Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming was in no hurry, but he believed the Sky Palace would act if the situation ever got too chaotic. Now, the tension was rising to a new peak. Unsurprisingly, the imperial star ranking had changed once more. The black stele had tens of thousands of names, all shining bright gold. Tianming's name was especially prominent.

However, the top eight gold names began turning blood-red, including Zhan Yuance's. It was no longer just a simple red dot like before; the dot had vanished with the sinking of the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. Then something else appeared on the very top of the stele: the number forty-nine. What did that mean? The square of seven? Nobody had any idea. The changes were broadcast all across the sun through the skyward eyes.

"What does the names turning red mean?"

"Forty-nine? Is there any significance to that? Is that some sort of countdown? If so, does it denote days or hours?"

As people were wondering, a booming voice rang out from above the stele. The voice was so loud that it even shook the flaming clouds above as it spread throughout the battlefield. "The Sky Palace has come to a unanimous decision to offer two candidacies for this Voidsky Skirmish."

Those words were mind-blowing. Candidacies didn't mean one would be accepted into the Sky Palace. Instead, they represented chances to be tested by them to see whether they qualified to join. Usually, there would only be one candidacy offered, if any at all, and they were offered once every couple of centuries. Only the top-ranking participant out of an average of ten Voidsky Skirmishes would be allowed to undergo the final trial. Upon passing, the candidate would rise to the very top of the sun's hierarchy.

The announcement of two candidacies was completely unexpected. There was a good chance that one of those eight red names would eventually become an actual Sky Palace member.

"It's been a long time since anyone joined the Sky Palace...."

The announcement continued amidst the frantic chatter. "Additionally, the Voidsky Skirmish will end in forty-nine days." It turned out that the number was a countdown after all. "The skirmish shall continue within that time. Anyone that makes it into the top eight will have their names turned red. When the countdown is over, the ranking shall be fixed and the top eight participants shall have the right to compete for the two candidacies."

In other words, everyone would do their best to increase their points in the next forty-nine days to make it to the top eight, after which they would have to fight one final battle.

"So, we have to secure our place in the top eight. The Sky Palace gave extra time for the disciples that didn't manage to get any treasures so they'll have a fighting chance. If they're powerful enough, they can brute force their way into the top...."

The question was how the final two candidates among the top eight would be picked, though the announcement continued and immediately answered it. "A new battlefield formation will appear beneath the Skyward Stele after

Xiaoxiao was currently ranked eighth, so if she could defeat Tianming, she would instantly have more than seven hundred thousand points, while Tianming would fall to eighth place and lose the right to compete for the candidacy.

"After the first round of battles, the new top four shall draw lots to determine their opponents. The winners of the second round of battles will obtain the candidacies."

That was the end of the announcement. The rules were surprisingly simple; to sum up, there would be forty-nine days for others to work on raising their points. Then two rounds of battles would be carried out to eliminate six of the top eight for the final two to rise. The first round was particularly interesting, as it afforded the lower ranked of the top eight to suddenly turn things around. It also made it possible for one to control their current ranking to determine who they would fight. For instance, the seventh place Long Longlong would be facing off against Weisheng Moran, who was currently in second place, but since he had been defeated by her once, there would be no point in trying again. He could instead think of a way to fight someone who wasn't Weisheng Moran.

"I'm already leading by two hundred thousand points in the first place, so it doesn't matter much to me. Everything depends on the last two battles."

Forty-nine days was almost an eyeblink for cultivators. Thus it seemed that all four of them would stand a good chance of making it in, based on the current rankings. Tianming decided he would act depending on how the ranking changed.

"Zhan Yuance's in fourth place, but he's already been eliminated and can't come back to fight. I wonder who’ll fight the fifth ranker?" Yu Ziqian asked. Currently, Lingfeng was fifth.

"Who knows... the rules don't say anything about what happens if Zhan Yuance stays in the top eight after the countdown ends."

It would be pointless to consider something like that, though; only time would tell. There was little chance anyone would be able to get many points in such a short time anyway, now that the tomb was gone. Assuming the points rose at a gradual rate for everyone, Tianming would be able to maintain some control. He asked Xiaoxiao, "Do you want to fight?"

"I would like to try," she said.

"You're in eighth place now, and the ninth ranker is two hundred thousand points behind you by virtue of not obtaining any treasures. It isn't impossible for that person to catch up in forty-nine days, though. We have to pay attention to their points."

"Alright. I'll do my best to cultivate. If I'm going to be overtaken, I'll go get some points with Wu You."

The situation with Lingfeng was similar. Unlike Tianming, his position wasn't as secure.

......

After the announcement, the participants continued raising their points aside from Zhan Yuance. Lan Feilin had long been pushed out of the top ten.

"Did you notice anything?" Lingfeng asked, looking at the Skyward Stele.

"Long Longlong, you mean?" Tianming paused his cultivation and looked up.

"That's right. His points aren't moving either."

"He's ranked seventh, with less than ten thousand points over Xiaoxiao. He'll be facing off against Weisheng Moran at this rate. Since he doesn't want to fight her again, he's probably waiting for Xiaoxiao to overtake him."

If Long Longlong was trying to get to sixth place, he would have to compete with Kong, who was rapidly increasing his points. Thus, falling to eighth place was his safest bet.

"We aren't that strong and had to gang up on Zhan Yuance to defeat him, yet Long Longlong is a fifth-level constellier at his young age and even has the Ninedragon Imperius, a grade-eight divine artifact. He's probably only a little weaker than Weisheng Moran. If he falls to eighth place, he'll face off against you," Xiaoxiao said.

"Of course. If he defeats me, he'll jump straight to first place. Not to mention, I took quite a few things that belonged to his ancestor, so he probably has a bone to pick with me."

The Ninedragon Imperius was the Ninedragon Emperor's top weapon and was no doubt far more powerful than the Divine Worldeater Cauldron in combat. Now that Zhan Yuance was out, Long Longlong was probably the only one that would have the strongest reason to consider Tianming his enemy, since he probably considered all the treasures in the tomb to belong to him, since they used to be his ancestor's.

The two rounds of battles would be broadcast by the skyward eyes, unlike what happened in the tomb. That only brought even more excitement to those watching. The battlefield was akin to a holy land for all the young blood; it was where they could prove themselves to be the best of the best. Unsurprisingly, Long Longlong wanted to face off against Tianming to do just that.

"Should I stop raising my points too?" Xiaoxiao asked.

"Do you still want to fight?"

She gave it some thought and still decided to fight. But there wouldn't be a point if she was going to fight Tianming if she stayed in eighth place.

"Go for seventh place then!" Tianming looked at the stele again. "So Long Longlong thinks I'm a pushover, eh." Joining the Sky Palace was his only ticket to survive; he wouldn't let anyone stop him!