538 - 544

Chapter 538: The Battle Ends

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Yu ZhanKong decided that as long as he recovered a trace of strength, he would escape for his life immediately! He would rather return and face the anger of his Family Head than face the black-masked assassin again!

Perhaps only the heavens would know that when escaping from the 'shadow' previously, this top-notch expert of the Yu Family, an elder class figure, actually wet his pants along the way! At the same time, he was whining for his parents in his heart and was truly terrified out of his wits!

Ling Tian suddenly sat upright and a trace of surprise could be seen in his eyes, "It has only been a few days since I last saw him and Ling Jian's martial arts actually improved so swiftly? All of these years, this is the first time I am surprised by Ling Jian's improvement! It seems like the near-death experience in Northern Wei truly was a great help to Ling Jian's improvements. For an extreme XianTian expert to make another breakthrough it was necessary for him to feel the danger of life and death!"

"That's right, the instant before life and death may also be the instant before their breakthrough. This logic is one that applies to any world!" Li Xue snorted before rolling her eyes, "You probably didn't know, right? This number one subordinate of yours, the number one assassin in the world, issued me a challenge the moment he recovered from his injuries. He said that he wants to teach me a good lesson for my pranks after this matter with the Shui Family is settled. Cheh! I am so afraid! The number one assassin in the world wants to teach me a lesson!" Li Xue twitched her lips.

Ling Tian was first stunned before he had the urge to burst out laughing. My dear Ling Jian, why is your luck always so poor? The last time you excitedly challenged Ling Chen to a battle, you got beaten up by her miserably. Now, you actually want to provoke Li Xue?! Li Xue was someone that even Ling Tian wouldn't dare to provoke. Even with Ling Tian having a huge improvement in his martial arts and the confidence to win against her, he knew that it definitely wouldn't be an easy fight!

While it was true that Ling Jian did improve swiftly after this breakthrough, he was still a distance away from Li Xue's martial arts realm! If the two of them were to engage in an all-out battle, Ling Jian being abused would be the inevitable outcome. To think that this little brat still had the confidence to issue an official challenge.

"At that time, I will be the judge for the two of you. Don't worry, I will definitely be impartial. How could I miss such a classic battle?" Ling Tian said while gloating with schadenfreude.

"Mmm, it would be good for you to be around. I will let him know that there is another emotion in the world called regret! Who asked him to frighten me with those scary looks of his!" Li Xue puffed angrily.

Ling Tian chuckled, "I believe that before he realizes that emotion, he will feel something else first. Something else that he has felt before!"

"Feel what? Something that he has felt before?!" Li Xue asked curiously.

"Pain!" Ling Tian said with all seriousness and Xiao YanXue who was in his embrace burst out laughing. She suddenly felt that this lady who was called Li Xue had exactly the same character as Ling Tian. She was also someone who did not care about anything and felt that she was the biggest in the world. In the face of such a bloody scene beneath them, the two of them could actually have such a casual conversation and joke with each other!

Li Xue's gaze swept past the battlefield coldly. The members of both the Shui and Yu Families were more or less dead by now. Of the six Shui Elders, three had already died! As for the Yu Family, there was only Yu ZhanShui and another fifty odd White Jade experts left on the battlefield. The Shui Family was in a better shape and still had a hundred odd members at least. However, all of the Shui Family members left were completely exhausted and also in a pitiful plight.

It was obvious that both sides suffered heavy losses in this battle!

"It's about there. Don't let them all die. Before the main character enters the stage, it would be boring if all the extras died." Ling Tian remarked lazily.

Li Xue nodded her head and waved her hand again. A sharp shrill whistle then sounded and the three black-masked men sheathed their swords. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, the three of them disappeared to three different directions! In this short duration of their presence on the battlefield, the forest floor was littered with more than a hundred corpses.

Both the Shui and Yu members had killed to the point their eyes turned red. Even after the departure of the black-masked men, they were still engaged in an all-out slaughter. It was only after a short while where they realized that these three baleful existences had disappeared! This discovery made both parties extremely shocked as they froze on the spot without fighting.

There were less than 200 people left from both parties and they all stood rooted to the spot like wooden poles, forming an extremely strange sight!

It was too strange! It was too bewildering! Why did these three assassins suddenly leave? What was their motive?

If they were here for riches, they didn't bother picking up a single tael of silver from the ground! If they were here to take revenge on the Yu Family, they let Yu ZhanKong off. If they were here to aid the Shui Family, they killed more than a hundred members of the Shui Family including three Shui Elders! If they were here to wipe out both the families, why would they suddenly retreat at the very last minute?

Everyone could not help but have a big question mark in their hearts. Such a confusing situation was something that puzzled all of them! Just what was going on?

Just when everyone was still in bewilderment, Yu ZhanKong who had collapsed by the side was the first to react. After this short moment of rest, some of his inner qi had been recovered. More importantly, the departure of the three masked men also meant that the fear in his heart was swept away! He suddenly felt his body full of energy again! This poor old fellow was truly terrified by Ling Jian!

Yu ZhanKong sprung up from the ground and his eyes swept the surroundings with a lingering fear. After confirming the fact that the three asuras had left, he shouted, "There aren't many members of the Shui Family left! Kill our way out! Our reinforcements are waiting for us at Nine Swallow City! Squeeze out every last ounce of strength that you have. The fiercer you are, the more likely you are to make it out alive!"

These words immediately summoned the souls of everyone back and they were brimming with an intent to battle again. This was the final battle intent that they could muster. How could the battle end before their enemy was dead?! Everyone let out a battlecry of rage as they forced their fatigued bodies to continue the battle. But this time, the Yu Family members no longer fought to the bitter end but sought to escape.

The fifty or so White Jade experts gathered together and they were spurred on by Yu ZhanKong's words. At this moment, their will to survive helped them to explode forth with a powerful strength and the strength they displayed was no different from their prime! While the Shui Family still held the numerical advantage, how would they be able to block the desperate escape of the Yu Family?

While the three black-masked men did not manage to kill all of these experts, there was something that they managed to accomplish! The three of them had wiped out the deeply rooted arrogance of these disciples from a thousand-year-old family!

If both parties were engaged in an evenly matched battle, none of them would feel anything and could even see past their life and death! But after the entrance of these three assassins, a question rose in each and every one of their hearts. As compared to those three assassins, how should our thousand-year-old family be considered? What right do we have to be arrogant? What right do we have to be proud?!

The members from both the families no longer wanted to stay in this place for even a moment!

Under such a mindset, the Yu Family was easily able to break out from the encirclement and at this moment, none of them had the interest to take their riches along with them! As long as they could escape from this slaughterhouse, they would thank their ancestors for their blessings. If they still wanted to take the riches on the ground away with them, it would be an incomparably foolish decision!

As such, after the Yu Family members successfully broke out from the encirclement, they did not dare to even turn their heads back once as they hastily escaped for their lives. They were truly like dogs that had lost their homes and fish that had escaped from the net! After this bitter battle, the Yu Family members had a shadow of fear cast over them throughout the whole journey and traveled through the day and night. They did not even dare to stop too long for a meal and they would be startled by any small disturbance. Even the barking of a wild dog would cause all of them to be on guard as though they met an enemy. When they finally met up with the troops that the Yu Family sent to receive them, half of them had actually collapsed from a nervous breakdown! Just what kind of a pressure did they endure?!

The few lucky ones who were able to emerge alive had all turned frail and skinny and no longer looked human. After returning to the Yu Family, they would be haunted by the three masked men every time they closed their eyes. They would have nightmares every night and end up shouting in their dreams because of fear. This caused another wave of commotion in the Yu Family and everyone thought that these survivors must have been possessed!

The Shui Family members no longer had the will to continue battling. Upon seeing the leftover forces of the Yu Family breaking out of their encirclement and escaping, many of them threw down the swords in their hands and collapsed onto the ground. They could no longer be bothered by the bloodied limbs that were scattered all over the place.

After this miserable battle, apart from the unbearable fatigue which they felt, there was also the sudden emptiness of their souls. The comrades that they were joking with before the battle had all turned into a pile of mush littered all over the ground that they were stepping on. The brothers that they had grown up with together had been diced up into pieces by their enemies not even leaving an intact corpse behind. The extreme grief and emptiness that they felt filled them with loneliness and frustration!

The sound of an incoming carriage could be heard and a troop of neatly dressed soldiers appeared following the lead of a white-robed young man.

That white-robed young man had a sharp gaze like a sword and his face looked cold like the body of a sword. The outline of his face was extremely distinct as though it was carved out by a sword and the feeling being emanated from him was as though he was an extremely sharp treasure sword! The killing intent that was being emanated was also one which could only be felt from a treasured sword!

Chapter 539: Epitome of Shamelessness

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Updated by NovelFull.Com

That white-robed young man had a sharp gaze like a sword and his face looked cold like the body of a sword. The outline of his face was extremely distinct as though it was carved out by a sword and the feeling being emanated from him was as though he was an extremely sharp treasure sword! The killing intent that was being emanated was also one which could only be felt from a treasured sword!

His gaze swept past the surviving members of the Shui Family and they immediately felt the cool autumn turn into the freezing winter. There was even a chill rising up from the depths of their hearts!

This was Ling Jian! Sword of Ling Tian!

The First Elder ignored the fatigue on his body and hurriedly stood up with an apologetic smile, "So it is little brother Ling who is here to receive us. For us to trouble little brother Ling to make a personal appearance, this old man is truly grateful."

In truth, the First Elder was thoroughly enraged in his heart! The Ling Family said that they would provide support for them but had only arrived at the very end of the battle! If they had an expert like Ling Jian participating in the battle, not a single person of the Yu Family would have been able to escape and the losses of their Shui Family wouldn't have been so huge! Especially the fact that Ling Jian's martial arts definitely weren't weaker than the three black-masked men. With him on the battlefield, the situation definitely wouldn't be that horrible!

But when he was truly facing Ling Jian, he did not even dare to voice a word of complaint. In fact, he did not even dare to show a tinge of dissatisfaction. He knew that this white-robed teen in front of him could turn all of his tired soldiers into a mountain of corpses by himself! In the face of such strength, even if he had a mountain of grievance in his heart, he could only bury it because of his incompetence!

He naturally didn't know that Ling Jian had already participated in the battle and was even the one who killed the most! Furthermore, the black-robed man who caused Yu ZhanKong to pee in his pants was also this white-robed young man in front of them. It was just that the First Elder of the Shui Family couldn't recognize him. If Yu ZhanKong was here, he would probably be able to recognize Ling Jian based on his aura. After all, the black-masked man had imprinted too deep of an impression on Yu ZhanKong's heart!

Ling Jian's cold gaze landed onto the First Elder's face and he said emotionlessly, "We are not here to receive you."

The First Elder was stunned for a moment and immediately felt as though he had eaten a fly. He forced a smile and said, "Then… little brother Ling is here for…"

Ling Jian replied coldly, "I am here under Miss Ling Chen's orders to retrieve all of our Ling Family's riches which were stolen by the Yu Family from Sky Bearing! What has the rest got to do with me?!"

"The Ling Family's riches?" The First Elder was smoldering with anger!

His Shui Family had sacrificed more than a thousand people before finally being able to chase the Yu Family away who left all of these treasures behind. All of the treasures that littered the battlefield were supposed to be the victor's spoil of war. In other words, these treasures all over the floor should belong to their Shui Family! In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that every item was stained with the blood of their Shui Family members!

However, the Ling Family did not even send a single member from start to end and their Shui Family was the one fighting the whole battle. The spoils of war were also seized by their Shui Family but the Ling Family actually had the cheek to righteously claim ownership of the spoils of war! Furthermore, they were still shameless enough to say that these were originally the riches of their Ling Family!

Not only did the Ling Family not put out any effort, they even wanted to swallow all the treasures alone! What did the Ling Family think their Shui Family was?! The First Elder was angered by Ling Jian to the point he almost spit out a mouthful of blood. He suddenly felt breathless and his face turned ashen as he almost fainted!

After panting heavily for a moment, the First Elder managed to calm himself down and replied with a calm tone, "Little brother Ling must be joking." The First Elder tried his best to control his anger and prevented any trace of dissatisfaction from showing on his face but it was impossible for the First Elder to squeeze out a smile. Despite all of his efforts, a trace of anger could still be heard in his words.

"Joke?" Ling Jian's lightning-like gaze was fixed onto the First Elder, "All of these originally belonged to my Ling Family and it was those Yu Family b*st*rds who stole it from our Ling Family's businesses without our knowledge! We only found out about this matter after performing our checks and I am here for this matter. Old Madam Ling has ordered that not a single copper coin can be missing! You actually dare to say that I am joking? Are my words very funny?? Could it be that all of these treasures are not from the businesses of the Ling Family?!"

The First Elder was intimidated by Ling Jian's sharp gaze and could not help but take a few steps back. At the same time, his tone also became weaker, "Little brother Ling, these treasures were captured by our Shui Family after all!" At the same time, he cursed the Ling Family repeatedly in his heart, You guys still have the cheek to say that not a single copper coin can be missing?! Shameless to the extreme!

"First Elder must be the one who is joking!" Ling Jian snorted, "Your Shui Family has a thousand-year-old feud with the Yu Family. Wasn't the purpose of your ambush to kill your enemies? Were you here to rob the Yu Family of their riches? Or could it be that you wouldn't have taken action if the Yu Family wasn't carrying this batch of treasure from the Ling Family? First Elder isn't very good at cracking jokes! Furthermore, even if your Shui Family didn't take action, I would have personally retrieved our Ling Family's treasures. It can only be said that under a series of coincidences, our Ling Family owes you a favor! We are extremely grateful!"

Despicable! Shameless! This is the epitome of shamelessness! Since you guys want to snatch your treasures back, why didn't you take action earlier? Why did you only appear after the battle ended? Since these were the treasures of your Ling Family, why did you allow the Yu Family to leave with it? Could it be that you guys were truly clueless about it beforehand? Do you guys really treat us as fools?!

Besides that, even if these are your Ling Family's treasures, it is already our Shui Family's spoils of war. It is fine if you want to take it away, but if your Ling Family wants to eat the meat, you have to let us drink the soup at least, right? You guys are now dissatisfied with eating the meat together with the bones and skin and even want to swallow the pot down your throat!

It was no different from making use of their Shui Family as a spear!

The First Elder was fuming to the point his body trembled. He never imagined that there could be such a shameless person in the world! In just a few sentences, he had made all of the sacrifices and efforts of their Shui Family worthless! All of their sacrifices were made in exchange for a worthless favor!

"Little brother Ling, wouldn't that mean that the thousand disciples of my Shui Family died for nothing?" The First Elder was no longer able to control his anger and his tone became unfriendly.

Ling Jian had originally turned around already and upon hearing those words, turned back and glared at the First Elder coldly. "How could it be that they died for nothing? First Elder's words aren't right. Didn't you guys also kill almost a thousand Yu Family members? The valor and bravery of your Shui Family's disciples were not for nothing! Your enemies were almost wiped out this time. What more do you want?"

Ling Jian glared at the First Elder coldly and said with a frosty tone, "Could it be that on top of dealing with your thousand-year-old feud, your Shui Family is eyeing the wealth of your alliance partner? That is an extremely despicable action!"

"You!" The First Elder was angered by Ling Jian's shamelessness to the point his limbs turned cold. After trembling for a short moment, his face turned red before turning pale white. He then spat out a mouthful of blood, staining his snow-white beard, before shutting his eyes and falling backward. He was actually angered to the point he fainted!

Since he couldn't win against Ling Jian in a verbal or fist fight, perhaps fainting was the best option for him.

The remaining Shui Family members glared at Ling Jian in an unfriendly manner as though they wanted to swallow this white-robed teen in front of them alive!

Ling Jian frowned and said, "Your Elder has suffered such heavy injuries, why aren't you guys taking good care of him? Now that he has fainted, quickly support him and treat him well. An old man like him requires good medical attention! Why are all of you guys still standing there like wooden poles?!"

The Shui Family members were all dumbfounded! Isn't this Ling Family brat too shameless? What does he mean by us not taking good care of him? Weren't you the one who angered him to the point that he fainted?

A couple of Shui Family members grunted and placed their hands on their swords, taking a step forward with a baleful aura! If not for Ling Jian's exceptional strength, they would have probably charged forward to kill him by now!

Ling Jian's face was immediately covered by a layer of frost. He suddenly lifted his head up and glared at the Shui Family members coldly, "You guys still want to fight me?!" As he said those words, a heaven-encompassing killing intent exploded forth from his body and engulfed the Shui Family members like a tsunami. Ling Jian stood motionlessly on the spot and seemed to have turned into a heaven-shaking treasure with his bloodthirsty killing intent completely revealed!

The few Shui Family members who had intentions of fighting Ling Jian immediately felt as though they had been thrown into a freezer. Under the pressing gaze of their opponent, they could not even take a single step forward and had to circulate all of their inner qi to withstand the pressing aura of their opponent. They did not dare to even move a single finger as their faces turned completely pale with beads of sweat rolling down their face and dripping onto the ground.

Ling Jian glared at them coldly and expressionlessly for a long while before letting out a sneer and turning around with disdain. He then shouted at the Ling Family's warriors who were collecting the treasures on the ground, "Hurry up, lest some fellows become greedy and are unable to control themselves. Not everyone has seen so much treasure in their lives and even a thousand-year-old family will act like little thieves in the face of such treasures!"

The warriors immediately acknowledged Ling Jian's orders and sped up the collection of treasures.

After Ling Jian turned around, the Shui Family members immediately felt that pressing aura around them disappearing. They suddenly felt a wave of weightlessness and many of them stumbled from this sudden change. Looking at the spotless back of the white-robed teen, all of the Shui Family members felt a wave of helplessness and a deep sense of humiliation.

As one of the two thousand-year-old families surviving in the world, since when had they suffered from such humiliation? The treasure that was supposed to be theirs was snatched by others in front of them. On top of that, the hundred or so of them did not even dare to let out a grunt when facing the pressure of a single person!

Chapter 540: Returning Back Fully Loaded

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

As one of the two strongest millennium-old families, when had the Shui Family suffered such a humiliation? However, even after eating such a bitter pill this time around, none of the over hundred members dared to even make a squeak!

On top of the tree, Li Xue let out a light laugh as she said, "I never realized this in the past, but Ling Jian's words are actually this incisive! For him not to change his occupation to be a bandit, the underworld is really losing out!"

In contrast, Ling Tian shook his head regretfully, "Ling Jian still hasn't fully mastered it, and can't speak well. If it was me, I would make sure that all of them would be angered to death after two sentences from me! To think that he only made them faint from anger, how useless!"

This caused Xiao YanXue to open her mouth in silent shock, as her eyes bulged.Even with Ling Jian's standard, he still wasn't satisfied? What sort of person was this guy?!

Seeing Xiao YanXue's expression, Li Xue couldn't hold in her laughter. She interjected, "Seems like this sister still doesn't know the situation. Our dear young noble Ling here takes extreme joy in driving people to their graves by angering them. When you know him long enough, you will realize that any word spoken by this jerk here can cause the dead to start jumping within their graves in anger!"

Xiao YanXue could not help laughing too. However, her face suddenly turned red as she said in embarrassment, "How could I not know? I've long ago had a taste of it, this jerk is not a good man." Li Xue nodded her head repeatedly in common understanding, sighing as she replied, "You make a lot of sense here!"

Ling Tian stared at them in return. "What sort of nonsense are you two silly little girls talking about? How am I not a good person? Just look at me, how could you find someone like me, who's handsome, elegant, refined, master of brush and sword, an instantly likable person, naive and kindhearted but also pure and without flaws? All those words you said to this young noble were basically to slander and insult me!"

"Naive and kindhearted? Pure without flaws?" The two ladies laughed until the branches of the tree started to shake. Using such embellishments on Ling Tian was basically smearing the reputation these few compliments had!

"However, this matter still has some loopholes." After laughing for a moment, Li Xue turned the topic back on track, "If Yu ManLou finds out about today, he would immediately connect the fact that the First Pavilion has joined the war. This will inevitably reveal the relationship we have with the First Pavilion." As she spoke, she let out a sigh. "Ling Jian shouldn't have killed the people from both families, for other than us, what other family would have the ability or the influence to benefit from this? Furthermore, with the agreement between you and Yu ManLou agreeing not to infringe each other's territory within the five years, he will use that to blame you for foul play!"

"I believe otherwise!" Ling Tian laughed out. "Even if Yu ManLou were to suspect anything, it would only be a suspicion. He after all still does not have any sort of concrete proof to pinpoint the blame towards our Ling Family. Besides, the time between mine and Justice's bet still has over a month to go. Within this month, everyone would believe that I'm busy escaping for my life. How would I even have the strength to go about planning such a big event? Thus, Yu ManLou's thoughts would only stop at suspicions, and based on his mistrustful attitude as well as his habit of doing things after planning everything out, he would not rashly move at this point. After all, he has already started moving towards the Western Han army. Why would he initiate a war on another front? Isn't that looking for trouble?"

"Without me at the helm, the Ling Family's strength would be pushed down in Yu ManLou's heart. Besides," Ling Tian suddenly let out a strange smile. "The most interesting part about this matter is that five hundred first-tier experts from the Above Heavens sect secretly entered the compound of the Yu Family, likely to seek revenge. If we put the two things together, I believe Yu ManLou will definitely start to overthink things. After all, in this age, it's hard to have an expert, let alone three like those black-robed men. And linking it with the once glorious Above Heaven… hehehe…" Ling Tian started to maliciously laugh.

"There's such a matter?" Li Xue furrowed her brows in deep thought. "Even if that's the case, we still cannot be too careless. Cautiousness will allow a ship to sail for ten thousand years! While Yu ManLou might have suspicions toward Above Heavens, he will still keep a lookout on us. After all, Above Heavens is still half a pugilistic sect and is different from how we operate. We have to guard against this point."

Ling Tian nodded his head, saying, "This does make sense. We need to tighten our security then."

Li Xue was however still pondering about his words, and suddenly asked, "Your meaning just now was that, before the half year bet is up…. For the next month or so you will not show your face?"

"Everyone in the world knows that I'm being pursued by Justice, so why should I risk it and show my face?" Ling Tian sniggered, "Wouldn't it be better if I pulled the strings from behind the scenes? Don't forget our objective, that is to let every single enemy die of anger without knowing why. That's our greatest joy!"

"What kind of logic is that?!" Li Xue annoyedly huffed before laughing. "You're really getting too used to being treacherous."

"I'm innocent!" Ling Tian put on a bitter expression, "I've also busied myself for so many years, and spent this half a year in countless dangers. Can't you let me take this month's time to have a holiday for myself?"

"Take a holiday? I'm afraid it would make more sense if you were busier this month instead!" Li Xue laughed with some schadenfreude. "Inside the Ling Family Courtyard, I believe there are tons of matters waiting for your attention…"

"It can't be?" Ling Tian's face changed like he just ate a bitter pill. "I even wanted to take this chance to pick up some chicks…"

"In your dreams!" "Go and die!" Two offended hmphs were heard, and two hands caught Ling Tian's ears, one on each side, twisting with force. Ling Tian screamed out in misery, begging humbly to be spared.

It seems as though this ancient tool of women was highly effective even when against an expert of martial arts!

Below them, the various warriors of the Ling Family unrestrainedly picked up the jewels and gold strewn all over the place, slowly categorizing them and placing them within the boxes prepared. They even wiped down each object before placing them in, really paying attention to all details.

As for the Shui Family, after a short period of rest, they began to collect the bodies of their partners, burying them. Both sides had their respective jobs, and no one interfered in the other, making the process seem extremely streamlined.

Ling Jian stood in his white robes at the side, his arms crossed with an icy expression on his face. The Elders of Shui Family seemed to wish to speak with him, but every time they walked near him, they would give up on their thoughts and return to their original location without a single word. Ling Jian's posture fully displayed his attitude: No bargaining or negotiations! While the Shui Family was unsatisfied, looking at someone of Ling Jian's caliber, they could only pinch their noses in resentment.

Finally, the Shui Family woodenly finished their jobs, carrying stomachs full of pain as well as the resentment towards the Ling Family as they returned to the city. Before they left, they did not even bother to bid farewell to Ling Jian and the rest.

As Ling Jian watched them leave, his face grew colder, and the killing intent thicker. The aura on his body fluctuated nonstop, and it was after a long while that he finally snorted coldly, turning his back to them.

If not for the sake of the plan, just their lack of politeness was enough to make Ling Jian slaughter all of them! Ling Jian had zero good impressions towards this group of Shui Family members, feeling that this group was just too untactful!

After a long time, the Ling Family warriors gathered most of the missing treasure, categorizing it into the different wagons. They actually filled up three huge wagons! This even made Ling Tian exclaim from the trees. He could not help but praise the conscientious efforts of the Yu Family members. They really embodied the point of 'becoming rich through one's own efforts'!

Li Xue twisted her mouth, nodding her head below, "Look clearly, that great assassin there had actually brought ten wagons here today!" Ling Tian smiled, and craning his neck down, he saw Ling Jian gazing at the other empty seven wagons, an expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry plastered on his face.

"That guy can finally reveal a human expression! Furthermore, he seemed to have gazed a few times toward our location, with respect in his eyes! Could it be that he had discovered your presence?" Li Xue looked at Ling Tian in astonishment. "How did he achieve that? He could not discover me but actually managed to discover you. Isn't that weird?"

After promoting further in his cultivation, Ling Tian's movement techniques had already outstripped that of Li Xue's, and not just by a small amount. However, Ling Jian could actually detect the presence of Ling Tian! This was an oddity that was difficult to explain.

Ling Tian only smiled deeply as he slowly spoke, "When two people have come into contact with each other often enough, there would be some mysterious resonance between both parties. Through this resonance, which we usually call telepathy, two people can detect each other around a certain distance. Little lass, do you understand now?"

"Cheh! What telepathy, you're talking about intuition, right? Do men even have intuition?" Li Xue turned her nose up. "That's the specialty of us women!"

"Wrong! Not only do men have some sort of intuition, but their intuition is largely accurate!" Ling Tian rebuked. "As for the intuition of women, it lies mainly within the domain of relationships, and is extremely unfathomable! But the telepathy I'm talking about regarding two people is not an intuition, but rather a mysterious sort of sense. It's difficult to put into words, but it definitely exists. If not for the fact that Ling Jian deeply respects me from the bottom of his heart, there would not be such a response. This part has to do with this young noble's charm! Are you guys surprised, envious maybe?"

Hearing the display of shamelessness coming out of Ling Tian, he immediately suffered the wrath of two angered ladies.

Underneath, Ling Jian saw that the mission had been accomplished, and sent the order to leave. In accordance with Ling Tian's expectations he indeed left behind a carriage parked in a clearing within the forest, and imperceptibly bent his body towards their direction, before leaving in large steps.

The young noble was back, but since he chose not to show himself, he definitely had his reasons. So long as he knew that Ling Tian was safe, that was the best news for Ling Jian!

Ling Jian was clear about what he could and could not do, thus he knew what move he was supposed to take next!

Chapter 541: Reunion

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

"He really discovered you and even knew what you were thinking about. On top of that, he even helped you to arrange everything appropriately." Li Xue looked at Ling Tian with widened eyes. "This is truly amazing. If I didn't know that you had just returned, I would have thought that the two of you were in contact before this. I really cannot understand that telepathy that you are talking about."

Ling Tian laughed bitterly. What he told Li Xue was indeed the truth. He and Ling Jian had been together since they were young and were extremely familiar with each other. Even biological brothers would probably be not as close as them.

In fact, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that to Ling Jian, Ling Tian was a support that he could not do without and also a sense of security. As long as Ling Tian appeared near Ling Jian's area of senses, Ling Jian would be able to feel a sense of unknown security. This was an extremely mysterious phenomenon that even Ling Tian who had been through two lifetimes could not explain.

Apart from Ling Jian, Ling Chen also had such a feeling. However, both of them were mutually in love with each other and had even joined as a single entity before. Thus, it wasn't surprising for such a phenomenon to occur. However, such a phenomenon happening with Ling Jian was truly odd.

"You guys… can't possibly be homosexuals right? Didn't you already do that with younger sister Ling Chen? Could it be that he is pure but you will accept anything that comes your way?!" Li Xue's mouth widened in shock as she looked at Ling Tian with the urge to puke.

"Scram!" Ling Tian mercilessly spanked her. "You are the one who will accept anything that comes your way! Don't forget that Ling Jian and I cultivate the same martial arts formula and have attained a certain level in it. Furthermore, we also grew up together! More importantly, Ling Jian has absolute loyalty and trust towards me! All of these are the factors that cause this mysterious phenomenon. That little brain of yours is always thinking the wrong way!"

Li Xue let out a shriek. Being caught off guard, she suddenly felt a burning pain on her behind and could not help but twitch her lips with dissatisfaction. "I was only making a casual remark. Can't you even take a simple joke…"

"You are not allowed to even joke about it! You aren't even allowed to think about it!" Ling Tian glared at her and bellowed, "To think that a lady like you would be able to think of something so disgusting…"

At this moment, the three of them had already come down out of the tree and were walking towards the carriage. Behind Ling Tian, Xiao YanXue used her hands to cover her mouth and nose. The bloody remains on the battlefield scared her to the point that her face turned pale and her body turned weak. After finally reaching the carriage, Xiao YanXue was the first to sprint up into it. Even if the bloody smell was still present, at least she couldn't see the bloody scene in front of her.

From far off, a white shadow broke through the air and arrived carrying someone on her back at a lightning-fast pace. It was almost as though there was a puff of white smoke slicing across the sky and appearing in front of them. Ling Tian immediately stopped walking and a look of gentleness could be seen on his face.

"Young noble…" Ling Chen said with a choking tone. She did not even bother putting down Shui QianRou who was on her back and dove into Ling Tian's embrace without any hesitation. Her face was filled with a surprised smile but tears had already begun flowing down her eyes. After looking at Ling Tian's face for short while, she suddenly buried her face into his embrace and her body began trembling as she started sobbing.

Ling Tian knew how much this frail lady in front of him had given up for him. He patted her shoulders dotingly and allowed this beauty in front of him to vent all of her grievances, pain, and fatigue!

By the side, Li Xue's eyes also became wet. There was joy, gratification, and a tinge of envy on her face but not a trace of jealousy could be seen. She knew just how much Ling Chen had given up for Ling Tian and knew the burden she had to endure over the past few months. Thus, she naturally wouldn't be jealous of this lady who was smitten with love. She walked forward quietly and took Shui QianRou off Ling Chen's back before entering the carriage and allowing these two lovebirds the space to have their reunion.

Ling Tian hugged Ling Chen's soft body tightly as though he wanted to merge both of their bodies together. From the moment Ling Chen's beautiful face plunged into his embrace, Ling Tian felt his soul shaking and his body trembling. At the same time, a sense of warmth sprung forward from deep within his heart. This was his most beloved lady!

Ling Tian raised Ling Chen's head up gently and looking at her moist eyes, his eyes burned with passion as he kissed the tears on Ling Chen's cheeks. Feeling Ling Chen's lips trembling, Ling Tian could no longer control himself and gave her a kiss on the lips. Ling Chen's body shook and she stretched out both her arms to lock around Ling Tian's neck. At the same time, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the love that she had not experienced for the last four months. At this instant, both of them felt as though their souls became light and were drifting among the clouds.

Ling Tian's tongue greedily roamed around and his tongue was curled up tightly with Ling Chen's as though he wanted to compensate her for the last few months of his absence. Ling Chen received all of Ling Tian's approaches and coiled her tongue back in response as though she wanted to present all of her body to her beloved man. After almost half a year of worry and longing, all of her emotions were released through this single kiss. A wave of ecstasy and happiness welled up within her chest.

This kiss lasted for a long time until the skies turned dark and even the bloody smell dissipated. Ling Chen could no longer catch her breath but was still unwilling to separate from Ling Tian, allowing him to enjoy her as he pleased. Her eyes were intoxicated with joy and her face was flushed red like a beautiful rose.

A long while later, the two of them finally separated from each other and Ling Chen leaned her head on Ling Tian's chest with her fingers playing around with Ling Tian's neck. Her body seemed to have lost all strength as she lay weakly in Ling Tian's embrace but her very being exuded with satisfaction and elation. At the same time, she had a languid demeanor which made her all the more alluring.

Ling Tian used his cheek to gently sweep across Ling Chen's hair and the silkiness of her hair made him drunk in comfort to the point he almost let out a soft moan. He then asked her softly, "Did you miss me?"

"Yes." Ling Chen nestled in Ling Tian's embrace and greedily took in her lover's scent. Without even thinking for a moment, she replied Ling Tian's question.

"Silly lass." Ling Tian stretched out his finger and tapped her lightly on the nose. He then hugged her tightly with his arms and lifted her off the ground. After spinning around on the spot, he said with heartache, "You've become lighter. You have lost three catties in weight. Why have you become so skinny? Didn't you eat well?"

Ling Chen raised her head up and looked at Ling Tian emotionally, "As long as young noble is able to return and still has Chen'er in his heart, not to mention three catties, so what if it is thirty catties? Even if I lose more weight than that, Chen'er will also be willing."

Ling Tian was extremely moved in his heart and he rubbed Ling Chen's forehead with his own. With their eyes meeting, he reprimanded her gently, "It is your problem if you are willing but why don't you think about me as well?! Didn't I say before I left that no one in the world is capable of killing me? As long as you do not see my corpse, you should not believe that I am dead. Why do you have to torture yourself in such a manner? Don't you know how much heartache I would feel upon seeing you become skinny? Quickly go and eat your fill and regain all of your weight! Do you understand? Silly lass!"

Ling Chen smiled gently with an incomparably resolute gaze in her smile, "Chen'er naturally knows that there isn't anyone capable of dealing with young noble in the world. Chen'er was just worried and Chen'er really missed you. I…" Before she could finish what she wanted to say, her mouth was covered by Ling Tian.

A short while later, Ling Tian said softly, "We shall not separate from each other again."

Ling Chen nodded her heads gently and was filled with a satisfied smile. She leaned onto Ling Tian's chest and said with a dreamlike voice, "Yes, we shall not separate from each other again."

The two of them lay in each other's embrace silently as though no one else was round. In the middle of this bloody battlefield, all of the bloodiness seemed to have disappeared in the eyes of these two individuals leaving behind only silence and happiness…

In the carriage, Xiao YanXue and Li Xue were both waiting silently and did not say a thing. Occasionally, they would look at the two entwined figures with envy and longing in their gazes. Occasionally, the two of them would have suddenly thought about something and their faces would flush red…

A long while later, Ling Chen suddenly jumped up in shock, "I… I forgot that younger sister Rou is still…" Upon reaching out to her back, her expression changed, "Eh? Where did she go?" The moment Ling Chen saw Ling Tian, she ignored everything else. Despite her cultivation, Li Xue was actually able to take someone off her back without her feeling anything…

Looking at her adorable appearance, Ling Tian could not help but pull her back into his embrace, "Silly lass, your sister Li Xue had already taken her away. She helped us create a little world of our own but you're still in your dreams. You are truly a silly lass from head to toe."

"Ah? Elder sister Li Xue was here…" She then suddenly realized that Li Xue would have witnessed everything that had just happened. She could not help but flush red with embarrassment as she snuck a look at the carriage not too far away. A small opening could be seen in the carriage and Li Xue revealed a mischievous smile, "Cough cough, I truly had a good feast for the eyes. How fiery and passionate…"

Ling Chen faced burned with embarrassment and she dove into Ling Tian's embrace while stomping her feet.

Ling Tian's skin was naturally incomparably thick and Li Xue's teasing could not affect him in the slightest. He hugged Ling Chen up the carriage and the carriage was thankfully big enough to hold all five of them. After they all got on the carriage, they suddenly realized that there wasn't a coachman…

( Updated by NovelFull.Com )

Everyone looked at each other and apart from Shui QianRou who was unconscious and Ling Chen who was still in Ling Tian's embrace, Xiao YanXue and Li Xue looked at each other before pointing at Ling Tian, "You go!"

"This Ling Jian, even though he is attentive, he is still lacking." Ling Tian grumbled under his breath as he looked at the four beauties in the carriage reluctantly. Li Xue did not forget to remind him, "Don't forget to conceal your appearance!"

"I shall not trouble old ma'am for your concern!" Outside the carriage, Ling Tian's frustrated voice could be heard.

Chapter 542: World Embroiled in War

Translator:DavidT

Editor:DavidT, Rock

After Ling Tian and the others entered the city, they hesitated for a long while before deciding that it wasn't the right time for them to return to the Ling Residence. After all, it was still broad daylight and with the many servants and maids of the family, it would mean that Ling Tian's whereabouts would be easily exposed. Ling Tian decided that it would be best for him to wait until the night before visiting his mother and grandmother. After all, these few elders of his had been extremely worried about him. While others may not know of the prestigious Beyond Heavens, how could a character like Old Madam Ling not know? Even if she was extremely confident in her grandson, she was also apprehensive about Justice's strength. After these few months, her head was filled with much more white hair.

Madam Chu Ting'er had also feared for her son frequently during this period of time. Just as the old saying went, 'The mother worries when the son travels'. Furthermore, Ling Tian was being chased by the number one expert in the world, Justice. How could Chu Ting'er not be worried? On top of that, she did not dare to display her worries in front of her mother or father-in-law. After a few months, Chu Ting'er was much frailer than before and as such, Ling Tian had no choice but to make a personal appearance to ease the worries of them both. With the wisdom and experience of his elders, it was impossible for them to reveal his whereabouts. The only one who would possibly reveal his whereabouts would be his father who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut. However, his father was currently not at home and was out in battle. In fact, of all his elders, General Ling Xiao was the one who was the least worried about Ling Tian. In Ling Xiao's words, 'This daddy has never seen that so-called Justice but this daddy knows that my son is capable of taking the head of the enemy's general while being surrounded by a million soldiers. If that Justice wants to chase after Ling Tian, he better not be frightened by Ling Tian instead!'

Thus, the first place where Ling Tian visited was the Ling Family Courtyard. He immediately instructed Ling Chen to hold an emergency meeting with the upper echelons of the Courtyard and gathered them all in a hall. While Ling Tian had paid attention to the happenings of the Courtyard via messenger falcons, it was impossible for everything to be written down on the notes and there was naturally a need for him to personally take a look at everything that had been going on in the Courtyard. At the same time, it was also for him to meet with all of his upper echelons to inform them of his safety and let them know that the main pillar of the Courtyard was back.

Meng LiGe, Feng Mo and the rest did not know what this meeting was about and the moment they entered the secret chamber, they saw Ling Tian seated at the head of the table. They all could not help but be surprised followed by being overwhelmed with ecstasy! Amongst them all, Meng LiGe was undoubtedly the most surprised. Feng Mo and the others were all Ling Tian's trusted aides and had always thought of their young noble as an invincible existence. While they were shocked by the fact that Justice was able to force Ling Tian to leave Sky Bearing, they weren't too worried about Ling Tian's life. Together with the fact that Ling Tian sent them instructions regularly, they were all at ease!

However, Meng LiGe was not just a famous strategist in the world but also a knowledgeable scholar. He knew what the Martial Order Medallion of Beyond Heavens signified and could not help but be worried for Ling Tian. Witnessing Ling Tian's safe return, he didn't know if he was glad about Ling Tian's safety or shocked that he could escape from Justice's hands!

There weren't many people who were part of this meeting and only Ling Tian, Ling Chen, Ling Jian, Li Xue, Meng LiGe, and Feng Mo were present. Even Ling Six and the others in charge of collecting information weren't present in this meeting. However, the news that they had collected was all in Li Xue's hands. While there were only a few people present in this meeting, the members present were undoubtedly the true elites and core of the Courtyard!

The most interesting thing was the fact that of the six of them, only Ling Tian's strength was made known to the world but the rest of them still remained in hiding. While Ling Jian was the infamous First Pavilion Head, there weren't many in the world who knew his real name. As for Ling Chen and Li Xue, the two of them were even more mysterious and apart from Ling Tian, there probably wasn't anyone else aware of their true strength. If one wanted to find another person who understood both their strengths, then it would probably be Justice who had the opportunity to exchange a few blows with both of them.

The first discussion topic of the meeting was the recent military actions of the Ling Family Courtyard. With Ling Xiao and Shen RuHu leading 300,000 soldiers out to battle, it could be said that this was the first large-scale military campaign of the Ling Family. It was necessary for them to treat the matter seriously and if there was the slightest bit of error, their foundations could be damaged.

Hearing Ling Tian questioning about the military affairs, Meng LiGe who was in charge of military affairs stroked his beard with a delighted grin, "Young noble had not returned previously but the matter of the NanGong Family ambushing Miss Chen could not be delayed. After a series of discussions, we decided to let General Ling send 200,000 soldiers down south. Up until now, while both parties are at a state of mutual hostility, the war has not begun. This was within our expectations and was also the outcome that we wanted to achieve."

Meng Li Ge revealed a crafty smile, "Young noble wasn't around after all and it wouldn't be good if the world really broke out into chaos. Before General Ling set off for battle, I invited Duke Ling to command General Ling to surround them but not attack, pressure them but not fight! In other words, oppress the enemy and create pressure but not fight them head-on. Regardless of how advantageous the battle situation is, they are not to start the battle! If not, they will be dealt with +

the military law! They must delay until young noble returns to make a decision."

Ling Tian almost spat out his mouthful of tea. Such a decision would probably make his father extremely frustrated. After all, for the number one general off the empire to be threatened with the military law, it would be impossible for him to not be frustrated! However, Meng LiGe was also extremely crafty and summoned his grandfather to be the one issuing the order. If not, there probably wouldn't be anyone in the world capable of suppressing his father!

Meng Li Ge still displayed a scholarly elegance. "As for General Shen, I also issued the same instructions. For us to send out two separate troops, it is number one, to protect ourselves and be prepared to go to war with Southern Zheng, and number two, to test the waters. While we sent out our forces to two different locations, it isn't our true intention to start the war. Thus, the risk with our actions is low. At the same time, with such a large scale movement of our troops, all the other empires do not dare to take this matter lightly. Southern Zheng aside, even Eastern Zhao is also in chaos and the Xiao Family has split their forces into three. One group is led by General Xiao WuHen, a total of 150,000 soldiers setting up camp at Sunset River. It is only 150 miles away from Southern Zheng and they would be able to arrive with the snap of the fingers! This group is undoubtedly targeted at General Ling's 200,000 strong army! Another group of 150,000 soldiers is led by Xiao WuJu and has arrived at the Eastern Zhao borders. With Eastern Zhao as the divide, they are having a standoff with General Shen RuHu's forces. The final group also consists of 150,000 soldiers and is led by Xiao FengYang personally. They are currently 500 miles away from Sky Bearing and have also set up camp to lay in wait!"

Meng LiGe seemed to have been exhausted from talking and paused for a sip of tea before continuing, "Currently, the situation is extremely clear and the Xiao Family's large-scale movement of their forces is obviously targeted at our Ling Family! The moment our forces make a move, the Xiao Family would definitely join forces with our enemy to wipe out our forces. At the same time, the third group would attack Sky Bearing and seize the foundations of our Ling Family! There are even signs of them working together with Eastern Zhao and Southern Zheng. If our original motive was to start a war with both Eastern Zhao and Southern Zheng, it would be impossible for us to turn back. However, even if that isn't our intention, the current situation isn't optimistic either."

Hearing what Meng LiGe had said, Ling Tian focused his attention on the map. The positions and directions of the three Xiao armies had been marked out by Meng LiGe on the map with red arrows. After looking at the map, Ling Tian smiled and said with a hint of mockery in his voice, "Being able to mobilize 450,000 soldiers at once, the Xiao Family is truly the number one financial magnate. They truly think extremely highly of our Ling Family."

Hearing Ling Tian's casual tone and confident appearance, these individuals who had been extremely nervous for the past few days heaved a sigh of relief.

Ling Tian then knocked on the table with his finger and asked indifferently, "How are the Xiao armies receiving their supplies? The amount of food their soldiers and horses consume can't be small, right? How far away are we from the supply route of the Xiao armies? Is there anything that we can make use of?"

Meng LiGe's eyes lit up and he quickly replied, "The first group is 600 miles away from the Xiao Family, the second group is 400 miles away from the Xiao Family and the third group is 1300 miles away from the Xiao Family. They received supplies from the cities along the way and there aren't many loopholes for us to exploit. The Xiao Family does indeed live up to the name of being the number one financial magnate. They are actually able to support three huge armies single-handedly without a single sign of struggle." While Meng LiGe didn't say much, the bright light in his eyes showed that he had understood Ling Tian's intentions.

Ling Tian naturally noticed Meng LiGe's expression and asked, "Which group does Mister Meng think we should deal with first?"

Meng LiGe smiled mysteriously, "It is best to remain silent rather than take action. We can wait for news from the north and lay in wait. We can remain motionless to deal with the myriad of possible changes."

Ling Tian laughed, "Mister is exceptional indeed. If that's the case, we shall follow Mister's plans and ignore them for a few days. It is just that Mister will be tired over the next few days."

Meng LiGe stroked his beard and smiled, "It is this subordinate's job. How will I feel tired?!"

Ling Tian smiled and looked at Li Xue. Before he could even ask her a question, Li Xue began speaking, "The Yu army had already confronted Western Han and they have fought three battles already. While Western Han suffered defeat in all three battles, their defenses are extremely tight. The Yu Family was only able to occupy two insignificant cities. They probably won't be able to take Western Han down anytime soon."

Ling Tian nodded his head and asked with interest, "Who is the general for the Western Han army?"

Li Xue swept the information in her hands and said, "It is the old general Li ZongHan. He is the number one general of Western Han for the past thirty years. Before both the armies fought for the first time, Li ZongHan executed Han TieXuan and used his blood as a sacrifice for his flag. This matter caused a huge commotion back then."

"Li ZongHan…" Ling Tian muttered that name under his breath and a glow could be seen in his eyes. It seems like XiMen Sa had exposed Han TieXuan. If not, with Han TieXuan's status as general of the Imperial Army, it would be impossible for Li ZongHan to kill him as a sacrifice for the flag. However, XiMen ChongTian did not go out to battle but Western Han chose to send Li ZongHan who is far past his prime. It seems like the Western Han imperial family is truly concerned about the rumors of the Yu and XiMen Family forming an alliance. It seems like XiMen Sa's action had a huge effect.

"The Second and Third Master of the Yu Family also arrived safely back at Bright Jade City," Li Xue continued.

Chapter 543: Deployment

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Tian began to frown and responded with an 'Mmm' without saying anything else. After a moment of silence, he said, "We need to put in more effort into our information net in the north. I feel that the reason for Yu ManTang and Yu ManTian's departure can't be simple. They actually had the ability to escape from our information net."

Li Xue acknowledged what Ling Tian said before continuing, "There is also Eastern Zhao. The DongFang Family Head, DongFang JingTian, was assassinated by a mysterious assassin. The assassin's martial arts are extremely profound and unfathomable. He was actually able to kill the number one expert of the DongFang Family in a few breaths time! The rumors of the world say that it is extremely likely to be the actions of the First Pavilion Head. Ling Jian has already confirmed that this matter was not performed by our side. On top of that, Ling Jian has seen DongFang JingLei's strength before and if DongFang JingTian's martial arts were similar, there wouldn't be anyone in the First Pavilion capable of easily killing him. DongFang JingLei washed out the DongFang Family in a bloody operation seven days ago and has taken over the position of Family Head. But for some odd reason, whenever the imperial palace summons DongFang JingLei, DongFang JingLei will reject the summons using the excuse of being sick. According to the news from Eastern Zhao, DongFang MingRi seems to hate DongFang JingLei to the bone and has the intention to get rid of him. This is something that we have to guard against."

As she said that, Li Xue looked at Ling Tian with a profound look. While she did not know why Eastern Zhao would fall into such chaos and did not hear Ling Tian mentioning the matter, she was certain that Ling Tian was definitely related to the matter. After all, the martial arts of the assassin were just too unfathomable. There weren't many individuals in the world with such a martial arts accomplishment and Ling Tian just happened to be one of them. On top of that, the person who took over the DongFang Family was DongFang JingLei and not anyone else. DongFang JingLei was the person who had an agreement with Ling Tian!

As Ling Tian saw Li Xue's gaze, he naturally knew what she was thinking about. He then replied with a smile, "Order Shen RuHu that he can make use of the army to echo DongFang JingLei's actions. However, he must never enter into battle no matter what. Also, order Ling Thirty-three to work together with DongFang JingLei. He must aid DongFang JingLei in taking over the DongFang Family while sowing discord between the DongFang Family and Eastern Zhao imperial family. The best would be for both the parties to end up fighting each other. As for the detailed plan, he can come up with it on his own and he does not need to report anything to me." Li Xue acknowledged the order and recorded it down.

"As for the Shui Family…" Ling Tian looked at Ling Chen.

Ling Chen immediately reported all of the Shui Family actions and how their Courtyard was involved. As Ling Tian heard Ling Chen's report, he could not help but shake his head with a bitter laugh. He even had the urge to grab the lass over to his knee and give her a good spanking! The moment the thought about that, his thoughts immediately drifted elsewhere. Thinking about Ling Chen's appearance when being spanked and the soft feeling on his palms, a ball of fire burned in his abdomen. Young noble Ling had not 'eaten' for almost half a year already and it was time for him to have a good meal.

While Ling Chen's actions may seem extremely profound in the eyes of others, how could Ling Tian who was extremely familiar with Ling Chen not know what she was thinking about?

This lass obviously wants to me eat Shui QianRou up! Isn't this lass fantasizing too much? She actually wants to win the whole Shui Family over without fighting a battle? That was a thousand-year-old family on par with the Yu Family! Even if all of their successors are dead, there will still be a bunch of old fogies around. Only if all the old fogies were dead would Ling Chen's motives be achieved. However, what was the point of having a Shui Family with everyone dead?

At the same time, Ling Tian was also able to see other things from Ling Chen's actions. Ling Chen was definitely extremely fond of Shui QianRou. Since things had already developed to such an extent, they could only take things one step at a time. In any case, it would be impossible for the Shui Family to create a storm in the Heavenly Star Continent.

Ling Chen glanced at Ling Tian anxiously to see what kind of an expression he had. Seeing his emotionless expression as though he was thinking about something, Ling Chen could not help but be flustered and thought that Ling Tian disagreed with her actions. Who would have thought that a lascivious smile would suddenly curl up on his face? With her understanding of Ling Tian, how could she not understand what he was thinking about? Her face flushed red immediately as she lowered her head in embarrassment…

The secret chamber fell silent as everyone stared at each other not knowing why their young noble would suddenly fall into deep thought and have such a… lecherous smile on his face. Just what was he thinking about?

Just when Ling Tian was fantasizing about his night, he suddenly felt a pain and it was Li Xue giving him a good pinch on his side. Ling Tian glared at her while gritting his teeth in pain and was immediately awoken from his daze. Looking at everyone, Ling Jian still had the same expression and was seated with his back straight and a serious expression on his face. As for Meng LiGe, he had an amiable smile on his face. However, Ling Tian was enraged to realize that the smile on Feng Mo's face was even more perverted than his! An experienced man like Feng Mo naturally knew what his young noble was thinking about. It was no wonder why he smiled at Ling Tian with a look of tacit understanding…

"Cough cough… Feng Mo, why are you smiling in such a weird manner? Do you need this young noble to help treat your ailments? This young noble's medical skills aren't too bad!" Ling Tian glared at Feng Mo and asked seriously.

"Ah? Err… this subordinate… err… no…" Feng Mo stuttered on the spot without knowing what to say. Facing the fierce glare of his young noble, he did not even know where to place his arms.

"Are you sure? Your head is swaying like there is an anteater underneath your ass. I cannot even see your eyes in the midst of your hairy face and I thought that your face was cramping up. Are you sure you don't need me to treat your ailments?" Ling Tian said with a trace of pity and his fierce gaze told Feng Mo that he truly wanted to 'treat' him.

"There really isn't anything wrong with me. I thank young noble for your concern!" A chill ran down Feng Mo's spine and he quickly added on, "This subordinate's body is as tough as an ox and I can go through mountains of blades and seas of fire for young noble at any time!" The expression on his face was one of absolute loyalty as though he was ready to give up his life for Ling Tian. Anyone who saw such an expression would definitely praise him for being a truly loyal warrior!

Ling Tian replied with a bland 'oh' and said with a tinge of disappointment, "If that's the case, remember to inform this young noble when your face cramps up again. This young noble will definitely treat it for you personally and I will not go back on my words!"

Feng Mo's face immediately turned bitter, "This subordinate does not dare." He then recalled the times when someone tried to escape training by feigning cramps. In the end, Ling Tian personally treated that 'sick person' and that fellow truly had cramps all over his body… With such a precedence, Feng Mo would never dare to say that he had cramps in front of Ling Tian even if he had a hundred times the guts!

Ling Tian snorted and said with dissatisfaction, "Remember to open your mouth when you smile in future. Don't put on such a bitter expression as though you want to fart but can't do so. It wouldn't be good if I think that you have cramps."

Feng Mo's quickly acknowledged what Ling Tian said with a bitter expression and did not dare to say anything else.

Meng LiGe, Ling Chen and Li Xue leaned on the table as their shoulders trembled… at the same time, Ling Jian also looked at Feng Mo with a sympathizing smile…

Ling Tian coughed, "Back to the main point. Chen'er, where were we?"

Ling Chen quickly suppressed her laughter and continued the report.

As Ling Tian heard about the actions of the three Shui brothers, he could not help but let out a sigh as he thought, Why are these aristocratic disciples all so useless? Could it be that the only thing left of their thousand-year-old inheritance is their arrogance and schemes? He then thought about all the aristocratic disciples which he had met before. It seems as though only DongFang JingLei and Shui QianHuan truly had some capabilities. However, Shui QianHuan was currently on the brink of death…

"… when the Shui Family launched an ambush against the Yu Family, Ling Chi personally took action to capture the three Shui brothers and they are now our captives. As for whether or not we should hand them over to Shui QianRou, may young noble give us the instruction."

After thinking for a moment, Ling Tian said, "Hand them over to Shui QianRou. After all, Ling Chi already made a promise to Shui QianHuan. However, I think that Shui QianRou should only take care of Shui QianHu alone and the other two should be fine. This is also good. If the other two are also dead, things would become boring."

Meng LiGe chuckled, "That's right, these two individuals are our treasures. Them making a scene in the Shui Family will be far better than us trying to sow discord. This may end up becoming a huge aid for our plans to invade Heavenly Wind."

Li Xue twitched her lips, "The thoughts of you men are all so vile. Always wishing for a fire to break out in the backyard of other people's homes before picking up benefits from the side. The two of you can truly bring out the best in each other."

Meng LiGe burst out laughing.

"There is also Miss Shui QianRou. After I brought her back, she regained her consciousness once but was extremely agitated. She was in a state of hopelessness and almost attempted suicide. I could only give her some medicine to calm her mind down and she is currently sleeping."

Ling Tian shut his eyes and said after a long while, "I shall go and pay her a visit when she is awake. She is also a pitiful lady." He then glared at Ling Chen, "Since your plan has already developed to such an extent, you probably wouldn't let me go if I do not go along with your plans."

These were the words that Ling Chen had been waiting for and she quickly agreed.

Seeing that no one else had anything to report, Ling Chen continued, "When I was chasing after those black-robed men, I found something strange." She frowned with a vexed expression.

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"The martial arts of those black-robed men were extremely high. If they did not escape in three different directions, it would have been impossible for me to snatch back younger sister Rou. But when I was fighting the black-robed man that I chased, I felt as though he was holding back and could not use his full strength. It was definitely not because he was afraid of injuring younger sister Rou who was on his back." Ling Chen sat by the side with her brows furrowed.

"Did you feel as though his inner qi wasn't weak but his martial skills weren't complete? He only used half his strength in every move he made?" Ling Tian asked with a profound grin.

Chapter 544: Battle of the Goldthread

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

"That's right, that was indeed the case." Ling Chen nodded her head with frustration. "However, isn't it extremely strange for something like this to happen with an expert of his class?"

"There must definitely be a reason for everything and the reason behind this is extremely simple. There isn't a need for you to find it strange. The moment both his brothers sent him flying with their swords, I could tell where the problem was." Ling Tian replied, "The three of them should be cultivating the Joint Attack Formula. Only when the three of them are as one will they be able to unleash their strongest attacks. However, you only faced a single person and thus naturally found that his moves were incomplete. However, if you ever meet the three of them together, you must not underestimate them! You should avoid them if you can! With the three of them working together, even Li Xue wouldn't be able to easily win against them!" As he said those last words, Ling Tian's tone became heavy.

"They will never get the chance to join hands again." Ling Chen smiled and a tinge of depression could be seen in her eyes.

"Eh?" Ling Tian was a little surprised, "Why so?"

"Because I killed him already." Ling Chen said with her body trembling slightly.

"YOU KILLED HIM?!" Ling Tian stood up abruptly and startled all the rest present in the meeting. They then saw Ling Tian stretching his head out and looking at Ling Chen closely, "My goodness, you actually killed him? This… how is this possible?!" Ling Tian's words were filled with incredulity as though he saw a female cat being picked up by a male mouse…

It was also no wonder that Ling Tian was so surprised. When he left, while Ling Chen's martial arts were extremely high, she did not even dare to kill a mouse. Who would have thought that after being away for a few months, it was as though Bodhisattva turned into the devil? Regardless of how flexible Ling Tian could be in his thinking, he just wasn't able to wrap his head around the matter.

Upon seeing the delighted expression on Li Xue's face beside him, how could Ling Tian not understand what was going on? He could not help but take in a breath of cold air. To train Ling Chen to such an extent, she must have suffered from quite a bit of shock right? If he was still around, he definitely wouldn't bear forcing her as such.

Ling Chen's face flushed red as she leaned back slightly. Currently, the two of them were not alone in this room and Miss Li Xue was crossing her arms and watching happily by the side. On top of that, Ling Jian and the rest were also watching them like a show. After all, Ling Tian had always remained calm and steady in all situations and would never react in such an exaggerated manner…

"Young noble… what are you doing? Everyone is watching us…" Ling Chen tried to lean back as far as she could and her back formed a beautiful crescent shape with her face bright red. Ling Tian's body was hovering over her body and was a few short feet away from her. Ling Chen could only try her best to lean back as much as she can… While she had the urge to push Ling Tian's head aside, she could not bear to do so in her heart. Feeling Ling Tian's warm breath on her face, she became all the more distressed and embarrassed.

Ling Tian finally settled the shock in his heart and at the moment, Ling Chen was almost forced to the ground. Looking at Ling Chen's adorable appearance of being reluctant to push him aside, he felt a heat in his abdomen and could not help but give her a smooch.

Ling Chen immediately let out a shriek. She never imagined at her young noble's skin would be thick to the point that he would kiss her in front of everyone else. Her embarrassment reached its peak and the breath that she was holding was finally released as she collapsed onto the ground.

"Haha…" Everyone burst out laughing in unison. Even the usually zombified Ling Jian was also all smiles at this moment.

Ling Chen quickly got up with a shriek and flew out of the room as though she was escaping. However, everyone could clearly see that her usually fair ears were bright red in color…

Ling Tian stood up without a change of expression and said with an innocent tone, "I can't be blamed, right? Who would have thought that a martial arts expert like her would fall down so easily?"

Meng LiGe let out a few dry coughs, "Cough cough… of course… young noble can't be blamed… cough cough…"

Li Xue walked over to Ling Tian's side and snorted, "BingYan is already extremely familiar with melding martial arts into her paintings. She has also achieved elementary accomplishment in melding her paintings into martial arts and you should go and visit her when you have the time. Right, your Divine Shocking Dragon Formula should be at the tenth level already, right? Me, you, and little sister Ling Chen should find a time to take care of her Heavenly Negative Locked Meridians. It is a hidden disaster waiting to happen, and with the three of us joining hands, we should have a 90% chance of getting rid of it. It wouldn't be good to rely on the Great Cyclic Pellet to suppress it all the time. If the Great Cyclic Pellet is consumed in excess, BingYan's meridians wouldn't be able to endure the potent medicinal effects of the Great Cyclic Pellet after her Heavenly Negative Locked Meridians are removed. It is best for us to take care of it as soon as possible,"

Ling Tian nodded his head in agreement and he had also thought about this matter before his return. He originally intended to join hands with Ling Chen to help remove the Heavenly Negative Locked Meridians for Yu BingYan. Now that he had another Li Xue and the fact that Li Xue's attainment of the Divine Ice Formula was no weaker than Ling Chen, the risks of removing the Heavenly Negative Locked Meridians would naturally be much less. On top of that, his own cultivation had also improved greatly and the success rate should be more than 90%.

Li Xue then glared at Ling Tian and said, "Just wait for younger sister Ling Chen to settle the score with you tonight." She then walked away proudly, not forgetting to look at Ling Jian with disdain as though she was looking at someone who wasn't her match.

This gaze of hers was akin to adding fuel to the fire and a fierce glare shot out from Ling Jian's eyes. His battle intent soared to the heavens and almost wanted to challenge Li Xue on the spot!

Ling Tian rubbed his chin and grinned, "I would love for her to do that." However, no one replied to him and he could not help but be puzzled.

Looking around, Ling Tian realized that the only person left was the fuming Ling Jian. Meng LiGe and Feng Mo had already escaped from the room.

"Ah'Jian, after a life and death encounter, your swordplay seems to have improved greatly." Looking at Ling Jian standing by his side solemnly as though he wanted to say something, how could Ling Tian not know what he was thinking about? However, Ling Tian could not bear to let Ling Jian get abused by Li Xue and thus changed the topic by praising Ling Jian while preparing to make his escape.

"Young noble, please allow me to fight her!" Ling Jian's voice was resolute with his battle intent roaring.

One of Ling Tian's foot was already halfway out the door as he replied, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Ah'Jian, we are all on the same side. Why not forget about it…"

Ling Jian's face turned cold as he said with a grievance, "Young noble may not know. When I was injured, this demoness placed goldthread into my medicine and if I didn't drink it, she would add earthworms into the medicine… along the way back, I drank a full nineteen bowls of medicine filled with goldthread! I… I… I must definitely give her a good beating! I seek young noble's understanding!" When talking about his nightmarish experience, Ling Jian's teeth was grit and his veins began to bulge. He had an extremely fierce expression on his face and no longer looked like the cold assassin he usually was.

Ling Tian was stunned for a moment and could not help but laugh bitterly. He never imagined that Li Xue would prank Ling Jian in such a manner. No wonder Ling Jian would act as though he had a life and death enmity with her. He then let out a sigh and said helplessly, "Ah'Jian, it seems that you drank these nineteen bowls for nothing. Why is your martial arts the only thing that is improving and not your brains… she is a lady after all and a loss would be extremely embarrassing…"

"She will not be embarrassed and I will not go overboard. She is a lady after all. I only need young noble to approve this battle of ours!" Ling Jian was filled with confidence and a smirk could be seen on his face. At this moment, he had completely forgotten about the painful experience of losing under Ling Chen's hands. He then added on with delight, "The person who loses must drink nineteen bowls of goldthread water. Regardless of victory or defeat, this matter will be resolved after the battle!" Ling Jian took a step forward anxiously and said, "Young noble, I have already prepared the goldthread."

She definitely wouldn't be the embarrassed party. I was trying to say that you will be extremely embarrassed if you get beaten by a lady. You even prepared the goldthread?! Prepared it for yourself to drink? Ling Tian speechlessly looked at Ling Jian's excited expression. At the same time, he could not help but muse in his heart, Poor chap! Just wait to suffer! You are trying to dig a grave for yourself… this is no different from jumping off a cliff!

"Young noble, I must fight her no matter what!" Ling Jian insisted. In front of Ling Tian, this was the first time Ling Jian was so insistent on something. It was enough to see just how scarred he was by Li Xue's actions!

Ling Tian let out a sigh and said with schadenfreude, "Alright then… goldthread can also be considered a rare medicine. This is something that will only grow in the wild and tastes pretty good…"

Ling Jian left excitedly.

Ling Tian stood in a daze for a long while before shaking his head. It seems like Ling Jian was addicted to drinking goldthread. There are truly too many wonders in the universe. To think that someone would actually get addicted to drinking goldthread…

Ling Tian sighed and walked around in the yard. This yard was connected to the exit of the secret chamber and was an independent existence from the rest of the Courtyard. This was a place that was built under Ling Jian's orders. There wasn't a single soul around this place and the only people who were allowed into this yard were all the highest ranking individuals of the Courtyard who would not divulge any secrets. Since Ling Tian intended to remain in hiding for another month, he needed a place to keep himself concealed.

The moment he entered the yard, Ling Tian felt as though he was in prison. Li Xue, Yu BingYan and the newly added Xiao YanXue would usually coop themselves up in a secret chamber and it would be impossible for ordinary members to see them. In the eyes of the outsiders, both Ling Chen and Ling Jian were the ones with true authority in the Courtyard.

Ling Tian never imagined that his work would pile up immediately after his return. His plan to take a few days of off for leisure was completely foiled. There was Shui QianRou's affair, the Shui Family's affair, Yu BingYan's affair, and also the fact that Ling Jian insisted on fighting Li Xue…

At the north, Yu ManLou had already gathered his troops and sought to rule over his half of the continent. He wanted to first pacify any chaos in the southeastern region before sending his troops up north. Only after ensuring that his own backyard is peaceful would he be at ease to set off to conquer other lands. As such, the flags of war were raised in the southeastern region and battle seems to be breaking out at any moment.

How many more days of peace would he have? Ling Tian let out a long sigh. The biggest headache was the fact that he had to return to the Ling Residence tonight. Who knows how his grandparents and mother were going to torture him? After all, he truly made them worried this time around and he didn't think that they would let him off so easily. Should he feign injury? Ling Tian began thinking about his little tricks.

As for the matters with regards to the Ling Family Courtyard, things are much simpler. Ling Tian had already come up with the order by which he would complete his tasks. First, he will settle the problem with Shui QianRou and the Shui Family. After settling them down, he would arrange the battle between Ling Jian and Li Xue. Finally, he would help Yu BingYan remove her Heavenly Negative Locked Meridians.