Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming actually said he had shown them an unsightly performance.... The six eminents were about to lose their minds when they heard that.

The moment Suishen Ling and the rest had arrived and surrounded them after Tianming’s interference, the assailants knew their secret mission had completely failed. For a disciple of around a hundred years old to completely disrupt their grand plan and kill Suishen Jinxuan, someone who was stronger than they were, was unthinkable!

The six eminents blankly stood there like fools, struggling to reconcile what they saw with what they knew. Some even completely slumped to the ground.

”This is the most ridiculous example of a monstrous genius in history, ever....”

”If you’d shown this level of power to begin with, we wouldn’t have had to take this risky path with Suishen Hongtian...”

They knew what House Qitian had promised Suishen Hongtian, but it was no longer important. Their mission had failed, and there would be consequences for them. They all despaired, their eyes bloodshot and gazes dark. They faced immense pressure from all the fear and doubt they felt about their future.

Every single person in House Suishen had struggled with how they had to proceed, unlike Tianming, who had much better information about himself and the wider situation.

No matter what age it is, traitors will appear when a powerful enemy is on the horizon. These people are no fools, they just had too much uncertainty. They’d thought their house would be doomed if they didn’t do anything.

He recalled those from the Swordgod Lin Clan, which were just like the six eminents before him. The sooner they quit and joined the enemy, the less they would lose and the more they stood to gain by selling their own out to their enemy.

While one could mock them in hindsight, that was only because they knew all the facts and surrounding information as documented in the history books. Considering what the traitors knew, the accusation that they were fools wouldn’t hold.

The six eminents exchanged glances. ”If he’s an eminent at the age of a hundred, will he reach the major zenith at two hundred? If he does, why would the Yin-Yang World’s legacy even matter? There’s no comparison at all!”

They looked at each other one more time and hurriedly kowtowed to Tianming. ”Pathkeeper Li, we were led astray by that traitorous Suishen Hongtian! We lost our way and made the wrong choice!”

”We’re thankful that you were here to stop us from committing an even greater wrong!”

”We truly regret our actions, Pathkeeper Li. Please spare us! We wish to return to the right path!”

The fact that they continued prostrating themselves before him was a sign that they had truly been stunned by Tianming’s performance, senior eminents though they may be!

The juniors and other eminents that had come with Suishen Ling were already stunned enough by what had happened, yet they couldn’t believe that these six elder eminents would actually do something like that. All eyes turned to Tianming as tension in the air built up.

”Sis... do you remember that time I dueled Tianming? It was only a few decades ago, and we were almost evenly matched. I’m only an eleventh-level cosmic cartographer, yet he just killed a ninth-level foundationeer eminent! Is his power skyrocketing?!” Suishen Zhao widened his eyes and tugged on his sister’s arm, stupefied.

”How should I know?!” Suishen Yao seemed like a chicken with no thought in her head. She even forgot to blink.

”How do you not know how strong your man is?!” Suishen Zhao snapped.

”I don’t even know how hard he is, let alone how strong!” She took another few looks at him. She was the most shocked out of all of them, as she had experienced Tianming’s prowess firsthand back when he was on the Skyward Grandpath all those years ago.

”He went from the seventh level of the Cosmic Cartography stage to the ninth level of the Foundation stage in a short few decades.... What should I even make of that? He’s at least a few hundred times more talented than the top genius by Myriadpath Valley’s standards!”

It finally sank in for the others when they heard that. Suishen Ling and the rest knew why the six traitorous eminents were begging for mercy. They had been completely scared to hell by his sheer talent.

”That child’s talent is far more important to House Suishen than any legacy of the Yin-Yang World could ever be....” It made sense to her. Legacies were dead and unchanging, but talented people were alive and filled with potential! Perhaps they could even grow to eclipse any benefit legacies can provide!

House Qitian would need more than a thousand years to significantly grow from the benefits of the legacies, and ten thousand more years for it to set in deep. Tianming, however, would be unmatched in a few short centuries.

Suishen Ling asked Tianming, ”How do you want to deal with them?”

Tianming had always considered himself an outsider in House Suishen, far from someone who called the shots. But now a minor-zenith senior was asking for his opinion. That was how he knew that the revelation of his true prowess would no doubt shake Myriadpath Valley’s foundations even more than the legacies of the Yin-Yang World would have. It was the result of pretending to be a second-level foundationeer for decades, only to reveal his might that rivaled a ninth-level foundationeer.

”We’ll capture them first and decide what to do about their betrayal once the rest return from the ceremony.” There were five major-zenith foundationeers on that end, so there was no need for Tianming to do anything.

The six eminents allowed themselves to be arrested without resisting one bit. Before they left they even yelled, ”With Pathkeeper Li around, the heavens have proven that House Suishen won’t be wiped out after all!”

”Those stuck-up Qitians think they’re hot shots... but little do they know that Pathkeeper Li’s the true ruler of the astralscape to come!”

All that flattery made Tianming a little embarrassed. Even so, it only showed how conflicted the treasonous eminents had been in their decision. Their actions were for the benefit of their house, not for their own selfish desires. Suishen Hongtian was the one who had a true ulterior motive!

These juniors are all children of Eminent Ranxing and his subordinates. They were actually planning to send his children to House Qitian as hostages so that Suishen Hongtian’s own descendants would take their place at the top of the house while claiming it’s for the sake of everyone! But little did they know that they’d made a bet on a paper tiger....

Tianming really found it laughable. He had to give props to House Qitian for putting up such a convincing act that Suishen Hongtian and the rest had fallen for it. Word of their gains in the Yin-Yang World had first been brought by House Yumo, House Qitian’s archnemesis. If even they were fooled, nobody else in Myriadpath Valley would even consider the possibility of the valley lord lying to them.

”What a joke!” When Tianming laughed, Suishen Ling and the others had finished dealing with the six eminents and ensuring the juniors’ safety.

”Tianming, you’ve earned great merit from stopping Suishen Hongtian’s plot. I’m sure all of them would be delighted by your impressive talent.” The way Suishen Ling looked at him had completely changed. There was now a hint of respect.

It was clear that she didn’t know House Qitian’s true situation, so she also considered him House Suishen’s trump card against House Qitian’s newfound legacies. The other dozen eminents were even more impressed than she was.

Tianming cracked a smile and said, ”All of you were there for quite some time. Even without me acting like a busybody, they wouldn’t have gotten away with it, right?”

Suishen Ling smiled without saying another word.

Tianming awkwardly scratched his head and asked, ”Did you get word of the plot beforehand?”

”Yes.” Suishen Ling nodded and continued, ”Suishen Xiyue suddenly informed me to come over to watch over all of you using her transmission stone. She was worried that someone would get reckless. Who knew it would actually come to pass?”

It was no wonder she hadn’t picked up her transmission stone before. She was rushing there. It seemed that Suishen Yao’s mother was quite a thoughtful person. Hmm, maybe she knows better than anyone else how low someone like Suishen Hongtian would stoop. Right then, Yin Chen said, ”They have... already started... messing with... House Qitian!”

Are they going to reveal the secret? Tianming smiled. Suishen Xiyue and Suishen Jiguang had picked the perfect time. Alright, I should go watch the show. If it works out, my days in Myriadpath Valley will be smooth like never before! Everything they were doing now would lay the foundation for him in the future.

***

The ceremony seemed to be slightly delayed. When everything was silent, Qitian Muyu received good news that relieved his tense mood. ”Father, there’s a commotion at Suishen Cave. Suishen Hongtian’s men have made their move.”

”Good.” The valley lord approvingly smiled.

”As long as he takes the first step, he’ll be in the same boat as us. Even if he finds out our secret, there’s no way House Suishen will take him back. He’ll have no choice but to serve us,” Qitian Muyue mocked.

It was the result of House Qitian’s decade-long charade. That was all it had taken to flip a major-zenith foundationeer to House Qitian’s side!

”Alright, let’s start the ceremony. Once it’s over, we’ll return to Qitian Cave to count our spoils.” No doubt, that referred to the children of Suishen Ranxing and his followers.

The valley lord stood upon the altar with both hands raised, then began sternly chanting and praying.

Suishen Xiyue and Suishen Jiguang gave each other looks. Suishen Jiguang hissed, ”He made his move!”

”Good. What he did to you in the Yin-Yang World isn’t enough for the entire house to hate him, but what he just did would be unforgivable even if he’s killed several times over!” Suishen Xiyue said. They needed the support of the entire house to topple the two brothers. Killing them wouldn’t be enough, unless all they wanted was vengeance followed by exile.

”It’s our chance,” Suishen Jiguang said, turning to the valley lord.

”Go! Don’t expose your major-zenith power yet. Focus on exposing the truth and convincing everyone there!” Suishen Xiyue reminded her.

”I will!” They had to play their cards one by one.

”Ancestors on high! I’m the 6665th valley lord of Myriadpath Valley, Qitian Xiao—”

A sudden cry from behind interrupted the valley lord’s proclamation. Dumbfounded, he furiously turned around and saw a pink-haired goddess behind him, her eyes filled with killing intent.