Beastmaster of the Ages

Within the Infinitum Swordsea was a mountain that looked like a sword that had snapped. Even then, it stood so tall into the clouds that the broken peak couldn’t be seen. Both sides of the ’blade’ were covered in many black and white buildings all the way up to the top. The buildings varied in style and size, the larger of which could even house lifebound beasts, being much larger than normal divine astralships.

The very peak of the broken sword was constantly shrouded in a cloudy black mist. The nova source storms of Ebonia raged near the heights with insane wind speeds. Normal mortals, and even ascendants, would be torn apart by the sheer force. Only a few buildings could be seen near the parts of the broken sword peak within the storm, but every single one of them looked like a gigantic hall. The sound of beasts and fighting could be heard from within, and one of them rumbled.

”Quick, Hong, don’t blank out! Intercept it! That’s right, bite! Ming, snap out of it! Keep fighting by widening your distance and tearing its horn off! Beautiful!” An old voice could be heard coming from the rumbling hall that was filled to the brim with the roars of beasts.

All of a sudden, the hall’s entrance slammed open. A formation emanating countless strands of black light appeared, shaped like a bowl that contained a deep, dark abyss. Within the formation were two gigantic beasts that fought each other, one black, one white. Both were covered in armor and sported powerful limbs, antennae, and fierce demeanors. Considering their mass, they were probably cosmic wildbeasts.

As they fought, they glowed with a piercing light and roared so loud that the ears of those around them felt numb. Green blood and chunks of flesh could be seen littered all over the black bowl. Upon closer inspection, those two weren’t actual beasts, but gigantic, cricket-like insects.

”Hong, stand up! You’re a skystar cricket! And Ming, don’t fall back, either. Darkstar crickets like you are far more expensive than skystar crickets! Show it how much you’re worth! Quick, I’ll take the winner to the Ebonia Global Cricket Championships! Go!” cheered a withered old man dressed in flowery trousers.

He stood at the entrance of the bowl and held a green leaf that was tens of thousands of miles long but only around a palm’s width. He wielded the leaf like a whip, agitating the crickets inside the bowl. His hair was unkempt and his eyes revealed a deep obsession. There was nothing respectable about his expression. The funniest part about him was his ponytail-length beard that was even tied up with a butterfly knot. His beard-tail shook as he swung the leaf like a whip, splattering any saliva that might have otherwise accrued on it from all his yelling.

”Go! Go! Beautiful! I’ll treat the winner as my very own son! Kill!” He was the only one within the sword hall, yet he seemed to be having the time of his life. However, he suddenly looked annoyed and took out a golden rock. ”The fuck? Why have you come looking for me?”

A small figure of a man appeared above the golden stone, looking constipated. ”Old Man, I saw your grandson!”

”Damn it, and I saw your ancestors. No joke. Fuck off and leave me in peace, got it?” The old man threw away the golden stone and swung the green leaf around to get the monster crickets to fight once more.

”Old Man! If you don’t come, your grandson will die at Myriadsword Mausoleum! The ceremony’s being hosted by the leaders of the Third and Seventh Branches! They’re the ones who want us, the Second Branch, to be forever unable to lift our heads high!” said the gold stone as it continued flashing. The mustached projection of the middle-aged person on the other side seemed even more anxious than before.

”You bunch of pathetic balls, are you crazy? My son’s dead and gone! How could I possibly have a grandson?! If my wife hears about this and thinks I cheated on her, I’ll be even worse off!” The mere mention of his wife seemed to take the wind out of his bravado and he visibly slumped.

”I’m serious, it’s your grandson! Lin Mu’s son! Didn’t you know he had an illegitimate son before he died? Lin Jianxing of the Third Branch brought him to the mausoleum in his divine astralship! I saw him with my own eyes! His looks, talent, and behavior leave room for no doubt! If he isn’t your grandson, I’ll let you use my head as a chamber pot!”

”The hell?” The old man was just about to turn the gold stone off again only for him to hesitate. After some absentminded consideration, he sighed and sharpened his gaze. ”You’re not joking around, right? If you mess with someone my age, I’m gonna screw the fuck out of you!”

”Just stop asking questions and come! I’ll be your son if I’m mistaken and hold vigil for you when you die!”

”Look at yourself in the mirror for a second, alright? Who wants someone like you to be my son?!” The old man put away the stone and almost stumbled. ”Lin Mu’s... son?” He gulped audibly as his eyes turned red before he vanished from where he stood. The two cosmic wildbeasts inside the bowl looked around. When they were sure the old man was gone, they started engaging in some mating. Had the old man been there to see that, he would be freaking out with rage.

......

”Lady of the house! My dear Yue’er! Big news!” The old man burst through the dark storms outside and entered a blood-red hall. When he busted open the doors, a thick bloody mist came flooding out. The sight of a sea of blood unfolded before the old man, within which the bodies of many gigantic beasts floated. The entire hall was dark and terrifying, like something out of hell itself. Even he couldn’t help but shudder.

”Now, Old Lady, stop cultivating! That kid that was brought to the Myriadsword Mausoleum is said to be our dear Mu’s child! Lin Goudan called and told me about it! He asked us to go there!”

The moment he fell silent, the pool of blood suddenly exploded. A figure slowly walked towards the old man amidst the bloody mist. She was a woman of advanced age with hair as white as the old man’s, but her mind seemed far sharper than his. She stood ramrod straight and was incredibly elegantly dressed. Her long hair was worn in a way that emphasized her grace, but the necklace of skulls that clung to her neck and her dark red eyes gave her a strong taint of terror. She wielded a staff in one hand that was capped off with a gory skull whose eyes also glowed eerily red.

”Say that again.” The crone glared at the old man, her eyes completely bloodshot. The skulls within the hall seemed to be letting out ghoulish howls as a reaction to her emotional turmoil.

”Lin Goudan said our Little Mu has a son, who’s been brought to the mausoleum!” the old man said with a shaky voice, holding her hand tight.

”If you dare to joke around with me about this, I’ll kill you, drink your blood, and feast on your flesh!” she growled while pulling the old man by his long, tied-up beard.

”Ouch!” Before he could even yelp, he was dragged outside the building. ”Agh! Be more gentle! Ouch!” He was already tearing up. To think that his wife would pull on his beard like a carry handle. The dark storms outside seemed to have intensified much more than before, and that made the crone’s murderous silhouette even more horrifying.

”Mu, my son!” The old man closed his eyes as his tears flowed.

”If that’s really his child, then we’ll have to protect him even if it costs us our lives, got it?” the woman snapped.

”I don’t need you to tell me that! Ouch, my beard!” Cold, icy rain continued falling into his mouth, but that didn’t last for more than half an hour.

”Granny Dongshen, the worship ceremony is underway! You can’t enter now or you’ll disturb the ancestors!” Tens of people tried to get in the way.

.....

”Phew....” Tianming didn’t know how he had spent the past hour. His knees were mush, nay, his whole body was. The people of the clan didn’t forget to continue applying pressure on him while they carried out the worship. That albus-crushing pressure came from a hundred thousand top elites. His blood was boiling and his skull felt like it would implode. He was seeing stars and his mind was completely blank; he had forgotten how long it had been since he’d been so haggard.

”Agh, the soreness is unbelievable,” Tianming self-mockingly said as blood continued pouring out of his mouth. Even then, his mind still filled with rage from having to endure this unreasonable treatment. ”They’re going to finish the worship soon.... Then it’ll get much worse.”

”My poor Little Li...” Xian Xian said. Tianming’s lifebound beasts knew that all the suffering being brought to Tianming was only temporary as long as he had the Greenspark Tower. At the very least, this was preferable to being left to Lin Jianxing’s discretion.

Tianming had been genuinely worried that the youth would kill him. But now he no longer feared them and felt angry instead.

The length of the worship ceremony was so long that he grew used to the numbness. Even though his body was still on the brink of collapse, they hadn’t managed to crush his will. While the sun was far away, his will had once been supported by trillions of others.

He spent the time observing the clan members as they recited the exploits of their esteemed ancestors. The ceremony was conducted with an air of sanctified importance. Respecting the elders and their legacies was a huge virtue in the Swordgod Lin Clan. Even after the ceremony finished, the people in the mausoleum remained solemn and respectful. But that didn’t stop them from casting their gazes back toward Tianming.