Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2609 - Shadow of the Ship

Once the brain and five other astral organs were destroyed, the seventh astral organ that remained couldn't do much else. Tianming's final two strikes marked the defeat of Fu Xun! It was impossible for him to come back from that. Countless people watched as Fu Xun's head and torso were completely obliterated. Those in the Skydome Mundus cheered.

"What a powerful strike!""What kind of sword art was that? It feels even more terrifying than ether-class sword arts."

"Maybe he's learned infinitum-class sword arts already."

"How old is he, anyway? That's far too terrifying. Even if he's actually five hundred, if we take into account his rate of growth alone, he'd be unmatched in the Skydome Mundus."

"I wonder if the divine wonderians managed to make him submit."

The spectators naturally hoped that Tianming didn't belong to the divine wonderians. That way, if he really did grow to become far more powerful, non-wonderians in the Skydome Mundus would finally have some representation.

The outside world was in complete turmoil at the sight of the fight, chief of which being the infinitum-class Wondrium and the Mysterium Cluster. However, Tianming only cared about Sixth. He wasn't concerned about defeating Fu Xun, but rather the cloudy white sea that sneered at him.

"Sixth, that isn’t all you're capable of. Even though this is the wondersky realm, you should be able to defeat me. Why’d you hold back?" While the fused sword strike was indeed powerful, Tianming knew that Sixth had intentionally pulled back its own power, allowing Fu Xun's astral organs to be crushed that easily. The seventh was still left, so Fu Xun wasn't considered dead yet. However, his soul and awareness was temporarily disabled.

"I suddenly understood something," said a hollow voice from within the white sea.

"What is it?" Tianming asked, gritting his teeth.

"You're clearly trying to go to Voidback City. That means you have your sights set on the same thing I have mine on. It would be a waste of effort for me to claim that thing myself. On the other hand, you'll try to hunt me down no matter what, even if it ends in your death. I might as well wait for you to bring that thing to me when the time comes. It'll be much easier that way." The voice sounded more hollow as it spoke. The astrons in the seventh astral organ began to collapse and scatter as the awareness of Fu Xun was no longer there.

"The same thing?" Tianming finally realized that Sixth also knew about the imperial-class divine wonder that was waiting for him there. It had far too many secrets. "Don't worry. I’ll definitely bring that divine wonder to you."

"Divine wonder?" The white cloud sounded surprised. Though it still wanted to speak, Fu Xun's virtual body had completely vanished as his caelum was forcefully pulled away from Skyhold Bridge back to the real world. He wouldn't be allowed to return for a year after that. Subsequently, the cloudy white sea vanished and Tianming's vision returned to normal.

"Why was it surprised to hear about the divine wonder? I thought it wanted the same thing I did. Is it anticipating something else in Voidback City?" He took a deep breath with his brows furrowed. "Either way, I got a rough idea of Sixth's personality today, and managed to get it to reveal its unique tripartite soul. I also learned of its current location: the Xenoabyss. It's been quite a haul. I wonder if I'll run into it again in the wondersky realm."

He would only stand a chance at coaxing it to return if he could encounter it. Tianming had never considered it an enemy; however, he knew how hard it would be to tame it based on how it acted. The thought of the encounter with the terrifying being while rescuing Lingfeng from the Xenoworld the last time reminded him of how fatal that place was. "Feng and Qingyu must be fine."

No matter what, he would go to the Xenoabyss. But if he chose to do so without knowing more about it, it would be a one-way ticket to the afterlife. He had to collect more information.

"Before that, I have to make sure the Sun is truly safe so that the denizens can settle down in peace. I also have to help my grandparents overcome their problems in the Infinitum Mundus...." Those were both responsibilities he simply couldn't walk away from. There were far too many things that he had to tend to. Not to mention, he had no idea what he had to do about Li Muyang's instructions concerning the Infinitum Stele and whatever was underneath it.

"Underneath the Infinitum Stele is the Oldgod Domain where I found the Order Relic. Could that be what my dad was talking about? Did I complete the task without realizing it?" He chuckled, but he simply couldn't be sure.

"What the hell are you laughing at? Are you daydreaming? Come and help!" Ying Huo cried.

Tianming realized with a start that the battle hadn't ended yet. While Feiling, Xiaoxiao, and the lifebound beasts had an edge in the fight, they couldn't quite overcome the enemy's defenses. That was especially the case with Ying Huo and the rest, who were a few levels below their targets.

However, the battle had no reason to continue once Tianming joined the fray with all he had. With Feiling and Xian Xian masterfully controlling the enemies, Tianming swooped in to harvest the remaining foes, almost instantly killing Lu Xuan and the Weisheng sisters. They cleared the seventh challenge of Skyhold Bridge.

"There's only three remaining." While it looked like they were close to their destination, the enemies they had to face to progress would also have seven wins. Needless to say, they were the cream of the crop in the Skydome Mundus regardless of their ages. Most of them were thousands of years old.

"It's even said that opponents during the tenth and final challenge are cosmic cartographers. I might be able to fight foes like that on the Sun, but not on the Skyhold Bridge. I'll... have to wait a few more years at least." To be safe, Tianming decided to retreat.

"I wonder if Sixth will come back here. Looks like I have to spend more time in Starting City to be safe." That fellow had really given him quite a huge headache.

When they decided to leave the Skyhold Bridge, their section of the bridge stopped floating. At this point, conversations about them would rage on for at least a year, even if they left the wondersky realm. Tianming's favorability reached an all-time high in the Skydome Mundus. Interestingly, the name of Lin Feng had also experienced the same rise in the Infinitum Mundus. While it wouldn't take a genius to put the two identities together to figure out that 'Lin Feng' also had totems, the two mundi were too far apart from each other. The Infinitum Mundus also didn't have wondersky realms, so news into and out of the mundus was greatly limited. It also didn't help that certain parties in high places intentionally stopped the information from flowing out of the Skydome Mundus. The shadow of the infinitum-class ship crept ever closer, being right about to cross through the celestial boundary.

......

"The fight was far too chaotic, allowing Sixth to have a chance to show off. The next time I run into it, I'll have to teach it a few lessons." Every time Ying Huo brought up the battle, it seemed rather dissatisfied. In contrast, the days they spent in the Sun cultivating were quite relaxing. They were completely clueless as to the approach of their hunters.