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Chapter 422: So-Called Warring

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Tian only let out a long sigh before stretching his hand out of his sleeve and pulling her directly into his bosom. His sleeve followed soon after, draping like a blanket over her, as he exclaimed in mock anger, "Why are you wriggling so much? Go and sleep properly!"

There was no vulgar connotation to his words, merely the tone of an elder brother chiding his younger sister, full of love and care. Li Xue seemed to be intoxicated with such a feeling, pursing her lips and obediently letting out an 'en' sound before she delved into Ling Tian's bosom. She found a comfortable spot and quietened down.

Gently supporting her body, Ling Tian lowly sighed, as he looked out in the vast empty sky as well as the clear and pristine moon, its hazy light shining down and illuminating the vast mountains and rivers, as though purifying them...

A strange feeling started to form on his chest, a cool yet wet feeling. Li Xue's arms were tightly wrapped around his waist and her delicate figure was trembling non-stop as she sobbed silently. Her tears flowed without stopping, and before long there was a huge wet patch on Ling Tian's chest, and it was even showing signs of increasing...

Ling Tian could only sigh to himself and tighten his embrace...

The night went by in silence, and Ling Tian knew that Li Xue had to give vent to the guilt she had always kept in her heart, thus he patiently held onto her. Ling Tian sat still for the whole night, just as Li Xue noiselessly sobbed for the whole night!

As dawn broke and a cold breeze rolled over, Li Xue finally ended her crying spree and had vented all her conflicting feelings. She raised her head as the wind tickled her nose, revealing her veil that was soaked in her tears. The veil dropped off due to the weight, revealing two red and swollen eyes akin to ripe peaches, with traces of tears on her face. At this time, she resembled a kitten with a dirty face.

Li Xue lowered her head in embarrassment as her face turned red. After that she seemed to realize that she had just displayed her ugly self in front of Ling Tian, and exclaimed, immediately covering her face with her hands.

"How ugly!" Ling Tian jeered. "Just look at you, your face looks similar to that of an abandoned dirty kitten. If people were to see, they would think that this great noble Ling here had bullied you. Sigh, I really worry how are you going to find someone to marry with that face."

Li Xue immediately drummed her feet on the ground in anger, before throwing herself and covering her face in Ling Tian's chest, snorting, "Who're you calling ugly? Who did you say can't marry anyone?!" As she spoke, her hands had already energetically snaked to Ling Tian's waist, twisting at the flesh there.

"I'm ugly, I'm the ugly one, I'm the ugliest one… oh my lord, why do all of you women always like to target the same place?" Ling Tian could only plead for mercy.

"You women..? Hmm??" Li Xue narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I almost forgot, this great noble Ling here has power and influence and also looks so elegant and suave, you definitely have crowds of wives and concubines in your house, with beauties as plentiful as the clouds, right?"

"Do you still need to mention it?" Ling Tian stuck his head up in pride, "Your brother's charm can't be denied! Women will run back to their houses the moment they see me, and will not come out even if they were hit using clubs. Aiya sssss…."

"You still dare to say! You d*mned stud!" Li Xue immediately attacked Ling Tian's waist in the most ruthless manner, here a 180-degree twist, then turning into the fabled 360-degree twist as she spat out.

Ling Tian let out a wail of misery, pleading for forgiveness. This was not faked, as this move made by women could be said to be a male's 'greatest pain'! Even an immortal godly body could not protect you from the pain!

Li Xue angrily snorted and turned her head sideways, fuming and ignoring him.

Ling Tian could only smile helplessly in response, then suddenly let out a long and heavy sigh, as though all the unfavorable things from the ancient times had suddenly landed upon him. The sigh was unbearably heavy and miserable...

"Why are you sighing without rhyme or reason?" Li Xue indeed fell for the trick. While she might have an intellect above most people, when it came to matters about Ling Tian, her IQ would take a nosedive. She immediately turned back to face him.

"Tired! I'm really tired!" Ling Tian sighed, feeling the fatigue from all parts of his body as he continued, "You might not know this, but the me in the past life never did actually have any ambition to aim for something. As such, I ended up with such a miserable ending. At the point where I knew my life was as good as ended, I then realized that in this world it does not matter whether or not you have an ambition, there will still be people who will not let you go! Even if you back yourself to a corner, so long as you are still breathing, there will be people who will go after you! Because only the dead are no threat! As such, the moment I came to this world, I've always reminded myself of one thing."

Ling Tian's gaze was deep, "What should be mine, will be mine; if anyone wants to snatch it from me, I'll kill them! As long as I take a fancy to it, even if it doesn't belong to me, I'll still snatch it. As long as it falls into my hands, then it's mine! I've slowly walked to where I am now, but I've never thought that what I needed to snatch would actually be the entire world below the heavens! I'm really perplexed now. If I successfully snatch all below the heavens, then what else can I snatch? What else can I fight for? What else is there that will catch my attention?"

Ling Tian actually wanted to just use a small trick to tease Li Xue and solve the embarrassing situation, but he somehow got affected by his emotions and got carried away.

Li Xue bowed her head down, deep in thought, and only quietly replied a few seconds later, "Actually, there's no need to snatch, nor is there a need to decide what belongs to whom. A possession, at the end of the day, is merely an object in the hands of a person. Who the person is who holds it is the important part. This reasoning should have been understood by us a long time ago, even if our hearts refuse to believe in it, at least for me."

"Based on this reasoning, whether it is our past world or this new place, it is something too cruel for the people to take in." Ling Tian disappointedly replied, "The emotions and feelings between people are actually too sinister."

"In chaotic times, heroes contend for supremacy. This has always been the case!" Li Xue smiled sweetly. "Unless you can establish a unified empire, only then can the majority of the commoners be spared of their miserable fates! As long as there is chaos, there will definitely be war, and with war, plundering and robbing will be commonplace. These things can never be avoided! However, under a unified empire, there will definitely be people that can avoid such a cruel fate! Although even under a unified empire, there will definitely still be people who are unable to avoid this fate. This is something that you can't change even if you become a god!"

"To be able to put an end to this chaotic time could be considered as a meritorious act already," Li Xue finally concluded. "With your knowledge and the memories of your past life, it could be considered the best outcome one could ask for if you were to be the one to put everything to an end. Maybe, this responsibility could even be the original reason why you came to this world."

"Responsibility?! My responsibility?" Ling Tian burst into laughter, snorting disdainfully at this concept!

Li Xue let out a sweet smile and changed the topic, "Yesterday when you were discussing the terms and conditions with DongFang JingLei, you were quite the generous person." she said with some veiled intentions.

Ling Tian let out a knowing smile in response, "You mean the fact of promising him an area of hegemony, like a country within a country?"

Li Xue nodded and spoke while in deep thought, "As it seems, DongFang JingTian seems to be more ambitious as compared to DongFang JingLei, but the latter is definitely not as simple as he seems. If through your assistance he is allowed to gain strength, then I might not find it surprising even if he turns back to bite you."

"I too will not find it strange." Ling Tian indifferently replied, "But he will forever not possess enough strength to go against me! So long as he agrees to my terms, it will be an impossibility for him! I will never give anyone the chance to betray me, not even a single thread of chance! As for allowing him to be the local tyrant for a country within a country? That will have to wait until the heavens calm down before we can discuss anything."

Ling Tian laughed softly, but it was full of icy cold killing intent!

Li Xue sighed once, "What you say makes sense. If he doesn't agree, then he only can watch helplessly as his brother gets devoured. If he agrees, then even if he waits until the day that the world is unified, his status ultimately only comes from your mouth in the end. It seems like I'm overthinking it."

Ling Tian laughed in response, before standing up. "If I calculate properly, Justice should have long left the scene, and it's time for us to go and admire the scene of the number one expert's battleground. At the same time… cough cough cough, I say, Li Xue, you should go and wash your face. I admit that you're a beauty, and while you might not be inferior to those famed beauties, after crying for a night you still need to wash off those marks, right?"

"You! Saying that I look like a dirty tabby cat again!" Li Xue flushed red immediately, stamping her feet in anger, "You're hateful!"

"Hahaha…" Ling Tian had long flitted away quickly, and his voice sounded from afar, "Anyways, you can help me wash my clothes as well… yesterday you cried so much that it could form a river, and now all my clothes are wet, so they're pretty uncomfortable to wear… hahaha…" Amidst his laughter, Ling Tian had long fled as far as he could.

From behind, Li Xue was totally embarrassed, chasing after him with a tomato-red face!

...

Upon seeing the disastrous mess in front of them, Ling Tian and Li Xue both suffered from a great shock!

Was this something that a person could cause?

On the small hill, the center of it was a huge big hole, at least twenty to thirty feet in depth, radiating out in a bowl-shaped depression. It would still be acceptable if it was just earth, but this was rock-hard granite!

Within the hole, there was not even a piece of rubble that was bigger than a fist! If one were to use their hands to pick it up, the rock pieces would immediately turn to powder and dissipate with the wind!

In the surroundings of the hole, the place was neat and clean for a good few feet around it, without even a blade of grass present. The surface was neat and flat, as though a group of workers had dusted the place thoroughly. It was possible that even if they might not even be able to match this standard!

The trees around the area were strangely devoid of leaves at the side facing the huge hole, forming an interesting sight with one side bare and the other bursting with lush leaves! Lines of white ash were present around the area, forming a scene as though a prehistoric animal had suddenly bared its fangs!

In the area, dark red splashes could be seen intermittently for over a good hundred feet!

Chapter 423: Site of the Decisive Battle

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

The valley was completely silent, with only a few lone wolves around the area, giving off a picture of desolation!

"This sort of martial arts really leaves one…." Li Xue opened her small mouth wide in shock, unable to close it as her eyes stared in shock. She finally understood the extent of strength that Justice possessed, to be able to chase Ling Tian to the point that he had no road in heaven and no escape in hell!

In some ways, Li Xue could be said to be even more proud than Ling Tian. Ling Tian only could be considered to have barely touched the surface of their family's core practices back in their past life, but Li Xue was a true core disciple of their family back then! If Ling Tian could be said to look at everyone here in disdain, then Li Xue had not even put them in her eyes at all! However, the strength Justice showed right now let her understand that every generation had their own talents, and with every capable person, there would definitely be someone more capable than them somewhere! Justice's cultivation was enough to tell her that, even in Ling Tian's and her world, he could be considered an end-game level boss. Even the strongest fighter in their clan in their past lives still fell far short of him, just how incredulous was this situation?!

The fact that Ling Tian could actually escape unscathed from such a character for so many times could be considered a miracle among miracles! Li Xue doubted that she could even have done the same that if it was her!

Ling Tian gazed over the entire place with the eyes of a hawk, carefully taking in the wreckage! He knew that the shocking noise that sounded the last time was probably the true extent of Justice's strength! While he did not understand till now why Justice would choose this stupid method of clashing head-on with 10 different people at once, he was also starting to regret the fact that he did not join hands with Li Xue to finish him off while he was occupied! However, he knew that this strike had completely revealed the true strength of Justice and that he needed to take the opportunity to really understand Justice, or else it would be too late for him to regret in the future!

Ling Tian clearly and astutely saw that in the area there were over ten pairs of distinct footprints, distributed over the rough stone in the surroundings. After counting, Ling Tian concluded that there were a total of fifteen pairs, with some heavy and some light-footed, all unique. This was because the final blow was one which everyone had given their all without holding anything back!

However, were the surroundings something that Justice along with the fifteen others could cause? Or to put it another way, was it just the power of Justice and the other fifteen? Ling Tian suddenly grew suspicious in his heart!

Based on the current scenario in front of him, while Ling Tian had roughly gauged the level of battle, he still got a shock at the actual scene!

Closing his eyes, Ling Tian faced the sky and fell into silent contemplation.

He began to piece together every little detail he had obtained about Justice from the first time he met him at the Smoky Thea Tower all together! Whether or not Justice possessed the world's number one martial arts was not something Ling Tian could judge, but just based on all the people who had appeared, no one could even meet up to half of Justice's strength! And this was under the impression that Justice had given it all for his recent fight since no one had a clue what exactly was Justice's full strength!

But the scene before him was a little too dreadful. For Justice to go against fifteen other people and even exceed them in power, this already showed how Justice's martial arts had far surpassed Ling Tian's expectations! Having tangled with him the whole journey, if there had been a slight chance that Justice had used his full strength, then Ling Tian would have long ago turned into a corpse!

Could there be some other hidden reason?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Li Xue had already done a scan within this time and returned back to where Ling Tian was standing.

"Unsolvable! This is an unsolvable puzzle." Ling Tian slowly opened his eyes, full of questions and suspicions. "Li Xue, have you found out anything?" Ever since he found out the true identity of Li Xue, he had never called her 'Xue'er' like back in the past lives. This 'Xue'er' seemed to have become a taboo between the two of them, and Li Xue naturally had a tacit mutual understanding, deliberately ignoring this topic.

The pain from their past lives had no need to be carried over. While it was already over, and they had already forgotten it, some things were destined to remain within the deepest recesses of one's mind! On this point, both of them were mutually connected.

"It is indeed strange!" Li Xue raised her eyebrows. "Just based on the strength that created this blast, why are there no broken pieces of flesh or dismembered body parts lying around? How could this be possible?"

Li Xue only needed to speak a sentence and Ling Tian naturally understood her, because this was the same point that he was puzzled over!

Based on how tragic the battle scene looked, everyone there would not be so kind as to hold back something during the fight. As such, there would definitely be injuries! And under such an intense fight, furthermore with weapons, with the opponents below Justice in strength, how could there not be any splatters of blood and flesh?

"How far out have you checked?" Ling Tian slowly exhaled as he asked.

"Based on my experience, a circumference of 200 feet should be enough." Li Xue replied.

"Possibly not enough!" Ling Tian's face grew grave as he shook his head. "Let's increase the radius of search, in this way it should be around this distance. However, we have to first look at the central zone. Did you count how many pairs of footprints there were?"

"There were numerous footprints, but the deepest ones only measured about thirty." On this point, Li Xue had long ago scrutinized the scene and immediately answered without any hesitation.

"Thirty prints, which equates to fifteen people." Ling Tian started to pace, as he mused, "However, there are already fifteen people from the Xiao Family, so including Justice, there should have been sixteen footsteps. Where has the last pair of prints gone to, then?"

"This…." Li Xue was also struck speechless.

Ling Tian faced the footprints on the ground, and slowly spoke, "Based on your thoughts, which pair of prints would belong to Justice?"

Li Xue followed his gaze and began to observe the thirty footprints. But after a long time she could only say, "Among all the footprints, I believe not one of them belongs to Justice."

A trace of a smile appeared on Ling Tian's eyes as he replied, "That's right! Those fifteen footprints all possess similar depth, which signifies that their internal energy levels are all similar. Justice's cultivation should likely outstrip theirs and thus will definitely not leave behind similar prints. Since that's the case, then where are Justice's footprints? Could his movement techniques have achieved perfection, allowing him to block the full-on assault of fifteen people without even leaving behind a single footprint?

"That's definitely not possible!" Li Xue immediately came to this conclusion. "So long as he is still utilizing martial arts, there is no possibility of that happening! The only possibility is that he had suddenly broken through the void to become an immortal! However, there might be an option which would allow him to not leave behind a single footprint."

"Are you talking about the Vaulting Assault? Using the momentum generated from gravity to go head-on against them?" Ling Tian stroked his chin as he spoke. "While this might not leave behind any traces, why would Justice resort to this? It is not very practical after all. With his skills that are definitely more than a notch above the Xiao Family members, all he needed would be to just delay for time and tire them out before finishing them off one by one! Is his brain damaged to resort to such a method?"

"Maybe there was a pressing issue that he needed to solve? Or maybe he was in a rush to pursue you! And to be trapped by the group, while he could annihilate them it would require a long time, and he did not want to be delayed?" Li Xue came out with another hypothesis.

"That should not be the case." Ling Tian shook his head vigorously. "It's just as you said, that Justice only wishes to pursue me! But even so, because of that he would not choose such a brutal method! If he were to be injured, then pursuing me would only give me more opportunities." Ling Tian let out a sneaky smile, "You must know that on my body are numerous hidden weapons, and he has suffered under them before!"

Li Xue chuckled, "I knew you would definitely prepare those weird things. That's right, as long as he's injured, he would not appear before you unless he wants to perish together with you! The poison on your hidden weapons is not something he hasn't come into contact before, thus he will definitely have his guard up for that! Since that's the case, then we can rule that out. But what else would make him do such a thing?!"

Ling Tian did not reply, his mind whirring. He frowned as he walked back to the huge hole, and then stared at the footprints of the fifteen people before his eyes suddenly lit up. "Look at this. See the difference between the hole and their footprints?"

"They are around twenty feet away. Is there a problem?" Li Xue asked in bewilderment.

"Is there a problem? It's a big problem!" Ling Tian suddenly laughed, "Based on your cultivation, how far can your Sky Splitting Palm travel for?"

"At most the same distance I suppose, or else there would not be much of an effect…" Li Xue's eyes lit up as she caught on.

"That's right, while the pressure from the Sky Splitting Palm is huge, the weakness is also apparent, that it cannot travel far." Ling Tian began to laugh. "Justice might have the ability to project his skills to a further distance, but definitely not those fifteen of them."

"Your meaning is that Justice did not even take the initiative to attack, but rather always remained in the center of the hole?" Li Xue could not believe this scenario. "That's quite impossible, isn't it? This would mean that he had taken a completely defensive posture and wouldn't that place him in a disadvantage?"

Chapter 424: Tricks Within Tricks

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Tian's face grew suspicious, as his eyes roved around. He soared up, landing beside the footprints of the fifteen people. Revolving his strength, he stamped hard on the ground with close to 70% of his strength. However, this 70% already caused his two feet to firmly sink deep into the limestone surface!

Ling Tian shook his head as he extricated himself. Comparing his footprints, his face grew grave as he said, "Just based on the strength of these fifteen people, Justice would never have been pressured to this extent! Even if they joined forces against me, it would be a narrow victory for them, and the moment I revealed my cards they most likely would be annihilated in return! They didn't have the strength to even pressure Justice, but they were not only confident just now but also arrogant."

"What does this mean? The battle was already an unfair one to begin with, and then more experts were added in?" Li Xue suspiciously replied, "But if that's the case, then where are the footprints of those experts? To face off against someone of Justice's caliber, how could they not use the power from their feet?"

Ling Tian didn't answer, but instead soared up, flying over the whole area, flitting from tree to tree. In an instant, the trees around his immediate surroundings were scanned. Shaking his head, he proceeded to the second ring of trees surrounding them before exclaiming, "Yes, it's here!"

Li Xue also activated her movement technique, soaring over. She only saw a thick tree branch, with a patch of white cambium where the bark had disappeared.

Pointing to the area where the tree was devoid of tree bark, Ling Tian suddenly faced the site of the battle, before suddenly revolving his full strength and kicked off from the tree! As he launched off, there was simultaneously a 'kacha' sound, and a piece of tree bark was scraped off, revealing a similarly white patch that looked like an identical twin to the spot he just pointed out!

An earth-shattering bang was heard below! Ling Tian borrowed the rebound force and somersaulted a few times, before landing back beside Li Xue, smiling as he asked, "Did you see it?" Li Xue was just about to reply, but she heard Ling Tian add another sentence cheekily, "Was my posture extremely cool?"

"Cheh!" Li Xue couldn't help but roll her eyes. She originally thought that Ling Tian wanted to ask her about the mark left on the tree, but to think that he was actually more concerned about his style! His mindset was still as unrestrained as before, always speaking the most appalling words when least expected. However, Li Xue understood that Ling Tian had already known what would be the effect when he performed his action and so didn't ask her about it.

Such an obvious mark, was there actually still a need for a reenactment of the scene? Ling Tian was probably just showing it again for her. As her thoughts reached this point, Li Xue suddenly felt some anger bubbling within her as she thought, So it seems like I'm still that ignorant little lass in his heart! At the same time, a layer of frost appeared on her face as she stared unhappily at him!

Ling Tian scratched his head helplessly, Why did this Li Xue flare up now for no reason? She was all tender loving and smiling a moment ago, but suddenly she was acting as if she had suffered a great injustice… but he didn't do anything to her! Really nothing! Ling Tian could only sigh inwardly to himself, Ai, women, women! A mysterious organism that I will never be able to fathom!

"Are you clear now? There should be at least a top expert lying in ambush over here, and his skills should be way above those fifteen below, maybe even on par with us." Ling Tian sighed. The reason why he displayed another scar was for Li Xue, in case she continuously pestered him with questions. However, somehow this little grandaunt got all riled up, and while he didn't understand the reason, he could only choose to go back to the main topic so as to divert her attention. If she ended up crying again, then he would totally be at a loss.

Ling Tian claimed that he was fearless, however, the thing he was most scared of was actually a woman's tears. The most troublesome part of a woman was also her crying, to cry for no reason at all at times, how irritating! Do you think you're a water tank? Able to open the spigot and cry as and when you like?

This would probably just end up drowning all the men around you!

"I have eyes, do I still need you to tell me?" Li Xue pouted with an icy cold face.

"Aii!" Ling Tian suddenly stood up, posing as a distinguished scholar as he recited, "Today we have the maiden Li Xue, whose two streams of tears can touch all in the four directions. The audience will dismay and wither just like bare mountains, and the heavens and earth would rise and fall because of her… it comes just like furious thunder, with the momentum of the yellow river itself. Out of the millions of beauties in the world, Li Xue's tears still rank first." Ling Tian took the original and altered it to fit his context, reciting in such a sorrowful tone that would make people shake their heads and sigh, not knowing which handsome prince charming was the one who was constantly tortured by his women's tears.

"You… you… are really really annoying!!!" Li Xue was both angry and embarrassed, unable to maintain her angry image. She could only stamp her foot, and this caused the tree bark below her to break off!

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Ling Tian laughed out three times slowly, before saying, "Li Xue, the strength of your foot is really great, so it seems like you didn't bind your feet in this life? Having a nine-inch foot has so much more strength compared to a three-inch one!" It was a needless question; even if all the ladies in this world bound their feet, Li Xue would definitely choose not to.

"You!" Li Xue exploded, throwing herself towards Ling Tian.

Ling Tian burst into laughter, his body slipping through the trees like a fish in water. He flitted from branch to branch, dodging from Li Xue while she chased relentlessly with gritted teeth. She was determined to hunt him down and teach him a good lesson today. To think that he was so addicted to teasing her, did he think she was a saint?!

"Wait!" Ling Tian suddenly stopped, staring straight at the spot on the tree in front of him. "There's another spot here! Indeed, it seems like more than one person was involved in the ambush!"

Following his gaze, Li Xue saw a similar looking scar on the branch of the tree, looking as though the tree bark was pared away. This sort of tiny scar was probably something that could be overlooked even if a person was searching for it nearby, but Ling Tian could actually spot it from such a distance! Li Xue was really filled with respect for him.

It was no wonder that he afford to be insufferably arrogant in both past and present lives, to be acclaimed as a heaven-sent genius in their past lives and even a person who could be said to control and winds and rains in this content. To even be able to pay attention to such small details, who could be said to be his match in this world?

Li Xue was so distracted that she totally forgot she was angry a moment ago, immediately recalling Ling Tian's words of 'Indeed, it seems like more than one person was involved in the ambush', and she couldn't help but ask, "How did you know that there was more than one person? To actually use the word indeed?"

Ling Tian pursed his lips, then said, "Look towards the hole."

Turning her gaze over, Li Xue found nothing out of the ordinary, then asked again, "What's different about it?"

"If you look based on the hole there, it seems to be the place that Justice has taken a defensive stance. Then we ask, based on Justice's skills and personality, why would he want to be on the defensive? If there were only two enemies, then Justice would be able to avoid the blow by moving to the other two directions, before countering. Since he chose to remain on the spot, it means that all routes of retreat were sealed! If Justice were to rush indiscriminately without reasoning, then he would only reveal weaknesses for his enemies to exploit, hence he could only remain at the same spot! Thus, we can conclude that Justice was actually being besieged from all directions at once!"

"No wonder!" Li Xue was totally floored by the reasoning! She didn't know if the admiration stemmed from Ling Tian's explanation or from Justice's peerless martial skills, though!

"Let's go to another direction, I estimate we can at least find another sign of two of the enemies there." Ling Tian smiled. However, a hint of worry appeared in his eyes. Facing such a disastrous situation, an attack without any retreat, even a top-tier expert would still land into a precarious scene!

Justice, are you still alive?

Even after so many days of relentless pursuit, Ling Tian held no hatred nor grudge against this Martial Order Medallion owner who wanted his life, but instead a certain sort of connection and understanding! While he would be equally heartless and ruthless to Justice if he obtained the opportunity to silence him, in Ling Tian's inner heart he only held respect for this man who single-mindedly pursued the pinnacle of martial arts.

As for the loneliness Justice felt, Ling Tian even had some sort of envy. For a practitioner of martial arts, how much did a person have to sacrifice in order to obtain the sort of lonely feeling that comes from standing at the peak? This was one out of a million!

Ling Tian innately prayed that Justice wouldn't die just by this ambush from his enemies. He would rather that he unlocked the secret to achieving perfection in his cultivation, before personally killing Justice, rather than Justice dying under the blade of a scheme! He believed that Justice had the exact same thought! However, this scene showed that the unwelcome possibility might exist and that even if Justice didn't die he would probably be seriously injured!

Ling Tian sighed again. It was only in the early morning, but it was not known how many times he had already sighed. However, this sigh meant that first, he had confirmed his suspicions, and second that he was also worried for Justice. This was because he had indeed confirmed his suspicions by finding a third scar on the opposite side of where he originally saw the second!

There were actually three experts joining hands in ambush!

A face-off with fifteen first-rate experts, as well as three top-tier experts waiting for an ambush!

What an insane line-up!

Ling Tian could completely imagine the danger his 'brother-in-arms' faced! If Justice's position were to be swapped with him…. Ling Tian shivered a little.

This was the strength of Above Heavens, profound beyond compare! Just this lineup of eighteen men was something that even the Yu Family, with a millennium of martial arts, couldn't easily employ!

Ling Tian sat inside the hole, falling into deep thought. If he was in Justice's position, what would he have done in order to escape? After his calculations, Ling Tian's eyes dimmed as he projected that even with his prided movement techniques as well as exquisite internal energy, he would only have a 1% chance of surviving such an encounter. Even if he were to manage to escape, he would be at his last gasp and would be crippled soon after!

Chapter 425: Flawed Divine Art

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

No wonder he had felt a sense of unease when he chanced upon the battlefield! So it was because the strength involved had already exceeded his original expectations by at least one fold!

"What are you thinking about? To be so deep in thought." Li Xue sat down beside him, stretching out her long and toned legs into a comfortable position. Her arms propped up her body as she faced Ling Tian.

"I'm thinking about whether Justice would die from this encounter. Under my calculations, if Justice was me, the best case scenario would be that of serious internal injuries, to the point that I would be left with sequelae for the rest of my life." Ling Tian's mind constantly revolved, but he was at his wit's end. Whatever angle he looked at it, Justice would either die or be seriously injured! There were no other visible signs of evidence on the battlefield, only a mouthful of blood spat out by the fifteen people fighting him. Those were signs of internal injuries, but from the looks of it, they didn't die either!

This was because their internal injuries probably resulted from a clash between them and Justice after he was injured! By that time, Justice probably didn't have any strength left, or else, why would they even get off so lightly?!

"The world number one expert wouldn't die so easily, right?" Li Xue spoke with a little uncertainty.

"Hard to say." Ling Tian only furrowed his brows in response.

"Then do you wish for him to die? Or wish for him to live?" Li Xue blinked her eyes as she asked.

Ling Tian laughed bitterly, "If I were to speak the truth, I am pretty confused. I really hope that he died because of this, but at the same time, I also hope that he's still alive."

"Faints…" Li Xue imitated a fainting look, before laughing, "You men and your mindsets are really strange. I can't even imagine!"

Men are strange?? Ling Tian's mouth dropped open. Have you gotten something wrong somewhere?

"Anyways, I'm not sure if you've considered this point." Li Xue suddenly let out a sly smile as her mouth moved closer to Ling Tian's ear, "This matter could actually bring you a lot of benefits!"

"What benefits?" Ling Tian was startled, and turned to face her about to say, "What sort of benefits can this provide for me?" But he suddenly felt a warm feeling on his ear, sending a pleasingly numbing feeling into his whole body. This was because, the moment he turned, Li Xue's lips had perfectly closed around his earlobe.

Ling Tian felt a dizzy feeling. This… this lass was actually so…. daring!

Turning his head over, he only saw Li Xue hurriedly averting her gaze with a tomato-red face, after which she probably felt that merely turning her head was not enough, and stuck her head in between her coiled up legs, looking much like an ostrich in the desert, sticking its head deep into the sand.

This was a situation that both parties didn't expect to happen. However, seeing the shy look on Li Xue's face, Ling Tian found this situation a little funny. Could a person's character change when they leaped across lifetimes? He remembered that Li Xue used to be candid and straightforward, seldom being as shy as now.

"Alright, alright." Ling Tian pretended to be a little impatient as he chided her, "To think that in the past you crawled up my body in nothing but diapers, but right now, not only am I the one not responding after you've molested me, but you actually are more embarrassed than I am. Is this the so-called first mover's advantage?"

"You're the one wearing diapers! You're the one with no shame!" Li Xue shouted out in her embarrassed posture.

"Okay, you've already taken advantage, and you've already molested me, so what more do you want?" Ling Tian put on an expression of a victim, wanting to cry but having no tears.

Li Xue huffily raised her head, saying with a reddened face, "What about our past, why are you still harping on it? You've already said that the past has nothing to do with us. My surname is Li, yours is Ling, we have no relations at all. Don't try to pretend to build relations with me!"

Ehh. Ling Tian was a little dumbfounded at this. This was a sensitive topic, and this lass's words seemed to hold a deeper meaning. Ling Tian felt a little guilty, and immediately changed the topic, "So, you were saying that we can obtain some benefits?"

"What about 'we can obtain some benefits'? What have you got to do with me? Don't lump us together! You're the great noble Ling Tian, and I'm the country girl Li Xue!" Clearly sensing Ling Tian beating about the bush, Li Xue couldn't care less about her embarrassment, immediately getting angry, but at the same time feeling wronged and sad. A muffled sound was heard, and suddenly two large teardrops begin to fall from her eyes!

Not again! Ling Tian inwardly sighed. Women are really hard to please! He could only put out a bitter smile as he placated her, "Alright, alright, since you're so interested, then I'll let you molest me more. Anyway, it isn't the first time you've done it." Ling Tian put on an expression as though he was a martyr doing something for the greater good, sending his ear towards her mouth!

"You!" Li Xue was angered beyond belief, and with one move she grabbed onto his ear and turned it into a fried dough twist. Both of them instantaneously fell into a messy fight. However, when they recalled those times of their past childhood, both involuntarily let out a smile. A warm feeling surged out from their hearts, causing the originally depressing atmosphere to vanish immediately.

"I was saying just now that with this batch of experts that the Xiao family has sent out, we could probably obtain some benefits from them." Li Xue tidied up the messy hair strands on her forehead, a tinge of red still on her face as she slowly spoke. To joke around was still fine with her, but to make trouble without reason touched upon her bottom line, and this was something that Li Xue observed very closely for herself.

Hearing her speak thus, Ling Tian couldn't help but take in a deep breath. "Speak clearly, I'm a little confused over this. With their line-up and strength, do you think it's something I can use?"

"Are you dumb?!" Li Xue laughingly scolded, and innately she felt a little superior at the fact that Ling Tian actually couldn't guess what she was talking about. "I've mentioned before to you that the current taboo in the Xiao Family is probably you, right?"

A meaningful look immediately passed through Ling Tian's face as he nodded his head, "That's right, this is indeed the meaning of 'a single sentence enlightening a man lost in his dreams'! I definitely can utilize this to my advantage, and possibly even gain from it! All the knowledge that a postgraduate student has studied really can't compare to an expert's single sentence!"

How could Ling Tian's perception be lacking? Li Xue only needed to give a small hint, and he immediately understood the key concepts behind the whole matter.

"The greatest enemy that the Xiao Family faces at the moment is me, and the one they're most concerned about is also me. The greatest obstruction to them conquering the world is definitely not the Yu Family, but instead is me! On this point, I am extremely clear! As such, their number one target is definitely me! Even when I was hiding inside the tree, I overheard that Meng JueChen saying that the number one mission of the Xiao Family was to get rid of me."

Ling Tian laughed out loud, "Under such circumstances, what they should do now would be to wait for Justice to kill me, or to wait for myself to be inflicted with heavy injuries after colliding with Justice before hurrying to finish me off. Only after confirming my death would they then make a move against Justice, that should be the actual sequence! However, the fact that they chose to move against Justice first represents something."

Ling Tian spoke with confidence, "The Xiao Family's greatest threat is me, but the one that Above Heavens pays attention to is instead Justice! And since Above Heavens is the driving force of support for the Xiao Family, this means that there is some form of hostility between the Xiao Family and the Above Heavens Sect! To the point that even at such an important juncture they can allow their private feelings to outweigh the public opinions!"

"And to you, you can use this hostility to cause a ruckus from it, can't you?" Li Xue let out a knowing and sly smile. "However, to actually carry it out might not be as easy as we think it is."

"Of course it won't, if it could be so easily done, then that old man Yu ManLou would probably have done it long ago, why would he leave it to me?" Ling Tian chuckled. "However, as long as this animosity exists, there will come a day when I can use it to my advantage!"

"According to my understanding, this bunch of people doesn't seem to consider the orders of the Xiao Family as a very important thing." Li Xue slowly continued, "Thus, I would say that their relations are actually a little fishy."

A smile played on Ling Tian's lips as he considered her words before he darkly replied, "Under different days, who is to say who will be the final winner? Above Heavens might not be as outstanding as compared to the Beyond Heavens! Hehehe…"

Li Xue stared in shock and suddenly caught on. She clapped her hands as she giggled, "Ingenious! An ingenious plan!"

Ling Tian smiled, as his mind began to set up the wheels of another scheme. His eyes grew ever brighter…..

"Oh that's right, Tian'ge, what level have you reached in your Divine Shocking Dragon Formula right now?" As Li Xue asked, it was unknown why, but her face started to get a little red.

Ling Tian sighed, "The ninth layer." As he spoke, he couldn't help but feel some sort of defeated feeling within his heart. He had already broken through to the ninth layer for quite some time and had even consumed the Great Cyclic Pellet totally. Together with the pressure brought about by Justice's pursuit, his cultivation realm achieved a major breakthrough, but he remained firmly stuck in the ninth layer, without a single feeling of stepping into the next layer. How worrying!

"Ninth layer? My God!" Li Xue couldn't help but exclaim in shock. "How the hell did you practice, we're about the same age, so how could you have such startling results, almost at the peak?"

"The peak?" Ling Tian suspiciously asked, before narrowing his eyes dangerously. "What do you mean?"

"Cough cough," Li Xue cleared her throat nervously, looking a little embarrassedly at Ling Tian, before finally forcing her mouth open, "Tian'ge, you also know that you were part of the branch family, so… cough cough cough…."

"The main family tampered with the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula that they gave us?" Ling Tian coldly replied. Since he was already living his second life, in a totally new world, whatever the case, there was no way he could seek out those old fogies to get his revenge. There was no point in blaming Li Xue for it, thus he quickly calmed down."

"It has indeed been tampered with." Li Xue slowly stated, "Starting from the fourth layer, the sutra has been made full of holes. If one continues to forcibly cultivate it, then while their martial arts will still show a rise, the damage to one's body will also be equally big. Those elders in your faction more or less have some sort of hidden injuries because of this reason. Do you know why the family in our previous life couldn't wait to get rid of you?"

Ling Tian remained silent. Upon recalling those elders of his in his past lives, screaming out in agony every time there was a drastic change in the weather, everyone had thought it was because of their old injuries flaring up, but to think that the actual reason was this!

"It was because you were a heaven-sent genius! There had never been a precedent where someone had rushed up to the sixth layer of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula before twenty without suffering any sort of problems! So long as we gave you a few more years of time, then you would have broken past the seventh layer. By that time, you would have spotted the errors within the formula, and while we normally remain apart, there was bound to be a war! It could even be the reason for the decline of our family! However, the main family actually had no one that could suppress you! Thus at that time, an internal fight was already inevitable, so the clan decided that you had to first be removed, before using you to firmly press down the branch family!"

Ling Tian let out a cold smile, choosing to remain silent.

Chapter 426: Vacation

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Li Xue calmly replied, "In our clan, other than the founding ancestors, no one had ever managed to surpass the tenth layer of the formula, but to think that you have cultivated so quickly!"

"The tenth layer of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula, like the eleventh and twelfth layer, have long been altered beyond recognition ages ago. No matter how outstanding your aptitude is, you can't do a thing about it, and the quicker you cultivate, the higher the risk of a cultivation deviation! This was something I happened to overhear by accident. Right now, for you to rely on this crippled formula to reach the ninth layer, that's already a miracle! However, this is also your peak, because if you follow the formula to break through to the tenth layer, you're likely to suffer a backlash!"

Ling Tian blew out a breath of air, before saying in a calm manner, "So that's the case." Then he fell silent. No wonder he always felt that the formula had some problems with the cultivation. With his own heaven-defying talent, as well as his high perception, he had memorized many different cultivation formulas and cross-referenced from there every time he came across something that he didn't understand. This allowed him to take the alternative route in order to progress further, but as the formula became more profound, Ling Tian also became more helpless, finally plateauing before the tenth layer!

Li Xue actually saw this as a matter worth profiteering from and wanted to use this chance to send him into a panic. But seeing his calm reaction, she couldn't help but feel unbearably disappointed, and pouted as she grumbled, "Aren't you the least bit nervous? Your martial arts might not ever improve further in your lifetime!"

A hint of laughter appeared at the corners of Ling Tian's mouth, "If someone else had told me this, I would definitely be worried because I pay a lot of attention to my own cultivation! However, since this is you, not only am I not worried, but I'm instead more relaxed."

"And why so?" Li Xue felt curious, that Ling Tian would actually have such a unique way of thinking.

"I recall in the past that the women of our family were not allowed to come into contact with the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula. The formula was one that would only be passed down to the men. Thus, you should have had no chance to come into contact with the formula, not to mention understanding the profundities within it." Ling Tian smirked, "However, not only do you understand the deficiencies within it, but you're even proficient in the most mystical movement technique of our Divine Shocking Dragon Formula. Lass, so how long are you gonna wait before you pass me the actual formula?"

"How would you be sure that I have the actual formula?!" Li Xue jumped up in fright like a kitten whose tail had been stepped on. "I don't have it, don't have it!"

"No need to be in such a hurry to explain, to explain is to cover up, and to cover up means there exists some truth! You don't have it? If you didn't have it, then would you purposefully say it to make me panic?" Ling Tian mocked. "As if! Lass, even after so many years, the moment you point your butt out I know…" 1

Li Xue immediately covered his mouth, her face red as she screamed, "Okay, okay, you win this time! Don't talk anymore, this mouth of yours is so incredibly dirty!"

Ling Tian sniggered as he replied, "I wanted to say that the moment you point your butt out I'll know which direction you're moving towards. What did you think I was gonna say? Aiya, your mind is really unhealthy these days."

"LING TIAN!!!!!" Li Xue stomped her feet in apoplectic rage.

"Hmm? Do you have something to tell me?" Ling Tian shrugged his shoulders at her suggestively.

Li Xue let out a defeated sigh as she replied, "I must say, you were more of a gentleman in your past life. Right now, you're an utter hooligan from head to toe!"

A cold expression passed over Ling Tian's face as he snorted, "Gentleman? If I didn't insist on maintaining that darned act of a gentleman in my past life, the Ling Family would have long become my territory! How else would I have landed in such a pathetic scenario, and how else would I have ended up here? Those that deserve death the most in the world are those f**king gentlemen or those so-called great heroes! Their deaths are all asked for, because they display all their weaknesses in front of their enemies and opponents, trusting them to be as fair as them. It's no wonder that they die! Don't link those main characters in those novels with reality!"

Li Xue fell silent, and only whispered after a long while, "I definitely am not so naive, but, in the past you were definitely a great hero, a true gentleman."

Ling Tian barked out a bitter laugh, "Are you praising me? This is worse than pointing your finger and cursing me. You might as well call me a martyr for the masses! In this life, I refuse to be a hero and a gentleman anymore, I want to be the dictator, ruling over everything with an iron fist!"

Li Xue giggled, before placating him, "Alright, let's not dwell on this topic. I'll now recite the things I know regarding the missing points of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula. While you've already reached the Ninth Layer, because of the gaps in the formula, your meridians are bound to have been damaged. The good part is that you've been using the purest XianTian energy from your mother's womb to cultivate, and hence these injuries can be quickly mended. However, if you are to continue cultivating the erroneous method, then there will come a point where your meridians can't take it and break down. By that time, it would be too late! If that happens you will need to cultivate from scratch again. This matter should be done as early as possible."

In response, Ling Tian only laughed, "Now's as good as time as any. There's no need to rush it though, you can just write it down for me. This would be less troublesome, and when the time comes, I only need to pick up and book to read and practice, so much easier!"

Li Xue's eyes opened wide as she huffily said, "You really know how to take advantage of people, oh great noble Ling! Are you treating this lady here as your servant girl? This is too much!"

Only to be met with a grin from Ling Tian, "Treat you as a servant girl? Oh my, I wouldn't dare! However, we do have a lot of matters on hand currently, and this problem is something that will require a long period of time. Do you think I can finish recultivating in a day or so? If that's the case, you really look up to me too much, as though I'm a god!"

Li Xue furrowed her brows and thought about it. After all, she was also a practitioner and could understand the meaning of Ling Tian's words. The reason why she urged Ling Tian was that she was mainly worried about his body. However, Ling Tian was not someone who didn't know his priorities, thus if he decided to alter his cultivation at a later date, Li Xue had no objections. However, she spoke again, "But you will need to slowly patch up your mistakes, one at a time from now onward."

"That goes without saying! You think I'm fearless about death?!" Ling Tian immediately agreed.

"Then will we be leaving here? Where are we headed to first then?" Looking at her surroundings, Li Xue let out a wistful expression. After all, this was the 'house' she grew up in!

Ling Tian took in a sharp breath, and calmly spoke, "We can't go to Sky Bearing for the time being, firstly is because the martial order has not ended, and so long as I can't pinpoint the location of Justice we can't relax, because his capabilities are too out of this world! Secondly, Ling Chen and Ling Jian have just started the plan, and if I return that would be wasting their efforts. Thirdly, the Xiao Family, as well as those from Above Heavens have definitely not given up on me, so why not bring them on a wild goose chase and at the same time visit my old friends the Yu and DongFang Families? As for the fourth point…" Ling Tian stroked his chin and let out an evil smile, "I've never had the chance to really play in my ten odd years here. That's sullying the tag of 'number one silkpants' that I have! I'll take this time to have a vacation then, and play all I can!"

"Vacation? Play all you can?!" Li Xue burst into laughter. "What a vacation this great noble Ling is having. How is running around escaping from the entire world wanting to kill you considered a vacation? You had better not shoot yourself in the foot, in the event that the eighteen experts from Above Heavens catch up to you, that would really be considered as 'playing all you can'!"

"Trap me? If they really can do that, then it would be their lucky day! You think that I'll play fairly with them like that fool Justice? What a joke! If I don't play them to death, my name isn't Ling Tian!" Ling Tian let out a raucous laugh.

"That's true…" Li Xue nodded her head in agreement, "Under your innumerable traps, this group will have to worry more about their lives than yours! Oh yes, how exactly did Justice escape from all your traps, given your skill in hidden weapons? Did you actually hold back?!"

"That's not the case. I threw a few of my trump cards just on Justice already! This guy might be a fool, but he is an adorable one who has unimaginable strength and skill. If he even thought of playing dirty, I estimate that even with three of me, I would still end up dead!" Ling Tian shook his head.

"Just based on the battle by the hillside, he indeed has a frightening strength, far surpassing anybody of our generation. That's right, have you already calculated your moves? Are you really planning to open up a path of slaughter? Aren't you afraid that if you kill too many people, then it will end up offending even Heaven itself?" Li Xue questioned.

"Offending heaven?! Hahaha…" Ling Tian burst into laughter, only stopping to catch a breath after a long while, "When a man takes action, he will definitely be ruthless. Work and morals are two opposing sides, unrelated to each other! If I'm supposed to kill, then I'll be merciless. Never pausing in my job even after a thousand autumns, immersing myself in slaughtering… every three steps I take, I will kill one. The heart stops but my hands won't. Blood flows for ten thousand miles, and corpses pile up like a thousand mountains… Killing one is a sin, but ten thousand makes me a hero. If I can slaughter nine hundred thousand, then I'll be a hero among heroes. As a hero among heroes, my path is different. I've seen through the righteousness of a millennium, but today I'll show off my awe and influence. I'll choose infamy over a good reputation, my heart does not reprimand me for the millions I've killed. I would rather teach the masses to gnash their teeth in hate of me than to have none knowing about me. Cast your eyes over the history of the past few millennia, which heroes have not been murderers? … hahaha…"

Following a long laugh, Ling Tian strode in front, his skinny figure bringing about an aura of disaster, of bloodshed and cruelty! Gazing at his back, Li Xue stood dumbly on the spot for a moment, before twisting her body and catching up. The two of them traversed quickly, disappearing past a corner.

Among the varied mountains and the verdant foliage, there existed a nameless hill with a huge hole. Both of them were witnesses to a scene of battle among the absolute experts on this land!

Northern Wei, Yu Family, Martial Pointer Pavilion.

Yu ManLou stood with a heavy expression in front of the window. The weather outside was raging, haze covering the scenery, and a torrential downpour lashed through the area. It was akin to the current political scene of Northern Wei, with the rains and winds of chaos striking in all directions!

While the Imperial Court of Northern Wei having collapsed in a single night was a horrifying incident, it wasn't a big affair to the supervisor of Bright Jade City. So long as the Yu Family existed, there was no difference in having an Imperial Court or not. After the climactic battle where the Northern Wei troops were almost totally wiped out, the reputation of the Northern Wei Imperial Court had received a great hit, with its prestige falling into the gutter!

Chapter 427: Mass Chaos

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Right now, even without the presence of the Imperial Court, as well as the restriction of the imperial authority, Bright Jade City didn't fall into chaos like what everyone expected. Instead, the city officials all went about their duties like before, without the slightest disorder. As for the Yu Family, they were akin to a boulder that had been in place for the past ten thousand years, stable without moving. This made the various powers who came over to see a good show leave in disappointment.

The real chaos only started a few days ago, following successive events where the government building of Bright Jade City had mysteriously caught fire, with all the guards assassinated within! After that came a series of murders, and within a night, blood rained down, as at least five of the officials in the city were killed off one after another! This created a tempest within the city!

The five assassinated officials were in charge of the garrison, the prefectural magistrate, the justice ministry, and the military forces. All the important departments, smashing the entire administrative system of Bright Jade City to pieces! Furthermore, those with a keen eye could tell that this series of murders wouldn't just end there!

Indeed!

In the next three days, there were reported assassinations of at least 30 or more officials, and the entire Bright Jade City sunk into mass chaos!

"First Pavilion! What a good First Pavilion! They really have no limits to their methods!" Yu ManLou's eyes flashed dangerously, as he ruthlessly slapped the cabinet beside him. Without any sound or notice, the entire cabinet crafted from hardwood dissolved into powder in an instant!

A black-robed man floated into the room like an apparition.

"Reporting to Family Head. This subordinate has received news that the young master of the Shui Family, Shui QianHuan, had infiltrated Bright Jade City four days prior, and we are not currently aware of his whereabouts."

"Shui Family? Shui QianHuan?!" Yu ManLou repeated in a slight daze, as he tightly furrowed his brows. "Could it be that these matters were all done by the Shui Family, and not by Ling Tian?"

Yu ManLou's face sunk as he paced around the room. For the first time in his life, his face revealed uncertainty. "Invite the Second and Third Master over, and pass down the order for the entire capital to search and capture Shui QianHuan! If any obstruct the search, kill without mercy!"

"Understood." The black-robed man only spoke this word before vanishing into the darkness.

Yu ManLou lowly sighed, this was getting impossible to unravel!

First, the entire Northern Wei Imperial Family was annihilated, followed by the important guards being assassinated in batches in Bright Jade City. Yu ManLou had always been certain that this was the scheme of the Ling Family! It was likely that the filthy rich Ling Family had obtained the services of the First Pavilion, and the reason for it was, of course, revenge! This was still something that Yu ManLou could understand because if he was in that position this was something that he would also have done. However, to suddenly come out with this news made Yu ManLou suspect his own deductions!

If this matter was created by the Ling Family, then it wouldn't be difficult to solve. However, if this was the scheme of the Shui Family, then the problem would be far more complex. There were still two and a half years left to the Sixty Year battle, but the Shui Family had already infiltrated into Heavenly Star Continent on such a large scale, controlling Northern Wei to strike at the Sky Bearing Empire, and then now infiltrating into Bright Jade City. What were they up to?

There were still two and a half years left, could the Shui Family be in such a rush? Did they encounter some sort of problem?

Upon thinking of the last point, Yu ManLou could feel his own heart jump wildly! If this was the case, this would be a heaven-sent opportunity for him.

The thudding of heavy footsteps sounded, and a loud voice sounded, "Elder brother, Bright Jade City is already in chaos. You had better summon the first and third elders back. To allow them to stay at our in-law's place to eat and drink for free, however you look at it, doesn't seem right. To think that those two d*mned old fogies still have the cheek to do so! If it was me, I wouldn't be able to wash my shame clean! After all, we're still considered a thousand-year aristocratic family!"

Third Master Yu had arrived!

"Who dares to say that they are loafing around in Sky Bearing?" Yu ManLou coldly snapped. "I definitely want to remove them, but do my circumstances allow me to do so? Now the matter has escalated to a point where I can't remove them as and when I wish, now we're riding on the back of a tiger, it's already impossible to get off safely!"

"Would it be that those two old fogies dare to disobey your orders?" Yu ManTian jumped up in shock. "I'll go straight to Sky Bearing and drag them back then, darn it, and that's going easy on them! The last time I got smashed over by a kid. Now that this old man is recovered, I'm gonna go look to settle my score!"

"Hmph! Settle your score? Based on what I discovered, the person who wounded you the other time was the Martial Order Medallion owner, Justice! That person's martial arts are unrivaled below the heavens, without equal. Your revenge will go unfulfilled in this lifetime! You better stop having thoughts about it as soon as you can!" Yu ManLou heavily snorted, throwing a report over. "As for the matters at Sky Bearing, you had better look through this before we talk."

"Big Bro! It's impermissible to mock someone. I would rather be beaten to death than to allow myself to be frightened to death! It's not like you don't know my literary skill is limited, why do you make me suffer so…." Yu ManTian mumbled to himself, unwillingly taking the report over, and looking at the paper, he stared vacantly at it for a good while.

"It's the wrong side!" Yu ManLou finally noticed something wrong, and annoyedly slapped him on the head.

"Hurhur." Yu ManTian let out a silly grin, and reversed the paper, but continued to stare blankly for a good while, before sneaking a glance at Yu ManLou, and bashfully saying, "Big Bro, although I claim to be a scholarly and refined person, but I also know the meaning of not being ashamed to ask for opinion and help. Would you please help me and explain this, hehehe…"

"Scholarly and refined! You hooligan!" Yu ManLou couldn't help but curse. "What sort of sh*tty scholar are you, other than knowing how to fight and drink wine? You know nuts about poetry and songwriting, and can't even recognize basic words, how could you be a scholar? You're really throwing away my Yu Family's face!"

"Big Brother has made an error in his statement." Yu ManTian suddenly replied in delight. "At the Sky Bearing Literary meet, this third brother composed a martial poem on the spot, shaking the literary circle then…."

A refined voice suddenly cut in, sounding as though he was trying to hold back his laughter, "You mean your 'This daddy has a sword in hand' poem? Not bad, not bad, Big Brother and I have glanced through it before, and the imposing manner was indeed beyond normal, out of the common run! It was pretty sensible, out of our seven apertures, it went through at least six!" 1 Following the voice, Yu ManTang also walked in. He seemed to be in a good mood, and at least his dissatisfaction towards Yu ManLou had died down after knowing that Yu BingYan had been received into the Ling Family Courtyard.

Yu ManTian laughed out in delight, opening his large mouth, "Second Brother also recognizes my skill, hahaha, with it even passing through six apertures. Big Brother, see, hehe, I already said that after all, our Yu Family has a reputation of being a scholarly family, with refined scholars like me…"

"Shut up! You have no sense of shame, jerk! Do you think your second brother is praising you?" Yu ManLou was almost close to bursting a blood vessel.

Yu ManTian shrank backward and immediately inched towards Yu ManTang, grinning as he spoke, "Second Brother, take a look at what this paper says and tell me. I really can't understand a word on it!"

It was now that Yu ManTang chanced upon the paper, and after a glance, his facial expression changed as he spat out, "The first and third elders actually bought the former residence of the Yang Family in Sky Bearing, and even expanded it by near twofold its original size. They even bought over half the small shops in the Sky Bearing market, but how do they even have the human capital to operate them? Could it be… sss… this is…." Yu ManTang cut off his sentence with a sharp intake of breath at the end!

Yu ManTian immediately leaped up in anger, his face red with emotions, "D*mn it! I knew those two old fogies were up to no good. They took the pretext of forming relations to forcefully peel away at the Ling Family's ancestral tomb! Too much, this is too much!" He grabbed onto two fistfuls of his messy hair and continued in a heartbroken voice, "I was the one who caused all this to happen, I even went personally to propose a marriage, but to think that the foundations of the Ling Family is now being forcefully swallowed by these cruel and unscrupulous motherf**kers! How will I still have the face to meet my niece BingYan?! How will I have the face to meet my little brother Ling Tian! If this gets out, my niece will definitely meet with the cold looks of her husband's family. Second Brother, Old Third has let you down…."

"Enough! Are you done spouting nonsense! Do you even know what your second brother and I are actually worried about? Can you be more sensible? Your second brother is right, everything only passes through six apertures out of your seven apertures, it doesn't go through the last aperture!" Yu ManLou could no longer bear it anymore. "Is this matter about us peeling off the Ling Family's foundations? The Ling Family is about to gobble up our entire ancestral tomb, and you're actually complaining about unfairness for the Ling Family? You're incorrigible! An ignorant person!"

Yu ManTang sighed and added on, "Big Brother, we can't take this matter lightly. Right now Sky Bearing is akin to a muddy mire. For the two elders to enter is easy, but if they want to come out clean that is a difficult matter. Furthermore, their manpower is too scattered. If there's an incident, or to put it more bluntly, if the two elders meet with an accident we still can accept the loss, but Sky Bearing now has over fifty percent of our elite strength and that's something we can't afford to lose…"

Yu ManLou's face was heavy as he replied, "How could I not have thought of your worries? It's just that with things progressing to this point, there's no benefit for us to talk more about it. Since we've already gotten onto the back of the tiger, then we can only beat them at their own game. If all goes well, we could be the turtle-dove snatching away the magpie's nest."

"Beat them at their own game? Turtle-dove snatching the magpie's nest?" Yu ManTang furrowed his brows at this.

"I must admit, that the move of the Ling Family to loosen the reins only to grasp them better is a really great plan. Without even spending a single man from their side, they can trap all our elites back at Sky Bearing! And they even took this chance to gather their powers and tighten their fists. However, no matter how good their calculations are, they still will not dare to touch a single person of ours in Sky Bearing! After all, they're considered part of my Yu Family, and if they were to move rashly that would be equivalent to offending us! Quickly switch those white and purple jade experts over. If the timing is right, not only will we stand to gain, but we can even make Sky Bearing into our second base."

"How are we going to find so many specialized workers in such a short time? If we shift too much of our manpower from here, then the strength of Bright Jade will become frail and conspicuous! The various businesses in our area will also be affected." Yu ManTang let out a bitter laugh, "This move of the Ling Family could be said to be a little too cunning."

"The current manpower here will remain unmoved, try your best to shift from other locations, and take whatever you can get!" Yu ManLou resolutely spoke, "Also, is there any news regarding Ling Tian?"

Yu ManTang nodded his head, "I just received the news from the Soul brothers, apparently the concealed Above Heavens people have been attaching themselves to the Xiao Family and are currently the supporting strength behind them. They activated over fifteen first-rate experts for this mission, supposedly to kill Ling Tian, but no one knows why they suddenly decided to surround Justice instead. Both sides had a tremendous battle, most likely ending with injuries on both parties. Ling Tian has taken this chance to disappear!"

Yu ManLou staggered and almost fell down. Straightening himself, he could only curse loudly with indignance, "Sons of b*tches, those Above Heavens people! A bunch of mongrel breeds! If they wanted to conceal themselves, then do it all the way, why come out now and spoil everything?!"

This was the first time the Yu Family Head, Yu ManLou, appeared so emotional!

Chapter 428: Scheme of the Brothers

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Yu ManLou's body was trembling. Right now, the ideal scenario he envisioned of Justice killing Ling Tian was not as simple as it seemed. He had labored tirelessly for that scenario, pulled his hair and beard repeatedly, all waiting for Ling Tian's death. That would be the moment when Sky Bearing was thrown into chaos and would be ripe for the picking of the Yu Family. Once the Yu Family had a foot in both Northern Wei and Sky Bearing, together with the backing of Han TieXuan from Western Han, everything would be Yu ManLou's to rule under the heavens!

Yu ManLou had estimated an eighty percent chance of success! If everything worked out, he had confidence he could wipe away the old and destroy the Shui Family before the date of the sixty-year battle, after which he would stabilize his hegemony over the next two years!

As such, he did not even hesitate to sacrifice the niece he had treasured greatly since childhood, Yu BingYan, as well as argue against his second brother, almost to the point of falling out. To him, for this final objective, anything and everything could be sacrificed!

However, never in his dreams did he envision that at such a critical point, the Above Heavens would suddenly show their faces and even face off, wounding Justice and themselves! This would mean that the problem of Ling Tian would not be solved for the moment. If Justice's injuries were serious enough, Ling Tian could potentially escape the half year limit, and by then, his problems would be huge!

At this point, Yu ManLou wanted to vomit blood!

All of his plans were based on the demise of Ling Tian, so if the latter was really able to escape for this half year and return to Sky Bearing… right now the Ling Family was on tenterhooks, not willing to offend Yu ZhanShui and Yu ZhanKong, but if Ling Tian survived, that fellow would never give him face! Those that he thought needed to be killed would be given no quarter...

If that time came, then all his plans would go up in smoke! Such an ending was something Yu ManLou could not accept at all!

Yu ManLou paced for two rounds, looking as though he had something to say, but upon looking at the faces of his brothers, he could only force the words down. His second brother was considerably good to Ling Tian because of his daughter, and if not for the fact that his own son Yu LiuYun had died in an accident, his brother would have long ago fallen out with him. As for his third brother, god knows what sort of mythical potion Ling Tian had fed him, for him to subconsciously move towards Ling Tian's camp...

Yu ManLou could only resort to breathing in deeply to curb the anger in his heart before asking, "What about the successors to those people that got assassinated?"

Yu ManTang inclined his body a little in response, "We've already put some capable and experienced officials in those posts, so there won't be many problems."

Yu ManLou let out an 'oh' of assent, and after thinking for a while, he suddenly clapped his hands, letting out a crisp sound.

A black-robed man appeared in the Martial Pointer Pavilion in front of the three brothers after the clap sounded, respectfully handing over a piece of white paper scribbled full of words.

Yu ManLou indifferently asked, "What was the result?"

The black-robed man replied in a respectful manner, "Reporting to Family Head, I've done a background check on the few officials who replaced those assassinated ones. My preliminary conclusion right now is that there are six of them who were sent here by the Water of Heavenly Wind, whereas the rest have unknown histories. All of these people used to belong to the Northern Wei Imperial Court."

"Ah?!" Yu ManTang and Yu ManTian let out a gasp of shock. "Water of Heavenly Wind?"

"Indeed it's the Shui Family! So it's like this!" Yu ManLou let out a chilling smile. "I nearly pinned the blame on the Ling Family instead!" Yu ManLou slowly stepped forward as a smile full of killing intent surfaced on his face. "Since the Shui Family wants to be so unkind, then don't blame me for not upholding my morals! Send my order: in two days, under cover of night, all of these new officials are to be executed, none left alive!"

"Elder brother, this isn't too appropriate, is it?" Yu ManTang furrowed his brows and spoke. "There are over forty of such people that we replaced, how could they all be part of the Shui Family? If we happen to silence the wrong people, then…?"

Yu ManLou only replied with a cold laugh, "Killing a wrong person? So what? A person who has big ambitions will never bother about the little trifles. Even if a person is really wronged, it's only considered to have served fully to our Yu Family's goal of hegemony!"

Yu ManTang and Yu ManTian remained silent. They did not know what to say, and even if they could retort, would that be of any use?

Looking at their unsightly expressions, Yu ManLou could only snort in disappointment. He coldly remarked, "Right now, our Yu Family has already opened quite a few battle fronts, and whether it is purposefully or having chanced upon it, along with the agitation from outside parties, we have now become laughingstocks to be ridiculed! To the point that we now do not have any paths of retreat and can only move forward. Did you think LiuYun's death was so accidental? I know that you two are not happy with my actions, whether it be the marriage of niece BingYan or the targeting of the Ling Family. I too know that it is unreasonable, but everything that I've done is all with the family's future in mind. I hope that no matter how much dissatisfaction you have in your hearts, you will just listen to me! All of us here are the children of the Yu Family, and compared to the survival of our family, nothing else is more significant! Not to mention killing a few innocents, even if there is a need to raze the entire Bright Jade City, I would not hesitate! As the saying goes, 'Ten thousand bones turn to ashes when a general rises in fame', that's the scenario in front of our eyes now!"

A sharp light passed through the eyes of Yu ManTang and ManTian, and they both uniformly lowered their heads. Both of them secretly disapproved of Yu ManLou's argument. It was too extreme to put the survival of the family above anything and everything else! If one reached that stage, anyone could be sacrificed, any immoral matters done, even Yu BingYan and the Ling Family being sacrificed was not an impossibility, on the premises that the family would benefit!

Had the situation reached the point that Yu ManLou was mentioning?

However, not only were the two of them secretly having their own conjectures, Yu ManLou was also calculating inside his head. Now that the Above Heavens had suddenly shown their hand, causing the number one expert in the legends, Justice, to suffer injuries, the Ling Tian that he was chasing was in no more danger. That was similar to allowing a tiger to return to its den! Would that not destroy all the efforts he had put in place earlier on? Furthermore, he had to take into account the strength of Above Heavens. Them coupled with the financial capabilities of the Xiao Family meant that there would be no one under the heavens that could match them, destined to be a powerhouse against the Yu Family!

No doubt, the Xiao family would undoubtedly be the greatest threat stopping the Yu Family from achieving hegemony!

But that was for the future, right now, the most important thing was to focus all their attention on dealing with Ling Tian! His ability to deal damage was still the most troublesome right now, thus if Justice was unable to do the job of finishing off Ling Tian, then the Yu Family would take over! So long as the objective was met, there was no need to care how it was achieved, or what methods were used!

But, his own brothers clearly had some special feelings towards Ling Tian, thus this mission could not be handed over to them to participate, or else not only would he not get their aid, they might even ruin things! Then….? Hmm, this would even kill two birds with one stone!

"Second brother, there's something which I cannot trust anyone to do it, so I'll require you to personally make a trip." Yu ManLou put on a grave face, "Right now, this concerns the life and death of our Yu Family, as well as our plans of hegemony, thus you have to complete this to the best of your abilities. Only then can the Yu Family not have any fears of trouble at our rear."

Seeing the grave expression on his brother's face, Yu ManTang also began to panic. "Elder brother, please give me word. I will surely complete it to the best of my abilities, even if I will need to sacrifice my life in exchange!"

Yu ManLou let out a sigh, as he cast his eyes out of the window, a loneliness in his voice. "That year, I conversed quite a bit with the head of the Lei Family, Lei ZhenTian from the Moon Deity Empire. The Lei Family originally wanted to be stationed in the Heavenly Star Continent, but if they were to come in, then the balance between the powers in Heavenly Star would also be broken, hence I've always rejected them! However, now that our Yu Family is being eyed at by the Xiao, DongFang, Ling, and Shui Family, there is a chance that we might be defeated under the combined internal and external problems in our family! The moment we are inattentive, then we'll lose everything immediately!

Yu ManTang lowly assented, his brows furrowing in thought.

"Because the strength of our family currently is too spread out, once things turn awry, it will hard to protect ourselves." Yu ManLou continued, "As such, we urgently require a new power to insert themselves, to completely disrupt these muddied waters and attract the attention of the other powers, so our Yu Family can safely protect ourselves as we pull out. Only then can we remain as stable as Mount Tai itself! Even if we fail to divert their attention, with the inclusion of a new power, they would also incite the wariness of the others. At that time, our chance would arrive! With the strength of the Xiao Family far outstripping our original expectations, we need someone else to balance the influence of power, and the Lei Family is the best bet. Hence I require this to be done, but if someone else were to step forward, firstly I cannot be assured, and secondly, the weight of the person's words might be insufficient. However, if I were to go there myself, there will not be anyone to hold the fort in this place. As such, only second brother can make the trip, which will give impact to Lei ZhenTian."

Yu ManTang retained his furrowed brows and replied, "Elder brother, is this not inappropriate? Firstly, what sort of name do I have to invite the Lei Family over? Even if the authority has been handled by you, I just can't make the decisions like that, can I? Secondly, what sort of benefits do we have to fork out, or terms that we have to agree to for the Lei Family? Times are different now, it is us who are doing the invitation, and we even want to use their power to balance the unfathomable Xiao Family. If we do not show enough sincerity, then there won't be a conclusion! Thirdly, it's easier to invite the devil than to send him away. Once we extricate ourselves from this mess, then how should we deal with the Lei Family? If we allow them to stay, they will only end up as a blight, and we cannot prevent this from happening at that time. This is akin to driving off the hungry wolves at your front door, but allowing the tiger to enter from your rear door! If anything goes awry during this process…"