Beastmaster of the Ages

The audience in the Swordsoul Chamber saw the battlefield fall silent when the walnuts had been completely assimilated. It was quite an odd sight. It was clear that Lin Yun, Lin Jie, Lin Xiaoyun, and Lin Wuyi, all reformists, had been looking forward to that exact development. Their plan to work with the ebons to curb the traditionalists and pull away from the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan was slowly panning out, yet they merely watched without smiling in the slightest.

A gold-robed elder stood and left the council without a single word.

”Changkong! Wait!” Lin Yun awkwardly called out.

”There’s no need.” Lin Changkong had only come to the Swordsoul Chamber as he knew that Lin Linglin was paired up with Lin Jianxing. It was supposed to be something that pulled them closer together, but everyone was well aware of the implications of what had just happened. No trace of camaraderie existed between them at all.

”Looks like everyone’s been blinded by what they can gain, whether young or old.” Lin Changkong breathed a long sigh and left the chamber without another word.

Lin Yun and the rest tried to follow, but stopped. He sat back down and said, ”Lin Jianxing is right. This only happened because there were six walnuts. If there were seven, it would’ve been perfect.”

”Uncle Yun, let it go. There’s no such thing as a perfect ending. Lin Jianxing made the compromise he had to make. Even though it displeased Lin Changkong, it was necessary to convince the ebons that we’re on their side,” Lin Jie said.

”That’s right. Guess we can only slowly wear down the ninth branch. Ling Changkong’s son, Lin Lingxiao, used to be ranked fifth on the minor reges mundi ranking. He has quite a bit of power within the ninth branch nowadays. It’s said he has a good relationship with Guchi Xiaoyao. But Lin Linglin won’t do. We’ll work on her brother, then. He’s much more useful,” Lin Yun said. He knew that this outcome was a net good; the only problem was how Lin Linglin no doubt hated Lin Jianxing after he had abandoned her. His actions had also greatly displeased the rest of the ninth branch.

”I wonder what’ll happen now that the walnuts have been assimilated. Will those that don’t have one die outright, or will those six get stronger?” Lin Wuyi asked.

”Lin Feng’s still alive for now. However, his group will find it hard to survive in that room. The ebons, on the other hand, are fuming mad from losing so many of their warbeasts,” Lin Xiaoyun said.

Upon hearing that, Lin Jie said, ”Looks like that child’s combat prowess is approaching Jianxing’s. I recall that he was at most a fourth- or fifth-level stellaminor when he first arrived. How’d he make such strides in a short two or so years?” Tianming’s talent and power had truly surprised this group of people for the very first time.

”Could he be a peak genius and not a trash disciple?” By now, the entire clan’s impression of Tianming had been overturned. No matter what would happen to him after the walnuts were assimilated, he would have left a mark in the Infinitum Swordsea for managing to kill so many sanctuary-class warbeasts. Even those within the Swordsoul Chamber could hear the cheering coming from outside.

”They’re all cheering for Lin Feng, not Jianxing!” Lin Yun said, face grim. That was something they least wanted to happen. The second branch’s reputation getting restored was a dangerous sign. Once they began gaining favor with the masses, the reformists would definitely lose.

”If I’d known that would happen, I’d have killed that kid with a slap the day he arrived!” Lin Wuyi hissed. Back then, she’d even mocked him for being trash that would never leave Brokensword Peak for his entire life when Dongshen Yue had first taken him away. But now, Tianming, with his alias, Lin Feng, stood in the limelight as a normal god that could handily defeat astral gods. Her face heated up and stung, hurting more than it had when Dongshen Yue had slapped her.

”Lin Feng, you must survive!” Countless people in the Infinitum Swordsea cheered for him. Lin Yun, Lin Jie, and the rest were far too focused on benefits, completely overlooking the social consequences of their decisions. No matter how good their reasons were, there was no way to justify someone in the clan attempting to kill a fellow clan member! Lin Jianxing abandoning Lin Linglin was only the beginning; the worst blow was how his character had been completely sullied by betraying Yi Zhuojun despite having formed an alliance with him. That wasn’t behavior befitting a member of the righteous Swordgod Lin Clan.

......

Tianming didn’t know that he had earned the acknowledgment of many people in the clan. Many of them wished that he would survive and win. One day, those notions would form new threads of Omnisentient Will. The power from that would be unimaginable, coming from powerful Ebonians as it did. It would be just as impressive as the Azurecloud Divine Tree!

Tianming was like the seed of a ruler that had been smeared in shit, which was the bad reputation his father had left him. He had to wash himself clean by atoning for his father’s sins before he could germinate and properly take root in Ebonia. Today was the day for him to sprout!

His heart didn’t shake at all as the six who had finished assimilating the walnuts turned their eyes to him. He already had four of the giantess’s fingers, so he wasn’t without anything of his own. Not to mention that Qi Xuanzi and the rest had suffered huge losses, losing at least two-thirds of their combat potential. Only the superfiend remained, with all the other warbeasts basically killed while they were stuck assimilating the walnuts.

They found that Tianming had survived their success and the room didn’t change in the slightest, except for the disappearance of the green pillar; they were still stuck within the walls of the room. Additionally, the green light from the six of them also vanished, making them practically invisible to Tianming and the rest within the foggy room, but they were still able to track Tianming’s gang down from the persistent green light. Though, laughably, their invisibility was pointless with Yin Chen in the room.

Tianming hurriedly retreated after seeing them succeed. He breathed a sigh of relief, having thought that he would immediately die when they managed to assimilate the walnuts. ”Looks like the owner of this nest is giving me another chance to fight. The battle’s still ongoing! I can still win.”

He returned to Meow Meow’s side. Dongshen Xiaoli, Yi Zhuojun, and Lin Linglin were there as well.

”Let’s go!” Meow Meow immediately turned and sped off, while Yin Chen was left behind to watch their backs. It was spread out across the entire room and could gather and scatter as it pleased.

”Lin Feng, do you think you’ll live through this?!” Qi Xuanzi and the other ebons were enraged beyond belief. If they had known that the process of assimilating the walnuts would take so long and couldn’t be interrupted, they would have taken turns at it. They also hadn’t expected Tianming would be able to kill so many of their warbeasts in quick succession. His status as a normal god was rather useful in getting his enemies to underestimate him. He knew best how much he had used it to his advantage.

”As long as he doesn’t die, he’ll keep causing us trouble!” Whether it was Lin Jianxing or Qi Xuanzi, they considered Tianming able to fight on their level. ”Lin Jianxing, why didn’t you tell us how powerful he was earlier?!”

Blood drained from Lin Jianxing’s lips as he glared at Tianming. ”Apologies. Not even I thought he’d be that strong.” He was the one who was most frustrated by this unexpected result. All of his regrets were piling up higher and higher. If only I’d killed him back then! That line of thought had festered in his mind, haunting him nonstop. The more he remembered it, the more vexed he felt. His sword hand shuddered with his boundless killing intent.

”Young Master, we got nothing apart from causing the green light around us to fade after assimilating the walnuts. Does the room expect us to kill the ones without walnuts before releasing us?” Miao Miaomiao asked.

”I think that’s possible,” Mu Sheng said.

”Then let’s not keep waiting. We have the benefit of stealth. With as big as the room is, it won’t be easy to catch up to the cat, but now we can intercept it by predicting its trajectory! They won’t know we’re coming for them!” Cao Tama said. They could only catch up if they weren’t noticed.

”What about you, Lin Jianxing?” Qi Xuanzi asked.

”I want to kill him more than you do!”

”Very well.”

They could clearly see where Tianming and the rest were. Lin Jianxing immediately formulated a plan based on stealth. ”Let’s split up. I’ll give chase while you guys stay in ambush. I’ll think of a way to lead him into your trap. Yi Zhuojun hasn’t recovered yet, so Lin Feng will be the only one that’s able to fight me. Use your orders to suppress him once he’s in the trap, then focus on killing that cat! Once it’s dead, they’ll be unable to run.”

”That’s right. The cat has to go first.” Qi Xuanzi smirked. ”Leave it to my superfiend. Its shadows are incredibly hard to shake off. Killing the cat first won’t be hard for us.”

Alas, not even Lin Jianxing knew how well Tianming could surveil the area, let alone the ebons.

”Good. Wait for my signal.”