Beastmaster of the Ages

"Wait, Big Bro, you got it wrong!" Huiye Shi hurriedly explained, "I was just curious about the lifebound beasts they have, so I asked Li Tianming to exchange blows with me. We just went a little too far and he accidentally struck me. He wasn't trying to challenge my authority!"

"He hit your face accidentally?" Huiyue Yin laughed. "Huiye Shi, give your head a shake. Do you hear sloshing water? Is your head empty or something? Think about your status and theirs! Don't bring down the status of the entire divine moonrace!"

"What the hell!" she snapped, "Whatever, Huiyue Yin. I'll let you know that he's only twenty-three! I have my sights on him and I want to take him back to the Divine Moon Realm."

"Are you looking for a pet, or a man?" he mocked.

"Shut up! He's charming and talented. I want to take him back and let the clan nurture him. He'll grow stronger than you. You can't be worried that I'll inherit more of the family wealth after getting an amazing husband like that, eh?"

"Now that's weird. You came to this backwater and got a dog to be your man. Aren't you afraid of becoming a laughingstock of the entire Divine Moon Realm? Huiye Shi, people can't mate with animals, got it? The reason celestial orderians can't have children with those of the rootbeast race is because they can't be considered human, understand? The people of the past once thought that if a cultivator had both lifebound beasts and totems, they’d be unmatched, which was why there were many celestial orderians that formed unions with the rootbeast race in an attempt to create offspring with both of their qualities, only to be stumped when they couldn't produce children!"

"Who said that they're animals? The rootbeast race is still considered rather powerful in the astralscape of order, alright? Huiyue Yin, get off your high horse. The rootbeast race is also a part of the realm of order, so how much worse can they be compared to celestial orderians? Not to mention, few celestial orderians got together with the rootbeast race to begin with. And even if they can't produce offspring, so what?" Huiye Shi snapped.

"If you don't have offspring, how can you fight for an inheritance? He can't compare to the other men you fell for back then!" He almost couldn't help but shake with laughter.

"Nonsense. You only want to avert your eyes to the truth. He’s much stronger than they ever were. Not to mention, who said that I could only fall for one man all my life? If you can have concubines, I can just take a few more divine moonrace husbands! There’s many pretty men in this world. I couldn't possibly just settle for one!"

"So you want to embarrass me with your actions? Do you know how embarrassing it is to be associated with you? If you bring him up there, our entire clan will be mocked and humiliated, moron!" He had stopped laughing and looked truly angry.

"Big Bro, I'm serious. It has nothing to do with you."

"So what? I can't stand disgusting things, so...." He turned to look in the direction of Xuanyuan Lake.

"What’re you planning to do?" she said anxiously.

"I can solve this by simply cutting him down. Why should I even argue with you?" After saying that, he vanished in the moonlight. "I might as well vivisect that animal and see what's so special about him. I might yet gain something from it."

As for whether the humans of the Flameyellow Continent would survive, he couldn't give the slightest shit. He was here for nothing but the sights. The moon guide was the one in charge of things, and he had already gone back.

......

"Tianming, Huiyue Yin is outside," Xuanyuan Dao said right as Tianming guided the caelum of the emperor down to live his experiences.

"Alright." He returned the caelum and had his lifebound beasts enter his lifebound space.

"Be careful." The others were rather worried.

"It'll be fine." Tianming wasn't one who would be afraid to step up. Since Huiyue Yin had come, he knew it was bad news. He had begun to understand a key difference. In the Divine Capital and the Grand-Orient Realm, he had the protection of Li Wudi and the Decimo Dao Palace. In the Archaion Sect, he’d had the protection of the goddess. So, he hadn’t been in any real danger, and nobody would harm him over jealousy for his talents. Yet now before the lofty divine moonrace, he didn't have anyone he could count on but himself.

"Maybe you shouldn't put up a strong front and just focus on surviving," Li Caiwei said. "Want me to teach you how to get convincingly beaten up?"

"There's no time." Tianming smiled and had her rest before leaving the Old Deepstar Path, followed by Xuanyuan Dao, Feiling, and the rest. There was a hint of anger and worry in Feiling’s eyes.

"He’ll be fine, Ling'er," Lin Xiaoxiao consoled.

"Whether he’ll be fine or not doesn't change how cruel Huiyue Yin is," Feiling said.

Lin Xiaoxiao was taken aback by the strong spirit Feiling had, despite how soft she seemed. Her beautiful, watery eyes seemed to squint with displeasure, giving off a sense of danger. She now seemed just like she had when she used Perpetia to deal with the Archaionfiend.

"Never doubt this: she’s the most terrifying of them all, a billion times more than even Li Tianming," the Archaionfiend said from within Lin Xiaoxiao’s lifebound space. "I advise you to never cross this woman, especially when it comes to taking her man. You'll die a horrible death, Xiaoxiao."

"What nonsense are you spouting! I don't want to ruin their happiness. Not to mention, those two are so deeply in love that nobody can possibly get between them."

"Oh, so you’ve thought about it before."

Lin Xiaoxiao began anxiously sweating.

They all turned to look at Huiyue Yin, who was looking down on them from above. Behind him was the round moon, making for quite an ethereal, almost godly sight. Tianming left the path and came to Huiyue Yin, not looking directly at him. With the most polite voice he could muster on the advice of Xuanyuan Dao and the rest, he asked, "Lord, what can I do for you?"

"I want your life. Give it." Huiyue Yin cracked a smile as the others opened their eyes wide in shock.

Tianming didn't even have a chance to lament his woes at all. Huiyue Yin had come to demand his life without so much as a reason. Huiyue Yin's eyes glowed with the power of the Ascension stage and stellunar source as he manifested his totems.

Tianming didn't know how many totems he had. If his talent was on the level of Huiye Shi, there should be five in total. At that moment, one of the totems manifested from his bane-ring, appearing as a glowing, towering figure of a hundred meters in height. It looked far more savage than Huiye Shi's totem, having a humanoid body but six arms that wielded fang-like, demonic blades. It had a bestial head despite its humanoid body, and a wide, bloody mouth and two moon-like glowing eyes.

The totem didn't seem to have a corporeal form, making it look really wide and spread out. Its lower body seemed like mist that circled around Huiyue Yin. Apart from light, there were many little dots swirling around it, forming various complex patterns. This was his totem, the canine voidgod.

Huiyue Yin's lips curved into a sly smile under the illumination of the moon. "Lowly natives, witness the totem of the divine moonrace!"

He lightly waved and the totem let out a loud, thundering roar as it charged toward Tianming, threateningly waving its six blades. Everyone's expression tensed up in anxious anticipation.