Beastmaster of the Ages

Just from their appearances or postures, some people could immediately be identified as those with a far superior status, talent, or background. The young woman with half black and half white hair that Tianming was looking at was one such person. “I’ve met quite a few Lin Clan disciples, but she should be the best of them all in terms of talent.”

Fifth Branch Master Lin Jie’s youngest son, Lin Xiaobo, was also a six-six talent. However, he was clearly too young and inexperienced. The woman in Tianming’s sights, however, had already grown up. Every move of hers carried prestige and it was clear that the people by her side respected her a lot. They were a group dressed in black and white robes with a symbol of crossed swords.

“They’re from the Hall of Discipline.” Lin Xiaogui’s gaze was cold, making it obvious that she had suffered from her peers in the same age group growing up.

“The Hall of Discipline? A bunch of little constables.” Tianming, on the other hand, was quite relaxed. “What’s the woman’s name?”

“Lin Jianjia.”

“What’s her status? She has quite a presence,” Tianming said.

“She’s the heir of the third branch master, Lin Xiaoyun. She has the same level of status as you, but her talent is much better,” Lin Xiaogui replied.

“Heir? Interesting.” Tianming couldn’t see her disciple card from so far away, but from what he could see, she couldn’t be considered pretty. Her features looked very fierce, though they were still delicate. Her sharp eyes and nose would easily cause others to feel respectful. Her appearance was, to put it bluntly, a little mean.

“She’s a level above me even though we’re the same age.” Lin Xiaogui grit her teeth.

“I guess you’ve suffered, huh,” Tianming chuckled.

“Last time, she was number one on the daisy ranking while I fluctuated between second and third. I always lost. After we passed thirty, we never fought again. However, the reason she beat me is because she has better resources than me. She was already a grade-five disciple long ago. Even without the three-grade jump, two would be enough for her to cultivate in the seventh level of the Caeli Vault.”

“The seventh level? How luxurious. What grade disciple are you?” Tianming asked.

“Fourth.”

Right, she had gotten second or third on the daisy ranking, so she would be a fourth-grade disciple. However, without a status boost, she could only go to the fourth level of the Caeli Vault, the same as Tianming, who was a first-grade disciple.

“She seems to have had some success.” Tianming realized that Lin Jianjia was stably standing on the stele, using her hands to mimic a sword moving through the air as she kept her eyes closed. In response, several of the black sword patterns left the stele and flowed around her hands, swimming around her like sword-shaped fish.

“She’s always had the Grandvoid Swordfiend as her goal and has been comprehending the Temporal Sword Dao since young. She’s already mastered two Temporal Sword Arts, both of them fullstella battle arts. One’s called the Hour Strike and the other is the Pentasection Strike.”

“It must be her dream for Delayed Capture to have appeared here! Comprehending it will immediately bring her to the peak and she’ll easily surpass the rest of our brethren in the Lin Clan.” Lin Xiaogui clearly understood her well. Her expression was helpless and complicated.

“That look means she must’ve personally humiliated you before?” Tianming grinned.

Lin Xiaogui gave him a look, but didn’t say anything. Such a thing must have happened and was engraved in her memories.

“Time to stop talking and get to work. When she succeeds, we’ll all be sent flying,” Lin Xiaogui said.

“No problem. Since you’re so unhappy with her, I’ll help you vent.” Tianming grinned.

“How?”

Tianming thumped his chest as he said with confidence, “I’ll get the Delayed Sword Art before she can!”

“It’s Delayed Capture.” Lin Xiaogui rolled her eyes.

Tianming laughed.

“Look at your memory, you still want to comprehend the art? Just protect me!” Lin Xiaogui said.

“We’ll see who’ll have to protect who.” Tianming breathed in deeply and gripped Godsin’s chain tight before sprawling on the ground. The black sword patterns moved below him, all of them ignoring him.

“What are you doing?” Lin Xiaogui was surprised.

“Going through the ground.”

“You need to use your heart to experience it so you can understand the sword intent. Practice using it and seek the ancestor’s will within. Respect is the most important factor throughout the process. Don’t lie down like that, people will gossip,” Lin Xiaogui said.

“Who needs to understand anything?” Tianming couldn’t be bothered. He was lying down so it was less obvious that his black arm was sinking into the stele. He even placed his right hand that had the Swordsoul Bracelet behind his back at the same time, so as to avoid anyone seeing the process of him stealing.

“I’m a professional lockpicker. Old man Grandvoid, today won’t be your lucky day!” He breathed in deeply again as his Plundering Eye opened inside the stele and looked at the sword ki lock in front.

“Idiot.” Lin Xiaogui lost interest and began comprehending the attack for herself.

……

“A thousand!”

The men and women in black and white robes all revealed envious looks as they watched the woman in the center begin dancing. As her sword moved, over a thousand black sword patterns had left the stele and swam around her as if they were joining her dance.

“Her movements are so fast!”

“She looks so slow, but in reality she’s very fast.”

“Look at Little Sis Jianjia. She’s already understood the essence of Delayed Capture within three days. She even reached the thousand-pattern benchmark. There’s twenty-seven days left, so she should be able to break past ten thousand and get the Grandvoid Swordfiend’s legacy!”

“She’s really suited for this.”

“Everything comes to those who patiently wait.”

The Hall of Discipline youths had formed a small circle that no one else on the stele dared approach.

The rest of the disciples were in despair upon seeing Lin Jianjia’s progress. The highest, other than her, was only at two hundred. There was no hope of finishing it in a month if they didn’t reach a thousand after three days.

Lin Jianjia breathed in and took a break.