Beastmaster of the Ages

"Nonsense!"

"How could someone so young speak so insolently right after coming to our turf? I think I have to teach him a harsh lesson."

"Do you Ebonians really think you can look down on others like that?"

"He seemed pretty polite. Perhaps the etherean said those words, not him."

"No way! Our etherean isn\'t like that."

"That\'s right."

Confused chatter completely drowned out Tianming.

"I\'ll teach that insolent bread a lesson!"

"You meant brat, right? Pronounce it properly!"

"Brother, you\'re already two thousand years old. Are you shameless enough to beat up a kid?"

"What would you know? I\'m still human too! I have my dignity to protect! You, on the other hand, are behind on your forging quota! Have you even saved enough phantasilver for your marriage?"

Lin Xiaodao took another swig and sprayed it all over the chaotic sight before him. Even though it was only a gulp, it felt like rain was pouring down. The whole place smelled like alcohol.

"Run! He\'s gonna spray it again!"

Many in the crowd simply couldn\'t avoid it in time and ended up completely wet. The entire scene had quieted down because of a single spray of wine.

Lin Xiaodao turned to Tianming and said, "Lin Feng! I spared no effort to bring you to Gladeus, yet to think that you had such a character! I won’t tolerate it! I\'ll show you what the genius disciples of Gladeus look like! You\'ll definitely fall by their sword, you self-declared rank-one genius!" His acting wouldn\'t be winning him any awards any time soon.

"Huh, show me what you got, then," Tianming said, putting his arms behind his back and giving the astral gods a proud sweep.

"Dammit!" Quite a few people were even more ticked off.

"Very well! I\'ll get the top geniuses here that’re about your age to duel you! Let\'s see whether the Infinitum Swordsea is really capable of rivaling the Skycross Lin Clan! Not to mention, she\'s a girl your age. Surely you won\'t object to that?" Lin Xiaodao asked.

"Tch, I\'ve already defeated all the worthwhile geniuses. Do you think a tiny planet like Gladeus can have anyone that’s a match for me?" Tianming said, eyes rolling.

"Insolence!" Lin Xiaodao excitedly pointed at the crowd. "My precious niece, the time for you to claim your glory has come. Let this ignorant fool see the might of the Skycross Lin Clan, Lin Chouyan!"

Lin Zhongtian almost spat blood when he heard the name. "Lin Chouyan?! Lin Xiaodao, your niece is called Lin Weiyan!" How could she be his precious niece if he even got her name wrong? [1]

"Hmm?" Lin Xiaodao hurriedly smiled and said, "Uncle, are you sure your hearing is fine? I said Lin Weiyan."

The mistake was quickly brushed under the rug and a tall girl in a white dress came before Tianming, cheered on by the Skycross Lin Clan. Her eyes were sharp and filled with a unique aura. She had a plain, yet heroic air, perhaps due to constant training in swordsmanship. She somewhat resembled a genderbent version of Lin Hongchen.

Tianming looked at her disciple card. "Third astral phase? She\'s at Lin Hongchen\'s level, then. Why didn\'t she join the minor reges mundi ranking event?"

"Why would we Gladeans go all the way to Ebonia to join a tournament?" Lin Xiaodao unhappily countered.

"Stop making things up. My granddaughter is too old for the competition," Lin Zhongtian said.

"Ah, she\'s your granddaughter... forgive my rudeness," Tianming said.

"What? You can\'t tell from how she looks? Don\'t we look somewhat similar?" Lin Zhongtian asked.

Tianming looked closely at the beautiful heroine, then back at the shriveled corpse of an old man and took a deep gulp. "I was mistaken! You two are somewhat similar!"

"Oh? How so?" Lin Zhongtian expectantly asked.

"One\'s a beautiful human. The other\'s a human... I think."

Lin Xiaodao chortled and spat out a mouthful of wine once more, raining it on the masses.

Lin Zhonghai pinched Tianming’s arm while his brother seethed. "Go and perform well. Your master’s too nice to you. Not only did he give you an opportunity to show off your talents, he even started looking for a candidate for a fourth member."

"What fourth member?"

"A fourth member of your womanly cohort, of course," Lin Xiaodao said.

"Since when did I say I was going to take a fourth woman?!" Tianming spat.

"Isn\'t it written on your face?" Lin Xiaodao asked.

"What is?"

"Seeding horse. There, I see it."

"Why you!"

Lin Xiaodao glared at him. "Hey, don\'t try to play the gentleman now. My niece easily has the most suitors in the past century across all of Gladeus. She\'s even called the Little Goddess! There\'s enough people who want to take her on a date to reach Ebonia from here if they stood in a line!"

"What? Those must be really huge suitors then. I bet they\'re as large as nova wildbeasts," Tianming remarked.

"Die, you!" Lin Xiaodao couldn\'t help himself. "Now go!" He gave Tianming a harsh kick from behind, deviously smiling. "Heh, I even thought of a name for their kid! Lin Choufeng! I\'m quite a schemer!" [2]

......

Tianming stood before the Little Goddess of Gladeus, who seemed rather haughty.

"Lin Feng, someone as proud and narcissistic as you doesn\'t seem like the kind of person who deserves to be ranked first," Lin Weiyan said.

"How should I act to deserve it, then?" Tianming asked.

"You don\'t deserve it, period."

"Bullshit!" Tianming was almost speechless.

She furrowed her brows and said, "Since you dared to act like this on our turf and challenge us, I wonder if you dare to make a bet."

"What do I get if I take it? What’ll I lose if I don\'t?"

"If you don\'t take the bet, we\'ll treat you like the inbred bastard you are and send you back to Ebonia, lest you sour our eyes with your face!"

By now, Tianming understood that Lin Xiaodao had created a chance for him to shut all critics up in one go by convincing the crowd. In the Infinitum Mundus, personal might was the highest virtue. Even if the astral gods didn\'t say it, some were no doubt wondering if Tianming was truly worthy.

"That\'s right!"

"A duel without stakes is just boring!"

The crowd seemed to welcome the idea.

Tianming helplessly smiled. "Very well. What’ll we bet, then?"

1. Chouyan 抽烟 basically means smoking in Chinese. ☜

2. Choufeng 抽枫 means arthritis in Chinese. The Feng 枫 in the name is the same as the one in Lin Feng. ☜