Beastmaster of the Ages

Reverend Daolie sat in the seat of honor within Huang Palace, surrounded by some other top-tier elders of House Huang. Huang Daosheng, Huang Jiaoyang, Huang Jiaoyuan, and a dozen other core disciples knelt before them.

Reverend Daolie often boasted that his son was talented enough to become an eminent. The young cub had always been his pride and joy, as well as the reason he could be so arrogant in House Huang. But now that same boy had become the reason House Huang had suffered their largest humiliation in tens of thousands of years.

”The shame! The absurdity!” The elders beside Reverend Daolie were so enraged that blood came bursting out of their mouths. They tightly clenched their fists and teeth, not having anywhere else to vent.

Huang Jiaoyang, the person in question, kowtowed to them on the ground. She had repeated that Tianming hadn’t done anything more than a thousand times. She had cried till she became physically weak. ”Patriarch, Grandfather, please believe me! Believe me! I swear it on my life!”

Huang Jiaoyuan merely poked her tongue out in disbelief.

”It’s true! He didn’t touch me! He only made it look like he did!” Huang Jiaoyang pleaded.

Huang Daosheng kept silently kneeling, flames burning in his eyes.

”What do you think, Sheng’er?” Reverend Daolie asked, grimacing.

”Dad, it no longer matters whether it’s real or not. As long as the people believe those rumors, it might as well be the truth. The ones enjoying the show want it to be true,” Huang Daosheng said.

The elders exchanged glances, knowing that the truth no longer mattered.

”Take your sister away. The others should leave, too,” said a leopard-like specter who stood beside Reverend Daolie.

”Yes!” Huang Jiaoyuan secretly rejoiced. She understood from their reaction that no matter whether Tianming had actually done anything, the rumors would certainly remain. Even if her sister hadn’t been defiled, she would still remind everyone of how Huang Daosheng had been humiliated. In other words, Huang Jiaoyang would find it difficult to appear in public in the future, and Huang Daosheng wouldn’t be seen with her either.

Brother Huang is mine alone from now on! Of the entire House Huang, Huang Jiaoyuan was the one that had made it out of the incident the happiest. She kept her elation hidden and pretended to feel bad as she took her sister, who was still trying to insist upon her innocence, out of the hall, leaving only Huang Daosheng and the elders within.

”Sheng’er, stand up. There’s no need for you to kneel. I’ve been careless in this matter. Not even we seniors thought that Li Tianming would be so hard to kill,” Reverend Daolie said, every word seething with anger.

”Yes....” Huang Daosheng let out a deeply held breath. On the way back, he had been completely torn apart. Only now did he manage to shake away those negative feelings. He knew deep down that Huang Jiaoyang wasn’t lying and that Tianming hadn’t done anything to her. The real problem was that everyone thought that he had. Everyone thought that Huang Daosheng was a cuckold.

”Reverend Lan Yun isn’t that big of a deal herself, but her senior sisters of Fallengrace Peak are all insane demonesses....”

”I still don’t understand how that little taint has all those abilities. Sheng’er’s already close to being a foundationeer, and yet even he couldn’t keep up with that speed. It truly outstrips our common sense.”

”The brat’s combat capability, however, isn’t that high. If we give Sheng’er some way to limit his movements, we might succeed.”

Even though the elders were all filled with rage, they managed to successfully use their reason.

”What do you think, Huang Daosheng?” Reverend Daolie looked at his most precious son with a burning gaze.

Huang Daosheng took a deep breath, having made up his mind. ”Dad, Seniors, how goes the investigation into Greenhaze Mundus?”

”It’s still ongoing. There’s no stareye there, so we need to wait quite a while for a large-scale investigation,” Reverend Daolie said.

”But if we don’t get rid of that tainted blood as soon as we can, then I and the entire House Huang will always be mired in controversy,” Huang Daosheng mused.

”Yes. Every single moment of this doesn’t feel good. Letting a tainted child younger than a hundred years old mess with an ancient house like us has made us the biggest laughingstock!” Huang Daolie said.

”That’s why we have to kill him as soon as possible. At the very least, it’ll be enough to wipe away my humiliation.” Huang Daosheng looked up at Reverend Daolie. ”Dad, is there any cosmic artifact that I can use to capture him? That fly might be fast, but as long as it’s trapped, it’ll die for sure. And I know that you and the rest might not be able to make a move with Lan Yun around, so I’ll have to do it.”

Reverend Daolie exchanged glances with the other seniors. ”We don’t have anything like that ourselves, but I can borrow the Kilopath Net.”

”Kilopath Net! Dad, doesn’t that belong to a certain eminent?”

”That’s right. He’s been resting for a few years. If he’s willing to help us, he can tell the artifact soul of the Kilopath Net to let you use it once. That will be enough for you to capture that taint.”

”But will the eminent really agree to lend it to us?”

”I’ll try. At most, I’ll have to go with his whims for a while or offer him some favors in return. We’re only borrowing it once, so it should be possible.”

”Good! If I manage to capture him with the Kilopath Net, I’ll make sure to keep him alive and imprisoned for the rest of his life for me to torture!” It wasn’t an easy grudge to forget.

”Sheng’er....” Reverend Daolie shook his head in resignation. ”I hope that once this crisis is over, that stray thought will leave your mind and allow you to progress to the Foundation stage. With your brilliant goldlion aspect, you’re very likely to surpass me and become an eminent. Eminents wield immense power in Myriadpath Valley and the Million Mundi. You’ve seen them before—they’re truly the top existences of the universe! You must succeed... for your father’s sake, and for your whole family’s.”

”Yes, Father!” Huang Daosheng grit his teeth as his entire body shook. Golden flames coursed through his entire body. He was the pride and future of his family!

”If you become an eminent, our house will become a sacred house. Nobody will be able to mess with us by then. No more than a few handfuls of people in the entire astralscape of order will be able to touch us!” Reverend Daolie continued.

”Yes!” Huang Daosheng could feel immense pressure from his father and the elders’ hopeful gazes. They were placing all their hopes of wiping away this humiliation on his chances of becoming an eminent.

”Li Tianming, if I don’t humiliate you for life, I’ll be no better than an animal! I swear upon my name!” After his oath, he left to wait for good news about the Kilopath Net.

......

After fifteen minutes, Huang Daosheng slammed the crying Huang Jiaoyang on the ground and proceeded with his assault. ”Tell me! What position did he use?! Well? What happened to all your shouting and crying?! Speak! That bastard! Am I stronger, or is he stronger than me?!”

”I told you countless times that he! Didn’t! Touch! Me!” Huang Jiaoyang felt like she was going insane.

Huang Daosheng grew tired of it and slumped on top of her body. Laughing, he said, ”I know. But others simply don’t believe it, so I’m asking you on their behalf....”