Beastmaster of the Ages

”Brother Jian? Sounds too close to dastardly.... Who in the world has that kind of name?” Tianming suddenly sensed the approaching danger, but was quickly pushed aside by Lin Xiaogui. Right after they separated, a golden sword flash swept past where they had stood, a hair’s breadth away from harming them.

”Come on, that shameless? Really?” Tianming and Xiaogui turned back at the same time and saw a youth appear beside Lin Jianjia. Like Lin Jie, he had a sword-like nose and sharp gaze. He wore the black-and-white robe of the Hall of Discipline. Tianming looked at his disciple card. He was Lin Yijian, a disciple under the age of a hundred and an eighth-level stellaminor, as well as the non-heir son of the fifth branch! In other words, like Lin Xiaopo, he was Lin Jie’s son, but he wasn’t a scion. Though, given their difference in age, he was much stronger.

”An eighth-level stellaminor is only one level beneath the mysterian Blood Abyss Wargod I took out with the power of Omnisentient Will. While the Blood Abyss Wargod was a ruler of many worlds in the Mysterium Cluster, Lin Yijian isn’t even a hundred years old and is only the son of the fifth branch master....” Such was the difference between a deific-class world and an infinitum-class world.

In terms of talent alone, Lin Yijian had nothing on Lin Jianjia, who had broken through thousands of layers of the sword formation, but he was definitely superior in terms of raw power. Lin Jianjia was only a young ’girl’ in her thirties, while Lin Yijian was considered a maturing youth. There was no doubt that he was there at Lin Jianjia’s request.

With the ancestral guidance stele now gone and the seniors watching from Swordsoul Chamber being quite far away, it would be quite troublesome if Lin Yijian were to attack now. Tianming wouldn’t really be troubled, given his status, but Lin Xiaogui might be. There was nothing she could rely on but her own talent.

As expected, Lin Yijian no longer cared about his reputation and charged toward Lin Xiaogui in a fit of rage to placate Lin Jianjia.

”Run!” Tianming blocked ahead of Lin Xiaogui, and she was no fool either. She knew that they wouldn’t dare to touch Tianming and that only she was at risk, so she quickly charged into a pool of lava with specter-like speed.

”Lin Yijian, are you trying to bully those weaker than you? The seniors in the Swordsoul Chamber are watching. Is your side not going to take your loss in stride? Do you have no shame?” Tianming sneered.

”Get out of my way.” Lin Yijian didn’t waste any words and waved his sword. His eighth-level stellaminor astralforce formed a vortex ahead of him, sending Tianming flying off, much to his ire, allowing Lin Yijian to charge into the lava.

”Dammit!” While Lin Xiaogui might not be killed, she could lose her tails. It wasn’t easy for Tianming to find an ally among his peers in the clan, and Lin Xiaogui had only fought Lin Jianjia to protect him. He wouldn’t feel right if he benefited at her expense and quickly racked his mind for a solution.

”I can’t catch up with the two of them.... But I can attack Lin Jianjia!” He made his decision right away and turned back, splitting his Grand-Orient Sword into two. ”She’s seven levels my superior, and normally, I wouldn’t be her match without my totems, divine wonders, or lifebound beasts. But she’s still hurt, so I might have a chance with a surprise attack!”

The cosmic impulse had greatly increased the toughness of his left arm, making him just as much of a demi-specter as Lin Xiaogui was. Given how desperate the situation was, there was no other choice he could make.

People didn’t expect Tianming to immediately charge toward Lin Jianjia after being sent flying. Without the slightest hesitation, he used his strongest move and aimed it squarely at her! Lin Jianjia’s swordbeasts had just returned to her lifebound space, so releasing them back into swordbeast form would take some time.

The Flint Infernal Impulse-infused swords pulsed with power, and the strike from his left hand seemed slightly stronger than the one from his right. He executed Mirage Starslaughter! Having become a tenth-level solarian, Tianming’s astralforce had considerably grown. Matched with the Grand-Orient Vortex and genesis ancestral nova source’s power, his abilities had reached a new peak. His wonderian-based fullstella battle art was also incredibly suited for surprise attacks.

”Jianjia! Watch out!” Lin Yijian warned.

Lin Jianjia had been focused on Lin Xiaogui, but she immediately sensed the danger. ”Very well. While I still don’t understand how I lost to you at the ancestral guidance stele, since you dared to attack me as a mere solarian, don’t blame me for not holding back.”

She had watched the fight between Tianming and Lin Jianchen. That level of power was of no threat to her at all, so she didn’t even bother manifesting her swordbeasts and charged at Tianming with her bare sword. While it seemed like she had been hurt quite a bit earlier, most of her wounds had already recovered. Losing to Lin Xiaogui had been far too frustrating, and she was just about to vent on Tianming.

”Pentasection Strike!”

While that was only an entry-level sword strike, it was still a fullstella battle art. Her sword stance seemed to split into five that flowed in different time streams, leading up to five subsequent bursts of power! Lin Jianjia’s sword itself had cost eight thousand merit points, making it fullstella grade. It was also infused with ten different kinds of grade-nine divine hazards, making it one of the very best divine artifacts there were, worth many more times than the Godsin was! She split into five afterimages due to her sheer speed.

”Not using your swordbeasts, eh?” Tianming hadn’t been all that confident at first, but he almost laughed out loud now. Neither of them were using their lifebound beasts, but she had been wounded while Tianming had his cosmic impulse and black arm to back him up! The Mirage part of the strike manifested as gigantic tidal waves carrying overwhelming force, while Starslaughter hid in the midst of the waves. He had used his black arm to execute Starslaughter, ensuring that the attack was brought to the maximum potential he could unleash.

”Huh? He definitely wasn’t this powerful last time, and he’s still a solarian!” Lin Jianjia’s expression changed the moment they clashed. Yet again, her mind seemed to crumble from disbelief.