Beastmaster of the Ages

Tianming's parents were also on the run, so he could empathize with the bitter feeling.

"A real man should fight without holding back when the time calls for it," Xiaoxiao said, as if she had an epiphany. Oddly, it sounded more convincing coming from a girl like her.

"Me?" Yu Ziqian didn't understand it. He tearfully looked at his resolute master. "Master, you've protected me for two decades, yet I couldn't do the same for you for even one day...." His tears began flowing as he said that.

"Are you kidding me? I'm your master, so why would I need your protection? That'd make me a useless old man! Buzz off, stupid brat!" Jiang Qingliu stood on the head of his qilin, guiding them toward the divine herb. "Old friend, it feels like we've returned to our twenties. Back then, I was filled with ambition and desire just like the day we went to the Voidsky Realm. I wonder if we'll be able to return this time."

It had been a few centuries since then, and he'd kept the frustration within him the entire time. "No matter how much good I do for others, I'm still a sacrificial pawn that they can discard at any time. I didn't think I'd hide away for eight centuries after suffering a loss once. I'm far too pathetic...."

"It's not your fault alone. We're both too weak," the qilin said. There used to be five qilins, but only two remained.

"Let's give it our best and hope that we're still worth some salt." Along with the flaming embers that rained down, they felt their hearts set ablaze. The killers had appeared.

"They're here." The azuresky qilin abruptly stopped and another one appeared next to it.

Jiang Qingliu turned back and said, "Wait for me down there. If I don't return, don't miss me too much. This is all my own choice. But Ziqian, remember to avenge me when you grow up, okay?"

"Master!" Yu Ziqian grit his teeth, unable to do anything but shake his head in frustration. They were already being targeted. Since the time they had left the Azuresoul Sword Mountain, there would be no turning back.

"We're going down." The qilin shook the four of them off and they began falling millions of meters downward. Then it rejoined Jiang Qingliu and the other qilin above the flaming clouds, after which loud booming sounds rang out. It felt like the world was about to fall apart.

From the intensity of the sound, it wasn't a normal fight, but a complete slaughter to the death between solarians. It wasn't something the likes of mere disciples could possibly stand up against. These killers existed to snuff out lives, so they didn't hold back at all. The flaming clouds above turned into a vortex from all the forces unleashed. Roars of beasts and the flashing of swords could be heard and seen. A gigantic, illusory azure tower also appeared. It was a sight that greatly moved Tianming. This was the power of a person who had been forced to hold in his frustration for eight centuries and betrayed by those he trusted. Jiang Qingliu stared his death bravely in the face without flinching.

"Your master's truly impressive. Even if he doesn't believe it himself, the Azuresky Tower's choice is proof of that. He's stronger than Gujian Qingshuang!" Tianming said, holding Yu Ziqian's arm. He was worried that he would do something suicidal.

"Is that true?" Yu Ziqian said. He had clearly seen it in the past two decades he spent at the sect. The Sixth Sword Branch would always be the place with the weakest disciples. After all, people mocked Jiang Qingliu for not caring about anything and keeping himself cooped up most of the time. He had always contributed to the sect, but never took credit for any of it. Yet someone like that had gone through such lengths to gather lots of resources for him, causing many to want to expose him as a fake genius during the Voidsky Skirmish. Even after he became a Sky Palace disciple, he still wasn't able to cover for his master.

"Fight. Fight all you want." Even though the end result would be the same, being killed while trying to hide and dying while facing his killers were two completely different things.

The four youths kept looking up as the flaming clouds swallowed everything, looking more and more distant with every passing moment. The clouds above constantly deformed, like craters forming from powerful impacts to the ground. The booming sounds of battle sounded like a drum-like rhythm to them.

Tianming tightly clenched both of his fists. He desperately hoped that Jiang Qingliu would emerge victorious. He knew what it was like to run and hide like a sewer rat. Even now in Orderia, he didn't dare to use his totems. What was all this subterfuge for? Was it so that he could shatter the shackles of fate and guide his own destiny one day? 'Kill'. The word embodied resisting one's fate and letting those that would step on their dignity view them in a new light.

At that moment, a much louder explosion came from above, and then there was silence. Everything began dissipating, as if nothing had happened. The four of them nervously looked up, holding their breath as their heart rates increased, desperately wishing for that person to descend from the clouds and tell them that he had survived and won. There seemed to be tidal waves in the sea of flames above. Time slowly passed; if the killers had won, they wouldn't bother showing their faces and would simply just leave, so if anyone came down, it would have to be Jiang Qingliu.

As anxious as Yu Ziqian was, he subconsciously gripped Tianming's arm every moment he didn't see Jiang Qingliu. His throat was burning and his voice was hoarse. His eyes were bloodshot as he slowly knelt to the ground, almost biting through his lip. "Master, your teachings will stay with me for the rest of my life. I'll dedicate the rest of my life to avenging you." His tears started flowing once more.

"What are you crying for, Gan Gangan?" said a voice from behind them. It was Jiang Qingliu's familiar, magnetic voice.

The four immediately turned and looked. Yu Ziqian was stunned for a moment before he burst into joy. He crawled closer to take a look at the bloodied middle-aged man with messy hair. In each of his hands was a decapitated head. The two heads' eyes were wide with disbelief, a sign that they had died in a shocking instant.

Jiang Qingliu had faced off against two enemies and won! He tossed the heads into his spatial ring and said, "I knew the Empyrean Sword Sect would send these two after me. They're called the decapitator brothers, infamous for always taking the heads of those they kill. Needless to say, their sins are nigh endless, but I managed to give them a taste of their own medicine and enact justice upon them! However, they were pretty skilled. Just look at what they did to my hair!" The four of them still looked at him blankly. "What? Don't look down at me like that, alright? I broke through, that's all. Do I have to prove it to you or something?"

"Master, you're far too badass! How can I even compare to you?" Yu Ziqian turned his frown upside down and burst into laughter.

"That's right. I've had an epiphany." Jiang Qingliu took a deep breath and looked in the direction of the divine herb. "What people do to you, swiftly pay them back. That's what life is about."

......

Tens of thousands of cultivators from the Azuresoul Palace, Empyrean Sword Sect, and the Group of Celestial Maiden Halls surrounded the grade-eight divine herb. Their defense was airtight. Within one short month, they'd even had formation gurus lay some fortifications, converting the entire place into a battleground. Their scouts constantly kept them informed of the positions of their enemies. Hearing that the enemy troops had crossed the border, they took a deep breath and prepared for battle.

At the very center was the divine herb, defended by a group of people that included four of the six Swordbearers, Shi Yan, and Yan Nuxia and her allies. Long Wanying stood beside Yan Nuxia. The preparations were all complete.

Gujian Qingshuang constantly reported the latest enemy positions to his allies, making the atmosphere quite tense. "They should be here in an hour. Conflict is inevitable, especially if they're coming on the orders of Li Haochen. That young man has a rather short temper, after all. Not to mention, he doesn't care about the consequences, since the casualties won't be celestial orderians. This is the Azuresoul Palace's territory! According to the Sky Palace's rules, the treasures here belong to us! They've violated our sovereignty and we shall drive them out with our lives!"

The troops morale rose with his speech. After that, Gujian Qingshuang, Ye Dongliu, and Shi Yan got together at a corner.

"Congratulations, Chief Instructor. Jiang Qingliu will be gone sooner or later," Shi Yan said.

"Likewise," Gujian Qingshuang said.

"That fellow really knew how to drag things out. However, there's no way he'll be able to see it coming. He'll never know that he was the key to all this," Ye Dongliu said gleefully.

"Shut up," Gujian Qingshuang chided.

"Understood." Ye Dongliu kept his head low. Even though he had a senior position, he knew that mocking Jiang Qingliu, someone in his own sect, in front of outsiders was distasteful to say the least. At the very least, Gujian Qingshuang wanted to forget all that ever happened.

"I'll have them send the Azuresoul Tower to you. All you have to do is to make up a narrative as to how you got it," Shi Yan said.

"I appreciate the trouble," Gujian Qingshuang said.

"No worries. Our sects share the same origin. It's about time we helped each other grow stronger."