Beastmaster of the Ages

”As the main wife of the heir, Ling’er will be treated as two levels above her grade. Xiaoxiao and Little Fish will be treated as one level above, given their status as concubines,” Dongshen Yue added. In other words, they were only nominally grade-one disciples.

”Interesting....” While the grades prevented him from gaining overnight access to the best resources, it was a chance for him to prove himself. Nobody could argue whether he deserved the resources if he had the grade to obtain them.

”It can’t be helped since you haven’t shown your capabilities yet. Those fellows at the clan registry can’t directly give you a high grade. That’s why your placement on the daisy ranking is really important. If you do well, you’ll be able to enter higher levels of the Caeli Vault for better caeli,” Dongshen Yue said. For instance, if Feiling was a grade-five disciple, she would be able to enter the seventh level of the Caeli Vault.

”Understood, Grandma. We will do our best,” Feiling and the others chorused, nodding.

”What about me?” Tianming asked, troubled.

”You? Well, you can take your time!” Dongshen Yue said.

Tianming felt like she was heavily favoring the girls over him. ”Grandma, what’s this merit thing then? Mine’s at zero.”

”That refers to the contributions you’ve rendered to the clan. Contributions can come in many forms, whether by bringing us material riches or improving our reputation. A proper system to evaluate contributions has been established in the long history of our clan and it’s absolutely fair.”

”What can the merits be used for, then?”

”They can be exchanged for cultivation resources, of course! You get to choose from anything, be it manna, ores, herbs, pills, artifacts, or even battle arts and techniques. Basically, almost everything in the clan can be purchased using merits, even entry to the Caeli Vault. If your grade isn’t high enough but you have merit to spare, you can buy a time-limited entrance ticket to a higher level with merits.”

”I see.... So the disciple grade and merit are far more important than one’s birth can ever be.”

”That’s right. That’s why I said that the best stuff can only be obtained through the shared public pool.”

While Tianming wanted to get rich through his grandparents, being able to earn everything on his own would be far more interesting and legitimize his status. Dongshen Yue had already said that they had some private belongings they could afford to give him, so he was already covered on that front, with the opportunity to earn more through the clan’s systems.

”Grandma, how do I go about obtaining merit points then?”

”There’s generally three ways. First, you can take on missions offered by the clan. There’s all kinds of them, each with varying merit points as a reward. You can take on missions at the clan registry. The second is to secure a position in the Myriadsword Emporium or other businesses of the clan. You can either be paid merit points for fulfilling tasks or get them monthly, like a fixed salary.”

”I see, so it’s the difference between doing gigs or being properly employed.”

”That’s right! You have a smart head on your shoulders. Those are the two most common ways to earn merit. The third isn’t something you can just do whenever you want. Normally, children rarely get to fight for the reputation of the clan. The most common way is to get on the reges mundi ranking, minor or otherwise, and have a good rank at that. There’s other ways to do it, but those need to be evaluated by the clan council on an individual basis. Anything you do that improves the reputation of the clan will be rewarded.”

”Understood. So they quantify all of our deeds and we can trade them in for favors or resources. Anyone that contributes will get a chance.”

”That’s right. That’s the core of the Swordgod Lin Clan!” While Dongshen Yue had only married into the clan, she still approved of this system.

Lin Xiao came over and said, ”Across the whole of Ebonia, nobody does fairness like our clan. That’s thanks to the Clan Registry Formation we’ve built up over millennia. That’s also why our clan is the hegemon of southeast Ebonia. Historically, more than fifty top reges mundi have come from our clan!” He proudly cocked his head to the point that his beard flopped around.

”Then why’re you so useless?” Dongshen Yue said.

”Well, it’s because I fell for your seductive wiles, of course!” He shot her a flirtatious look that completely stunned her. Tianming almost puked from the bold display.

He turned and looked at the merit points of the others and they were all zero, and their cultivation details were accurately recorded. Feiling was a first-level stellaminor, Xiaoxiao was a twelfth-level solarian, and Moran was an eleventh-level constellier, being the lowest among them. At her level, she would be quite a laughingstock among the other disciples of the clan, but Dongshen Yue had grand plans for her that would shock and awe the rest.

”After this, I’ll get Feng’er a position in the emporium so he can get a salary,” Dongshen Yue said.

Will I have to work? Tianming didn’t have any real work experience. It felt like his career in the clan’s businesses was finally about to start, now that the card formation had been implanted inside him.

”We’ve finally reached the Grandsect Arena. It’s right in front of the registry. Girls, show them what you’re made of,” Dongshen Yue said with excitement.

”Yes, Granny!” The three couldn’t be more pumped. If they won, they would be allowed access to higher levels of the Caeli Vault!

Before they disembarked, Tianming asked a question that had been weighing on his mind. ”Grandma, I asked Grandpa about what happened concerning my father.”

”Oh, what about it?”

”I always thought that my duty as his son was to right the ridiculous wrongs he had wrought.”

”You don’t have to bear it. You’re only his son, an innocent. It’s the fault of us seniors, so it’s something for us to settle. If there’s something to be atoned for, it’ll fall on us to do it.”

”It’s fine. Since I returned here, I want to bear the burden with you all as well.”

”What a good child you are,” she said with a look of regret.

”What I want to know now is how I should face the others of the clan. Should I always humble myself before them because of those mistakes?” Given that it was Lin Mu’s fault, Tianming understood that the people that wanted to bully him had their reasons for doing so. He couldn’t exactly fault them for hating the son of their nemesis.

”No, you shouldn’t. Please don’t think of it that way,” Dongshen Yue sternly said.”How so?”

She sighed and said, ”Back then, we also thought the same. The two of us swore an oath at Myriadsword Mausoleum, then rushed to the front lines during the war with the luxdaemons, scouring the entirety of Ebonia for what was taken like madmen before Yi Daiyan returned. We did countless things for the clan and our merit points reached a peak that nobody’s ever aspired to before. But as we were also at fault, we couldn’t look other people in the eye. However, we noticed that things began changing with the passing of time.”

”In what sense?”

”Because of some historical reasons, our Second Branch used to occupy a high position. While we have a proud history, we also have a lot of conflicts with others. During the first fifty years after Lin Mu’s incident, we didn’t even care about our lives. However, there are people within the clan that don’t really care about the Ancestral Swordheart but nevertheless used that chance to suppress and humiliate us. All they wanted was to vent everything on the Second Branch, stepping on us to benefit themselves. They had no intention of seeking out the lost Ancestral Swordheart at all. Naturally, they’re only part of the clan, not all of it.

”Later, when Yi Daiyan returned and became rex mundi, everyone in the clan knew that she had our Ancestral Swordheart, but by then, taking it back was impossible. Knowing that, they intensified the suppression on the Second Branch. As long as the Ancestral Swordheart isn’t returned, they’ll always have the moral high ground to oppress us. All of that has made us the weakest faction within the clan,” she helplessly said.

”Who are the ones who usually give us a hard time?”

”The Third, Fifth, and Seventh Branches.”

”I see.”

She gave him a deep look. ”Child, I’m not telling this to ask you to let go of the truth. What Lin Mu did can’t be erased. All I want you to know is that, even in our clan, the waters are deep. There’s blame being tossed everywhere. There’s those that wish that we will recover, but also those that wish for us to forever remain their scapegoats for everything wrong with the clan. Even if you’re capable, it isn’t like we’re asking you to oppress them in our stead. At the end of the day, we belong to the same clan. All we want is for you to not bear the weight of the previous generation’s mistakes and unnecessarily humble yourself. There’s no need to do the opposite, either. Let’s fight fairly without demonizing or fearing anyone. Just focus on yourself!”

”Understood.” Those words were really important for him to hear. They would become the basis of his actions in the clan. Like she said, they were members of the same clan at the end of the day, so there was no need for him to intentionally lower himself over Lin Mu’s mistakes, and neither would he get back at others when he gained the ability to.

”The real way to make up for Lin Mu’s mistakes is for you to make a better future for yourself and the clan.”

”Got it!”

Even though Dongshen Yue hoped that Feiling and the others would do well today, it would be for their own sake rather than venting her frustrations on others in the clan.

By the time their mini ship arrived at the arena, it was already rather crowded.