Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming wanted to see what in the world this weird thing had to show him. “I’ll wait for the others,” he said, then motioned for Feiling and Lin Xiaoxiao to enter. Their setup processes were much simpler, Feiling’s especially as she didn’t have lifebound beasts.

“What will you do next?” Tianming asked the voice.

“Please fall asleep. Your caelum will enter the perpetual wondersky world as your representative. On behalf of the divine wondersky race, I welcome all three of you. If you wish to leave the perpetual wondersky world, all you have to do is to wake your vita.”

Sleeping to enter a different world? Was it a place of dreams? Tianming couldn’t quite believe it. However, he was stunned when he looked up at his caelum. It seemed that after his information was recorded, it had been ‘updated’. As he had only revealed four of his totems, there were only four bane-rings, or rather ancient characters, on his arm.

“Big Brother, do we need to sleep?” Feiling asked. Cultivators didn’t usually require sleep, but it wasn’t hard for them to do either.

“Let’s give it a try. If anything does happen, it might just be a dream.” Tianming trusted that the one he got the spirit core from would at the very least not harm him. Not to mention, if there was any danger, he could immediately wake up. Thus, he went to sleep.

“According to legend, when someone falls asleep, their caelum enters a weird, ethereal world. No matter what happens inside it, the caelum instantly returns to the body upon waking up as if nothing had happened. Even if they kill and die inside the dream world, it is, in the end, just a dream. However, do you believe it? Let’s say you find a book in your dream and read through it. When the words appear before you again, you’ll remember that dream. That’s how the perpetual wondersky world is a place where you can fight, challenge, cultivate, and comprehend seniors’ experiences!

“The representatives of the elites of the countless races of the astralscape, some of whom are separated by distances so great that they would never meet in all their lives, can compete in the perpetual wondersky world without risk of death! If it’s hard to find a kindred soul on one planet, how about finding one amongst countless planets? Progressing on the path of cultivation in the dreamscape is the true nature of the perpetual wondersky world.”

Those were the words the voice said as Tianming fell asleep. Then he felt himself slowly awakening in a dream until he became fully lucid. He felt as if his body was rather ethereal, but only for an instant. The feeling passed and his body felt corporeal again, with his blood, pulse, and senses all returning. However, he was standing on a white-jade platform, floating in the void.

“Big Brother?” Feiling called out.

He turned back and saw her and Lin Xiaoxiao looking like they always did. Tianming could even recognize her fragrant scent.

“Where are we?” Lin Xiaoxiao asked.

“I think the better question is where are our caeli,” Tianming said. The sensation of seeing this world through his caelum was truly mystical. How in the world was this done?

“What do you mean?”

Both Lin Xiaoxiao and Feiling looked rather confused.

“Caelum? But it feels like my body. Look, my flesh is still here.” Feiling pinched herself on the cheek and felt it hurt.

“Of course. Did you think you’d be an amorphous blob of gas when you dream?” Tianming said.

“I don’t, but this is still weird.”

“Look there!” Lin Xiaoxiao yelled. A colorful butterfly suddenly appeared in the void. “It’s too beautiful.”

The closer it got, the larger it appeared. When it was right in front of them, it turned out to be a gigantic world. Then the robotic voice rang out once more. “The four loci of this wondersky gate come from Violetglory Star. Disciples of Violetglory, do you want to enter?”

“We do.” Naturally, Tianming had no idea where that was. All he knew was that he was having a more lucid dream than usual, where he was able to control his caelum and go to places he could never have gone in the real world. This was the wondersky realm, a world of dreams and wonders. He pinched his arm and felt pain. It was far too realistic.

“Initializing final information gathering. Locus user number one, please state your name.”

“Lin Feng,” Tianming said, making up a name.

“Registration complete. User: Violetglory Disciple Lin Feng. Age: twenty-three. Class: beastmaster, totem user. Race: human.”

When it was Lin Xiaoxiao’s turn, she registered herself as ‘Lin Xiao’. After that was Feiling’s turn. Tianming noticed that in terms of age, the voice’s estimation was far more accurate than the age verification formation of the Divine Moon Realm. It probably evaluated the age of the caelum, rather than the body. However, he was shocked to hear Feiling’s information.

“Locus user number two: Violetglory Disciple Xiao Ling. Age: infinite. Class: normal cultivator. Race: human.”

Hearing that, Feiling freaked out. “You’re infinite! Your whole family is infinite! I’m only twenty!”

Tianming chuckled; the voice was too ruthless. However, the smile soon faded from his face. If her age really was infinite, her caelum had essentially existed for all this time. He turned to look in her eyes, seeing the same confusion he was feeling in them. That meant the one now standing before him was still Feiling. However, her allegedly infinite age gave him chills.

……

After that, the three of them entered the world in the shining butterfly.

“Welcome to Violetglory Star’s wondersky realm.”

The three of them were standing on an uninhabited island. There were sights of nature and a sea on the horizon.

“What a world. It looks no different from the real one.” Tianming squatted down and picked a blade of grass, then chewed on it. He tasted the bitter plant juices. There were also some ants on the grass, which he picked up. Their little bodies wriggled between his fingers.

“What kind of power and time would one require to construct a world such as this?”

Tianming looked into the distance, seeing the sky, clouds, waves, and birds. None of it looked fake to him. Even though there was still an ethereal sensation from time to time, the fact that all this could be achieved was already a marvel. Feiling picked up a handful of sand, in awe as the grains slipped through the gaps of her fingers.

“Can we really obtain techniques and legacies in this world, and even fight?” Tianming willed it and was surprised to see that the Grand-Orient Sword actually appeared in his hand.