1151-1160

Chapter 1151 The Four Elite Families!

In a convertible hover car, two people were sitting in it and quickly driving towards their destination.

"I just received news that Lingtian Mecha Clan's Regiment Commander Ling has arrived," suddenly said the charming young man sitting on the left.

The cool-looking young man sitting on the right side didn't have any reaction to the sudden news.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" The charming young man glanced at his comrade.

"What should I say? We've only just met him once back then," the cool looking young man responded coldly as he turned towards the other young man.

"Yeah, it was only just one encounter… But this person was deemed to be trash and yet still led his mecha clan and achieved feats that even us, the Flying Dragon Special Forces, feel shocked about. Aren't you just a little bit curious?" The charming young man's eyes brightened and burning desire began to show within them.

"You're still not going to let that go?" Frowned the cool-looking young man.

"I kept telling myself that that person had died. However, when I saw Little White appearing in front of me, I had a feeling that the person hadn't died yet." The charming young man bit his lip. Despite the other person having explained everything so well, he still held the hope that the impossible was possible. He was basically waiting for a miracle to happen.

"I've looked through Pei Shaoyun's data. It's perfect. Everything lines up perfectly; his personality, his quirks, his habit of pouting nothing seems weird. However, it being so perfect makes me think that it's not real," said the charming young man.

"Mu Chaoran, you're going down the rabbit hole again. Anyone who went to the Scout Academy would have data as detailed as that. I think there's nothing wrong with it," said the cool-looking young man helplessly.

"Tang Ningyu, my intuition is very accurate," replied Mu Chaoran in a serious tone. "This a power that us, the Northeastern Muqi, are born with. The difference is whether or not the person could awaken this ability. Once it is awakened, then that person will be considered to be the next family head of Northeastern Muqi."

It turns out, these two people were Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran from the Flying Dragon Special Forces. The two of them became work partners and stayed together no matter if they were on a mission or on leave.

Mu Chaoran's serious attitude made Tang Ningyu put more attention into the conversation, "It's that strong?"

"Of course it will be very strong after awakening it. I could pretty much sense all incoming dangers," Mu Chaoran responded. "It could even determine whether the person I'm talking has goodwill or evil intentions. Moreover, this is still just the early-stages of the awakening. According to the Muqi family's records, once it reaches a higher stage, it could even have the power to go against gods. However, this power is connected to the path the individual wants to awaken. The family head of each generation who had awakened this ability to the highest stage were still very terrifying even though they were very different in terms of what powers they had. Even if they hadn't reached the level to go against the gods, it wasn't too far off."

"The four main elite families aren't like the great Li family and Ye family. They have people everywhere, but because of the limitations made by the military, they can never gain real military power. Other than those people, the other two areas are considered to be the existence of titans." Mu Chaoran sighed.

"Our family only focuses on improving our physical skills which has caused our relations with many of the factions to deteriorate to basically strangers. However, it was because of this that our family managed to withstand the test of time for thousands of years and never fall in history. The four elite families all have their own special powers. Ancient writing dictates that 'The Empyreal Zhuge's Tianji can see all secrets and determine the future of all things. Northeastern Muqi can detect and escape from all crises. Old Martial Beitang are brave and invincible. The Divine Dash of the Zhou family can move thousands of miles in one step.' These all point towards the real capabilities of the four elite families."

After saying this, Mu Chaoran sighed again, "Unfortunately, as time went by, the number of individuals who could actually fully awaken our family's powers had decreased significantly. In this generation, in our Northeastern Muqi, there still hasn't been anyone who has awakened the god-like powers of our ancestors which has been quite a worrying matter for the current family hea… If it isn't present in one generation, it would be a fatal blow for the Northeastern Muqi."

"Not only you guys, but from what I know, even Old Martial Beitang is the same. Most of their descendants live a normal life," Tang Ningyu said calmly. "While those who are somewhat capable would awaken random powers and be sent out by their family head."

Tang Ningyu had a secret. He was actually from Old Martial Beitang. Back then, he was sent to the Flying Dragon Special Forces because he had awakened the strongest offensive element, the lightning element, not his family's powers.

In reality, in large families such as their own, they wouldn't send many of their descendants to the military like some smaller families. It was only because these families wanted to ensure their traditions were passed down so they would heartlessly send out those who awaken abilities that were not part of their family's clan. They would completely cut off any connection with them in order to guarantee the purity of their family bloodline.

This was why he and Mu Chaoran were sent to the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

He could understand the family's decision, but he ultimately could not forgive them for it. Thus, he never came into contact with the four elite families. Other than the information he had read about while in the Flying Dragon Special Forces, he didn't know anything else about the four elite families.

However, Mu Chaoran was very different than him. He was very confident in his family and had always considered himself a part of the Northeastern Muqi. This was also the reason he couldn't become like Tang Ningyu… The Flying Dragon Special Forces definitely wouldn't let someone who considered themselves as part of an elite family to take over as their highest command.

"I heard that Empyreal Zhuge and the Divine Dash Zhou family also don't have any god-like prodigies in this current generation." Mu Chaoran also saw their information in the database of the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

It wasn't because they didn't awaken their clan's powers, but rather because they had average talent. There wasn't any chance they could improve in the future, not to mention acquiring god-defying talents.

"Actually, I admire the Li and Ye families. They didn't seal themselves off to the world. Whether they are fighting for control with the military or trying to cooperate, they at least still have their own wills and powers to make decisions. Unlike our four elite families where we are just trying to live in between cracks and to even just stay alive…" Mu Chaoran couldn't help but sigh for the third time. He didn't know which ancestor of theirs decided that the four families must choose such a path. It glorified the four elite families but under the glory, the four elite families were walking on thin ice that was on the brink of collapse.

"However, only these four families have passed down their legacies from thousands of years ago. In these thousands of years, how many Li families and Ye families have appeared?" Tang Ningyu said calmly. "The choice is between being glorified for a short time or staying alive for an eternity. The four elite families chose the latter and the Li and Ye families chose the former. The two choices are no different. The only difference is the concept."

Mu Chaoran thought carefully for a moment and then smiled, "You're right. We have to thank the choices of our ancestors. Their seemingly random decisions allowed us to be born into this world successfully." If the four elite families had chosen to be glorified for only a short time, they probably wouldn't exist anymore.

"Stop talking about the four elite families. I'm already tired just of the thought of them. Are you going to see Ling Lan at the reception center?" Tang Ningyu finally asked the question he had in his mind all this while.

"Yeah, he's Little White's current master. I still don't want to give up and want to ask about Little White." Mu Chaoran eyes darkened. He also felt he was going over the deep end. He knew the result of asking but he still wanted to ask.

Sometimes, even he couldn't understand what kind of spell Shaoyun put him under to make him fall so deep into this rut.

Chapter 1152 Lend A Knife?

Gu Dongyang walked into Ling Lan's living room with a dark face.

In the living room, Luo Lang and Xie Yi were having an intense chess match. Li Yingjie sat at the side, spectating while giving his opinions on their moves.

Luo Lang and Xie Yi weren't affected by his constant blabbering. They just totally disregarded Li Yingjie's existence. When Li Yingjie noticed their dismissive attitude, he groaned in frustration.

Ling Lan wasn't in the living room. When Gu Dongyang entered the living room, Xie Yi and Luo Lang quickly stopped what they were doing. The calm and indifferent Luo Lang suddenly turned excited as though a freezing spell was lifted from his expression.

He smiled brightly and said, "Boss is still in the virtual world."

To gain more intel about the situation in Soldier City, Gu Dongyang went to contact his old friends in the military. Ling Lan, on the other hand, went into the virtual world and used her tiny hacker, Little Four, to source for more clues.

Xie Yi looked at Gu Dongyang's expression and raised his eyebrows. "Did you get rejected?"

Gu Dongyang took off his military cap and threw it on the coffee table. He plopped on the sofa and replied angrily, "Those f**king bastards didn't even want to meet me."

He felt that he had treated his friends of the past sincerely, but none of them treated him the same way. All of them said that they were busy and rejected him coldly. He was furious.

"They're not simple people." Xie Yi felt that it was normal to be rejected. Any relationship required time and effort to maintain. No matter how good your relationship was in the past, it would deteriorate over ten years if it wasn't maintained properly. Moreover, Gu Dongyang was chased out of Planet General as an outcast. Who would be willing to risk their future to befriend an outcast like him?

If there was really someone who would take the risk, he must treasure that person.

"But, I still managed to get some clues. Someone in the military secretly told me that the situation is against us. Someone from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee found evidence that our regiment commander had killed people without mercy." This was another reason why Gu Dongyang was frustrated.

Xie Yi frowned. "The Disciplinary and Investigation Committee? Why are they still finding trouble with us? Do you know who the person is?"

Gu Dongyang shook his head. "He's not sure too. The information was restricted by the higher authorities. They probably want to catch us off guard."

Luo Lang's gaze turned cold. He frowned and asked, "Brother Gu, is your friend close to you? Have you always been in contact with him? Is he reliable?"

Gu Dongyang replied, "I left the military in the past because I offended someone with a powerful background to help another soldier. He is the soldier I helped."

"He coincidentally saw me while he was on a mission. He wanted to repay me so he came to look for me. When he knew what I was there for, he told me tactfully that I should be prepared for what will happen." Gu Dongyang thought about what happened carefully. "I think he's reliable."

"Just like what you say, don't believe everything you see." A cold voice sounded in the room.

The four people stood up hurriedly. "Regiment Commander!"

Ling Lan walked out of her room and signaled for them to sit down.

After Gu Dongyang sat down, he asked, "Regiment commander, did you find any evidence in the virtual world?"

The other people looked at Boss intently as they waited for an answer.

"Yes. There are people pulling a cheap trick but it might not be the intention of the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee," Ling Lan replied calmly.

Gu Dongyang, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi were enlightened, only Li Yingjie remained confused. Damn it, what was Boss trying to say? He understood her words but didn't know what the hidden meaning behind her words was. Please talk properly for me, Boss!

"We just gave them a slap on the face so the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee won't jump out now to offend us. However, someone pushed a pile of evidence against me to the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee so they had no choice but to take the case," Ling Lan replied.

"Someone wants to use the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee to handle us." Li Yingjie finally understood what Ling Lan was saying

"Is the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee so easy to fool?" Ling Lan glanced at Li Yingjie. "The other party just wants to make things difficult for us."

"Did you find out who the person is?" Luo Lang asked.

"No. The person hides his tracks very well. I couldn't find his real identity." Ling Lan remembered Little Four's reply. The other party might have a team of powerful imperial level hackers. However, he still did manage to find some clues. He was able to find the area where the person was located. This person must be hiding in the military.

In order to command a team of imperial level hackers, this person's rank must be high. He had to be a general or above. They just didn't know which general it was.

"What should we do now?" Li Yingjie asked hurriedly.

Ling Lan smiled. "Wait and see!"

As long as no one in the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee declared her as guilty, she wouldn't be in any danger. The only thing the other party might do was to keep her on Planet general so that they could do something to the people at Base Nebula.

She was prepared for this. She left Li Lanfeng, Han Jijyun, Yang Mingzhi, and Liu Furong at Base Nebula so that they could control the situation while looking for the spy.

If things went out of hand, Ling Lan had other plans too. She chose these five people specifically because she knew what they represented.

Yang Mingzhi was the confidant of the First Marshal. As long as she and her father didn't betray the First Marshal (on the surface), Yang Mingzhi would definitely ask the First Marshal for help. The First Marshal wouldn't want to disappoint his subordinates so he would lend a helping hand.

Since the First Marshal dared to send Yang Mingzhi over, she also dared to use him to her advantage.

As for Qi Long, Han Jijyun, and Li Lanfeng, they represented different factions. Qi Long was the prince of the 13th division. Li Lanfeng was the real heir of the Li family. Both of them would use their power to protect Lingtian if there was a need to.

As for the Han family, it was not as simple as what Han Jijyun thought. Ling Lan wanted to use this opportunity to see what the Han family wanted from Lingtian.

Chapter 1153 Serve?

As for Liu Furong, his children and wife were staying with the Ling family so he must stand by the Ling family and protect Lingtian. If the other four people went astray, Liu Furong and the loyal Lin Zhong-qing would also be enough to salvage the situation.

The people she left behind were carefully chosen. They checked and balanced each other out. With their presence, Lingtian would be safe.

Luo Lang, Xie Yi, and Gu Dongyang nodded and went into deep thought after hearing Ling Lan's reply. Li Yingjie, on the other hand, was frustrated. 'Wait and see… does this mean we have to put up with everything?'

At that moment, an optical supercomputer in the living room blinked.

Li Yingjie was the closest to it so he pressed the connect button and a beautiful female soldier wearing the military uniform appeared on the screen.

When the lady saw Li Yingjie, she smiled sweetly. "Hello, lieutenant colonel. There are two colonels who want to visit you."

The image on the screen changed, showing two young colonels. They were Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran.

Li Yingjie raised his eyebrows in surprise. He didn't recognise these two people.

The colonel with a cold aura sensed Li Yingjie's confusion so he explained, "We're here to look for Regiment Commander Ling."

Li Yingjie looked at his regiment commander and waited for her answer.

Ling Lan looked towards the screen curiously when she heard the voice. She frowned when she saw the two figures. Why were they looking for her? She had explained herself clearly in the past. There were no loopholes in her disguise.

However, since they came to find her, she couldn't chase them away. She nodded at Li Yingjie.

Li Yingjie turned and said, "Our regiment commander invites you in."

Soon, there was a 'click' sound at the door. Li Yingjie rushed out and opened the door.

When the door opened, it revealed Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran standing at attention. Li Yingjie moved aside and motioned with his arm. "Please come in."

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran nodded at Li Yingjie. This was the first time they saw Li Yingjie. They were quite surprised to see someone so young to be only one rank lower than them. They entered the living room and saw Ling Lan waiting for them on the sofa. She was a major general now. The two young people standing behind her, Xie Yi and Luo Lang were lieutenant colonels. Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran were stunned.

They exchanged glances. Then, they calmed themselves.

As expected of a soldier whose name was known throughout the galaxy. None of his subordinates were weak. They remembered the young officers at Base 013 during the battle on Planet Haijiao. There were many powerful people under Prince Ling.

Soon, their attention was attracted by Gu Dongyang who was sitting on the sofa at the right side of Ling Lan. He was a senior colonel, and there was a strong killing intent exuding from him. He must be an experienced soldier. When they walked in, he glanced at them. That single glance was enough to make them restless. If they didn't control themselves, they might have activated their domain uncontrollably under the threat of his aura.

"Have a seat." As a major general, Ling Lan didn't need to be polite with them.

This was the attitude of a superior. In the past, when they were at the same rank, they were courteous to each other. Now, Ling Lan was able to look down on them.

The two of them suddenly felt a strong pressure on her shoulders. They were high-ranking officers from the Flying Dragon Special Forces, but they didn't dare to be disrespectful to a major general. They saluted and sat down.

Gu Dongyang noticed that their attitude was good so he retracted his killing intent. He looked like a normal person now.

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran looked at each other again. Their arrogance as a member of the Flying Dragon Special Forces had disappeared by now.

When Gu Dongyang knew that the two people who came were the leaders of the new generation in the Flying Dragon Special Forces, he decided to give them an opening gambit so that they wouldn't be impolite to his regiment commander.

"Time flies. It has been almost eight months since the battle on Planet Haijiao." Ling Lan signaled for Li Yingjie to pour some tea.

Li Yingjie looked around him but saw no one he could order. He gritted his teeth and went off.

F**k, the other three people had a higher position than him in Lingtian! Based on their rules, he should be the one serving tea.

Li Yingjie took out four teacups. He forcefully placed a teacup in front of Mu Chaoran and Tang Ningyu. Then, he lightly placed a cup in front of Gu Dongyang. As for the last teacup, he handed it over respectfully to Ling Lan with both hands.

The three different actions represented his attitude. As for Luo Lang and Xie Yi… they can get their own cups. I'm not serving them.

Ling Lan took the teacup and had a sip. She placed the teacup on the coffee table before asking, "Why did you two come to find me?"

Mu Chaoran answered respectfully, "Actually, I came because of some personal matter. Please forgive me."

He looked up and stared at Ling Lan. He continued sincerely, "The previous time we interacted, I saw my friend's pet, Little White, coincidentally became your pet. I've been missing it so I came to find out how it has been. I hope that you can tell me about its current condition."

"Little White?" Ling Lan raised one of her eyebrows in doubt. "Why don't I know that I have a pet called Little White?"

The other four people from Lingtian couldn't help but thought, 'If Little White knew that Ling Lan doesn't acknowledge it, it would definitely cry. Fortunately, Little Four ate too much and is sleeping in the warehouse of the logistics department. If not, it might throw a tantrum."

Mu Chaoran smiled. "Of course. Little White is probably with Li Lanfeng now."

Although the soldiers from Lingtian had a tight mouth, Mu Chaoran still managed to find out that Little White was thrown to Li Lanfeng after Major General Ling went back.

"Oh, that small little thing." Ling Lan appeared enlightened.

"It kept following me so I picked it up," she replied calmly.

Mu Chaoran got excited. "How is it?"

"Lingtian is still able to feed it. Leader Li has been raising it well," Ling Lan answered.

Actually, when she was saying this, Ling Lan felt guilty. Little White had a huge appetite. She had some difficulty trying to feed it. In the end, Little White had to go outside to fill up its stomach. Before they went to Base Nebula, Little White started sleeping. Fortunately, she sensed that it was still very much alive.

Ling Lan knew that once Little White woke up, it would become more powerful. Sometimes, Ling Lan was jealous of Little White. It just needed to eat and sleep and it would become more powerful. What a comfortable life! She was so jealous of it.

Chapter 1154 Answer?

"I've always wanted to ask if you met an innocent and beautiful young man while you were doing your mission?" Mu Chaoran hesitated for a moment but still decided to ask this question.

Ling Lan looked at Mu Chaoran and frowned. After so long, Mu Chaoran still hadn't let go.

"No," Ling Lan replied calmly. This was something he had to overcome himself. Ling Lan didn't feel that she needed to help him.

Mu Chaoran's gaze turned dim. He shouldn't have given himself any hope.

Tang Ningyu was sad too. However, he must accept the truth in front of him. Hence, he wasn't as disheartened as Mu Chaoran.

"Since you asked me a question, I hope that you can answer my question too." Ling Lan thought for a moment before opening her mouth.

Tang Ningyu became serious immediately. He turned vigilant. He didn't know what Major General Ling wanted to ask them.

"I want to know when the reporting conference will be held." Lingtian saw the vigilance in Tang Ningyu's eyes.

"Although we're from the Flying Dragon Special Forces, we don't know the decisions made by the higher authorities." Tang Ningyu narrowed his eyes.

Ling Lan smiled slightly. She glanced at Tang Ningyu coldly. Then, she turned to Mu Chaoran and said indifferently, "Colonel Mu, I don't want to hear another lie."

The conversation had startled Mu Chaoran. He gave his signature naughty smile and replied, "Major General Ling, you are overestimating me."

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"I have to suspect that the Flying Dragon Special Forces has pushed you out to be the scapegoat if you don't even know such a small matter. After all, you're the leader of the new generation." Ling Lan smiled at Mu Chaoran.

"I remember that the time of the conference is written clearly on the summon." Tang Ningyu tried his best to give a reply.

"I think that a new summon will be coming soon," Ling Lan suddenly said something entirely unrelated.

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran's expressions changed. They realised that they chose the wrong time to visit Ling Lan.

There was silence in the living room. The atmosphere turned awkward. Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran looked at each other. They decided to leave.

At that moment, Ling Lan's communicator vibrated. Ling Lan smiled as she looked at the two restless people. She accepted the call.

The virtual screen lit up. A beautiful virtual female soldier smiled elegantly as she told Ling Lan the new summon that just came. The conference which was supposed to be held in two hours would be postponed. The postponed time was not determined yet so a further notification would be sent to confirm the time. She ended with a happy goodbye.

Ling Lan looked up. "Did you hear it clearly?"

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran felt awkward. They didn't know that Major General Ling had noticed the cheap tricks of the military headquarters.

"We really don't know." Tang Ningyu didn't want to disobey the rules.

"Three days later!" Mu Chaoran suddenly opened his mouth.

"Chaoran!" Tang Ningyu shouted in surprise.

Mu Chaoran signalled for Tang Ningyu to remain calm. He stared at Ling Lan intently as he said, "It will be held three days later. Many factions will do something within these three days. Major General Ling, please be careful."

Ling Lan nodded. "Thank you." She took her teacup and had a sip of tea.

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran heaved a sigh of relief. They stood up in unplanned unison and saluted to Ling Lan. Then, they left.

When they reached the main atrium, Tang Ningyu grabbed Mu Chaoran and asked, "Chaoran, why did you leak the information?"

"Major General Ling is not our enemy," Mu Chaoran replied calmly.

"You'll be dead if our superiors knew what you did." Tang Ningyu was worried.

As one of the leaders of the new generation, Tang Ningyu knew how strict their instructors were to them. They wouldn't allow them to make any mistakes. Once they discovered what Mu Chaoran did, he would lose everything.

This was a huge burden on their shoulders. There was no time for them to relax.

Both he and Mu Chaoran had different ways of relieving this stress. He became expressionless while Mu Chaoran's smile became slightly evil. There was no right or wrong.

This might be why the innocent and pure smile of Pei Shaoyun meant so much to them. They felt that his smile was something precious.

They just wanted to be able to feel the warmth that they had never felt before. They hoped that they could have someone they could dote on without being on their guards. Yet, this opportunity was taken away from them mercilessly.

"It's alright." Mu Chaoran remained indifferent. "Major General Ling saved us on Panet Azure. I'll take it as repaying him."

"There're many ways of repaying debt. You might be sent on a suicide mission if you get caught." Tang Ningyu frowned. If he knew this was going to happen, he wouldn't have come. He could already feel the unhappiness his superiors had for Mu Chaoran.

"If that happens, you'll have to prepare a banquet to send me off." Mu Chaoran gave a naughty smile. He seemed unconcerned.

"Chaoran!" Tang Ningyu said angrily when he saw how nonchalant Mu Chaoran was.

Mu Chaoran's smile disappeared slowly. After three seconds, he replied in a soft voice, "Brother Shaoyun disappeared on Planet Azure. I'll take it that I'm telling him this information." For some reason, Mu Chaoran felt that his Little Brother Shaoyun would be happy with what he did. He would give him that pure and bright smile.

"You…" Tang Ningyu sighed helplessly.

"Let's go. We might be scolded again when we return to our base." Mu Chaoran noticed the change in his superiors' attitude too. However, he couldn't go against his heart. Maybe, just like what Tang Ningyu said, he would anger his superiors one day and they would send him on a suicide mission.

"Tell them that it's my idea," Tang Ningyu reminded him earnestly.

Their superiors were more lenient towards him. There wouldn't be many consequences if he took the blame.

Mu Chaoran was grateful. However, he just smiled and replied, "Of course. Why would I want to be punished?"

The two people sat in their hover car and quickly went back to the base of the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

Chapter 1155 Baseline!

After the two visitors left, Xie Yi and Luo Lang came to sit on the sofa.

Xie Yi immediately opened his mouth and asked, "Boss, do you think that he is telling the truth?"

Ling Lan replied calmly, "Most probably."

"Why are they postponing it?" Li Yingjie frowned. He couldn't understand the decision.

"It is so that they can have more time to collect evidence against me." Ling Lan gave a cold smile. "Exciting times are ahead of us. Everyone will stand opposite of us. My plan is completely messed up!. Damn it." Ling Lan seethed with gritted teeth. She quickly downed the whole cup of tea before slamming it heavily on the table.

The teacup started to crystallize into shards of ice before it exploded in a loud burst. The shards of ice in the air quickly disintegrated into nothing as if it was never there.

Everyone at the scene felt their heart pumping heavily. They knew Boss was really infuriated with the current situation.

Boss seemed cold and heartless but in actual fact, it was hard to anger him. No matter how unhappy he was, he would at most glare at you. They rarely saw him expressing his anger in this manner.

Luo Lang had been with Ling Lan since they were young children so he remembered the last time Ling Lan got this furious was during the battle with Leiting in the military academy. That was when the other party tried to cripple Qi Long. Because of this, their opponent had to lie in the healing pod for an entire year, missing the military assessment that year. To Ling Lan, this was a small punishment.

Luo Lang and the other three people prayed for the wellness of their opponents. Once Boss was angry, no one could survive in one piece.

Ling Lan got indignant because the people in the military touched her bottomline.

If there weren't any spies in Base Nebula, Ling Lan wouldn't mind their cheap tricks as much. She just wanted to clear all the spies in the base so that Base Nebula would be a clean home for her comrades which was quite important to her.

Yet, during such a crucial time, the people from the military were scheming against her, causing her plans to be disrupted again and again. Things were just going on the upswing but now, everything was in a mess again.

"No wonder my father said that one has to be in the highest position before one could do what one wants." Ling Lan finally understood the pain of being led on by other people. If the military hadn't disrupted her, all the spies in Base Nebula would have been caught within these few days.

Ling Lan took a deep breath and calmed down.

Luo Lang and the others suddenly felt the pressure on them being lifted.

Ling Lan touched her forehead when she saw the careful gaze of the four people. They probably thought that she was furious just now. Actually, she had a good temper. She rarely lost her temper. Why couldn't anyone realise that? She pouted in her mind as she thought about their image of her.

Ling Lan was confused. She rarely smiled but she rarely got angry too. Why were her friends all so afraid of her? When she looked at them, they would jump up in fright. She was like a predator while they were her prey.

While Ling Lan was immersed in her own thoughts, one of the four people finally spoke up.

"Boss, what are we going to do for the next three days?" The innocent Luo Lang got pushed out from his mindscape.

The calm personality ran away the moment he saw Ling Lan got angry.

Ling Lan regained her senses and replied indifferently, "We'll wait. Wait for them to come and challenge us."

"Challenge?" Li Yingjie, who was hiding behind the sofa, jumped up excitedly

"You're becoming more and more like Qi Long." Xie Yi couldn't help but complain.

The moment Qi Long heard the word 'challenge', he would get excited just like how Li Yingie was acting right now. Xie Yi still remembered the times when he was dragged by Qi Long to have a fight with him. Before Qi Long entered the domain stage, he was still able to fight on par with him but now, he could only take some punches in the face before calling it a day.

The times when he agreed to fight with Qi Long were because he wanted to gain a deeper understanding of his domain concept. If not, he wouldn't torture himself… he was not a masochist…

"Didn't Li Lanfeng tell us that we came to help Boss with his challengers?" Li Yingjie's proud expression almost made Xie Yi vomit out blood.

What an honest boy. He had been fooled by Li Lanfeng so many times but yet, he still wholeheartedly believed in him.

"Fine, you can handle the challengers tomorrow." Xie Yi didn't know what to say.

Li Yingjie smiled brightly as he replied, "No problem. I'm more experienced than you when it comes to these matters."

Xie Yi hugged his head helplessly and leaned towards Luo Lang.

He had nothing to say. He used to think that Li Yingjie was an irritating bastard but he was actually a stupid and innocent little boy.

Luo Lang saw Xie Yi leaning over from the corner of his eyes. His gaze suddenly turned cold. Just as Xie Yi's head was about to touch his shoulder, he moved forward.

Luo Lang's action was too sudden and silent, so Xie Yi didn't notice it. He fell sideways to the ground.

Just as he was about to hit the floor. Xie Yi got into a plank position and pushed his body up. He didn't fall to the ground but it was still embarrassing for him.

Xie Yi looked at Luo Lang unhappily.

Luo Lang's gaze turned pure again. He looked at Xie Yi innocently. It was as though he didn't know why Xie Yi suddenly fell from the sofa.

Xie Yi touched his nose with a blushed face. He couldn't blame Luo Lang. How could he blame someone who didn't know what was happening? Plus, this blur Luo Lang was quite cute too, right?

Chapter 1156 Everyday!

They had a long journey so they quickly went back to their rooms to have a rest. The night went by peacefully.

The next morning, Gu Dongyang woke up in the break of dawn. While he was trying to sleep last night, some questions popped into his mind but it was too late to ask Ling Lan. Thus, he set his mind to immediately go ask Ling Lan after freshening up the next morning

He went to Ling Lan's room after he freshen up. He pressed the doorbell. The door opened after a while.

The moment he entered the room, he saw Li Yingjie sitting on the sofa, yawning. He was surprised. "Little Leader Li, why are you here so early?"

He arrived an hour early but Little Leader Li was even earlier than him. It was public knowledge that Little Leader Li was never punctual. He would always arrive at the very last minute.

Li Yingjie covered his mouth and yawned. He was still in a daze when he replied, "Boss said he will bring us to the Statue of Heroes today. I'm scared that I'll miss it."

Li Yingjie was afraid that he would infuriate Boss if he woke up late so he counted his fingers until the sun rose. He didn't sleep a single wink so his eyes were bloodshot.

"You're really early." Gu Dongyang was speechless. He glanced at Boss's room. The door was still shut tightly. "Is our regiment commander awake?"

Li Yingjie shook his head. "I didn't hear anything."

"How did you come in?" Gu Dongyang was puzzled.

"Same as you. I pressed the doorbell and the door opened itself." Li Yingjie didn't sense anything weird. "Boss might have tuned the mainframe so that we can enter anytime we want."

Li Yingjie spoke as though doing that was just a simple matter. Gu Dongyang rolled his eyes in his mind. The mainframe of the room was connected to the mainframe of the Federation. If Boss wanted to control the mainframe of the Federation and the surveillance cameras of the room, he needed to have exceptional hacking abilities.

Gu Dongyang didn't dare to think any further. This had nothing to do with him anyway.

The two of them sat quietly on the sofa and waited for their regiment commander to get up.

After some time, Xie Yi and Luo Lang walked into the room. It's obvious that Xie Yi went to look for Luo Lang so that they could come in together.

When Gu Dongyang saw all of them had arrived, he went to the optical supercomputer and ordered five breakfast sets.

The sound of a door opening was heard and Ling Lan walked out in full black. She was wearing a black shirt and a pair of black pants. It was simple but she looked cool and handsome.

Ling Lan was fiddling with the buttons on her sleeve when she came out. "Everyone is here?"

"Yes, Boss Lan. I even ordered you breakfast." Li Yingjie quickly stole Gu Dongyang's glory.

Gu Dongyang shook his head and smiled. Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong and him always watched these youngters with interest whenever they tried to gain the favour of Ling Lan. To veteran soldiers like them, just these interactions could entertain them for days. They even occasionally bet on who would gain most of Ling Lan's favour of the day behind everyone's back.

Hence, he was quite used to what Li Yingjie did as this happened all the time. The only surprise was who would be the most shameless on the day.

Plus, the leaders had their principles too. They would acknowledge the shamelessness of the person and never exposed him. The only thing they would do was to shoot glares at the person.

Unsurprisingly, Li Yingjie received glares from Luo Lang and Xie Yi right after he finished speaking. Xie Yi was speechless while Luo Lang's face was all puffed up. He hated himself for reacting too slowly.

Xie Yi patted Luo Lang's shoulder to console him. Luo Lang was always slower than other people when it comes to fighting for the favour of Boss. He could only win if his other personalities took over, for instance, the calm personality.

Ling Lan pretended that she didn't notice their emotions. Since her friends liked to play this game, she would pretend that she didn't know anything and cooperate with them. The daily training was tiring enough so they should have a chance to relax and play.

"Regiment commander, aren't you going to wear your military attire?" Gu Dongyang asked Ling Lan when he saw her attire.

"We are just going for a walk so wearing military attire will be inconvenient." There were many generals on Planet General but none as young as her. She would stand out among the crowd if she wore her uniform.

Gu Dongyang thought about something and got up. "I'll go change."

Li Yingjie was very excited when he heard this. He jumped up and shouted, "I'll go change too." Sob, he hadn't worn his luxurious and extravagant clothes in a long time.

Luo Lang was at a loss. He didn't know why Li Yingjie and Gu Dongyang left so quickly.

"Boss, Luo Lang and I will go change too."

"Am I finally able to wear the couple shirt I bought long ago?" Xie Yi felt elated when he thought about this.

"But I didn't bring…" Before Luo Lang could finish his sentence, he was dragged away by Xie Yi.

Ling Lan looked at the empty living room and smiled. This is really interesting.

After some time, everyone got changed and gathered in Ling Lan's living room.

Li Yingjie's clothes were quite painful for the eyes. It was like a peacock fanning its tail. However, the aura of a nobleman he exuded with the clothes allowed him to look more handsome.

Gu Dongyang's attire was very normal. After retracting his force of presence, it would be difficult to pick him out from the crowd.

As for Xie Yi and Luo Lang, they were wearing similar navy school uniforms. They looked like a handsome and bright young man, and a cute little girl… cough, no wait, they are a handsome and bright young man, and a pretty little… How could Ling Lan describe them? Luo Lang looked like a lady wearing a man's costume.

Ling Lan came beside Luo Lang and patted his shoulder. She sighed. "It's better if you wear your military uniform next time." He didn't look much like a man in his military uniform but it was better than this current attire. If they went out now, Luo Lang would definitely be cat-called.

Luo Lang was confused about what Ling Lan meant. He thought about Ling Lan's words carefully and felt that she meant he looked much better in his military attire. As expected, military uniforms suited him more. Luo Lang was happy at his realization. He glared at Xie Yi.

Xie Yi was still delighted even though he was glared at. His expression seemed a little stupid.

Their breakfast got sent in soon after.

After they finished their breakfast, Ling Lan put on her cloak and went out with everyone.

They flagged for a small hover car at the stand beside the place they stayed at. They entered the car and Gu Dongyang entered their location's coordinates into the optical supercomputer.

The Statue of Heroes was located at the Planet General Plaza. There were many military museums built there too. One trip to the plaza and one would know all the disclosed history of the military of the Huaxia Federation. The glory gained by the military, the humiliations that were avenged, the legendary battle teams of the past, all of these were recorded to remind the citizens of how Huaxia Federation rose to its current position.

They wouldn't be able to say that they had been on Planet General if they didn't visit the Planet General Plaza.

This was one of the reasons why Ling Lan decided to bring them there. Another reason was that she was very curious about what lies within the plaza. Little Four had once showed her a 3D image of the plaza but nothing beats seeing it personally. She wanted to understand why this place meant so much to the citizens of the Huaxia Federation.

There was some distance away between the place they stayed at and the plaza. The hover car drove for one and a half hours before arriving

They walked out of the hover car after it stopped right in front of the entrance. There were a few people beside them but it wasn't as crowded as what they had imagined.

"Is the plaza always so empty?" Ling Lan asked curiously.

Gu Dongyang smiled. "Of course not. The mainframe would distribute the crowd evenly, making it seem as though there are very few people from the outside."

He walked towards a nearby blinking optical supercomputer and scanned his communicator on it. He seemed familiar with this place.

The optical supercomputer quickly activated its virtual screen. Gu Dongyang entered the number of people as five and then asked the group to scan their communicators too.

Soon, all their communicators displayed their next location.

"We're a group now. This way, the mainframe wouldn't split us up." Gu Dongyang explained as he looked at the information on his communicator.

Xie Yi, Luo Lang, and Li Yingjie kept nodding like country bumpkins.

Ling Lan glanced at her communicator before saying, "Let's go." Then, she walked towards the destination on her communicator.

Little Four had already displayed the entire 3D and bird's-eye view map of the plaza in Ling Lan's head so she knew exactly where to go.

Gu Dongyang looked at Ling Lan with respect. He took one entire year to memorise the locations of all the exhibitions and paths in the plaza. However, it had been a long time since he came here. He didn't know if his sense of direction could still be trusted.

As expected, a hacker was different.

Ling Lan and her friends followed the instructions from the mainframe and toured a few exhibitions. They saw the history of many soldiers, some of which were still alive while others were gone from the world. In order to make the Federation stronger, many valiant soldiers were sacrificed in the process. This was still a price they had to continue paying because everyone wanted a brighter future for the Federation.

"We are going to see the Statue of Heroes next. That's great." Luo Lang was elated when he received the new notification.

Some tour groups around them stared at him with 'hatred'.

Although the exhibitions were educational, most came to the plaza to see the Statue of Heroes.

The Statue of Heroes wasn't a series of statues. It was like a museum. This museum consisted of the information of the strongest soldiers in the Federation. Some of these heroes weren't announced to the public too. If one could pass the three tasks assigned by the mainframe, they would be able to get the non-disclosed information from the Statue of Heroes.

Only seven people managed to pass the three tasks ever since the Statue of Heroes was built. This showed how difficult the three tasks were.

Even so, many people were still curious enough to try and complete the three tasks. Unfortunately, it had been thirty years since the last person completed the three tasks.

The Statue of Heroes wasn't easy to find either. Everyone required to receive a notification from the mainframe before they could even go there. If you looked for it yourself, you wouldn't have the right to enter the museum.

This was why the people around Luo Lang stared at him with envy when he said that he would be going to the Statue of Heroes soon.

"Let's go." Ling Lan smiled when she received the notification. She was probably the only one who knew why they received the offer so soon.

The Statue of Heroes was located right in the center of the general plaza. Without the instructions from the mainframe, you would still be able to find the Statue of Heroes if you walked towards the center of the plaza. There was a huge stone statue in front of the museum. The names of all the famous soldiers in the Federation were carved on this stone statue. They were all prominent figures important to a certain generation.

The Huaxia Federation had thousands of years of history but there were not many names carved on the stone. There were only 98 people whose names were carved on it. The heroic acts of everyone were written in detail below the name. Yet, only a small portion of the stone was occupied.

'The last person whose name was carved lived more than a hundred years ago. I wonder who the 99th person will be?' Ling Lan wondered to herself.

The group of them looked up at the statue before entering the Statue of Heroes.

The Statue of Heroes was very big. Once someone entered, a list of marshals would be displayed. Ling Lan glanced at them and entered deeper into the venue, and the list of god-class mechas were finally displayed in front of them. Ling Lan felt her heart thumping. She quickly moved to the end and saw her father's name.

"Ah, its General Ling!" Luo Lang shouted excitedly.

Luo Lang was Ling Lan's faithful follower. His respect for Boss's father was evident.

Chapter 1157 Part of the Lan family!

"What, Ling Xiao? The person who used his name to acquire merits and selfishly used his powers to promote his son to his current position? Fortunately, he failed even after putting in all that effort and his son became useless. It really makes me happy to know that." Suddenly, a sharp voice echoed within everyone's ears.

"What did you just say?" Li Yingjie was the first to turn livid. He walked up with an angry expression on his face and shouted.

The person, who spoke in an insulting way, was a 25-year-old young man. He had an expression of schadenfreude as he mocked Ling Xiao with a belittling gaze.

Ling Lan slowly turned around and a flash of killing intent went through her eyes. If she was the one being insulted, she would not care too much about it. However, her father, Ling Xiao, and her mother, Lan Luofeng, were the two people she didn't allow anyone to insult. No matter who stepped over this line, Ling Lan would retaliate hundred-fold.

"Am I wrong? It's only because he lied to the world, making them actually believe that he and his son were the saviors of the battle on Planet Haijiao. All bullshit if you ask me!" That young man spat on the ground with a smug gaze, it was as if he really believed that he was the only one in this world who was 'woke' enough to understand the truth about Ling Xiao. The man's gaze and action infuriated Luo Lang and the others greatly.

"Ignorant bastard, speaking so absurdly." Even Gu Dongyang, who usually could stay calm, was angered by this young man. Right as he was about to walk up and teach this ignorant fool a lesson, a white hand stopped him.

"If you dare to question General Ling Xiao, then you probably have a strong enough background. Who are you?" Ling Lan asked calmly.

"Heh, only elites could question Ling Xiao? I'm a proud citizen of the Federation. I ,of course, have the right to question any higher-up of the military," said the young man proudly.

Ling Lan smirked and raised her eyebrows. "Just an average citizen?"

"That's right. Citizens aren't allowed to speak freely?" The young man stared Ling Lan down and had an unruly expression on his face.

Bang!

The young man was suddenly sent flying before landing on the ground with a heavy 'thud'. The sudden commotion instantly attracted the attention of the visitors who were looking through the murals. They all gathered towards the commotion with surprised expressions on their faces. It should be known that fighting was prohibited near the Statue of Heroes.

"Yo-you dare to attack me?" The young man, who was laying sprawled on the ground, pointed at the shadow standing before him and shouted out loud. The left side of his face was swollen pig like a pig. In between his words, blood burst out from between his teeth which made him look somewhat pitiful.

Seeing the pitiful situation the young man was in, those who came towards the commotion had expressions of pity on their faces. Right as they were about to blame the person responsible for the act, they immediately stopped having the thought right away.

The person who did this was actually a beautiful girl. Despite her tomboyish look, her face made everyone else understand that this person was definitely a woman. If she wasn't, they would poke their own eyes out.

Thus, the bystanders began to think about what had happened before the fight. In the end, they came to the conclusion that the young man had perverted thoughts after seeing the beautiful woman. He probably flirted with her and was beaten up badly instead.

Luo Lang blew on his fist and smiled radiantly. "What's wrong with attacking you?"

"J-Just you wait." The young man didn't think that these scholarly-looking individuals were actually so barbaric. He immediately used his communicator to call for reinforcements. Ling Lan and company didn't stop him from doing so as they wanted to know what person stood behind this young man who dared to be disrespectful towards General Ling Xiao.

Not long after, a few people came out of the Statue of Heroes. After seeing the young man laying on the floor pitifully, they were instantly surprised.

"Who did this?" One of the more muscular men shouted out angrily as he stared at those around them.

"I did." Luo Lang raised his head proudly.

These newcomers fixed their surprised gaze towards Luo Lang. According to the way they were standing, Luo Lang was without a doubt the one who had attacked the young man. It was only because of Luo Lang's face and physique that made them rule him out by assumption.

"Miss, I'm not sure what our family's underling has done to upset you. However, isn't taking such a severe method of handling such matters unreasonable?" The man leading the group looked at the young man on the floor who had half of his teeth gone. Despite knowing that it was quite possibly his underling's fault, the amount of force used still made him angry inside.

"Who are you calling miss?" Luo Lang instantly exploded with anger after being referred to as a woman. He quickly stepped out and threw a punch.

Bang!

Two fish smashed into one another. The man who spoke couldn't handle the force behind Luo Lang's fist and moved back ten or so steps before managing to regain his balance. Luo Lang on the other hand took back his fist and snorted coldly. "So, you're somewhat capable it seems. That was just a lesson. If you refer to me as a female again, then don't blame me if I put in more force behind the next hit."

Luo Lang's words dumbfounded those around them. This little lady was a man? Was that true? Are they really going to poke their eyes out?

The muscular man's expression changed. When he looked at Luo Lang once again, his expression was now much more alert. "I'm sorry for the mistake just now, friend." He could only bow his head down because he was clearly in the wrong.

Luo Lang was satisfied with the reply. He flicked his sleeve and then began to answer the question that person had asked, "I beat him because he was insulting General Ling Xiao. I was already holding back. If not, making him lay in bed for a whole year would be the least of his worries."

Luo Lang's words widen everyone's eyes. They looked at the young man, who was already taken into the group of people led by the muscular man, like he was an idiot.

Someone actually dared to insult their idol… Were they out of their mind?

The muscular man cried out internally. He knew best what type of person his underling was. He was always very unwilling to accept Ling Xiao and his son, and he would constantly mock them of fishing for fame. Although he warned him to speak and act with caution, it still wasn't very effective. He finally caused a scene.

"A'Jin, is that true?" The muscular man turned around and looked towards the young man who was beaten up. After averting the gaze of Luo Lang, he silently gave a look to the young man.

"Of course not." The young man called A'Jin was clever and immediately changed his tone. "General Ling Xiao is our military's role model. How could I disrespect him? You guys definitely heard it wrong or perhaps misunderstood."

Seeing his underling react well, the frozen expression on the muscular man's face loosened a bit. He turned towards Luo Lang and said gently, "This is a total misunderstanding. I can vouch A'Jin's respect for General Ling Xiao. It is from the heart. He definitely wouldn't say anything to insult the general. It's possible you people heard him wrong or misunderstood him."

"That's right. However, you people beat me up without any reason. Shouldn't you do something to rectify your mistake?" The young man, A'Jin, wasn't willing to just take a beating like this. He actually made a remark and turned the situation against Luo Lang and the others.

After hearing that, the muscular man stared down his underling. However, what was said had already been said, forcing him to hold the wolf by its ears. He could only play along with his underling's statement and said, "Indeed. My underling was beaten up without any reason. Shouldn't you do something to apologize to him?".

Those watching around them were now completely confused, and didn't know who to believe. Logically, there was indeed no one who was stupid enough to insult General Ling Xiao. However, looking at the people from Luo Lang's group, they were either calm, of noble status, happy-go-lucky, or beautiful. They didn't seem like people who would randomly accuse someone of doing such a heinous act.

"I was so excited that I turned on a recording when I walked in the Statue of Heroes. How about we look at the audio and video of the recording to clear things up?" At that moment, Ling Lan, who was standing on the side, spoke out.

'What? Audio and video?' A'Jin's expression changed instantly as panic showed in his eyes.

"Alright, I don't want you to apologize anymore," A'Jin shouted.

'Oh' Everyone's face showed an expression of understanding the situation. A'Jin's sudden change of heart made everyone realize that he definitely had insulted General Ling Xiao. They all looked at the young man's group of people with glares, some were even death glares. They all seemed to want to go up and beat them up for doing such a thing.

The vengeful looks from everyone made A'Jin and the muscular man have disheveled expressions on their faces. The muscular man also ruthlessly glared at A'Jin then he smiled apologetically as he pretended to brush the matter as a minor thing. "I'm sorry. It seems that this underling of mine indeed made some poor remarks. However, please believe me that he didn't do it on purpose. Can we just leave this matter be?"

Luo Lang received Ling Lan's silent glance and walked up. He lifted up his beautiful little chin and spoke proudly, "You think you saying that it was not purpose would solve anything? You think you can just leave this matter be, and we'll just let you go?"

"What do you want?" The muscular man instantly grimaced when he heard Luo Lang mocking his proposal.

"Well, since you dared to insult General Ling Xiao, you must be prepared to be taught a lesson by others. Thus, we'll settle this matter through a battle." Luo Lang instantly gave out this challenge.

"Heh, someone who's halfway into the domain stage actually wants to challenge someone who's only at the early-stage of Qi-Jin. Even if my underling was the one who wronged you, aren't you being too over the top by forcing this challenge upon him?" asked the muscular man angrily.

"I'll allow you to find someone to substitute this garbage of a human being," Luo Lang looked at A'Jin with a look of disdain. Then, he said proudly, "How about that?"

"No, don't do that."

"That's not fair for you."

"Don't be so naive."

"You'll fall into their trap."

The bystanders instantly shouted out towards Luo Lang after hearing him giving the young man a way out of the situation.

However, everyone's suggestions were completely useless. Luo Lang seemed to have already made his decision to determine a winner through a challenge in order to get back Ling Xiao's reputation.

"If that's the case, then I, Lan Rong, will accept the challenge in the stead of Lan Jin." The muscular man responded coldly and stopped pretending to be polite when he saw the determined look on Luo Lang's face.

After hearing the name 'Lan Rong', everyone at the scene had a change in expression. Their begrudging expression instantly vanished. Many of them slowly backed away and were prepared to leave the scene.

"Lan Rong, Lan Jin, all from the Lan family! Heh… I see," Ling Lan smirked. The Lan family, who had been silent all this time, finally couldn't hold themselves back and began to act on their own accord.

Ling Lan knew very well about the other parts of the family that her mother didn't want her to know. With Little Four digging far into the all the data, it was impossible for Lan Luofeng to hide her secret.

She just wasn't sure whether her father knew about this. Or perhaps he knew but pretended to not know in order to keep her mother happy?

"See you at the arena tomorrow." Lan Rong accepted the challenge and left after saying those words. He led Lan Jin and the others out of the Hero Statue Museum.

"They're from the Lan family. You guys should leave Planet General as soon as possible…" The bystanders who haven't left breathed a sigh of relief while showing worry and concern. Those who were somewhat daring weakly gave them the suggestion of leaving. Then, they sighed and went their separate ways.

On Planet General, there might be a chance to right wrongs when offending others, but the offending the Lan family… Unless their luck was through the roof, no one would be able to save them, even if that person was General Ling Xiao.

It was because the top-ranked official in the military had the surname 'Lan'. Plus, those from the Lan family battled in countless wars for the Federation, lost many of their brethren and almost got wiped off the face of the galaxy. Only three seeds remaining from the Lan family had escaped that fate. How could the Lan family not care and protect them? It was because of such actions that created this generation's oddity, Lan Jin. However, it was still alright. Despite being a squandering pre-pubescent teenager, he never caused any big trouble.

The higher-ups of the military also treated them well because of their relation with the First Marshal and the merits of the Lan family which made the Lan family acquire a god-like status on Planet General. People were afraid to even slight them.

Gu Dongyang had a worried look on his face as he watched Lan Rong and the others leave. No one knew better than him of how terrifying the Lan family could be on Planet General. It could be said that the Lan family was nothing anywhere else, but on Planet General, the status of the Lan family was extremely special. Offending them was clearly not a good thing to do.

"Regiment Commander, do you think…" Gu Dongyang thought whether or not they should ask General Ling Xiao to make this known to the First Marshal to resolve this conflict.

"Don't think too much. Even if we were to back off today, they would still come to us the next day," Ling Lan said calmly.

After Ling Xiao and Ling Lan's reputation went higher than the First Marshal, the Lan family stopped being silent. Unless the First Marshal made a move, the Lan family wouldn't find any chance of causing Ling Xiao any trouble. Plus, her father wouldn't give them any chance to trouble her mother. With this in mind, they could only find ways like this to trouble her.

Gu Dongyang and Xie Yi's expressions showed they were in deep thought. Luo Lang saw Xie Yi was thinking carefully. He thought for a moment, then his eyes instantly entered a calm state.

"So those words were deliberately said for us to hear." After the calm personality's analysis, Luo Lang finally understood.

"That's why, no matter if we had the original video of the incident, the challenge was going to happen either way. The difference was whether we brought it up or they brought it up," continued Ling Lan.

"Giving us three days… the military planned this out perfectly." Gu Dongyang felt the pressure and anxiousness from a brewing storm.

All the factions within the military were trying to push for chaos. This was exactly what they wanted, for the First Marshal's faction to fight amongst themselves.

"It could still be the First Marshal's doing… It's just that I don't know what that old fox is actually planning." Ling Lan frowned. Even if her amazing father were to face the First Marshal, he would be afraid. She was not even worth mentioning because she was not perfectly skilled in dealing with politics. She was even more unsure of her success.

Chapter 1158 A Bunch of Women!

The scene that happened at the Statue of Heroes was quickly known by people who paid attention to such things.

Inside a luxurious gazebo, a group of women of different ages with nothing better to do was having a tea party. The gazebo was built in such a way where one level of the gazebo would tower over two subsequent levels, making sure everyone would know their position in the family.

At the highest level, it seated a strict-looking woman, kind-looking woman and a mild mannered woman who were the eldest, second and fourth sister-in-law of the Lan Family respectively. These three women were the figureheads of the current Lan family.

At the second level, it seated a bunch of relatively younger-looking women when compared to the women at top level. Although they didn't seem as dignified as the women seated at the highest level, they still couldn't be scoffed at. However, when one looked deeply in their eyes, one would see the deep-rooted fear they had for their older sisters at the highest level.

At the third level, it seated the daughters and daughter-in-laws of the women seated above them, who were about 30 to 40 years of age. They still exuded an aura of youthfulness mixed with a tinge of grace even at such an age.

"Mother, what are we going to do?" The daughter of the fourth sister-in law asked her mother with a stunned expression on her face. Her little Jin'er finally managed to wait out the time he was grounded. How could he go out and instantly cause trouble again?

"How could Rong'er create trouble for the Lan family at such a crucial time," said an older-looking woman who sat beside her. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about the implications of this incident.

"We can't blame Jin'er and Rong'er. It's all because that bastard son from the Ling family. He's too arrogant," a mean-looking woman with a concerned expression on her face said. She was annoyed that Ling Lan's group had challenged Lan Rong and Lan Jin's authority on Planet General.

"Fourth daughter, what are you saying?" A 50-year-old woman, who sat the second level, reprimanded her. After hearing these words, the oldest of the three women who had just spoken had a darkened look on her face.

"Aunt, I'm sorry. I was too reckless with my words." After hearing the reprimand, the fourth daughter immediately stood up, restrained her anger and bow down to apologize. However, when she bowed down, a look of resentment appeared in her eyes for a single instant.

"Our mistress has warned us to not use the family name for your own use." The eldest sister-in-law snorted. "But you all disregarded that. Now, look at what mess made and that Jin'er, what has he become?"

All the daughters and daughter-in-laws all quickly put their heads down in shame. They didn't dare to make even the slightest bit of sound.

The second sister-in-law began to speak after seeing the situation getting so tense. "Elder sister, our children just dotted on three offspring of the Lan family… Jin'er is still young. He still hasn't matured yet. He does indeed do some unorthodox things, but he still hasn't made any big mistakes. He'll be fine as long as we slowly teach and guide him towards the right path. However, our Rong'er and Ying'er are doing great, especially Ying'er, even our family head says so himself."

After hearing Ying'er's name, the eldest sister-in-law became more calm. "At least, he doesn't disappoint and embarrass the Lan family. As for Rong'er, accepting this challenge was something he couldn't avoid. In that instant, he couldn't refuse so we can't blame him."

A slight smile appeared on the face of the second sister-in-law. There was nothing that could make her happier than hearing others praise her grandchild.

"However, that kid from the Ling family is our…" A cold-looking woman, who was the seventh sister-in-law, suddenly spoke up from her silence with hint of alienation in her voice.

"Seventh sister, he's just a vile spawn." Opposite of her sat a ruthless woman who cursed out loud after hearing her words.

"The matter has already passed for so long. You still can't let it go?" replied the seventh sister-in-law.

"Let it go? I will never see eye to eye with that bitch." The ruthless woman clenched her fist so tightly that her nails dug into the skin of her palm. "If you didn't stop me, I would probably have already killed that vile spawn. That way, the Lan family wouldn't experience such a decline. Plus, what's wrong with Jin'er insulting Ling Xiao? He deserves it for being blind. Not marrying an actual princess from the Lan family but instead marrying that succubus."

The fourth daughter who sat at the third level gnashed her teeth in frustration. "Mother's right. Back then, Ling Xiao passed on marrying our ninth sister and married that bitch right after. He didn't even put the Lan family in high regard. Wasn't our family head also angry for a very long time?"

"Fourth daughter, be careful with your words." The fourth sister-in-law, who was silent the entire time, finally couldn't just silently watch and reminded her.

The fourth daughter-in-law's face turned pale. Despite her unwillingness to stop, the Lan family still had its rules. She could only stand up and apologize, "Yes, auntie."

"Be careful with her words?!" Seeing her daughter-in-law be reprimanded, the ruthless-looking woman exploded with anger. "I know that you have been standing behind that bitch from the very beginning. Now, you're also standing up for that bitch's

son…"

"Third sister," the eldest sister-in-law suddenly shouted out angrily and the third sister-in-law suddenly regained her composure.

"You're probably exhausted. Fourth daughter, take your mother back inside to rest." The eldest sister-in-law turned around and spoke to the mean-looking woman.

"Yes, auntie." The fourth daughter didn't dare to show any dissatisfaction. The entire Lan family was under her aunt's control. If she actually were to anger her aunt, she and her mother-in-law would definitely not be treated well.

Seeing the two of them leave, the eldest sister-in-law glared at the seventh sister, "Seventh sister, why did you suddenly bring up Ling family's son?"

"I'm only reminding you of him. Ling Xiao's son is still the Lan family's blood relative," said the seventh sister-in-law proudly.

"You know your third sister-in-law. That person is a demon in her heart." Sighed the eldest sister-in-law.

"And because of her we're letting the real descendant of the Lan family just run about as if he is nothing?" sneered the seventh sister-in-law.

"I know you and our third sister-in-law were great friends when you were young, but it's hard to say who was in the wrong for this situation…" said the eldest sister-in-law helplessly.

The seventh sister-in-law opened her mouth but no words came out in the end. She quietly stood up and said, "Don't invite me to these gatherings in the future. I'll just be frustrated every time I see those two people."

"Seventh sister, that's still your third sister-in-law," the second sister-in-law couldn't help but speak up after hearing those words.

The seventh sister-in-law snorted. "My third sister-in-law is the person who my third elder brother approves of. That stranger who went outside just now is not worthy of that title." After saying that, she turned around and left.

The servants who were serving them, all put their heads down and held their breaths after hearing those cold words. Despite them knowing that the seventh mistress and third mistress were not friendly with each other, they still didn't think their relationship was this terrible. It was terrible enough for the seventh mistress to not even acknowledge the status of the third mistress.

They all felt that they had a glimpse into matters that they had no business in. They should act as if they had heard and seen nothing. Otherwise, they might get into big trouble.

Seeing the seventh sister-in-law not listening to their words and left in a huff, the three women who were sitting at the highest level were helpless. They could only shake their heads and sigh while waving their hands to gesture to the servants to leave the vicinity.

"Seventh sister has been given too much love by mother." said the second sister-in-law with frustration.

"Back then… our third sister-in-law was indeed wronged." The eldest sister-in-law knew very well what happened many years ago. It had created the seed of a problem that was not supposed to even appear in this world.

"Seventh sister was also raised by third sister-in-law. In her mind, compared to our family head, she was more loving and respectful towards her third sister-in-law. Wasn't the only reason she didn't want to marry was because she wanted to protect third younger brother's bloodline? After so many years, she has indeed endured much hardship," sighed the second sister-in-law.

"But, our third sister-in-law is our third sister-in-law. In terms of morality, she had done her duties. We can't say anything about it. I really hope our seventh sister can think it through on her own." The fourth sister-in-law wasn't certain about some of the details regarding the matter. In her eyes, the third sister-in-law was officially married into the Lan family so she must respect her. The other one however… was a person without any given status. She didn't want to mention her.

Chapter 1159 Trouble in the Nation? Trouble at Home?

"Fourth sister, the issue is somewhat complicated. You shouldn't meddle in it." The eldest sister-in-law frowned slightly. If she didn't know the truth of what happened many years ago, she would also think seventh sister was overreacting regarding the matter.

"Alright, I'll listen to you, elder sister." The fourth sister was a person who knew how to read the situation so she obediently agreed to the eldest sister-in-law's suggestion. Once she heard her eldest sister-in-law saying those words, she knew the issue was extremely complicated, so she stopped trying to be compassionate to her third sister-in-law. After all, she still needed to look after her little troublemaker. That Lan Jin was indeed her blood related grandson. All the trouble he caused definitely made her daughter-in-law endure many hardships.

"Should we report this to mother?" asked the second sister-in-law.

"Of course we should tell her. I'm sure mother also wants to know about the happenings of the Ling family," replied the eldest sister-in-law.

The three of them quickly left the gazebo and walked together to the home of the old mistress of the Lan family. Once they entered the yard, they saw a woman in her 70s tending to the flowers and plants in her yard.

The three of them immediately walked up with the intention to help, but they were quickly stopped by the mistress.

"If I let you do it, then what would I do?" calmly said the mistress as she continued to tend to her precious plants and flowers.

"Mother, we're just afraid you'll get tired." At that moment, the fourth sister-in-law no longer acted as graceful as she was in front of the servants. Her expressions and gestures became more like that of a child.

"Alright, stop with the act. Tell me what you're actually here for. With your personalities, you definitely wouldn't just come here without reason." The mistress knew her daughter-in-laws quite well.

"Mother, we just received news that Jin'er got into trouble with someone. Rong'er represented him and accepted the challenge." The eldest sister-in-law didn't waste any more time and told her what had happened.

"Doesn't something like this always happen? You coming here means the challenger is somewhat special or perhaps Jin'er finally offended the wrong person?" The mistress still was calmly tending to her plants and flowers. If that brat Lan Jin did not cause trouble, she might perhaps be surprised.

"That challenger is… the son of the Ling family," When the eldest sister-in-law said 'son of the Ling family', she spoke in a more heavy tone.

The mistress' hands suddenly froze in mid-air. She slowly turned around, looked at her three daughters-in-law and confirmed, "The son of Ling Xiao?"

"Yes, mother," the eldest sister-in-law nodded in reply.

"Jin'er should be taught a lesson. Good on that son of the Ling family!" the warm-looking woman suddenly laughed.

"However, the person who brought up the challenge wasn't the son of the Ling family. It was his subordinate," continued the first sister-in-law.

"I heard that the son of the Ling family had operated a god-class mecha and was hurt from the strain it had put on his body. Without a healthy body, letting his subordinate issue the challenge is quite normal." The mistress seemed to be quite knowledgeable about Ling Lan's situation. She easily determined why it was his subordinate that made the move and not Ling Lan himself.

"I'm just afraid. Will this incident affect our family head?" The oldest sister-in-law had a serious expression on her face. If the Lan family and the Ling family were to be at each other's throats, it would definitely cause trouble for their family head.

"How could it affect anything?" smiled the mistress. "We're already stuck on Planet General. What else can we do? Moreover, if he can't even manage to deal with such a small matter, then he should stop being the First Marshal and come back to help me tend to these plants and flowers."

"Do we need to inform father? Listen to his advice?" The second sister-in-law was somewhat hesitant. If someone were to publicly publish this matter, it would definitely cause some tension between their father and Ling Xiao. Moreover, right now, what their father needed the most was Ling Xiao's support.

"We have to tell him, but we don't need his advice," the mistress replied calmly.

"Will that be alright?" The Lan family had been relying on their family head to acquire their special position on Planet General. After hearing the old mistress' words, the three daughter-in-laws were all stunned.

"I perhaps don't understand politics, but when it comes to family matters, he has to listen to me," the old mistress said without hesitation.

Back then, because she had foolishly listened to him about family matters, all of her sons who she had carefully nurtured with love all perished in battle which left a group of widows in her family. If it wasn't for the fact that she still had three great grandchildren left, she definitely would have completely broken off her relationship with that old bastard.

What was more frustrating was that she still couldn't do anything for her third son. She didn't even have the chance to see her granddaughter who was her third son's only child… Back when her seventh son secretly told her that his third brother had a daughter, she was very excited. She read through all of the vaults of names left by her ancestors before finally giving her new granddaughter the name 'Luofeng'. The meaning of the name was: The phoenix child in their warm grasp.

Unfortunately, the baby she wanted to cradle in her arms lost her status because of that old bastard who only wanted power and to climb up the ranks. The baby couldn't even receive the name she chose from the Lan family's ancestry. In the end, the baby could only be named 'Lan Luòfèng'(A fallen phoenix)… After thinking about all this, she felt her heart ache.

"Lan Yu, if the child of our third son left behind is in any danger, I'll make sure you won't hear the end of it."

The First Marshal ended the call. Now, his frown became even more pronounced.

After silently sitting there for ten seconds, he sighed. "Basing judgment on emotions. However, we now know which powers are going to act rashly. Moreover, it's also a good time to check Ling Xiao's loyalty. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid."

The First Marshal then turned on his communicator. A young and happy face suddenly appeared on the virtual screen. "Great grandfather."

A complicated expression appeared for a slight moment on the First Marshal's face. Did this way of addressing mean that he was getting too old?

"Rong'er, I heard you challenged someone?" asked the First Marshal calmly.

"Yes." Lan Rong instantly became anxious much like a child who was caught doing something bad. He was afraid he was going to be reprimanded for this matter by his great grandfather who he admired greatly.

The First Marshal had a hint of regret in his eyes. Out of the three children that were left, one was completely useless, and this one couldn't manage his nerves and calm himself. The only one who had a good personality and satisfied his requirements, had only common talent when it came to mecha piloting. It was difficult for him to rank up through battling. He could only slowly climb up the military using education and use time to exchange for status.

If it wasn't for the fact that monsters like Ling Xiao and Ling Lan ranked up like having jetpacks on their backs, the First Marshal perhaps would have been satisfied with the three of them. Unfortunately, these people appeared and it was not just one, but two of them, especially Ling Lan, who wasn't any slower at advancing than his father…

Sometimes, the First Marshal would reflect on his past decisions. If he had chosen another talented individual to nurture, that person would not be connected to the Lan family anymore. That way, he and Ling Xiao's relationship wouldn't have reached this point.

However, this was just a sudden thought he suddenly had. The feeling of regret instantly disappeared from the normally calm First Marshal's face. It was because of this trait if not regretting what he did made him to the person who he was today.

"Do you know who they are?" asked the First Marshal. If he didn't know, then he might have to give up on Lan Rong after already giving up on Lan Jin.

"I know. They're from Lingtian Mecha Clan. One of them is probably Ling Xiao's son, Ling Lan." At least, Lan Rong had some skills, and managed to investigate Ling Lan's group in such a short time.

The First Marshal had a look of satisfaction on his face. At least, Lan Rong didn't embarrass him.

Chapter 1160 Confess?

"What is your plan?" The First Marshal asked.

Lan Rong could feel the praise from his great grandfather's eyes so he quickly became much calmer as he carefully replied, "I'll do my best. If I lose, I'll apologise sincerely."

"How can you think about losing before the fight even started?" The First Marshal frowned. In his mind, he agreed with the plan but he still felt that this wasn't a mindset a youngling like his great grandson should have.

"No, no, no, that's not it. Even before this challenge was issued, we were already in the wrong. He is Ling Xiao's son so he should definitely uphold the dignity of his father when someone challenges it. All in all, whether I win or lose, I'll have to apologise," Lan Rong hurriedly explained.

"It looks like you've matured quite well." The First Marshal nodded in satisfaction. "However, since the fight is inevitable, do your best. Ling Lan's subordinates are not easy to deal with."

Lan Rong's eyes shined brightly as he seemed to have gleamed a clue from his great grandfather's words. He replied quickly, "I understand, great grandfather."

"Don't embarrass the Lan family," the First Marshal said his final piece and hung up.

After the call ended, his gentle face quickly turned cold.

The next day, Ling Lan didn't go to the arena, only Li Yingjie, Xie Yi, and Luo Lang went to participate in the challenge. As for Gu Dongyang, he went to find his soldier friend to gather some more intel.

As for Ling Lan, she laid on her bed and entered the virtual world to meet Li Lanfeng.

"I heard someone schemed against you." The moment their eyes met, Li Lanfeng's eyes seemed to shine with happiness. He seemed delighted at her plight.

"The entire summon was a ploy. It's alright," Ling Lan replied calmly.

"Just like what you expected, they just wanted to lure you out of the base." Li Lanfeng's smile disappeared. He finally turned serious.

"Have you discovered anything?" Ling Lan wasn't surprised. Based on her estimation, the enemy should be taking action soon.

"Yes. There are currently three factions left in Base Nebula." Li Lanfeng passed Ling Lan a folder of documents.

"What about the rest?" Ling Lan flipped through the documents as she caught on the meaning behind Li Lanfeng's words.

"Major General Yang took care of them." Li Lanfeng smiled sweetly. He used Yang Mingzhi as a shield just like Ling Lan told him to. With his rank and identity, he made a good shield for Lingtian.

"You challenged the Lan family… Will it affect the relationship between General Ling Xiao and the First Marshal?" Li Lanfeng was a little worried as he remembered the matter.

"Do you think the First Marshal is someone who would let his family matters affect his decision?" Ling Lan shook her head. "To him, family is not within his consideration. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Li Lanfeng was curious.

"Nothing." Ling Lan shook her head, signalling the end of this topic.

Li Lanfeng quickly stopped being curious when he saw Ling Lan not wanting to continue with the topic. Since Ling Lan didn't want to say, he wouldn't ask.

Ling Lan finished reading the documents in her hand and said to Li Lanfeng, "We've gathered enough information about the first two factions. You can clean them up. Leave the third faction be. We'll see if we can use them to bait a bigger fish."

"Understand, regiment commander," Li Lanfeng smiled and replied.

Just as he saw Ling Lan was about to turn around and leave, he quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her.

Ling Lan looked at him and then at her wrist with a confused expression. She didn't understand what he was doing.

"Regiment commander, I met some difficulties recently." Li Lanfeng grimaced painfully as if he was being tortured. Ling Lan couldn't bear to see him like this so she asked, "What is it?"

"I love someone but I don't know how the person feels about me." Li Lanfeng said to Ling Lan with tears that could be clearly seen around his eyes.

Ling Lan was surprised. She didn't expect someone so calculative as Li Lanfeng would love someone. He couldn't even tell if the other party loved him. Should she laugh at him?

"Is it Luo Chao or Han Xuya?" They had only interacted with these two ladies for most of their lives. Did he fall in love with one of them after interacting with them? Well, if it was true, it was good news to her ears. She felt pity for Luo Chao and Han Xuya's situation as they were basically stuck with the title of 'Ling Lan's fiancées' for life. With such a scary title, most wouldn't dare to have other thoughts about them. Only bold people like Li Lanfeng would dare to 'steal' them away from her.

"Don't you know they are my fiancées?" Ling Lan pulled a cold face. She must first ascertain how much Li Lanfeng loved her younger sisters before giving her consent. If he was hesitant, she wouldn't give him a chance to even confess. She wouldn't allow her younger sisters to get hurt.

Li Lanfeng felt bitter when he saw the anger on Ling Lan's face. 'Are you angry because you think I love one of your fiancées? How much do you love them?'

Li Lanfeng was unhappy about the assumption made about him but he didn't want Ling Lan to continue to misunderstand. Hence, he hurriedly shook his head. "It's not them. How can I love them? They're like my younger sisters."

Ling Lan felt that it was a missed opportunity for her dear sisters to live a happy married life. At the same time, she was curious. What kind of woman was able to move the heart of this monster?

"Who is it?" Ling Lan was eager to hear more gossip.

"The person I love is someone from our mecha clan but I feel shy to admit who the person is before knowing how the person feels about me. I just want to know how I should win over the person's heart." Li Lanfeng looked at Ling Lan with anticipation.

"Why are you asking me?" Ling Lan glared at Li Lanfeng when she heard him dodging her question and ruining her fun.

"Because you have two fiancées, so you must be an experienced person in the field of love. Who else can I look for if not you?" Li Lanfeng told himself that he must get Ling Lan's answer.

Yes, it is true that she had two fiancées, but they didn't love her in that kind of way. Plus, what would she know about chasing someone? Damn it. At least Li Lanfeng knew the feeling of being in love. She didn't even know what it felt like.

This was the thought Ling Lan had in her mind but she couldn't say it to Li Lanfeng. She looked at Li Lanfeng's eager eyes. "This, this, depends on how much you love the person."

"Little Four, give me some books on love!"

Little Four heard her plea for help so he quickly threw various books on chasing love, being a love guru, and pleasing your partner at her.

"How much do you love the person?" Li Lanfeng didn't understand.

"Different levels of love require different methods to implant a seed of love into your special someone." Ling Lan repeated a sentence she saw in the book. "It all depends on how shameless you are."

"The more you love the person, the more shameless you have to be, right?" Li Lanfeng fell into deep thought because of her enlightening words.

"That's not entirely right. However, if you're not shameless enough, you'll not be able to get the girl." Ling Lan read the sentence from the book as it was. Plus, it made quite a bit of sense to her. If the man didn't chase after the girl, was the girl supposed to chase after him?

Only when you put in effort would you treasure what you gained in the end. The same goes for love.

However, this doesn't apply to a woman like her. Ling Lan felt that if she liked someone, she might have to kidnap him home.