Beastmaster of the Ages

If this went through, the Empyrean Sword Sect would benefit greatly. In the end, the Azuresoul Palace hadn't been generous enough either, for fear of Tianming's appetite bankrupting them.

"Tianming, what do you think?"

Ore veins, universal manna, the Swordsage's personal welcome… the conditions offered were fantastic. However, Tianming could only reject it.

"I'm grateful for your good intentions, Senior Shi, and especially the Swordsage's. However, I've already spoken to Auntie Ying and made a promise. I'm thankful for her early favor. It's now, when the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect is having trouble that I need to stand with it. I believe Senior Shi doesn't want me to be an ingrate either, right?"

He could abandon benefits when making a choice. Him calling one side 'Auntie Ying' and one side 'Senior Shi' made Shi Yan's heart thump. She realized that, in addition to just passively waiting for Jiang Qingliu to die, she had underestimated Long Wanying.

"I respect your choice. However, my Empyrean Sword Sect won't give up. I'll go back and propose some new conditions to the Swordsage. If you have any desires, let me know. We'll welcome you anytime!" Shi Yan said. She was certain that when the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect's situation worsened and Tianming didn't get his breakthroughs, he would come and look for them.

……

At the Driftsword Halls, of the over ten thousand members of the Empyrean Sword Sect, eight thousand had already left. The remaining two thousand were planning to move out as well. Inside, Shi Yan was meeting Gujian Qingshuang before leaving.

Shi Yan had an overcast expression. "Long Wanying is too vicious. I suspect she used some contemptible means to fool those naive children."

"What contemptible means?" Gujian Qingshuang asked

"What do you think? She must've used her feminine wiles to entice these inexperienced children."

"Then, how about you.…" Gujian Qingshuang frowned.

"Do I look capable of that?" Shi Yan resisted the urge to stab him with her sword.

Gujian Qingshuang took a look and realized that would be a stupid plan. Long Wanying was charming, but the person in front of him was a hard stone. Some innate talents just couldn't be overcome.

"No wonder she brought over so many women from the Group of Celestial Maiden Halls. How could they fail when thousands of them are tempting Li Tianming and Yu Ziqian every day." Shi Yan knew she had failed.

"What now then?" Gujian Qingshuang asked.

"Don't worry. They're disciples of the Sky Palace. Women aren't something they'll lack. They'll get sick of them sooner or later, but the ore veins and resources of my Empyrean Sword Sect can't be matched by anyone. It'll only be a few months until they'll be thinking of us," Shi Yan said.

"Li Tianming is already in contact with Long Wanying, so why?" Gujian Qingshuang asked.

"I already paid the fee. There's no refund if I cancel the hit." Shi Yan rolled her eyes.

Gujian Qingshuang was speechless.

"Anyway, even though they're close to Long Wanying, Jiang Qingliu is still an intermediary. It'll be more convenient for Li Tianming's group to join the Empyrean Sword Sect if he's gone."

"Alright!" Gujian Qingshuang nodded.

"Hey." Shi Yan looked up and smiled coldly at him. "Oh, Gujian Qingshuang, stop faking it. Only the two of us are here. Even if we weren't around, you still want him dead, right?"

"Don't talk nonsense," Gujian Qingshuang said.

"Why fake it? The Azuresoul Tower has always been a major part of the strength of your head instructor. Because he became the Defender of Azuresoul Tower, you ended up losing to Yun Tianque and became the continent's number two."

Gujian Qingshuang froze.

"Brother, we're all on the same boat. No need to hide anything." Shi Yan patted him on the shoulder.

……

Today was the annual celebration of the Azuresoul Palace to honor their ancestors. Apart from Jiang Qingliu, who was in secluded cultivation, and Gujian Daoyi, who was outside the sect, the Swordbearers were present at the ancestral tomb.

Next to Gujian Qingshuang, Ye Dongliu, and Granny Mu Hua, there was a man dressed in yellow robes. He was standing behind Ye Dongliu and carrying a long sword, wearing a cold expression. He was the Swordbearer in charge of the Fourth Sword Branch, Ye Buzhiqiu. He was also the son of Ye Dongliu and a pillar of the Azuresoul Palace's Dongye clan.

At that moment, in the foremost area of the ancestral tomb, Gujian Qingshuang was lighting an incense for each tombstone one by one. He respectfully bowed with a solemn expression to each of them.

"May the ancestors protect us and keep the Azuresoul Palace safe for generations and thriving forever."

The three behind him lit their incense too.

With the ceremony complete, Gujian Qingshuang got ready to leave. "A grade-eight divine herb is about to be born. Apart from Granny Mu Hua, who'll remain to protect the sect, all others will follow me.

"Head instructor, what about Jiang Qingliu?" the youngest, Ye Buzhiqiu, said in a low voice.

"He claims to be at a critical juncture of his secluded cultivation."

"At this time, he has to come out no matter what. He has to fight to the death for the Azuresoul Palace's honor and not be a coward," Ye Buzhiqiu said.

Gujian Qingshuang's mouth twitched.

"Head instructor, call him along," Ye Dongliu suddenly added. "This is a major matter of the sect. It's a grade-eight divine herb! The other side clearly wants to snatch it. The Empyrean Sword Sect and Group of Celestial Maiden Halls are also moving out, so how can we be the ones turtling up?"

Gujian Qingshuang stood in front of the tombstones, not saying a word.

The young Ye Buzhiqiu stepped out and spoke to Gujian Qingshuang's back. "Head instructor! I'm more blunt, so don't blame me for saying some words." When he saw that Gujian Qingshuang wasn't saying anything, he continued, "The new myriad sect ranking is about to come up. We'll obviously be higher than the Supracloud Sanctuary. But everyone knows our actual strength isn't above theirs. How could it be, when our head instructor is weaker than their Yun Tianque? How on the sun will we qualify to be this continent's number one sect."

Ye Buzhiqiu's voice echoed through the ancestral tomb and no one said anything for a while, so he forged on. "But! As far as I know, our head instructor isn't poorer than Yun Tianque when it comes to talent or cultivation level. So what's the problem? It's that the head instructor's Azuresoul Tower is in Jiang Qingliu's hands and has recognized him as its master! But that fellow hasn't grasped its power and he can't even match up to me. It's an utter waste! However, the artifact will never submit to the head instructor as long as he's alive. In that case, Jiang Qingliu is a sinner of our sect. He doesn't just not help us, but he's actually a burden!"

No one said anything.

Ye Buzhiqiu got even more emotional, and said loudly, "Today, the Supracloud Sanctuary has chosen death and to become the celestial orderians' new lapdogs! This is the Myriad Solar Sect's territory. With the hijinks they're pulling here and in the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, if we don't respond at all then, well, there's no point for the Myriad Solar Sects to exist."

"Thus, the Supracloud Sanctuary is seeking death. They'll be finished, sooner or later, and there's no way the celestial orderians will care about their life or death. All of that combined means that our chance of dominating the Supracloud Sanctuary and Azurecloud Continent is high. However, all of it rests on our head instructor, our leader, having the Azuresoul Tower and being able to crush Yun Tianque!"

"This is our best chance in history, yet someone is getting in the way of the Sky Palace disciples and Empyrean Sword Sect. This burden who's stolen our head instructor's treasure and prevented our rise to greatness, what is he if not our greatest sinner?"

"Jiang Qingliu must die!" Ye Buzhiqiu exchanged a look with his father, Ye Dongliu, who looked very pleased.

The tomb was dead silent.

Ye Dongliu broke the silence. "Actually, if we can conquer the continent, the best part is that we can chop down the Azurecloud Divine Tree. In truth, the Sky Palace gives the continent quite a bit of the nova source. It's just that most of it is taken by the tree, and the fruit it bears using that doesn't really come to us."

"We might as well cut it down. In that case, the continent's resources will belong to us and we'll become a true first-rate sect one day. Our generation will be the eternal heroes that broke the shackles of the Azurecloud Divine Tree and become revered by all our descendants!"

Gujian Qingshuang's heart pounded at the thought of chopping down the tree. He looked up and saw a plaque above that had been personally written by the founder. It was a teaching passed down through thousands of generations and deep within every member of the Gujian clan's blood, as well as the belief countless children living under the Azurecloud Divine Tree held.

The words were: "Protect Azurecloud".

"The ancestor was wrong. When we have no power, the tree isn't a treasure but a chain around our neck, caging us in." Granny Mu Hua sighed. All of them were looking at Gujian Qingshuang.

He breathed in deeply. "Let's go find Jiang Qingliu."