Beastmaster of the Ages

Suishen Hongtian made a downward motion with his hand to calm the crowd. ”Everyone, please don’t be impatient. I have a way to get us out of this predicament, but I desperately require your full support!”

”Go ahead!”

”Let’s hear it.”

”For the sake of our house’s future, I’ll do anything!”

”Thank you, everyone! To set House Suishen back on the right track, we can’t just hope that my father and brother will snap out of their delusion. We have to do something to force them out of it.”

”What do you mean?” they asked.

”Tomorrow’s the Ancestral Worship Ceremony. Most of the eminents and reverends will gather at the Progenitor’s Altar, which’ll make for quite a tense situation. There’ll no doubt be many of us from the Three Exalted Houses there to prevent any trouble or being outnumbered. At the same time, the formations of Suishen Cave will be activated to stop others from attacking our base while we’re away.” There were many things that could happen during such a chaotic time in Myriadpath Valley, and the Ancestral Worship Ceremony was a prime time for all of it to take place.

The Source Progenitor was the foundation of Myriadpath Valley. Even though most people haven’t actually seen them with their own eyes, nor did they know the Myriadpath Sourcespring’s water came from their body, the Source Progenitor was still the highest object of worship of the Three Exalted Houses. Thus, the ceremony was an extremely strict ritual that took place only once every hundred years. Coincidentally, the upcoming ceremony coincided with all other troubles of Myriadpath Valley.

”House Qitian definitely won’t miss out on shaking Myriadpath Valley on such a day,” Suishen Hongtian continued.

”They haven’t shown off the legacies they got from the Yin-Yang World. What better time would there be?”

”Yeah, that’s right!”

The crowd waited for Suishen Hongtian to say more.

”At that time, the elites of our house will band together, leaving only a few to guard Suishen Cave. The exact number will depend on what the other two houses do. I heard that my brother intends to bring two-thirds of all eminents there, and I will definitely be among them. A third of our eminents will be left behind, some of whom are among you!” Suishen Hongtian looked at his fellow supporters.

”Having only a third of our eminents here is good enough to stop enemies from taking over Suishen Cave.”

”At the very least, we’ll be able to hold on until reinforcements arrive.”

”It won’t be hard for us to find out how many people the other houses are sending to the ceremony, either.”

”We’d have bigger things to worry about if a fight is really going to break out.”

They had a feeling that Suishen Hongtian had a mission for those who would be staying behind. He took out a piece of paper with a list of roughly ten names.

”Li Tianming, Suishen Yao, Suishen Zhao, Suishen Yuan, Suishen Shuang, Suishen Xue....” As they read the names out, they seemed rather confused.

”Eminent Hongtian, what’s your intention?”

Suishen Hongtian’s eyes coldly flashed. ”With Suishen Cave being heavily defended for the ceremony, outsiders won’t be able to enter. However, those of you that stay behind are free to move about within. There’s ten-odd people on this list, all of whom are the future hope of House Suishen. I want you to take them hostage and leave Suishen Cave!”

”What?” Though they had a rough idea of what they were going to do, hearing Suishen Hongtian say it out loud was no less shocking. If anything happened to any of the people on that list, House Suishen would be completely doomed. Nobody knew how many generations it would take for it to recover. They were supposed to protect their future! Was Suishen Hongtian going to make them harm their own house?

Suishen Hongtian laughed when he saw how shocked they were. ”Everyone, you’ve misunderstood. I have no intention to harm them at all.”

”So what’re we to do with them then?” The tension in the atmosphere rose more and more.

”We’ll send them to House Qitian to act as hostages. It’ll be an official act that shows House Qitian our commitment to stand on their side.”

”That....” Their faces paled. They had heard that the valley lord was the one who’d killed the senior madame. Not to mention, he had also killed his own wife to ruin his former master.

”Eminent Hongtian, what is the point of doing something like this?” asked an elder.

”It’s simple. We have to show sincerity for House Qitian to truly accept that we’ve submitted to them. That’s how House Suishen will give them trust! The people on this list are the lifeblood of my father and brother. With them as hostages, it’ll force my father and Suishen Ranxing to fall in line and give up on their delusion!

”Once House Suishen makes a swift declaration of intent, there’ll be nobody left for House Yumo to count on. Their fate, whether it be exile or ruin, is of no consequence to us. Myriadpath Valley’s future will be set on that day, and we’ll no longer see any conflict pass. We’ll no longer have to worry about any turmoil and can go back to our normal lives.” There was one thing he didn’t say, however, and that was that he would be made the new leader of House Suishen!

”What?!” The eminents grit their teeth in consternation. Giving House Qitian a hold over their lifeblood was the same as capitulating to their every whim! They could threaten to kill the hostages if House Suishen did the slightest thing that displeased them.

Suishen Hongtian seemed a little troubled by how things were developing. ”I don’t know what you’re all hesitating about. Are any of your own children on the list?”

”Well, there aren’t....” Everyone shook their heads.

”Then why not? They’re all children of Suishen Ranxing and Suishen Cang. They’re children who’ll compete with your children for resources! Even if something bad happens to them, isn’t it good for us? Only then will our own children have a chance to stand out! It isn’t like House Suishen will need those hostages in the future. We aren’t able to compete with House Qitian in the first place. All we have to do is be better than the other august houses!”

”I guess that’s true....” The rest could do naught but sigh.

”I know why all of you think it’s a shame.” Suishen Hongtian feigned a face full of grief. ”I, too, miss the days when the Three Exalted Houses stood as equals. House Suishen never had to bow down to anybody else.

”But open your eyes! Does it look possible at this point? Times have changed! The three houses are no longer equal and we only have two choices remaining: either we die, or we survive. It isn’t a bad thing to survive as the second-most powerful faction in the astralscape of order! Surely, that’s better than extinction!”

”That’s right!” Even though the truth hurt, it was the exact reason why they were in a dilemma like this in the first place.

”There’s no use in pining over the glory of a lost age. The legacies of the Yin-Yang World have completely upended the balance of Myriadpath Valley.

”As those who witness the changing times, the only thing we can do is to look ahead and do all we can to ensure that our descendants survive into the future! House Yumo might not have any options left, but we do! We should appreciate the chance we have been given, everyone!” After finishing his speech, Suishen Hongtian immediately turned and left, his sleeves fashionably streaking through the air. Everyone there clapped, tears flowing from their eyes.