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Chapter 558: Eight Mistakes

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Ling Tian let out a laugh as he exclaimed, "Ling Chen, do you know what is experience? An outsider's experience is merely an explanation or a story. Only when you actually meet with the same situation can the meaning you derive from it be considered yours, and that's experience! Any experience has to undergo a process, and is not something which can be learned just by me telling you! What I can do is only to point you in the right direction. That's already overly excessive, and if I were to put it bluntly, the effect is far worse! This is what we call able to grasp but unable to put into words!"

Chuckling, Ling Tian turned his gaze towards the two people duking it out, as he meaningfully continued, "For example take all that I've said to you previously. When you actually come across a similar scenario, would you be able to find the opportune timing to utilize it? I doubt so, right? This is because of what I told you before, thus you will not find the best timing to utilize such elements, but rather think of me, before thinking of what I said, then carry it out. However, this would have wasted too much time! When experts clash, life and death are decided in a split second!"

"Experience is about moving purely based on muscle memory. This is called real experience. Just merely relying on explanations without actually going through life and death scenarios will not give you true comprehension."

"Real skill lays outside the poems," Ling Tian recited.

Ling Chen assented in an absent-minded manner, her brows slightly furrowed as she tried to digest his words. Ling Tian's words had opened up a huge new door for her, allowing her to see a new territory yet unexplored in her life.

"As for the theory behind every experience, only when your martial arts have reached a certain stage can I then tell you about it. If your realm is too low, and you chase after such a stage, it might even cause you to regress. Any sort of explanation has to have strength as a foundation. The reason why Li Xue could create such advantageous situations for herself relies on that!" Ling Tian concluded, and no longer spoke.

While the two of them were conversing, the situation inside the arena once again took on a heaven-shaking change!

Upon seeing that the time allocated was ending, Li Xue did not pull any more punches. Her body shot forwards like lightning as she fully revolved her Divine Ice Formula, entrapping the entire area in opaque white fog. Everyone could only see the rolling white fog, not knowing what was happening inside the area.

Only the sounds of fists hitting flesh continuously sounded, and from the corner, Ling Chi and gang's faces were sporting an ashen color, all their eyebrows continuously twitching. Every time they heard a particularly loud thump, all of them would spasm a bit, as though the actual hit was directed towards them.

Ling Jian's grunts sounded quite a few times, from soft to loud, until they all combined into one cacophony.

Ling Chen sighed at this and said, "Ah'Jian is really pitiful. Hearing the sounds, it seems like Sister Li Xue is not even thinking of being merciful."

Following her words, as though in reply to her, an angry cry sounded from Ling Jian, followed by a clank as a longsword flew out of the white fog, embedding itself a hair's breadth from Ling Chi.

As it turned out, Ling Chi did not wish for Ling Jian to be humiliated, and hence had tried to secretly insert his own pure Yang energy to further heat up the pot. Who would have thought that the moment he inserted it, the sword akin to shooting down from the heavens shocked him so much his soul almost left his body.

The white fog was getting more and more voluminous, the slapping sounds also increasing in intensity until it nearly converted into a continuous stream of sounds. However, the person beating seemed to be extremely in control to the point that there was still no blood on the ground. The control of those punches seemed to have reached the stage of infinitesimal control.

Ling Tian sighed. It seemed that Ling Jian was really down on his luck. Initially, this sparring session could have been conducted with a more peaceful atmosphere, but he just had to be a smart-alec and rouse the ire of Li Xue to the point that this happened. When he came out, Ling Chi and group probably would not be able to recognize who he was anymore…

Suddenly, Ling Chi and group started to jump up excitedly, as though they were cats whose tails had been stepped on. "The water is boiling, boiling!! Stop… hurry and stop!!"

A white blur flashed across, and Li Xue flew out looking exceptionally beautiful. She somersaulted once in the air before gently landing beside Ling Tian. Gently tucking her hair behind her ear, she exhaled for quite a bit before saying a sentence that would cause even Ling Tian's head to explode. "How exhilarating! So good! I haven't felt so good for such a long time!"

The other party, Ling Jian, seemed to not have any movement at all…

The white fog was quickly dissipated by Ling Chi and gang, but when they saw the state that Ling Jian was in, everyone, including Ling Tian, was struck dumb, and they all felt a chill up their spines. Suddenly, the gaze everyone gave towards Li Xue was as though she was a demon that had just crawled out from hell. This was especially so for Ling Chi and gang, which included killing intent!

Ling Jian was actually very 'whole'. By 'whole', it meant that there was no broken skin, no muscles exposed, and even his black robes were perfectly clean on his body. One of the reasons why he was so clean would be because of the dust they removed previously!

However, the same cannot be said for his body. The most eye-catching point was that his robes did not conform to his body anymore. One could clearly see that his robes that become too small, in other words, after fighting, Ling Jian had somehow grown fatter…

As for his face, it was a little more difficult to explain. His two eyes were akin to that of a panda, the bruises around them so dark they were almost black. This was accompanied by his skinny face having expanded like Maitreya 1 . This was especially prominent on his lips, which swelled so much they looked like sausages. On the top of his head, his hair could not hide the seven or eight new lumps formed, making Ling Tian think of the head of Buddha himself.

Li Xue could be considered having propriety even when beating someone up. She only made Ling Jian's muscles all swell up, to a frightening point, yet caused near zero damage to his tendons and bones, allowing those audiences to be fearful yet in admiration of her. Just this accurate control she had was enough to let people feel far inferior to her abilities. Even Ling Tian had to bow down to her!

"They are all flesh wounds, and will heal in two days." Li Xue did not even blink as she spoke, "Open up his acupoints, and let his internal energy circulate a bit, this should resolve some swelling. This will not be a hindrance for him to drink all nine bowls of goldthread soup."

Ling Tian glared at Li Xue, not knowing whether to laugh or scold her. As it turned out, she had already restricted Ling Jian at a certain point, sealing his acupoints and treating him as a pure sandbag. No wonder her control of strength was so good. Hitting a person who could not retaliate, as and when you wish, how could it not be an awesome experience? No wonder that lass had immediately filled up the entire arena with white fog to restrict everyone's eyesight. She did not want anyone to see what she was trying to do!

This demoness really lived up to her name, and one couldn't help but be amazed!

However, that Ling Jian was also too silly, even after falling into her trap and not being able to retaliate, he still did not make a single sound! Ling Tian sighed, and tapped out with a finger, freeing his acupoints.

Ling Jian suddenly let out a ferocious howl as he leaped up. Following a sharp intake of breath as he forced open an eye, he glared at Li Xue in anger as he howled, "Li Xue! How dare you humiliate me like this! I'll not rest until one of us is dead!"

"ENOUGH!" Ling Tian boomed out, "Not resting until one of you is dead? Someone can treat you like a sandbag to beat, so what makes you think that you can fight to the death with them? If you really want to fight to the death then you had better think about how many times you will need to reincarnate! Defeat means defeat, and if you want to bet, then you have to be willing to face the consequences! Instead of carefully pondering about how you lost, you're actually throwing my face here. Ling Jian, you disappoint me!"

Ling Jian's red and swollen face miraculously turned pale, and he silently stood on the spot, not daring to whisper a single word.

Still possessing some residual anger, Ling Tian grumbled, "Based on your martial arts level, even though Li Xue is still above you by one entire realm, you still shouldn't have been so easily defeated. If this was a life and death battle, you should still be able to drag her down with you. However, you lost so embarrassingly and so easily, haven't you figured something out from this?"

Why did I lose?

The anger from Ling Jian's face quickly receded, as he frowned and began to recall. The more he thought, the more he began to sweat.

Ling Tian only coldly stared at him. "Realized it yet?"

Ling Jian quivered, straightening his body as he admitted in shame, "Yes, I underestimated my opponent. I never thought that Miss Li's martial arts would be so profound, almost above all the opponents I've faced. I completely neglected this point, and even looked down on her, which resulted in this loss. I believe that's the reason I lost."

"That's right, it is one of the reasons. However, is it just so? Are there any others?" Ling Tian looked at Ling Jian and meaningfully probed.

After remaining silent for a while, Ling Jian continued, "I was also too eager to take revenge and desired instant gratification, thus my mental state was not stable. This should also be a reason."

The sentence made Ling Tian burst into cold laughter. "It turns out that you only found two reasons. Wrong! You're deeply mistaken! In this battle, you committed at least seven grave errors! Any one of them would be enough to take your life, or at least affect the final outcome of the battle! As for what you put as 'main reasons', those were the most insignificant reasons."

"Seven?! How… how is this possible?" Ling Jian opened his eyes wide in shock, unable to find words. As a seasoned killer of over a hundred battles, how could he not know what mistakes he made within his fight? Even with only one mistake, it was enough to consign him to eternal damnation, let alone seven!

Ling Tian mercilessly spat, "The first, failing to understand the enemy, failing to probe her secrets, and then taking the initiative to seek battle. I didn't malign you, right?"

Ling Jian lowered his head, "Yes."

"The second. You viewed yourself too highly, only clear about your achievements and not others. Right? Thirdly, when Li Xue blew off the dirt to create a trap, not only were you unaware of her intentions, but you even copied her, wholeheartedly dropping into the trap." Ling Tian's points were like swords as he indifferently rattled on.

"Trap?" Ling Jian raised his head in surprise.

"That's right, trap. You should know by now that Li Xue cultivates the Divine Ice Formula, right? And her realm is even above that of Ling Chen's. You should know the specialty of the Divine Ice Formula, right? If I don't call it as you jumping wholeheartedly into the trap, then what is it?!"

"Oh…" Ling Jian came to his senses.

"The most serious is actually your fourth mistake. Li Xue had started with clashing head-on with you, fighting you to a draw. At that time, your darned pride couldn't take it any longer, and you chose to break from the confinement, attacking with your strongest strike first. From that instant, your mental state became unstable, allowing Li Xue to use your anger to lead you by your nose around the battlefield. Which is to say, Li Xue's anticipation and plans had already completely succeeded. If you had continued to clash head-on, Li Xue would definitely lose out in the long run because of her natural build which makes her weaker physically compared to you. At that time, she would begin to come out with other ideas, and that would be to your advantage. But you didn't! Am I right?"

Ling Jian was already sweating bullets at this point.

"The fifth, when Li Xue activated her Divine Ice Formula, you would have noticed that it was her true capability, but why did she only activate it after a certain time? This was because her plan had been achieved, and you had foolishly dropped straight down on it, thus she chose to carry out the next phase. But you didn't consider this point, taking the lead to enter your opponent's domain and initiate the battle. You fell right into the center of her palm."

The sixth is that you have experience against fighting Ling Chen, and you do know that the Divine Ice Formula isn't something easy to deal with. Thus, when Li Xue released the white fog, you should have flown out at the very first second, choosing to attack in long range or use guerilla tactics. But you didn't! You actually did not know what's good for you, dashing headlong into the white fog to do battle. Isn't that placing your head on the chopping board for her? The perfect archetype of seeking one's own death, how could you not lose?"

"The seventh, which is about your positioning! Even if you're facing off against someone of the same capabilities as you, you should never face the sun while fighting. Especially when that the opponent is using the Divine Ice Formula! You know very well that the refraction of sunlight from the ice is enough to completely disorientate all your senses, but you didn't stop to think, dumbly maintaining your current position, to the point that when your opponent had moved with their backs facing the sun, you were still unaware, only wanting to charge forward at her. You were completely led by the nose! With your current standards, you still want to fight for life and death, do you think you have the qualifications?"

Ling Tian took in a deep breath at this time, sweeping his gaze over Ling Jian. "Li Xue's capabilities and cultivation already outstrip yours. With the addition of so many traps, she can display more than 90% of her overall battle strength, almost like she was in the right place at the right time! The gap between the two of you widened even further. It would be an injustice if you didn't lose!"

Ling Jian's back was soaked through with sweat, as he felt like digging a hole to bury himself.

These mistakes, no matter which one, if they had happened in a fight between top-level experts it would make the losing side admit that they deserved to lose. However, he had never thought that he would actually be the offending one this time around!

Today's loss was really not an injustice.

"In addition, there's the eighth mistake!" Standing on the side, Li Xue laughed as she said, "Your desire to win was too heavy. Even more so is the desire to prove to Tian'ge how much you've improved from the last time. Hence you only had the thought to finish me off in one blow. This sort of attitude is something that I was very happy to take advantage of.

Ling Jian's face was as swollen as a tomato, and he hung his head low in shame, wanting to simply bury his head in his pants.

Eight mistakes!

At this moment, Ling Jian seemed to have a desire to pull out his sword and commit suicide!

At the side, Ling Chi, Lei and the rest were all staring in shock as well. They did not even catch any of the mistakes that Ling Tian and Li Xue had spoken about, but there were actually eight life-threatening ones! Ling Tian snorted as he continued, "Don't think you guys are alright standing there. Out of the eight that were mentioned, you guys would have committed at least six of them if anyone of you went up to fight! Based on your current levels, even if it was three against one, you might not necessarily be Li Xue's match. Understand?!" This few words caused the fellows to duck their heads down in shame. "What First Pavilion, what top assassins? Such an awe-inspiring name, but how did you guys even get it? Being so sloppy and careless, how can I ever leave you to accomplish greater things next time? Our enemies will only get stronger and more vicious. Are you guys going to continue being negligent?"

On the side, Ling Chen warmly smiled in encouragement, "Young Noble's words are to pinpoint your mistakes so that you guys will not repeat them again. This is so that Sister Li Xue's efforts today will not be wasted. This is a good lesson for you all."

Ling Tian angrily snorted, "It WAS supposed to be a good thing!" But he did not continue berating. Ling Jian and company gave grateful looks to Ling Chen in return.

Li Xue also gently laughed, and spoke with some mischievousness, "But, I still have to thank you, Ling Jian, for not using your ultimate one step, one kill technique. You've shown mercy to me. However, you had better treat your injuries soon. I was quite heavy handed just now. Oh, since Ling Chi and the rest have just finished boiling the medicine, you should drink it while it's hot. It will help you with the injuries!"

The faces of that particular group became ugly to behold. Looking at the bubbling pot sitting quietly in the corner, everyone felt the urge to heave…

Li Xue winked at Ling Tian, before turning to walk away, murmuring, "Actually, it doesn't matter whether you drink it or not. It's just a random bet anyways. Forget it, it's up to you, I won't be there so I'll take your word that you drank it. I'll be leaving first, then!"

Ling Tian almost choked. Is this how a person encourages someone? This was practically forcing them down a dead end!

And indeed…

"Stop right there!" Ling Jian rushed over angrily, "One must be prepared for the consequences when they bet! I, Ling Jian, have never been afraid of losing. I'll drink them right now for you to see. Ling Jian here does not back out of his words. I'm definitely not someone who will not live up to their promises!" This was followed by him walking gallantly towards the pot. Nine bowls were laid out in a flash and were completely filled up with goldthread water. After a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes and began to drink them one by one…

Moving!

Such a moving sight!

What a tragically moving sight!!

Seeing Ling Jian "valiantly" drink down the pungent goldthread water, everyone had their eyebrows twitching violently. The third bowl had just gone down, but Ling Jian's face was already in an amazing state. What was bringing trouble on oneself? Reaping what you sow? Lifting up a rock to smash one's foot?

Ling Jian's face was the answer to all three questions stated above!

How could the goldthreads he had painstakingly collected be so nice to drink? Those were all top of the line! Ling Jian's face was so screwed up that the lines on his face seemed to merge into one…

Li Xue let out a sigh, as though bemoaning the state of mankind as she recited, "If Heaven creates a disaster, one can still escape, but if you bring forth disaster, then how can you survive?" Then she walked away.

Ling Jian stared at Li Xue's retreating back with flames coming out of his eyes, ruthlessly throwing the last bowl of goldthread water into his mouth…

Ling Tian stood by the side with his arms crossed, coldly watching as Ling Jian drank down bowl after bowl, his expression one of icy indifference. The others all stood at the side, not daring to utter a single word. Even when Ling Jian finished the nine bowls and went back to stand in front of Ling Tian, he still remained silent.

Ling Chen carefully looked at Ling Tian, timidly probing, "Young noble…?"

Staring coldly at them, Ling Tian stretched out two fingers, forming the number 8 (八) as he hissed, "From today on, I don't want to see these eight mistakes appear in any one of you! Today's battle must be engraved into your heads! Ling Jian's mistakes must be completely eliminated, and as much as possible, absorb and learn from Li Xue's calculation as well as her utilization of external elements!"

He swept his gaze over once, before asking, "Do you know why I agreed to this battle, why I did not speak a word even though Li Xue obviously went overboard?"

The four shook their heads in response.

Ling Tian solemnly stressed, "In this world, there are only two who can force Ling Jian to commit those eight mistakes. One is me, the other is Li Xue! No one else can do so, even Justice himself. The most he could do would be to kill you in one move. Against me, you guys will not put in your maximum effort, which will not be able to force out all your bad habits, at least not as thoroughly as Li Xue! What Li Xue showed you was precisely what you are most lacking in. If you guys could utilize the external elements in your own battles, then your killing power would jump up by multiple times! At that time, even if it was against Justice, you would still retain your life! Go back and ruminate."

"Today's battle is merely a lesson for you guys. As for what you have picked up, it will serve as the best protective screen in your future battles! Our enemies will not give you any chance, while opportunities will have to be fought for, and grabbed when they come by! This lesson is mainly to teach you how to grasp the opportunities!"

After he finished, he put his arm around Ling Chen's waist and left.

Behind him, the four of them had expressions of deep thoughts.

To Ling Jian, this battle was like a huge turning point! So long as he could absorb the essence of this battle, he would have truly stepped into the realm of the peak experts!

And as for the pressure Li Xue gave him, as well as the beating and humiliation, they were all catalysts to help Ling Jian achieve this goal. Towards this point, Ling Tian had absolute certainty!

Chapter 559: True Intentions

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

There was, however, one point that Ling Tian had failed to predict. After Ling Jian had comprehended this level, in just a short two years, his usage and skill were comparable to Ling Tian and Li Xue! Based on Li Xue's judgment, Ling Jian's assassination skills at that time had become a sort of art, allowing one to witness the beauty of death at the moment of killing! Ling Tian commented that if merely based on the skill level of assassinations, even Justice would have to be ranked behind him!

Of course, this was only based on assassination techniques, and it did not mean that Ling Jian had the ability to kill anybody he wished. For example, Yu ManLou and Shui WuBo, based on Ling Tian's skill, even if he completely hid his killing intent, he would still face an insurmountable difficulty when assassinating them. As for Justice, nothing more needed to be said!

Inside the room, Ling Chen worriedly stared at the four people who resembled sculptures as they stood there. "Young Noble, the shock this time might be too big to Ling Jian? I'm afraid…"

Ling Chen and Ling Jian grew up together since they were young, thus to her, Ling Jian was akin to a blood-related sibling. Other than Ling Tian, he was the closest to her. Even when she flared up and beat Ling Jian up the other time, he still held no grudge against her. However, Li Xue was considered an outsider to the two of them, hence to be beaten up so badly by a poor and weak girl, how much face would Ling Jian still have left?! Ling Chen could not help but worry!

"Nothing will happen!" Ling Tian shook his head, "When he was back in Northern Wei, I had already discovered some of his problems. With the reputation the First Pavilion enjoys in Heavenly Star, he started to think that he could go wherever he wished. He wasn't aware that he had not met with any unique circumstances or missions, and thus thought of himself as high and mighty, looking down on martial exponents! Thus at that time when he met against the exponents of the Yu Family, with Yu ManLou himself taking action, if it was not a coincidence for me to be in the same place, his life would forever be forfeit there! From now onwards, our enemies, the Xiao and Yu Family, will all possess true experts. If we still allow them to behave rashly, then our losses will undoubtedly be great. The Yu and Xiao, one with a millennium-long background and the other with Above Heavens as a backer. Their foundations are strong and they can afford the losses, but we can't! Especially Ling Jian and Ling Chi's group, they're akin to my own brothers. Even if we can lose them, would you be willing?"

"In these few years, after coming into contact so many times, their identities can no longer just be compared to leader-subordinate relationships. They're all my brothers, my comrades. I'm not willing to see anyone injured!" Ling Tian gazed to the horizon, slowly speaking, "Thus, everything must change. But if I were to execute the change, no matter how I beat Ling Jian, there will not be any hate, and the effects would be poorer. Thus, when I was inside Northern Wei, I happened to bring this up. Li Xue said she would handle it, and thus I didn't ask further."

Ling Tian smiled, "Never did I think that she would play the role of such a shameful person, with her actions so extreme. However, this is good as well. This is the sort of method Ling Jian needs to thoroughly wake up. While painful and humiliating, it is this sort of pain and humiliation that can make him improve continuously. The reason why I never exposed this was because he's treating Li Xue as a benchmark now, not me. I cannot let him lose sight."

"Sister Li Xue's actions are just always so extreme." Upon recalling the cruel training Li Xue forced upon her, Ling Chen could not help but let out a shiver. She then frowned, "But while Ah'Jian is improving, Li Xue is also constantly improving. Her talent is one that is seldom seen in life, other than young noble and Justice himself. Even Mister Ye QingChen might not be her opponent at all! How could Ling Jian have the chance…"

Ling Tian laughed in response, "This will see how much Ling Jian can transform, and to what stage he can break through. During the breakthrough phase, he will naturally follow the path to the peak of the martial way. However, if he really wishes to scale to the summit, then just one failure isn't enough for him. He needs a true failure, an event that will make him fall then stand up again before he will really find the true way."

In that instant, Ling Chen understood what Ling Tian was talking about, and her eyes widened in shocked, "Martial Order Medalion owner, Justice?!"

Ling Tian snorted in laughter, "That's right! Today is only a duel and not a decisive battle. As such, there is only battle intent, and not killing intent. When Ling Jian faces off with Justice, that would be a real life and death battle. If he manages to survive, then there will not be anything in this world that can kill Ling Jian anymore!"

"When I deem it suitable, I'll arrange for Ling Jian to fight against Justice!" Ling Tian laughed.

"When will that time be? To fight with Justice, isn't that as good as looking for death? While I only exchanged one blow with him the other time, my impression was that he himself was unfathomable. At that time, I could only pray for young noble to annihilate the enemy quickly and had nightmares due to fear every day. Thinking back, I still tremble with fear. Young noble was able to escape from the pinnacle not only because of your profound cultivation but also because of good luck. Do you think Ah'Jian is as lucky as young noble?" Ling Chen spoke with undisguised anxiety.

Ling Tian only stared gently at her as he replied, "No, for Ling Jian against Justice, while he might lose, he will not be in life-threatening danger. Truth be told, luck played a huge role as to why I was able to escape from Justice's hands, but Ah'Jian would not be in true danger. Because the time he fights with Justice will be directly before my last battle with Justice too." Ling Tian gazed afar, falling silent. After a while, he slowly spoke, "Justice and I have been anticipating this battle, and before it, he will not kill my friends or my subordinates to destroy my mood. This would also vent his killing intent, which would not be beneficial for him!"

Ling Tian's tone was one of indifference, as though the matter was of no consequence, just like the drifting clouds and wind. However, Ling Chen could detect an overflowing battle intent from him. This sort of anticipation gave Ling Chen a sense of heartache.

It seems like there would still be a final battle between Justice and Ling Tian one day!

Ling Chen did not know how she felt in her heart, she knew just how scary Justice was. To think that her beloved was actually going to battle him with such confidence! Hearing his tone, it seemed as though the two of them had come to some secret decision! Ling Chen only felt a sense of sadness, as well as some pride.

Just how many people in this world could face off against Justice? Most likely, only her young noble would dare to claim so!

On that day, with that battle, it would definitely shake the old and illuminate the new, an unprecedented battle never to be replicated!

****** ****** ******

Ling Tian lightly stretched out two fingers, placing them on Yu BingYan's meridians. He closed his eyes, feeling his own internal energy flow like mercury into her meridians. Even though his eyes were closed, true his internal energy, he had a clear roadmap of her internal circuits, precisely and exactly appearing within his brains, without a single bit of detail missing.

Yu BingYan, however, did not even bother with what sort of condition her body had deteriorated to, neither did she know if her illness could be cured. All she did was to use her eyes to dumbly look at Ling Tian's face, full of love and satisfaction. The face that she had not seen for four months had appeared once more, giving her unknown bliss and happiness. So long as he was back, so long as nothing was wrong with him, nothing else mattered. Her illness? She would die sooner or later, what did it count for?

Internal energy flowed into her slowly, filling up the meridians in her entire body. For the first time, Ling Tian truly understood what was called the Divine Black Negative Meridians!

Within Yu BingYan's heart meridian, there was a gas of a thick dark green color that spread from there, covering the various meridians and intertwining in a complicated manner all over her body. Through his true energy, Ling Tian could feel that the dark green gas contained an extreme frosty energy!

The strength of this frost came from absorbing the nutrients in Yu BingYan's body. If it was allowed to absorb to a certain extent, then it would rapidly multiply in strength once more. In the end, it was bound to replace the current meridians, and by then, there would be no way to save the situation!

Between Yu BingYan's TanZhong and DanTian acupoints, there instead existed a faint golden strength that let out a warm glow, continuously eroding at the power of the frosty negative energy in her body, keeping it in balance. However, through the process, the strength of it was also slowly dissipating. Ling Tian knew that it was the Great Cyclic Pellet she ate the last time, which allowed the two opposing types of energies to clash and melt each other. However, from the situation, it seemed that while the Great Cyclic Pellet had the ability to curb, it was not able to solve the problem from the root, because its strength and efficacy were not enough.

This was seen from the two warring sides, where the Great Cyclic Pellet's strength was in a weakening state. However, within Yu BingYan's Dantian another warm source of strength actually existed, stubbornly guarding the area, neither attacking but not relinquishing any space. Probing it, Ling Tian realized it was the Mysterious Yin Essence Heart Sutra he gave her that year. It seemed like this sort of internal cultivation method had some sort of effect after all.

Chapter 560: Divine Black Negative Meridians

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Divine Black Negative Meridians was actually a condition that appeared within one's meridians, instead of existing as a separate meridian on its own, much like a leech. However, its consequences were far worse than a simple leech!

In order to treat Yu BingYan's Divine Black Negative Meridians and allow her to become a normal person, one had to first completely destroy that source of frosty negative energy!

Ling Tian originally thought that this was akin to a special physique like the extreme Yin body women could have, and with enough Positive True Flames, one could change the situation from harm to benefit! He even thought of using his Divine Shocking Dragon Formula's internal positive energy to forcibly split and clash with her condition, reducing but not removing it completely such that she could practice the Divine Ice Formula like Ling Chen and benefit from it instead of being harmed. But all his plans went down the drain right now, as the situation was totally contrary to his expectations!

If he were to truly forcibly dissipate the frost poison within her body and keep it within instead of expelling it out, Yu BingYan would turn into an ice sculpture in a matter of minutes and lose her life! This was because the frost poison within her far exceeded what a normal person could handle. Even Li Xue or Ling Chen with their experience in the Divine Ice Formula might not be able to handle it, not to mention Yu BingYan with such a frail body. When the time came, even if an immortal descended, her life could still be forfeit!

Ling Tian circulated his internal energy through her once again, searching every nook and cranny, and before disturbing the frost poison from the Divine Black Negative Meridians, he quickly pulled out. He let out a breath of turbid air, his eyes springing open as he stared at Yu BingYan with a complicated look.

To have such an extreme frost poison inside one's body, just how did Yu BingYan actually live through the last few years? If the same air was present outside, even an expert would be reduced to a state neither living nor dead, and Yu BingYan was just a gentle lady! Furthermore, because of her condition, she was unable to cultivate, and was as good as being a normal person! How could she withstand this poison for so long? How much pain had she suffered?

Thinking about the indifference that Yu BingYan showed daily, Ling Tian's heart began to hurt with stabs of pain.

Looking at this sweet-tempered beauty, giving him a look like she had no grudges or regrets, Ling Tian could sense that to her, his own safety was more important than that of her own body! They could not be put in the same position, as though comparing Mount Tai to a chicken feather!

What sort of feeling was this supposed to be?!

Ling Tian recalled at this time, what Ling Chen spoke to him about Yu BingYan when the Great Elder Yu ZhanShui came over. His heart could not help but surge in waves.

"I am Ling Tian's woman!"

"Even if I were to die now, what would be written on my grave is that I was of the Ling Family, with the maiden name of Yu, and not Yu BingYan of the Yu Family!"

Ling Tian's heart contracted, and he suddenly involuntarily exerted strength on his hands, pulling the beauty into his own embrace.

Yu BingYan gazed at Ling Tian's face in bliss, feeling her loved one's internal energy surging through her meridians. She felt as though she was immersed in satisfaction. While she had a terminal illness and was possibly incurable, possibly even dying tomorrow, for her to be recognized by the person she loved and to have him by her side was enough! Really satisfying! The Heavens are really generous to me!

Suddenly, she felt Ling Tian's eyes turn weird, half touching and half emotional, followed by a fiery look as she felt herself being pulled forward into his embrace. He hugged her so tightly, as though he was afraid to let go…

So warm! Yu BingYan's mouth twitched, wanting to laugh, but instead two streaks of tears rolled down her eyes, noiselessly vanishing on Ling Tian's shoulders….

After a long while, Ling Tian solemnly spoke, "Yan'er, did you feel any particularly unbearable pain in your body during this period?"

Lying on his chest, satisfied with just breathing in his smell, Yu BingYan narrowed her eyes as she lazily replied, "Nothing at all…"

"Really?" Ling Tian shot her a suspicious look.

"Hee hee… occasionally there would be outbursts, but they are more controlled and less painful than before." Yu BingYan laughed out, her little head rubbing delightedly on his chest as she murmured. Her joy was evident from her voice, that even this was already good for her, and she did not dare to ask for more…

"Occasionally…." Ling Tian brushed his chin against her soft hair, a pondering look on his face, "What about the Great Cyclic Pellets I gave you. During this time, how many of them have you eaten?"

As though feeling something was wrong, Yu BingYan stammered out, "…. Only two…." She recalled that Ling Tian had told her to eat the pills once every half a month, but after hearing of the effects from the Great Cyclic Pellet, on how eating one could produce an expert, she couldn't bear to eat more. Only when she could not take the pain did she actually eat one, and it was accompanied with a heavy sense of guilt. She thought that if Ling Tian's subordinates were to consume one instead, they could become the core strength of his army, and giving it to someone like her with numbered days was a waste, without even any use…

Every time she thought about this, she would feel that she was even more useless. Not only could she not help Ling Tian, she even became his burden. When she thought along these lines, she would feel even sadder and feel it even more of a waste to consume the pellet…

"Only two?" Ling Tian frowned, unhappily replying, "Didn't I tell you to consume it once every half a month? Why did you only take it twice?"

Yu BingYan wiggled her body in discomfort, pleading, "My memory isn't so good, and I always forget…"

Ling Tian only snorted in response, picking up the root of the problem easily as his face sank, "Did you not eat the pellets after knowing about their effect?" The more he thought, the more he deemed it possible, and the colder his face became. "You want to leave them for me? To increase my strength? Or to increase my subordinate's strengths? Let me create an army of experts?!"

Yu BingYan could only answer miserably, "Tian'ge, I was wrong…"

Ling Tian sighed as he replied, "Yan'er, you should be aware of your own body's condition. Of course, my initial purpose in refining the Great Cyclic Pellet was to increase the strengths of Ling Jian and company. However, with the addition of the thousand-year-old blood ginseng as well as the ice-fire lotus, the end result can not only increase cultivation but also curb your Divine Black Negative Meridians. Furthermore, a huge batch of 113 pellets was produced, far outstripping my original estimates, but everyone could only consume one. Even if you leave all for me, where am I going to find so many experts to raise? This sort of ferocious medicinal efficacy, if one's cultivation isn't at a certain realm, consumption will only cause the body to implode. Furthermore, those that I give the pellets to must first fulfill the criteria of being someone I can trust, or else if I end up grooming an unprecedentedly strong enemy, isn't that asking for suicide?"

"As such, I took what I needed and left the last 30 pellets for you." Ling Tian warmly gazed at her, stroking her face as he smiled, "Do you know? I originally intended for you to consume them for a year, allowing the medicine to corrode the poison to a certain extent before I use my internal energy in tandem with the Great Cyclic Pellet to force the cold energy out. However, you actually did not follow my instructions, making me disappointed as we have missed the best time to cure your illness!"

In order not to induce her worry, Ling Tian purposefully reduced the amount of information regarding purging the cold energy out. If she knew how much danger Ling Tian would have to undergo in order to purge her poison, then she would never agree, maybe even choosing to secretly leave.

"So I see… Tian'ge, relax, I will be obedient in the future, ok?" Yu BingYan had a guilty expression as she lifted up her face to look pitifully at Ling Tian, pleading.

It seems like she still needs to calm down a little more. She looks depressed and sad,Ling Tian thought to himself. As such, he sighed again, emotionally saying, "Yan'er, do you still remember when we met, what I told you about being able to treat your illness?"

Yu BingYan nodded as she said, "I naturally remember." She then let out a mischievous smile together with some embarrassment as continued, "I remembered every single word Tian'ge has spoken to me."

Ling Tian smiled in response as he chuckled, "My idea actually involves the Great Cyclic Pellet. Based on my instructions for you to consume it, after my cultivation increases, I'll work with Ling Chen, one front and one back, one push and one pull, to completely remove and toxins and let you recover to the peak of health! But who would've known that you would be so disobedient, actually only eating two of the pills? Most likely, the remnant medicinal strength in your body has almost been exhausted, completely out of my expectations. For me to expel the toxin out of you, I guess I'll have to use a lot more strength this time."

Yu BingYan slowly exclaimed with an 'ah' sound, her eyes filled with worry as she nervously replied, "Then… will it be dangerous for you?"

Ling Tian frowned and replied, "If we went according to the original plan, there would definitely be some danger, but…. If you could do something, then it should be absolutely safe."

"What is that thing? I'll definitely achieve it." Yu BingYan anxiously replied.

"That something is from now on, within these three months, to take a Great Cyclic Pellet every ten days. You're not allowed to stop in between, and on the last day, you are to take two pellets at once, such that the positive energy will achieve a balance with the internal energy within your body. On that day, after you consume the pellets, Ling Chen and I will coordinate to force out your poison. I believe it will be something as easy as lifting our hands. However, if you still feel it a waste to consume, we will have to extend the duration we spend in purging the toxin, and thus the length we are exposed to it. If there are any slip-ups, it's easy to cause cultivation deviation, which will kill us! While we can achieve this plan without losses, if your illness flares up and we don't purge it out in time, you will lose your life! Yan'er, we took great pains to reach this stage, don't tell me that you don't want to stay beside me for my whole lifetime?" Ling Tian's face was unprecedentedly heavy, his tone solemn.

Chapter 561: Changes in the East

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Yu BingYan's face immediately paled, and she exclaimed out loud, before covering her lips with her hands. In her eyes was extreme shock, and her head nodded violently as she replied, "Tian'ge, relax, I'll take my medication on time and will not let you risk even a bit of danger because of me!"

As she spoke, Yu BingYan's face turned a slight crimson, and she lowered her head, murmuring in a tiny voice, "All of me belongs to you, and I naturally want to… grow old with Tian'ge, without leaving your side." Coming to the last few words, the thin-skinned little princess already turned a deep shade of red, burying her head into Ling Tian's chest.

Ling Tian chuckled upon seeing her reaction. He could acutely feel the quaking of the lady currently nestled in his chest, and he crooned to her, "Yan'er, did you ever think, in another thirty to fifty years, when we are old and unable to move, we will sit on a chair outside the courtyard, and count each other's black hair? We'll smile as we watch our sons and grandsons frolicking in front of us, and that is the epitome of a couple growing old together."

Yu BingYan only shyly hmmed in response, and with fascination, secretly raised her head again to look at Ling Tian's face, while thinking to herself, It would be nice if I can stay by Tian'ge's side for his whole life, till our heads are full of white hairs…. How blissful would that be? Even if you give me the chance to be an immortal, I would not exchange it for this!

While Yu BingYan continued to bask in bliss, her finger softly tracing circles on Ling Tian's chest, they somehow reached a tranquil state, where both parties were immeasurably satisfied and happy…

Ling Tian smiled and nodded his head. Towards this lass who was wholeheartedly in love with him, he only displayed his most tender affection for her from the depths of his heart. Thus, towards Yu BingYan's thoughts, how could he not know? If he did not explain to her that the process was not dangerous, most likely, even if she was forced to consume the Great Cyclic Pellet, she would still be worried about the potential gains and losses. Right now, Ling Tian aimed to induce her care and love towards him, linking her resolving of her illness to Ling Tian himself, after which he would paint a beautiful future scenery such that it could induce her will to go on living. He believed that with this, the plan to get her to consume the pellets would go without a hitch, and he could relax his mind towards her.

Three months later, when Yu BingYan's body was nurtured to the best condition, Ling Tian would then take the chance to sweep out all the toxins in one fell swoop! With the addition of Li Xue, he naturally had a greater measure of success! Originally, Ling Tian was thinking of resolving the problem of Yu BingYan's Divine Black Negative Meridians today, but upon scanning through her meridians and realizing that he had underestimated it, he increased the dosage of her Great Cyclic Pellet consumption.

But in this case, when they expelled the frost poison from her body, they would need to ensure that the medical efficacies were fully dissipated within her meridians, or else the strength of the pill would be equally scary! Without the mutual curbing of the meridians, and with her shallow cultivation, she would definitely not be able to withstand the strength of the Great Cyclic Pellet!

Three months! Ling Tian breathed out. The winter would also just set in three months later, and the weather still would not be that cold. However, he should do a little something within this three months to occupy his time.

Thinking about it, he never realized how fast time flew. By the time he wanted to stand up again, he found out that Yu BingYan had unknowingly fallen asleep on his bosom, a hint of a smile on the corners of her mouth. Her sleep was undoubtedly sound, and looking at her delicate face, Ling Tian instinctively felt a need to protect her. He was clear that for Yu BingYan to be able to fall asleep so soundly in the day, it showed just how worried she was in the last few months he was away. Yu BingYan's anxious state of mind had also finally loosened up after seeing Ling Tian safe and sound, thus she immediately fell asleep after…

Ling Tian felt moved, as well as a sense of gratitude. He merely silently stayed in place, lightly supporting her body. Their surroundings were still silent, without even the hint of noise…

****** ****** ******

Time seemed to fly by soundlessly the last few days. In these few days, Yu BingYan had been tirelessly practicing her cultivation after consuming the pellets, Li Xue broadened her knowledge on the various forces and operations of the Courtyard, Xiao YanXue almost went crazy trying to manage the messy accounts of the finances, and Ling Chen overlooked the entire situation, her feet seemingly not touching the ground as she ran from place to place. Only our Young Noble Ling led his days in a relaxed manner, having arranged all the matters to his subordinates such that he did not need to personally act. Lazing around, cultivating, reading his books, flirting with Ling Chen at night… naturally, he did more than that. But his days were spent in carefree bliss.

Till one day…

In the intelligence web of the Ling Family Courtyard covering the four directions, Ling Nine who was responsible for the intelligence of the East ran like a whirlwind into the courtyard. There was a look of panic on his face and he was completely soaked in sweat.

In a few moments, Ling Chen walked out with a grave expression, and went straight to Ling Tian's study, "Young Noble, I'm afraid the east is in trouble."

"Oh? Trouble in the east?" Ling Tian raised his head, "Did Ling Nine pass you the news?"

"That's right, in the morning three days ago, Ling Nine failed to receive any news from Li City. Even up till today, there has not been any news coming from them. In contrast, the surrounding few cities have sent around three to four news dispatches the last few days." Ling Chen's tone took on a grave note, as this was the first time it happened since the intelligence network was set up. For this to coincidentally happen right before the war, it was even more suspicious.

Ling Tian gently knocked on his table, asking, "Li City? Isn't that the one running horizontally across Xiao FengYang's route of advance with his army?"

"That's right. Li City is the protective screen on the extreme east of Sky Bearing City. If it falls, then Meng Region, Zhou Prefecture, and Qu County will all be annihilated under the army of Xiao FengYang. After breaking through these cities, the distance between them and Sky Bearing would be less than 75 kilometers. Furthermore, the distance is made up of a wide and flat expanse of land, and there aren't many places we can actually defend." Ling Chen spoke with some anxiety.

"It seems like the Xiao Family cannot resist making a move on us in the end." Ling Tian laughed, and a chilling ray of light shot out from his eyes. "I actually intended to drag things out at Southern Zheng, allowing DongFang JingLei to accumulate a decent amount of strength before pincering Xiao FengYang. But to think that the old fox actually took the initiative to attack first, and furthermore, attacking a far off remote city such as Li City? That's so not his style."

After pondering for a while, Ling Chen nodded as well, "Young Noble, do you want to send some people over to take a look?"

Ling Tian chuckled at that, "Chen'er, I'm not supposed to be back yet. You're the head this time, so whatever you wish to do, you can carry it out. I'll take a good look at how you plan your strategy, ok?"

"Young Noble is teasing me again!" Ling Chen wriggled her body in embarrassment. However, she stopped, and solemnly continued, "While Li City's intelligence network is broken, the surrounding three cities are still operating as per normal. My hypothesis is that the enemy has only attacked Li City, and did not touch the other three surrounding ones. Most likely, our people did not reveal any of our secrets. Or else, the intelligence from the other three areas would have also been crippled."

A shrewd look appeared in Ling Chen's eyes, and she deduced, "And based on the news that the surrounding three cities have given, there haven't been any movements regarding Xiao FengYang's forces. Thus the taking over of Li City should have been purely done by a small group of top elite experts, and might not necessarily be the direction their army is taking. His main objective is to deprive us of our eyes and ears. If that's the case, then there are only two possibilities."

Ling Tian sat with a smile on his face as he listened to Ling Chen's deduction. His heart was filled with satisfaction upon seeing how much she had grown in the time he was not around. Right now, her line of thought already had the bearings of an elite strategist, and this made Ling Tian extremely gratified.

He dimly heard Ling Chen continuing, "The first possibility is that Xiao FengYang is preparing to take over Li City in one go, forcing himself into Sky Bearing's hinterland. The second is for him to cut off our intelligence from the East, after which they will convert the area into theirs. Be it either suggestion, we cannot sit on our haunches and wait."

"Then, in your opinion, which option is more likely?" Ling Tian smiled.

His carefree attitude allowed Ling Chen to slightly calm down her frazzled nerves. She slowly sat down, and after a moment of frowning, replied uncertainly, "Chen'er thinks that the second method is more likely. After all, a lone force treading deep into enemy territory runs the risk of being destroyed, and for someone of Xiao FengYang's character, it's not too good to do so!"

A smile of praise surfaced, and Ling Tian followed up, "If it's the second approach, then which side would Xiao FengYan be more likely to move towards?"

Ling Tian grinned as he hinted, "On one side, is the 200,000 strong army of my father, confronting with Southern Zheng. On the other, is General Shen with a count of 150,000 soldiers, pressuring the side between Eastern Zhao and us. If Xiao FengYang wants to make a move, he'll have to choose a side." Ling Tian smiled. "Which side do you think Xiao FengYang will choose?"

Ling Chen froze and stammered, "This point… is hard to judge."

Ling Tian burst into laughter as he asked, "Does the advisor know about this?"

Ling Chen immediately said, "Before I came over, I already sent someone to call the advisor over to discuss some matters. He should be arriving soon."

Just as her voice sounded, Meng LiGe had already pushed the curtain aside and walked in. He courteously bowed before sitting himself. It was then that Ling Tian found out this great military advisor was actually holding onto a small teapot, with steam still emitting from it as it let out a refreshing aroma of tea leaves, together with a slight astringent taste.

"Mister really knows how to enjoy life." Ling Tian could not help but smile.

Meng LiGe squeezed his eyes in satisfaction as he stroked his beard, saying, "As a commander, one must guard against pride and impatience. Before a big battle or any momentous event, the first thing we need to do is to have a calm heart. A heart in chaos leads to disarray on the battlefield. To calm down one's heart through tea has become my habit."

"That is a good habit indeed." Ling Tian praised. "Oh, Mister's tea, isn't that the wind-dried lotus heart?"

"It is indeed the wind dried lotus heart." Meng LiGe replied with some amazement. "Young Noble is indeed a kindred spirit, to be able to recognize it with one whiff. This leaves me in astonishment."

Ling Tian laughed, and warmly replied, "Wind-dried lotus heart lets out a bitter fragrance, unlike the sun-dried lotus heart. While it is also clear and refreshing, it does not have the astringent bitterness. It resembles a sour plum during the month of May, with a hint of being unripe. However, it is this precise unripe aspect that makes the lotus heart so precious."

"A clever description!" Meng LiGe immediately clapped and praised, bursting into laughter.

Ling Chen stared at these two men with some frustration. Things were already so fiery with people about to invade their backyard, but these two people started talking about matters of leisure the moment they saw each other, making her unable to grasp what was happening.

Chapter 562: Surface Level, Concealed Level

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

After a long while, Ling Chen finally had a chance to bring the topic back to the scenario of war. Ling Chen suspected that if she didn't do that, the two men would probably continue on about this topic of tea all the way until the sun set and the crows left… because when she interrupted, the two of them had already gone on to talk about tea trees thousands of years old, without even the slightest intention of stopping…

There were three different enemies from different sides who were becoming restless on the outside and might start a war anytime. However, one of their intelligence sources was actually cut off during this time. How worrying was this matter?! From what Ling Chen saw, even the concept of a thousand pounds of weight hanging on a thin thread was not enough to describe this precarious situation, but these two men actually started discussing tea like it wasn't their problem! Ling Chen did not know if it was her making a mountain out of a molehill or whether the two men were just boastfully pretending that they were unconcerned.

However, be it Ling Tian or Meng LiGe, would either of them engage in such behavior?

Meng LiGe was silent as he listened to Ling Chen repeat the entire situation once again. Stroking his beard, he turned to Ling Tian, "I have a rough idea about this situation. However, what does the young noble think?"

Ling Tian internally rolled his eyes, thinking, You're the strategist, not me. If I had an answer for every question you posed to me, then what would I still need you for? However, he retained a passive expression, instead laughing and saying, "I was just about to ask my advisor to lead the way out of this maze and alleviate my confusion."

Meng LiGe smiled knowingly, "If word spread that Young Noble is back at the helm of Sky Bearing, then I believe the Xiao Family would not dare to be so unrestrained and remove our own people. After all, the thousand-year legend of Beyond Heavens 'One token for one life' has never failed, and because of that, if you become the only exception, it would be cause for the entire continent to shake. If we add in your title of going solo against 10,000 soldiers, then no one would dare to look down on you. The neighboring countries' only choice left would be to work together with Southern Zheng and Eastern Zhao, mobilizing both armies to deal with Sky Bearing. As for the Xiao Family, they would instead act as the fisherman to reap the rewards when all three sides get injured in the war. That is Xiao FengYang's style. Regarding this guy, I've researched the thirty odd times of his battles. He is unpredictable and full of treachery. However, he follows a certain modus operandi. Rather than aiming for an open and grand battle, he prefers to first beguile his enemies, and then he drops a vicious and mortal blow on them! In this way, not only are his losses the least, his gains are also the greatest!"

At this point, Ling Tian already knew what Meng LiGe was about to say, and could not help but nod his head.

"Such tactics, while full of tricks, undoubtedly produce the most benefits. However, their disadvantages are also very clear. After you are used to this tactic, it is impossible for you to turn back once you have tasted the sweetness of victory. This is especially true for Xiao FengYang. To be used to everything going his own way and used to taking advantage, the moment someone applies reverse psychology on him he would fall and the Xiao Family would eat a huge disadvantage! Meng LiGe smiled. "Right now, the most advantageous point we have is that Xiao FengYang is still unaware of our young noble's safe return. Thus, his actions this time means that there is an important reason. He is not someone who will bring his army to clash with us. After all, be it Grand Marshall Ling or General Shen, they are people who have been through hundreds of fierce battles and are not to be trifled with. If Xiao FengYang tangles with them, the battle cannot be ended in a short time, and the number of deaths will be huge. Once time drags on, the lone force of the Xiao's army will be trapped, thus he will not take on this danger unnecessarily."

Ling Chen frowned and said with some disbelief in her voice, "Advisor Meng, you mean to say that the Xiao Family's objective is not Sky Bearing? If that's the case, then why would they allow our other three cities to continue reporting news back to us? Don't they know that once they move, we will receive news and be able to prepare in advance?"

A light smile surfaced on Meng LiGe's mouth in response, "There are three reasons why I came to this deduction. The first, in the eyes of an outsider, the young noble is not helming Sky Bearing, and with the pursuit by Justice, while the Ling Family still has Lady Ling Chen to stabilize matters, it is ultimately not enough. Secondly, our Ling Family has sent 350,000 soldiers out to placate the people's hearts and show that they are not weak, but no matter what, their internal guards would still be pretty empty. Furthermore, the two generals had approached the Ling Family Courtyard to take many soldiers and horses, and thus, we appear to be only strong on the surface. Lastly, the Ling Family is warring on two separate lands, if the Xiao Family were to go in and do a three-pronged attack, then at that time, we will naturally collapse."

"Thus, the Xiao Family's target this time is without a doubt, Sky Bearing! They might not even send in their complete army, just having a troop of 3,000 to 5,000 secretly slip in during the night and attack the Ling Family as well as the Ling Family Courtyard, as well as spread the word that the young noble has died in Justice's hands. When chaos spreads, then the army can send in their soldiers, reaping the largest benefits for the smallest price."

Meng LiGe laughed, a farsighted look in his eyes, "If I'm Xiao FengYang, then other than this, there would be no better way. With his consistent behavior, this type of method also has the greatest probability!"

Ling Chen's face fell. If this was the case, then based on the Xiao Family's and Above Heaven's combined strength, sending an elite troop in secret was no big deal. Even if they could not wipe the Ling Family off the map, and even if they all died in Sky Bearing, a chaotic war was still bound to occur! Right now, what the Xiao Family needed was this sort of mess in Sky Bearing!

Fishing in troubled waters!

Even Southern Zheng and Eastern Zhao all hoped for such a chaotic situation! So long as the Ling Family was thrown into disarray, even if the Ling Family continued to pressure them it would be disadvantageous. As for the Xiao Family as the other influences, what they were waiting on was precisely this disadvantage! Making use of rumors to fan the fires, all of the armies would then invade Sky Bearing. In this manner, it would pose a huge trouble for the Ling Family!

"If that's the case, then what shall we do?" Ling Chen looked at Ling Tian and Meng LiGe, but all she saw was Ling Tian smiling like a Cheshire cat, while Meng LiGe was stroking his beard idly, causing her to subconsciously relax.

"Chen'er, relax, since our advisor has already seen through the intentions of the other party, how could he not have a solution?" Ling Tian smiled towards Meng LiGe, "Since I've already handled command of the army to Mister, then everything will be left up to you. Ling Tian here will hide like a little foot soldier, listening to Mister's command."

"How can that be? It's only when this matter happened that I suddenly found out just how farsighted Young Noble is, as well as how profound your schemes run." Meng LiGe smiled respectfully at Ling Tian. "Young Noble obviously has already prepared everything beforehand regarding this war, and LiGe is actually just taking all your efforts and using my minute strength to execute it."

"Can Mister explain, what sort of stage did Young Noble set up?!" Ling Chen widened her eyes in shock. Ling Tian had already handled command over to Meng LiGe, so why did he say it was Ling Tian's effort? From their looks, it did not seem that they were blowing each other's trumpets.

"Years ago, Young Noble had already separated the intelligence systems into one on the surface level, and one which was concealed. This matter should be known to Lady Chen, right?" Meng LiGe sighed emotionally, "Who would have thought that the four intelligence branches of the Ling Family would actually shake the world so with a hard to come by strength rarely seen in the world. Not only are the personnel elites among the elite, the secrecy of the organization leaves one sighing in wonder. To think that Young Noble still has another unrelated intelligence network, the Crystal Pavilion! The skill of the Crystal Pavilion seems not below that of the surface intelligence, and even shows signs of surpassing it!"

Meng LiGe sighed once more in amazement, "As such, no matter how the enemy destroys our Ling Family's surface intelligence, so long as the Crystal Pavilion exists, there will not be any apprehensions regarding our intelligence reports! I believe Young Noble had already planned for such a purpose from the start! Thus, this tells me just how wise is young noble is, to plan so far ahead from the beginning"

Ling Tian was a little amazed. Him secretly setting up the Crystal Pavilion was actually to make things easier for himself, as well as create another important source to rob riches off people. To think that because of this affair with the Xiao Family, he was actually thought of as preparing for a rainy day by Meng LiGe!

Ashamed, he really was ashamed!

Ling Tian was stunned speechless, thinking to himself, 'My great advisor, you really think too highly of me! Even if I were to plan ahead, it can't be to the point that I would account for the loss in my personnel, right? Could it be that I planned a few years before to sacrifice my painstakingly taught elites so I could prove my farsightedness? That would be too foolish!' However, looking at Meng LiGe's admiring look, Ling Tian could only stroke his chin and laugh bitterly to himself.

"And since we have the Crystal Pavilion as a hidden chess piece, whatever the Xiao Family is planning, we will be able to counterattack!"

"As for my speculation," Meng LiGe solemnly spoke while raising his teacup to take a sip, "I will use Xiao FengYang's original habits in deducing the plan. However, a strategy can never keep up with sudden changes, and this might not actually take place. While I dare say I have some confidence in this, we still have to prepare for contingencies. Thus, from now on, all the intelligence networks belonging to the Ling Family will go undercover. This is to let the Xiao Family think that we are trying to avoid a loss and have pulled back our men. As such, this will allow us to numb them while we keep track of their actions through the Crystal Pavilion!"

Chapter 563: LiGe's Plan

Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock

"Second, with regards to the stalemate in Southern Zheng, we have to spread rumors to say that the Xiao Family has already formed an alliance with our Ling Family and we are prepared to divide up Southern Zheng. With the relationship between Family Head Xiao FengHan and Old Master, there will be a 50% chance of people believing this rumor. At the very least, it would create unrest in Southern Zheng and destroy all hopes of Southern Zheng forming an alliance with the Xiao Family."

A cunning smile could then be seen on Meng LiGe's face. "The moment the Xiao Family makes their move, we will spread the news that young noble Ling has successfully killed the Martial Order Medallion owner. It won't matter if the Xiao Family doesn't dare to spread rumors about young noble being killed, but if they do so, the effects of both rumors will cancel out. If the Xiao Family retreats without a battle, Young Noble Ling's name would be renowned over the continent and the prestige of our Ling Family would be raised."

Ling Chen's eyes lit up brightly and she nodded her head profusely. The moment Meng LiGe mentioned these two ideas, she had already begun formulating her own thoughts on them and also how she could ensure that the plan was carried out smoothly. If Meng LiGe's plan could be carried out successfully, not only would the Ling Family not suffer any losses, the prestige of the Ling Family would be increased to a never before seen level. Ling Chen never imagined that the news that she was frightened about could be so easily resolved by Meng LiGe with just a simple plan. At this moment, Ling Chen no longer had any doubts about Meng LiGe's wisdom.

"Third, we must gather the strength of the bandits in the east. According to what I know, there should be two groups of bandits in the east right? With each group being about three thousand men strong?" Meng LiGe asked with a bit of uncertainty. All of these forces across the continent were Ling Tian's top secret forces and the biggest secret in the Courtyard. Meng LiGe only vaguely knew about them and about the existence of these forces. However, there weren't any records of these forces in the Courtyard and he could only make a guess.

Ling Tian responded with 'Mmm' before explaining, "There is only one group which is about one thousand men strong. However, they are all elites. I transferred the other group to the territory where General Shen is stationed to aid him. Besides that, in case DongFang JingLei goes rogue, that group would be the hidden trump card to deal with him."

"Oh." Meng LiGe shut his eyes and replied, "If that's the case, my original plans must be amended slightly. However, even if we can't use these thousand men to steal the enemy's supplies, we would be able to use them to disrupt the supply transportation routes of the enemy. If Xiao FengYang does not make a move, there isn't a need for them to make a move. But the moment Xiao FengYang's army moves out, this group of bandits must begin their harassment operation. They can choose to kill, burn or even destroy the roads to create a shortage of food within the Xiao Family's army. Even if they can only delay the supplies for a few days, they must make it happen."

Meng LiGe chuckled, "As long as the supplies of the Xiao Family can be delayed for more than three days, we can spread rumors about the destruction of the Xiao Family's supply warehouse to throw their soldiers into chaos."

"Brilliant!" Ling Tian clapped his hands, "If the morale of the troops is unstable, we can use assassinations or arson to cause a mutiny."

"That's right." Meng LiGe laughed, "Besides that, we must ensure that DongFang JingLei gathers his forces during this period of time to openly engage the Eastern Zhao imperial family. At that time, even if the Xiao Family has the intention to form an alliance with Eastern Zhao, Eastern Zhao would not have the spare soldiers to deal with us. Furthermore, the 150,000 soldiers that General Shen has is sufficient to ensure that Eastern Zhao does not make any rash moves!"

"On top of that, we can openly send a diplomatic group to the Wu Empire to befriend them." Meng LiGe chuckled cunningly, "We only need to send them some silk and leather without doing anything else and it would be enough to make Southern Zheng and the Xiao Family suspicious and on edge. After all of these arrangements, we can then sit back and relax! At that time, we can focus on retaliating against the Xiao Family's forces."

"Young noble and Ling Jian can then lead the elites of our Courtyard out in three different directions. If the Xiao Family really dares to send their elites to infiltrate into Sky Bearing, we will make sure that they don't return alive. It wouldn't matter if Xiao FengYang doesn't make a move, but the moment he makes his move, we can make use of this opportunity to chase him back to his hometown!"

"It seems like advisor Meng does not intend to let me off. Would it be a crime for me to peacefully rest for a few days? Why is everyone so keen on chasing me out?" Ling Tian joked.

"The capable must be in charge of more." Meng LiGe stroked his beard and smiled, "With young noble's abilities to fight Justice, would there be anyone in the world capable of dealing with young noble? This Meng is naturally at ease with young noble taking action personally." As he said that, Meng LiGe's eyes lit up, "It's also fine if young noble does not wish to go out. As long as young noble makes an announcement to the world and ascends the throne, you would naturally not need to go out. Since the ancient times, there has never been an emperor out on an assassination mission."

"Then it's best for me to go." Ling Tian laughed bitterly, "Grandfather and father are both extremely healthy. For Mister Meng to suggest that I ascend the throne, aren't you pushing me into the fire? Just a single crime of being unfilial to my parents is enough for the world to launch an attack at Sky Bearing."

"I really don't understand your family." Meng LiGe shook his head and sighed. "The three of you choose to leave the throne empty and avoid it like the plague. How baffling."

Ling Tian laughed bitterly. His grandfather Ling Zhan was already old and did not have thoughts of ascending the throne. With his father's personality, his father would probably fly into a rage upon ascending to the throne and expel all the civil officials in the court and run the country with the military. Besides that, an emperor needs to have concubines and with his Mother in control, his father would never dare to ascend to the throne because of that. With two generations of his elders still alive, wouldn't it be akin to cursing his elders an early death if Ling Tian ascended to the throne? Such a taboo was something that Ling Tian would never commit. Thus, the throne was temporarily left empty…

"Err, Mister Meng, it is best for you to continue." Ling Tian laughed dryly and wiped off his sweat. Besides that, Ling Tian would lose all of his freedom the moment he ascended to the throne. Ling Tian still wanted to lead a carefree life for a few more years…

"Haha…" Meng LiGe looked at Ling Tian and could not help but burst out laughing. After thinking for a moment, a barely discernible smile could then be seen on his face. "As long as young noble is able to eliminate the elites of the Xiao Family that have infiltrated into Sky Bearing, Xiao FengYang would be surrounded from all directions by our multi-pronged strategy. Regardless of how many tricks and plans he has up his sleeves, he would have no choice but to make a retreat. At that time, young noble's plans for Southern Zheng can also be carried out. Without any reinforcements, Southern Zheng should change their surname to Ling in less than ten months. With us conquering Southern Zheng and DongFang JingLei supporting us in Eastern Zhao, both our armies can gather together to swallow Eastern Zhao. At that time, only the final battle with the Xiao Family would be left and half the continent would be within our reach."

If this plan was carried out properly, it wouldn't be impossible for them to destroy Xiao FengYang's army. However, Meng LiGe's plan did not seem to include destroying Xiao FengYang's army. Ling Chen could not help but to doubtfully ask, "Does advisor mean that even if we have the chance to wipe out Xiao FengYang, we should not take it but allow him to leave? Wouldn't we be allowing the tiger to return to the hills?"

"That's right!" Meng LiGe looked at Ling Chen with praise before explaining, "The Xiao Family is the number one financial magnate and even has the support of Above Heavens. This is not the time for us to engage in an all-out battle with them. Besides that, they have sent out 300,000 soldiers this time around and if we were to wipe out Xiao FengYang's army, the Xiao Family would definitely retaliate in full force. At that time, even if we are able to attain victory, it would be a Pyrrhic one. This would affect our plans with Southern Zheng and Eastern Zhao as well and if they were to interfere with our battle with the Xiao Family, we may end up losing. Thus, this isn't the best time to deal with the Xiao Family and even if they were already in our mouth, we would have to spit them out."

Meng LiGe then let out a profound sigh, "The situation can change drastically in just an instant and we cannot expect too much from DongFang JingLei. If the situation is disadvantageous towards us, DongFang JingLei may very well stab us in the back. The most important thing for us to do now would be to settle Southern Zheng before the Yu Family swallows up the Wu Empire! If the Yu Family succeeds before us, we would be leaving our backs open towards the enemy! Furthermore, this enemy is the most powerful one in the world! This is something that we must never allow to happen!"

"Mister's words are true." Ling Tian looked at Ling Chen, "One more thing… since I have already decided on making Xiao YanXue my woman, I have to make proper considerations when dealing with the Xiao Family. With regards to the upper echelons of the Xiao Family, it is best if I don't kill them. Since she is already my woman, I cannot throw her into endless grief and sandwich her between me and her family. Not just the Xiao Family, this would be the same for the Yu Family as well."

"The Yu Family can be destroyed! The Xiao Family can be destroyed! But I have to give Yu BingYan and Xiao YanXue an explanation. Just like how the two of them chose me as opposed to their family, I have the duty to ensure their happiness," Ling Tian said solemnly. "Thus, we have to be very careful with our actions."

"As for the others, we can do as the advisor has said and I do not have anything to add on. The military arrangements are very perfect and I am very satisfied." Ling Tian looked at Meng LiGe and smiled.

"Thank you young noble." Meng LiGe stood up and bowed. Ling Tian then replied with sincerity, "Advisor is too polite. If I do not trust advisor, why would I keep you here? Since I trust Military Advisor, I will not doubt any of your decisions." Ling Tian looked at Meng LiGe seriously, "Even if it is wrong, I will not doubt!"

Chapter 564: Rumours Spreading

Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock

Even if it is wrong, I will not doubt!

In that instant, Meng LiGe's body shivered, and he felt a rush of hot blood surging inside him, turning his face ruddy. He held himself back, merely giving a bland smile, but one could see the rims of his eyes turning red.

Ling Tian laughed and patted his shoulder before turning to Ling Chen. "The commands will be passed down by you. Those elites who are sniping will be personally chosen by Ling Jian, and when they are ready to move, asking Ling Jian to report to me will suffice."

Ling Chen respectfully called out before turning to leave, her footsteps light and graceful. Within her heart, there was still some form of happiness. One had to know that Ling Tian's previous words would be considered extremely soft-hearted in the eyes of a military advisor. It might even affect the entire operation, but to Ling Chen, she could feel the warmth within those words. It showed just how sentimental Ling Tian was as a person. While he might be ruthless and even despicable to his enemies, he would fully protect his own people, be it Xiao YanXue, Yu BingYan, or even her! To think of it, when he rebelled against Long Xiang, wasn't it because of her, this mere servant girl?

With Xiao YanXue and Yu BingYan, one belonged to the Yu Family and one the Xiao Family. Both were from influential families that were the biggest obstacle to Ling Tian obtaining all under heaven. However, Ling Tian was actually able to come out with such a surprising decision to ensure the emotional well-being of his women. If compared with another ruthless character, who else would care about something other than his ambition? However, Ling Tian cared, and very much so. While this might pose problems in his road of world domination, Ling Tian had long decided to do just that.

Annihilating the Xiao and Yu Families went without saying! However, the lives of those who had a relationship with one of his women had to be considered. This sentence already fully spoke of Ling Tian's unique insistence and also spoke volumes about how much Ling Tian loved his women!

In this world where wives were like clothes but brothers like one's hands and feet, a woman's position was extremely low. From a woman's point of view, for Ling Tian to do this was extremely precious to them.

It is easy to exchange for priceless treasures, but it is difficult to obtain the perfect husband.

This was why Ling Chen was happy and touched.

Turning back, Ling Tian laughed, "Advisor, now that we have been unburdened, come come, I still haven't had the pleasure of trying your tea leaves."

Meng LiGe also let out an unrestrained laugh. "Since young noble wants to enjoy himself, then Meng LiGe will accompany you to drink to our heart's content." As he spoke, the two exchanged a glance, understanding each other's thoughts as they shared a smile.

...

Rumors spread all over the place!

The Heavenly Star Continent became a haven for rumors all of a sudden.

Rumors suddenly became a synonym for news, and what was considered accurate news could no longer be found!

The first rumor was that the Sky Bearing Empire's young noble Ling Tian was killed by the Martial Order Medallion and that Justice had already gone back to Beyond Heavens, returning the Martial Order Medallion. The Ling Family had already secretly brought his body back to Sky Bearing, and in order to prevent the armies from growing uneasy, chose to keep it a secret.

The second rumor said that while the Martial Head was in pursuit of Ling Tian, he fell into his trap and was killed by Ling Tian! As such, Ling Tian had now taken over the position of Martial Order Medallion owner, becoming the new top expert, a new hero of this generation! Furthermore, the details of how the fight proceeded, how Ling Tian counterattacked as well as how intense the final fight was spread all around like wildfire by the martial artists, as though they had been there on the scene. The narrative was vividly and brightly colored, and spittle sprayed everywhere as they talked, causing everyone to stare dumbfounded at them…

From time to time there would be opposing rumor mongers that would gather together. There would even be a few who started to fight with each other, trying to choke each other while insisting that their side was the truth and that the other party was spewing nonsense…

In this event, the Heavenly Star Continent seemed to have become a lively market that revolved around finding the entire story. There were people who were suspicious, people in disbelief, people viewing this affair with schadenfreude. The entire continent seemed to have become a pot of boiling water, bubbling in excitement.

As the two strong rumors were duking it out, along came a splash of cold water which caused the faces of everyone present to change. A third rumor rapidly spread out!

… Do you know why the Ling Family's 200,000 troops are stationed at Southern Zheng? Hehe, the Ling Family already formed an alliance with the Xiao Family and is waiting for them to arrive before the two families work together to swallow Southern Zheng and unify the world…

… I also heard that when the two families destroy Southern Zheng, they will draw out a boundary, with the East belonging to the Xiao and the West belonging to the Ling. They even have a name for it, the "Ling Xiao Boundary River". My news is accurate!

… I even heard that the Xiao and Ling Families were longtime friends and their Old Sires have been sworn brothers for over a decade. If the Xiao Family don't look for the Ling Family, then who else would they find? Now that the Ling Family has gotten some benefits, of course they have to share. Besides, the Xiao Family's little princess is even betrothed to the young noble Ling Tian! Actually, when they broke the marriage betrothal that year, it was all a ploy to fool the public. Even the attacks of the Xiao Family on the Ling Family were all an act, merely a ploy. While everyone was stupid enough to believe, I am someone with a good mind and can clearly see…

… That's right, hahaha, looks like Southern Zheng is in for it…

… Yeah yeah, I heard that the Xiao Family's armies were about to arrive. Looks like they're already planning to attack soon…

… The Ling Family is not just on the same line as the Xiao Family. You definitely do not know this, but the Ling Family has also allied with the Wu County… Don't believe it?! Screw you! This old man has personally seen the diplomatic group head towards the Wu County… Why would they even go there at this time? I assume that these things are going on, look at my sources, aren't they accurate?

...

Weird, strange, preposterous. All sort of different news flew around the entire Heavenly Star Continent. Some were good, some bad, some useless, and some revealed important information. The entire Heavenly Star seemed to be like popcorn kernels in a heated pot, with the various rumors popping out and flying off to all corners of the world akin to locusts, whipping the crowds into a frenzy. The speed at which the news spread was faster than a hurricane and blew to every possible crevice of the continent…

In Northern Wei, Yu ManLou sat with a solemn face for a long moment as he listened to all these rumors that blanketed the world. Finally, he sent out his only command, "All troops are to move, and within the shortest possible time, occupy Western Han! Send word to the three pavilion heads, gather 500 men, and together with the Second and Third Young Master, to engage Above Heavens! Only success is allowed!"

When those Yu Family experts that had gone over to Sky Bearing came back to Bright Jade City in tatters after being defeated, Yu ManLou nearly vomited out a mouth of blood in anger. Those were a good half of the overall strength of the White Jade Experts in the Yu Family! To think that they were almost wiped out! He did not speak, merely brushing his sleeves before leaving, his original calm and unmoved stance no longer present. The next few days, the Yu Family fell into an oppressive silence, with all of the dead's families mourning cries sounding all over, giving Yu ManLou a massive headache.

This was followed by the appearance of one of the three hidden sects of yesteryear, the "Above Heavens". 500 horsemen actually audaciously appeared in Bright Jade City, and what made Yu ManLou truly jump in anger was that they came with a pugilistic world greeting, looking to resolve a feud for their disciple. Their method was even more clear-cut: For both sides to send out an expert and fight it out! Whether they won or lost, the matter would be resolved!

This was originally the most common method to resolve problems, but to hear this request now made Yu ManLou depressed to no end! The first problem being that the elites of the Lei Family were arriving soon, and the second being that it was a crucial time to gather their forces against the Western Han. Thirdly, the defeated forces had just returned from Sky Bearing with losses of up to 90% and they did not even have a person that returned unharmed, leaving the family in an anxious and depressed mood! For the Above Heavens Sect to choose this method to seek justice could be considered the best timing for them! This was the time when the Yu Family was at its lowest!

Right now, Yu ManLou was feeling a headache over the troop's arrangements. The experts from each troop could not be transferred here. Also, he was not willing to bury all 500 of the Above Heavens disciples here. The first would cause great losses and the second… Above Heavens was the support for the Xiao Family and was Ling Tian's chief enemy! If he were to settle the Above Heavens people, wouldn't that give Ling Tian a breather? He originally intended to use the people sent to Sky Bearing since they had already exposed themselves, but looking at the tattered army Yu ManLou was at a complete loss for words. Having heard that Yu ZhanKong, an elder and an expert in the family, was ambushed by the Shui Family as well as an expert and was so scared that he could not sleep and even wet his pants, what sort of expectations could he still have towards the forces sent to Sky Bearing?!

Furthermore, upon thinking of how he actually subconsciously aided Ling Tian, Yu ManLou was even more depressed! The two of them actually had wagered a bet, a grand bet as huge as the heavens themselves!

In five years, a final fight under the heavens!

But the damned Xiao Family was supposed to be taken care of by Ling Tian! The weaker their power and influence, the easier time Ling Tian would have to defeat them, and his odds would also be higher! However, Yu ManLou had to settle the problem with Above Heavens first. They were already knocking on his front door, for goodness sake! Could he choose to ignore them instead? Would the Above Heavens even allow him to?!

Furthermore, this matter really had nothing to do with Ling Tian and was the Above Heavens themselves looking for him, the starting point being the fault of the third young noble of the Yu Family. Thinking about his son that failed to live up to his expectations, Yu ManLou's anger began to flare up even more!

Thus, Yu ManLou was in a fine temper the last few days. This was as good as cutting off all contact, yet trouble still falls from the sky! Another person's problem actually became my own? Are they taking the Yu Family as mud on the streets now? To think the Above Heavens still think of themselves as one of the three "Great Hidden Sects", while this daddy here cannot afford to offend you, don't think that I place all of you in my eyes!