Beastmaster of the Ages

No one spoke on the Aircloud Godcrane. They just wanted to quickly return to the Grand-Orient Sect and turn on the Grand-Orient Barrier.

"Master, is the Grand-Orient Barrier powerful?" asked Tianming.

"The barrier itself is powerful, one of the best in the Grand-Orient Realm. But it requires power to function, and the sect can only bring out a fifth of its power at our current scale," said Ye Shaoqing.

Tianming nodded, his eyes narrowed into slits. Looking at the mountains and rivers up ahead, he suddenly whispered in Ye Shaoqing's ears, "Master, are you hiding something from me together with my godfather?"

Ye Shaoqing was momentarily stunned, looking at Tianming with his eyes wide.

"Sure enough. You guys are keeping something from me." Tianming had already guessed that when he saw his master's face. His main suspicion came from his observation of Li Wudi. Whenever he looked at Li Wudi, he didn't seem like someone that would waste his life away. Perhaps almost everyone had thought he was useless, but Tianming believed in his intuition. He could sense something different in Li Wudi, especially when he was cultivating in the Li Mausoleum, where he felt some horrifying changes that might be coming from Li Wudi.

Tianming already had his guesses, but he just kept them to himself. After all, Li Wudi had been staying in the Li Mausoleum every day, and had been the one who found the good fortune. So who knew if Li Wudi had already used it on himself before bestowing it to him.

Tianming didn't know how Li Wudi resisted the Venomdrake Spike's pain, so he could only make guesses. But he did remember an interesting episode. When Tianming had brought Jiang Feiling into Li Mausoleum, Li Wudi asked him, "Why did you bring your wife here?"

Before that, not even Yuwen Taiji could tell that he had Feiling's Spiritual Attachment on him. Back then, he was briefly stunned when he heard it. Although Feiling had told him that Li Wudi wasn't simple, Tianming initially didn't pay too much attention to it. But as he continued to observe Li Wudi, and the clues from Ye Shaoqing's words, he came up with some guesses. And he now felt it should be time for him to ask about it.

Ye Shaoqing was dumbfounded for a long time, then winked. "Who told you about it?"

"Would you believe it if I tell you that I guessed it?"

"Are you a wunderkind? How did you guess that?"

"Just tell me if I'm right."

"Since you're already sure about it in your heart, why are you still asking me?" It wasn't actually necessary for Tianming to ask about it.

"So, what are the details?" asked Tianming.

"This isn't the right place for the story. But you just need to know that he's been patiently waiting to take revenge. He's been cultivating for the past fourteen years in life and death."

"He's undergoing Lifesbane!"

"He'll give you a surprise when the day comes." Ye Shaoqing's eyes brimmed with confidence.

"Will it be far from now?"

"Not far from now. Maybe he'll have already succeeded by the time we return." Ye Shaoqing was filled with expectation.

"Great. I hope he can lead to the Grand-Orient Sect to defend against Heaven's Elysium's assault and become a real sect leader." Now that all his guesses had turned out to be true, Tianming's mood immediately grew better. So much so that he was filled with more expectation than Ye Shaoqing, because he had a better understanding of Lifesbane. After all, he himself was an Aeonic Grandbane, which would reduce his lifespan by nine-tenths.

It was terrifying, and Li Wudi's method of cultivation was equivalent to an accumulation. So just how dreadful would it be when the curse breaks out? The first ancestor's Lifebane was ordinary, but it lasted fifty years and allowed him to awaken as a pentabane. So Tianming had no idea how far Li Wudi's Lifebane would change his tetrabane. After Tianming confirmed his guesses, he was happy for Li Wudi.

"How unexpected that a zombie like him would be undergoing Lifebane for the past fourteen, nearly fifteen years!" Tianming could only express admiration for someone like Li Wudi. He had no idea how painful the process was, but someone who could get through it was worthy of his sincerest respect. He had always respected Li Wudi, but this time, Li Wudi's image instantly reached the peak and became his idol.

"I really have no idea how he persevered through the years.…" Tianming was in deeper shock the more he thought about it. He was already anxious to return to see if Li Wudi finally had toughed through hard times.

"To bear such humiliation for the past fourteen years, pretending to be drunk and wasted, but he's actually been painstakingly cultivating to take revenge.… His hatred is so much stronger than mine, and only someone like him can become the soul of the Li Saint Clan." Even though Tianming had been prepared for it, he was still shocked. It wasn't much to worship someone like Li Wudi, right?

Fourteen years of cultivation while bearing the Venomdrake Spike's pain so that he could complete the Lifebane the day he pulls out the spike. Tianming wanted to rush back and knock on Li Wudi's head to see if everything was real. Otherwise, he would feel like he'd been dreaming.

"Don't get too excited. Only your grandmother, you, me, my father, my sister, and Weisheng Tianlan know about this," said Ye Shaoqing.

"You guys have really hidden it well," said Tianming.

"Yeah. Did you know that he's not allowed to pull out the Venomdrake Spike before that? Otherwise, all his effort will go down the drain."

"No, I don't know that." Tianming shook his head.

"Then you know it now. Honestly speaking, you've already greatly helped him by annulling Qingyu and Li Jincan's engagement, as well as saving her twice from the Yuwen Clan. I know that he already regards you as his son," said Ye Shaoqing.

"Then I'll have to see what he has. I won't believe it if it's just boasting," Tianming laughed.

"Haha!" Ye Shaoqing fanned himself with a smile plastered on his face. He then whispered in Tianming's ears, "You've made a great contribution to the Grand-Orient Sect by retrieving the Grand-Orient Sword. Before this, the Grand-Orient Sword was held by the Elysian Emperor, who's been inseparable from it, and he's long been able to unleash the full power of the sword. So by taking the sword from the Elysian Emperor, it's the same as weakening him. When your foster father completes his Lifebane, I'll give him the Grand-Orient Sword. If he can reach the same level of control as the Elysian Emperor, it'll greatly boost the Grand-Orient Sect's overall strength. So you've already controlled the life and death of the Grand-Orient Realm at such a young age, and in this respect, you have my admiration." He wasn't stingy with his praises.

Tianming had never imagined that he would bring such hope to the sect by bringing back the Grand-Orient Sword. It was equivalent to helping Li Wudi again. At this moment, Tianming finally saw the hope of the sect's survival and his heart blazed with fighting spirit.

Tianming also knew how to be grateful in his heart. Since entering the Grand-Orient Sect, he had owed it to Li Wudi's selfless contribution and Ye Shaoqing's protection. If he didn't have the Li Saint Clan's Kunpeng Sacred Seal, Li Shenxiao's tombstone, and the Prime Tower, he would have been defeated by the Aeonic Grandbane and died.

The reason why he could cultivate faster than he aged was highly related to Li Shenxiao's tombstone and the Prime Tower, the tower especially. If it weren't for Ye Shaoqing's arrangements, he wouldn't even have had a chance at competing for the Prime Tower. It wasn't easy to climb up as an outer disciple.

Right now, his greatest wish was that Li Wudi would complete the last step and obtain everything he deserved. He also hoped that the Grand-Orient Sword he'd obtained with great difficulty could let the Grand-Orient Sect and Li Saint Clan survive under Heaven's Elysium's pressure.

"Fight to the last breath!" Tianming had already made up his mind to fight to the last breath if a sect war struck. That would no longer be a battle between geniuses, and his opponents wouldn't be geniuses as well. It would be a life and death battle between beastmasters, and there was a possibility that he would even have to face beastmasters much older than him. In sect wars, there was nothing a genius could do about it. Although Tianming had seized the Grand-Orient Sword, he still wanted to fight to the end, protecting the Grand-Orient Sect and Li Saint Clan.

……

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye, and they still had one-third of their journey left. Tianming and Ye Shaoqing stood on the Aircloud Godcrane as they looked out into the distance. All of a sudden, a towering elder came over to Ye Shaoqing and asked, "Shaoqing, why aren't you taking the opportunity to examine the Grand-Orient Sword?"

"There's a possibility that Yuwen Taiji already has an ambush waiting for us. So you should spend more time comprehending the sword and increase our overall strength." The elder who spoke was the sixth elder, Zhao Zhiyuan.

Looking at Huangfu Fengyun and the others, Ye Shaoqing replied, "The ten elders that stayed behind said that there haven't been any movements from Yuwen Taiji. There are twenty-five of us here, so he won't be able to snatch it."

"They must be dreaming if they think they can snatch the Grand-Orient Sword with the eight of them," said Huangfu Fengyun.

"We'll follow our previous arrangement, turning on the Grand-Orient Barrier when we return while Shaoqing starts comprehending the sword. Don't give Yuwen Taiji any opportunity."

Everyone nodded their heads. It shouldn't be a problem for them to protect the Grand-Orient Sword with so many of them there. After all, the Grand-Orient Sword was with Ye Shaoqing. And even though Yuwen Taiji was strong, it wouldn't be easy for him to seize it.

"I've only seen the Grand-Orient Sword in books, and I've never seen or touched it personally. Shaoqing, why don't you let us take a look at it? This is something that the first ancestor brought back from the Theocracy of the Ancients, the dream and stigma of everyone in the Grand-Orient Sect," Zhao Zhiyuan exclaimed.

"Sure." Ye Shaoqing smiled and nodded.

But just when he was about to retrieve the Grand-Orient Sword, he suddenly stopped and glanced at Zhao Zhiyuan. "Let's forget about it for safety's sake. I'm sorry, the Grand-Orient Sword is too important and we can't afford any mistakes here."

Zhao Zhiyuan was briefly stunned, then suddenly raged, "What are you trying to say here? You suspect that I'll steal it?"

Ye Shaoqing was briefly stunned when he heard that.

"You're courting death, humiliating me!" Zhao Zhiyuan suddenly threw his punch out, a punch from a saint. In that split second, Ye Shaoqing grabbed Tianming and retreated, dodging the punch. But Zhao Zhiyuan had suddenly launched an attack without any warning, and his punch landed on the Aircloud Godcrane. The Aircloud Godcrane immediately issued a mournful cry, then everyone began freefalling.