Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2374 - One-Hand Handicap

Infinitum Duels were inextricably linked to the spirit of the Infinitum Bodhimanda. Both the ebons and the Swordgod Lin Clan were part of that superfaction, much like how the Sterling House of Fang was part of the Archaion Sect. While Tianming hadn't been there for long, he understood how much the denizens of the mundus respected the results of duels. It was a most sacred ritual that was observed from the rex mundi all the way down to the most common peasant.

Deaths that occurred as a result of Infinitum Duels weren’t something one could be held accountable for. That was the implicit agreement that both parties agreed to before joining the duel. Even if Tianming had killed Lin Jianchen during the Infinitum Duel, Lin Xiaoyun and the others wouldn't be able to lift a finger in response. The most shameful act one could commit was to seek redress for the results of an Infinitum Duel! It wasn't a casual friendly spar. Even if there wasn't an actual Infinitum Bodhimanda Formation in the ancestral world, the same rules still applied in the hearts of everyone involved.

The spectators went wild when they saw the golden text.

"An Infinitum Duel?!"

"Are they insane?! What kind of grudge do they bear for each other?"

"They're actually going to fight an Infinitum Duel inside the ancestral world!"

"Heavens! Weren't the ebons and Lin Clan supposed to be allies? Why would their two strongest disciples decide to fight to the death?"

"If Lin Feng falls for it and dies, how would Second Patriarch Lin seek redress? The whole clan wouldn't be able to hold anyone to account for the death!"

"There’s no greater rule in the Infinitum Mundus. The losing side of an Infinitum Duel has no right to utter even a single word about it."

"Far too many geniuses over the course of history have fallen for the provocation of an Infinitum Duel, only to waste their potential and die."

"What in the world did Shenxi Shang say to get Lin Feng to fall for it?"

"Shenxi Shang was the one that brought it up! How much does he hate Lin Feng? Is it because he was kept locked up for three months?"

"What in the world happened during those three months?"

There was also a large commotion at the Infinitum Swordsea.

"Lin Feng, you’ve already won second place! It's a great result already. Please don't agree to it!"

"That's right! Come back and get one and a half million merit points! You’ll still be a top disciple and have access to the reges mundi level of the Caeli Vault!"

"Don't take the bait!"

"It's fine if you lose, Lin Feng! Second place is already incredible!"

The members of the Lin Clan shouted and howled despite knowing that Tianming wouldn't be able to hear them. They had never been so anxious.

"We're weaker than the ebons. If Lin Feng really dies in an Infinitum Duel, there'd be nothing left for us!" None of them wanted to lose a top-class genius just like that.

"Even if it isn’t Shenxi Shang, there wouldn't be anything we could do if Lin Feng dies. It's an Infinitum Duel, for crying out loud!"

That was a core belief in everyone's hearts, and carried even more weight than Yi Daiyan's no-grudge decree. Even if some would heed her decree, there would always be those who ignored it and pointed fingers at who was at fault if the result of a fight displeased them.

Tianming was all too aware of how compelling an Infinitum Duel was, but he couldn't be the one to bring it up, knowing the kind of commotion it would cause. He decided to take two steps back. "I'm afraid of dying."

"Stop acting. Since you started this whole schtick three months ago, you've been waiting for me to say those words," Shenxi Shang said.

"Are you saying you fell for my obvious bait?" Tianming said, feigning terror.

"That's right. I want to kill you."

"Alright, then." Tianming suddenly looked enraged as he nodded at the golden words. With his fist to his chest, he uttered the oath that marked the start of the duel. Everyone could recognize what he said just by looking at his lips alone. From the outside, it looked like Tianming had been forced into agreeing to the duel. The ritual had begun and the duel had been agreed upon, much to the shock of the viewing public.

The spectators that’d looked away in the course of the past three months had mostly returned, only to be struck speechless. The moment the Infinitum Duel was agreed upon, both Tianming and Shenxi Shang put away their Oldgod Rings, causing their broadcasts to go dark once more. It was a clear sign that they wouldn't be coming back until either one of them died for good. The cultivators of Ebonia stared at the blank screens before them, speechless.

"Looks like we'll know who wins when one of their screens shows something again." All of them waited, their heartbeats quickening. Tianming's family and friends prayed for his safety outside the Oldgod Domain.

......

The reason Tianming had decided to bait Shenxi Shang into an Infinitum Duel was that he wanted to ensure that nothing about the duel would get out to the public. Having lost a hand, but still wanting to obtain the Order Relic, he had to raise his chances of victory. If he had been confident of his ability to defeat Shenxi Shang without relying on his totems, he would have spared his life. After all, one didn't necessarily need to kill to end an Infinitum Duel. But since he couldn't, it was very likely that he would have to use his totems, but he still didn't want to expose the fact that he had them. Naturally, that entailed killing Shenxi Shang as well as blocking the Oldgod Rings. Everything was going according to plan.

"I'll give you a handicap of one hand," Tianming said, putting his Oldgod Ring away. He no longer needed to put up a fake act, now that the rings were no longer broadcasting.

"Hehehehe..." Shenxi Shang darkly chuckled. There was a large bundle of fauna worldstones around his neck. "You're already dead."

Shenxi Shang didn't fear anything; he never had to, considering his background. Even if Tianming had a guarantee that he wouldn't be persecuted thanks to the Infinitum Duel, he would still have to weigh his options on whether to kill Shenxi Shang, but the opposite wasn't true. Shenxi Shang would definitely kill Tianming if he won! The warbeasts in his fauna worldstones awakened and manifested in a flash of light. The strongest infinite beastmaster of around the age of a hundred in Ebonia had finally taken the stage, surrounded by twelve mighty warbeasts.

"Twelve of them?!" That was an impossible number for normal beastmasters to achieve. During the hundred years of Shenxi Shang's cultivation, he had controlled more than three thousand warbeasts in total. As he grew stronger, he had abandoned the weaker warbeasts, though given his current soul power, he would be able to control up to a thousand of them at once without an issue. That said, it naturally came at a cost of quality. As far as he was concerned, the twelve warbeasts he’d chosen to take with him were the best he had, all of them being sanctuary-class nova wildbeasts. And he even had four more than Guchi Xiaoyin had.

Two of them were mid-sanctuary-class beasts while the rest were low. Mid-sanctuary-class beasts were the equivalent of mid-stage orderans, and Tianming had been shocked when he learned that fact. Fortunately, the two beasts in particular were just barely able to qualify for that categorization. As they were still immature, they were quite some ways off from having true mid-sanctuary-class power. However, they were definitely more powerful than low-sanctuary-class beasts. Not to mention, as the warbeasts of a cultivator with grade-nine soul eye talent, they would eventually mature into ether-class warbeasts!