Beastmaster of the Ages

"Is the fight intense?" Long Wanying asked.

After checking with Yin Chen, Tianming replied, "Both sides are battling on the lake. Apart from the small number of people left at the saplings, seven of the eight thousand Empyrean Sword Sect swordpupils are on the battlefield. There's about four thousand Blueblood Starocean totemancers on the other side. Both the Rain Swordlord and Lan Sha are participating in the battle. When the Rain Swordlord received the news that Shi Yan was dying from her severe injuries, the people of the Blueblood Starocean were in the midst of mocking and provoking them. Triggered by that, the Empyrean Sword Sect members were furious and charged into battle, slaying a hundred people. Aix Lake has been dyed red by blood."

The Empyrean Sword Sect was fifth on the myriad sect ranking, while Blueblood Starocean was tenth. They might have hesitated if their opponents were the wargodeans. Additionally, their numbers were almost twice their opponents'. As expected, a fight had been bound to break out in an area as sensitive as Aix Lake.

"The fire's burning, but we still have a chance to continue to fan the flames so it burns even hotter," said Long Wanying.

"You mean?" Gujian Qingshuang asked.

"Let's head over there and see if we can make it in time. We might be able to fish in troubled waters," Long Wanying replied.

"You're right." Gujian Qingshuang nodded. He would never forget that Li Wushuang murdered his younger brother, Gujian Daoyi!

Gujian Qingshuang and others remained at the Azuresoul Sword Mountain while Yang Ce, Long Wanying, Jiang Qingliu, Yan Nuxia, Tianming, and Yu Ziqian immediately set off in the direction of Aix Lake.

……

Although Aix Lake was said to be a lake, it actually resembled an ocean. Hundreds of thousands of the Azurecloud Divine Tree's roots stretched down from the sky and burrowed into the water's surface. Bluish-green algae made the waters appear deep. In the seasons when the Azurecloud Divine Tree bore fruit, many divine herbs grew above the lake, so a strong fragrance permeated the air.

However, Aix Lake had turned blood red today and crimson waves roiled under the Azurecloud Divine Tree. The jade-like lake had been thrown into chaos and was covered in the corpses of lifebound beasts and humans. Most of the corpses were incomplete and had begun emitting a stench. The internal organs of many lifebound beasts floated near their corpses! What had once been a paradise was now hell.

The lifebound beasts' abilities and totemic calamities struck the divine tree. The gigantic beasts swept the lake waters across the sky, the totems ripped apart the branches, and swords flickered through its leaves. Murderous roars and screams of pain were constant. There were tens of thousands of people in battle, their eyes red with fury; both lifebound beasts and totems had reached their most violent state. Amidst the carnage, many lifebound beasts had failed to locate their beastmasters.

Countless threads of sword ki shot toward the north, the gleaming swords tearing through the Blueblood Starocean's defenses. The blood of the Blueblood Starocean cultivators was blue. Although the blood spilled couldn't compare to the Empyrean Sword Sect's lifebound beasts, their blood still covered the lake.

"Kill!"

"Kill these running dogs!"

"Avenge General Shi!"

"Blue blood is so disgusting."

"How dare a mere tenth-ranked sect shoot off their mouths in front of us! Don't they know what death is?"

The Empyrean Sword Sect swordpupils were mad with rage. They had a numerical advantage and had been the first to attack, so the Blueblood Starocean was caught by surprise. Their swords cleared a path, lifebound beasts charging into battle. By the time the Blueblood Starocean cultivators finally reacted, chaos had already erupted.

Since Li Wushuang hadn't given a word of warning before taking action, the Blueblood Starocean was actually caught unprepared; one miscalculation had resulted in thousands of casualties. Almost every totemancer had immediately been besieged by two or three swordpupils alongside their lifebound beasts.

"Kill them!"

Blood dyed their vision red. When they saw their companions, relatives, and friends being slaughtered, bitten into pieces by lifebound beasts, and otherwise tragically dying, the people of the Blueblood Starocean went crazy. War stimulated them, and their hearts bled from watching dead bodies pile up around them.

"Kill them!"

"For revenge!"

"How dare the Empyrean Sword Sect make the first attack? Their entire sect will surely perish!"

Every time swords descended, heads would roll. Lifebound beasts and totems fought and crashed into the lake, causing water to splash everywhere. In a short period of time, the Empyrean Sword Sect had lost at least a thousand people. However, the Blueblood Starocean was faring no better; close to three thousand of their people had been slaughtered. There were only a thousand people left and they struggled to survive the siege. If the battle were to continue, they would be wiped out. This wasn't an offensive and defensive war, but an unexpected encounter where the Empyrean Sword Sect had managed to crush their opponents due to sheer numbers and initiative.

"Don't spare any of them!"

"Avenge Shi Yan's lifebound beasts!"

"Lan Sha, you must die!"

Although the Rain Swordlord was stubborn and argumentative, she wasn't at all vague or hesitant when it came to her actions. Together with her lifebound beasts, the ninesky celestial cranes, she led eight thousand swordpupils in a slaughter of their enemies. The flesh and blood of the Blueblood Starocean cultivators was splattered everywhere.

On the other side was Lan Sha with his shark-like countenance and totems, the cretaceous sharks. They were rather ferocious totems—tall and sturdy, with a human body and a shark head. Their enormous jaws could snap a lifebound beast in half. Since the start of the battle, Lan Sha, who was known for his brutality, had slain dozens of swordpupils.

"Die!"

The Rain Swordlord swooped down with her four cranes, their sharp beaks pierced down like spears and the flap of their snow-white wings setting off stormy waves across Aix Lake.

"She's mad!"

A pale Lan Sha gnashed his sharp teeth. Shi Yan was dead? He was still dumbfounded. Li Wushuang should have told him about her plans in advance. If he was prepared, they wouldn't have lost more than three thousand people. Right now, there were people of the Blueblood Starocean dying every second. These people were elites with extremely high status, their deaths were definitely a great loss. Never in his entire life had they lost that many people.

"We must leave now!"

"We can't hold on anymore. If we don't leave, we'll all die here. There's so many on their side!"

"Forget about the saplings, there's no point guarding them now. We're already fighting. We need to gather our people, catch them off guard, and slay every last one of them!"

The people around Lan Sha struggled to survive as they urged him to retreat.

"Retreat!" Despite the unwillingness he felt, Lan Sha gave the order, accepting the fact that this was a crushing defeat. However, it was an order given a little too late.