Beastmaster of the Ages

”While the position is mostly nominal, you’re still responsible for the operation of the department if something comes up. If sales fall too much, you might be sacked. Additionally, some customers will seek out the supervisor for price cuts or to sign large deals, so you have to handle those as well,” Lin Dan said.

”That sounds interesting.” Tianming had been fighting his entire life, so he’d never had any experience with sales.

The Infinitum Swordsea was incredibly vast, but Brokensword Peak was quite close to the Prime Myriadsword Corporation. It didn’t take long before Tianming saw the gigantic city complex ahead that served as the main marketplace for the Lin Clan in Ebonia. There were nine zones in it in total, with the Brightflame Zone being only one of them. Yet that single zone alone already looked boundless enough. It was said that the surface area of the corporation’s property alone was equal to that of the Infinitum Swordsea, and it was home to six hundred million people! Most of them were from the Lin Clan and they were essential to the operation of the company.

”That’s the parking space for our mini ships. Flying’s restricted within the zones,” Lin Dan said.

Tianming was already quite familiar with that rule after memorizing the two books. ”It really does look grand.”

The two of them stepped out of the ship and walked down the street, passing by many tall skyscrapers that were filled to the brim with a wide selection of products. People from all walks of life and all kinds of distant worlds could be seen shopping on the streets.

”Normal people would take at least half a year to browse the entirety of what the corporation has to offer. That’s given rise to a new trade called proxy buying, where people handle your shopping for you!” Lin Dan said.

”Huh? That’s a novel idea....” Tianming looked into the distance and said, ”Looks like the clan’s business is booming....”

”This is much worse than it used to be. A century ago, the volume of sales was at least double what it is today.”

The downturn of the clan’s business wasn’t due to the theft of the Ancestral Swordheart, but rather because the thief, Yi Daiyan, had become rex mundi.

......

Tianming spent most of the day walking around the place to gain a preliminary understanding of it. After that, he graced the Grade-nine Department where he was posted. It was a wide, sword-shaped building with nine floors, said to exclusively deal in the sale of grade-nine divine artifacts. The ones on display alone numbered more than a hundred thousand, a staggering number indeed. Most heliacal-class worlds didn’t even have a single one, yet any one of these artifacts in the department could be stronger than the Godsin. Naturally, that didn’t mean Tianming owned any of them. He was just their custodian, in a sense, and was only there to earn his keep.

Darn it, seeing all these treasures before me that I don’t own really makes me feel funny inside! he thought as he stepped into the building.

”Greetings, Supervisor!” More than a thousand members of the Lin Clan greeted him in neat rows the moment he entered. More than eight-tenths of them were young women clad in refreshing robes, brightly smiling at him.

”How is it? Doesn’t it feel like visiting a harem?” Lin Dan asked.

”No way!” Tianming entered and looked at the beautiful women. ”How professional of them....”

As the new supervisor was coming, the entire department’s operation had been put on hold for a good part of the day. The young women closely looked at Tianming, making him feel a little weird. It was clear that they knew who he was. Since they were also members of the second branch, their gazes weren’t as hostile. Not to mention, the salespeople were mostly from distant branch families with low statuses, so they wouldn’t dare to cause any commotion over it. Tianming knew that he was only there for a nominal position, so he didn’t throw his weight around, either. He gave a few short greetings and asked them to resume their work, putting the elaborate inauguration ceremony to an end.

”Supervisor, I’ll take you to the ninth floor. That’s where your reception and cultivation rooms are,” said an attractive girl. Her appearance caused his eyes to brighten. She was clad in a long, light green dress and wore her long, flowing hair elegantly. Her smile gave off a hint of spring youth that easily made her the most beautiful girl in the department.

Tianming looked at her disciple card and asked, ”Lin Xingqing of the Second Branch, eleventh-level solarian precentenarian disciple, eh? How old are you, exactly?”

”Supervisor, Xingqing is eighty-eight this year,” she nervously replied with her head lowered.

”Not bad. You’re still in the prime of your youth,” Tianming said, feeling a little odd inside. While the girl looked really youthful and a little naive, she held the highest position in the department aside from him as the vice supervisor, thanks to her status as a member of the second branch’s primary line.

”Nephew, take your time to familiarize yourself with the place! I’ll go on my way now!” Lin Dan said before he left. Tianming knew his destination; there were many brothels on the corporation’s grounds.

”Let’s go.”

Tianming followed Lin Xingqing to the ninth floor. It was now his territory and was impeccably furnished, the reception room in particular. What came as a delight was the cultivation room! It was incredibly private and rather empty inside, but the walls were heavily reinforced with divine formations. He gave it a test and found that even the Grand-Orient Sword had a hard time damaging them.

”Impressive.... It’s even tougher than grade-nine divine formations. I wonder what kind of formation this is....” He found himself loving the cultivation room more and more.

”Supervisor, here’s the books of the department for the past three years as well as logs of our inventory and products. The prices of every artifact we sell are also available here. Additionally, all information on the staff in the department is also here for your perusal.” She handed over a stack of bamboo slips; Tianming knew that they were bamboo slip formations that could contain lots of information.

”Very well.” He accepted them and gave them a look. The information within was concise and complete. Looking through them once was enough to give him a decent grasp of the department as the supervisor. ”Were you the one who put this together?”

”That is so, Supervisor. If I have your trust, please leave the operation of the department to me. If there aren’t any major operations we have to carry out, I won’t be bothering you, Supervisor.”

”You are aware that I’m only nominally the supervisor, right?”

”Yes,” she nervously replied.

”You also know that I’m Lin Mu’s son, right?”

”I do.”

”Do you mind that I am?”

”How could I? Supervisor, you’re the scion of our branch’s primary line.”

”Very well. I’ll leave the department’s matters to you, but keep the books updated. I’ll be looking through those.”

”Understood!” She nodded.

”Good. You may take your leave. I’ll give these a closer look.”

”Yes.” She turned and left after a bow.

”Guess she’s smarter than she looks and knows that I’m a genius that needs to cultivate, after all!”

......

Tianming looked outside from the window of his cultivation room. The ninth floor was quite high up, allowing him to see how prosperous the corporation truly was. ”Even though I already have the position in hand, it’s best that I actually put in some effort to understand what I’m supposed to do. I wouldn’t want to be clueless if anyone gives me trouble, after all.” He gave the bamboo slips a closer look.

”Damn, the Lin Clan is really rich!” The department he was in alone had more than a million grade-nine divine artifacts, and that was just one of the departments operated by the second branch that specialized in the sale of lightning-type swords. Swords of other elements, or other kinds of weapons, for that matter, each had their own departments.

”It’s a shame I have zero merit points right now.” He would only earn his first fifty a month later, and it would take a thousand years for him to be able to afford a single sword on his salary.

”How stingy of them....” Though he balked at the pay, he still had to admit that his position basically required no skill at all.

......

After he was through reviewing half of the books, he heard a knocking on his door.

”Supervisor,” Lin Xingqing called out like a timid rabbit.

”Enter.”

She came in with a tray of tea. Slightly bowing, she said, ”Thanks for your hard work, Supervisor. Please enjoy some refreshments.”

”Put it there.”

”Okay.” She carefully stepped toward Tianming and put the tray on the table. Then, she turned her puppy eyes to look at his profile and said, ”Supervisor, this nineheart tea is brewed using a grade-eight divine herb, a nineheart lingzhi. It helps clear the airways and worries, while also bringing some warmth to the body. Usually, it’s what we serve to esteemed guests. Please give it a taste.”

”Oh? It sounds like something good.” Tianming realized that basically all members of the clan loved to enjoy tea; his grandfather was one such example. Perhaps that was part of the clan’s culture. Not to mention, tea brewed from divine herbs was akin to miracle medicine for mortals, and those that didn’t have a high enough cultivation level would never get a chance to taste them.

Just as Lin Xingqing was about to pour him a cup, Tianming waved her away and went straight for the teapot, chugging it like he would alcohol. ”It tastes impressive!”

”Supervisor, that isn’t how tea is meant to be enjoyed....” She didn’t know how to react at that display, caught between laughter and tears.

”Then how should it be done?”

Lin Xingqing bent down to do the pouring. Her collar was a little loose, allowing Tianming to catch a glimpse. Her face reddened at the realization as she took a few steps back and put her hands behind her back.

”You may leave.”

”Okay....” She nodded, face still flushed, but she didn’t take a single step.

Tianming took note of her presence a while later and asked, ”Why haven’t you left yet?”

”I was waiting for the drug to take effect,” she said with a smirk. Her aura had completely changed.

Tianming blanked out for a moment and found his body heating up as if he hadn’t touched a beauty for a few centuries. The nineheart tea had been spiked! He watched as the flushed Lin Xingqing bit her lip and smiled as she tore her skirt to smithereens in front of him, exposing every inch of her youthful body. Then she pinched herself multiple times to leave marks and began uncontrollably sobbing.

”Did you go mad?” Tianming asked as he got up. What was happening reminded him of the stormy night so long ago in Ignispolis.

.....

A loud boom came from the ninth floor alongside the shrieks and cries of a girl. Somewhere on the street, a group of youths looked on with cold gazes.

”Lin Feng fell for it! Let’s go!”

”We’ll see him punished for ten years according to the house rules!”