Beastmaster of the Ages

“Honestly, I’m a little surprised,” Lin Xiaoyun said with a smile.

“It doesn’t really matter much. Lin Feng’s blood is very mixed, but his ancestors, such as Second Patriarch Lin, Granny Dongshen, and Lin Mu, all have very high cultivation talent. However, better comprehension skills won’t help if he doesn’t have the support of his bloodline,” Lin Wuyi said,

Lin Jianjia had noticed it as well. The members of the Hall of Discipline next to her had been scolding Tianming for quite a while already.

“Jianjia, he just has one Lin Xiaogui there. Should we go over and remove that eyesore?”

Lin Jianjia was annoyed. “Don’t say that. Are we of the same level?” She was implying that doing so would lower herself.

“Alright.”

The stele had no other disciples apart from the two who had broken past a thousand swordbarriers. Quite a few people had given up and were paying attention to Lin Jianjia and Li Tianming. Of course, Lin Jianjia didn’t consider it a problem and only focused on herself. Such a quality was quite good—she didn’t compare herself to others! That gave the elders of Swordsoul Chamber something new to latch on to and praise in front of Lin Xiaoyun.

However, all of that changed as time passed.

Counting from the start of the stele’s appearance—⁠

The third day, Lin Jianjia was at a thousand sword patterns, while Tianming was at zero.

The sixth day, she was at two thousand, while he was at one thousand.

The tenth day, she was at three thousand, and he was at two thousand and five hundred!

The numbers made it clear that Lin Jianjia was slowing down while Tianming was accelerating. There was still a gap of five hundred patterns, but it would be closed at this rate.

On the fifteenth day, Lin Jianjia had reached four thousand, leaving only six thousand left. She had taken five days to break past the four thousandth pattern, twice as much time as she’d taken for her first thousand. And on that day, Tianming had also reached the four thousand swordbarriers mark. The two were neck and neck.

The Hall of Discipline disciples had very unpleasant expressions. Their disdain and mockery had morphed into shame and anger.

Lin Jianjia stopped comprehending the sword and frowned. “How do I even handle this latest swordbarrier transformation?” Even as the top student, she was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure when she heard all the private whispers around her. She followed everyone’s gazes and looked at the man sprawled on the ground with four thousand sword patterns around him. She was so frustrated by the sight that she coughed out blood on the spot.

It was unacceptable! The top student was struggling and trying her best, but the results were being released and the poorest student had gotten better marks! If that wasn’t cheating, what was?

However, how did one cheat on an ancestral guidance stele?

“Jianjia, it’s not like we’re afraid of that wastrel. It’s just that he’s an eyesore that’s affecting your mindset.”

“Right, he must know he has no hope for the later parts so he’s trying to ruin your focus!”

“We’ll chase him away.”

“Exactly, you have the most hope of success, so don’t let him drag you down.”

As disciples of the Hall of Discipline, they knew the importance of phrasing. They had to find a noble-sounding reason for all the seniors watching.

“Don’t, it’s too petty.” Lin Jianjia shook her head. However, she winked as she did so, a signal that these disciples that had grown up with her all understood.

With tacit agreement, they shifted their Swordsoul Bracelets so the seniors couldn’t see her hint. All they heard was her refusal. Hence, the petty ones would be her companions, not her. Lin Jianjia was already a Hall of Discipline deacon. All of them were following her, so as long as her reputation was good, did it matter if all of her little brothers and sisters kept theirs pristine? Everyone knew that when she grew up, the friends she made when she was young would become her trusted confidants. Contributing to her now was an investment for their future!

“Jianjia, ignore us.”

“Right!”

“Just think of whose son he is. Can he learn it well? And he’s just bothering others instead.”

“Disgusting.”

“Don’t waste time, focus on the sword.”

Five disciples pulled their swords out of the stele and fused their swordbeasts within. They quickly made their way toward Li Tianming and Lin Xiaogui.

“They’re really doing it now!”

“How shameless!”

There were still other Lin Clan disciples on the stele. They’d stayed on even though they had no hope of getting the sword art, as they wanted to watch the show. It was impossible to hope for them to help Tianming; many didn’t dare to offend Lin Jianjia.

“I say! That Lin Feng is shameless. His crime is to disturb Jianjia!”

“Right, look at that posture. It’s a desecration toward the ancestor.”

“Get lost, Lin Feng!”

People of the world could indeed tell right from wrong, but authority suppressed dissent. The stele was like a miniature society. There was no right or wrong, only strong or weak. If the shameless took action, they could claim anything they wanted as long as they had the strength.

Lin Xiaogui, who was familiar with Lin Jianjia, had expected this scene already.

“Oh, so they already can’t take it?” Tianming couldn’t resist laughing.

“You can still laugh?”

“Just a bunch of ants. I’m not needed, I’ll leave this to you, bro,” Tianming said.

Lin Xiaogui had already planned to keep her promise of protecting him, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to smack him now. “Fine, I lost the bet and you let me use the cosmic impulse that time, so I owe you.” Lin Xiaogui grit her teeth. The five opponents had already arrived.

“Move aside, specter mongrel,” one of the female disciples called out.

“I don’t want to hurt you. Your blood will dirty my blade,” another piped up.

“Oh.” It was the same old insults. Their disdain for her and her bloodline would never change no matter how hard she worked. Hence, she didn’t bother defending herself with words; her sword would do the talking. Losing didn’t matter as long as she could still stand back up afterward!