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Chapter 996 Test!

"Bastard, since he said that I'll stop at the imperial stage, then why can't I advance to imperial stage even after so many years?" Frost Monarch's expression turned wild. He looked at Ling Lan with bloodshot eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, "Mu Shui-qing is a god-realm formidable warrior now. You managed to become half step into imperial stage at a young age because you know the secret of advancing to imperial stage, right?"

Frost Monarch found an excuse for his failure. He lost to Mu Shui-qing not because Mu Shui-qing was stronger than him. It was because he knew a shortcut.

"Damn it, why didn't he tell me?" Frost Monarch shouted angrily. He felt that he was fooled by Mu Shui-qing.

Ling Lan took a step back cautiously when she saw Frost Monarch turning crazy. Luckily, the Heptashield protected her seamlessly.

Frost Monarch was really driven mad by his own thoughts. His mind was filled with murderous intent. "Since you fooled me, don't blame me for being merciless. I'll destroy your disciple and end your legacy. Hahaha…"

Frost Monarch laughed crazily. His wrinkled face shook as he laughed. Amidst his crazy laughter, the sky suddenly turned dark.

A wall of blue ice appeared above them and was getting thicker slowly. The thicker it got, the darker the color. The light that was able to shine through it got dimmer and dimmer too. Not only that, the same wall of ice appeared on the ground a few meters away.

In an instant, Ling Lan and Frost Monarch were enclosed in an ice box. Only the ice element existed in this box.

By right, an ice element domain realm master should love an enclosed space filled with ice elements. However, Ling Lan wasn't happy about this at all, as she was in grave danger. The ice element in this space couldn't be controlled by her. That meant that she was rejected by the ice element in this space.

"This is Frost Monarch's domain territory." This was the only explanation for this phenomenon.

Not only was Ling Lan able to understand how it felt to be discriminated against by the ice element that had always adored her, but she also felt the drain on her spiritual power which was maintaining the Heptashield, as the amount of spiritual power she used to maintain the Heptashield for another second was double of what she used the second before. That meant that she would use more and more spiritual power as time passed by.

It looked like this world discriminated against other forms of energy too.

Ling Lan frowned. Her spiritual power was strong and ample but it couldn't withstand such a depletion rate. If this continued on, her spiritual power would be exhausted in less than 10 minutes.

Rather than waiting for her spiritual power to be depleted, she would take the risk!

Ling Lan was a ruthless person, whether to herself or to other people.

She let go of her Heptashield and released all her spiritual power.

"Spiritual blast!"

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Multiple explosions occurred in the ice box. The spiritual blast impacted the domain territory heavily.

"Pfft!" Ling Lan and Frost Monarch vomited out blood simultaneously. Their faces went pale too.

Ling Lan used her spiritual blast to hurt Frost Monarch. However, she received a backlash too. Frost Monarch's ice box was unable to withstand the force from all the spiritual blast so the remaining damage was sustained by Frost Monarch.

"This is your trump card?" Blood kept dripping down the corner of his mouth, showing that he was injured heavily. "Mu Shui-qing's disciple is only capable of this?"

He suddenly straightened his hunched back. He waved his ice walking stick and shouted, "Die!" His face had turned hideous from his anger.

Six walls of ice quickly formed all around Ling Lan. They started closing in on her from six different directions.

Ling Lan wanted to move but she realized that she couldn't. She could only watch as the six ice walls moved towards her and trapped her inside.

There seemed to be an unlimited amount of ice particles in this place. The walls of ice around Ling Lan got thicker. She was successfully trapped inside.

Ling Lan felt that it was getting harder to breathe. She never felt cold before but now she felt the coldness seeping into her skin. It reached into her bones.

She never expected herself to die by the ice element. For some reason, Ling Lan didn't think about how to survive. She was just astounded that she was trapped by her own element.

"Boss, stop wasting time. Think about your other innate talent." Little Four stomped his foot anxiously.

"Ah!" The moment he finished speaking, he suddenly fell backwards and disappeared from Ling Lan's mindscape.

Little Four appeared on top of a mountain. He lowered his head and twirled his fingers helplessly. 'Sob, can I leave this place? I don't want to face that scary instructor!'

Unfortunately, Little Four's wish was not fulfilled. He was the virtual god and the owner of the main chip that made up this space, but there were still people he was afraid of. Ling Lan was one of them but the person Little Four was most afraid of was Number One. In front of Number One, Little Four's naughty brain would turn off automatically and become very obedient.

"What did you promise?" Number One looked at him and asked calmly.

"I won't interfere with Boss's evolution," Little Four lowered his head and replied.

"How many times did you break this promise?" Number One continued asking.

Little Four thought carefully and cautiously raised one finger. He said in a soft voice, "Once?"

Number One continued to look at him coldly. Little Four quickly raised another finger. "Twice?"

When he saw Number One still glaring at him, he lifted the third finger and said dejectedly, "Since I was wrong, it must be three times."

Number One lowered his gaze and answered indifferently, "Your memory is not bad after all."

Little Four heaved a sigh of relief after Number One stopped glaring at him. 'Sob, who said that Boss's aura can freeze people to death? Compared to Number One, Boss was as warm as the sun in spring.'

"For the sake of Ling Lan, don't interfere with her evolution next time. She needed to move forward on her own." Number One waved his hand after he finished speaking. Little Four flew out of Number One's space and got locked up in a little black room.

"You'll be confined for three hours." A cold voice sounded beside Little Four's ears.

Little Four's reminder to Ling Lan caught Number One's attention so he decided to lock Little Four up for the time being.

"Ah, let me out! Boss is in danger." Little Four, who was very obedient all these while, turned agitated. He started slapping the walls around him.

"This is a test for her. None of us can help her." Number One's voice was heard again. After that, no matter how much fuss Little Four kicked up, no one answered him.

Chapter 997 Another Innate Talent?

"A second innate talent?" In the real world, Little Four was prompted by Ling Lan and she began to think about this deeply.

Her other innate talent was Profound Insight and could be used to alert her of dangers. It could also see flaws in a technique and could even help predetermine attacks.

However now, her Profound Insight didn't react at all. Could it be that the Frost Monarch was close to becoming an imperial stage domain expert which made her Profound Insight useless on him?

Or perhaps she had never actually use her Profound Insight to its full potential and that was why she couldn't discover anything with it?

Ling Lan opened her eyes and thought of a way of getting out of this dire situation.

A cool blue color suddenly entered her eyes, but it blocked her vision. 'Can I not see anymore? Am I too late?'

The ice box was filled with the Frost Monarch's ice element domain energy. The ice element that did not belong to Ling Lan instantly invaded her eyes and wounded them. Ling Lan could only feel a sharp pain in her eyes. Now, she was even seeing a blood red liquid dripping down from the top of her vision.

In all the redness, Ling Lan seemed to see a silhouette move about. She was overjoyed that she could finally see something and she quickly direct all of her domain energy towards her eyes.

Finally, the fogginess that had blocked her vision finally began to clear up.

But, what she saw wasn't what she expected. Ling Lan saw herself drawing her last breath in third person as if she was an audience to the scene in front of her. She also saw the Frost Monarch laughing maniacally next to her body. She then saw Light and Dark Dragon escaping from the auction hall. She them saw her comrades rushing towards Frost Monarch and the other two king after seeing her dead. They were unsurprisingly all blown back in one attack and in the end, all perished.

No, there were a few who managed to get away with their lives: The beautiful Luo Lang and Luo Chao, along with the elegant Li Lanfeng. Their overwhelming beauty allowed them escape with their lives. However, they faced a fate much worse than death, as they were tragically used as slaves by those three people…

Not able to withstand being shamed, Luo Chao committed suicide in the end. Luo Lang attempted to take the life of the person who shamed him, but failed and was killed instead. Li Lanfeng on the other hand endured the shame and embarrassment and survived. In the end, he successfully killed all of his enemies by plotting against them in the far future, helping avenge the death of his comrades. Then, Li Lanfeng became a marshal who controlled three divisions and caused great bloodshed in the human universe.

'Is this the results of her death?' Ling Lan felt her heart was being ruthlessly battered by someone, causing her to be in great pain.

In a battle of life-or-death, she was not as strong as the other person so she didn't regret dying. However, she definitely couldn't accept that after she dies, her comrades would all perish. Their endings were either be shamed, humiliated, die a brutal death or live tragically, none of them were able to live a good life after her death.

'I can't die!' This thought appeared in Ling Lan's mind.

'Who cares if the ice element doesn't listen to my command? I, Ling Lan, never had only one way to control my element up in my sleeves.'

Perhaps it was because her eyes had felt Ling Lan's strong will to continue living, the images that appeared before her vanished in an instant.

This time, Ling Lan just saw countless ice particles in front of her. Normally, her ice element would let Ling Lan feel grouped ice particles. She wouldn't be able to see them individually and could only use her domain energy to condense them together. This time however, she could see the ice particles. They were actually filled with emotions. There was suspicion, rejection, doubt, joy and even those that wanted to get close to her.

However, the ice particles that wanted to get close to her were heartlessly sent back by a foreign domain energy. Ling Lan seemed to be able to hear the cries of agony of the ice element and feel their pain. She could even feel their desire of wanting to return to her.

"That's my own ice particles!" Ling Lan had a sudden realization. Her ice particles was still in this space and was only blocked off by the Frost Monarch's stronger domain energy.

Ling Lan would, of course, not just sit around since she knew those ice particles were her own. She released her domain energy and got closer to those ice particles that were being friendly and had good feelings towards her.

Bam! Bam!

After feeling that another domain energy approaching, the Frost Monarch's domain energy began to surround Ling Lan's domain energy. His domain energy didn't allow the ice particles that belonged to her to get close to her.

"Ugh!" Ling Lan, who was originally already at her limit, was wounded again by another attack from Frost Monarch, who was just looking at the scene in front of him, and she could not help but spit out a mouthful of blood from the attack.

'Damned domain energy! Leave me alone!' Ling Lan shouted in her mind. She wanted the domain energy that was blocking her to completely disappear.

Refusal? Disappear? Or Disintegrate?

Suddenly, three choices appeared inside Ling Lan's mind.

Ling Lan stared blankly for a moment, but immediately realized something. This was the domain of her evolving Profound Insight. Her choice would determine the direction her Profound Insight domain would evolve into.

'What should I choose?' Ling Lan couldn't make a decision.

Since she didn't know, then she should pick what she needed the most right at this moment.

'Refusal' was probably to reject the opponent's domain energy and create a space where she could protect herself.

'Disappear' was probably to cause her opponent's domain energy to disappear and let her gain back control of the ice element?

Then what was 'Disintegrate? Was it to disintegrate the opponent's domain?

By categorizing the choices in that way, Disappear and Disintegrate had similar results. However, since they were different choices, then the outcome should still have some differences. As for Refusal, Ling Lan's intuition told her that it wasn't enough to satisfy her wish so she tossed this option aside.

In the end, her options were either Disappear or Disintegrate.

Just looking at the name, 'Disappear' seemed stronger, but….Ling Lan was a realistic person so she chose, "Disintegrate!"

When Ling Lan had made her decision, she saw the ice box that sealed her slowly melted around her. The Frost Monarch���s domain was being disintegrated.

'Disintegrate' was as expected the meaning of the word. It could completely disintegrate any domain that was forced on her by her opponents.

The Frost Monarch who was proudly waiting for Ling Lan to breathe her last breath within the ice box. Suddenly, he felt that he was no longer in control of his domain. Then, he saw that large ice box around him was beginning to melt with the water flowing out uncontrollably.

"That's not possible." This was in his domain and only he had his energy within it. His opponent's domain energy was already suppressed by him, so it shouldn't be able to appear in it.

However, even with his doubts the ice coffin still continued to melt around him. Then, he looked at the standing Ling Lan whose face was facing towards the floor.

Ling Lan's eyes suddenly opened and killing intent flashed within her eyes.

Frost Monarch's domain began to crumble. The ice walls in the sky, on the ground, front, back, left and right side all cracked up, fell to the ground and melted.

"Taking all of the energy that did not belong to me!' The innate talent Profound Insight was as expected one of the best talents in the history of the human race.

Ling Lan landed on the ground slowly with her black windbreaker slowly flowing in the wind.

"Frost Monarch, I've already seen your ultimate technique. Now, it's only fair you see mine as well," Ling Lan said calmly as she raised her hands and held them at her chest.

Right as she finished speaking, Ling Lan's hands clasped together and countless ice pillars were erected from the ground around them. At the same time, a string like sound began to rang in the space. There was also a sharp screeching noise as though there was someone pulling the string on an instrument forcefully.

Chapter 998 Kill Them All!

Frost Monarch's facial expression seemed stiff. That was because he saw the space around him was being aligned with countless ice fibers crisscrossing all over each other, creating a seemingly inescapable area.

What worried Frost Monarch most was that his domain could no longer appeared in this area, meaning that he wouldn't be able to use his domain to protect himself.

If he had used his overpowering domain against Ling Lan and completely restricted Ling Lan's domain in the very beginning, then he wouldn't have been in this situation. The person who had control would not have been Ling Lan, but him instead.

Frost Monarch felt that something would go terribly wrong if he continued to stay within the area. He instantly turned himself ice particles with the intention of wanting to leave the area that was gave him an ominous feeling to his very core.

When ice particles congregated back into his body, he was stunned to discover that he was still in the area with the ice slivers. He couldn't even get away after turning his body's state. How was that possible?

It should be known that he actually didn't even feel like he was captured. Although his domain could no longer appear, his domain energy from within his body was not hindered at all.

Ling Lan smirked when she saw Frost Monarch become dumbfounded by situation. She was the only one who knew why he was in that situation. It was because her Profound Insight domain had already wrapped around the entire ice domain. In other words, his domain energy that was seemingly able to go out of his body was enveloped by an even stronger domain energy.

Ling Lan's domain could completely disintegrate domains, elements, and energies that did not belong to Ling Lan in the area. Thus, no matter how many times the Frost Monarch tried to will the ice particles to escape, he wouldn't be able to escape from the Profound Insight domain.

Not only that, the disintegration domain energy of the Profound Insight domain would also slowly seep into the Frost Monarch's body. By then, even if he wanted to change into ice particles, he wouldn't be able to do that anymore unless he successfully escape her domain.

However, was that even possible? Ling Lan smirked and a breeze of chilly wind slowly blew past her. Ever since she saw the future after her death, she didn't want these three kings to continue on living.

"Kill them all!" Ling Lan's facial expression was calm but her eyes betrayed her, as they were burning with flames of anger. She reached out her hand to the sky and then clenched together as she brought it down.

Innumerable ice slivers inched towards Frost Monarch from all directions with each movement creating a screeching noise. In the beginning of the fight, Frost Monarch had sealed Ling Lan in an ice box so Ling Lan now, was repaying her debt. She used the ice slivers to create nets, then casting them one after another at Frost Monarch.

"Sh*t, break!" The nets wrapped around Frost Monarch's body tightly and slowly dug into his flesh, causing immense pain for Frost Monarch. In an attempt to break free from the nets, he furiously tried to move his body but the nets just dug deeper into his flesh with each struggle.

However, the seemingly thin nets made of ice slivers were oddly strong. Although the Frost Monarch had broken off many of them, the speed at which he broke them was not as fast as the speed of the nets were covering his entire body.

"AHH!" In the end, only a scream of agony was heard from Frost Monarch.

"Ugh!" A puddle of blood appeared on the ground of the ice sliver area. The Frost Monarch, who stood at the top of the Chaotic Lands, had disappeared from this world just like that.

Ling Lan slowly restrained her killing intent. She then looked at the puddle of blood and said calmly, "You understood the words of master wrongly. Master said you never had the chance to become an imperial… not that you can only become an imperial."

After saying that, she softly flicked her index finger and the ice slivers all around her turned back into ice particles. They glistened in the light before disappearing into the air.

Ling Lan now finally had a chance the look towards Hades and Ninja who were fighting with Light and Dark Dragon. She discovered that the four of them had stopped their battle and were all looking at her with fear in their eyes.

Ling Lan just sent a glare towards them. Light and Dark Dragon both had scared expression on their faces. Hades and Ninja on the other hand just looked at each other with terrified expression on their faces. Then, the two of them decisively went towards two opposite directions and ran off.

A person who could take out the Frost Monarch was definitely not an opponent they could defeat. In addition, Light and Dark Dragon were there too watching them closely. If they were to stay and fight, they would most definitely die there. Hades and Ninja weren't idiots. They didn't want to die there like Frost Monarch had.

"You want to leave? Come down here!" Seeing Hades was planning on running away, Ling Lan put out her right hand and reached out to grab him.

An ice dragon was shot out her hand and bit into the leg of Hades.

Hades was a decisive individual, as he decisively used his hand as a sword to cut off his own leg and quickly escaped, before disappearing from Ling Lan's vision.

"Sh*t, they actually got away." Light and Dark Dragon were too slow. Ling Lan actually managed to grab onto Hades, but they two of them could only watch as Ninja escaped and didn't try to intercept him.

Seeing that Hades was so ruthless to himself, Ling Lan frowned. It should be known that she had ordered her comrades to destroy many of the bases that belonged to Hades. If Hades was to escape, then he would become a huge problem in the future.

"Little Four!" Ling Lan called out to Little Four in her mindscape.

Number One, who had been watching Ling Lan's battle this whole time, heard Ling Lan's call and flicked his finger. He flicked Little Four, who was in the little black room, back into Ling Lan's mindscape.

Seeing Little Four hold his head with the eager expression of wanting to tell Ling Lan what he had done to him, Number One's thousand year icy cold expression actually warmed up a bit and there was just the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"Didn't think that Ling Lan would actually manage to wield the most difficult evolution of Profound Insight, Future Sight! She also chose the corresponding domain to evolve… Now, her growth is something that even I cannot predict! Ling Lan, Ling Lan, just how many surprises do you plan on giving me?"

Number One had a satisfied expression on his face as he closed his eyes once again.

In actuality, if Ling Lan did not acquire the domain from her Profound Insight during her last moments, Number One wouldn't actually let Ling Lan be killed by Frost Monarch… If she had actually reached the point where she would die, Number One would take over her body and make a move himself. After all, Ling Lan was his most prized disciple. How could a teacher watch on coldly as his disciple dies in front of him?

Thus, from the very beginning, Little Four's fear and worry was all for nothing. However, Number One would never tell that to Little Four.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya took Qiao Xing and Liu Aihua and ran like mad like madmen. They knew that if the eight domain realm masters were to catch up to them, they would definitely die a gruesome death.

Qiao Xing and Liu Aihua also knew that they were in a very dangerous moment so they both laid on the shoulders of the other two, not daring to move or make a sound. They were afraid that they would affect Ye Shao and Dibi Luya's escape if they disturbed them with their noises.

However, no matter how fast they were running, how could they compare to the people who were chasing them without any excess baggage?

Suddenly, a fireball and an earth spike simultaneously reached them from the air and ground respectively.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya felt danger approaching so they could only give up on moving forward and dashed towards the side.

Bam! Bam!

The two attacks missed, but they were also now surrounded by eight domain realm masters who had caught up to them.

"Haha, keep running, go on." One of the more effeminate middle-aged men out of the group put out his hands in a feminine manner and smirked. It was indeed one of the first domain realm masters who had intercepted Ye Shao and Dibi Luya at the beginning.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya's expressions showed extreme anxiousness. They looked towards the direction they ran from and hoped that they would be able to see the silhouettes of Light and Dark Dragon. However, even after almost spraining their necks, they still couldn't see anything

Chapter 999 Hide!

"Stop looking. Those two bastards won't be able to defeat Hades and Ninja. Plus, with Frost Monarch making a move, there will be no chance for them to come and save you. Anyone that dares to come and mess around in our territory will be killed, no exceptions," a man in black smiled arrogantly as he said.

"Give up. No one can save you." The other domain realm masters rubbed their hands in excitement and anticipation. They loved the feeling of tearing flesh apart with their bare hands.

Ye Shao, Dibi Luya, and Qiao Xing gave looks of despair, only Liu Aihua appeared puzzled as she looked at a certain direction.

"Uncle Liu, Liu Aihua's innate talent is pretty powerful. She even managed to notice us." A lazy voice sounded from the side.

Everyone looked towards the direction of the sound in surprise. Six people had appeared without their realization.

They all wore black windbreakers with metal masks covering their faces. Some were sitting while others were standing or squatting as they looked at them in a relaxed manner.

"Little Four Mercenary Team!" Ye Shao exclaimed in surprise. They didn't expect the members of the Little Four Mercenary Team to be here too. However, their opponents were domain realm masters. Weren't these people afraid of death? They were only at refinement or Qi-Jin stage.

No, wait. Ye Shao and Dibi Luya remembered Jiang Hui's display of his strength back in the auction hall. Then, they looked at how calm the members of the Little Four Mercenary Team were, and they seemed to have understood something.

These people who just showed up were the members of the Little Four Mercenary Team who had just completed their mission. But, where is the pet? Well, the pet had to protect the old and weak so it stayed behind at the main base.

Well, the truth was, Little White was hungry so it went back to the base to eat.

Liu Furong cupped his hands and bowed towards Ye Shao after he recognized them. "Thank you for saving my daughter."

Ling Lan wasn't here so everyone recognized Liu Furong as the leader of this rescue mission. His daughter got implicated in this matter so he became their spokesman.

This was when Ye Shao knew that the little girl he was carrying was the daughter of this middle-aged man.

He waved his hands hurriedly. "It is our honour. Please there's no need to thank me." If it wasn't for their leader, he wouldn't be able to escape from the auction hall too.

"My little girl is too naughty. It's my fault. I didn't teach her properly." Liu Furong turned and glared at Liu Aihua. "Little Aihua, do you know your mistake?"

Liu Aihua looked at her father. She was finally able to relax now. The tears that she had been withholding fell down and she finally cried loudly. "Sob… I know my mistake, daddy."

If she didn't leave the big brothers' protection, she wouldn't have been abducted. Liu Aihua endured much suffering this time so she finally understood that if she didn't have the power to protect herself, she couldn't do whatever she wanted.

Hence, the thought of becoming stronger was deeply imprinted in her heart. From this moment, Little Aihua had stepped on the path of becoming a powerful warrior.

Xie Yi, who was sitting on a crate, consoled Liu Aihua when he saw how sad she was. "It's fine. Everything is fine now." He turned to look at Liu Furong and spoke up for Liu Aihua. "You can't blame her too much. If those people didn't have evil intentions, this wouldn't have happened in the first place."

"That's not true…" Liu Furong shook his head. "The Chaotic Lands is a place full of crimes and havoc. How can we let down out guards here? A mistake is a mistake. There's no excuse for it." Just like how they let down their guards when they came here. They made a mistake too. They couldn't push the blame.

Everyone understood what Liu Furong's words meant so they turned quiet.

"Who are you?" The leader of the group of domain realm masters was furious when he saw the members from the Little Four Mercenary Team talking among themselves as though they were non-existent.

"Us?" Qi Long looked up and said seriously, "We are here to kill you." Since they knew that these were the people who abducted Little Aihua, they must follow Boss's order and kill all of them.

"Hahaha…" The leader of the group of domain realm masters was so angry that he started laughing. "Insolent bunch of youngsters." His face turned cold. "In that case, die."

The instant he finished speaking, all the domain realm masters released their domain energy and rushed towards Qi Long and others. Qi Long's words had provoked them. Because of this, they ignored their target, Ye Shao and Dibi Luya.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya quickly threw Liu Aihua and Qiao Xing towards Liu Furong before they rushed forward and attacked the two domain realm masters who were charging at Liu Furong.

No matter what, they came here to help them. In such moments of danger, they couldn't leave them alone and run away. Plus, they didn't really trust the abilities of the members from the Little Four Mercenary Team. Even if they had a high chance of dying, they would rather fight with their enemies themselves than to let the Little Four Mercenary die while trying to save them.

They only hoped that the oldest person in the team, who was the father of the little girl, would grab the opportunity they created and leave with the little girl and their young master.

As long as their young master was able to escape, they were willing to die here. Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were prepared to die with their pursuers.

Liu Furong saw Ye Shao and Dibi Luya throwing the children at him so he quickly waved his hands in the air and multiple green vines shot out, forming two huge nets in the air. The two children landed in the nets safely. After that, plants spurted up from the ground and pushed the nets behind Liu Furong, away from the center of the fight.

Liu Furong wasn't the only one who activated his domain. The other five members activated their domains too. The eight domain realm masters who rushed towards them were shocked. But, they immediately calmed down afterwards.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were stunned too. They thought that they had hidden their true powers well but they didn't expect the people from Little Four Mercenary Team to be even better at them in terms of disguise. There were six domain realm masters in their teams. Even an S grade Mercenary Team wouldn't have such a powerful team.

They couldn't help but suspect that the Little Four Mercenary Team was an SSS grade team in disguise. However, they remembered the information they got from President Tu and knew that the Little Four Mercenary Team was really a newly formed mercenary team.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya felt dizzy. If they weren't fighting, they would have grabbed a member and questioned him about their real identity.

All in all, the presence of the Little Four Mercenary Team didn't make sense at all.

Chapter 1000 Condition!

It had to be said that under the harsh training from Ling Lan, the domain realm masters in Little Four Mercenary Team were more powerful than the average domain realm masters. Besides Zhao Jun who was new to the domain stage, the other five people finished off their opponents in no time.

Liu Furong controlled his plants and sucked out all the life force from his opponents. His opponents became green men with plants growing all around their bodies.

He thought that he was the fastest to finish off his opponents but when he retracted his domain, he realized that Li Lanfeng, Luo Lang, Qi Long, and Xie Yi had already ended their battle and were watching Zhao Jun's first match using his domain. They were pointing at him and discussing something.

Liu Aihua and Qiao Xing sat obediently on the sidelines. Liu Aihua was completely relaxed now. When she noticed that her father had finished his fight, she waved at him happily. Qiao Xing, on the other hand, appeared tense. However, he was much calmer than before. He would look at Qi Long and others occasionally with admiration and puzzlement.

Liu Furong came beside Liu Aihua and patted her head lovingly. Then, he looked at everyone and asked, "How is Zhao Jun doing?"

"Not bad but, he made some low-level mistakes," Xie Yi smiled and replied.

"You sound as though you never made mistakes during your first fight." Luo Lang rolled his eyes at Xie Yi. This was a scene that all of them had participated in before. However, their first opponents were at the pseudo domain stage and Boss was beside them so they didn't need to be as stressed as Zhao Jun. They were able to get the hang of their domains without worry and even managed to find their first domain technique.

"If he can't find his domain technique, Zhao Jun will have a really stalled out fight." Qi Long saw how much pressure Zhao Jun was under so he was worried for him.

"However, he spent quite a while at the Qi-Jin stage so it shouldn't take him too long to find his technique." Li Lanfeng was confident in Zhao Jun.

The four people were watching at the side but their domains were all activated. If it ever came to a time when Zhao Jun couldn't handle his opponent, they would step in and help him.

Liu Furong felt sad when he saw how hard Zhao Jun was fighting while enduring so many hits to his body and face. He remembered the time when he first used his domain energy in a fight. Although his regiment commander was right beside him, it was safe to say that fight was one of the most dangerous fights he took part in. He was almost killed by his opponent and was tortured until he was half-dead but his regiment commander still didn't do anything to help him. He just stood at the side and watched him heartlessly.

Ye Shao finally killed his opponent after reaching his limits so his domain collapsed the instant he finished his battle. He sat on the ground and panted heavily. If his opponent's domain was just a little more powerful, he would have lost this match.

He looked at his side and Dibi Luya was still fighting. Ye Shao's element was metal so his offensive power was greater than his opponent whose element was water. Hence, he finished his fight quicker than Dibi Luya. Dibi Luya however, was quite unlucky. He met an earth element domain realm master whose defenses were strong and unrelenting, resulting in a battle of attrition. The person who would win would be the one who was able to last longer.

Ye Shao wanted to check up on the conditions of the members from the Little Four Mercenary Team. But, he just saw five of them standing at the side and chatting among themselves casually. They didn't seem tired at all. Ye Shao was astounded. He exhausted all his energy just to barely defeat his opponent. Dibi Luya was probably in the same situation as him. He didn't believe that they somehow managed to face the two most powerful domain realm masters among this bunch of domain realm master. The only explanation was, these people in front of him chatting were much more powerful than Dibi Luya and him.

These were a bunch of titled domain realm formidable warriors. As their leader, Jiang Hui… If he dared to stay back to fight Frost Monarch, it meant that he was near the imperial stage, right?

Imperial stage domain expert! There were only nine people who had managed to advance to the imperial stage in the human world. Of course, there might be some powerful people who hid their identities. Was Jiang Hui going to join them soon?

Ye Shao started to respect the young Jiang Hui.

At this moment, Ling Lan had asked Little Four to find where Hades and Ninja were hiding. She then told Light and Dark Dragon where Ninja was and took off to look for Hades herself.

Compared to Ninja, Hades was more of a threat to their mercenary team. Hence, Ling Lan chose him as her target.

The moment Hades returned to his base, the base was already in a mess. He grabbed one of his subordinates and asked fiercely, "What happened here?"

"Hades, there was a rumour going about saying that Frost Monarch is dead so everyone is running away," his subordinate said anxiously.

"Damn it!" Hades got hurt by Ling Lan so he was burning with anger already. When he heard what this person said, his anger exploded and he squeezed the person to death. The person didn't even have the time to scream before he died.

"How dare you betray me. Die!" Hades got enraged when he saw his subordinates running away. He lost his senses and started wantonly killing his subordinates.

Suddenly, he felt something and his expression changed to one of fear. The crazy killing intent quickly disappeared. He couldn't care less about his subordinates anymore as he quickly rushed into the depth of his base.

Ling Lan landed on the place where Hades was at just moments ago. She saw the sea of blood left behind by Hades and frowned. She then chased after Hades without hesitation. She mustn't let such a crazy person escape, as he would be a huge threat to her in the future.

Hades escaped into the depth of his base. After that, he activated the defensive system of his base before feeling more relaxed.

He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Then, he entered the hall in front of him.

There were three people sitting in the hall. One of them was a young man with an earnest smile. There was also an elder with black hair and a youthful face, lastly there was a muscular man with radiant skin.

Hades flew into the hall and sat on the host's seat. He looked at the three people in the hall and said, "I agree to your proposal. However, there is one condition. You must help me to kill the person who is chasing me."

The young man smiled and shook his head. "Hades, times are different now. What we said before is not relevant now." He looked at Hades's chopped leg.

"You!" Hades was indignant. These people were taking advantage of his plight. However, he thought of Ling Lan and controlled his anger. Without Frost Monarch, he needed these three people's help if he wanted to kill Ling Lan.

"What is your criteria then?" Where there is life there is hope. Hades took a deep breath before asking

"Hades Palace will merge with Soul Society unconditionally," the young man said calmly.

"Damn it!" Hades slammed his hands on the coffee table beside him and the coffee table shattered into pieces.

Chapter 1001 Sneak Attack!

"Hades, you don't have a choice. Frost Monarch is dead. Only we can keep you alive." The other party had already gotten the news about Frost Monarch's death.

Hades thought about the mess in his base. He finally knew who had leaked the news of Frost Monarch's death to his subordinates.

"Why did you do this?" Hades couldn't understand. By doing this, wouldn't they be lowering the cumulative strength of the Hades Palace?

"Soul Society only wants elites," the young man replied. They didn't want people who would betray their organization during times of crisis. Hence, they made use of this news to clean these people up from the Hades Palace.

Hades knew that they were just trying to reduce his power and affect his reputation at the same time. That way, when Hades Palace merged with Soul Society, Hades Palace would just be an empty name.

He looked at the person's confident expression. They knew that he would… no he must agree to their request.

Just as Hades was deliberating on his options, he heard an explosion and the entire hall started shaking.

Hades knew that the person chasing him was here. He made a decision quickly. "I agree to your request. However, you must help me kill this person first. If not, I won't give you the Hades Palace."

As long as he was alive, he would be able to create a new future in Soul Society.

The young man nodded and turned to look at the youthful elder. The elder felt his gaze and opened his eyes slightly. He nodded at the young man. The young man replied, "We accept your condition."

Hades heaved a sigh of relief.

Since, the elder looked outside the door and said calmly, "Since you're here, why don't you come in?"

Hades' expression turned stiff. He didn't expect his opponent to find this place so quickly. The defensive system of his base was known as the most powerful and high-tech defensive system in the Chaotic Lands. Yet, it wasn't able to slow his opponent down at all. Hades felt that he was scammed, as he paid a high price for a useless system.

He didn't know that high-tech items or systems were of no use against Ling Lan, as she had the virtual god with her.

A person with a metal mask and black windbreaker appeared in front of them.

When Hades saw Ling Lan, his expression turned sinister. He would have pounced on her if he wasn't afraid of her strength. He wanted to bite a piece of flesh off her to vent his anger.

The elder was shocked when he saw Ling Lan's youthfulness. "I didn't expect you to be so young. You're already half step into imperial stage… Frost Monarch ruled over the Chaotic Lands for so many years and yet he died at your hands. This is really… hai… times really don't wait for people." He sighed as he was able to understand Frost Monarch's feelings at the moment of his death.

The elder thought that Frost Monarch died in Ling Lan's hands because his old age had caused his ability to deteriorate.

Ling Lan didn't mind this misunderstanding. Just from the aura of the elder and the middle-aged man, they were more dangerous than Hades. Although they were not as powerful as Frost Monarch, they were not much weaker too.

If there was only one of them, Ling Lan wasn't afraid. However, there were two. Ling Lan was in a kind of a predicament. Hence, she was happy that her opponent was underestimating her strength.

'If only I am able to operate a mecha.' Ling Lan sighed in her mind. Even if the person had advanced to imperial stage, she would be able to handle more than one of them with her imperial level mecha piloting.

Unfortunately, it was forbidden to bring mechas into the Chaotic Lands so their mechas were stored at the port of the Chaotic Lands.

This was why the Chaotic Lands were controlled by domain realm masters. There were people who wanted to bring their mechas into the Chaotic Lands but the Chaotic Lands had installed the extremely expensive Thunder System around their lands. Once a mecha entered the atmosphere of the Chaotic Lands, the mecha operator would lose control of his mecha and be hit by the land defensive system.

Ling Lan guessed that the three kings of the Chaotic Lands must have recognized the threat of mechas so they decided to spend a lot of money to buy this defensive system.

This thought flashed passed Ling Lan's mind. Ling Lan then heard the elder speaking in an amiable tone, "Better to make friends than enemies. Little kid, let me become a mediator. Can you let go of Hades?"

Ling Lan looked at Hades who face was filled with anger. She smiled and said, "Even if I want to, Hades might not be willing." The hatred of crippling him couldn't be gone with just a single sorry. Plus, Ling Lan never had the thought of letting Hades go.

The elder glanced at Hades and Hades just trembled under his gaze while his face went cold and numb.

"Hades will be willing to do as I say." The elder retracted his gaze and said indifferently. "Everything depends on you now."

Ling Lan smiled gently the scene in front of her. She remained silent for a moment before saying, "Sure…"

The young man's expression suddenly changed when he heard Ling Lan's reply.

The elder and the middle-aged man instantly attacked Ling Lan the moment she agreed.

Two domain energies flew towards Ling Lan.

Bang! A loud explosion was heard.

A huge ice mountain was manifested in front of Ling Lan. It blocked the two frightening gusts of domain energies.

The coldness from the ice mountain caused the air in the hall to become misty, blocking everyone's vision.

At this moment, the young man shouted in agony, "Hades, you despicable fellow!" Then, he slammed onto the ground.

The elder and the middle-aged man were flabbergasted. Two domain energies quickly flew towards Hades.

At the same time, Ling Lan attacked Hades with her domain energy too.

Hades was dumbfounded when he heard the scream of the young man. He was framed, but there was no way out of this situation now.

Without any hesitation, Hades quickly moved to the side to evade the elder and the middle-aged man's furious attack.

He managed to dodge one wave of domain energy and stopped the other domain energy forcefully.

"Pfft!" He vomited a mouthful of blood. His injuries worsened when he was directly hit by a gust of domain energy.

Just as he was feeling fortunate that he had managed to escape, an ice cold domain energy slowly crept up on him and entered his body.

"N…" Hades didn't manage to finish his scream before turning into an ice statue.

Ling Lan snapped her fingers. The ice statue broke and shattered into small ice shards. Hades, who had ruled the Chaotic Lands for over ten years, had disappeared from this world…

The elder and the middle-aged man felt that something was amiss with the situation. They looked at the young man on the ground who was lying in a pool of blood. He was fighting for his last breath. He had been attacked.

Chapter 1002 It's Me!

From everyone's positions, Hades was the only one who was able to sneak attack the young man. However, after they calmed down, they knew that Hades wasn't the one who did it. They couldn't sense any of Hades's domain energy in the air, but that shouldn't be possible if he had attacked the young man unless Hades was more powerful than them. But, if he was really powerful, he wouldn't be hurt by Ling Lan.

If it wasn't Hades, who was it? They didn't suspect Ling Lan. Although Ling Lan was half step into imperial stage, she still had to resist against both their attacks. Plus, they were standing between Ling Lan and the young man. She couldn't have evaded them and sneaked an attack onto the young man.

Were there someone else here? The elder and the middle-aged man were on their guard. They wanted to find the hidden enemy.

"I don't know what agreement you made with Hades but since Hades is dead, the agreement is irrelevant now. There's no point fighting with each other as it will only give the outsider an opportunity to take advantage of us." Ling Lan looked at the young man as she continued, "This outsider is able to attack the young man without either of us noticing him so he must be as strong as us. From the looks of it, he came for you all."

The elder nodded seriously.

Ling Lan said indifferently, "I've finished my task so I'll not interfere with your matter. Goodbye." Ling Lan disappeared.

The elder and the middle-aged man didn't let down their guard just yet. They waited for a few minutes and confirmed that Ling Lan was gone. They also didn't feel anyone's presence around them. The elder signaled at the middle-aged man and asked him to look at the young man.

The middle-aged man flipped the young man over. There was a knife stabbed in his heart. From the spot where the young man was lying, the knife came from Hades' direction. No wonder he yelled Hades when he fell.

The middle-aged man inspected the young man's wound. He was elated. He quickly took out an intensive recovery agent and fed it to the young man. Then, he used his domain energy to stop the blood from flowing out. After that, he used two fingers to grab the knife and pull it out.

"How is it?" The elder asked in concern.

"Qingyi's heart is quite unique. It's nearer to his right chest so he managed to survive this attack," the middle-aged man said happily.

"That's good. It's a pity that Hades Palace is in shambles," the elder sighed.

"No worries. We just need to use more effort to make a new Hades." The middle-aged man replied, "If we're not afraid that the other countries will notice our actions, we won't need to make use of Hades Palace's name."

"The various countries have been putting in more effort to annihilate the Soul Society so the headquarters had no choice but to start anew." The elder sighed again. This was why they came to the Chaotic Lands. They needed to survive.

The middle-aged man smiled bitterly. Soul Society killed many important people from various countries so it was understandable that they were in such a situation. If the various countries weren't already occupied with their enemy countries, their situation might have been even more dire than their current situation.

"Cough." The young man finally woke up. He coughed out a mouthful of blood and opened his eyes. When he saw the middle-aged man, he immediately shouted agitatedly, "Hades, he…"

"It's not him." The middle-aged man told the young man the truth.

"Huh?" The young man was stunned. Before he went unconscious, he thought that it was Hades. Did he curse the wrong person?

"Who is it then?" The young man was indignant when he remembered that he almost died. "Is it that man in the black windbreaker?"

"No. He didn't have the chance to attack you." The middle-aged man denied the young man's guess.

The young man was stunned once again. He asked curiously, "Who on earth is it?"

The middle-aged man gave a forced smile. "We don't know either. It might be a powerful person who used some special method to hide his presence. Either that or he is an…�� Imperial realm formidable warrior! The middle-aged man shook his head as he denied his own thoughts. He couldn't understand why an imperial realm formidable warrior would attack the young man who was just at the peak stage of Qi-Jin.

The young man was flabbergasted when he heard that even the elder and the middle-aged man didn't know who their opponent was. "Then… is it dangerous here?"

"Let's go back. The people below will take over Hades' power." The elder felt that this place was unsafe too so he wanted to quickly return to their base.

It could be said that the recovery agent in this world was very powerful. The young man, who was on the brink of death just a moment ago, managed to recover much of his injury after resting for two hours. Of course, this was because he didn't injure his vital organs.

The three of them ate dinner and discussed their future plans. The elder and the middle-aged man were the ones talking while the young man just listened to them.

"We didn't sense the person who injured Qingyi. We need to be aware of him." The middle-aged man took a sip of hard liquor. This person injured the young man without alerting them.

"I checked all the data of domain realm masters when I came back. I feel that some people are suspicious. Qingyi, send some people to investigate them." The elder named some domain realm masters who had special stealth techniques. He asked Xia Qingyi to see if any of them had sneaked into the Chaotic Lands.

"I understand, Third Elder, Deacon Lin." Xia Qingyi nodded. Although he was the leader on the surface, these two people were the ones in power.

"Oh right, do you know who that man in the black windbreaker is?" Third Elder suddenly asked about Ling Lan.

"The leader of Little Four Mercenary Team," Xia Qingyi answered.

The investigating ability of Soul Society was powerful. He was able to find Ling Lan's identity within two hours.

"Little Four?" He should have become one of the kings of the mercenary world with his ability, but he couldn't seem to remember any king coming from such a childish sounding mercenary team.

"He might be in disguise," Xia Qingyi added.

"Find out where this person is and kill him if there is a chance," Third Elder said coldly. He wouldn't allow such a powerful threat to leave the Chaotic Lands. That person would be a massive threat to their Soul Society in the future.

"Yes!" Xia Qingyi replied with a smile.

Third Elder nodded at him and continued gorging his food. Suddenly, he looked up and stared at the smile on Xia Qingyi's face intently.

He was familiar with this smile. Xia Qingyi always wore this smile when he was in a negotiation or when he was greeting guests. It looked sincere but it was extremely fake. In the past, Xia Qingyi always wore a serious expression when talking to them. He never showed his smile to them.

"Qingyi, why are you smiling?" Deacon Lin noticed something amiss too.

Xia Qingyi didn't reply to him.

"Are you unhappy with our arrangement?" Third Elder asked him coldly.

"No!" Xia Qingyi continued smiling.

"Why are you smiling then?" That smile was infuriating.

"He is laughing at you because you're going to die soon but you still want to kill me." A calm voice rang in the room.

A masked man in a black windbreaker appeared beside Xia Qingyi.

"Master!" Xia Qingyi stood up immediately and greeted the person with respect.

Third Elder and Deacon Lin 's expressions changed. They suddenly thought of something and pointed at Xia Qingyi. "It's you."

"It's me!" Xia Qingyi smiled. "I stabbed myself."

Chapter 1003 Plan!

Was there anyone who understands his body better than him?

Xia Qingyi smiled brightly. Third Elder and Deacon Lin gritted their teeth angrily. If the knife was stabbed an inch further to the right, Xia Qingyi would be dead.

What a ruthless person! Third Elder gain a new opinion of the obedient and efficient Xia Qingyi. However, he didn't understand why Xia Qingyi acknowledged their enemy as his master. He grew up in the Soul Society and was groomed by them personally. If he was controlled by some poison, he could have secretly reported to them. Was it something the Soul Society couldn't handle?

Third Elder didn't believe that Xia Qingyi was forced under their enemy because of a hostage in the person's hand, as his family was fully controlled by the Soul Society. What made Xia Qingyi abandon his family to follow the other party?

Third Elder and Deacon Li couldn't understand what was happening. However, there was no time to solve this query. They exchanged glances with one another and attacked Ling Lan simultaneously.

The two people wanted to activate their domain but they quickly realized they couldn't. Not only that, they also felt tired.

"Damn it, what did you do to us?" Third Elder glared at Xia Qingyi. Only he was able to do something to them to make them tired.

"I just added something in your food," Xia Qingyi replied indifferently.

Ling Lan smiled. "According to our doctor, the effects should be happening soon."

It was obvious what had happened. They must have been given strong anesthesia. This anesthesia was odorless and tasteless so they didn't notice it.

"Despicable!" Deacon Lin shouted. He couldn't withstand the effects of the agent anymore and fell on the table.

Third Elder was more powerful than Deacon Lin so he was able to stay awake longer. He stared at Xia Qingyi and asked, "Why?" Even if he had to die, he must understand why he died.

Xia Qingyi smiled. "I don't want to die. Hence, Third Elder and Deacon Lin have to suffer in my place."

Third Elder wasn't satisfied with this answer but he didn't have the chance to probe further.

Bang! Third Elder fell on the table too.

Ling Lan turned and looked at Xia Qingyi. Her gentle aura had disappeared. It was replaced by an icy force of presence. She said seriously, "What do you think honestly?"

Cold sweat appeared on Xia Qingyi's forehead. He felt that if his answer wasn't satisfactory, that scary thing in his mindscape would devour him.

Xia Qingyi was afraid but as a hero of his era, he decided to cooperate with the man in the mask instantly when he knew that he was the person who was controlling him back in the hall. He also allowed the masked man to kill Hades and leave. However, the appearance of Ling Lan also forced out the ambition hidden in his heart.

At that time, he was the only person who came back alive. Although he escaped the questioning of the Soul Society, he was exiled to the Chaotic Lands to open a new market for the Soul Society. The Soul Society also sent Third Elder and Deacon Lin to supervise him. Xia Qingyi pretended to be obedient but deep inside, he wanted to take complete control of the Chaotic Lands. He didn't want to be a proxy person-in-charge.

But, he knew that with his own ability, he wasn't able to touch Third Elder and Deacon Lin's positions. Thus, he hid his ambition perfectly until Ling Lan appeared.

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and answered respectfully, "Master, since the last time we met, I was demoted due to my mistakes in command. If I want to return to the Soul Society, I must take over the Chaotic Lands from them. At the same time…" Xia Qingyi turned to look at the two people lying on the table. "I need their recommendation."

"So you want them to become your partners." That was why he came to ask if she was able to give him some agent and even took the effort to ask if she was able to come personally.

Xia Qingyi smiled. "Yes!" A clever master made him stressed but it made him feel at ease too. His master wouldn't die easily and that would mean he wouldn't die easily too.

Xia Qingyi knew that if anything happened to his master, the thing in his mindscape would devour him instantly. The time he spent with it made him understand that his master mustn't die. This was why he cooperated with Ling Lan. He did think of killing this person who threatened his life before but he couldn't do anything about it now.

Ling Lan looked at Xia Qingyi intently. She remembered that he was a righteous young man the last time they faced each other. She wondered if Little Blossom's replica had the ability to lead someone astray.

However, as someone who was able to climb to a high position in the Soul Society, Xia Qingyi was definitely not as pure and kind as he appeared to be.

At first, Ling Lan planned to let Xia Qingyi be her spy in the Soul Society because the Soul Society had the material that she needed to make a body for Little Four. But, after Liu Furong gave her the information about the mine, Soul Society's importance in her mind drop tremendously.

Ling Lan tapped the table lightly. She started thinking if she should fulfill Xia Qingyi's wish.

Xia Qingyi got nervous when Ling Lan was pondering. He continued, "With the help from Third Elder and Deacon Lin, the Chaotic Lands can still pretend to be controlled by the three kings."

"Oh? What plans do you have?" Ling Lan was interested.

"Soul Society will control most of the important powers within the Chaotic Lands by pretending to work with Hades." Xia Qingyi told her about the Soul Society's plan. "You can pretend to be Frost Monarch while Third Elder and Deacon Lin can pretend to be Hades and Ninja."

"If Third Elder and Deacon Lin become your men, you'll be able to rule over the Chaotic Lands." Xia Qingyi told Ling Lan his plan. He was only able to become the second most powerful person in this place if his master became the king.

Ling Lan thought the necessity of having a base to herself in case she was not able to stay in the Federation anymore so Xia Qingyi's plan was very beneficial to her. Hence, she nodded. "Let's follow your plan."

Xia Qingyi was elated. "Thank you for your trust."

Since Ling Lan had agreed to follow Xia Qingyi's plan, there was no time to waste. She asked Little Blossom to make two replicas of himself. The two replicas entered Third Elder and Deacon Lin's mindscape.

One hour later, Third Elder and Deacon Lin woke up. They remembered what had happened before they fainted and jumped up immediately. They then saw Ling Lan and Xia Qingyi smiling at them.

Chapter 1004 I Am Who I Am

The two of them wanted to fight but they felt the threat in their mindscape. As domain realm masters, they knew what this represented. They knew this fact even clearer than Xia Qingyi.

Third Elder's expression changed. He looked at Ling Lan and coldly said, "What do you want us to do?" If Ling Lan wanted to do something to the Soul Society, he wouldn't let her succeed even if he had to die.

Little Blossom immediately reported Third Elder's resolute mindset to Ling Lan.

"Find out why he's doing this and erase his memories too." Little Blossom allowed her to control people's memories too.

"I understand." Little Blossom quickly looked through Third Elder's memories. When he was about to erase those memories, he suddenly got a new idea. He slowly changed Third Elder's memories so that he would be grateful towards Ling Lan instead of the Soul Society.

After some time, Third Elder started relaxing his stance. He said respectfully, "Master, please give your order."

Little Blossom did the same thing to Deacon Lin. Deacon Lin's attitude towards Ling Lan also changed. He started being respectful towards her too.

Xia Qingyi was flabbergasted at the sudden change of attitude, and he got even more fearful of Ling Lan's capabilities.

At this moment, in the house that the Little Four Mercenary Team rented, there were a few guests.

Light and Dark Dragon, who had came back from killing Ninja, were present. Ye Shao, Dibi Luya, and Qiao Xing were also there too.

The member from the Little Four Mercenary Team were just relaxing the living room while looking extremely tired. Some leaned against the wall, cupboards and chairs. Some were even lying on the dining table and yawning.

Only Qi Long and Liu Furong came to welcome these two imperial stage domain realm experts who came suddenly.

Dark Dragon was a quiet person. He didn't like to talk so Light Dragon was in charge of communicating with other people.

Light spoke politely with Qi Long. He didn't see Jiang Hui so he asked in concern, "Leader Jiang is still not back?"

Jiang Hui and Frost Monarch's battle occurred in the mist so they didn't know what had happened. They only knew Jiang Hui was the one who won the battle. They knew that Frost Monarch had lost but they didn't know if he was dead. Hence, they wanted to take the opportunity of fetching their men to ask Jiang Hui about this.

Frost Monarch's death would affect their mercenary team's decision regarding their missions in the Chaotic Lands. If Frost Monarch was dead, they wouldn't have to worry about anything. If he was still alive, they would have to give up on any missions that required them to come to the Chaotic Lands. They were unable to handle such a powerful person even with the two of them at the helm of their team.

Qi Long wanted to reply to him but he quickly stopped himself as he sensed someone was in their room. He smiled, "Our leader is back."

A man in a mask slowly appeared in the room. It was Ling Lan.

Light and Dark Dragon narrowed their eyes slightly when they saw her. They detected Ling Lan's presence around the same time as Qi Long. This made them more fearful of the Little Four Mercenary Team. They only noticed Ling Lan's presence after she had entered the room. This meant that Ling Lan's understanding and control of her domain was higher than them. Plus, an average-looking member like Qi Long was as powerful as them too.

When Ling Lan appeared, the tired members of Little Four Mercenary Team were instantly reinvigorated as if they got their engines started. Some stood up straight while those that were sitting sat up straight too. Their tired expressions were all gone too.

Light and Dark Dragon were astounded. From the frightened and nervous expressions of these members, they could tell that Jiang Hui was not a kind person to his team members. He might even be someone who was vicious and brutal. This kind of people would change their minds whenever they felt like it so the two of them quickly dismissed their thoughts of forming a good relationship with the Little Four Mercenary Team, as they felt like Ling Lan was not a good partner to work with.

Ling Lan calmly walked to the sofa. Qi Long and Liu Furong quickly stood up and waited at her side respectfully.

Ling Lan hung her windbreaker and sat down like a mafia boss. Li Lanfeng also passed her a cup of hot tea, making her look more like some chinese emperor who had just came back from some excursion.

Ling Lan lifted the lid of the teacup and blew her tea. She took a small sip of it and then passed the teacup back to Li Lanfeng. Then, she looked at Light and Dark Dragon and asked, "What is the matter?"

Ling Lan's actions and demeanour had stunned Light and Dark Dragon.

'Damn it. This person is so arrogant!'

Light and Dark Dragon had climbed up from the grass-roots. When they were at Ling Lan's age, they were just nobodies in mercenary teams. They slowly climbed to their position now. However, when they could be haughty, they were already too old. They knew how to be humble at this age and weren't as hot-blooded as they were when they were young.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were shocked too. They were envious of Ling Lan. Qiao Xing, who was only 12 years old, also looked at Ling Lan with awe and respect.

This was how a leader should act like.

The other children in Little Four Mercenary Team were all staring at Ling Lan with stars in their eyes too. Ling Lan was now their ultimate hero in their hearts. Her position in their hearts would be really difficult to change.

Light and Dark Dragon managed to regain their senses after a short while. They went straight to the point, "We want to know if Frost Monarch is still alive."

Ling Lan shook her head. "I was lucky to win the fight but I couldn't kill him."

Light and Dark Dragon's face turned serious. This was not a good piece of news.

"What about Hades?" Dark Dragon continued asking

"He is dead," Ling Lan answered calmly.

Light and Dark Dragon relaxed a little. Two out of the three kings were dead. This was not too bad.

"However, when I was chasing Hades, I met two half step imperial realms warriors. They should be from the same side as Hades." Ling Lan's words made their hearts drop again.

���Luckily, I was faster than them. Hades is dead but we can't stay in the Chaotic Lands for long. I'm preparing to leave tomorrow." Ling Lan's eyes were deep and dark.

Two half step imperial realm warriors. No matter how powerful Jiang Hui was, he couldn't handle two half step imperial realm warriors by himself. It was indeed a good decision to leave the Chaotic Lands as soon as possible. Light and Dark Dragon understood Jiang Hui's decision and they exchanged glances with each other. Light said, "Your information is very valuable to us. In that case, we'll leave with the Little Four Mercenary Team."

Although they were half step to the imperial realm, there were many powerful people in the Chaotic Lands. They didn't know if there were other half step imperial realm warriors hiding in this place. Even if there wasn't, one Frost Monarch was enough to defeat them, so it was the best decision to leave. They wanted to leave with the Little Four Mercenary Team because they felt that with three half step imperial realm warriors between both teams, the people from the Chaotic Lands would think twice before attacking them.

But, that would mean that they needed to give up on their mission. Dark Dragon sighed in his heart. There were many missions they could take in the Chaotic Lands, and the rewards for them were good too. Many powerful mercenary teams would take these missions.

Chapter 1005 Birthday Present!

On the 17th of June, the Little Four Mercenary Team reached Planet Shanghai on schedule. The moment they left the port and entered Planet Shanghai, they felt as though they were in a dream. This place in front of them was so orderly and prosperous that some of the members exclaimed in awe.

As for the Rainbow Raiders, they parted ways with them after leaving the territory of the Chaotic Lands.

Compared to how enthusiastic they were when they left for the Chaotic Lands, this bunch of people were sad after they came back as they knew that their time with Boss had ended. They needed to return to 250 Ace Mecha Clan soon and had to suffer all kinds of questionings again.

"Tsk, what is this." Qi Long couldn't help but complain.

Han Jijyun was frustrated too. The stress and frustration he had were more than Qi Long. Qi Long still had two brothers to bear the burden with him while he was the only son of his family. He couldn't escape the responsibilities that he must take. During this period of time, the pressure from the elders in his family were suffocating him.

He looked at the calm Ling Lan. If Boss was still their regiment commander, everything would be great. He got emotional as he thought of this and shouted, "Boss, you must come back to 250 Ace Mecha Clan."

'As long as you come back, I'll have the courage to reject my father and stay at 250 Ace Mecha Clan with everyone else.'

Han Jijyun's words triggered everyone's thoughts. They raised their heads and looked at Ling Lan in anticipation. They hoped that Ling Lan would give them a promise as an assurance.

Ling Lan sighed in her heart. She patted Han Jijyun's shoulder and said, "I'm not able to interfere in this matter. Everything depends on fate. However, if there's a chance, I won't give

up."

Ling Lan was sincere. Her wish in the past was already forgotten. After the battle on Planet Haijiao, she didn't want to leave the military anymore. But, she still had to consider her father's safety. The battle on Planet Haijiao pushed her father and her into the spotlight. To reduce the burden on him, Ling Xiao had to make some sacrifices. Ling Xiao had already preempted her when she came back from the battle.

She was still too weak. If she was stronger, she might be able to help her father and not be pushed around like a piece of chess. Ling Lan retracted the unwillingness from her eyes. She was calm and cold again. She turned and looked at Liu Furong. "I'll send Aunt Liu to the Ling family. It's not suitable for you to bring them around now."

Liu Furong looked at Ling Lan gratefully. He was worried about what he should do with Aunt Liu too. After all, it was inappropriate for a supposedly single man like him to bring back a wife and two children suddenly. Plus, he was also in a very complex and dangerous situation. Thus, he couldn't implicate his family and friends by bringing them along with him but luckily, Ling Lan's solution solved this problem for him.

"What about their identities?" Liu Furong could only ask his regiment commander for help. If not, Liu Aijun might not be able to attend the Scout Academy next year. He had already implicated his daughter so he didn't want to affect the future of his son too.

"I'll solve it. However, Aunt Liu and you might have to suffer." Ling Lan looked at Liu Furong apologetically.

Liu Furong was confused.

Ling Lan explained, "I'll give Aunt Liu a new identity. She'll be the daughter of my Chamberlain Ling Qin and her name will be Ling Hua Yun."

Aunt Liu's surname was Hua. Ling Lan didn't want Aunt Liu to give up her surname so she used her surname in her new name.

Aunt Liu smiled gratefully at Ling Lan. She was touched by Ling Lan's selfless help and she also very excited about having foster parents as her actual parents had died when she was very young. She never expected to have two respectable elders as her new parents. She was overwhelmed with emotions. Most of it was excitement and gratitude. She was finally able to fulfil her wishes when she was a child. Aunt Liu decided that she must be filial to her new parents.

"As for Aihua and Aijun, they'll be part of the Ling family too so that they will have the right to study the hereditary family martial arts of the Ling family. However, Liu Aihua's innate talent is amazing so you must groom her carefully. Don't waste her talent," Ling Lan spoke to Liu Furong seriously. At first, Ling Lan took pity on Liu Aihua because she had no father and she couldn't study in the Scout Academy. Now, after realizing that she was Liu Furong's daughter, she decided to not take her as her disciple. After all, she was Liu Furong's responsibility, right?

If Liu Furong knew that Liu Aihua had the possibility of becoming Ling Lan's disciple, he might have pleaded her to take Liu Aihua in. But, he wasn't aware of that now. He just knew that his regiment commander had done a lot for his family and it wouldn't be right for him to trouble Ling Lan any further. Thus, he listened to what she said and started considering how he should groom his daughter.

These were all future stories so we shall not mentioned them for now.

Ling Lan finished making arrangements for everyone before turning to look at President Tu's camp. She then showed an evil smile. "It's time for us to take our rewards and mechas.

President Tu was afraid that his merchant team would be implicated by Ye Shao and Dibi Luya so he escaped from the Chaotic Lands the moment he came out of the black market. Of course, he brought the mechas that belonged to Ling Lan along with him.

If Ling Lan didn't leave with the Rainbow Raiders, she might have to snatch a spacecraft from someone in order to leave the Chaotic Lands.

As expected, it's troublesome when she didn't have her own spacecraft. For the first time, Ling Lan wanted to buy her own spacecraft.

Little Four felt Ling Lan's thoughts. He clenched his fist tightly as he decided to fulfill Boss's wish. He was going to give her a huge surprise.

'Boss's birthday is coming. Let me give her a spacecraft as a present. Will she be happy?' Little Four felt elated as he imagined Boss kissing him out of happiness.

Little Four was extremely motivated by this thought.

It was actually quite easy for Little Four to get a spacecraft. He just needed to move his fingers and the money would come to him. However, Little Four didn't just want to buy any normal spacecraft for Boss. He wanted to give her the most extravagant, safest and studierst spacecraft so that would be a little difficult to acquire.

Little Four felt that his brain was not big enough to think about this. He quickly grabbed Little Blossom who had an indifferent expression on his face. They started talking secretly among themselves in a small corner of the learning space. Well, Little Four was the one who was talking most of the time. Little Blossom just sat there and listened to him patiently.