Beastmaster of the Ages

“Dammit!” Not long after Huiye Shi entered the city, the formation above crumbled. She looked like a boy with her short hair, bound chest, and skintight clothing. “What in the world? What kind of depraved person would do that?”

She didn’t think this had anything to do with Tianming at all, so she continued heading toward Xi Palace as cries of panic reverberated through the city.

“So the royals are also afraid of the killer, eh? Tsk tsk tsk.” She was slightly surprised to see so many dispirited people, but didn’t realize that the people on the streets were numbering fewer and fewer.

She grabbed someone and asked, “Hey friend, what’s the rush? You going to reincarnate or something?”

“Her Majesty decreed that everyone is to immediately return home and activate our household barrier formations! Don’t linger outside!”

“It’s a lockdown again? Don’t they have any new tricks?”

“Something’s wrong with your head!”

After being chided, she began to panic. “Does that mean the killer will blend in among us?”

She had seen Bodhi’s power; her parents had died at his hand, so she was terrified. However, she also felt a little responsible for Feiling’s matter, so she snuck near the palace and hid herself, waiting for Tianming to appear.

“Dammit! Did you hear? The one who destroyed the formation was the sovereign’s new pet, Li Tianming!”

“That seventeen-year-old brat? How’d he do it? Or maybe the imperial guide or saint moon guide turned traitor?”

“You won’t believe this, but the saint moon guide was killed by Li Tianming.”

“You mean that rootbeast race guy?”

“Yes!”

“That’s ridiculous, right? Why would he do that? Is he on the same side as the killer? Has he been killed?”

“Killed my ass. I heard he escaped. The Pentamoon Slayers have been sent after him.”

“Then it won’t be a problem. The formation’s also being restored, so don’t panic.”

“That’s right. The killer is walking into a trap! This is Divine Moon Skycity, not some backwater like Huiyue City!”

Huiye Shi almost flipped out after hearing that. “The hell? I came here to send word, but he already escaped?”

She really wanted to slap herself twice. “Why was I such an idiot? Me and my luck….”

Swallowing her misfortune, she got back up and immediately tried leaving the city. Given her low speed, it took her quite some time to approach the city gates. Right as she was about to leave, the formation was restored in full.

“Her Majesty has decreed that everyone is to return to their households! The city is on lockdown! Nobody is to leave or enter!”

Huiye Shi was about to panic. “Just my luck…. I’m screwed.”

She watched pitifully as everyone else hid themselves. “Where should I go?”

After some time, she decided to hide in an inn. They should at least have some sort of protective formation. However, as she searched for one, she noticed that the streets were even emptier than before. Though the formation had been restored, the city didn’t seem nearly as lively.

“It’s only been two hours… The killer might not have come yet. He might be tens of thousands of miles away,” she muttered in self-consolation, still searching for an inn.

She heard a soft groan coming from the corner ahead, which caused her hairs to stand. She peeked around the corner and looked toward the end of the road. There, she saw a young man’s head explode before his headless corpse collapsed. Then a man in white passed by the corpse, the sight of which caused all her hair to stand on end as she shivered. Her mouth was open, but no sound came out.

“It’s… it’s him….” She saw it all, and even recognized the youth who had just been killed. He was the son of Prince Fengyue, a famous person in the Divine Moon Realm about her age, Yueshen Xi. He was gone just like that.

“I-I-I-I… I just escaped from a wolf’s den, only to wander into a tiger’s den. Daddy… mommy… I wanna go home!” She remained there, shivering, not daring to take a single step.

……

At Xi Palace, Sovereign Xi pulled apart the white cloth that covered a headless corpse while her brother knelt on the ground, crying.

“Your Majesty, he’s here,” Prince Fengyue said in a hoarse voice.

“We know,” she said with a nod.

“My son died in vain….”

“The culprit will pay the price, be assured. You may leave for now.”

“Understood.” He carried his son’s body and left the hall.

“Your Majesty,” said a shadow that appeared in the darkness.

“Are you here to tell me you failed in your mission?” Sovereign Xi asked.

“Your Majesty, his lightning lifebound beast is so fast that we can’t catch up. Even though the Bluemoon Heart is able to track his location, we can’t catch up. But at least he won’t be able to lose us for good. For now, he’s left the Divine Moon Realm and is roaming about in the astralscape.”

“You’re so fast, but you still can’t catch up?”

“Yes.”

“The celestial orderians gave Us a treasure when the Ninemoon Goddess appeared. Take it and use it. We won’t be able to leave this place, but you have to keep chasing him no matter what. Just make sure he has no time to stop and cultivate. Chase him for the rest of his life if you have to.”

“Understood!”

The shadow received the item and left, then the imperial guide appeared behind the sovereign. “It looks like things are turning out badly.”

“It’s fine.” Sovereign Xi stood up and put on a white cloak. “Since the killer’s here, I’ll personally deal with him. As for Li Tianming, he’s only a threat if he’s allowed to cultivate. With the Pentamoon Slayers on his tail, he won’t be able to keep cultivating. Not to mention, Ye Lingfeng’s survival is a pressing matter for him, but I’m not in a rush. The nova source pulse will happen again in the future, so missing it tomorrow isn’t a big deal.”

“Understood!” The imperial guide was the closest person to the sovereign, and when they were alone, Sovereign Xi spoke normally instead of using the Royal We.

“Additionally,” the sovereign continued, “Have Fengyue do something for me.”