Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 4224 - Can't Afford to Piss Me Off

Were those four dark, mutated versions of the Primordial Chaos Beasts? Their existence once more shook Tianming's worldview heavily. He had thought that he was one of a kind, unique like no other. As far as he knew, the Primordial Chaos Beasts that his father had entrusted him with were the main reason he managed to come this far. They were also the part of him that made him so unlike others, his greatest source of confidence! Yet, someone brought out something completely identical and they were even more powerful than his current self. It wasn't something he could easily accept.

Ying Huo and the rest also had a hard time reconciling with this fact. It was one thing for there to be lookalikes a hundred thousand years ago, but Li Tianzi's lifebound beasts existed in the here and now! If they were real, did that mean what the Li Muyang that was being hunted had told him might be fake?

Ying Huo couldn't take it any longer and separated from Tianming's arm, turning into its massive cosmic-lifebound-beast form and flew towards the phoenix. "Hey, brother, are you also an Aeternal Infernal Phoenix?"

"Don't mess with them!" Li Tianzi roared. The black phoenix looked coldly at Ying Huo before slapping it with its massive sword-shaped feathers. Before Tianming could react, Ying Huo came smashing towards him, completely tattered and burning with black infernal flames. It was in a pitiful state! Tianming and Ying Huo were just as shocked by the turn of events.

"What the fuck?! I was just trying to get to know you! There's no need to go that far!" Ying Huo wasn't expecting such cold treatment in response to its friendly greeting and had never felt so angry in its centuries of life.

"Chicken Bro..." The other beasts were enraged too at the sight. Even Meow Meow bore its fangs towards the four towering beasts.

"Remember to not mess with them from now on!" Li Tianzi said, standing among the four beasts and glaring at Tianming and the rest.

"Are you really my so-called big brother?" Tianming had been filled with doubt and confusion, but he was feeling more anger than anything else.

"What? Are you mad?" Li Tianzi smirked. "Honor and face isn't something you just claim with your pathetic mouth. You gotta earn it, and there's no chance of doing that while you're an ant their eyes can't even pick up on."

"What's the use of honor and face among family? You think you're hot shit? Think about how much longer you've lived compared to me and then we'll talk," Tianming said, shaking his head. Though initially curious about this brother of his, the fight just made him speechless.

"You think I've cultivated much longer? Li Tianming, did you forget that we're twins? How much longer could I have been cultivating compared to you? And look at what you ended up becoming! Don't tell me you just became a cosmic god!" Li Tianzi said, shaking his head with disappointment filling his eyes.

"Twins?" That made Tianming even more speechless. He was about to say that he had nothing to do with Li Tianzi's actual brother and that he was only five centuries old, but it was pointless to emphasize it. He wasn't going to be staying for long anyway.

"You useless trash! No real sky plunderer would be as pathetic as you are. You should come with me to the Inverse Battlefield to spar so that we can power up your order and level!"

"What?" One moment, Li Tianzi was talking down on Tianming, and the next moment he wanted to train him?

"The imperial sky plunderers will not permit anyone among them to be trash. I won't let you run from this!" Li Tianzi glared at Tianming one last time before leaving.

The black phoenix glared at Ying Huo before smirking. "Remember, stop messing with me, tiny bird. You can't afford to piss me off."

The massive beasts vanished before Tianming's eyes.

"The hell was that..." He turned back to Mu Qingqing and asked, "What kind of place is the Inverse Battlefield?"

"It's a battlefield of the highest prestige in the Realm of Chaos. The great imperial clans in the Realm of Chaos wage battle there. Your brother has just returned from the frontlines, so he's feeling a bit shorter tempered than usual. Don't hold it against him. He's a good person," Mu Qingqing said with a resigned tone.

"Waging battle?" Tianming had thought that the Realm of Chaos was a peaceful place.

"Yes. Conflicts accumulate over time and those of us in Nullity are in an awkward spot, so we're feeling quite a bit of pressure. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the Skyplunder imperials are weak. Your grandparents, parents and brother are all really strong, but they are only four people. You are the fifth. The ones that are holding all of us back are those of us from the Chaos Mu Clan..."

"You have a whole clan behind you?" Tianming asked.

"Yes. Nullity used to be the Mu Clan's imperial star. But following our decline, we have relied on the Skyplunder imperials to prop us up," she said with a sigh.

"Dang, and there I thought your clan could pull some nice strings for me..."

"You..." Mu Qingqing looked at him blankly.

"Alright, enough jokes. What did that prick mean when he said I could power up my order at the battlefield? I thought folks in the Realm of Chaos didn't have order."

"We don't, but you Skyplunders do."

"Are you saying that order still plays a role in their cultivation here?"

"Yes. That's how they're able to exist and fight in the Realms of Order and Chaos like you can. You have to ask them about the details. I'm not aware of anything else."

"Then why didn't they go to the Upper Star Ruin to look for me themselves?"

"I... Even I don't know the answer to that. Maybe there's some restriction that I'm not aware of..." Mu Qingqing looked like she was on the brink of tears. "You should really ask your parents, not me."

"Alright, then I'll ask what you know. Will the Inverse Battlefield really help power up my order?"

"It can! Back when you were a thousand years old, your cultivation reached as high as how you are depicted in the portrait. You were able to send your brother flying back then thanks to dazzling radiances of the Inverse Battlefield. It seems that your people have chosen to stay here because of dazzling radiances. Given your talent, you'll definitely be able to cultivate much faster at the Inverse Battlefield than the Upper Star Ruin," Mu Qingqing said earnestly.

"Now that's interesting..." Tianming fell silent in thought for a while. "Wait, you said that they were waging battle there, right? Why would Li Muyang invite the other imperatores to the banquet?"

"I think he's trying to use the banquet as a pretext for some discussions about the battles. Maybe he wants to scare the other imperials using your presence here. The banquet will be intense. Your presence will be announced to the whole Realm of Chaos... Your big brother is widely feared by many in the Inverse Battlefield, so many will be looking forward to the even more terrifying younger imperial son..."

"This is all so mysterious..." He didn't quite know what to make of it. The secrets of the Realm of Chaos did pique his interest, especially where it came to cultivation. However, he didn't forget the most important thing and grabbed Mu Qingqing by her arm. "Alright, for the last time, give me back my child!"

"Fine. Come with me," she said with a troubled look.

When Tianming finally saw the little crystal star of gold, he breathed a sigh of relief. "My precious..." He hugged the cosmic-god embryo, which seemed to recognize him and pulse with joy. Mu Qingqing watched from behind, her eyes turning somewhat red from envy.

"Alright, open the gate and let me return to the Upper Star Ruin," Tianming said.

"You... You can't leave again. You have to take responsibility for this family."

With a frustrated tone, he said, "Fine. I'll send my child back and return immediately."

"B-but why... Are you really going to come back? Is it because of the glory of the sky plunderers or because of me--"

Before she could finish, Tianming looked out at the dark sky and interrupted, "Neither. It's because they think I can't afford to piss them off."

Those words made Ying Huo and the rest completely livid.

"Little Li will not rest until he shows them who's boss!" Xian Xian said.

"I will mess that old bird up if it's the last thing I do!" Ying Huo snapped.