Beastmaster of the Ages

Without a word from Tianming, Lan Huang already had the world clam pinned under its body where Ying Huo set it aflame with Infernal Blaze. ”Fuck! I know I can make you open your shell!” Infernal Blaze covered every square inch of the shell.

”Hot! It’s so hot.” Lan Huang danced on the shell. As time passed, the world clam turned visibly red.

”A barbecue after the fight? Xian Xian must be so happy.”

Finally, the world clam couldn’t hold on any longer and its shell opened with a loud bang.

”I’m coming!” Like a hundred million arms stretching out, Xian Xian’s roots began feasting on clam. ”Yummy! So yummy!” How could it be anything but delicious? Xian Xian was almost tearing up with joy.

”Little Xian Xian, how’s my cooking? Is it well done?” Ying Huo smugly said.

”Long live Chicken Bro!”

They all laughed. Tianming let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the proud Ying Huo and Meow Meow, who had fallen asleep on the ground with its legs up in the air. That was a close one. I almost lost them.

However, the Primordial Chaos Beasts were a happy-go-lucky bunch. Immediately after a near-death experience, they could laugh and joke around. One of them was sleeping, one of them was fooling around, another one was eating its heart out, and still another started playing with spinning tops.

On the other hand, Yin Chen was depressed.

”What’s the matter? I’ll make sure you eat enough for ten billion of you once we get out of here.”

In fact, there were already more than four billion Yin Chens in the Oldgod Domain.

”I want… to take… a bath,” it said.

Tianming rolled his eyes. When they were done eating and playing, he sent them back to his lifebound space and was left alone with the skeletons of the dead beasts. The space felt empty.

”I’ll be first on the minor ranking after I destroy Shenxi Shang’s Oldgod Ring! Then I’ll obtain the Order Relic and return to the Oldgod Domain! I’ve done things I couldn’t have imagined because of Huang Qi. I don’t know what the repercussions of my actions will be, or how it’ll affect the outside world, let alone what impact it’ll have on my grandfather and the traditionalists. I don’t even know if I’ll die for this. But there’s nothing I can do except fight back. If that’s how it’s going to be, I might as well just bravely face it. I’ve worked so hard to get the Order Relic. I hope it won’t let me down.”

Tianming knew that as long as he pulled out his Oldgod Ring and aimed it toward his face, Ebonia would have their answer, one that would definitely trigger a raging storm. He glanced at the ring around his neck. Huang Qi and her army were completely silent. However, the part of his wrist that was once connected to his hand still glowed green.

......

The Infinitum Stele stood tall, towering over the people below like a giant ancient god. Numerous astralships landed on the dark land, many of them ether-class. In Ebonia, only top experts and mid-level cultivators with influential backgrounds could own such astralships. These ether-class astralships would be devastating if they were to leave Ebonia with permission to fire.

But on this star, the old and unsophisticated warships were mere transportation. The astralships closest to the entrance of the Oldgod Domain, where even more were parked, were unique and oddly shaped. That was where the powerful ebons gathered, and no one else was allowed to enter. The others were afraid to go and exchange greetings as well.

A group of ebon experts dressed in black and red robes had neatly lined up, their pitch-black eyes filled with indifference. However, there were some outliers in the group, like the two members of the Lin Clan council hall. They were Lin Yun, from the third branch, and Li Ziqing, from the seventh. After passing the position of branch master to their children, they had removed themselves from trivial matters and focused on important ones instead. The two waited beside a cold, silver-haired man. He was Chi Hun, the Tenth Rex Mundi and the highest-ranked person on the reges mundi ranking present.

”It’s been an hour since the start of the Infinitum Duel. It should be over by now.” Lin Yun, who had just arrived, had the most to say. If Tianming wasn’t still in the Oldgod Domain, neither he nor Lin Ziqing would have had to be there.

”Should we go over to offer Lin Lao’er our condolences? He must’ve been weeping for joy when his grandson clinched second place on the minor ranking. It’s a pity that grandson of his was so stupid. Just a small trick and he’s fallen for it,” Lin Ziqing mocked.

”The old man will have to watch a child die before him again.” Lin Yun smiled. He had originally been in the same situation. But just before he set off, he had checked Lin Jianxing’s condition and found that the child was still alive despite losing his lifebound beasts. It didn’t matter if Lin Jianxing was now useless; at least Lin Yun wouldn’t have to feel the pain of losing a grandson. That gave him a feeling of superiority when he compared himself to Lin Xiao, which was something he liked very much.

”The outcome is still uncertain. Are you so sure Shenxi Shang will be the victor?” Chi Hun flatly asked.

”What?” Both Lin Yun and Lin Ziqing froze for a moment.

”You must be joking, Rex Mundi. I watched Shenxi Shang when he participated in the minor ranking. The two aren’t at all equal.”

”That’s right. Ebon geniuses with taixi divine eyes have long dominated the minor reges ranking. For the past few hundred generations, at least eighty percent of those who ranked first were ebons with taixi divine eyes, while the remaining twenty percent were mostly ebons without them.

”And this time, Shenxi Shang was kept locked up for three months. He must’ve been ready to explode. He won’t be an easy opponent.”

The two elders of the council hall were too eager for a descendant of the Lin Clan to die in battle. Their words made several ebons frown; would such dogs be useful or beneficial to them?

Chi Hun laughed.

”Shenxi Shang should be able to retrieve the ring that Xiaoyin obtained. Don’t concern yourself with that, Rex Mundi,” said Lin Yun.

”We have to deal with the traditionalists once this comes to a conclusion. Lin Feng’s performance fostered their ambitions. His death in the ancestral world is coming at the perfect time to deflate their morale. It’s time for us to pull out all the stops,” Lin Ziqing said.

”Yes.”

It was clear that they were happy with this Infinitum Duel. Lin Yun couldn’t wait any longer. Turning to look in Ling Xiao’s direction, he seemed to see a group of people.

”Brother Hu and Brother Xiong are all here? But what’s the point? They won’t even be able to see his bones. Second place on the minor reges ranking? Don’t make me laugh.... All their hopes and dreams have come to nothing.” He wasn’t unhappy to see a Lin disciple place second on the minor ranking, but he didn’t want that person to be Lin Xiao’s grandson. If it had been Lin Jianxing, he would have rolled over with laughter.

Right then, Chi Hun moved aside and pulled out a gold transmission stone. A figure wrapped in gold mist appeared.

All the figure said was, ”Shang’er is dead.”

”What?” Chi Hun uttered, wide-eyed.

”His subsoul’s gone.”

Chi Hun’s entire face was twisted in an ugly grimace, his hand trembling around the gold transmission stone.

”How can that be?” He felt tongue-tied.

”Think of a way to bring back that Lin Feng.”

With that, the gold transmission stone dimmed. Chi Hun stood still, his mouth agape, as if it had been ripped open. He stiffly turned around. Not far away, Lin Yun and Lin Ziqing were joking with the ebons.

Dark tears spilled from his eyes.