Beastmaster of the Ages

”What the heck? The Southeast Border Zone is filled with the territories of large clans! Their formations line the entire place and the slightest brush against them will count as trespassing! I had to waste so much nova source making all those turns! And now most of the resupply ports are in the hands of those large clans that charge such ridiculous prices! Curse those dastardly merchants! Fuck! Lin Feng, you stupid brat, you don’t even have a cruising map of Ebonia, yet you dared to bring your ship around like this. Did the one who raised you really not teach you anything at all?” Gongshu Ding must have been quite frustrated for him to be able to go on in that vein for that long. However, he didn’t come all the way to the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb.

”I need the four of you to stay here while I look for someone rich in the Infinitum Swordsea to negotiate a good price to sell you to them! Well, it isn’t like you could escape if you tried anyway, haha!” The ether-class ship was completely shut and there was no way the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb could move in the least. Not to mention, the materials and formations the snake-shaped ship was made of were of a much higher grade, so Tianming wouldn’t even be able to escape with his Plundering Arm.

”Lin Mu, Lin Mu!” Gongshu Ding hummed with a smile as he left. ”Abandoned by your ancestors, brought shame on countless generations! A truly mysterious anomaly in the history of Ebonia, you and your antics really caused too many people to claw out their eyes. There’s no way I can possibly compare.... With nothing but your own power, you actually managed to cause the Swordgod Lin Clan to fall into an abyss, making your entire clan a laughingstock for all. The Trade Union’s business suffered calamity after calamity.... You really had a genius talent. Truly the opposite of Yi Daiyan! It isn’t going overboard for me to trade your son for some treasures, right? Hahaha!”

Tianming heard everything Gongshu Ding said as his voice faded. ”Damn.... I have a feeling that I got screwed by my dad.” What was all that about bringing shame to the clan? What could Lin Mu have done to deserve such words?

”Perhaps he didn’t think that you’d come here without any status at all and get into trouble before you even had a chance to strive,” Feiling weakly said. If things had gone according to plan, there would be no need for Tianming to go through all this at all. He could have spent a few centuries doing his own thing before trying to make things up to Li Muyang’s parents.

”As expected of the man that even stole Primordial Chaos Beasts. Even one of his minor incarnations managed to cause so much chaos,” Tianming lamented. ”This is really awkward....”

The others had nothing else to say. The wait was rather agonizing, and Tianming had no way to predict who among the Swordgod Lin Clan would be coming.

”Ideally, it’ll be your grandparents,” Feiling said.

”Oh? Looks like my wife wants to meet the family,” Tianming teased. The fact that he was still capable of that much meant that he was still maintaining some semblance of calm.

Gongshu Ding left for three days, a sign of how large the territory of the Swordgod Lin Clan was, or perhaps he was merely taking his time to shop for the highest bidder. When he returned, he called out, ”Young Master Jianxing, we’re here! I’ll open the doors right up, so please be patient with me! I assure you that this is the absolute genuine article. If there’s a fake, I guarantee a refund! If I’m defrauding you, my family and I shall be exterminated by you!”

”Enough with the nonsense,” said a young, cold voice in response.ℯ𝚠e. c𝑜𝐦

”Great! Then, about the thing we discussed.... Young Master, my trade is a rather demanding effort, you see....” Gongshu Ding let out a hearty chuckle. ”Thank you, Young Master! You’re far too gracious! My utmost well wishes to your efforts to reach the top ten thousand in the reges mundi ranking once more! With your immense talent, I’m sure you’ll succeed!”

”Just open the damn thing!” Gongshu Ding’s excitement probably meant that he’d gotten what he had really badly wanted. However, that enthusiasm didn’t seem to be shared by the impatient youth.

”That doesn’t sound good,” Ying Huo said. Even the most naive of fools would be able to guess that the one who had come for them was angry and hostile. Tianming could almost hear him grinding his teeth with rage as he heavily stomped into the ship. The footsteps felt like hammer strikes to his heart.

”Looks like Ebonia ended up being quite an unlucky star for you. Nothing’s gone well since we arrived,” Ying Huo said, chuckling. One had to wonder how it still had the stomach to make comments like that despite being in the same boat. Though it did have a point about Tianming’s recent luck. His attempt at subterfuge had almost immediately failed, and now, it appeared that he would be falling into the hands of his father’s nemesis, though he had no idea what the grievance was about.

Many doors snapped open at the same time. Though Tianming controlled the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, he had no choice but to open them as well, lest they decide to force their way in and trash the ship. Finally, some light from the outside was allowed to shine into the darkness within. Tianming wasn’t quite used to it, so he squinted at the two in the entrance.

The youth beside Gongshu Ding stood pencil straight, like the blade of a sword. The moment the doors opened, his terrifying sword ki flooded the entire place and swept across Tianming! The sword ki intensified when his gaze fell on Tianming. There was no doubt who Lin Mu’s son was, for Tianming was the only man among them, not to mention his appearance and the way he met his gaze.

”You who was abandoned, you who brought shame!” the youth howled, eyes bloodshot. Killing intent intensified along with his sword ki, forming a sword projection that flew Tianming’s way with deep-seated hate!

”Another elite beyond the level of a god?” Tianming could instantly tell based on the overwhelming nature of the strike. Even a single lift of the man’s finger made it seem like all the nova source in the surroundings was being sucked away, Normal gods like Tianming barely had a chance to stand up against superior gods and could only wait to die.

However, the youth’s power was much weaker than Gongshu Ding’s, so Tianming wasn’t completely suppressed. Perhaps he had only broken through to the higher stage not long ago! But even if that were the case, it already made him stronger than the Three Sovereigns Mysterium.