Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 3043 - This is Myriadpath Valley

"Indeed. That kid should've been pushed back down when he first arrived so that he takes the rules seriously. If we don't teach him a good lesson, he won’t be a good gofer for us. Given his attitude, he might even cause trouble for us in the Grandblue Palace. If that happens, we’ll be letting Master down as his senior brothers," the purple-robed Gong Xuan said in a cold voice.

"That's likely to be the case. We were also prideful and arrogant when we first came to Myriadpath Valley," Gongsun Yan said.

Gong Xuan snickered, "I recall that Fifth Brother taught me harsh lessons because I was acting up back then."

"It was for your own good," Gongsun Yan said in a manner befitting a senior.

"Indeed. Otherwise, given my temper back then, I would've easily lost my life after offending people right and left. I’m incredibly grateful to my senior brothers," Gong Xuan said.

Hearing that, Gongsun Yan burst out laughing. He could read between the lines. "Fine, Eighth. I'll let you be the one to teach Ninth how to act around here. It's your first time being a senior disciple, so it's time that you show how much you've learned in the last ten years."

Gong Xun was bursting with excitement and eagerness. "Thank you, Senior Brother! If Master disapproves of my actions, I hope you'll help me convince her that it's necessary."

"Don't worry. I've been with Master for more than a hundred years. She’s never interfered in her disciples getting familiar with each other. It's said that First Brother almost beat Second Brother to death, and even then she didn't lift a finger," Gongsun Yan said.

"I see." Gong Xuan nodded, his eyes glowing with wonder. "Fifth Brother, I'll be heading off now."

"Enjoy being a senior disciple!" Gongsun Yan said, waving his hands like a proud elder sibling.

......

Tianming had just settled down in the courtyard. He looked at the silver spider in his hand and asked, "Did they finish talking?"

"They have... and they're... already here," Yin Chen said.

Tianming was utterly speechless; what in the world was their efficiency?! Before he said anything else, he heard laughter from outside.

"Youngest Brother, It’s your eighth brother, Gong Xuan. I'm coming in!" Gong Xuan wasn't asking. The handsome youth immediately entered Tianming's courtyard.

"Eighth Brother," Tianming greeted with a normal expression.

"Youngest Brother, don’t be nervous. Come, take a seat." Gong Xuan's face was full of smiles and acted really familiar as he gripped Tianming by the neck.

"I'm not," Tianming said.

"Haha.... You're funny." Gong Xuan used a little cosmoforce to push Tianming down onto the green stone bench in the courtyard. "That we can meet and become brothers under the same master despite coming from the farthest reaches of the astralscape must mean that we’re united by fate. Seeing you when you first came here reminded me of how I felt back then. I was all over the place, you know."

"I'm not all over the place, Eighth Brother," Tianming solemnly said.

Gong Xuan's face twitched and his smile stiffened. He had planned to speak his opening lines before putting his lesson plan into action, but seeing Tianming's reaction—or lack thereof—made him much more impatient.

"Eh?" Gong Xuan looked at Tianming's arms with shock. "Junior Brother, are your lifebound beasts growing out of your body?"

"That's right. What about it?" Tianming said, smiling.

Gong Xuan pulled on his sleeve and snickered, "Is this what a legendary tainted beastmaster looks like? You're the first one I've seen, Eighth Brother. Truly wondrous."

"Looks like you haven't seen much, then."

Gong Xuan seemed a little stunned, but quickly shrugged. "Well, it isn’t that I haven't, but... some things are a bit shameful to show interest in, you see." He gave Tianming's shoulder a tap. "Junior Brother, don't be too angry. I'm just joking around with you! That's Myriadpath Valley humor for ya!"

"I see! I thought you were serious, Senior Brother!" Tianming also began laughing. The moment he did, the grand lexicon wonder instantly spread throughout Gong Xuan's body and covered his flesh and astral organs. At the same time, both of Tianming's hands fired off abilities as he clapped them toward Gong Xuan's head, flattening it and sending his brains splattering all over! His abilities instantly spread through Gong Xuan's whole body and even to his cosmic charts.

Tianming's eyes were completely subsumed by the black smog. His body was even more terrifying than a specter's in close combat. As he flattened Gong Xuan's head, he also used his spiky, saw-like right knee to push against Gong Xuan's chest. The poor boy shrieked in agony as his chest caved in from the force, squeezing his astral organs explosively out of his back.

"Aaaaaagh!"

Gong Xuan's eyes fell straight to the ground. As he made unintelligible sounds, he desperately tried channeling cosmoforce into his totems, but Tianming didn't give him a chance to counterattack in the slightest. The knee applied a little more force and completely tore apart Gong Xuan's relatively weak human body. The next instant, two Grand-Orient Swords appeared in Tianming's hands.

With a single flash, his swords rose and fell, piercing Gong Xuan's cosmic charts thousands of times. Gong Xuan's head went flying, his eight cosmic charts exploded, and his heptastar cosmic body was torn to shreds by Tianming's violence! He turned into a fireworks display.

Gong Xuan had eight cosmic charts and many totem simulacra, so in a real fight, Tianming wouldn't have been his match. However, he had been completely unprepared. Being attacked at point blank by the likes of Tianming and instantly losing wasn’t shocking in the least.

All that remained of Gong Xuan was a flattened head that fell to the ground. He vomited astral blood; nothing but his eye sockets remained intact. His ruined mouth attempted to mouth something that resembled words, but none of them could be parsed in the slightest. Nobody knew if he was trying to curse or cry.

The black smog surged in Tianming's eyes as he fused both swords into one and pushed the tip against Gong Xuan's disembodied mouth that glowed bright with starlight. "Senior Brother, don't be too angry. I'm just joking around with you."

The sword pushed through the head and caused it to burst into fading starlight.

"That's Myriadpath Valley humor for ya!" Tianming smugly said as he pulled back his sword.