Beastmaster of the AgesBeastmaster of the Ages
"Apart from that matter, I even let Eminent Tiankui learn that I was trying to use order fragments to break through to the Foundation stage. He once said that he would take me in as a disciple once I achieved that, but I wonder if using order fragments will cause him to change his mind... Li Tianming, it's all your fault!"
Huang Daosheng's eyes were filled with endless hate. Even in his dreams, he dreamed of killing Tianming. But to his dismay, Tianming continued rising to prominence before his very eyes, quickly defeating yet another opponent without even showing his cosmic charts or using any order suppression. That was why people thought that he was a ninth-level cosmic cartographer, despite only being at the third level.
I bet I'll shock everyone to death when I finally reveal my cosmic charts. Tianming looked at Huang Daosheng and saw the hateful, bleeding gaze. Being Chen Tianyong's master, he really wanted to laugh out loud.
You'll never be able to imagine that I've only managed to grow so strong thanks to the order fragments that your dad almost bankrupted himself to get. I bet you'll vomit even more blood once you find out! Huang Daosheng was truly pitiful in a way that he wasn't even aware of.
"I will show a so-called 'potential eminent' like you that not only will you not be able to catch up to my cultivation speed, you'll be crushed on all other fronts, too!"
Tianming proceeded to challenge the last enemy he needed to reach Suishen Zhao. He had to fight someone ranked in the three thousands, and it went on for longer than the previous two fights. Even so, he had still managed to crush his enemy without any trouble by using the eight-fusion Imperator's Mural.
His rank immediately rose into the three thousands. A blinding red 'Li' surname swam against the current, overtaking many green-and-gold fish along its way. From that day onward, people had to look up to be able to see the red-and-black name combination on the ranking, which was submerged in a sea of orange-and-gold names. The dark and foreboding red-and-black name contrasted against the brilliant and glorious orange-and-gold ones.
Suishen Zhao's name was also orange and gold, shining just as bright as the other names. Tianming's name wasn’t far behind, just like a black whaling ship that was catching up to an orange whale.
The three fights had been finished without much trouble. Every single person defeated only added to the shock and flabbergastment of those watching.
"How could a tainted beastmaster of that age possibly reach such a level?"
"If we don't look at his bloodline, his combat style and performance are indeed aggressive." Naturally, most people weren't able to judge the issue without letting their biases about bloodline and potential affect them. They had labeled Tianming as an early bloomer that would stall during the later stages of cultivation and simply couldn't ignore it.
That was the main reason Tianming was so controversial. Many who argued about him did so with such passion that their faces turned red. He had even seen it happen with his own eyes. "The fact that I'm able to make people argue over me means that I'm starting to overturn the negative stereotypes."
He was holding quite a bit of frustration toward Myriadpath Valley. Everyone's attention was turned on him the moment he left the Fortuna Arena. There was only one question in their minds: would Tianming issue Suishen Zhao a challenge right away? Even though he wasn't there in person, it wouldn't stop a challenge from being issued.
The entire colosseum fell silent and watched. Tianming didn't enjoy keeping them at suspense either and immediately issued the challenge to the highest-ranked orange surname on the ranking: Suishen!
"Less than half a day’s passed since Suishen Zhao gave Tianming the invitation, right?"
"That's right!"
"But Suishen Zhao gave him more than twenty years."
"That alone shows how fierce and bold Li Tianming is."
"How unlike someone from an outer mundus. His inner pride and sharpness still hasn't been hammered flat yet, unlike most other outer mundi disciples who lost theirs in a matter of days!"
"Until now, not a single person’s succeeded in humiliating him, right?"
"Yes. Instead, he managed to kill quite a lot of gold ring disciples."
"Tsk!"
The challenge sent a wave of commotion through the Ascension Colosseum. Many disciples brought out their transmission stones to notify their friends and family to come watch the duel.
The entire Myriadpath Valley was in a furor.
"Li Tianming? Why haven't I heard that name before?"
"What? A black ring disciple that isn’t even a hundred years old was extended an invitation to challenge Suishen Zhao? And you said that he did just that almost right away?"
"Quickly! Let's go to the Ascension Colosseum right away!"
Tianming's fame multiplied tenfold overnight. Despite the excitement everyone had for him, he remained pretty calm as he waited for his opponent to come to the Fortuna Arena. "Suishen Zhao probably won't let me wait that long."
Far too many people wanted to talk to him, but nobody managed to with how much people were squeezing. No doubt, most people in Myriadpath Valley supported Suishen Zhao. Even so, the general hostility toward Tianming had decreased by quite a considerable amount. Only the disciples of House Huang continued holding absolute animosity toward him.
As the colosseum grew more crowded, Tianming turned and looked at the top of the Fortuna Ranking. "When will I finally reach the very top? Qitian, Yumo, and Suishen..."
The top twenty ranks were entirely occupied by people with those three surnames. "So they're the Three Exalted Houses...."
House Qitian was said to be the strongest beastmaster faction in the Million Mundi. Their name suggested that they were the heavens' equals themselves. House Yumo was a faction with the strongest specters across the astralscape of order, with the first valley lord even rumored to have been a member. The name of their house was derived from the hellfiends they had descended from, making them the most honored of specter bloodlines. As for House Suishen, they were the strongest totemancers.
First place was occupied by a green-and-gold name, 'Qitian Jian.' It really sounded like a domineering name. The name in second place belonged to a Yumo, as expected, but the given name was spelled with an unusual character that Tianming didn't quite know how to pronounce. He guessed that it was a male name all the same. As for the third.... Suishen Yao? Why is it so similar to Suishen Zhao? His name’s green, so he's around four hundred years old. Surely he and Suishen Zhao can't be brothers, right? The thought occurred to him for a moment before he continued scanning the names below.
"So, the top thirty of the Fortuna Ranking are all from the Three Exalted Houses. House Qitian has the most people in the top ranks. This feels really similar to the Skyway worlds of the Mysterium Cluster."
But alas, the faceless mysterians were on a completely different level compared to these apex lifeforms that each represented one of the three main cultivation streams of the astralscape.
At that moment, someone cried, "Suishen Zhao accepted the challenge and is making his way here!"
Another wave of shock washed through the entire colosseum. Hype around the duel between the most talented youths in the universe was finally building up!