Beastmaster of the Ages

A billion people sounded like a lot, but all of them had lifebound spaces for their beasts, so they didn’t take up too much actual space. Instead, it was the guidance steles and other large resources that couldn’t be stored in spatial rings that were cumbersome. The Lin Clan prioritized the survival of their members, while the same couldn’t necessarily be said for other groups. The way they saw it, sending over normal, untalented people to an ether-class world was a waste.

”I’ll try piloting a few deific-class ships away to see if they stop me. Even if they blockade the ships, I’m confident I’ll be able to make it back. If they don’t stop us, we can leave with the deific-class ships first, though we won’t be bringing any actual people,” Lin Changkong said.

”Alright.”

The ebons were trying to wipe them out, so they shouldn’t be snapping at them so soon to prevent scaring the flock away. Yet there were no such guarantees. At the very least, the ebons had no actual justification to go against the Infinitum Swordsea, as they were supposedly cut off from the Skycross Lin Clan. The ebons wanted to be on the righteous side this time, after all. Tianming and the others believed the ebons would only touch the Infinitum Swordsea when they were beyond enraged. While deific-class and lower divine astralships weren’t too precious, they weren’t insignificant, either. The smaller ships could be used for transportation across the Sun in the future.

”Let’s leave it at that. We’ll have the sanctuary-class ships and above attempt an escape while we have the rest sent away from Ebonia in batches without any passengers.” Smaller ships only required a single pilot, and the likelihood of them dying from an attack was incredibly low. To minimize the losses of the clan, some people had volunteered to take the risk. The clan had its amazing fighting spirit to thank for that.

”That means we’ll have a total of twenty ether-class ships and three hundred and fifty-two sanctuary-class ships that’ll be part of the exodus. Apart from that are the half a million astral gods and billion members of the clan, not to mention all our other treasures, like the steles, caeli, technique manuals, ores, herbs, and cosmic impulses.” The numbers of everything combined were quite staggering when added up together.

”Most importantly, we have the council hall and the ancestral plaques.” People turned and looked toward the hall. The plaques that memorialized the great leaders of the past seemed to glow.

Dongshen Yue stood up and took a deep breath. ”Let me convince the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan.”

”Feng’er will be more than willing to welcome them,” Lin Chongyang said with a smile.

......

Mount Taia stood so tall that it looked like the main backbone of Ebonia. It was like a giant that held up the sky of the world. As far back as historical records could recount, it had been there for hundreds of millions of years. That timescale wasn’t much for a star, but it was mindbogglingly long for a human civilization. Not even the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan that lived there knew how many generations it had been since they settled there.

Three figures were at the peak of Mount Taia, all of them from different generations. Dongshen Yang, white haired, sat cross legged and looked into the distance. Dongshen Zhuojun, in his prime, stood beside him with his arms behind his back. And Dongshen Xiaoli, still young and fresh, pouted and squatted not far away from them, playing with stones on the ground. They had called this place home for as long as they could remember.

”Dad...” Dongshen Zhuojun gave a subtle reminder.

Dongshen Yang’s aged eyes fluttered open. He hadn’t been able to utter a single word for a long time. He lowered his head and grit his teeth, finally feeling ready. ”Zhuojun, I don’t have much time left. Such is human life. Once we reach the Cosmic Cartography stage, we have a few thousand years of life and call ourselves advanced cosmic beings, but even then we aren’t able to outlast sickness and death. Right now, death looms over us and I can already see it. The laws of the world are giving me a final notice. It’s telling me that my final destination isn’t far.”

”Dad, what’s the point of reminiscing all this at a time like this? Nobody’s able to break out of this cycle. Not you, not me, and not Xiaoli,” Dongshen Zhuojun said.

”That’s right. There’s no point....” Dongshen Yang smiled in resignation, his eyes slightly red. He grabbed a pile of earth with his wrinkled hand, causing the dirt to turn into sand and roll around before him. ”I’ve made a decision, Zhuojun.”

”Dad?” Dongshen Zhuojun hoped that he would hear the answer he wanted.

”I’ve decided to be buried here near Mount Taia. I want to return to the earth from which I emerged, hopefully nourishing it for what is to come,” Dongshen Yang said, eyes squinted as he smiled.

”Dad! I already explained all of it to you! Even the Swordgod Lin Clan decided to—”

”Shhh!” Dongshen Yang stretched his hand out and glared at his son. ”Child, how many times have I told you to not act recklessly when it comes to things like this? Take it calmly so that you can find the optimal course of action.”

”Is that so? You don’t seem to have practiced what you preach. You’ve always been short-tempered and reckless,” Dongshen Zhuojun said, rolling his eyes.

”You got me there!” Dongshen Yang didn’t know quite what to say to that. ”But this time around, I’ve thought it through.”

”This is your decision after all that thinking? To die here like a coward?”

”No.”

”Didn’t you say you’d be buried here?”

”That’s right. However, the rest of the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan can follow you and Lin Xiaodao to new frontiers. Look for a place just like Mount Taia where the heart of the clan can take root.”

”What do you mean?”

”Grandpa’s saying that he’ll stay while we should leave,” Dongshen Xiaoli said.

”No! It doesn’t have to be this way, Dad!” Dongshen Zhuojun hurried to lift his father up.

”Zhuojun, my mind is made up.” He pushed his son away and stood up, stretched, and looked at the countless mountains before him. Standing at the highest peak, everything else looked small.

”You won’t be able to bring the quintessence of Mount Taia with you, so leave it to me. If I leave, too, this mountain will be lonely. Everything must have a start and an end. It started with our forebears, so let it end with me. You young ones should chase a brighter future elsewhere, while I stay back to protect our homeland. Don’t worry, I’m confident that the ebons won’t be able to take me down so easily. I’ll spend the rest of my days here, enjoying the mountain lakes and sights as much as I want. I’ll live out my life freely and unencumbered! Zhuojun, stop trying to convince me to leave. Mount Taia has truly given us far too much. Even though our clan has no choice but to leave this place before the upcoming conflict in search of a new home, you must allow me to leave the last of our blood here. Otherwise, Mount Taia would be far too lonely, so I’ll remain behind after the rest of you say your farewells. Otherwise, this parting would be far too harsh and cruel. I spent all my days living here at Mount Taia, so let me haunt it when I’m dead as well. Do you understand? It’s the only way my soul will be able to find peace.”

His doubts seemed to have completely vanished when he finished. He smiled with complete tranquility and felt as light as a cloud, as if all his burdens had lifted at that moment. He took a deep and refreshing breath. ”Go. Make your preparations and work with your aunt. You’ve already matured, so it’s about time you went out there to find your own way. Leave this old place here for me to watch over.”

Dongshen Zhuojun’s eyes reddened with sorrow despite his father’s joyful demeanor. Dongshen Xiaoli, on the other hand, seemed rather dazed about everything. She hadn’t had enough life experience to understand the unspoken burdens they carried, but she might one day know what Dongshen Zhuojun and Dongshen Yang were currently experiencing. She would see why her father had chosen to chase a brighter future, and understand why her grandfather chose to meet his end where everything began.