Beastmaster of the Ages

During the desperate struggle, the remnants of the enemy troops within the city had completely collapsed.

"Everyone from Origin Phoenix and Arcana Sword, enter the formation core! Brothers and Sisters of Tianming City, hold the line and await my orders!" Tianming roared with everything he had, almost feeling like passing out.

"It's the imperial son!"

"The imperial son has instructions for us!"

With Xuanyuan Xie badly injured and Jian Wuyi busy with holding Si Ling at bay, Tianming was the one with the most authority. Only he could spur them into action, which was why Yi Xingyin had explained his plans to him.

Anyone could tell that it was Tianming who had controlled the enemy and enabled the killing of all five million troops. His prestige had soared through the roof. Eventually, he seemed to be able to see something new. When the millions of lives held the formation's spirit threads, a new thread seemed to sprout from their bodies and connect to his. The countless threads concentrated on him and connected to his Imperial Will. He felt their boundless strength nourishing his tired soul.

"Even if it's just a small burst of hope, it's more than enough."

The troops from the two legions heeded his orders and quickly marched toward the formation core. The power of the formation would no doubt get a great boost with them there. Meanwhile, the millions of civilians continued holding strong to the formation spirit threads as they waited for Tianming's next order.

"Tianming, it's ready! Come!" Yi Xingyin's spirited voice rang from within the formation core. Now, the handsome man stood alone on a tall, starlit platform.

"Palace Lord, let us go as well!" Dao Yuanyi said from beneath the platform, tears flowing from his eyes.

"It's no use. I shall be the sole sacrifice. Today is the day of my glory, I won't let any of you steal my limelight!" Yi Xingyin said with a hearty laugh.

"You must stay strong, brother..." Chen Cangshu said with a hoarse voice.

"Don't worry. I'm not ready to leave this mortal coil yet." Right after saying that, he sent a signal to Tianming and made a loud announcement to the whole city. "Everyone, a few days ago, we relied on our own power to deal a heavy blow to the Hexapath Swordfiend! Tonight, this city alone managed to kill five million enemy troops!

"We all know how powerful Nonahall and the other four divine realms are! However, we have no doubt shown our own power and courage, every one of us here! We took down the Hexapath Swordfiend and crushed an army of five million. We made history! This is proof that any and all life is able to exist in this world with dignity! We will not allow anyone to invade our homes! We will not allow anyone to rob us of our lives! Even though Tianming City will fall, we shall give our all one final time to show these invaders the power of our iron will! Trust me! We can do it! We shall eradicate them and scatter their souls!"

Tianming continued battling Fu You, defending the formation core with his own body. Then he looked at the ghoul king with his black and gold eyes as the starlit city echoed the voice of his soul. "Right now, people all over the world are in awe of our achievements! We shall keep fighting!"

Every word he said came from his own heart and his feelings of awe at the dedication everyone in the city showed. Fine folks like them shouldn't be exterminated. No matter how weak or insignificant an individual life was, if tens of thousands of them worked together with an unbreakable spirit, they would be able to usher in overwhelming force that awed the world. While having too many people would make things a little more chaotic, they had Tianming to channel their explosive force. They also had Yi Xingyin and the other elites of Deepstar Hall within the formation core that could direct and concentrate their rampant forces into one overwhelming blow!

At that moment, Tianming City exploded. An unimaginable amount of force flooded into the formation core from the formation's spirit threads, coupled with another wave of power from the troops of the Arcana Sword and Origin Phoenix Legions within the core, as well as the twenty thousand first-origin tribulation elders. Three forces came together in the core to Yi Xingyin's position, where the self-destruct layer was.

With a great rumble, the boundless force was converted into starlight, completely enveloping Yi Xingyin. There was something he had left out in his explanation to Tianming: the self-destruct layer required an operator to target the enemies, and the one who received all of that energy would end up dead from the overload. That was the reason self-destruct layers in formations were so rare. Those who implemented it in their formations knew that they might one day perish if they ever had to use it, and Yi Xingyin was fully aware of what it entailed. But now, this handsome middle-aged man had stepped onto a stage that was made solely for him, dressed in a brilliant starry robe, allegedly to 'not let others steal his limelight'.

When the starlight completely engulfed him, he seemed just as excited as he was nervous. He was an amazing tribulation patternscribe, and was ready to witness his magnum opus. Soon, the starlight enveloped his stage in its entirety. Now, he was the formation's core, its beating heart itself! Even Dao Yuanyi and Chen Cangshu, who were standing beside him, couldn't see him clearly anymore.

The next moment, the self-destruct layer activated, causing tremors throughout the formation. The stars shone brilliantly above Tianming City.

"Are you still alive, Old Yi?" Xuanyuan Xie said as he crawled nearer with his sole remaining arm, watching the man on the stage.

"How could I be dead if you're still alive?" Yi Xingyin said.

"Haha, you're so unfair. Guess your dream is about to come true. These crooks will be wiped out for sure!" Xuanyuan Xie laid down as he laughed. He calmly looked at the blinding stars, combing his messy hair with his arm. "Dearie, come look at the stars with me."

Su Wanfeng sat down beside him, covered in blood and holding his hand. The battle was finally over. Everyone on the battlefield stopped what they were doing and wiped their bloody eyes clean as they looked up at the sky, standing on mountains of corpses. The starlight was far too blinding. Even Xuanyuan Muxue couldn't help but shield her eyes from their brilliance. Further away, Beigong Qianyu hugged a heavily injured man tightly in her arms as they looked up at the sky together.

As everyone watched, the Sun-Moon-Star Formation exploded with a resounding boom. The remaining troops from Nonahall were probably relieved to see that the formation they had been trying so hard to take down was now gone. But was that all there was to it?

The next moment, half of the starlight from the explosion gathered at the formation sun near the south of the city, causing it to double in size and light up the night sky. The other half of the light split into three, forming three formation moons. Now there were three moons, one sun, and countless stars in the sky.

"Is this... the true power of the grand solunar rising?" Who could have imagined how much power it would have?

With the formation shattered, it was all down to Yi Xingyin to direct the power of the sun and moons at his enemies—the four ghoul kings in particular! Si Ling, an eleventh-level death phase samsaran, had been held back by the formation sun the whole time. Now, the sun that had doubled in size flew straight toward her.

"Impossible!" She was completely dumbfounded. The formation was created by someone from her generation and couldn't possibly match up to the Ninefold Formation of Taiji Peak Lake. It couldn't possibly generate so much power! Yet the proof was undeniable. Her pride and arrogance was going to cost her! She was about to be attacked by a force even more terrifying than Feng Qingyu had suffered! It wasn't just her either; Lan Yi, You Ying, and Fu You, who was in the city, were the targets of the three formation moons.

"All of you, die!" Yi Xingyin's voice rang throughout the city. Of the two formation moons from before, one exploded and killed the lifebound beast of the twelfth-level life phase Hexapath Swordfiend, and the other took out the heartscourge fiend. While the three new formation moons were slightly smaller, they were only going to be used against the three ghoul kings who were eleventh-level life phase samsarans.

Tianming, who was already familiar with the sheer power of the formation moon, hurriedly moved aside. While Fu You attempted to do the same, the moon homed in on him no matter how he tried to dodge. Yi Xingyin roared desperately, ensuring that the moon caught up to Fu You and caused it to explode.

Tianming saw Fu You's body immediately torn to shreds amidst the explosion with his own eyes. Then, the two other formation moons in the east and west exploded at the same time, sending deafening booms throughout the city. The formation's spirit threads and core were no more. The grand explosions caused everyone to blank out and tense up. Then everyone turned their gaze to the formation sun and Ghoul King Si Ling near the south gate.