Beastmaster of the Ages

After the person who came to report left, Xuanyuan Yufeng asked, “Shaoyu, everyone’s already leaving, so why are you leaving your chicks here?”

“Faction lord.” Gu Shaoyu turned around, and Xuanyuan Yufeng saw how ugly the expression on his face was.

“What is it? Why do you look so enraged?” Xuanyuan Yufeng’s tone became cold, causing the temperature in the entire Dragonmight Hall to drop. No one dared to utter a single word at that moment.

Gu Shaoyu explained what had just happened and continued, “Faction lord, I suspect that our competitor did this. They used a small fry to bait and ambush us.”

The Dragonmight Hall fell silent. A young man squeezed out of the cloud with his eyes dazing off. His body was trembling as he asked, “My sister is dead?”

The man was none other than Gu Qingyin.

“Yeah. We fell for it,” said Gu Shaoyu.

“No, that doesn’t make sense,” a cold voice sounded. When everyone turned around, they saw Xuanyuan Ganggang, the Vajra Hall’s Hall Lord of the Dragonmight Faction.

“What’s the matter?”

“This Li Tianming came to the Greenmaple Chapter to challenge during the day, and everyone saw how he defeated Gu Qingyin. He was also a Sky Saint. I believe there’s a possibility that he killed Qingyao by joining forces with Lin Xiaoxiao.” People noticed that Xuanyuan Ganggang’s complexion was dark, and his murderous aura was comparable to Gu Qingyin’s.

“Go into details,” said Xuanyuan Yufeng.

Xuanyuan Ganggang then shared everything about Fu Bo and Fu Yonghuan.

“Someone that Fu Yonghuan dares not to offend? Who the hell can Fu Yonghuan even offend with his identity? Xuanyuan Ganggang, wouldn’t it be fine if you’d killed him long ago?” Gu Shaoyu said.

“You’re the one who sent Qingyao to kill him, right? I’ve yet to settle this matter with you,” said Xuanyuan Ganggang.

“She’s my cousin, so who the hell are you to settle this matter with me? Based on what?” Gu Shaoyu questioned.

“Okay, that’s enough.” Xuanyuan Yufeng waved his hand and continued, “The two of you head to Li Tianming and Lin Xiaoxiao’s residences now and bring them to me. We’ll know if they killed Qingyao, or if someone else did it then. The two of you belong to the strongest faction in the Human Branch, so don’t mess this up.”

“Understood!” Gu Shaoyu and Xuanyuan Ganggang nodded. They were heading to the disciples’ residence, and not even disciples from the other factions would dare to start a fight there. But they headed toward Tianming’s residence without hesitation.

“Faction lord, what are we going to do with them after capturing them?” Gu Qingyin asked with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“They’re all yours.” It was just the death of a chief and it wouldn’t affect the Dragonmight Faction, so he wasn’t too bothered about it. However, the incident had ruined the mood of the banquet.

“Then I want to drink his blood and eat his flesh!” Gu Qingyin gnashed his teeth.

“Don’t boast,” Xuanyuan Yufeng smiled.

“I won’t!”

“Go ahead. Bring your elder sister’s corpse back. Don’t let it get frostbitten,” said Xuanyuan Yufeng.

His words left everyone stunned. How was the corpse going to get frostbitten when she was already dead? 

……

It was almost dawn, and Tianming was standing on a hill looking at Gu Shaoyu along with another man in yellow clothes that had rushed into his residence. They smashed around, but couldn’t find who they were looking for.

“Who’s that?” Tianming asked.

“Xuanyuan Xixi’s elder brother, Xuanyuan Ganggang,” said Lin Xiaoxiao.

“Is he trying to be cute with that name?” Tianming asked. He watched as the two hall lords smashed the residence before ultimately leaving empty-handed.

“It looks like we’re homeless now,” said Lin Xiaoxiao.

“Doesn’t matter. It’s more exciting in the wilderness,” Tianming smiled as he stood up.

“Where are you going now?” Lin Xiaoxiao asked.

“Oldwind Street. The Nine Yang Sword broke, so I need a replacement,” said Tianming.

“Don’t you already have a sword? Not to mention that it’s so powerful,” replied Lin Xiaoxiao.

“What do you think? I have no intention of revealing it yet. I’ll only reveal it in key moments, catching my opponents by surprise. Furthermore, I’m rich,” said Tianming.

“Where’d you get your money from?”

“What’s it got to do with you?” How could Tianming possibly tell Lin Xiaoxiao that his wife gave it to him for his monthly salary?

……

The snow stopped when the sun rose into the sky, and Oldwind Street was filled with people.

“Brother, did you hear the news? The Dragonmight Faction’s goddess, Gu Qingyao, died last night. She was killed by a newcomer called Li Tianming, and it’s rumored that the newcomer is only a Sky Saint.” a grey-clothed man said. He even reached out to pat Tianming’s shoulder when he noticed that he wasn’t stopping.

“And based on what are you saying that Li Tianming did it? Do you have any evidence?” Tianming asked. He didn’t know the man, but he was being overly friendly.

“There isn’t, but it’s probably true since that’s what they said. It’s fine as long as they don’t blame it on the Swordking Faction,” said the grey-clothed man.

Tianming and Lin Xiaoxiao then arrived at a shop that was larger than the Steadfast Pavilion. It was called the Snowrites Sword Pavilion.

“That’s a weird name.” Tianming smiled.

“Don’t spout nonsense. The lord of the Swordking Faction is Jian Xueyi, and this shop was opened by them. This is the largest artifact shop in Oldwind Street, and I heard there were many tribulation artifacts here,” said Lin Xiaoxiao.

“The leader of the second strongest faction is a woman?” Tianming asked.

“Is that a problem?”

“That’s not it. I’m just not used to snatching things from a woman…” said Tianming.

“Then did you show tenderness for the fairer gender last night?”

“I don’t think so.…” Tianming’s heart finally cleared up and he stepped into the Snowrites Sword Pavilion. Weapons were different from battle arts. Battle arts required the sect’s approval, while weapons could be freely circulated. That was why the Snowrites Sword Pavilion had such a large inventory, and the items were all placed right in the hall for selection.

“Hello, I’m here to buy tribulation artifacts. I’m just an errand boy, so please don’t look down on me,” Tianming directly said to the staff the moment he went in after learning his lesson previously.

“Who are you running errands for?” a black-clothed youth asked.

“Can you not ask about it?” Tianming felt a headache building. It seemed that he would be looked down on as long as he wasn’t in the Empyrean Saint stage.

“Sure, you can just call me Lu,” the black-clothed youth said. It appeared that his attitude was somewhat different from the Dragonmight Faction. Everyone from the Dragonmight Faction was used to being arrogant. It was just like Xuanyuan Xixi relying on her family and elder brother to become an overlord junior in the Oldwind Street.

“Bring me to look at the tribulation artifacts,” said Tianming.

“Come with me.” Lu led the way in. He brought Tianming deep into the Snowrites Sword Pavilion and opened a secret chamber to reveal a long passage filled with many other rooms.

“Every room here represents a tribulation artifact, and the prices are all marked. You can look at them yourself,” said Lu.

“According to this display, doesn’t it mean that the one at the end is the best tribulation artifact available?” Tianming asked.

“That’s right. That’s the best tribulation artifact available in the Human Branch,” replied Lu.

“Straightforward!” Tianming widened his steps and strode toward the last room.

“Do you have enough tribulation crystals?” Lu asked.

“Don’t worry about it. Just that you might have a tough time going through them,” Tianming smiled.

His words made Lu depressed. How hard could counting money be? Just as he was feeling depressed, Tianming had already arrived at the last room, which was overflowing with sword ki.

When Tianming took a closer look, he didn’t think that there would be a sword ki pool here, with a total of thirty thousand strands of sword ki! The grades weren’t high, but the quantity was much higher than the sword ki pool in the Decimo Dao Palace.

“What sword is it that requires a sword ki pool to nurture it?” Tianming took a step forth and looked at the bottom of the pool. It was a meter-long white sword that was as thin as a cicada’s wing. Just looking at it made Tianming feel a stinging pain in his eyes.

He then read the introduction, “Brightnight has one tribulation pattern and was forged with meteoric iron. Sharpness is its biggest feature, and it can cut through regular iron like mud. It also contains the ‘Solar Radiance,’ which can light up the night as if it was the day when used.” It cost six hundred and ninety-nine tribulation crystals and was the most expensive item on Oldwind Street.

Tribulation artifacts could have dozens of tribulation patterns at most, and empyreans could only use tribulation artifacts with one or two of them.

Tianming smiled when he read through the introduction. The introduction is really casual. But are they trying to empty my pockets with this price?

If he converted all of his saint crystals into tribulation crystals, he would only have about 700 tribulation crystals remaining, leaving him broke after buying the sword. Well, it’s okay. Money is my least concern, with my wife around. I’ll just go for it then! This sword is good enough. At the very least, it’s stronger than the Frost Yang Sword and it should be enough for me to use in the Human Branch.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to use the Grand-Orient Sword, but he wanted to keep it hidden away as his trump card to catch his opponents by surprise. After making his decision, he noticed another smaller note beneath the introduction, “Brightnight and Darkdawn are a pair. They’re made with the same materials and were forged together. But they have different effects, and are inseparable. They’re a match made in heaven.”

Tianming called Lu over and said, “There’s another sword that goes by the name of Darkdawn? I’ll take it. But I have a condition.”

“Please go ahead and say it!” Lu said emotionally. This was probably the biggest transaction on Oldwind Street.

“I want the sword ki pool and a voidspace stone that I can bring the sword ki away with,” said Tianming.

“Deal!” Lu laughed.

“Holy shit, did I just suffer a loss?” Tianming suspected that he didn’t have a talent for bargaining.

“Let me see your tribulation crystals. Please don’t toy with me,” said Lu.

“Sure. Open your eyes wide!” Ten breaths later, Lu was buried in seven hundred million saint crystals.

“Holy shit, isn’t it just spending all my money? Why do I have the feeling I’ve been hollowed out?” Tianming muttered in a depressed tone.

Lu happily dealt with the sword ki pool and even threw in a scabbard.

“Boss, have a safe trip!” Lu chuckled. Just by looking at the smile on his face, anyone could tell that he would receive a high commission for the transaction.

“Don’t call me that. I’m just an errand boy,” Tianming said humbly while he observed the sword, Brightnight.

“Stop teasing me. I know you. Your name is Li Tianming, and you’re the one who killed Gu Qingyao last night,” Lu suddenly smiled.

Tianming turned around to look at Lu, and he asked, “You know me?”

“The Swordking Pavilion has a mature intelligence network,” Lu smiled.

“And?”

“Senior Sister Xueyi wishes to meet you, and I’m responsible for leading you to the Swordking Hall. You coming?” Lu asked.

“Why not? The point is, why didn’t you tell me before I bought the sword?” Tianming asked.

“Brother, I wanted to get a commission.”

Tianming was left speechless by the reply. The scheming in the ‘city’ ran deep, and he wanted to return to the ‘village’ now.