Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 4222 - Li Tianming of the Portrait

Everyone took part in the glorious celebrations. From what Tianming could gather, the enthusiasm and joy of those cosmic gods didn't seem fake in the least. They were genuinely happy that he had returned!

All of this is real... But surely there must be something that isn't, right? It couldn't be all real, especially when it clashed with his understanding of the world. Tianming couldn't bring himself to believe that everything in the Realm of Order was fake. As such, no matter how genuine Li Muyang, Wei Jing, Mu Qingqing and the others were, he couldn't quite make himself blend in and adopt their cheery mood.

He pulled his hand out of Mu Qingqing's. Even though he thought that this Mu Qingqing had nothing to do with Midas's death, her name alone made it hard for him to accept her. A look of sorrow flashed across her face as he did so, though it didn't stand out in the merry atmosphere.

"Tianming!" Li Muyang said with a smile, "I've decided to host a banquet and invite the imperatores from all across the Realm of Chaos to celebrate your return. Isn't that great?"

"There are imperatores in the Realm of Chaos too?" Tianming asked, somewhat surprised.

"Foolish child, your dad is Imperator Skyplunder of Nullity, you know," Wei Jing said.

"Ah, umm..." Tianming looked closer at Li Muyang. He did seem to give him a similar impression that Imperator Yin had. It was no wonder others called Tianming the Skyplunder imperial son.

Li Muyang treated Tianming's lack of an answer as a yes. "Alright then, I'll go and organize it."

Wei Jing looked deeply at Tianming and nodded. "I'll have to awaken your grandparents too."

The grandparents needed awakening? Tianming asked, "What are my grandparents called?"

Stunned, Wei Jing said with some resignation, "Foolish child, you must've forgotten almost everything, right?" She came closer to whisper in his ear. "Your grandfather is Li Xiao and your grandmother is Dongshen Yue, but don't address them directly with their names, alright?"

Lin Xiao and Dongshen Yue of the Realm of Order were the parents of Li Muyang's eighth incarnation in Ebonia. So, both of them existed in the Realm of Chaos as well, save for the different surnames Li Xiao and Lin Xiao had. What in the world was happening?

"Qingqing," Wei Jing said, "take Tianming to rest at Kunruler Palace. I will take his grandparents to visit him there once they wake up."

"Alright, Mother," Mu Qingqing said with an obedient nod.

"Wait, what did you just call her?" Tianming asked, stunned.

"Mother. What about it?" she said.

"Tianming," Wei Jing reminded in a stern tone, "I know you've just returned and haven't reawakened your memories, but don't hurt my beloved daughter-in-law like that."

"Holy shit..." He turned to look at the resentful yet pitiful girl in the black dress. She even ended up as his wife!

"Go there to rest. Perhaps you'll be able to remember some things," Mu Qingqing said.

Tianming didn't know what to say. He suddenly remembered something and asked," Wait, you said you've been watching my portrait for a hundred thousand years, right? Is it the one at Kunruler Palace?"

"That's right."

"Alright, take me there."

The two of them flew towards their destination as the onlookers praised them for being the perfect couple. However, Mu Qingqing didn't get too close to him, having sensed his subconscious rejection of her. The sorrowful look on her face was incredibly moving. Everything was far too weird for Tianming!

Soon, he saw a massive black palace in front, built such that even cosmic gods a hundred thousand meters in height could move about within freely. "Why is my residence called Kunruler Palace?"

Mu Qingqing pointed at the golden building next to it and said, "That building there is the Qianruler Palace. Qian and kun make qiankun, heaven and earth, in other words, the universe." [1]">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hexagrams_of_the_I_Ching)[/ref]

"Who lives there?"

"Your elder brother."

"What is his name again?" Tianming was finding this weirder and weirder. He had never had a biological sibling in his whole life, let alone an elder brother.

Mu Qingqing looked incredibly respectful as she said, "Your brother is the Skyplunder imperial first son, Li Tianzi."

Tianming was glad to hear that name. "Finally, someone who isn't a returning character!"

"You might be happy about this, but he doesn't really like you," Mu Qingqing said.

"Why is that?" Tianming raised a brow.

"It's complicated, so let's talk about this later. Do you want to see the portrait first?"

"Fine." The two of them flew into the grandest hall in the building that was a million meters in height. Tianming couldn't even see the ceiling from all the way down there.

"It's inside," Mu Qingqing said as she disappeared into the darkness. Even though she was clad in black, the view of her slender body from behind did resemble the white-clad Mu Qingqing he was familiar with.

Tianming looked away as his eyes were drawn by the massive portrait a hundred thousand meters in height before him. The figure that it depicted stood fifty thousand meters tall! As it was just a painting, one couldn't be sure if the figure was painted to scale and was truly a fifty-thousand-meter-tall cosmic god.

He was still left speechless by it all the same. The figure in the painting hovered in deep, black space and had striking, galactic, white hair, a young face that bore an imperial air, and black-gold eyes! He was clad in black-gold galactic robes that seemed rather tattered, which revealed his black left arm that crackled with lightning with traces of black fur! His right arm, on the other hand, was covered in gold-crimson sword-shaped feathers like a phoenix had wrapped itself around him. His right leg was covered in blue and brown dragon scales while his kneecap and feet were two giant dragon heads. His left leg was surrounded by flowers, black roots and green sword-shaped leaves.

There was even a gray deadfish eye in the middle of his chest, and beneath his feet was a pink star. Above his head, three white bubbles could be seen stuck to his head like three rounded horns. One could even make out the phoenix and beast within his black-gold irises. It was almost identical to the current Tianming, save for the presence of Sixth's vita.

1. TL Note: Qian and kun have many symbolic meanings, chief among which referring to the first two hexagrams in the I Ching. See this for more information: ☜