Beastmaster of the Ages

”Yi Zhuojun, Lin Jianxing.” The ebons were dressed in black and red robes. Emerging from the fog, they looked like ghostly figures. All five of them were astral gods who were stronger than Qi Qiling, wielding the power of order. Even the weakest among them was ranked in the seven hundreds, thus was stronger than Shuntian Bohan.

There were men and women among them of different appearances and builds, though their auras were similar. They were a clan that mainly cultivated their souls, so they were easily perceived as more eerie than most.

The fact that they were able to rank within the top ten thousand among so many powerful participants from the entire mundus showed their monstrous talent. Even fifth-level nova source worlds seldom had people as talented as them, and only in Ebonia was it possible for so many geniuses of their caliber to form teams.

The soul eyes in their hands shone with a purple glow. Purple soul eyes were a mark of grade-seven talent among the ebons, which was equivalent to the Lin Clan’s six-six talent. In other words, all of the ebons there were akin to six-six talent Lin Clan disciples, a sign of their clan’s deep, foundational power.

The leader was dressed completely in black and had long black hair with a few strands of glistening silver in it. There was also a hint of silver in his purple soul eyes. He wore a bright smile and had bright eyes, which widened at the sight of Lin Jianxing and Yi Zhuojun, then even more when he saw Dongshen Xiaoli and Lin Linglin. His subtle movements revealed that he was Qi Xuanzi, the young scion of the Qi Clan of the ebons.

The Qi Clan was a large ebon household. In the history of their clan, there had been no precedent of anyone born with silver soul eyes, so even purple soul eyes with a hint of silver like Qi Xuanzi’s were highly prized in the clan. If Qi Hongzhen and Qi Qiling had been here, they would have to dutifully serve him.

While the other ebons weren’t of the Qi Clan, they had still made Qi Xuanzi their leader. While he smiled the whole time after seeing Yi Zhuojun and Lin Jianxing, he was still cautious when facing those two prospective foes. While the overall might of Yi Zhuojun’s group was a bit lopsided, compared to the top talent on the side of the ebons, the ebons only had one ace fighter, while Lin Jianxing and Yi Zhuojun were both aces. The strongest members of a group could easily turn the tides of battle. Qi Xuanzi determined that they were quite unlucky to have run into a rather formidable group. Yin Chen had said that they wouldn’t fight in that case, and would instead attempt to split the group apart by other means.

Qi Xuanzi’s smile didn’t drop for even a moment. He politely turned to Lin Jianxing and Yi Zhuojun and said, ”I’ve long heard of the two fine gentlemen of the Swordgod Lin Clan and the luxdaemons. Seeing you in person has truly humbled me. How can I compare with your auras and grace?”

Lin Jianxing’s hawk nose looked like a sword, while Yi Zhuojun was doubtlessly considered handsome by many. Comparatively speaking, Qi Xuanzi’s sharp eyes and shifty appearance gave him an innately sinister look. The ebons were also considered brutish and savage, thanks to their nova wildbeasts.

”Young Master Qi, you flatter us. You’re much more well known compared to us,” Lin Jianxing said.

”Oh, please don’t address me as ’young master’. It feels too stiff. If you don’t mind, please just call me Xuanzi.”

Yi Zhuojun ignored it and continued, ”Young Master Qi, given how weird this whole affair with the nest is, anything could happen. I’m sure we can all guess what’s going to happen, seeing as all of us have killed to get here. However, there’s five ebons in this room, so we had no choice but to form a group to defend ourselves. If you’ve come with the intention of breaking us up, it isn’t necessary. No matter the rules, we’ll let our might do the talking.” He was cold and direct, causing tension to build.

”Very well.” Qi Xuanzi smiled and shrugged. ”Brother Yi is right, but you’re really looking down on us ebons if you think you have to be this wary of us.”

”What do you mean?”

”It’s simple. We only joined for the ranking competition, and while we were in the Oldgod Domain, we didn’t face any real risk of losing our lives. None of us thought that we’d be transported to a place like this, only to end up being toyed with by some kind of higher being. Given that that’s the case, any act of killing we commit is solely for the entertainment of that being. As such, I believe it’s imperative for all of us to join hands and look for a way to break out of this place and return to the Oldgod Domain. That’s the only way to change our fates! Fighting among ourselves to humor others is pointless, sigh....” He could empathize well with the feelings of others, as shown by his rhetoric. Lin Linglin bit her lip and felt melancholic for themselves, the crickets that were being toyed with.

”Are you saying that all ten of us should put aside our differences and work together?” Yi Zhuojun asked.

”That’s right.” Qi Xuanzi nodded. ”There isn’t any pressure forcing us to fight each other. Our heads have returned to normal, unlike before. If we’re able to work together, all of us might just stand a chance of being rescued.”

”You make it sound really nice, but there’s no way that super being will just let us go. They could just turn our heads back into bee heads and force us to fight! Are you really so naive to think that mere crickets can climb out of a cage, or are you trying to fool us into being so naive?” Yi Zhuojun said, smirking. He was all too aware of the situation. Trusting Qi Xuanzi’s words could well lead to their deaths.

How could mere lower lifeforms go against the will of a higher being? Since the nest had appeared, the participants had been reduced to nothing but toys. Ignoring the rules to escape their situation was nothing more than a pipe dream.

”Qi Xuanzi, drop the act. If you don’t want to fight, we can just look for a solution to leave here as our own independent groups. You won’t be getting us to let down our guard,” Lin Jianxing said.

”Very well!” Qi Xuanzi saluted the two of them. ”Perhaps I only have my less than stellar reputation to blame. I’m already used to this kind of thing. I know the two of you don’t have a good impression of me, but it matters not. I’ll use my actions to prove my sincerity to the two of you. I wish for my fellow ebons to be freed from this place just as much as the two of you.” He sighed and added, ”Fighting among ourselves is a huge joke. We’re infinitum-class geniuses, so we shouldn’t waste our lives like that.”

”Wouldn’t it be great if everyone thought like you did?” Yi Zhuojun said.

”Haha...” Qi Xuanzi self-deprecatingly laughed.

”Sheesh, drop that benevolent act. If you’re so nice, how’d your bee head turn back to normal? Do you not even consider the one you killed as a human?” Tianming said, rolling his eyes.

Right as Qi Xuanzi turned his attention to Tianming, Yin Chen said, ”Something has... just changed... over there!” But it was too late. Tianming felt the whole room shake right after he heard the report. A piercingly bright pillar of green light emerged inside the room, casting a green shade on the whole place. Tianming knew what was coming.

”The rules for us crickets are finally going to be announced.”