Beastmaster of the Ages

The old man had quite the presence. He was the one that stood guard at the Grandsect Arena, and though he didn’t utter a single word, nobody dared to cross him in the slightest. Occasionally, people turned and looked at him with deep respect.

”Brother!” someone called out from behind him with a respectful tone.

”Take a seat,” the white-browed man said.

”Okay.”

Two people came from behind and sat by his sides. They were Third Branch Master Lin Xiaoyun and Seventh Branch Mistress Lin Wuyi, respectively. Both of them had quite the long face.

”Did the two of you just come from the Myriadsword Mausoleum?” the man asked without even turning to look at them, his eyes focused on the children fighting in the arena.

”That’s right! Brother, have you heard about Lin Mu’s son?” Lin Xiaoyun asked.

The man didn’t reply. Instead, he looked up, motioning for the other two to look at the registry. The two of them saw the names Lin Feng, Jiang Feiling, and the rest.

”Hehe, they really know how to go about this. He took a wife and two concubines, all outsiders.... All three generations of their family are completely shameless. Even though the clan has so many nice girls, the men of their branch prefer to pick weeds from the wilderness instead. After so thoroughly ruining the second branch, how dare they still act so brazen? Do they not know shame?” Lin Wuyi said with a mocking laugh. Disdain seemingly poured out of every orifice on her face.

Lin Xiaoyun nodded in agreement and sighed, ”Brother, those two old hacks caused trouble at the mausoleum without giving our ancestors any respect at all. If word of it spreads, everyone will laugh at the Lin Clan again. Wuyi and I believe that we can’t just let those piles of embarrassment go anywhere they wish. That outsider, Dongshen Yue, keeps throwing her weight around. Should we go to the council to deal with her? As long as Lin Mu’s son lives, the wounds we’ve suffered will never heal.

”The council?” The white-browed man shook his head. ”What are you thinking? Those old people are already a step away from their coffins. What’s the point in causing all that ruckus over them? They’ll eventually die, and those young ones won’t be able to hold their heads high after that. Just let them perish on their own. Getting the council involved in a matter like this is the thing others will laugh at us for, you know.”

Lin Xiaoyun and Lin Wuyi exchanged glances before nodding.

”Lin Wuyi, are you afraid that Dongshen Yue will challenge you?” the man asked.

”Well... even a starving camel is still bigger than a horse,” she awkwardly said.

”Just focus on cultivating. Let’s see if you’re capable of supporting the Seventh Branch.”

”Okay....” She held her head low, clearly unhappy with the result but unable to do anything about it.

”Let’s stop talking about those old farts and focus on the children’s performance! Wuyi, that’s your daughter, Lin Manman, right?” Lin Xiaoyun said, moving away from the awkward subject.

Lin Wuyi looked at the arena and spotted a green-short-skirt-wearing girl in the crowd, fighting foes from all directions. With a look of pride, she nodded. ”That’s right. That’s Manman.”

”She’s grown so much in a flash. Time really flies,” Lin Xiaoyun said.

”Is that quick? It’s been a hundred years, you know,” the white-browed man said without holding back, making it awkward for the other two to say anything else. ”How are her swordheart and swordbeasts?”

”She’s awakened a six swordbeast talent and her swordheart reached grade five. My dad said she’ll be able to ’enter the order’ before the age of a hundred. By then, her grade-five swordheart might remanifest as grade six.” She kept her eyes on her daughter the entire time she spoke, not veiling her pride in the slightest.

”A grade-five swordheart with six swordbeasts, huh.... She has five-six talent, then. Not bad.” The white-browed man looked Lin Wuyi all over and said, ”You aren’t that old yet, but you can really give birth, huh? You already have nine children, right? And most of them have five-six talent, with one even having six-six talent. Your line is a rather decent one. Make sure to keep it up for the glory of the clan. We need more young talents for a brighter future.”

”You flatter me, Sir,” she said with a blush. While being praised for her birthing prowess was a little embarrassing, it was what she was known for, after all. As higher lifeforms already had a hard time procreating to begin with, being able to produce many offspring became quite an advantage for a clan.

”Manman shouldn’t have any issues reaching the top three,” Lin Xiaoyun said after observing the fights for a bit.

”Just barely, perhaps. However, Brother Jie’s Son, Lin Xiaopo, is there, so there’s no way she’ll be able to get first place,” Lin Wuyi said, turning and looking at the white-browed man. He was the father of Lin Xiaopo.

”Xiaopo showed six-six talent at the age of three, which is incredibly rare. He’s among the most talented in our clan, and there’s a good chance he’ll be able to take the position of Fifth Branch Master. His performance is shocking,” Lin Xiaoyun said.

”He’s a second-level stellaminor at twenty-four and has six years left to go during the high-speed growth phase. Looks like he’ll be occupying the top of the daisy ranking for six more years. Brother Jie’s son really is magnificently talented. He’s the future of the Lin Clan,” Lin Wuyi said. While it sounded like she was flattering him, she wasn’t blowing hot air in the slightest. Her daughter with five-six talent definitely wouldn’t be able to compare.

Swordbeasts and swordhearts were the key aspects of a Lin Clan disciple’s talent. Back then, Lin Mu had only had a grade-one swordheart and no swordbeasts at all, making him among the worst of the worst. Lifebound beasts could only be considered swordbeasts if they were able to turn into swordbeast spiritforms and enter the sword of their beastmasters. As Tianming didn’t have swordbeasts or a swordheart, he was considered a zero-zero talent!

......

While the three on the high platform were praising each other’s children, a mini ship arrived late and entered their field of view. Seven people disembarked from it after it landed. Lin Xiaoyun and Lin Wuyi’s gazes immediately cooled when they saw who they were.

”It’s Lin Xiao and Dongshen Yue! Didn’t they go back to Brokensword Peak? Why’d they come to Mount Grandsect?” Lin Wuyi’s good mood was immediately ruined.

”And they even brought that trashy son of Lin Mu with them. Is this some kind of family trip? Are they going to embarrass themselves in front of the entire Infinitum Swordsea?” Lin Xiaoyun sneered.

Lin Wuyi and he were two relatively new leaders of their branches and they wanted to show off what they could do. Yet, Lin Xiao and Dongshen Yue had waltzed in just like that and were heading toward them.

Tianming’s sensitive identity immediately drew the attention of countless people. In fact, it even interrupted the competition for the daisy ranking. Everyone watched as Tianming, Lin Dan, and the rest stayed in the arena while Lin Xiao and Dongshen Yue ascended to the higher platform.

”Second Patriarch, Granny,” the white-browed man greeted with a smile. ”Please take a seat.” Unlike the others, he had a different attitude toward the old couple.

”Lil’ Jie? Are you the one supervising the daisy ranking competition this time?”