Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 4115 - Tianming's Great Ambitions

Tianming paused for a moment before continuing, "I'm here to help your ancient ancestor. Senior Jiang, it’s your call."

"Help our ancient ancestor? A callow young fellow like you? How presumptuous of you! A flameyellow voidkin would’ve been more convincing!" Granny Pu sneered.

"Shut up!" Jiang Tianzhou's gaze shifted from the golden crystal star to the treasure Tianming was guarding. "There must be a reason behind the ancient ancestor’s decision! As devout believers, all we can do is respect her decision. Those who continue to make a fuss or exploit their seniority to spout nonsense will be punished!" he declared.

Face grim, he proceeded to say to Tianming, "Please come with me!"

The storm behind Tianming abruptly parted, and a mysterious light erupted. A magnificent star emerged from the astralguard formation, appearing before his eyes.

"Thank you, Senior Jiang."

At Jiang Tianzhou's behest, Tianming and Moran entered Grand Jiang, with Granny Pu and the others following behind them. Granny Pu remained silent after Jiang Tianzhou's stern warning.

"Son!"

As soon as Jiang Tianzhou left, Granny Pu burst into tears, her eyes dim as she wailed, “We’re doomed! Jiang Tianzhou is a stubborn and opinionated fool. He’s invited a wolf into our home! He'll destroy our ancient ancestor and the Primordial Sands!"

"Why did our ancient ancestor hand the embryo to Li Tianming?" Pu Fengyun said, his expression sullen.

"What does that prove? What if she’s not quite clearheaded and this is just a mistake?" Granny Pu argued. "Most importantly, our ancient ancestor couldn’t possibly have a child while facing Nirvana Rebirth. She’s holiness itself! How could the brat call it an embryo? It’s blasphemy! That Li Tianming is damaging her reputation! Let's expose his lies and force Jiang Tianzhou's hand!"

"Mother, this isn’t a joke," said Pu Fengyun.

"Are you afraid? Then I'll do it myself!" Granny Pu shouted. "A bunch of useless idiots! Can descendants of a criminal race resist the Eightpart Pantheons? Of course not! These criminals are really after our maniverse-class nova source. They want a piece of our paradise. Use your brain!”

For a long time, Pu Fengyun stared at his mother in silence, not uttering a single word.

...

Jiang Universe City, capital of the maniverse-class Grand Jiang, was a hub of unmatched prosperity. The Primordial Sand’s maniverse-class nova source weren’t strictly regulated here. With its city formation mitigating the star’s gravitational force, the city was a thriving metropolis inhabited by many astral gods. Its bustling prosperity surpassed that of the Eightpart Pantheon's universe cities, with countless "little people" under a hundred meters tall filling the streets.

Deep inside the royal palace, Tianming and Jiang Tianzhou sat face-to-face, accompanied only by Moran. Jiang Tianzhou was struck by the sincere care Tianming showed the cosmic god embryo, which put a believer like him to shame. He was relieved it wasn’t an act.

"I’ll be honest with you. I don't know if the flameyellow voidkin have designs on our nova source, but both the Tian Jiu Cult and the imperial lineage led by Empress Xia will try to occupy new territories now that the Grand Xia Voidback Hole is about to collapse.”

This was a nova source war. In the Upper Star Ruin, nova source was everything.

"Senior Jiang, you only need to consider one thing. Why would the flameyellow voidkin strive to kill the cosmic gods of the Ten Desolate Starforges if their goal is the Primordial Sands? They could’ve waited for you and Grand Xia to wear each other down, and then moved in to claim the spoils." Tianming said.

Chuckling bitterly, Jiang Tianzhou nodded. "I understand, but those who don’t trust you will say it’s a smokescreen, a deliberate diversion to gain our trust."

"You’re right.” Tianming agreed with him. "Among the different factions, you’re currently the weakest. I understand Granny Pu's fear and suspicions and I’m grateful that you’re willing to trust me given the circumstances. So I’ll be completely honest with you, Senior Jiang."

"Completely honest?" Jiang Tianzhou paused. "Young Master Li, please speak."

"I’m not a flameyellow voidkin. I represent the flameyellow descendants of the Upper Star Ruin and I’m the successor to the former Flameyellow Imperial Star," Tianming said.

"Are the rumors about your killing spree in the Ten Desolate Starforges true? Did the Flameyellow Imperial Star really devour the Ninefold Hellstar?" Jiang Tianzhou asked in shock.

"Few people here know about this?" Tianming asked.

"Rumors have spread, but few believe it. People here are skeptical because there's so much misinformation, so they rely instead on what they see and what makes sense. They believe that a 900-meter-tall cosmic god can never defeat a thousand-meter-tall cosmic god," Jiang Tianzhou replied.

"It’s fine. They’ll believe it when I move the Flameyellow Imperial Star to Grand Jiang through the Flameyellow Divine Path," said Tianming.

"Move the imperial star over?" Jiang Tianzhou trembled from head to toe. A storm raced through his mind as he stared wide-eyed at Tianming. Finally, he asked in a low, cautious voice, "Young Master Li, are you planning to unite the flameyellow voidkin with the Primordial Sands and take down Grand Xia, and then use that as a launching point against the Eightpart Pantheons?"

"Yes." Tianming admitted.

Jiang Tianzhou took another deep breath, revealing a worried look.

"I understand your ambitions, but they’ll be difficult to realize! The first step itself will be hard. The Primordial Sands will never believe you can pull off such a crazy stunt. The Eightpart Pantheons are a nightmare to these people. In fact, we would’ve surrendered long ago if we weren't cut off from them.”

"I see." Tianming nodded. "We'll take one step at a time. I’ll create hope through my actions."

"Those like Granny Pu won't see the imperial star as a good thing. They’ll interpret it as a hostile act intended to seize Grand Jiang and incite panic among the people, making it easy for them to leverage public fear against me...." Jiang Tianzhou said, his voice deep.

"Yes.” Tianming smiled, his eyes filled with hope. "It can’t be achieved all at once. We’ll start from the ground up and time will tell."