Beastmaster of the Ages

About five thousand people disembarked from the ship, most of whom were women. They were now outside the Azuresky Myriadsword Formation. Gujian Qingshuang and the other elders hurried to the Celestial Welcome Hall; it was clear that they hadn't been informed of these celestial maidens' arrival beforehand.

"Why're they here?" Ye Dongliu looked so mad that he seemed to be about to cough out blood.

"Yan Nuxia and Long Wanying are close. It must be her fault," Granny Mu Hua said. As expected, she spotted Long Wanying there, and was spotted by her in turn.

Long Wanying came to them and said, "Open the formation and let them in."

"What's the meaning of this, Whitedragon Empress?" Gujian Qingshuang asked, furrowing his brow.

"Nothing much. Didn't our sect promise that we would help you with the harvest? Since we're in a bit of trouble, we can't send any from the sect, so I asked my friends from the Group of Celestial Hall Maidens to help out. Don't worry, I'll be responsible for it myself. Even though the people that came as reinforcements are different, our initial promise still stands. You'll get thirty percent of the harvest."

That was the original deal between the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect and Azuresoul Palace, something for which they were very thankful. Most times, the Azuresoul Palace got no more than ten percent while working with outsiders. That was the reason Gujian Qingshunag had initially agreed to let them help.

"Chief Instructor, the Empyrean Sword Sect..." Ye Dongliu reminded him. The people from that sect were still on the mountain. There was no way they would agree to letting other people cut into their harvest.

"What about them? Isn't it first come first served? You had an agreement with my sect first. If you let the Empyrean Sword Sect join in, I wouldn't be surprised if they gave you only ten percent or less. Don't worry, I'll deal with them if it comes to that. Just let them in. Trust me. If there's nobody to stand up for you, they'll make you lose all your dignity." She was nothing if not persuasive. Gujian Qingshuang and the rest wanted to hear that there would be someone backing them against the Empyrean Sword Sect the most.

"Chief Instructor, no!" Ye Dongliu said.

But Gujian Qingshuang stopped him. "There's nothing to be said about letting them in. The Supracloud Sanctuary has two large factions backing them, so naturally we need to even the odds by getting the Empyrean Sword Sect and Group of Celestial Maiden Halls to back us as well." He had decided to take the risk. After all, Long Wanying did say she would deal with the Empyrean Sword Sect. He was afraid the Azuresoul Palace wouldn't get any say in the matter whatsoever against them, after all.

Granny Mu Hua agreed with his decision as well, so they opened the formation. Gujian Qingshuang cleared his throat before welcoming the elites from the ninth-ranked sect. The colorfully dressed people turned quite a lot of heads as they entered.

"Strawberry!"

"Tangerine!"

Tianming watched as a woman came forward to hug Long Wanying. She had short, orange hair and bright eyes. She stood quite tall, being half a head taller than Long Wanying, and had a slender figure. Wearing black and white armor, she looked rather heroic and intimidating. Her face was rather feminine, despite her impressive aura. If she had long hair, she would no doubt give top beauties a run for their money. She did look considerably more dashing than Long Wanying.

Like her looks suggested, she was a straight-laced and direct person. Her gaze seemed sharp, even wild. She was none other than the one they called Yan Nuxia. The two women ignored the looks of the others around them as they merrily hugged and tossed each other around.

"Looks like my Strawberry is growing sweeter by the day," Yan Nuxia said, kissing Long Wanying on the cheek.

"Naughty!" Pushing her aside, Long Wanying said, "I'm the Whitedragon Empress now. Watch your hands."

"Fine, my hands won't touch you, but my lips will! One more time!"

There were quite a few more women behind Yan Nuxia who also seemed to be Long Wanying's associates. They were quite happy about the reunion.

"Umm... I'm Gujian Qingshuang, and I represent the Azuresoul Palace to welcome you all," the chief instructor awkwardly said.

Long Wanying pulled Yan Nuxia with her and got her to stop messing around. Yan Nuxia cleared her throat and said, "Greetings, Chief Instructor. We've come to help out our Strawberry. We don't need anything from your sect, so don't worry. Just find us a place to stay."

"Thank you! We really appreciate the help." Ideally, Gujian Qingshuang hoped that the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect would come out fine. It was clear to him that the spirit and will of such an ancient faction had been honed and developed for aeons, making them far easier to get along with. However, the situation right now was perilous. The Empyrean Sword Sect had come and placed a blade against their throats, though they gave them a sliver of hope at the same time.

He turned to the direction of where the people of the Empyrean Sword Sect were staying and felt a lot of sword ki radiating from there. Shi Yan was coming over with hundreds of elite swordpupils. Instantly, she spotted Yan Nuxia and flared with anger. "Gujian Qingshuang!"

The group descended and all three leaders gathered.

"Explain," Shi Yan coldly said.

Gujian Qingshuang didn't back down in front of the eyes of so many. "General Shi, these are our friends from the Group of Celestial Maiden Halls. The Whitedragon Empress called them here to help out with the harvest. I'm sure you're aware that we'd promised to work with the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect for the harvest prior to our arrangement with your sect. Even though the situation at the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect has changed, the Whitedragon Empress kept her promise and found us other reinforcements. The more people we have on our side, the more we can harvest. This is beneficial to us all."

The subtext was clear: he wasn't able to refuse the Whitedragon Empress, nor was he able to refuse the Empyrean Sword Sect. It would be pointless for Shi Yan to find fault with him.

She glared at Yan Nuxia and Long Wanying. "Yan Nuxia, does your sect master know that you left the Soulcelestial Continent to come here and mess around? I bet you're just acting on your own accord, right? Let me give you some advice. This isn't a place where you can mess around. Leave now, or else—"

"Or else what?" Yan Nuxia said, laughing. "You think you can intimidate me? Who do you think you are? Get out of my sight. I don't wish to waste my breath speaking to you. Or else I'll make you get on all fours and crawl away!"

From the moment those two met, conflict was inevitable, yet people were shocked that it would start off so harshly.

"How dare you act so rudely to me?! Watch your words!" A crackling sound was heard as she clenched her stony fists tight.

"Oh yeah? Bite me! I feel like puking the moment I see your face. With you here, I can't enjoy the cuteness of my beloved Strawberry!" Yan Nuxia turned to the others and said, "Ladies, come with me to the Sixth Sword Branch!"

"Hold still!" Shi Yan growled.