Beast Master of the Netherworld

Beast Master of the Underworld is a fantasy novel by Dongfang Ming. First serialized on platforms such as 17K and Tianxia Shumeng, it was published in print in August 2007 by China Theater Press as part of the Tianxia Shumeng Fantasy Series. The story is set in ancient times: underworld beasts come from the realm of the dead, and those who can command them are known as beast masters, possessing extraordinary constitutions and near-perfect strength. The protagonist, Dongfang Yi, is an adopted orphan who harbors another, feared identity—"Beast." Using a borrowed badge, he infiltrates the Dreamweaver Academy, which specializes in training beast masters, and thus begins his path to becoming one. Later, he obtains the Alien Beast Armor through the Martial Sage, battles the Beast Master Association's president, Emperor Feng, and in the Great Clan Tournament seizes the "Beast Chapter," which records sealing arts. He accidentally breaks its seal and becomes the master of Qilin, King of the Underworld Beasts. Yet behind what he believes to be perfect memories lies a forgotten past—a time in which he gained much and was slowly losing it all. To recover what he has lost, he ventures boldly into the underworld, encounters the progenitor of beasts in the Water-Sky Illusion Realm, and a climactic showdown unfolds. With academy growth, beast pacts, clan strife, and underworld adventure as its main threads, the novel blends passionate combat with the mystery of its hero's origins and stands as one of the representative works of the "beast-taming" genre in early Chinese web fantasy. This edition is based on the widely circulated, carefully proofread complete online text and runs to over 660,000 characters.