Beastmaster of the AgesBeastmaster of the Ages
Lan Yun stared at him, flabbergasted. "Young... upstart?"
"That's right! Isn't he a young upstart?" Tianming said, unhappy.
"Are you insane?! Shut your mouth!" She raised her palm high and almost slapped him, but stopped herself. Some kind of internal struggle was clearly visible from her expression.
"Master, is Suishen Zhao really such a big deal? He's just a young brat. Why's everyone so into him for some reason?"
"A brat? Do you know what it means for him to say something like this to you?"
"No idea."
"Let me put it to you in words you can understand. As long as you haven’t challenged Suishen Zhao yet, even if you pull out every hair of Eminent Tiankui's beard, he wouldn't dare to touch a single hair on your body." As she spoke, her expression kept shifting in a confusing manner.
Tianming's eyes widened as he considered what that entailed. "Master, there's something I don't understand. Isn't Myriadpath Valley a place where absolute power reigns supreme? How could a mere minor pathkeeper be feared even by an eminent?"
"Absolute power? Who told you that absolute power reigns supreme?" Lan Yun said speechlessly.
"Well, I guessed it."
Lan Yun slapped him on the head and brought her face close to glare at him. "Power means nothing! In Myriadpath Valley, houses and legacies dictate the hierarchy! The Three Exalted Houses are the kings among kings! They're the topmost faction in all of the Million Mundi!"
Houses? Tianming had a rough understanding of them. Basically, it was a system of differing factions or clans within a sect, much like the Thirteen Regal Clans of Ebonia or the Sterling House of Fang in Archaion. At the end of the day, it was a core power structure that concentrated the legacies and inheritance of cultivators from one generation to the next.
"So, what’re the Three Exalted Houses?" Tianming had a vague idea before Lan Yun explained it. In other words, Suishen Zhao wasn't able to suppress Eminent Tiankui because of his own prowess. No matter what, the young always had their limits, but the faction that backed them wasn't bound by the same constraints!
"You’re aware that Myriadpath Valley was once a fortuna-class nova source world, right?" Lan Yun asked.
"I am."
"The Three Exalted Houses are houses of antiquity that have existed since the days when Myriadpath Valley was a starworld. Their history precedes even that of Myriadpath Valley as we know it! All three of them play important roles. They’re the ones that hold the rudder of the ship called Myriadpath Valley throughout the seas of time!"
"Houses of antiquity? In other words, they were the original residents of what eventually became Myriadpath Valley, and everyone else, even gold ring bearers, can ultimately trace their roots to someone from an outer mundus?" Tianming asked.
"Of course. Some came earlier, some came later. My own ancestors didn't come early enough, or we’d have our own house by now."
"That means they're natives among natives, right?"
"Stop using such an old-fashioned phrase. It's one thing if you say it to me, but if you say it to others, they'll be the first to give you a slap."
"Is it that big a deal?" Tianming thought for a moment and continued, "Master, since houses have such a high place in Myriadpath Valley, what kind of gap exists between an ancient house like House Huang and the Three Exalted Houses?"
"It’s vast indeed. The tier of a house is evaluated based on many criteria. Having powerful members in a house is naturally one of them. Let me simplify it for you. There are four levels of houses in Myriadpath Valley. Only houses that have a single reverend can be considered ancient houses. Sacred houses require at least one member to be an eminent."
"Sacred house? Eminent? So those houses are second only to the Three Exalted Houses?" Tianming asked.
"No. There’s another tier between those two: the august houses, which have at least ten or more eminents. Only fifteen houses in Myriadpath Valley meet that criterion."
"Ten eminents? Wow...." Tianming was stunned. There were fifteen houses, each with at least ten eminents! There were quite a lot more elites in Myriadpath Valley than he had imagined, yet the Three Exalted Houses were far higher than them!
"So there’s four tiers of houses?" Tianming hesitantly concluded.
"Nope, only three," Lan Yun said.
"Why three?"
"The Three Exalted Houses, strictly speaking, aren't considered part of the tier system. They're above and beyond it. Other houses simply can't even be measured against them. Not a single august house can possibly come close to their level."
"I see." Tianming finally had a decent grasp of the power structure in Myriadpath Valley. No wonder Suishen Zhao was so highly regarded.
"Anyone aside from the valley lord is at most an eminent, yet there’s a huge gap between eminents themselves. The eminents of the Three Exalted Houses can singlehandedly rival up to a hundred eminents of other houses. They aren’t even in the same league at all!" Lan Yun also yearned to be an eminent, yet it no longer seemed possible given her age.
"The Three Exalted Houses are unmatched here after all," Tianming said.
"Not just here. Not a single faction in all the mundi of the astralscape can possibly compare to the Three Exalted Houses. Ninety-five out of a hundred valley lords come from one of their houses! Not to mention, each of them represents one of the key cultivation streams! They’re the highest lifeforms in the entire astralscape!" Lan Yun's gaze and words were filled with envy and admiration.
"So, beastmasters, totemancers, and specters?" Tianming asked.
"That's right."
"And are members of House Suishen totemancers?" Tianming had felt totem ki coming from Suishen Zhao.
"Of course. House Suishen's totemancers are the most talented totemancers of all. Not only do they have high totem counts, they also have the highest levels of simulacra and no others can rival them," Lan Yun said, full of confidence and without hesitation.