Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming didn’t think that the Flameyellow Guard Formation and its solar lances would be enough against a giant like Ebonia. Not to mention, a collision between the two worlds wouldn’t be good for anyone involved. The ones who would suffer the most were the denizens of the worlds, so neither side would engage in something like that.

The Sun stopped far enough so that it would require a full day for a divine astralship to travel from it to Ebonia. Even so, the black and pink stars were still incredibly close to each other within the astralscape. Ebonia had a mysterious, cold glow to it, while the Sun passionately shone. The two were polar opposites, making them seem like volatile nemeses that were about to clash.

Finally, they had arrived at their destination. The heartbeats of the Sun’s denizens sped up. They couldn’t directly see Ebonia through the Flameyellow Guard Formation, but they could vaguely feel the presence of the abyssal star in the distance. The gigantic star seemed to be staring at their world, which was only a tenth of its size. The Yin Chens that had laid dormant in Ebonia—in the Infinitum Swordsea and on Mount Taia in particular—also began waking up.

”Grandpa, how is it in Ebonia right now?” Tianming asked.

”The five great Infinitum Regal Clans on the side of Ebonia haven’t submitted to Yi Daiyan yet. So far, they’re still six against six,” Lin Xiao said. The ebons still had the bulk of the population, so they wouldn’t be dying out just yet despite their setbacks.

”In other words, Yi Daiyan hasn’t done much in the past few years to build her faction up, huh....”

”It’s hard to say. Who knows what she’s up to in the Land of Words Unspoken? I heard that the sanctlighters and others are nervous about the situation. They’ve ceased all business dealings with the ebons and have withdrawn, choosing not to carelessly act.” In other words, there was a cold war on Ebonia, an explosion waiting to be set off.

”I wonder if things will speed up or slow down even more now that they know we’re here.”

”We’ll just have to wait and see.” This time around, they would be observing the situation from up close.

......

Less than two hours after the Sun stopped, an unwelcome guest appeared near it.

”It’s the Ebonfiend!” An alert sounded on the Sun.

”Is the pitiful Shenxi Xingtian trying to attack us?”

”That shouldn’t be the case,” Xiaodao said. He and Tianming piloted their own astralships into the Flameyellow Guard Formation. The nine-headed and two-headed dragons looked up toward the head-shaped Ebonfiend.

”He’s been kept outside of Ebonia by Yi Daiyan for a few years. I’m sure he’s feeling the heat,” Tianming said.

”He probably knows that he’s no longer the one that calls the shots in an infinitum-class world,” Xiaodao said.

As they spoke, the mouth of the Ebonfiend opened. Within its hellish throat stood a skeletal man in black and crimson robes. He was none other than Shenxi Xingtian.

”Let’s go see him,” Xiaodao said. The two ships approached the Ebonfiend; all of them were infinitum class. It was a rare gathering to witness.

”Lin Xiaodao... and you, Lin Feng.... Long time no see,” Shenxi Xingtian said, his voice hoarse. Few people still called Tianming by that name. They weren’t as willing to accept that such a genius came from the Swordgod Lin Clan, so adopting his original name cemented him as a foreign element that just so happened to side with the Lin Clan.

”What’s the matter, Rex Mundi Shenxi?” Xiaodao asked. Both he and Tianming didn’t leave their ships.

”Fine gentlemen, don’t be nervous. I’ve come to propose a collaboration,” Shenxi Xingtian said, sincerity radiating from his pale, skeletal face.

”Collaboration?” Xiaodao shrugged. ”I didn’t think that the proud ruler of the ebons would say something like that. We crushed your million-man army of astral gods and the Second Exterminatus Army, causing the ebons to lose a third of their forces. You haven’t avenged them yet, but you’re already proposing that we work together. How are we to trust you?”

”I don’t have a choice. I’m forced into lowering my head to you by present circumstances. Things are different from how they used to be and I’m forced to wander out here, unable to return to my home. Any veils and preconceived notions I had about myself have long been wiped away,” he said, smiling in pained resignation.

”You’re making too big a deal out of this, Rex Mundi. Even if Yi Daiyan borrows the might of the Infinitum Bodhimanda, your faction still has twice the might of hers. You’re on the cusp of overthrowing her and claiming the throne. Why would you come begging?” Xiaodao said.

”Brother Xiaodao, you overestimate our capabilities. My people are hiding within their formations on Ebonia in fear. You know how pitiful that must be,” Shenxi Xingtian helplessly said, though it was hard to tell whether it was genuine.

”Is that so?” Xiaodao shrugged and circumvented the topic entirely. ”Rex Mundi, let me be frank with you. We’ve come here because we were summoned by the Infinitum Bodhimanda to launch a combined attack on you. We intend to deal with all you criminals who went against the Code of Infinitum in one go. If you have nothing else to say, then we’ll have to uphold our role as a member of the Infinitum Bodhimanda to admonish you in accordance with the law. We will not side with traitors!”

Shenxi Xingtian merely laughed. ”Brother Xiaodao, you truly are a man of passion.”

”I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.”

”Alright, I’ll be frank with you, too.” Shenxi Xingtian set his cold eyes on Xiaodao and said, ”Do you know what Yi Daiyan’s been up to these past years in the Land of Words Unspoken?”

”I’d really much like to know that.”

”Very well. She has been attempting to subjugate a cosmic artifact beyond the infinitum class! No doubt, that artifact has a top-tier artifact soul, considering that it’s taken her years of effort.”

”An artifact beyond infinitum class?” Xiaodao seemed shocked.

”That’s right. It’s a weapon of a class that can even break through infinitum-class divine astralships!” Shenxi Xingtian looked at the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb and Gladean Ruins. ”Once she succeeds, your little tortoise shells, as well as my Ebonfiend, will be completely useless. Considering her power, I wouldn’t even stand a chance against her as I am now. Once she succeeds, your divine astralships will be nothing but prisons for yourself.”

Tianming and Xiaodao were truly shaken. Xiaodao asked, ”How’d you find out about that?”

”My lover’s hiding near the Land of Words Unspoken. She saw a butterfly-like artifact soul crying out with her own eyes. The artifact soul has been greatly weakened. It’s clear that Yi Daiyan will succeed any time now. When she does, all of us will be on the chopping block.” Shenxi Xingtian’s lover was also an ebon rex mundi in the top ten of the reges mundi ranking.