Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 4257 - The Declining Mu Clan

After explaining the Dongshen Arena, Li Tianzi departed, leaving Tianming and Mu Qingqing behind. The Chaos Star Ruin had been completely mined, so staying here was pointless.

Though the 'black grapes' had been transported back to Nullity, the 'red grapes' were of greater importance to Tianming. He was momentarily stunned as he stared at the nine bronze-red dazzling radiances before him.

They were all ripe!

"A wise man knows better than to fight a losing battle. Time to buff up my orders!" Putting away seven dazzling radiances, Tianming placed the remaining two in front of him.

"You've absorbed too much lately. Aren't you worried it’ll destabilize your orders?" Mu Qingqing asked.

"After I’ve absorbed these, my orders are going on a diet!" Tianming joked.

"You wish!" Mu Qingqing mocked.

Although their relationship had settled into a comfortable, even flirtatious rhythm, Tianming frequently drove her mad. His recent "wager my wife" comment was a perfect infuriating example.

She watched as Tianming once again used Daosteal, devouring the dazzling radiances with his Plundering Eye. This time, he was far more cautious, deliberately slowing the pace of absorption, so he could halt the process instantly if anything felt wrong. The leftover dazzling radiance compressed into a smaller, red grape, which Tianming pocketed for a future “meal”.

Just as expected, Tianming was forced to stop after absorbing one and a half dazzling radiances.

"I’m stuffed. My orders are so bloated. Any more, and it'll just be a greasy mess.” He shook his head.

"Stop then. No one’s going to take them from you," Mu Qingqing said.

"I can’t help it. I've never tasted anything this good." Tianming chuckled to himself and withdrew his hand.

The remaining half of the dazzling radiance automatically condensed into a slightly smaller red grape. Tianming stored it away, ready to 'eat' it again next time.

Tianming turned to Mu Qingqing. "I’m going back to Nullity. My orders are growing. It's time to see if I can break through to the next level."

"Sure." Mu Qingqing nodded.

"Aren’t you bored following me around?" Tianming asked as they slipped into the Xenoworld.

"Not at all,” Mu Qingqing said, glancing at him wistfully. "Waiting for you for so long... That was boring."

“Fine.” Tianming thought for a moment, then asked, “By the way, is your cultivation at a critical stage right now? Why not use your main body? It would make things more convenient for me.”

“Will you still get to sharpen your sword if I use my main body?” Mu Qingqing smiled.

“I’ve been around for so long, why would I need more sharpening?” Tianming chuckled.

“Yes, you have plenty of women and plenty of experience,” Mu Qingqing said somewhat sourly.

She was the one who initiated the subject, and her distaste was evident. Tianming simply ignored her.

Seeing his indifference, Mu Qingqing bit her lip and explained, “It’s not that I don’t want to, but my identity is sensitive. I’m afraid of drawing unwanted attention from other starcages who will use this to threaten Imperator Skyplunder.”

“Your identity is sensitive?” Tianming looked at her in confusion.

"I’m the princess of the Mu clan." Mu Qingqing said, her voice tinged with sadness. "That's how it’s always been. The moment a great power falters, the wolves move in for the kill. The Realm of Chaos is a cruel place. They’re trying everything to separate the Mu clan from the skyplunderers, so they won’t risk confronting you."

"I understand. They would show you no mercy," Tianming said.

This lined up with her earlier remarks about what happened in the Dongshen Domain. Her brother had been targeted and his whereabouts were still unknown.

“Their strategy in the Inverse Battlefield is this–as long as they're facing the Mu Clan, they'll show no mercy, but they’ll retreat once your brother and father intervene, thus dividing us.” Mu Qingqing felt a mix of worry and resentment. “In fact, it’s not a matter of good or bad. I’m not criticizing anyone; it's just the way the world works. Powerless as we are, we live in fear. At the same time, the least we can do is honor the skyplunderers’ benevolence by doing our best."

“Yes...” Tianming shot a quick look in her direction and then laughed softly. “The princess of the Mu clan and the skyplunder imperial son together, husband and wife. Now that I'm back and spending all my time with you, those who want to divide us must be unhappy. So is your constant presence meant for others to see?”

Mu Qingqing shook her head. “It's not that complicated. It's been so long since I've seen you, I wish I could see you every single day".

“Save it.”

They chatted as they returned to Nullity.

Mu Qingqing acted like a caring assistant and took care of everything for Tianming, ensuring he never had to lift a finger.

She led Tianming into the pathway to the Realm of Order. At the entrance to the pathway, Tianming dispelled chaotic power with the chaos worldbangle and drew energy from the Realm of Order with his orders. As expected, the growth of his orders were disproportionate, resulting in several unstable orders. To avoid additional risks, Tianming prudently halted his cultivation after advancing just one level, reaching eleventh-level Microcosmic stage.

Unlike the previous growth spurt that saw his body reach six thousand meters, his current growth was limited to a few hundred meters. His middlekin astrons underwent the most dramatic change, becoming significantly larger and more solid as they prepared for his next breakthrough to Heavencosmic stage.

"I’m over six thousand meters tall, but this transformation shows that I’m just an eleventh-level microcosmic god."

This was crucial because it indicated he possessed greater potential than others. After advancing to eleventh-level Microcosmic stage, Tianming used the chaos worldbangle to convert his power to chaos cosmoforce, which immediately alleviated the pressure from his ‘bloated’ orders.

"I need to figure it out myself. I can't just rely on ‘drugs’!" Tianming sighed as he emerged with Mu Qingqing.

"I went back and discovered something,” said Mu Qingqing.

"What?"

She looked at him. "When you first returned, people in Nullity had little faith in you because you were so weak. But bringing back so many chaos nova sources this time has dramatically increased their belief in you. They're all talking about you."

"Is that so? I don't really care what they think about me. Right now, dazzling radiances are all that matter." Tianming said calmly.

"It’s too much to ask you to fight for Nullity now. I think it’s more realistic to ask you to fight for yourself.”

Then she added softly, “I’m not trying to restrict you, I just want to tell you how I feel.”