Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2295 - Judgment of the Chessmaster

"Oh...." Yi Zhuojun shrugged, his expression still cold. He had come with the purpose of joining up, but he felt that letting in Tianming, whom he thought was a short burner, wasn't optimal. Tianming might even drag the rest of them down.

He turned to look at Dongshen Xiaoli, then back at Tianming, and said, "You said that the ebons would give us trouble, but don't you know that the Swordgod Lin Clan also has a grudge against the luxdaemons? Not to mention, your clan has been getting rather close with the ebons lately, so why should I believe you?"Dongshen Xiaoli seemed rather anxious. "Handsome, get it right, okay? My cousin is the grandson of Lin Xiao of the second branch, and his grandmother is from the Grandnorth Dongshen Clan. He's definitely on our side. The only ones from the Lin Clan who are close to the ebons are those from the third, fifth, and seventh branches!"

Yi Zhuojun wasn't ignorant to those facts. He pursed his lips and said, "Fine. But we don't know how powerful the ebons are for now. If the five of them are just normal gods or if they're ranked three hundredth or beyond, there's no value in working with the two of you." There was no way he would know how powerful the other five ebons were.

"I know who they are, as well as their ranking," Tianming said, which surprised the other two.

Yi Zhuojun smirked. "Do you have an eye in the sky or something that lets you see everything?"

Dongshen Xiaoli, however, completely trusted him and excitedly held his hand. "Cousin, are you really that impressive? Tell me who they are, quick!"

Tianming didn't bother to make a show of it and simply told them the rankings of the five ebons. The weakest was about Tianming's rank, and the strongest was close to Yi Zhuojun. "The last one, Qi Xuanzi, is ranked a hundred and ninetieth, a little weaker than you, but they have numbers on their side."

Though Yi Zhuojun was skeptical at first, hearing the ranks and the correct corresponding names convinced him. That level of information would be incredibly hard to make up. He furrowed his brows, not in doubt of Tianming's words, but from the pressure hearing those names brought him. In the last room, only the ones that killed the other person were allowed to survive. It didn't bode well for this trial they were facing. Yi Zhuojun knew that death was an inevitability, making the ebons a huge foe. There was no way that he alone could handle all of them.

"Isn't Qi Xuanzi the young scion of the Qi Clan? I heard that a silver light appeared inside his purple irises. There's a chance he'll become a silver-eyed genius. Not to mention, he has a famous warbeast, but I forget its name. His actual combat capability should match yours, Handsome Yi." Her expression turned gloomy in an instant. "It's over! Even if the three of us work together, we won't be able to defeat them! Are we going to die? I'm too young to die! I haven't even fallen in love yet!" It looked like she was about to break down and cry.

"The ebons are tough fighters. They'll be hard to deal with." While Yi Zhuojun didn't fully trust Tianming, he did want to work with Dongshen Xiaoli. He didn't seem to be someone of bad character, either. His skepticism of Tianming was fully warranted.

"Yi Zhuojun, can I assume that you believe I have an 'eye in the sky' as you put it?" Tianming had known how strong their opponents were from the start, so he was still calm. He had a huge advantage in that the others in the room didn't know how powerful he truly was.

"I'll temporarily trust you. You won't benefit by lying. Not to mention, this room isn't that big when we think about it. Coupled with the green light we're giving off, none of us will be able to escape the chessmaster's judgment." He was talking about the mastermind that set the rules of engagement in the nest. The thousands of participants were mere chess pieces, or crickets, to that being.

"Since you believe the ebons are powerful, let's not waste words and form an alliance to protect each other," Tianming said.

"Well, it sounds like Handsome Yi's the one who's protecting us," Dongshen Xiaoli said, sniffling.

"Cousin, I know he's capable, but don't put yourself down because of it."

"Alright...."

When the two looked at Yi Zhuojun, he returned a deep look into Tianming's eyes. "I can work with you and promise to look out for one another. I just hope you'll fight at a level deserving of your ranking. Otherwise you'll really be dragging us down. That won't be good for me or Dongshen Xiaoli."

"Deal."

With the party formed, Yi Zhoujun took the role of leader, being the strongest among them. He looked into the distance and said, "The three of us and the five ebons have joined up. The remaining two have also encountered each other. The ebons haven't acted yet, so we should go meet the other two to join up. If they're astral gods, we'll be able to hold our ground against the ebons." He was quite hopeful for the other two.

"No need to go. I know who they are," Tianming said.

"Who?" Yi Zhuojun asked.

"Yeah, who are they, Cousin?" Dongshen Xiaoli nervously asked.

"They're sure to be our allies, as long as they aren't ebons. Most factions fear them due to their large numbers," Yi Zhuojun said.

"They're Lin Jianxing and Lin Linglin of my clan. I'm sure you know Lin Jianxing. Lin Linglin, on the other hand, is the daughter of Ninth Branch Master Lin Changkong. She isn’t an astral god," Tianming said.

"Lin Jianxing! He's ranked around two hundredth, right? That's rather good," Yi Zhoujun said. That was another genius disciple on par with him, and he surmised that the two of them and Qi Xuanzi were probably the strongest in the room.

"Lin Jianxing is from the third branch, right?" Dongshen Xiaoli said, worried.

"Yes," Tianming said.

Yi Zhuojun smiled. "With Lin Jianxing around, then we won't have any trouble at all. While Lin Linglin isn't someone we can count on, Lin Jianxing and I will be enough to take care of the ebons. They don't know who we are yet, so it's our chance to join up with them! Let's go!"

"Wait," Tianming called out from behind.