Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2097 - Black Squid

The words that appeared read:

Name: Li Tianming

Origin: Mysterium Cluster, Skyway Monostar

Age: 27

Race: Human

Class: Beastmaster (Blood Pact), Totemancer, Wondermancer

Cultivation Level: Stellaminoris stage, second level (Evaluated in Battle)

Beast Details: Six (Superfull), Type Undetermined. Level: All Nine-star Cosmic Beasts

Totem Details: Decabane, Swords (Nonsimulacrum)

Divine Wonder Details: Nine-leveled Tower (Yet to be Logged in Divine Wonder Database)

Genius Level: Infinitum Class

......

After reading all that, Tianming had even more questions. "Who submitted all this information? Yanwu Tian of the Three Sovereigns Mysterium?"

Tianming had just met the man not that long ago, so it was likely possible. His origin had been changed to Skyway Monostar, so he would be treated like a genius from their world. That was something the faceless mysterians would do, however, as they didn't even have faces to lose.

"What’s the Stellaminoris stage?" Tianming asked.

"Master, this is irrelevant to being your guide in the Skydome Battlefield," the fairy said with a sweet smile.

"What if I insist that you answer it?"

"Then your humble servant shall do her best to look it up. One moment." The wondersky fairy was only there to inform Tianming on how to navigate the Skydome Battlefield, after all, so such information might be beyond it. She blanked out for a few moments, staring at nothing in the air, then smiled. "Master, I’m authorized as a wondersky fairy to answer your question. The Stellaminoris stage is the final stage of the astral physique. It means to describe a minor star that’s achieving full capacity. It’s also known as the Sovereign stage."

"Why does it have two names?"

"It is only referred to as the Sovereign stage in regions classified as clusters or below. The reason for that is the difficulty of producing a cultivator that’s evolved past their astral physiques. However, in fourth-level nova source worlds and above, sovereigns are known as stellaminors. Stellaminoris sounds a little too diminutive for sovereigns, world rulers of their own rights, so it usually falls out of use as the people living in smaller regions can't accept their ruler being referred to as a ‘minor’."

"Wow, even though you're just introducing a stage, that doesn't stop you from mocking entire clusters of people, huh.... As expected of the divine wonderians." The wondersky fairy was only reading what they had in the records.

Apart from the stage, Tianming had a question about his totems. He had never shown all of his totems in the Astraldome before, but he was listed as such. More importantly, what did 'nonsimulacrum' mean? He asked the wondersky fairy about it.

The fairy zoned out again during the check before wearing an expression of regret. "Apologies, but the answer to that is beyond your current privileges."

How could it be registered under his information sheet even though it was beyond his privilege to ask about it? That was senseless! As for the other things, like his lifebound beasts being listed as blood pact beasts or his genius level, those were merely minor details.

"Fine, I have no more questions. Let's enter the battlefield!" Tianming said. He was already itching to meet the person waiting for him here.

"Very well, Master. Best of luck on your journey ahead!"

"Likewise, you and your family too!"

......

The Natal Hall seemed to melt away around him. The wondersky fairy turned into a golden mist that entered Tianming's eyes, not that he cared since only his caelum came to the wondersky realm. Once the hall disappeared, the mist around him also faded away. Tianming found that his caelum had arrived at an odd place—the Xenoworld. It was a mystical place and people's caeli would usually go there of their own accord while they dreamed. Buildings, twisted regions of space, and colorful clouds were everywhere, coupled with human and demonic faces. Tianming was already used to all of that and looked down instead.

"It's so huge!" His eyes were greeted with yet another stunning sight. A gigantic black beast the size of a star appeared below him. It was pitch black and had eighteen long tentacles, each one containing many black suckers.

"Is that a squid?" He recalled that the Tranquil Battlefield looked like a green clamshell from the outside, and was already big enough in his eyes. Yet this black squid looked to be a thousand times larger than the clamshell, no doubt reflecting the relative sizes of the battlefields. It was a haven for elites, where one's age would never come into question. The only things that mattered were results and power! Genius or talent was worthless if one still lost!

"Violetglory's wondersky realm looked like a butterfly, the Tranquil Battlefield looked like a clamshell, and the Skydome Battlefield is a black squid.... What constitutes the Perpetual Wondersky Formations the divine wonderians made, anyway?"

Were those structures really living beings? How could that be? There were countless wondersky realms across the universe! Before Tianming could reason it out in his head, a terrifying force tugged his body toward the squid below.

"Master, you’re being transported from the Mysterium Cluster to Darkfiend City. I wish you a grand slaughter and a quick return to the void," the wondersky fairy said.

"I wish you a quick return to the west!" Tianming quipped back. What kind of well-wishing was 'a quick return to the void' anyway?! [1]

"It's returning to the void, not the west," the wondersky fairy said, feigning an ignorant smile.

A black abyss appeared beneath Tianming. Bubbles constantly surfaced in it, making it look like a boiling pool. It was probably one of the black suckers on the squid's tentacles. Tianming fell into it and was completely enveloped. It felt much more horrible than how he had entered the Tranquil Battlefield. The world spun around him from his point of view as he spiraled into the vortex.

"Ugh, this is gross!" It felt like he was being eaten and digested.

"We’ll be arriving in Darkfiend City soon."

"Massage City? Who's going to give me a massage?" [2]

"Master, I can massage you. Should you feel fatigued by your battles, your humble servant's services are always available. Please ensure that your viewport is turned off before enlisting my services, or everyone in the world will be able to see your bare form in its full glory," the fairy shyly said.

"Buzz off!"

Battles in the Skydome Battlefield could be observed from wondersky realms as long as Tianming agreed to broadcast from his viewport. But even if he didn't want to be seen, others would still be able to spot him from the viewports of others.

He came crashing down from the sky above to his destination.

1. Returning west is a euphemism for passing away, according to Buddhism. It sounds a little similar to returning to the void, which coincidentally means something like dying as well. ☜

2. Darkfiend and massage are another homonym wordplay pair. Darkfiend (暗魔) shares the same pronunciation (Àn mó) as massage (按摩) ☜

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