531 - 537

Chapter 531: Crisis of the Shui Family

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

The six elders let out a sigh together. The moment this matter erupted, it would definitely incite the biggest internal conflict within the Shui Family in the past couple of decades! Perhaps the upper echelons of the Shui Family would be completely changed after this incident! However, the most important thing right now was not the life and death of the three Shui brothers. Instead, it was to inform the Second and Third Master in Heavenly Wind about what had just happened here. The Second and Third Masters were in the same faction as the Elder's Hall. If their Family Head, Shui ManKong were to find out about the matters here, who knows what would happen? At that time, even if Shui WoBo wanted to suppress this matter, it would be completely useless!

Losing his only son at such an old age! What kind of a blow would that be? No matter how good Shui ManKong was at controlling himself, it would be impossible for him to suppress his anger!

Right when Shui QianRou entered the room, a black hawk flew up into the sky with a loud cry. Shui QianRou stared at the departing hawk with a dazed look.

Ling Chi then explained slowly, "I have already informed big sister about this incident and asked her to find a good physician. Even if we aren't able to save young noble Shui's life, we should try to reduce his pain."

Shui QianRou slumped into a chair with fatigue as tears rolled down her cheeks and said with a choking voice, "I am no longer in the right state of mind and cannot be bothered with anything else. I will have to trouble you for everything. Thank you."

Ling Chi let out a sigh.

At this moment, Shui QianRou was like a living zombie with her heart completely cold and all hope lost. All of a sudden, she felt an endless sense of fatigue and grief.

Family! This word suddenly made Shui QianRou feel an endless anger! This was the so-called family?! This was the family which she was willing to sacrifice everything to protect? This was the prestigious thousand-year-old family in the eyes of the world?!

All of a sudden, Shui QianRou could imagine Ling Tian standing in front of her and reprimanding her with his stern and merciless tone. Shui QianRou covered her face with her hands and began sobbing in grief. While the sound of her sobbing wasn't loud, the dense grief and emotions of her tears could be clearly felt!

As the princess of the Shui Family, a top-notch XianTian expert in the world who had everything her way since she was born, Shui QianRou suddenly felt as though she was the only one left in the world. Everything which she had depended and relied on in the past had disappeared completely at this moment! From now on, there was no longer anyone left for her to rely on and she would be left alone in the world!

"Ling Chi, with your skills, how could you allow someone to harm my brother in front of you? I need an explanation. Give me an explanation!" Shui QianRou suddenly stopped sobbing and asked this question. She finally regained her cool and reverted back to her usual self. At the very first moment, she immediately realized the biggest question.

This was the final pride of a talented lady like her and also her only doubt. She could not ignore this question and even if she were to lose her only support after this, she would still have to ask this question. She had already lost far too much, and being in this state of hopelessness she was no longer afraid of losing this final alliance mate of hers!

Ling Chi stared at her coldly and stood up. Without saying a word, he walked out of the room. At this moment, any form of explanation would only make Shui QianRou doubt him more. Instead, not giving her any explanation would help alleviate her doubts.

"Stop there!" Shui QianRou roared. However, she did not turn around as she said, "When they were arguing, the three Shui brothers had insulted elder sister Ling Chen. Why didn't you say anything at that moment? As Ling Tian's subordinate and Ling Chen's underling, why didn't you voice a single word of retort? Do you think that is very normal?! Was all of this an intentional arrangement on your part?! To make use of a dying man to sow discord within our Shui Family?! That's right, my brother is also deeply in love with elder sister Ling Chen. What a good plan of yours to kill two birds with one stone! Was that your motive?!" At this moment, Shui QianRou's voice was extremely calm but a simmering anger could be heard hiding within the calmness. In Shui QianRou's eyes, this was Ling Chi's biggest flaw! If Ling Chi wasn't able to give her an appropriate explanation, then Shui QianRou was certain that this whole incident was caused by Ling Chi! At the same time, Ling Chen and the others may even be accomplices!

However, was it possible for Ling Chi to give Shui QianRou a reasonable explanation?

A dense killing intent suddenly burst forth in the room. Die'er looked towards Shui QianRou and Ling Chi with fear and worry in her eyes. She wanted to help be the mediator between the two of them but just did not know what to say. She truly did not want to see her young miss argue with Ling Chi.

At this moment, Ling Chi was already by the door but suddenly stopped and turned around. He then looked at Shui QianRou with a calm expression and a hint of mockery, "If I said that I wasn't the slightest bit angry at that moment, would Miss Shui believe me?"

"Not angry?! What a fine excuse! So you are trying to say that since you aren't angry, there isn't a need for you to arrange any plans? What a wonderful excuse! Do you think that I will believe you?!" Shui QianRou sneered.

The atmosphere became tense and was about to explode at any moment!

Ling Chi seemed to have ignored Shui QianRou's sneer and said calmly, "Miss Shui, are you interested to know why I wasn't angry?"

"Speak." Shui QianRou said coldly. At the same time, her fists were clenched and she was filled with anger and killing intent towards Ling Chi.

Ling Chi chuckled and said emotionlessly, "Do you know, from the moment the three of them insulted Miss Chen, the three of them were akin to three corpses in my eyes! Even if your Shui Family wants to protect them, it will be completely useless. It is impossible for the three of them to leave Sky Bearing alive! This is the reason why it isn't worth getting angry with them."

Ling Chi smiled coldly, "This incident today only hastened the date of their deaths."

Shui QianRou's voice remained chilly, "Is my brother also a dead person in your eyes?! He is also an admirer of elder sister Chen!"

Ling Chi's eyes glowed. "Miss Shui, if I were to put it in a nasty manner, your brother is already heavily injured and on the edge of death. Even if I have the desire to harm him, there isn't a need for me to do it in such an obvious manner right? Besides that, this doesn't seem relevant to him admiring sister Chen either! In the Sky Bearing territory, there are at least thousands who admire sister Chen. Can I kill them all? It is only natural for your brother to admire sister Chen and even if he is only daydreaming, it doesn't warrant his death. However, the three of them are different. Besides that, on account of Miss Shui's face, even if your brother deserves to die, only our young noble will have the authority to decide that. It wouldn't be my place to make the decision. Beyond that, sowing discord within the Shui Family?"

Ling Chi smiled with mockery, "Is Miss Shui still unaware about the situation in the Shui Family? Is there a need for me to sow discord within your Shui Family? I will only say these words. May Miss Shui consider them on your own!"

"If I wanted to kill your brother, does Miss Shui think that he would still be breathing?"

After saying those words, Ling Chi's figure disappeared.

Shui QianRou's back still faced the door and she did not turn around even once when Ling Chi was saying. Her slender back was filled with desolation and loneliness. A long while later, Shui QianRou suddenly said, "Die'er, come here and explain the situation to me again in detail. Including the position of everyone present, explain the situation to me again!"

Following Die'er's explanation, a clear picture surfaced in Shui QianRou's mind. Shui QianHuan, Shui Seven, Shui QianJiang, Shui QianHai, Ling Chi and Die'er's position… including the position of the window, Shui QianRou thought through everything in detail and was finally at ease. Ling Chi's position was blocked by Die'er's body and he wouldn't have been able to see what had happened! At the same time, Die'er was the one who walked to the position on her own and after she walked there, Ling Chi did not move from his spot. The truth was that this incident was just far too sudden and unexpected. This accident which wasn't supposed to happen had actually happened. Could it be that the heavens wanted the death of her brother?!

"It seems like this incident wasn't intentionally planned by Ling Chi. If that's the case…" Shui QianRou's body could finally relax and for some reason, she felt relief in her heart. If this incident was engineered by the Ling Family, she really wouldn't know what to do…

At the very least, her only alliance mate was still trustworthy and could be relied upon! At the same time, it was also because of her own maiden's heart…

"Little princess, Miss Ling Chen is here." Following a report, Ling Chen entered the room with a wave of fragrant wind.

"Elder sister is here." Shui QianRou hurriedly stood up. Since she was sure that it was impossible for Ling Chi to engineer the matter, Shui QianRou's expression was much better than before.

"Mmm." Ling Chen nodded her head and walked forward to Shui QianHuan. She then investigated his injuries carefully before letting out a dull sigh. Raising her head up, she said with hesitation, "Younger sister Rou, please forgive me for being direct… your brother's injuries… haiz, I'm afraid… there isn't any hope…"

While Shui QianRou was already mentally prepared, she still held onto a trace of hope in her heart. She was hoping for some otherworldly medical herb or physician to appear and save her brother's life. Hearing Ling Chen telling her so truthfully, her body trembled and she leaned on the table weeping.

Ling Chen sighed and said with a trace of pity, "Younger sister Rou, with your brother's injuries, if we… it would only be unnecessarily adding on to his pain. Why don't we…"

"No!" Shui QianRou roared in agitation, "No matter what, my elder brother cannot die! He cannot die!"

Ling Chen sighed and looked at Shui QianRou gently but did not say a thing.

"Elder brother cannot die, he cannot die…" Shui QianRou muttered under her breath with a pair of hopeless eyes and suddenly burst out crying. As a martial arts practitioner who was extremely familiar with the construct of a human body, she naturally knew that even a celestial might not be able to save Shui QianHuan! However, if she were to drag the matter on further, Shui QianHuan would only grow more and more miserable by the day. In her heart, this was something that she would never be able to accept! Seeing her brother breathing weakly but being able to do nothing at all or even to lessen his pain by a little bit, Shui QianRou felt as though there were a thousand knives slicing through her body.

"I heard that Shui QianHuan has a final unfulfilled wish," Ling Chen muttered, "I have a method to protect his life for seven days. In fact, I can ensure that he will not feel any pain in these seven days but I will need your approval for this matter."

"What method?" Shui QianRou was elated and seemed to have grabbed onto a life saving herb. She grabbed onto Ling Chen's hand and shook it, "My good sister, as long as you can save my elder brother, I can do anything. My whole family would also be grateful to elder sister's kindness."

Ling Chen shook her head and said with a helpless expression, "It is impossible to protect his life with such injuries. However, I can imbue my special Divine Ice inner qi into his chest and freeze up the fractures of his ribs with my extreme cold qi. The benefit of this would be that he wouldn't feel any pain in his wounds but he will only be able to stay alive for seven days. After seven days, the frozen up injury would have become rotten and all of his organs would be destroyed. At that time, your brother would be dead for sure… Doing this would only be enough to reduce his pain by seven days and it is akin to drinking poison to quench his thirst! Beheading him to treat the poison!"

"Drinking poison to quench thirst! Beheading him to treat the poison!" Shui QianRou exclaimed and released Ling Chen's hands before stumbling back by two steps. Ling Chen's meaning was clear. She would be able to stop Shui QianHuan from feeling any pain but at the end of the seven days, the Divine Ice inner qi would lose its effect and Shui QianHuan would die on the spot! There wouldn't be any turning back!

Ling Chen took a step forward and a tinge of anxiousness could be heard in her voice, "Younger sister Rou, you cannot hesitate at this moment. Your brother's injuries cannot be delayed any further and his life would be lost at any moment. Can you bear to look at your brother die a painful death in front of you? The situation is extremely dire at the moment and your brother is only able to remain alive because of Ling Chi's inner qi. If you were to hesitate any longer, even seven days may be…"

"If we don't do as you said, he may not even survive for seven days?" Shui QianRou lifted up her head and looked at Ling Chen with tears in her eyes.

Ling Chen sighed before nodding silently, "It isn't just these seven days. He may not even be able to go past tonight…"

Shui QianRou stood in a daze for a long while before being able to regain her senses. Shui QianHuan's aura was truly becoming weaker and weaker by the minute. Shui QianRou then looked at Ling Chen and took a deep breath, "Then I will trouble elder sister Chen." After finishing those words, all of her energy seemed to have been sapped dry and she felt everything in front of her turn blurry.

Seven days! Her biological brother who had grown up together with her only had seven days left! It was a mere 168 hours left! How was this enough? How was this enough?!

When Shui QianRou finally came to her senses, Shui QianHuan's breathing finally stabilized and the look of pain could no longer be seen on his face. In fact, he even looked to be at ease as he fell into a deep sleep. However, when one approached him, a dense bone-chilling cold could be felt! Especially at the chest position, a thick layer of ice that didn't melt could be seen! However, Shui QianHuan's breathing became smooth and his heartbeat consistent. Ling Chen's control of the Divine Ice qi was already at an unfathomable level!

Shui QianRou then looked at Ling Chen with a questioning gaze.

Ling Chen's face was full of fatigue. After unleashing almost all of her inner qi, she was completely exhausted. Replying Shui QianRou with a silent nod, she quickly closed her eyes to adjust her condition.

A figure appeared and Ling Chi walked into the room. Ling Chen opened her eyes and asked calmly, "Have you found them?"

Ling Chi shook his head and a trace of fatigue could be seen on his face, "The three of them should have been hidden by the six Shui Elders. Although I haven't found them yet, I am sure that they can't be outside of this manor. Sky Bearing isn't their territory after all and apart from here, there wouldn't be anywhere capable of hiding them! At the same time, this is also where the Shui Family members are concentrated and also where they are strongest."

Ling Chen smiled, "Apart from this place that we have loaned them temporarily, I doubt they would have the guts to go anywhere else."

"That's right. The brothers outside have not found the three of them either." Ling Chi smiled.

Shui QianRou who was hearing the conversation by the side turned completely pale! She never imagined that the elders' plan of 'discussing the matter further' was actually to hide the three of them. Although she knew that these elders were already in cahoots with the three brothers, she was still angered to the point she almost could not breath upon hearing those words.

What should she do now? If she were to force her way in to find the three brothers, she would be completely outnumbered and outclassed by the elders' martial arts. She would not be a match for them alone. Besides that, could it be that she had to fight her Shui Family members today?

Seeing Shui QianRou's pale expression, Ling Chen sighed in her heart. Even if Shui QianRou was thoroughly disappointed with her family, it was impossible for her to go against her upbringing of the past ten-odd years. Ling Chen was certain that if the one being injured was Ling Jian or the other five Ling brothers, she would definitely seek revenge immediately without any hesitation!

If their enemy didn't die, how would this vengeance be resolved! At this moment, even though Shui QianRou was already angered to the extreme, when she heard about the interference of her family in this matter, she was still accustomed to thinking about the benefits of her family first.

Although Shui QianRou had already decided to kill the three Shui brothers, if she were to continue acting in such an apprehensive manner, not to mention taking revenge for Shui QianHuan, she herself might also perish.

"What is a family?" Ling Chen said softly as though she was talking to herself. But in this silent room, everyone could hear what Ling Chen was saying, "I remember young noble saying this before. Just what is a family? Young noble had once said that a family is a bunch of people with similar bloodline gathering together for the same goal and fighting together for their future. This was what a family is. Young noble had also said that if a family is filled with internal strife and filled with individuals only fighting for their own benefits, a family would not be considered a family at that point but only a pile of loose sand! That is because they no longer have any values and are no different from the organizations in the pugilistic world! At that time, no matter how glorious the past of the family is, the family would already be slowly walking to its demise."

"The young noble had said before. In the world today, there are only three true families in the world: the Yu Family, Ling Family, and BeiMing Family. This is because the Family Heads of these three families have absolute authority over their family! As compared to the other families like the DongFang, XiMen, Xiao… every other family is filled with internal problems and is no longer fit to be called a family! This includes your Shui Family. The Shui Family which was once so glorious."

"With things deteriorating to such a state, there are only two ways to solve this problem. First, the family will be destroyed and become the sunset of yesterday. Second, a heaven-defying genius will emerge in the family to unite the family with thunderous methods. Bearing with the pain of removing the bone-deep poison, those who should be killed must be killed and those who should be abandoned should be abandoned. After that, they should get an empire or a more powerful organization to protect them. After a long period of rest, they can then rise up from the ashes. Apart from these two paths, there isn't a third one."

"When the situation of the Shui Family had spread to Sky Bearing, young noble only said a single phrase after seeing it." Ling Chen then looked at Shui QianRou, "The young noble said that the Shui Family was finished!"

Shui QianRou listened silently with a complicated expression on her face.

"The situation in the Shui Family has deteriorated to the point that a servant would dare to bully his master. Furthermore, the situation is deteriorating further and despite your father, Yu ManKong, being a wise individual, he is restricted by the number one elder, Shui WuBo. Even though Shui WuBo's martial arts is high, he is a foolish man. However, he still thinks that all of his actions are done in the interest of the Shui Family and that he is absolutely loyal to the Shui Family. Even if such a person is an absolute expert, he is being made use of by your father's opponent. As long as Shui WuBo died, all the problems of your Shui Family would be resolved, but your father doesn't have the heart to do so. He also knows that Shui WuBo is absolutely loyal to the family and does not have any evil intentions!"

"After such a long time, the Shui Family is already on the verge of destruction! Even if your father can bear to sacrifice Shui WuBo right now, the outcome wouldn't change. The poison has already seeped too deeply into your Shui Family and is already incurable! Even if they are able to quell the internal strife within the family, the impact of this matter would mean that they would be reduced to a second-rate family or even worse." Ling Chen sighed, "The rise of a family would be reliant on the unity of the family after all. Even though a martial arts genius and unparalleled expert is important, there would only be harm if one were to place too much of an importance on such matters. There would only be harm and not a single benefit!"

"Sacrifice when necessary, killing when necessary, and breaking off when necessary. Despite the dire situation, your father is still acting in such a hesitant manner. However, he doesn't know that the chance to salvage the situation is already gone and there is no longer any hope! The Shui Family is destined to become a part of history. So what if they have a thousand years of foundation? They are still going to become the sunset of yesterday!" Ling Chen said coldly and pointed out the crux of the matter accurately!

Within Ling Chen's words were multiple hints to resolve the predicament of the Shui Family! However, Ling Chen's expression was still calm and how much Shui QianRou could understand was up to her.

Shui QianRou's expression was dull and her thoughts were unknown. After a long while, the corner of her lips curled up slightly and a sharp glow could be seen in her eyes as though she had made a difficult decision.

Chapter 532: Underestimating the Enemy

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Chen stood up and let out a sigh. "The Yu Family members will be returning to Bright Jade City two days later. At that time, there will definitely be men from Bright Jade City coming to fetch them. As such, our operation will also be set to two days later. You will bring the Shui Family experts to attack the Yu Family while I make use of that opportunity to search for the three Shui brothers. When you return, I will hand them over to you and allow you to determine how to deal with them. You can also fulfill your brother's final wish at that time."

Shui QianRou's fists clenched up tightly and her thin veins could be seen protruding out from her fair skin. At the same time, a dense killing intent shot out from her eyes!

Ling Chen heaved a sigh of relief in her heart and smiled sweetly, "Younger sister Rou, take good care of brother QianHuan. With regards to ambushing the Yu Family two days later, your Shui Family can come up with the plan yourselves. At that time, I will send someone to give you accurate information! I will be leaving now." She then waved her hands and left without waiting for Shui QianRou's reply.

On the third morning, the First Elder, Yu ZhanShui, and Third Elder, Yu ZhanKong, came to the Ling Residence to exchange pleasantries. They first thanked the Ling Family for their care in this period and made a sincere apology for the actions of their Yu Family during this period. After that, they then tactfully requested approval to bring back all of their earnings in Sky Bearing to Bright Jade City. Then, they emphasized how both the Ling and Yu Families were in-laws and would always be friendly towards each other for generations to come. Finally, they requested for the Ling Family to take good care of the Yu Family's little princess and instructed that they must definitely go to Bright Jade City with Ling Tian and Yu BingYan after the grand wedding…

The two Ling Family elders were not simple characters either and also said the necessary pleasantries. They first hosted the two Yu Elders with great hospitality before urging them to continue their stay with great sincerity. After the two Yu Elders insisted on their departure, the two Ling elders then swore that their Ling Family would always be on friendly terms with the Yu Family for generations to come and that they wouldn't allow the Yu Family's little princess to suffer any grievances. After which, they offered to set up a banquet to send the two Yu Elders off and after the two Yu Elders rejected them politely, the two parties bade their farewells unwillingly and with great reluctance. The touching scene of the two groups parting with reluctance seemed to have come completely from the heart and was an extremely moving sight. Everyone watching from the side could not help but praise the elders for being extremely emotional individuals!

The eyes of all the elders had all turned red as though they were truly the best of friends. Old Madam Ling even mentioned the fact that they were all turning old and after the parting this time, they may no longer be able to meet each other again. These words made the few elders extremely sentimental as they almost hugged each other in grief.

After finally sending off the Yu Family's troops and seeing them disappearing in the distance, Old Madam Ling turned around and all signs of grief disappeared completely. She then threw away the ginger slice that she had hid in her sleeves and a malevolent look could be seen in her eyes. After spitting out a ball of spittle, she cursed the old fellows of the Yu Family for being shameless b*st*rds. It wouldn't matter if they only came to Sky Bearing to eat and live for free. But after freeloading off their Ling Family, these Yu Family b*st*rds had almost shifted the whole Sky Bearing City away! She then swore with agitation that she must definitely snatch back every last copper coin that the Yu Family stole! If there was even a copper coin short, she would definitely fight her way to Bright Jade City and seek an explanation from Yu ManLou! Chu Ting'er who had watched the whole process could not help but break out in cold sweat and was filled with admiration towards her mother-in-law's valor. No wonder her father-in-law didn't dare to have a single concubine! Her mother-in-law was truly the role model for all ladies!

Of course, with regards to how Grand Marshal Ling didn't have a single concubine, Chu Ting'er would not attribute it to her fierceness. She attributed it to the fact that Ling Xiao had an extremely high level of self-awareness and even if he was surrounded by three thousand beauties, he would only remain loyal to her. As compared to her frivolous son, her husband was far better. When that brat eats what is in the bowl, he would think about what is in the pot. When he is looking at what is in the pot, he would think about what is by the side of the pot. When looking at what is by the side of the pot, he would be thinking of what is far off. Err, in comparison, her own Ling Xiao was the role model for all guys in this aspect.

Of course, after Yu ZhanShui and Yu ZhanKong stepped out of Sky Bearing City, their fictitious expression could finally be relaxed as they began cursing the two Ling elders for being extremely difficult to deal with. The hypocritical smile that was plastered all over the Ling elders' face made all of their hair stand up in disgust. Even if you want to feign sadness and grief, why did you have to use a slice of ginger? Even if you had to use it, why did you have to drag the conversation on for such a long time causing the smell of the ginger to spread all around and causing our eyes to suffer as well? How irritating, despicable and shameless! At the same time, the two Yu Elders were also extremely delighted. After all, they had swept away a large fortune from Sky Bearing in their present trip.

The treasures that they had raked in through every possible means was almost comparable to half a year of revenue for the Yu Family! With this fortune by their side, their Yu Family would definitely have a larger chance at ruling over the world! Their merit this time definitely couldn't be overlooked!

As such, amid the delighted cheering, the more than a thousand Yu Family experts chattered happily along their journey back home with immense satisfaction.

Their return journey to Bright Jade City was only 1200 miles and their family would send someone to fetch them back halfway. There was no risk or danger involved and they would definitely have a smooth journey home! The Yu Family's experts were already planning their future marriages and fantasies that they had never able to fulfill… As such, every now and then, lecherous laughter could be heard among the Yu Family's troops. None of them could be bothered about the fact that their horses were already exhausted from the heavy load of their riches.

From time to time, there would be a few brothers incapable of controlling their excitement and would let out a loud wolf-like howl to the heavens. The rest of the Yu Family members would then laughingly scold those crazy fellows. There were even a few fellows who would hop onto the back of their horses, take of their pants and whip out their tool. While shaking their ass and making a funny face, they would then shoot a water arrow at the Sky Bearing City afar. After a wave of laughter, there would be some others who would even mimic such an action… There was someone who had even claimed that even if there was a piece of leather in front of him, he wouldn't need any hands or feet to puncture a hole within it. All he had to do was to raise his waist…

The wheels of the carriages go round and round, with the horses all in misery and gold hanging down from all the passengers. After returning from Sky Bearing, they would all be able to choose their wife from a hundred ladies…

***

In front of them was a relatively long and narrow mountain pass. After passing through it and making another turn, they would be at the Black Pine Forest!

The Black Pine Forest wouldn't be too far from the Nine Swallow City and after the Nine Swallow City, they would be in the Northern Wei territory!

The sky was gloomy and it looked as though it was about to rain at any time. But in the hearts of the Yu Family members, they only felt the cool winds and thought that it was the best possible weather. Thus, the gloomy skies did not dampen any of their high spirits as they excitedly continued on their journey.

At the peak of a tall pine tree that could reach the clouds, a black figure silently concealed herself. This position was the highest point in the surrounding few miles and was a full three hundred feet above the ground! If one were to look down from this high vantage point, one would truly be able to see everything in the surrounding miles without anything escaping one's sight.

The black-robed figure was extremely skinny and was flexible as though she did not have bones. In her bright eyes, it was as though the starry night could be seen and she was Li Xue!

Originally, Li Xue didn't intend to take action this time but she just could not be at ease to leave Shui QianRou who was overall in charge of the mission alone. Thus, she stealthily followed the troops after they left in order to prepare for the worst. No matter what, nothing must happen to Shui QianRou!

The most amusing thing was that a dozen feet away from Li Xue, there were three 'first-rate' experts of the Shui Family lying in ambush. They each had a bow in their hands as they observed the road nervously. They had arrived at their spot before Li Xue, and Li Xue had even passed by over the top of their heads, but the three of them did not notice the slightest bit of oddity. The way Li Xue saw it, they were like the hero Qiu ShaoYun who would not move even if they were being burned by fire.

The sound of the Yu Family troops laughing heartily and teasing each other could be heard from afar. Mmm, the Yu Family's experts were slowly approaching the Black Pine Forest and facing the dense and thick forest, the troops entered without the slightest bit of hesitation. It was as though they never imagined there to be a life-threatening ambush hiding within at all!

Shui QianRou was clad in black robes and hiding at the top of another pine tree. She gripped her sword tightly and her palm was already covered in a layer of sweat. Just a few months ago, she was chased by Justice in this very forest because of a treasure before being ambushed by two Yu Elders. All of her capable subordinates had perished in this very forest and Ling Tian then appeared to kill the two Yu Elders before making her and Die'er his captives.

It seems like her interaction with Ling Tian had also truly begun here!

After a few months, the situation was completely different. The one lying in ambush now was Shui QianRou and the victims were the Yu Family's experts! However, the location had not changed and the time also seemed to be the same. The miraculous happenings of the world truly cannot be predicted. Would Ling Tian who had made a sudden appearance the last time appear again today? If he appears today, would he help her?!

Thinking about Ling Tian, Shui QianRou's originally hopeless heart suddenly softened before she felt a tinge of pain. Just where are you? If you appear in front of me right now, I would definitely admit my mistakes and stubbornness before asking you for some advice about what I should do right now. What can my Shui Family do to prevent destruction? I am really extremely fatigued and can no longer see hope before my eyes…

The leading troops of the Yu Family had entered the dense forest and the back of the Yu Family troops also slowly entered the forest! However, the thousand plus troops still acted as in an extremely carefree manner as though they were here on vacation. On top of the tree, Li Xue could not help but be amazed at just how brainless these more than a thousand Yu Family's troops were. She had seen brainless people before but had never seen a thousand of them gathering together at the same spot. What a magnificent scene… In such a dangerous place, they were actually bold to the point that they did not send any scouts to sweep the area once. It was about as smart as kicking their own heads around like a football! Miss Li Xue's horizons were truly broadened this time!

Chapter 533: Ambush in the Forest

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

An abrupt change!

A sharp whistle sounded followed by a wave of swooshing sounds breaking through the sky. A dense wave of arrows then shot towards the Yu Family's troops from all directions like the rain. Most of the arrows were shot down from a high point and were extremely accurate.

The Yu Family's experts who were still in their fairyland dreams were like the patrons of a brothel receiving a stick to their face just when they were at the peak of the moment. Countless groans and miserable moans of disbelief sounded and there were even a few high pitched shrieks which almost made everyone go deaf! A few hundred burly figures collapsed from horseback and rolled on the ground groaning. Their blood painted the forest floor red and all of their riches added a shimmering gold and silver to the red painting.

Those who were 'luckier' actually had dozens of arrows sticking out of their body and looked like a life-sized porcupine. There were even some who had so much jewelry and gold on them that the arrows were unable to strike their flesh but were deflected by those treasures instead. The greedy were truly more blessed. There were even some who were completely unscathed!

Countless Shui Family experts then charged out from the dense forest and their sword lights shot towards the sky. They immediately tangled together with the White and Purple Jade experts of the Yu Family in a large chaotic battle!

"Stay calm! Everyone form a circular formation and do not break formation. Protect the injured within the circle and face the outside together!" Yu ZhanKong recovered from the initial shock and roared out commands. At the same time, he felt like puking blood from regret!

I have underestimated the enemy! I knew that the Shui Family members must have had ulterior motives for coming to Heavenly Star. The Family Head had hinted me to be wary of them but I underestimated them because their forces in Northern Wei were wiped out! It is all because of the two old Ling fools! If not for those two old b*st*rds misleading us, how would we be trapped in such a miserable plight! At this moment, Yu ZhanKong who had no avenue to vent his frustrations made the two Ling elders his target. He hated the fact that he could not swallow the two of them whole!

There were plenty of troops from the Shui Family who entered Sky Bearing this time. As half the local snake in Sky Bearing, the Yu Family naturally noticed the arrival of the Shui Family. During a banquet with Duke Ling, Duke Ling had mentioned to Yu ZhanKong and Yu ZhanShui that Water of Heavenly Wind wanted to spend a large fortune to construct a manor in Sky Bearing. At the same time, they wanted to form an alliance with the Ling Family and they were currently in discussion with the Ling Family to buy a plot of land. After that, Duke Ling then changed the topic and did not elaborate on the matter further.

While Duke Ling did not elaborate on the topic, Yu ZhanShui himself would naturally not let the matter go so easily. If their old rival wanted to purchase a plot of land in 'their own' territory, he naturally had to send men to investigate the matter. After a series of investigation, everything was indeed just as what Duke Ling had said. The Shui Family had already chosen a place and date to start the construction. At the same time, they were hiring workers for the job. On top of that, many of the members of the Shui Family who came to Sky Bearing were talented architects. After hearing the same piece of news from a few different sources, Yu ZhanKong and Yu ZhanShui were at ease. At the same time, they also made plans to burn down the new Shui manor after the construction was almost done to let the Shui Family suffer huge losses! You actually want to construct a manor in the second camp of our Yu Family, Sky Bearing City? You are really seeking death!

The two of them naturally did not know that all the sources of information in Sky Bearing were in the hands of the Violent Wind Gang. This so-called construction project of the Shui Family was intentionally spread to confuse and numb the Yu Family. As for ensuring that all sources of information would spread the same news, that was the specialty of the Violent Wind Gang! Together with the fact that everything went their way after the Yu Family arrived in Sky Bearing, the guard of the Yu Family was lowered and they were no different from spoiled children. They were no longer as alert as the time they first came, and never imagined that someone would make a fool out of them in their 'second camp'!

The ambush was just too sudden and despite Yu ZhanShui and Yu ZhanKong trying their best to buy time for their subordinates, they were already trapped in the dense forest and their enemy's encirclement. They were being attacked from all directions and it was impossible for them to form up into an effective formation in a short period of time. Hearing Yu ZhanKong's orders, apart from half of the White Jade experts who were able to form a formation with their superior cultivation, the others were trapped in a bitter battle with the Shui Family experts. Miserable groans sounded all over the place and the sound of swords puncturing into the human flesh could be heard all around. In just a short few minutes, the Yu Family had already suffered severe casualties!

Endless Shui Family's disciples jumped down from the trees and joined into the battle. At the same time, the earth would suddenly loosen and a Shui Family disciple covered in mud would suddenly spring forward from underground, killing many Yu Family experts in a short moment. On top of that, there would be sharp arrows slicing through the air with the targets being the Yu Family members who were like fish on a chopping board! With almost every arrow released, a miserable shriek would accompany it!

Yu ZhanKong's eyes were bloodshot and he pounced forward while brandishing his sword. His strength was at a completely different level than an ordinary White Jade disciple and even with enemies all around him, the Shui Family's disciples would fall onto the ground wherever he went. All of a sudden, a bright light flashed and Shui QianRou shot into the air with her sword pointing forward and clothes fluttering in the wind. She then shot down from the tree like a gust of wind and in just a blink of an eye, she covered a distance of seventy feet. Together with a brilliant splendor from her sword, she descended from above and charged straight at Yu ZhanKong.

Yu ZhanKong did not bother dodging the blow and he swung his sword forward with a loud roar. With a loud clang, both the swords met and sparks shot out in all directions. Yu ZhanKong was forced back two steps before he could withstand the force of Shui QianRou's strike. Shui QianRou then spun around in the air and kicking the trunk of a large tree, she shot back towards Yu ZhanKong again and engaged in a bitter battle with him.

The six Shui Elders also emerged from their hiding spots in unison and attacked together. They charged into the crowd with their sleeves floating in the wind with every action of theirs looking extremely carefree and unrestrained. However, not a single shred of mercy could be seen in their blows and a wave of miserable groans sounded.

The situation on the battlefield was extremely intense!

***

"Not too far in front of us is the Black Pine Forest. After this place, we would be near home." Ling Tian waved his whip to point the forest out to Xiao YanXue. At the same time, a trace of agitation could also be seen in his eyes. While four months wasn't a long period of time, he had been through far too many life or death situations in this short period of time. While Ling Tian was extremely arrogant and always looked so confident, he was still a man. He also knew how to feel fear, especially in the face of someone like Justice, who he was no match for even with all his strength! If he was just the slightest bit careless, he would have died in a foreign land and every step of his was truly heart-wrenching!

After going on such a huge journey, he was finally back at the place where he grew up in. The place where all of his loved ones were. All of a sudden, a strange emotion rose up in his heart and he felt his nose sniffling.

"We are finally arriving at Sky Bearing…" What Xiao YanXue felt was completely different from Ling Tian. Every time she was a step nearer to Sky Bearing, Xiao YanXue would grow even more nervous. There was also a strong sense of embarrassment in her heart as though she was a newly wed lady meeting her in-laws for the first time. These few days, Miss Xiao had always been extremely silent or her face would be flushed red. She just did not know what to feel in her heart and the scene of her meeting the Ling Family members played over and over again in her heart for over a hundred times. She would imagine what they would say upon seeing her and how she should respond to them. However, she realized that all of her preparations were completely useless.

"Look at your nervous appearance. Haha, you look just like a frightened quail." Ling Tian looked at Xiao YanXue and burst out laughing, "Little Xue'er, what are you afraid of?"

"I am not afraid at all! You are the little quail! Can't anything nice come out from your mouth?!" Xiao YanXue glared at Ling Tian fiercely before quickly lowering her head silently. She had completely forgotten to scold Ling Tian for calling her 'Little Xue'er'.

This name was something that Ling Tian had thought of in a flash of inspiration. Along the way, he loved the name more and more as he used the name. However, Xiao YanXue was extremely dissatisfied with the name and protested a couple of times. She only allowed Ling Tian to call her 'YanXue' but not 'Xue'er'. On top of that, why did Ling Tian have to add the word Little? However, Ling Tian refused to listen and the two of them had argued over this matter along the way.

Xiao YanXue naturally did not know what the name 'Xue'er' meant to Ling Tian in his heart. In fact, Ling Tian would never use this name to address Li Xue despite it belonging to her originally.

To a certain extent, the name 'Xue'er' was a big taboo in Ling Tian's heart!

"Little Xue'er, the various powers of the world can no longer sit still and the Yu Family has officially announced war on Western Han. What do you think the world is fighting over? What do you think is the key to victory?" Ling Tian said with a mysterious smile.

"The key to victory?" Xiao YanXue blinked her eyes, "How can this be answered simply? The circumstances, geography, commander, quality of soldiers… all of these are important factors which will affect the final victor. How can there be a single key to victory?"

"What if the troops and general of both parties are similar?" Ling Tian asked with a smile.

"This… the battle will definitely last for a long time." Xiao YanXue said with uncertainty.

"Ah ah, that's right." Ling Tian chuckled, "The moment war lasts for a long time, then the key defining factor between both parties would then be… money!"

"Money?" Xiao YanXue turned to look at Ling Tian.

"That's right! Just as the saying goes, 'Money can move the ghosts and buy over the deities!' Fighting a war is basically a fight of wealth! A fight of supplies and support! The moment both parties are engaged in a long drawn-out battle and have similar equipment and strength, the only thing that would differentiate them would be how long they can last! The tents of the soldiers, dressing of the soldiers, meals, weapons, and arrows. Even the water and feed for the horses needs money! The expenditure of an army with hundreds of thousands of men would be hundreds of thousands of gold! This expenditure is not when they are fighting but resting! If the war begins, you have to add on the damage of the weapons as well… at that time, millions of gold would be required every day to support the war." Ling Tian smiled proudly, "Thus, fighting a war is also a battle of wealth! Without wealth, there isn't a need to fight a war!"

Xiao YanXue gradually understood what Ling Tian was saying, "What you mean is…"

Ling Tian smiled warmly, "When war develops to a certain stage, there needs to be a good housekeeper and that is more important than anything else! When two forces are similar in strength, the final deciding factor would be this! Any unnecessary expenditure every day could result in the defeat of an army. Thus, the one in charge of the overall finances is an extremely important figure!" As he said that, Ling Tian looked at Xiao YanXue and said firmly, "And you are the most talented figure in this regard! Little Xue'er, when you are at Sky Bearing, your job would be to be a good housekeeper and ensure the biggest benefit for my Ling Family!"

Chapter 534: Meeting Again

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Tian looked at Xiao YanXue and said firmly, "And you are the most talented figure in this regard! Little Xue'er, when you are at Sky Bearing, your job would be to be a good housekeeper and ensure the biggest benefit for my Ling Family!"

Xiao YanXue trembled, "You… you actually trust me that much? Aren't you afraid that I'll..."

Ling Tian waved his hand and stopped Xiao YanXue from continuing. He then said resolutely, "In my eyes, there isn't any princess, young miss or wealthy daughter in my family. There are only two kinds of ladies: First, my woman. Second, not my woman!" Ling Tian said firmly, "And you, Xiao YanXue, are a woman who I have acknowledged! I don't care what your original status was. I don't care if you are the little princess or young miss of the Xiao Family. I only know that if I cannot completely trust my woman, then how many people will be worthy of my trust in this world?!"

"Cheh, who is your woman! Who you acknowledge is your own business. You really know how to daydream. You obviously only want to make use of me…" Xiao YanXue's face was completely red and she was overjoyed in her heart. However, she still tried to remain calm on the surface, "What I mean is… what I mean is… I am afraid that I will be incompetent."

Ling Tian looked at her calmly and replied, "I believe in you!"

'I believe in you!' Those four simple words created huge waves in Xiao YanXue's maiden heart! She had been forced by her family to give her all for her family, but this man in front of her dared to give her such a critical role despite her family being one of his enemies!

He did it without any hesitation and was resolute in his actions!

Xiao YanXue suddenly felt like crying and looked at Ling Tian as though she wanted to firmly inscribe Ling Tian's words into her heart.

Xiao YanXue then turned around and lowered her head. However, three resolute words came out from her lips slowly but firmly.

I! Promise! You!

Ling Tian smiled warmly and pinched her nose before saying dotingly, "Why do you have to be so serious? It is only natural for a woman to help her man to do something. Look at you, you are acting as though I am forcing you to do something against your wishes. A little wish of mine."

Xiao YanXue's whined in response, "You are the baddie who is trying to force me to do this! Hmph!" She then rolled her eyes at Ling Tian and turned her head around. Ling Tian burst out laughing for a while before saying with a soft voice, "If things are really related to the Xiao Family, I won't make things difficult for you." After thinking for a while, Ling Tian said those words seriously.

No matter what, Xiao YanXue was still the young miss of the Xiao Family and this was something that would never change. Since Ling Tian had decided to fight for hegemony in the world, he would have to face the Xiao Family eventually. At that time, rather than making things difficult for them, he might as well spell things out clearly today, lest the two of them have to miserably hide things in their hearts . At the very least, they could be open with each other and did not have to hide things behind each other's backs. After all, a hundred lies would be required to cover up a single lie. The most important thing was the fact that Ling Tian did not have the habit to lie to his own woman!

Xiao YanXue's body trembled and she turned around to look at Ling Tian. The rims of her eyes turned red and she said with a choking voice, "Tian'ge, thank you. With those words of yours, I know that you will not lie to me! Those words of yours can put me at ease." With Ling Tian spelling out those words clearly, Xiao YanXue could feel that Ling Tian truly trusted her and also cared for her. At the very least, he wasn't trying to deceive her just to receive her help.

At times, a woman's wish was truly simple…

"Alright, quickly wipe away your tears. Look at how pitiful your current appearance is. We are returning home soon and if someone else sees you like that, they would think that this infamous profligate young master has snatched another lady off the streets. If there is someone who wants to be the hero to save the damsel in distress, he would definitely beat me up." Ling Tian shook his head and added, "There will probably be more than one person. There should be many chivalrous heroes along the way standing up for righteousness and seeking trouble with me. These skinny limbs of mine would definitely not be able to endure it." After perfecting the thing that his Ling Family Courtyard lacked the most, Ling Tian was in an extremely good mood. He decided to crack a joke with Xiao YanXue although this joke of his wasn't funny at all.

After Ling Tian achieved another breakthrough in his strength, there weren't many people in the world who could match up to him. With his current strength, even Justice would find it difficult to kill him!

"Hehe… I am truly curious about just how big the family property of the Ling Family is? You have probably sneakily made plenty of profits right? I am truly curious." Xiao YanXue indeed laughed from Ling Tian's teasing.

"Family property? It is only a small sum capable of supporting a few wives. It would definitely not enter the sight of the Southern Fortune Deity." Ling Tian said gloomily, "Sigh, I am truly a poor young man. Miss, you have to follow a chicken if you marry a chicken and follow a dog if you marry a dog. You have to carry the burdens of the family together with me and prepare yourself to starve on the streets."

"You!" Xiao YanXue stretched out her hand in an attempt to pinch Ling Tian but the distance between the both of their horses could not be covered with her arm. Her pinch missed completely and she began waving her fists around instead like a ferocious lioness.

Ling Tian burst out laughing and stretched out his arm to bring her over, "I have snatched a tribal wife… no, I have snatched a fortune deity back home…"

Amid their laughter, both the horses sped up and after making a turn, the dense Black Pine Forest appeared in front of them. At the same time, the miserable groans in the forest landed in Ling Tian's ears.

Ling Tian could not help but be stunned. He never imagined that despite returning at the pace of a tortoise, he still didn't miss this exciting show before him. Seeing Ling Tian's frown, Xiao YanXue who was curled up in his embrace asked with concern, "What's wrong?" Xiao YanXue's inner qi was limited and thus did not hear anything.

"Nothing much, there are some fighting sounds ahead. It is probably two dogs trying to bite each other." Ling Tian chuckled, "It should be the Shui and Yu Families." Ling Tian looked to the horizon and saw the tallest pine tree in the vicinity. He then thought to himself that he should be able to see the battle if he was up on that pine tree.

"Hmph!" Xiao YanXue rolled her eyes and said with a tinge of jealousy, "The little princess of the Yu Family is your fiancee. The little princess of the Shui Family is also in love with you. You actually dare to say that they are two dogs biting each other?"

Ling Tian smiled awkwardly, "In my eyes, Little Xue'er is also a cute puppy. You are all equally cute."

"Cheh! You are the puppy! B*st*rd!" Xiao YanXue pummelled Ling Tian in anger before turning her head around.

Ling Tian chuckled and urged his horse towards the forest. After entering the forest, Ling Tian suddenly grabbed Xiao YanXue and flew up into the sky, speedily traversing through the dense forest. He was truly like a gust of wind, weaving around the dense trees as he moved towards his target!

Li Xue's body tensed up in nervousness as she felt a sense of danger approach her! It was as though a top-notch expert was coming towards her. The pressure she felt from this expert was something extremely rare in this life of hers. Even if the pressure was slightly less than Justice, the difference wasn't huge. It was a pressure that could threaten her life! In this world, could there be such an expert apart from Justice?

Li Xue finally felt a trace of fear. Even though she had been through two lives, she was still afraid of the death god! She could clearly feel that the speed of the person approaching her was something which she had never witnessed before in her life. She was probably not a match for this expert before her! Even Ling Tian who was at the tenth stage of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula could not match this person in speed!

Just who was he?!

Li Xue finally recovered from her shock as she turned behind to take a look. With a loud swoosh, the incoming expert had already landed in front of her and the powerful gust of wind stopped abruptly. From his extreme speed to sudden stop, it was as though all of his actions had melded into the heavens and earth. His toes were lightly placed on top of a finger thick branch and the branch had only trembled slightly as though the one standing on top wasn't a living person but a small dragonfly! The figure of the expert was extremely stable and despite the winds in the surroundings he was still as stable as a mountain. Furthermore, there was a young lady in the arms of this expert!

"Li...ng Tian?!" Seeing the appearance of the incoming expert, Li Xue let out a cry of shock. She never imagined that this mysterious expert would be Ling Tian! She then quickly covered her lips, afraid that she would let out a loud shriek in shock!

It was just too unexpected!

After parting for a short month, Ling Tian's martial arts had actually improved so quickly like a rocket! His speed alone was definitely the number one in the world! Even the number one expert Justice would probably be incomparable to Ling Tian in terms of speed! Li Xue dared to say that there wouldn't be anyone else in the world capable of reaching such a speed. Furthermore, there was still someone in Ling Tian's embrace!

"We can truly meet anywhere in life. Pretty lady, we meet again." Ling Tian chuckled. He then looked at the gloomy sky and lowered his head to witness the bloody battle below him. After that, Ling Tian shook his head and pretended to sigh with grief, "The gloomy heavens loom above you and the blood red ground is painted before you. Miss Li Xue sits on the pine tree firmly with a natural and carefree expression. If there was a glass of red wine in your hand, it would truly be the perfection of life! Leading such a leisurely and elegant life truly leaves me in admiration."

"Glibbed tongue b*st*rd!" Li Xue cursed, "No matter how leisurely my life is, how can I be compared to young noble Ling Tian who is hugging a beauty at a high point while expressionlessly observing the mountain of corpses and sea of blood below him?! This little lady here is the one who is in complete admiration! Hmph!" The joy and excitement from seeing Ling Tian had been completely transformed into a belly full of anger. She hated the fact that she could not give him a bite as she cursed Ling Tian in her heart for being as annoying as he was in their previous life!

Especially the fact that he could actually bring a beauty back in his arms despite going out to escape for his life! All of a sudden, Miss Li Xue's jealousy exploded forth from her heart!

Chapter 535: Chaotic Battle

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Xiao YanXue's head squirmed out from Ling Tian's embrace and she looked at the chilly beauty in front of her with curiosity. This was another lady who was comparable to her in terms of beauty! Xiao YanXue really did not know where Ling Tian's fortune came from and why all the beauties beside him were all so outstanding! She could not help but smile shyly and say, "Nice to meet you."

Just when Li Xue was about to give Ling Tian a piece of her mind, she heard the gentle 'nice to meet you' from Xiao YanXue. Her stomach full of anger could not be vented and she could only suppress it with frustration before replying with resentment, "Nice to meet you too."

Ling Tian carefully put Xiao YanXue down and allowed her to lean on a thick triangular branch, "There's no rush for you two to exchange pleasantries. Let's watch the show first! This all-out battle without any hypocrisy at all is definitely a rare sight."

The two ladies rolled their eyes together in complete harmony.

In the forest, the fight between the Shui and Yu Families was already at its peak. Originally, the numbers of both families were similar with the Yu Family having a slight advantage. But with the Shui Family being hidden and having the advantage at the start of the battle, the Yu Family took a huge loss from the ambush and the Shui Family had about fifty percent more men than the Yu Family! Thus, the Shui Family had the absolute advantage!

However, the situation of the battle right now had also displayed how frightening the White Jade experts of the Yu Family were! The three hundred White Jade experts of the Yu Family had become the main force of the Yu Family. Ling Tian could sharply notice that if they were to consider the strength of the individual experts, apart from Shui QianRou and the six Shui Elders, all the other warriors of the Shui Family were not a match for the White Jade experts of the Yu Family! As such, apart from the absolute suppression during the initial stages of the battle, the Yu Family was gradually able to regain their footing. Conversely, the casualties of the Shui Family also began increasing over time. If there wasn't a third party interfering in this matter, victory would still be up in the air!

When comparing the leaders of both parties…

Shui QianRou single-handedly blocked Yu ZhanKong with an endless wave of sword qi. Apart from the initial moments where Yu ZhanKong was caught off guard by Shui QianRou resulting in him being on the losing end, he gradually stabilized his footing and used his many years of experience to calmly block Shui QianRou's blows. As for the other six Shui Elders, two of them joined hands to fight Yu Zhanhui while the other four fought the ten of White Jade experts of the Yu Family. Although they had the upper hand, they were just unable to kill the White Jade experts engaging them in battle!

As Ling Tian observed the situation from above, he could not help but frown, "Why is this the case?" Ling Tian looked at the battlefield, "Isn't this situation too baffling? Can this even be considered an ambush?" He looked at Li Xue with a slight interrogative gaze, "Who was the one who designed this ambush? Is this what the two of you call an ambush? This is no different from a chaotic battle between two equally matched parties! If not for the Shui Family having the slight advantage of catching the Yu Family by surprise, the Shui Family members would be the ones being slaughtered now!"

Li Xue twitched her lips and said with disdain, "Our plan was naturally flawless and the information that we gave them was definitely accurate. However, the problem lies with the Shui Family. No one else can be blamed but them alone!"

"The problem lies with the Shui Family? How can this be?" Ling Tian asked with a frown.

"When I saw the attitude the Yu Family members had when they entered the forest, I was certain that their deaths were certain! In fact, I was sure that the Shui Family members wouldn't need to exhaust too many men in order to wipe out the Yu Family. The Yu Family members were far too carefree and were no different from an undisciplined mob! On top of that, they had actually walked into the forest openly as though they were attending a dinner banquet and carelessly without sending anyone to scout the road in front of them!" Li Xue sighed with regret, "After the Shui Family activated their ambush, I realized that the idiotic ones are not only the Yu Family members but also the Shui Family members! Are the so-called thousand-year-old families all so incompetent?!"

"With such an advantageous situation in front of them and careless enemies, if I was the one laying the ambush, I would be able to wipe out half of their experts at the very least! Even if a few of them were lucky enough to escape the ambush, they would definitely have to pay a huge price! At that time, I would wipe them out completely in a single attack! However, the so-called ambush of the Shui Family was far too disappointing!" Li Xue said with a mocking smile, "Apart from bows and arrows, these Shui Family fellows do not even know how to use any other weapons! They are like a bunch of fools who threw away their absolute advantage! If this situation persists, it would be difficult for the victor to be determined! What a joke!"

"Only bow and arrows?" Ling Tian was taken aback, "Are you serious?"

Li Xue sneered, "If I was the one laying an ambush, I would definitely swarm them with hidden weapons from all direction and dig traps to ambush them. On top of that, I would also scatter sleeping powder all around and add on some special designs to the traps. I believe that even if a first-rate expert fell into the trap, it would be impossible for him to escape alive! However, who knows what the Shui Family fellows are thinking of. While they did dig holes, they only used them to hide people. Furthermore, they were hiding their own men! They are truly going against all principles of an ambush! On top of that, after the first wave of arrows, their members only launched an attack after half a breath of time, allowing the Yu Family experts some time to react!"

Li Xue sneered with an undisguised disgust and mockery in her eyes, "While half a breath of time isn't much to an ordinary person, it would make a world of a difference to a top-notch expert in a desperate situation! This half a breath of time is enough to bring them from death to life! Isn't the Shui Family a little too 'merciful'?!"

Ling Tian's mouth widened in complete shock. He never imagined that an individual as smart as Shui QianRou would design such a trap so filled with loopholes. In the face of the Yu Family's experts, wasn't she playing with her life like a joke?

Being merciful to your enemy is cruelty to yourself! Regardless of whether or not the mercy was intentional!

However, Ling Tian truly maligned Shui QianRou this time. With regards to the ambush this time around, Shui QianRou had enacted the scene countless of times in her mind. After all, this was a critical mission that would determine if her brother's title of being the successor could be reinstated! How would Shui QianRou dare to let her guard down?

But after the incident with Shui QianHu, Shui QianRou was thoroughly disappointed with her family. On top of that, whenever she went to have a conference with the elders, the few old fellows were afraid that she and her brother would end up snatching the merit from them and thus only allowed her to participate in the mission but not the planning. After half a night of planning, the six Shui Elders finally finalized the 'flawless' ambush plan and disdained to take any of Shui QianRou's advice. Regardless of how much Shui QianRou insisted on her views, they were unwilling to accept them at all.

These six old fellows still stubbornly felt that with the thousand years of enmity with the Yu Family, they had to wipe out the Yu Family experts openly in order to fully display their majesty and prestige. Only then would the Yu Family admit their defeat completely. As such, arranging archers to lay an ambush beforehand was the furthest they would go! If not for there being too many White Jade experts present in the Yu Family's troops, they would have probably waited for the Yu Family experts out in the open for a fair duel!

When they had set up this ambush, the few old fellows of the Shui Family lamented about how these measly traps and tricks were a disgrace to the prestige of a thousand-year-old family… the Second Elder had even let out a sigh to the heavens saying that even if they were able to obtain a complete victory, it was an unfair victory and they would only be disgraced by it.

How could there be such an ignorant person in the world?!

If Ling Tian knew that the reason behind this horrible situation was such a pathetic one, he would definitely curse the few old idiots of the Shui Family for their foolishness! They were akin to prostitutes trying to erect a chastity tablet and old fogies who cared too much about their face!

"Furthermore, these Shui Family members are obviously quite a bit weaker than the White Jade experts of the Yu Family! The difference in their strength is not one that can be made up with by numbers. Thus… I suspect that this was an intentional arrangement." Li Xue analyzed the matter calmly, "Such an arrangement could only be made by the Shui Family Head!"

Ling Tian was startled, "Could it be that Shui ManKong intentionally sacrificed these men in Sky Bearing to weaken the forces of his younger brothers? However, Shui QianHuan and Shui QianRou are his own children after all and furthermore his only two children. Isn't he also putting his children in huge danger?"

Li Xue nodded her head in agreement before replying slowly, "This is indeed a problem. However, just as the saying goes 'If a jade isn't carved, it would be worthless'. Shui ManKong may be making use of this opportunity to train both of his children. Besides that, he can just send out another one or two top-notch experts to protect them in secret and all of his worries would be taken care of." Li Xue then looked at Ling Tian and blinked. "Tian'ge, don't tell me that you believe that these are the only troops that the Shui Family sent to Heavenly Star?"

"Your words do make sense. It seems like Shui ManKong is also a wily old fox. I have truly underestimated him before this." Ling Tian stroked his chin and said with a profound gaze.

"Cheh! Stop acting! Could the Family Head of a thousand-year-old family possibly be a retard?" Li Xue mercilessly tore apart Ling Tian's act. "It would be a wonder if you weren't able to guess that!"

Ling Tian chuckled and shook his head without saying anything to deny those words.

"While the Shui Family has the upper hand at the start, it would be difficult for them to wipe out all of the Yu Family's forces for sure. What should we do! Should we use our strength to leave all of them behind?" Li Xue looked at Ling Tian and said slowly, "Ling Chen, Ling Jian and the rest have concealed themselves in the surrounding to observe the situation. But since you are back, it is best for you to make the decision."

Ling Tian watched the battlefield before him and said calmly, "You can send my orders. Wait for a moment before asking Ling Jian and the rest to take action. There isn't a need to kill all the Yu Family members. You have to leave some alive to complain to Yu ManLou after all."

Chapter 536: Disheartened

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Tian watched the battlefield before him and said calmly, "You can send my orders. Wait for a moment before asking Ling Jian and the rest to take action. There isn't a need to kill all the Yu Family members. You have to leave some alive to complain to Yu ManLou after all."

"You are always too crafty!" Li Xue smiled and looked at the battlefield before her. She then said with a heavy tone, "I am truly surprised. Despite Shui QianRou being in danger, not a single person even bothers rescuing her."

Ling Tian shut his eyes and replied indifferently, "Nothing should go wrong. If Shui ManKong cannot even protect his own daughter, what right does he have to be the head of a family? Besides, it is also time for this conceited lady to be taught a lesson!"

The battle became more and more treacherous and Shui QianRou's sword was like the wind, drifting around unpredictably. She tried her best to avoid a frontal confrontation with Yu ZhanKong while tying him down and not allowing him to attack any of her Shui Family members. At this time, Shui QianRou's back was already filled with sweat and her inner qi was severely exhausted! That's right, Shui QianRou was indeed a rare martial art talent who had already reached the XianTian stage and was comparable to a top-notch expert in the world.

However, Yu ZhanKong had been famous for a long time and was an Elder of the Yu Family. On top of that, he was appointed the leader by Yu ManLou in this trip to Sky Bearing. He went to Sky Bearing especially to deal with Ling Tian and how could such a figure be someone ordinary? At this moment, Shui QianRou could only rely on her nimble movements and sharp sword strikes to barely tie Yu ZhanKong down. However, winning against Yu ZhanKong was no more than a pipe dream!

Shui QianRou's heart was already completely cold!

The battle had already lasted for an hour and Shui QianRou had fought the strongest member of the Yu Family, Yu ZhanKong, from the very start! Up until now, the Shui Family experts were still engaged in their own battles and not a single expert of the Shui Family approached the battle radius of Shui QianRou and Yu ZhanKong! On the contrary, there would be a few Yu Family experts who would give Shui QianRou trouble from time to time. The six Yu Elders would only let out a heroic battle cry with their actions extremely elegant and had plenty of energy to spare. In this life or death battle between the two families where lives were lost and blood was spilled, these six old fellows still had the extra energy to display a majestic pose! As long as there was a Shui Family member who could no longer hold on, they would immediately rush to the rescue. However, they completely ignored Shui QianRou's situation and pretended as though they could not see a thing!

At this moment, Shui QianRou finally understood that these men came to Sky Bearing not just to take care of her brother, Shui QianHuan, but also with the intention of taking care of her! If she were to die in this battlefield in the hands of the Yu Family's experts, it would be the best outcome for the few Shui Elders and the three Shui brothers! With the two children of the Shui Family Head dead, there wouldn't be anyone of direct descent from the Family Head! At that time, they would have no choice but to settle for one of the three Shui brothers! Once that happened, the authority of the Shui Family would shift hands and it was definitely a wonderful plan!

Boundless rage could be seen in Shui QianRou's eyes and her heart was filled with endless grief! Just why did she place her life on the line to tie Yu ZhanKong down? Wasn't it so she could help alleviate the pressure on her Shui Family's troops? Wasn't it so they could finish the battle quickly and allow the Shui Family to have a foothold in Heavenly Star?

However, the only thing she gained in exchange for all her effort was the schemes and abandonment of her family!

Shui QianRou was thoroughly disheartened! At this moment, she even had the thought of throwing her sword away and giving up the thought of resisting. She could then borrow Yu ZhanKong's hands to end this miserable life of hers!

A couple of miserable groans sounded and a Yu Family expert collapsed onto the ground riddled with injuries. There were three fatal wounds on his body but the price of those wounds was that two Shui Family experts had taken a step onto the Yellow Springs Road before him!

Blood sprayed all over the ground and the ground was also covered with silver, pearls, and gold. Being soaked in blood, these treasures were trampled on by the experts as though they were worthless garbage. When their life was placed in front of them, these treasures seemed so worthless and not a single person spared it a glance. All the Yu Family experts who were previously delighted about their newly gained riches were now throwing all of these riches away, afraid that the extra weight on their body would affect their movement techniques. The eyes of all the experts were bloodshot as they clenched their teeth and pounced forward towards their enemies like hungry wolves. Their brothers and comrades were dying beside them but not a single person had the extra energy to help each other.

Countless corpses were littered all over the forest floor and even in death, the malevolent expressions on their faces could be seen. But after being trampled on by their comrades and enemies, all that was left of their corpses was a pile of mushy flesh!

From the start of the battle until now, less than 400 of the initial 1100 Yu Family experts were left! As for the Shui Family, less than 700 of their 1300 experts were left! The ferocity of the battle could be easily imagined!

Shui QianRou's inner qi was almost all exhausted and her swordplay was becoming increasingly messy. At the same time, her vision was also starting to become blurry and she could only defend herself with the innate reflexes of a martial artist. There suddenly seemed to be multiple Yu ZhanKongs in front of her and she was already at her wits end!

A malevolent grin suddenly surfaced on Yu ZhanKong's face and he brandished his sword with full strength. His sword charged at Shui QianRou like the coming of a thunderstorm and he finally replaced defense with offense! Shui QianRou could barely receive two blows before her sword was sent flying from her hands. At the same time, her figure stumbled backward and she weakly collapsed onto the ground. Yu ZhanKong let out a vicious smile and his sword stabbed towards Shui QianRou's heart like a venomous snake emerging from its cave!

All of a sudden, three black-robed experts appeared like spirits with black masks covering their faces and a snow white sword in their hands. With a few clanging sounds, they deflected Yu ZhanKong's attack before sending their own swords towards Yu ZhanKong mercilessly!

Yu ZhanKong was startled and he quickly retreated backward. Two of the black-robed experts dashed forward and unleashed a flurry of attacks which took Yu ZhanKong all he had to block them. The remaining black-robed expert grabbed Shui QianRou and shot towards the sky. After that, the other two experts quickly retreated and followed after and defended their retreat. After appearing with a stunning entrance, they escaped quickly without any hesitation!

"Who are you?! Put our little princess down!" The few Shui Family experts were immediately on full alert. They abandoned their opponents and chased after the three black-robed experts. With their bodies hanging in mid-air, they flung out flying daggers, sleeved darts and concealed caltrops towards the three escaping experts! The target of their attacks was actually the same! As long as these three experts couldn't block this wave of hidden weapons, Shui QianRou would definitely have to perish on the spot! Who knew if these six Elders were trying to save their little princess or murder her?!

"B*st*rds!" The three black-robed experts let out an angry roar and brandished their swords in unison to form a powerful sword net, blocking all of the incoming hidden weapons. However, this action of theirs had given the six Elders a chance to catch up to them. The six Elders brandished their weapons and with sword qi flying in all directions, they did not give the three experts a chance to speak and attempted to kill them as quickly as possible!

These six Elders had actually ignored their lifetime enemy, the Yu Family, but used all of their strength to stop these three experts instead! They knew that this was the final and best chance for them to get rid of Shui QianRou. After the battle today, they had thoroughly offended Shui QianRou and as long as she returned safely, none of them would be able to escape blame. Furthermore, Shui QianHu had already smashed Shui QianHuan to death. Regardless of whether or not that action was intentional, the deed was already done. Thus, to the six of them, Shui QianRou's death was even more important than the Yu Family members!

The three black-robed experts let out a loud roar and matched blows with the six Shui Elders. The nine figures then flew back in opposite directions. After that, two of the black-robed experts joined their swords underneath the feet of the expert carrying Shui QianRou. With a loud shout, the black-robed expert carrying Shui QianRou suddenly shot out like a catapult and disappeared into the dense forest.

The remaining two elders landed on the ground and their eyes glowed with anger underneath the mask. All of a sudden, the two of them growled, "Shui ManCheng, you're good!" The words 'you're good' were said with their teeth being gnashed in extreme anger. The moment these words were said, the bodies of the six Shui Elders shook in unison.

With a sneer, the two remaining black-robed experts ignored the miserable battle and disappeared into the forest as well. As for the six Shui Elders, they did not make a single move after hearing the words 'you're good'. Instead, they looked at each other with a bitter expression on their faces.

With the six Shui Elders leaving the battlefield, despite it being a short instant, it was enough to cause a drastic change to the battlefield! The many experts of the Yu Family felt a sudden decrease in pressure and immediately made their comeback. By the time the six Shui Elders returned to the battlefield, there were a full thirty more corpses on the battlefield!

After the long battle, most of the experts no longer had much energy left. Both parties were fatigued and they only relied on their will and determination to continue the battle. Their attacks were no longer martial skills but only simple slashes and stabs. But even if this was the case, there were still many casualties generated in this short instant! Especially Yu ZhanShui and Yu ZhanKong, the two of them were acting like tigers as they reaped the lives of the Shui Family experts to their heart's content like they were dicing up vegetables.

The six Shui Elders flew into a rage as the witnessed the situation and let out a frenzied roar, "Kill them all! Fight with all you've got!" They then led the charge.

On the large pine tree, Ling Tian's lips curled up in disdain, "Fight with all you've got? You guys make it seem as though they weren't giving it their all before this. All of your subordinates are exhausted to the point they are panting like dogs but you guys can still say something like this!"

Young noble Ling sat atop the tree criticizing the battle beneath him in a leisurely manner. On his left was Xiao YanXue and on his right was Li Xue. Two beauties were beside him and he was truly leading the frivolous life! The thousand or so people below probably wouldn't believe that while they were killing to the point rivers of blood were being formed, there was still someone above them watching a good show! At the same time, he was still complaining about the fact that he did not have any good wine to go with this occasion and lamenting about the fact that he should not have finished his 'Hero's Blood'!

"You still have the mood to care about this? Your beauty has already been kidnapped." Li Xue twitched her lips and ignored Ling Tian's grumbling.

"No matter, Chen'er has already followed after them. Didn't you notice that?!" Ling Tian stroked his chin and laughed evilly. The instant the black-robed expert shot out into the thick woods, Ling Tian saw a faint shadow following after them. While they were too far away from the battlefield and the faint figure could not be seen clearly with even the gender unknown, Ling Tian could recognize Ling Chen with just his instinct alone after living together with her for more than ten years!

After looking down at the increasingly crazy battle beneath him, Ling Tian raised his head up and looked towards the sky. He then closed his eyes and with a smile on his face, he said coldly, "It is about time. It is time for this battle to come to an end."

Li Xue nodded her head and with a wave of her hands, a sleeved dart shot towards the sky!

Chapter 537: Extreme Slaughter

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Li Xue nodded her head and with a wave of her hands, a sleeved dart shot towards the sky!

Without a sound, another three black figures charged onto the battlefield like ghosts. Their figures weaved through the forest swiftly but the sound of their clothes rushing through the air could not be heard at all. They appeared like a gentle fog on the battlefield but carried with them a boundless killing intent!

Each of the three black-masked men was holding onto a longsword and they charged into the battlefield like a bunch of locusts going through a farm field. Following the entrance of the three of them, a river of blood began to flow around them as they swiftly and easily reaped the lives of the people around them with clouds of blood exploding at their sides.

If the battle between the Shui and Yu Family experts was like street hooligans having a street fight, then these three new black-masked men were like world-class professional boxers! It was as though the experts of the two families were rookies of the pugilistic world, and these three black-masked men were grandmasters!

The difference between the two groups was far too obvious and huge!

Every sword that struck out was extremely ferocious, accurate and swift. Every attack of theirs would definitely land and every attack that landed would definitely kill. At the same time, every attack of theirs would be extremely precise with the amount of energy used being just right to kill their enemy. Not a single shred of energy was wasted and their actions were extremely nimble. Anyone they passed by would hold onto their necks and collapse onto the ground! The blood that shot out from their necks was no thicker than a string. While there would occasionally be a thicker string of blood being shot out, it would be no thicker than the diameter of a finger. This special scene fully displayed the exquisite killing techniques of these three black-masked men. The accuracy of their attacks and control of their strength had achieved perfection! Ever since the three of them entered the battlefield, not a single person that they killed had blood spurting out from his neck!

What frightening killing techniques!

Countless corpses collapsed onto the ground and faced the sky with a small fountain of blood shooting up towards the sky. Ling Tian suddenly thought about the irrigation system in his previous life watering the town garden. The scene before him today was just too similar to that scene!

The only difference was that the former was pleasant to view but the latter was terrifying!

The three individuals swept through the battlefield like a violent tornado and anyone in front of them, regardless of whether they were a Yu or Shui Family expert, would be killed without mercy. When these three well-rested top-notch assassins faced off against the fatigued soldiers who could barely lift up their swords, it was no longer a fight but a one-sided massacre! In fact, it couldn't even be considered a massacre, it was no different from a little child destroying an ant's nest!

Or perhaps another analogy could be made. They were like three hardworking farmers waving their sickles to reap their wheat harvest. They were like starving beasts swallowing prey that were completely incapable of defending themselves. Or perhaps it could be said that they were like the lightning of the heavens forming a gigantic mountain crushing towards a little mound!

This was the instant for them to collect their harvest and those who were the 'harvest' could only accept their fate!

At the end of the day, Xiao YanXue who was atop the tree was a pampered young miss who had never witnessed such a bloody scene before. At the very most, she would have witnessed the killing of a few of her family's enemies. While the previous battle between the Yu and Shui Families was intense, it wasn't considered bloody. With Ling Tian and Li Xue analyzing the battlefield beside her, while she felt a tinge of discomfort, it was still bearable. But ever since the three black-masked men entered the battlefield, the atmosphere of the battlefield changed entirely, exploding forth with bloodiness and violence. After she witnessed the fountains of blood shooting out from the corpses, Xiao YanXue felt her body tremble and legs turn to jelly. With a soft squeal, she dived into Ling Tian's embrace and shut her eyes tight, not daring to watch the battle any longer. However, the fishy bloody smell in the surroundings still made her have the urge to puke!

Ling Tian patted her on the back gently to console her and imbued his pure inner qi into her body as well. Ling Tian's inner qi flowed into her body like a small stream and immediately alleviated the disgust she felt in her heart making her feel much better.

Countless frightened screams endlessly sounded and both the Yu and Shui Family experts were petrified by the entrance of these three mysterious experts. They originally thought that these three experts were here to aid their enemy but were shocked to realize that these three experts were killing both parties indiscriminately. Be it the Shui or Yu Family members, anyone who was within their range was killed without mercy! Ever since these three black-masked men appeared, there were more than a hundred experts of the Shui and Yu Family experts dying under their hands! The frightening speed of these three experts, the ferocity of their means, and viciousness of their hearts was a ghastly sight to all the experts present!

A war between the sandpiper and clam with the fisherman catching them both in the end?!

However, just who was the fisherman?

Just what organization would have this courage to enter the battlefield between these two thousand-year-old families?!

Yu ZhanKong deflected the attacks of the Shui Family experts and retreated a full thirty feet while roaring, "Where did these friends come from? Why are you guys killing without distinguishing black from white? This old man is the Elder of the Yu Family, Yu ZhanKong. If this is a misunderstanding and a slip of the hand, may you friends stay your hand and this old man will promise to not pursue the matter!"

Yu ZhanKong reported his name and took a large step back with extremely attractive conditions. After all, almost half of the experts who had died belonged to the Yu Family and the ones who were still alive now were naturally not weak. In just a short instant, there were plenty of Yu Family experts who had died and Yu ZhanKong had actually promised to not pursue the matter! This was indeed a huge step back!

However, the only response he got was a sharp sword shooting towards his throat at a lightning fast speed!

Yu ZhanKong was startled and it was far too late for him to block the attack. He quickly dodged to the left and his figure drifted out diagonally. However, this sudden dodging action of his had resulted in his inner qi almost flowing back in reverse. He felt his blood churning and he only managed to resist the side effects with his pure inner qi! Before Yu ZhanKong could catch his breath and recover from the shock, another silver light flickered before him and he felt a bone-piercing chill targeted at his throat. That sword had actually shot towards him again with the target being none other than his throat!

Yu ZhanKong's expression changed drastically. At this moment, his body was still hovering in mid-air and he had no choice but to forcefully increase the speed of his descent. At the same time, his right leg kicked out. However, this kick of his was not targeted at the black-masked man but targeted at a random person below him. He only hoped that the person that he sent flying would be able to block the black-masked man for a short instant. After the person let out a mournful groan, Yu ZhanKong realized that the person he sent flying was actually a member of his Yu Family!

With a 'shua shua' sound, the Yu Family member who was sent flying was diced into pieces before he could even react and his body was reduced to a bloody cloud! He was the only person who did not die with a complete corpse under the hands of the black-masked men!

The black-masked man then emerged from the bloody cloud like a demon and brandished his sword at Yu ZhanKong's throat again! His sword was both swift and stubborn as though the only mission of his sword was to pierce through Yu ZhanKong's throat and would not rest until that mission was achieved!

Underneath the black mask, a pair of cold eyes stared at Yu ZhanKong emotionlessly as though he was staring at a dead person!

Yu ZhanKong's action of sending someone flying to block his enemy for an instant was undeniably the right action. For an expert of his level, even a small window of time was enough to buy him his life!

Yu ZhanKong suddenly let out a loud roar and circulated all of his inner qi and retreated backward with all he had. Everyone he met along the way would be sent flying by Yu ZhanKong's powerful inner qi! He had actually forcefully bashed out a road among the crowd! Under such circumstances, Yu ZhanKong could no longer consider if he would commit fratricide and his only thought was to protect his life. As long as he could escape from the sword of this black-masked man, he would be satisfied. He no longer had the luxury of thinking about anything else!

The black-masked man chased after Yu ZhanKong closely and his sword was never more than three inches away from Yu ZhanKong's throat. His figure followed closely behind Yu ZhanKong like a shadow and despite Yu ZhanKong still holding onto his sword, this little distance was insufficient for Yu ZhanKong to retract his sword. Despite holding onto his sword, he could not do anything with it! If his retreat was delayed by just a short moment, his throat would definitely be pierced by the demon in front of him!

In less than half a breath's time, Yu ZhanKong was already filled with sweat all over and beads of sweat rolled down his face. It had even entered his eyes but he just did not dare to even blink his eyes. All of his heart and soul was covered by the fear of death and he suddenly felt as though his soul was floating in the air and was completely powerless!

Using the lives of his subordinates in exchange for a chance to stay alive was actually such a difficult task. If that's the case, perhaps it would be better for him to have a swift death!

With one person escaping and the other chasing, these two individuals had weaved through the entire battlefield in just a short few breaths! Just when the fear in Yu ZhanKong's heart was at the extreme and he felt as though he was about to collapse, that bone-piercing sword light was suddenly retracted and a trace of mockery could be seen in the eyes of the black-masked man. The black-masked man then retracted his sword and following a wave of miserable groans, he killed his way back to the battlefield!

He had actually given up on an opponent who lost all hope and went back into the battlefield!

Yu ZhanKong had become the lucky and only individual to escape from the black-masked man's hands!

Yu ZhanKong rubbed his throat and panted heavily. He could not even see what was in front of him clearly and his body was completely exhausted. Up until now, his eyes were still filled with shock and he just could not understand why the black-masked man would let him go despite the fact that he did not have any chance of escaping! Could it be that the black-masked man was showing mercy? Since the black-masked man had killed so many people mercilessly, why would the black-masked man let him go? Why would the black-masked man show him mercy? If the black-masked man did not want to kill him, why did the black-masked man chase him for such a long time? As Yu ZhanKong thought about that, his body slumped onto the muddy ground without the strength to even move his fingers.