Beastmaster of the Ages

Then, Tianming began to notice something different from the real world. For instance, all that remained of the Grand-Orient Sword was its sharpness. The other things within it, like the Grand-Orient Vortex, were gone, or rather, not recorded, though that wouldn’t affect his capabilities much.

He looked at the four bane-rings on his arms and manifested his four cardinal godswords. They showed up as expected. He gave them a swing and it caused the waves to cascade. “So we really can fight here!”

The fact that so much fidelity could be achieved was amazing in itself. Feiling also gave it a try. After using some of her techniques and having them recorded, she could perform them here as well.

“Oh, wait, where’s my lifebound beasts?” Tianming noticed that his lifebound space was gone. That was proof that this wasn’t real. When he was pondering in realization, Feiling looked closely at his face and laughed.

“Big Brother, you look really funny.”

“What is it?”

“Take a look at yourself.”

Tianming pointed the third eye on his arm at his face.

“There’s three flowers!” Feiling said.

Or rather, there were three flowery tattoos on his face, one black, one white, and one red. Didn’t they correspond to the Radiant Daffodil, Scarlet Lily, and Evernight Rose? Not only that, he also noticed other tattoos across his body that represented Xian Xian’s leaves, branches, and roots.

“Is that you, Xian Xian?” he asked.

“Yes. Why am I all over you? Did I become a flat tattoo?!” Xian Xian raged.

“Calm down. This is the wondersky realm, so anything can happen. We’ll be back to normal when I wake up.”

“Hmph, fine! I’ll tolerate being on your body.”

“Someone’s complaining, I see. Let’s see how you feel after I reduce your food budget.”

“Wait, no! All hail Li Tianming! You smell better than my flowers!” Xian Xian immediately changed her tune.

“By the way, where’s the other three?” Why did only Xian Xian speak out?

Meow Meow’s voice immediately rang out. “Boss, it’s not that we don’t want to show up…. Let’s just say that our locations are a little awkward.”

“What?!”

“Let’s put it this way. Starry dragon on the left, black tiger on the right!” Meow Meow said.

Tianming looked at his arms. “You’re not here. My whole body’s just Xian Xian.”

“Are you sure you checked every corner of your body?”

“What in the….” He hadn’t looked at his buttocks yet. If they had turned into tattoos… Tianming angled his left arm to his back and saw a black-cat tattoo and a two headed dragon tattoo on each of his ass cheeks. He was about to burst out in tears.

“Big Brother, where’s the other three? Let me see,” Feiling asked curiously.

“They’re not here!” Tianming snapped.

“We’re on his butt!” Lan Huang roared, even though it was trying to whisper. Everyone heard it, and Tianming was immediately petrified.

“Tortoise Bro, it’s too awkward! Don’t yell it out!” Meow Meow growled.

“Alright! I’ll pay attention next time!”

Feiling clutched her belly as she bent over in laughter.

“Ah… why do lifebound beasts have to become tattoos on my body? What kind of dumb setup is this?!” Tianming felt his bile churning. His legendary reputation was ruined in an instant.

“Come to think of it… have you forgotten about Chicken Bro?” Xian Xian asked. “Even I can’t see where Chicken Bro is.”

“That’s right. Where’s Chicken Bro?” Meow Meow said, changing the topic immediately.

“Just forget I exist,” said a voice with endless dread. Tianming felt like he was struck by lightning.

“Huh? The voice is coming from opposite us,” Lan Huang innocently said. Opposite the buttcheeks were…

Tianming’s face was crumbling apart. “Heavens… are you playing a trick on me?”

“Don’t feel too bad. A birdie on your birdie. It’s the only natural place to be,” Ying Huo said with a sigh.

Before Feiling could even react, Lin Xiaoxiao burst out laughing.

“Shut up!” Tianming felt his back cool and scalp tingle. He felt like buying a coffin to hide in. There was only one solution: waking up from this nightmare!

As he and Ying Huo were despairing, Meow Meow shook off the awkwardness and said, “Here’s the perfect line to use during your entrance: legendary genius Li Tianming, dragon on the left cheek, tiger on the right cheek. But whatever you do, it’s at the center where you musn’t peek.”

“Say that one more time, Cat Bro! I’ll self-destruct!”

Tianming turned to Feiling and saw her blushing. He felt as if icy rain was dripping on his face as he awkwardly laughed. She returned the awkward laughter in kind.

“It’s all Xian Xian’s fault… she took up all the other spots.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me.”

Fortunately, a snow-white sphere came falling from the sky during that awkward moment. The sphere had a pair of wings, and even eyes, ears, and a nose. “Esteemed newcomers, I’m your guide in the wondersky realm, a wondersky fairy. I’ll answer your questions and doubts and take you on a tour to witness the mysteries of the wondersky realm!”

Tianming was no longer shocked by all the weirdness. His first question was, “Why do lifebound beasts take the form of tattoos?”

“That’s because they aren’t principal caeli. In non-combat areas, they’ll manifest on the beastmaster’s body. Only in combat areas can they come out,” the fairy answered as it hovered about.

“Umm… can you change where the tattoos show up?”

“Normally not, but if you strongly request it, I can help you out.”

“Then please move the bottom three higher up. I want them off my… private spots,” Tianming said, covering his face out of shame.

“Very well!”

Tianming finally breathed a sigh of relief. Xian Xian no longer took up so much space and they squeezed closer together. Tianming and Ying Huo could finally face others without any hint of awkwardness.

“Newcomers and disciples visiting the wondersky realm for the first time usually go to the ancient idol for training. Through challenging the ancient idol, one can gain more knowledge about the wondersky realm, as well as rewards!”

“What kind of rewards?” Tianming asked.

“Techniques and battle arts. The more idols you challenge, the more rewards are available to you. Newcomers will get bonus rewards!”

“How many ancient idols are there?”

“A hundred in total.”

“Then what’s the reward for challenging and defeating all of them?”

“Then you’ll obtain the legacy of the ruler of the Violetglory Star, the Violetglory Sovereign! That’s the dream of countless generations of Violetglory disciples!”

Tianming had no idea where the Violetglory Star was, but apparently they were now considered disciples from there. “Alright, lead the way!”

“Very well. My three new friends, please follow me closely. I’ll take you to Perplexity Island!”

While it was an awkward journey, Tianming really wanted to know whether the perpetual wondersky world could really allow anyone from the boundless astralscape to obtain unbelievably powerful legacies and battle with other disciples.

……

Within the xenomemory space, Ye Lingfeng lay flat on the colorful butterfly with a dagger in hand—a real one, at that. He looked at his body, having removed his clothing. At that moment, his abdomen suddenly burst open and a purple eye peeked out from the crack.

As quickly as he could, he stabbed the dagger into the eye, which vanished. He pierced his own flesh. “Ughh…”

His face was pale. Beside him, the soulfiend looked like it was panicking.

“There’s no choice. A xenofiend has entered my body, the only thing I can do now is await death,” Ye Lingfeng said helplessly.

“Waaaah!” The soulfiend kept hammering its chest and crying.

“It’s alright. Such is life,” Ye Lingfeng consoled.

Even so, the soulfiend’s grief didn’t stop.

“Soulfiend, let my caelum enter. I want to go to Perplexity Island. If I have to die, I want to at least leave this place. Even if it’s only my caelum, it’s enough.”

The soulfiend nodded.

……

At the city lord’s mansion in Huiyue City, a few people knelt before Yuehe. Huiyue Jie gripped his fists tightly, standing beside them with a furious gaze.

“If you can’t find Li Tianming, Huiyue City will have a new name, understood?” Yuehe said with a strict voice.

Everyone kept their heads low; there was nothing else they could do.

“We have no leads, Granny.”

“Huiyue Hai is dead, and we don’t know who killed him.”

“It’s impossible to locate a single person among so many. If he wants to hide, nobody can find him.”

“Granny,” Huiyue Jie said.

“What is it?”

“Call Shishi here, I have a few questions for her.” His gaze was gloomy. Deep within his eyes was a gold and black light that nobody noticed. It was none other than the Imperial Sword Prison.