Beastmaster of the Ages

The cheers went on without end in front of the Myriadsword Mausoleum. Nobody cared about the seething Lin Jie and the rest; they were all focused on Lin Xiao alone! He teared up and raised a wooden sword as he approached the altar. Raising it up, he placed it close to his lips and nose, its tip pointed to the sky above. When he knelt, his tears flowed out of control.

”Ancestors, I, Lin Xiao, can still live for a thousand years!” With the sword still held to his face, he kowtowed three times, then turned and looked at the mausoleum. ”During my remaining lifespan, I’ll use every single drop of blood in me to live up to the hopes that have been entrusted to me!”

Once more, his head smashed hard into the floor of the altar as his sincere voice resounded all through the mausoleum. Even those outside could clearly hear it. Beneath the altar, Dongshen Yue bit her arm to stop herself from crying out, lest she embarrass herself in front of the young ones. Perhaps only she could understand what all this meant to Lin Xiao. It wasn’t just the fact that he was let back into the council and had another chance at changing the course of the clan, but also because he had the support of three-fourths of the entire clan!

”Grandpa managed to convince that many people. I guess it’s up to me to move the remaining fourth.” Tianming looked at the frail old man’s shoulders and took a deep breath.

For now, the biggest problems had been dealt with. The faces of the seven opposing council members were horrid to behold. Not only had the traditionalists just gained a simple majority in the council, they also had a member of the old guard, Lin Xiao, with them, as well as a peak fighter like Lin Changkong on their side. There was no way the reformists stood a chance. In future decisions, they were bound to be sidelined.

It was akin to Lin Jie having been ousted from his seat of power! Despite his calm expression, he was the one that felt the most vexed about everything. Lin Xiao had been his mentor, the previous Lord of Discipline, yet they’d found themselves clashing with each other far too often. The reason for that was that Lin Jie understood Lin Xiao too well. He knew the most important trait he had: tenacity! Lin Jie also knew that there was no way that Lin Xiao would support his ideals, so he had planned to limit him in every way possible from the start.

However, Tianming had distinguished himself far too much, to Lin Jie’s dismay. Even his own fifth branch had a fifth that had voted for Lin Xiao. He had no idea how it’d all even happened.

”Lin Yun, Lin Ziqing, the two of you sure returned quickly. You claimed to represent the whole council at the Oldgod Domain with the foolish aim of sending our swordgod disciple to the ebons. You’ll pay dearly for all your infractions!” Lin Changkong said.

”What?”

”The two actually did that?”

”It’s no wonder Lin Feng said all that! They’re lower than dogs! Lin Feng fought hard to survive the Infinitum Duel that Shenxi Shang brought up himself. How could he be blamed for that?”

”They tried to hand Lin Feng over to the ebons? Heavens....”

The crowd outside the mausoleum was shaken by the revelation.

”Don’t accuse my father without any proof!” Lin Xiaoyun shouted at Lin Changkong. Lin Wuyi also stood out to defend Lin Ziqing. The father-son and mother-daughter group were rather similar.

As Lin Changkong wanted to say more, Lin Xiao stood up. The former closed his mouth and escorted Lin Xiao to the front. Lin Changkong actually respected Lin Xiao quite a lot.

Faced with hundreds of thousands of astral gods, Lin Xiao was about to deliver his first address since returning to the council. ”I have something I need to decide. I’d like to consult the council and inform everyone else.”

”Please do, Second Patriarch,” Lin Changkong said.

Lin Xiao waved for Tianming to come to his side. He patted his shoulder and said, ”Since returning to the council, I’ll focus on contributing to the clan as a whole, so I can no longer manage the affairs of the second branch. As such, I’d like to request the council to allow my grandson, Lin Feng, to take up my mantle as the branch master! As a swordgod disciple who ranks first on the minor reges mundi ranking, I trust he’s qualified enough to take over despite his youth!”

Yet another wave of shocked gasps sounded out. Everyone outside the mausoleum exchanged glances in awe.

”Lin Feng is reasonable and upstanding. Coupled with his grandfather’s teachings and grandmother’s supervision, he’ll definitely be able to raise the banner of the second branch high! He’s someone who’ll come to be a main pillar of the clan in the future, so he has to have enough experience before then. It’s just the right time for him to take on more responsibilities! As such, I support making him branch master!” Lin Xiong said.

”The second patriarch has been the branch master for too many years. There used to be many people that mocked him for his advanced age, so I say we let him step down for his grandson instead. I agree,” said another council member, who was the eldest son of Ku, Lin Chongyao, master of the first branch. Hidden in his remark was mockery for Lin Xiaoyun and Lin Wuyi, who had uttered those sentiments. The crowd laughed at the subtle dig.

”I agree!”

”Same here.”

At the very end, Lin Changkong also nodded his agreement. ”Lin Feng is a hopeful youth. His wives are also infinitum-class geniuses. Their futures are brighter than anyone can imagine. If there’s anyone who’s fit to be a branch master around the age of a hundred, it’s definitely him.”

The motion had been approved by eight of the council members, so further discussion was no longer necessary. No dissenting opinion would change the outcome. In fact, if it weren’t for Tianming’s age, it wouldn’t even have been necessary to go through the council to appoint him as the branch master. Now that the council had a majority agreement in his appointment, the rest would have to assent to the decision.

”Then, from now on, Lin Feng shall be the master of the second branch. Serve your fellow disciples well,” Lin Xiao announced.

Tianming smiled and said, ”Seniors, I give my word to follow my grandparents’ teachings. I’ll dutifully serve the second branch to the best of my ability.”

He turned to Lin Wuyi and Lin Xiaoyun. ”I also hope that fellow branch leaders will guide me well in their ways by serving as good examples I can emulate.” It didn’t take a genius to know what he meant.

”Amazing! Our new branch master is the youngest to ever take on a position like this! It’s a new record! I wonder who’ll criticize us for having an old branch master now!” Dongshen Yue said with a mocking laugh.

Lin Wuyi and Lin Xiaoyun kept their heads low and simmered in anger. They looked just as mad as their parents as everyone laughed at them. They knew very well that they were the butt of the joke and almost lost it.

Now that Tianming was a branch master, he had even more power. It was an actual post with proper authority, unlike his swordgod disciple title. Not to mention, his official wife, Feiling, could enter the reges mundi level in the Caeli Vault with him! Fortunately, Xiaoxiao didn’t lack any caeli, and Moran also wouldn’t be able to use anything that high level yet.

”The youngest branch master to ever be appointed?” Once word of that spread throughout the Infinitum Swordsea, things grew rowdy once more. At the very least, Tianming had more than enough support in his branch despite his age.

”Lin Feng is invincible!” the crowd cheered.

The Lin Clan seemed reinvigorated. People had gained a new hope after witnessing what’d happened. The ones that remained at the mausoleum cheered and celebrated, while those who were unhappy with it had long gone.

A single green-robed man was in some corner of the Infinitum Swordsea, seemingly wearing a stupid smile as he looked in the direction of the Myriadsword Mausoleum. Yet, his gaze was deep as an abyss. ”So that thing is with him now, huh? Interesting. Hehe... hehehe... hehehehe.”

He chuckled a few more times like an idiot. At that moment, someone tapped on his head and said, ”Lin Jianxing, your injuries haven’t recovered yet. Why’re you out here? Do you think you’re immortal, you piece of shit?!”