Beastmaster of the Ages

Time was like a rampaging beast that couldn't be stopped. The only thing Tianming could do was make sure Yin Chen kept an eye on the sects while he cultivated to check if there were more troops coming in from outside. As most of the sect members had returned to the Myriaddragon Mountains, the sect's two continents were left undefended, allowing anyone from the celestial orderians or Myriad Solar Sects to reach the mountain range.

There were only a few days left until the wedding. These past few days, a new alliance had formed and assembled an army of eighty million. They had already entered the realm of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect, and it was said that around eight thousand factions of the Myriad Solar Sects were part of it. It was an even bigger alliance than the one led by the Empyrean Sword Sect, a sign that the dreamless celestial emperor had far more influence than the Northdipper Swordsage, not to mention his own force of ten million.

However, it was still tough to say whether they would really support the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. Long Wanying said, "The million troops gathered by the Northdipper Swordsage last time were elites that were ninth-level constelliers and above. They were akin to a normal force of six to seven million led by the Northdipper Swordsage alone. This time around, however, the eighty million troops gathered because of the dreamless celestial emperor and us on the pretext of coming to attend the wedding celebrations, but there's no singular leader. They're led by their own respective leaders so they have numbers, but they aren't united.

"The dreamless celestial emperor had no intent on gathering a large force to begin with. Like the Northdipper Swordsage, they all have their little cliques. Who knows what their intentions truly are? We can't even be sure who'll fight and who'll just watch when the time comes. We might fare even worse if we count on them. Given the distance they stationed their troops from us, it's a sign that they intend to act depending on the flow of battle."

Tianming was rather convinced. The army had indeed come because of the dreamless celestial emperor, who'd done so for the sake of the Azurespirit. His casual agreement to their terms was initially doubtful, to say the least. With his leadership and the pleas of the Dragon Imperials, an army of eighty million was assembled. It just so happened that the sun emperor had also extended invitations to those factions, so they had a good reason to come to the Myriaddragon Mountains. For now, most people of the Myriad Solar Sects merely saw themselves as observers. They would probably stay out of the fight unless the celestial orderians obviously had the weaker hand.

"So we should pay attention to the actions of the Northdipper Swordsage and the dreamless celestial emperor. If they help, they'll draw in the rest of the alliance to help. Guess we'll just have to wait and see if the dreamless celestial emperor's ten million troops are here to watch the show."

Not even eighty million troops could change the pessimistic outlook of the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect. Tianming and the rest knew what kind of people stood at the top of the sect rankings. The dreamless celestial emperor and Northdipper Swordsage's actions would affect the whole Myriad Solar Sects. Even if the rest hated the celestial orderians, they wouldn't act if those two didn't.

"Aunt Ying, the Veildragon Palace informed the sun emperor about the arrival of the army, but the sun emperor simply told them to proceed as usual without worry," Tianming said. As the one who made all the plans was the sun emperor, the Torchdragon Emperor and the rest didn't know what to do next; there was even less chance for Tianming to predict their actions.

"Have Yin Chen keep a close eye on what they do. It's almost the day of the wedding now," Long Wanying said.

"Got it." Tianming informed Yin Chen about it, then his expression changed. "Aunt Ying, the Veildragon palace received another instruction from the sun emperor. They were told to come to us and grumble about the arrival of the army."

"So they want to pin it on us and use it as a justification for the war, eh," she said, smiling. Knowing that, they could make plans in advance.

……

A group of nearly a thousand people had gathered outside the Little Saintdragon Palace, all of whom were elite solarians. On the other side were the Seven Dragon Imperials. Strictly speaking, the Xuanyuan Dragon Sect had more elites on their side. The tens of thousands of people who gathered outside the peak seemed far more domineering.

The Saintdragon Emperor coldly asked, "Why have you come, Veildragon Palace?" The two sides were staring off at each other.

"Veildragon Palace? Saintdragon Emperor, the Veildragon Palace is no more. There's only the united Xuanyuan Dragon Sect," the Torchdragon Emperor said.

Many elites broke out laughing at the notion. "Say what you came to say, Torchdragon Emperor," some said. No matter how much he insisted that they were one sect, their opposition was clear as day. Even if their bloodlines had come from the same origin, the Veildragon Palace would forever be maligned for siding with the celestial orderians.

"I only wish to ask the Saintdragon Emperor why you've gathered an army of eighty million before the marriage ceremony, a historic moment. The army has surrounded our sect. Are you trying to serve us up to the enemy on a silver platter?" the Torchdragon Emperor sternly said.

"It's got nothing to do with us. They came on the sun emperor's invitation as wedding guests. I don't understand why you're so nervous. Did you do something that you should be worried about?" the Saintdragon Emperor asked.

"The sun emperor only invited the key figures to come."

"Said key figures are important to their respective sects. It's the first time they've been invited to an event by the celestial orderians, so it isn't the least bit surprising for them to come heavily guarded. Didn't your Ninemoon Goddess come with twenty million guards as well? If we're to proportionally match that, we should have eight hundred million guards, given the number of key figures that came on our side!" Many others agreed with this sentiment. They had already come up with this justification far in advance. Hearing that, the Torchdragon Emperor and the rest merely snickered.