Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2138 - A Single Awe-inducing Brushstroke

The quarterfinals were incredibly important for the ranking. Apart from Xiaoxiao and Moran, everyone in the top eight were stellaminors. While Lin Manman was once favored to be one of the top three, she had been eliminated early on.

Lin Xiaopo, believed to be able to rank first by many, was facing Moran. That match was sure to attract lots of eyes. While Moran was only a constellier, her divine wonders had displayed powers that shocked everyone, much like Feiling's abilities. Not only that, she hadn't even used her two most powerful divine wonders, instead relying only on the dreamless galactic wonder to enter the top eight.

That was the many gigantic whales that the dreamless celestial emperor had used. It was far more eye-catching than a brush or book, adding quite a bit of mysterious flair to Moran in the eyes of the other disciples. The two contestants standing opposite each other lit a spark of fire in the hearts of the spectators.

"Xiaopo's the only six-six talent in the Lin Clan that's under thirty years of age. He's destined to rank at the top for the next six years. Lin Feng's wives are too arrogant, and it's about time they’re taught a lesson."

The nearby youths all saw themselves in Lin Xiaopo, channeling their hatred and unwillingness into him. Yet he didn't seem to be affected by them in the slightest, merely smiling and looking at Moran with his hands behind his back. "Weisheng... Moran... Big Sister, your name sounds really nice."

The girl with ink-green hair and eyes was wearing a long dress that accentuated her gracefulness and fish-like elegance. She seemed like she didn't belong in Ebonia, but her exotic nature only added to her allure in Lin Xiaopo's eyes. Her long legs, especially, were a huge draw for a youth of his age.

However, Moran ignored him and talked to Yin Chen nonstop. There was a heavy invisible cockroach in her bosom.

"Little Li... asked you... to crush... his balls!" Yin Chen said.

"Why?" Moran said, rolling her eyes. How could a girl like her do something so savage?

"Because he... has defiled... you all... with his... lewd words...." Even though it was much harder for Yin Chen to run surveillance on Ebonia, given how the cockroaches were no longer invisible and made quite a bit of sound while walking around due to their increased weight, it had still managed to sneak around the chaotic arena and hear what Lin Xiaopo had said. "He said... that you... are simply... used goods.... Just disgusting... ugly trash... can you... believe it?!" It didn't hesitate to add some extra spice into the mix.

"Used goods and trash?" Moran raised a brow slightly as she looked at the youth before her.

"That's right!" Yin Chen secretly snickered, satisfied with the slander.

Tianming heard the conversation and recalled the moment when Lin Jianxing had busted his balls with a kick when they’d first met and encouraged Yin Chen to stoke the flames of Moran's anger even higher.

Lin Xiaopo was a second-level stellaminor and stood at the very top of his peers, but he was being overshadowed in the competition. "Sister Weisheng, can I take you around for some fun after we finish fighting?" he asked in a very soft whisper as he signaled her with a look, worried that his father would hear him.𝒇𝘳ee𝚠𝘦𝚋n૦𝐯el coｍ

"Oh you... little bastard! Moran, you... can't just... take this!" Yin Chen's cockroach legs angrily clawed at her chest, and Moran felt truly enraged. She didn't make a single sound. Right when the duel's start was announced, she absorbed the dense Ebonian nova source in her surroundings as if her body was a black hole! Even the liquefied nova source in the Infinitum Swordsea turned into pillars that gathered toward her.

She no longer used the dreamless galactic wonder, choosing instead to use the skyway masterbrush wonder. A gigantic, pillar-like brush appeared beside her, elevating her aura even further.

"Huh?" Lin Xiaopo turned his head up so much that his neck was about to snap. Despite how large the arena was, it could barely contain the gigantic divine wonder. Even the spectating parents and the VIPs on the higher platform widened their eyes in shock as they stood up.

"Xiaopo, use your full power!" his father's voice came, snapping him out of his daze. Lin Xiaopo put away his pride and started to take the fight seriously.

"The enemy isn't a pushover!" He began channeling sovereign astralforce and his divine hazard sword ki. His sword body had assimilated a few grade-nine divine hazard sword ki strands that congregated on the black sword he wielded, which was obviously a top-class grade-nine divine artifact. It seemed much better than the Godsin. At least six types of sword ki had gathered around the sword, forming a combination vortex that caused storms to break out across the entire arena!

"Come!" Lin Xiaopo's sword beasts weren't in his lifebound space. In the Infinitum Swordsea, and Ebonia by extension, there wasn't a lack of space at all, so most lifebound beasts were used to freely moving about outside. After Lin Xiaopo called out, six waves appeared in the Infinitum Swordsea as six gigantic lifebound beasts landed by his side, causing a short shower of liquefied nova source. His aura changed once more, completely displaying the full splendor of his six-six talent. While he was only one level off from Lin Manman, their actual power gap was much wider than that. They also had radically different future potentials.

"He has six lifebound beasts! He's superfull!" It was the first time Tianming had seen someone with six lifebound beasts like him. In the entirety of the Infinitum Mundus, only the Lin Clan could have six lifebound beasts—their swordbeasts in particular. "They're all nine star cosmic beasts, too." He was quite shocked at the sight of Lin Xiaopo's beasts. Given the child's status and talent, having mere sovereign beasts would be a little underwhelming. What surprised Tianming more was the types of his beasts. All six of them had the same astral and flame elements, with blue starlight flowing on their bodies that were surrounded by black flames. Starlight and fire crossed each other, making them swift and powerful! They roared in unison by Lin Xiaopo's side.

However, their species appeared to be completely different. One of them was a bluish black tiger that remained crouched on the ground. It had nine thousand stars in its eyes and razor-sharp claws and horns. Its tail ended in a sharp spike and its fur glowed with the light of stars. Another was a bluish black eagle up in the sky, surrounded by burning flames. Its wingspan didn't pale in comparison to Ying Huo's and it had incredibly sharp feathers. The next one was a bluish black flying hornet with starry wings and a flaming tail with tens of millions of ommatidia in each compound eye! There was even a swordfish that was surrounded by water from the Infinitum Swordsea. The water and fire blended together, allowing it to zip around like one of the swords in the sea. Accompanying them was an asteroid-like object shaped like a sword wheel with two eyes. And lastly, there was a bundle of thick black vines covered in sword-shaped roots that stretched all the way from Lin Xiaopo to the Infinitum Swordsea. Every single vine was covered in raging fire.

"Six lifebound beasts of different species?" Tianming grew more and more interested. Of all the people he knew, only he and Ye Chen had such a diverse array of lifebound beasts, and it was hard to say whether Ye Chen's Chaos Dijiang was really one beast split into five parts or the other way around.

"Of course! Six swordbeasts, each of a different species! There's a bird, a beast, an insect, a fish, a plant, and an asteroid. They can all turn into swordbeast spiritforms and gather inside the sword, perfectly complementing each other and making the perfect sixbeast sword. This is the unique aspect of the Lin Clan's legacy. While other beastmasters might have similar swordbeasts, that’s a mark of low talent in the Swordgod Lin Clan. Those who don't have distinct swordbeasts have a low upper ceiling for their growth. Lin Xiaopo's six-six talent and varying types of swordbeasts makes him the perfect talent to mold," Lin Dan explained with pride, stroking his mustache.

"Interesting. He's impressive, alright," Tianming praised. As expected of a powerful successor of the Ebonians. Of all the worlds he had seen, including Skyway Monostar, even the beastmasters there might not be that talented. The things Lin Xiaopo had been born with were far too perfect. "Are all of the lifebound beasts of the Lin Clan different?"

"Not necessarily. The more distant the branch the family is, the messier their bloodline is. The beasts can take almost any form at that point. Only one in ten thousand have six swordbeasts, and those that have six distinct beasts from different species are one in a million." In other words, there were few among the Lin Clan, like Lin Xiaopo, that had distinct swordbeasts.

Tianming watched, shaking his head. It was no wonder Dongshen Yue had immediately determined that he was Lin Mu’s son the moment his lifebound beasts were let out. Nobody but those of the Swordgod Lin Clan could have six different species of lifebound beasts. As for the odd First Aeonic Ancestral Star, that had probably been explained away by Tianming's messy bloodline.

"It's quite a shame that the difference between normal lifebound beasts and those that manage to awaken swordbeast talents is quite wide," Lin Dan said.

"Haha, that's true." Tianming just smiled and nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself. Nobody could possibly compare to him and his lifebound beasts. Swordbeasts were basically just upgraded forms of lifebound beasts, able to do everything the latter could in addition to being able to fuse with swords used by their beastmasters. Tianming had witnessed the power of swordbeasts back on the Flameyellow Continent, though he could be certain that those of the Lin Clan would definitely be even more powerful.

Tianming gave the duel his full attention. Lin Xiaopo and his lifebound beasts rose into the sky, forming a bluish black storm that crashed against the skyway masterbrush wonder. "A divine wonder genius? You’re nothing more than crumbling tofu before the might of the Lin Clan!" Lin Xiaopo was incredibly confident due to the pride he had in his clan. He smirked as sword ki poured out of his eyes. The six flaming swordbeasts roared in unison as they swarmed toward Moran. Swordbeasts didn't have to fight while assimilated within swords; they were complete lifebound beasts in their own right to begin with.

Moran faced the incoming torrent of abilities and sword ki that filled every inch of her vision. As they weren't in the wondersky realm, getting hurt and dying was an actual possibility. Even so, she was completely expressionless. Her hair fluttered as she looked toward the incoming assault and muttered, "Your entire clan is just second rate."

That statement really cut deep. She stretched out a hand to guide the divine wonder to surround her body, which served as the core. Her every movement was translated into the movement of her divine wonder. "Go!"

With a single finger, she controlled the strokes of the brush, swinging it like a sword before thrusting it toward the incoming storm of starfire, piercing through everything and tearing into the tiger's shoulder! The nine-star cosmic beast cried out as blood spilled from the wound and rained down all over the place. The brush, emerging from the tiger's back, left a huge hole in its lung, causing it to struggle and groan in pain as its body shriveled up like cooked shrimp. Fortunately, the other lifebound beasts and its beastmaster would soon be able to threaten Moran.

She drew the brush out of the tiger by flicking her finger, flinging the beast straight into the ground. That sight caused every spectator to stand wide-eyed in shock. The children that saw what happened couldn't resist and even shrieked, many of them shrinking away to the distant corners in fear of being wrapped up in the aftershocks of the fight.