nytimes top 10 fiction books

In the era of the Universal Beastmaster, demonic beasts rampage, but thankfully everyone in the human race can awaken their talents and enter contracts with beasts to resist them when they come of age. Some individuals awaken F-ranked talents, doomed to a common life without any hope of beast evolution. Some awaken to C-ranked talents, their beasts are able to exert power beyond their own, becoming immensely strong. Others awaken to S-ranked talents, and with their beasts, become top-tier forces contributing to humanity's power. Struggling on his way across, Ye Feng began by awakening ten top-tier SSS-ranked talents, choosing his beast at will. [Eye of the Soul: Examine strengths and weaknesses of beasts while identifying their ultimate evolution path]. [Cultivation Reciprocation: Infusing cultivation base to the beast, the host gets an equal share, triggering a chance for a critical hit]. [Horrific Swallow: Beasts can permanently obtain the skills of the creatures they devour; weaker beings can be killed directly by devouring]. [Talent Plunder: Each time a life is taken, a random talent of the deceased is acquired]. ... Despite odds stacked against him, Ye Feng chose to forsake choosing a high-star beast, instead contracting with the Earth Ape King and cultivating it into a Great Saint Qi Tian. The mythical Great Saint Qi Tian, the world-embracing World Tree, the world-consuming Great Golden Sun Crow, and the Kun Peng which controls the way of space and force; This is an era exclusive to Ye Feng, where gods retreat, and all realms bow down.