Beastmaster of the Ages

After two months of silence, the Violetglory Star's wondersky realm flared up again.

"Quick!"

"I have to inform my senior disciple sister first! See you later!"

"Her? I heard she was going to give birth right before coming in. Even the midwife is ready."

"It doesn't matter! She said that she'll drag her caelum here even if she’s mid-labor!"

The number of people within the wondersky realm instantly decupled, a sign of the stark difference between Tianming and his other friends. Naturally, a huge part of that was thanks to the Omnisentient Will and Threads that had formed. Despite all of them being geniuses, he was the only one able to inspire the masses, and it definitely had something to do with his personality.

"Have faith in Tianming and gain eternal life!" someone shouted.

Even before entering the Astraldome, Tianming felt that the Omnisentient Threads that’d faded in the past two months had recovered.

"Dammit, it's like I'm a circus animal dancing to their tune. If I do well, I get praise, but if I stop performing tricks, I lose fans...."

Perhaps that was the difference between being a glory-bringer and a savior. He had saved the Flameyellow Continent, so its people wouldn't forget him no matter what. But if all he brought the Violetglorians was a sense of pride, he would be a footnote in the legends once that faded. However, he didn't really care too much about it; he had to focus on strengthening himself to weather fate!

......

"Please be prepared. You will soon arrive at the fifth level of the Tranquil Battlefield. Welcome to the Bloodbath Arena!" announced a voice when he was at the end of the transport corridor. His ears filled with countless sounds of cheering and shouting. This was a place made for battle, as its name suggested.

Before Tianming entered, he had asked Old Master Shengui about the rules of the fifth level. Historically, some Violetglorians had made it there, and it isn't too hard for geniuses near a hundred years of age. However, that was about the limit of Violetglorian geniuses across history.

The sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth levels were only available to those under a hundred, and no Violetglorian genius had ever managed to qualify. It was said that the sixth and seventh levels were filled with geniuses from skypiercer-class worlds, and only mysterians made it to the eighth and ninth. As for those under thirty, the fifth level was their upper limit.

During the last Astralium Seeking, those who had made it to the top ten were allowed to go to the fifth level. The fifth level didn't have any separation between those under thirty and those under a hundred, however, so the majority of people there were in their forties. Even the Celestial Beings would have a hard time making it to the sixth level as they competed with geniuses much older than them, some of whom were qualified to be their seniors.

The rules of the Bloodbath Arena were simple. There were two sections in the arena for duels and group battles respectively. As long as one had a winning streak of ten in either arena, they would make it to the sixth level, with a caveat: the winning streak had to be obtained within ten days. In other words, the winning streak would be reset ten days after the first win. The rules were rather crude, but effective. Anyone intending to make it to the next level had to keep fighting time and time again, and others could sabotage their streak by challenging them!

Getting a winning streak at the duel area was easier than the group area. As long as a group won a battle, their defeated members would be revived to full health for the next battle. Basically, it was designed for mysterian seniors to carry their juniors to the next level, but the presence of weaklings in the party would put them at a huge disadvantage against other parties. Thus, carrying a weaker junior through a winning streak wasn't easy.

"Since I'm alone, I should join the duel area." He entered the arena's duel area, which was separated from the group area. Many names were hanging in the air, each with a number beside it ranging from one to nine that probably represented their winning streak. Tianming's name wasn't there yet, as he hadn't even won once. Nobody was paying attention to him for now.

He looked ahead and saw different inky-green spheres that seemed semi-transparent. When he approached, he saw two people fighting within each of them alongside totems and lifebound beasts. Each bubble showcased a bloody battle for all to watch. As there wasn't an age limit, the people fighting there had an overall lower level of talent, but more battle experience and technique.

"How fierce...." Tianming's heart pumped from the sight, knowing that his Violetglorian audience was anxiously awaiting his fights to start. The thought of achieving that winning streak in ten days was exciting, to say the least. He turned to the list of names again and knew without a doubt that those with more than eight victories were the most watched. They would be able to move on in another battle or two, but that only made it so that more people wanted to pull them back down.

Apparently, the wondersky realm assigned weaker fighters to those that defeated people who had higher winning streaks. It wasn't an outright rule, but the reported experience of many.

"I have to see if my luck will let me have an explosive start." Tianming began looking through the list of people to challenge.