll be damned. Are these really elysian children or am I dreaming?" Zhao Lingzhou's jaw dropped.

"Give them a poke and you'll know."

Zhao Lingzhou walked up to Elysian Lin and touched her.

"This isn't a dream," he concluded, still in shock.

"I must say, this is beyond my wildest imagination. Tianming, you really are something exceptional." Shangguan Yunfeng stared at the white-haired youth, impressed.

"Hey, mind if I give them a good beating?" Zhao Lingzhou asked.

"Be my guest."

Born in the Grand-Orient Sect, Zhao Lingzhou had heard enough stories of prime disciples being defeated and shamed in the Realm Wars. Now that he finally had a chance to vent his rage, he picked Jun Tianyi to be his punching bag.

"Ugh!" Jun Tianyi gave him a fierce stare, only to receive a slap in return.

"What are you staring at!" Zhao Lingzhou chortled. A few slaps later, Jun Tianyi's face was red and swollen.

"Aren't you going to join him?" Li Tianming asked Shangguan Yunfeng.

"Seeing them in this state is good enough for me. Tianming, you're the pride of our Grand-Orient Sect. If our friends and families see this, it'd bring tears to their eyes," Shangguan Yunfeng exclaimed, his eyes reddening.

"This isn't over yet," Tianming said, then returned to the Stillocean Godwhale's mouth. He had no intention of letting the audience know that he was actually cultivating.

Even though the Grand-Orient Sword could appear at any moment, Tianming remained calm. Amidst the heat of the Realm War, he chose to focus all of his attention on cultivating in an attempt to make another breakthrough. While this would be torture for everyone in the Elysium Battlefield, that was none of Tianming's business.

"The peak of Unity is achieved when the unity fields of beastmaster and beast fuse completely, after which nothing but death can tear them apart. That's the first step toward Heavenly Will, and the basics behind understanding heavenly patterns."

The previous upgrade of Tianming's bloodline had brought his cultivation techniques to a whole new level. But even then, the process of reaching the peak of a stage was nowhere near easy. Fortunately, the few disciples gathered around Tianming had all recently reached ninth level of Unity, so they were well-versed in the process. Thanks to that, Tianming had four mentors to guide him in his pursuit.

"I never imagined that I'd one day teach someone who's capable of defeating a second-level Heavenly Will the technique of achieving peak Unity," Weisheng Qingluan sighed.

"Same," Shangguan Yunfeng agreed.

"Being a pentabane sure is crazy." Zhao Lingzhou was just as impressed.

While it wasn't all smooth sailing, Tianming still succeeded after twenty days. He had reached the peak of Unity, be it in terms of his beast ki, unity field, or nexus. His strength improved by leaps and bounds, the quality and quantity of his beast ki close to that of a normal disciple at third-level Heavenly Will. In fact, Tianming's level was his only weakness, since he was ahead in terms of battle arts, abilities, and physical strength.

The breakthrough was no doubt a joyous occasion for the group, but Tianming was getting concerned about something else.

It's been more than a month since the battle at the Prime Tower. Ling'er said she'll be back after a month, but she's not showing any sign of returning yet. Tianming made sure to check Ling'er's Love every day, but there were no changes to it.

I can definitely fight Yueling Long now, considering that she's not much stronger than Jun Tianyi. But wouldn't it be better if Ling'er can return and join the fight? Tianming wasn't satisfied with simply beating Yueling Long. It had to be a crushing defeat.

Because of that, Tianming was in no hurry to summon the Grand-Orient Sword. The Realm War continued dragging on with everything under Tianming's control, while the Heaven's Elysium disciples could only curse and swear.

What if something happened to Ling'er? No, she wouldn't have lied to me. She must have underestimated the side effect of soulburn. Just a while longer. For Tianming, Feiling was always his number one priority.

…

"Tianming, we saw Yueling Long above again," Weisheng Ruosu reported to Tianming.

"Clearly she knows that we're in this region."

"Are we still waiting?" Weisheng Ruosu asked nervously. Once the Grand-Orient Sword was summoned, there would be no turning back.

"Let's give it another five days," Tianming replied with Ling'er's Love still in his hands.

At that moment, something unimaginable happened. From Tianming's perspective, the sea within the Realm Barrier vanished in split seconds! What used to be the sea suddenly became a giant basin, exposing everything underneath. While it wasn't immediately obvious for those viewing the battle in the Elysium Battlefield, Tianming and his gang could immediately tell that Yueling Long had locked on to their location.

"Where did the water go!" Weisheng Qingluan and the rest stared in shock.

"Someone must be controlling the Realm Barrier. They're running out of patience and want to end the Realm War soon," Tianming exclaimed. It was the only explanation, and proof that someone was indeed invigilating the Realm War. If they wanted, they could remove an ocean at will. Even if this was just an illusory realm, it still felt like interference from the gods to those within it.

At that instant, Tianming even had a wild guess: what if the Flameyellow continent was just an illusory creation of a true god?

"Tianming, Yueling Long is here!" Weisheng Qingluan said anxiously.

"Don't worry, I have plans." In comparison, Tianming sounded much calmer. He was prepared to take on Yueling Long, though it was a shame that Feiling wasn't around. If she was here, he could show Yueling Long just how much Feiling could boost his power.

But even without Feiling, Tianming's fighting spirit wasn't dampened in the least. He had a clear goal in mind when he came to Grand-Orient Sect, and the time to achieve that goal had come.

Without looking at Yueling Long, Tianming reached his hand out to Weisheng Ruosu. Words were unnecessary, and Weisheng Ruosu instantly passed her black ball to Tianming.

There were already six gold balls and four black ones in Tianming's hand. When he received the fifth black ball, all of them suddenly radiated an almost blinding glow! At the same time, one more gold ball and two more black ones forcefully flew over from their original owners, Yueling Long, Shangguan Yunfeng, and Zhao Lingchuan. The next moment, all the balls fused together.

"The Grand-Orient Sword!" The treasure that Tianming had longed for finally appeared!

"You should wait for me at one side," Tianming told the others.

"Take care." Knowing they had no place in this battle, Weisheng Ruosu and the rest quickly backed off.

A distance away, Yueling Long was quickly approaching with three dragons! Yet Tianming's attention was completely focused on the sword.

Some time later, the sword's shape emerged from the light. It was a broadsword, with its hilt and body black in color and its edges a brilliant gold. The patterns on the black segment looked like the mountains and rivers of the Grand-Orient Realm, while the patterns on the gold segment looked like the starry night sky.

It was truly a sword meant for the almighty! Tianming envisioned an emperor dressed in a black and gold robe, standing atop the clouds and ruling all beings from above.

So this was the artifact that Li Shenxiao had brought back from the Theocracy of the Ancients. Its magnificence very well explained why it was sought after. During the ten thousand years of the Li Saint Clan's rule, many of Tianming's ancestors had left their mark on this very sword. And after a thousand years, it was finally Tianming's turn to hold this sword.

But the Realm War wasn't over, so the sword was not yet his. He had to hold onto it for at least ten more days, or he could just defeat Yueling Long. Even then, Tianming couldn't hold back his excitement and reached out for the hilt as soon as the sword appeared. The sword itself was massive; its hilt alone was half a meter long, and it was so long it almost reached Tianming's chest when it was stabbed into the ground. On top of that, Tianming could tell that the sword was exceptionally heavy.

"I am the descendant of the Li Saint Clan and owner of the Aeonic Grandbane, Li Tianming! It's my honor to wield the Grand-Orient Sword!" As he raised the sword, Tianming could tell that it was more than ten times as heavy as Onyx Dragon. In fact, its weight alone could even hinder his usage of sword arts.

"It was said that my ancestors would experience a significant increase in strength when using the Grand-Orient Sword. As the descendant of the Li Saint Clan and the rightful owner of the sword, surely it should suit me well?" Tianming looked fervently at the sword. He could feel the blood of his ancestors coursing through his veins and to his palms, where it fused with the sword. Even from within his body, he could tell that the sword was synergizing with the Prime Tower.

With his blood boiling, Tianming took a deep breath. He would use this very sword to defeat Elysian Long, and that would be the most meaningful battle!