Beastmaster of the Ages

There was no night on Orderia, and the constant heat and light only intensified the rage, fury and bloodlust the Empyrean Sword Sect swordpupils felt after the Rain Swordlord's death. The Blueblood Starocean and wargodeans were also filled with fervor and morale. They made Aix Lake their base and continued fighting their way south, staining the divine tree with the blood of the dead along the way, littering corpses of beastmasters and lifebound beasts all over.

The climate on the sun had forged a rather jumpy temperament in many of its residents, making them unconsciously crave conflict and battle. War was always a cruel reality. Fortunately, Tianming and the rest were hiding backstage, not drawing the attention of the Empyrean Sword Sect or Li Wushuang at all.

It used to be that 'helper' sects that joined the conflict between the Supracloud Sanctuary and Azuresoul Palace profited greatly from such ventures, but today I managed to prevent these two sects from getting involved in the fight. Now the outsiders are the ones doing the fighting, and tunnel vision has made them prioritize short-term goals, Tianming thought. The deaths of Lan Sha and the Rain Swordlord would definitely usher in even greater conflict on the continent, but Tianming and the rest could just keep hiding by the wayside. In other words, as long as Li Wushuang's here on the continent, conflict is inevitable. She'll definitely try escalating things in an attempt to take everything here.

Initially, her goal had been Long Wanying's death, but she had instead been dragged into the conflict by Tianming. Not to mention, she also wanted the saplings, so there was no way she was going to willingly extricate herself from this quagmire. Right now, she was still basking in the elation of her victory.

"She did win this time around, but no doubt, her appetite is growing. I believe she'll be eyeing the saplings the Empyrean Sword Sect is guarding." Tianming and the rest would divert the Empyrean Sword Sect's rage to help them get rid of their biggest enemy.

"Matters have grown bigger than we expected, but it's still going along the course we plotted," Long Wanying said.

"That's right. Let's go back for now."

They secretly left the battlefield. Nobody at Aix Lake recognized them. The wargodean and Blueblood Starocean combatants were cleaning up the bloody battlefield, collecting the corpses of their allies and healing the injured while delivering the final blow to the defeated, but living enemies. Naturally, looting them was also a highlight of the cleanup. Precious resources shouldn't just be wasted, after all.

Yun Tianque looked south as he helped with the cleanup, knowing well that Tianming and the rest had left. "Let's hope that the Azurecloud Continent will truly be able to rise one day!" He'd had enough of serving Li Wushuang on his knees like a pathetic slave.

……

The Empyrean Sword Sect cultivators at Aix Lake had retreated, giving the site back to the enemy. Only around ten thousand of their swordpupils made it back to the border of the territory between the Azuresoul Palace and Supracloud Sanctuary, and they had lost a swordlord to boot. Such a horrifying defeat left a mark of despair in the survivors, who either sat flat on the ground or leaned against their lifebound beasts, their eyes reddened from tears. Some of them even straight up bawled. They had come fully confident, thinking it was nothing but a casual field trip, yet now they were heavily battered before they'd even collected any dues. Many of their spirits were completely crushed.

"Swordlord…."

Everyone gathered around a white-haired old man who was leaning against the trunk of the divine tree with a deathly silence. He looked like a corpse that had been steeped in a marinade of despair and grief. Even as he looked up, it was hard to see any of the radiance he'd had before; all that was left was festering rage and fury.

"If the swordsage finds out about what happened here, we…."

They were all feeling too guilty for having been overwhelmed despite having more people on their side. They used to be so confident about taking down their enemies and creating history.

"Li Wushuang is far too cruel. She thinks no one can stop her because she's the sister of the sun emperor. But with what she's done to us, the swordsage will definitely want nothing short of her death!"

"It's a shame, what happened to the Rain Swordlord…. We have to avenge her!"

Their sullen spirits began burning once more.

"Swordlord, let's regroup the troops that are guarding the saplings. We still have a total of seventy thousand swordpupils. That way, we can avenge our fallen brethren!" Many people positively responded to that suggestion, as if they'd forgotten how pathetic their retreat had been.

At that moment, the Wind Swordlord received a transmission stone from the Northdipper Swordsage, a reply to the one he had sent when the battle fell apart. Reading it, he grit his teeth and said, "The swordsage instructed us to stay calm. He'll deal with what happens next. He promised that he would answer for the deaths of our comrades."

"Long live the swordsage!"

Hearing that, the swordpupils were reassured. They had worried that the reputation of their sect would sink to a new low if they didn't avenge their fallen, especially the Rain Swordlord. Bowing to their loss was their worst fear.

"It's fine. We also killed Lan Sha from the Blueblood Starocean. They also lost quite a lot as well."

That was the only thing they could say to console themselves. The Wind Swordlord's hands were still shaking; merely closing his eyes made his lover surface in his mind's eye, the sight of her lifeless eyes looking back at him. He clutched his chest in pain, tears flowing nonstop. "Rain…."

They had been together their entire lives, leaving lasting marks on each other. Even now that she was dead, the specter of her presence still hung around him. The grief made him crawl to a corner with nobody else and break down crying. What was worse was that she didn't even have any remains. Even her head was still in the hands of Li Wushuang, no doubt being mutilated. They'd had quite a few nemeses over the years, but someone as cruel and sadistic as Li Wushuang, who didn't fear their sect in the slightest, was the first of her kind.

Currently, the transmission stone he had received from the swordsage was his only hope. The message read, 'Brother, still your grief! The alliance rages at the news of the Rain Swordlord's death. Now we're finalizing the details of the alliance. On the day the allied army arrives, we'll make the celestial orderians and their traitorous mutts pay the price for killing our precious brothers and sisters, as well as the Rain Swordlord. Before that day, please keep the saplings safe.'

He didn't say when that day would come—not specifically—but the Wind Swordlord believed it would be soon. The death of his partner was the spark that caused the alliance to form. "Rain… I won't let you die in vain. Now, there's no longer anything holding me back. I'll cast away my humanity until the day I manage to kill Li Wushuang!"