Beastmaster of the Ages

The lifebound beasts were still chatting enthusiastically in the lifebound space while Tianming stared blankly at Lin Xiaodao as he put away the gourd.

”What are you looking at? You’re a man with wives and concubines, don’t you understand the principles of a gentleman?” Lin Xiaodao stopped smiling and glared at Tianming.

”......!” Tianming felt that the other person was overthinking it. He awkwardly smiled and thought that this was Lin Xiaodao’s ’secret,’ a peculiar preference of an old bachelor and it would be inappropriate for him to inquire further.

Besides, the door to his destination had already been opened by that gourd. And it was set to be ’open’ all the time. It meant that Tianming could come in regularly.

Tianming looked up and saw a never-before-seen golden-black hall appearing behind Lin Xiaodao. The hall had a plaque on its door, but there were no characters inscribed on it. The door opened, and it was dim inside.

”Come in,” Lin Xiaodao said with a cough, his face filled with an incomparable sense of dignity as if he had reached the pinnacle of life. He stepped forward and disappeared into the darkness.

Tianming quickly followed, entering this dark space. Though it was pitch-black inside, Tianming could feel that the hall wasn’t large, far from being comparable to the inheritance room that held many Foundation caeli of the flameyellow divinities.

”Don’t rely on light; use your eyes to carefully search for the key within this darkness. If your mind is restless and you can’t be as focused as I am, you won’t find what you are looking for. It took me about ten days to comprehend the secrets of this hall. It’ll probably take you at least a month,” said Lin Xiaodao, walking ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, his face serious.

”Master, are you referring to the nine paintings?” Tianming’s soft voice came from behind.

”What?!” Lin Xiaodao’s head snapped around, staring blankly at Tianming, and asked, ”You... You already saw them all?”

”It didn’t seem too difficult,” Tianming coughed. Even if his eyes couldn’t see at the moment, his Plundering Eye allowed him to see everything clearly.

”Damn it!” Lin Xiaodao was too powerless to complain about him; after all, he had already regarded Tianming as a freak.

Clearly, these nine paintings were the focus. When Tianming looked at them, the nine paintings transformed into murals that adorned the nine walls of the palace. As a result, the entire golden-black palace lit up!

Tianming felt an immense shock. Moments ago, he had felt that the space of the hall wasn’t as impressive as the inheritance rooms, but as the nine murals surrounded him, the worlds depicted by the paintings seemed to project into reality. Tianming was surrounded by nine vast galaxies, and as he looked around, he saw nine different heavens and earths!

”Don’t be greedy and look at all nine murals at once. Calm your mind and concentrate on one image at most! Otherwise, your soul will scatter!” Lin Xiaodao loudly reminded Tianming just as he was about to scan them all with his eyes. Lin Xiaodao hadn’t expected him to find the key so quickly, so he didn’t give a warning in advance.

Luckily, Tianming reacted swiftly! He could feel his new fifth holy soul being pulled and divided into nine pieces by the worlds depicted in these nine murals! This was obviously extremely dangerous.

His vita and brain had already merged into one entity. If the vita was torn apart, it would be akin to his head being split into four or five parts. Even if it wasn’t fatal, it would be an extremely severe injury.

Tianming was so frightened he immediately shut his eyes.

Tianming used his primordial lungs to breathe in nova source and regulate his breathing, allowing his infernal heart to start beating at a normal rate again.

“I think this sword art is from the core of the flameyellow divinites!” Although he had just experienced danger, Tianming felt even greater excitement. ”It seems Master is ready to share one of his biggest gains from the Gladean Ruins directly with me. I must never forget this favor.”

Earlier, Tianming had been focused on Duostrike Sandglass, or Lin Xiaodao would have brought him here even earlier.

Tianming was still adjusting his breathing. Even though his eyes were closed, the radiance from the nine worlds outside his eyelids continued to shimmer, tugging him to nine different realms.

”Take your time to adjust, and listen to me,” Lin Xiaodao said, being reliable at this moment. He stood in front of Tianming and placed his hands on the sides of his head and said, ”There are too many secrets in the Gladean Ruins, so I had to learn this sword art by trial and error. I might not be entirely accurate, but I’ll offer it as a reference.”

”Yes!” Tianming nodded, gradually calming down.

”Nine murals, nine sword moves, nine worlds—each mural is different and corresponds to a completely different order. Therefore, I conclude that it’s difficult for anyone to break through the restrictions of these orders and learn all nine sword moves. For example, I myself have only learned one move. A few years ago, I used this one move to kill Chi Hun,” Lin Xiaodao explained seriously.

”Master, you’ve only learned one-ninth of it?” Tianming asked in shock.

Tianming had thought that Lin Xiaodao must have already comprehended all of it, which was why he asked him to learn it too. But only one move? That was surprising.

”Don’t be surprised, it’s indeed difficult. I’ve practiced other infinitum-class sword arts, but there are hardly any as complex as this one, except for the Grandvoid Compendium and Xiaozhi Sword Art which are completely incompatible with my order,” Lin Xiaodao said.

”So, do I stand a chance?” Tianming asked.

”Perhaps not for now, but it’s okay. The earlier you start, the better. You have plenty of time, and over a thousand years, there will surely be results. Based on my observations and judgment of you, I can confidently assert that when you become a mover and shaker of the mundus, this is undoubtedly the most suitable sword art for you, even more so than the legacies of two generations of reges mundi,” Lin Xiaodao said.

”How so?” Tianming asked.

”Because you already possess six orders! And this sword art has nine orders and is a multiorder sword art. Only those like you and your grandfather with multiple orders are able to unleash its true power. I, on the other hand, have no way to do so,” Lin Xiaodao said with some regret.

Whether having multiple orders was good or bad was hard to say. More orders meant slower breakthroughs in cultivation, but having fewer orders meant having fewer means in battles against others at the same level. When encountering this top-tier multiorder sword art, one could only sigh in awe.

It all depended on the individual.

At least, Tianming was troubled by his multiple orders because he was progressing too slowly compared to Feiling and Xiaoxiao.

”Multiple orders? Are any suitable for me?” Tianming asked.