Beastmaster of the Ages

”In other words, House Qitian didn’t get any legacy from the Yin-Yang World whatsoever! Not to mention, the valley lord hasn’t made a single public appearance in the past ten years because of his injuries! He was worried about being discovered, especially after killing the senior madame!

”He can no longer take it back, so all he can do is fake it. Fortunately, he managed to buy enough time to detoxify himself by scaring House Yumo with his claims of obtaining the legacy. In my strike just now, I can tell you that he’s somewhat recovered, but only to the major-zenith level. If he really were at the super zenith, he’d be able to subdue me in a single instant!”

Suishen Jiguang’s words left everyone speechless. Everyone stared at her with nary a single thought in their heads, including the old patriarch and Suishen Ranxing. They could never have expected that House Qitian’s claims over the past decade were nothing more than a smokescreen to buy time for the valley lord to recover! Even the members of House Qitian had been fooled, let alone others.

People simply couldn’t imagine the house that claimed to be the central imperial house of the astralscape would have shot themselves in the foot and still pretend that everything was fine.

There was nothing but confusion, as some believed it and others denied it. Everyone in House Yumo believed it, and needless to say, not a single person from House Qitian did. They were prepared to mock her for saying something so laughable. If all of it was real, their dreams of glory would be nothing but an embarrassing fantasy. That was the thing that would truly crush their spirits.

Suishen Jiguang knew what they were thinking and smirked as she continued, ”I know there are some that won’t believe me, choosing only to believe the things that sound good to them. Fortunately, you don’t even need to investigate my claims that deeply to prove them. There is no way the valley lord will be able to hide his true power.

”All I can say now is this: I, Suishen Jiguang, have attacked the valley lord before your very eyes! If House Qitian has truly obtained the Yin-Yang World’s legacy, they should have no issue striking me down with those legacies, along with House Suishen as a whole!”

Everyone turned and looked at the valley lord as doubts began forming in their minds. It was a serious accusation, coming from someone who was the last to return from the Yin-Yang World and had the conviction and daring to attack the valley lord, even betting the existence of House Suishen on the claim. There was no trace of fear for the so-called most powerful house at all.

It would be all too easy for the valley lord to prove her wrong. Just show a single legacy and display his prowess as a super-zenith foundationeer. But did he do any of that? The truth began floating to the surface.

Suishen Hongtian slapped his face so hard that his eyeballs almost popped out. His wife, Eminent Jinying, slumped to the ground with her eyes wide. The sky had fallen, and they didn’t know what to do.

”It’s truly over! House Qitian will be ruined and we just got on a sinking boat! Have my little brother release them right away and we might still make it! At least our lives will be spared!” Eminent Jinying was mentally breaking down. She didn’t know what others were thinking, but she knew that Suishen Jiguang definitely wouldn’t lie about something like this.

Myriadpath Valley was completely shaken. The revelation would no doubt cause a wild struggle. The cold war had already raged on for ten years in relative silence, but today would be the breaking point. Everyone in House Yumo seemed like they were ready to kill.

”We can’t release them!” Suishen Hongtian said as he pressed down his wife and looked at his siblings. The way he saw it, they were scheming together, and that was enough to cause him to break down. ”Suishen Xiao, Suishen Ranxing, Suishen Jiguang.... How dare you keep this information from me? How cruel of you! You were the ones who forced me on this path!”

”What do we do if we don’t release those brats? Are we still going to bet on House Qitian?!” Eminent Jinying asked.

Taking the children of Suishen Ranxing and the rest with the knowledge that House Qitian would dominate was at least excusable. It was for the sake of House Suishen’s future. But House Qitian had been a fraud all along. If Suishen Hongtian still chose to side with them, he would truly be betraying his house. It was the kind of notoriety that would stick to their entire line for tens of thousands of years!

”What else can I do? The operation at Suishen Cave has begun! Even if they wipe out House Qitian now, my dad will kill me when he sees what happened back home and hears about my sister’s grudge with me!”

Suishen Hongtian utterly despaired. He had never felt so unhinged. No matter how he tried to plan, this was a situation he never could have accounted for. It was as if he and his son had always been doomed to receive the short end of the stick.

”Is there any hope of winning by betting on House Qitian at this point?” Eminent Jinying pleaded.

”There is! The valley lord’s just hurt, and he’s recovered to the major zenith. It won’t take long before he reaches the super zenith again! House Qitian’s foundations are still there. In fact, House Yumo is the one that’s badly destabilized!

”Counting the major-zenith foundationeers in House Qitian and me, there’s five of us! House Suishen and House Yumo, on the other hand, only have four in total! As long as I help the valley lord until he recovers, he’ll still dominate Myriadpath Valley at the end of the day! And unlike before, he’ll need my help even more given his injuries!” Suishen Hongtian roared.

”It sounds to me like you’re straying further and further from your stated goals of doing this for the good of our house,” his wife said.

”What do you know? This chaos will reshuffle everything in Myriadpath Valley. I have no choice but to join the fight! With my brother and sister after me, there’s no way for me to remain in House Suishen. They’ve never considered me, their elder brother, to be a decent person. If I don’t vent now and take revenge, my rage will never be quenched!

”On the other hand, if I help House Qitian in their time of dire need, I’ll be able to rebuild House Suishen after destroying them, destroying the Yumos, and destroying my brother! History is written by the victors. I won’t ever be seen as someone who’s betrayed our ancestors!”

All kinds of rationalizations spewed from his mouth for his traitorous behavior. He was even delusional enough to think that Suishen Jiguang would forgive him for what had happened in the Yin-Yang World.

”Husband....” Eminent Jinying teared up at the sight of her hate-filled husband. She turned back and looked at the altar, where the flames of battle were burning. Everyone seemed ready to go at it. ”Myriadpath Valley will never be the same again....”

House Qitian didn’t care about the death of House Yumo’s twenty eminents or the senior madame, as evidenced by the charade they had pulled. With the truth out, however, the rage that House Yumo had repressed over the past decade exploded with furious intensity.

Fortunately for House Qitian, Suishen Hongtian rose into the sky and landed on their side, adding to their bravado. Five major-zenith foundationeers made their side seem much superior. The tides of battle were often decided by the top elites that fought them, after all.