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1301 Wake Up!

"This toy is pretty sensitive to the environment-altering domain concepts." Domain realm masters were all unique existents. However, those who were considered to be difficult to deal with were those who could completely conceal themselves within the environment they were in. Unless they randomly hit, they wouldn't show any trace of themselves.

Those types of domain realm masters were born to be spies. In order to guard against these types of domain realm masters, each nation had developed different equipment to detect domain concept energies like this detection tool the Federation's military headquarters' research institute had invented. Caesar also had invented something similar. Although the detectors were essentially doing the same thing, there was still a clear distinction between the good quality and bad quality detectors. In reality, the technology in them hadn't been really perfected. Additionally, the cost of making such a tool was very high. Most of the somewhat capable nations were all trying to get past the problem with cost. Even if such technology was well-known in the upper echelons of each nation, the average citizen was still completely unaware of the existence of such detectors.

If the people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces hadn't not shown her the detector, Ling Lan probably wouldn't have known that the Federation had already invented a tool that could detect domain concept energies.

Realizing that they had hit Ling Lan, the three who attacked became even more intense in their search. They paid even more attention to the detector in their hands.

Their detectors reacted again. The three of them were overjoyed at the reaction and immediately flung out their chains. However, in the following moments, their expression turned grave. It was because the direction they flung their chains towards were all different.

Their detectors gave three different results but there was only one opponent so this meant that their detectors were wrong.

Ring! A seemingly silent ringing sound traveled through the air around them.

Lines of threads revealed themselves in front of their eyes in the space around them, trapping the three of them in the center. They were completely surrounded by these threads. It was as though they fell into a web of spiders with no chance of escaping.

Seeing this, the three of them shook their right hand quickly and the chains shattered into countless needles before shooting out towards all sides wildly in an attempt to make space for them.

The overwhelming number of golden needles made for a terrifying scene. It gave off the feeling of being swarmed by a ton of hornets.

However, in the next second, these flying needles suddenly slowed to a halt before dropping like flies to the floor.

The three men grimaced because they could see their needle being encased in ice. By encasing them in ice, it cut their flow domain concept energy to the needles, stopping them from being able to remotely control them.

At that moment, Ling Lan slowly appeared in front of them, standing not far from the three men. All of her fingers trembled slightly and ten crystal-clear threads appeared out of thin air.

"Impudent!" The black-cloaked man sitting on the tree branch shouted angrily when he saw what was about to happen to his comrades. Then he disappeared from the tree.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside Ling Lan with a lightning bolt in his hand.

Right as the lightning bolt was about to hit Ling Lan, Ling Lan turned her head and looked at it coldly.

Bang! An ice hammer appeared out of thin air and ruthlessly clashed with the lightning bolt.

The clash between two domain concept energies instantly caused a deafening explosion.

The lightning bolt was instantly broken apart by the ice hammer. After dispersing the lightning bolt, the hammer continued to ruthlessly fly towards the black-cloaked man behind the lightning bolt.

The black-cloaked man snorted coldly at the incoming hammer. He clenched his crackling fist and pushed his fist towards the ice hammer. He was confident that his lightning bolt could shatter the ice hammer.

Bang!

His fist came in contact with the ice hammer. After holding on for one to two seconds, the black-cloaked man spat out a mouthful of blood before being sent flying backwards. He flew backwards until he hit the trunk of the tree, breaking it in the process.

The black-cloaked man slid to the ground before falling unconscious. After a few seconds, the prone body began to twitch. The blacked-cloaked man slowly regained his consciousness. He slowly pushed his body up and held his forehead in pain.

His right hand was trembling uncontrollably. That ice hammer, although it seemed to be small and harmless, the power behind the hammer was still terrifying. The muscles and bones in his right arm were still trembling.

Ling Lan gave the black-cloaked man a glance and then no longer paid any attention to him. She focused her attention back to the three men who were inside her spider web. Her expression was calm as she slowly raised her hands.

The threads around the three of them suddenly began to move closer towards them. Seeing this, the three men didn't hesitate and chose to transform their bodies into their domain element in order to evade the deathly blow.

However, right after their bodies transformed into their elements, they reappeared in their original location with defeated looks on their faces.

The threads actually had properties that could block out every element outside of the ice element, and before they knew it, the threads closed in on them, encasing them in cocoons.

After Ling Lan slightly shook her fingers, the three of them felt the threads around their bodies begin to tighten. It became tighter and tighter. Their skin was cut open and blood started to pour out. The originally crystal-clear cocoon slowly turned blood red.

The three of them realized that if they didn't escape in the next few seconds, they would be cut into mince meat.

"Stop, stop, Ling Lan. Are planning on becoming a criminal and betray the Federation?" shouted the black-cloaked man after he spat out some blood

Ling Lan turned around towards him with an indifferent yet mocking look on her face. "Isn't this the path you want me to choose?"

"If that's the case, I'll just be what you want." After saying that, Ling Lan clenched her fist and the three bloodied cocoons instantly exploded. Countless amounts of blood poured out, staining the ground blood red.

"Ling Lan!" shouted the black-cloaked man angrily. He angrily struck the ground with his fist. His entire body jumped up from the ground and then he ruthlessly rushed towards Ling Lan.

Ling Lan killed his three comrades. He definitely needed Ling Lan to pay with his life.

"Hmph!" Ling Lan didn't even look and only raised her right hand. She then clenched it towards the black-cloaked man.

A ton of ice element particles began materializing around the black-cloaked man. It solidified into an ice coffin, sealing him inside it.

The black-cloaked man watched helplessly as he became sealed within the coffin. In the coffin, he could see Ling Lan snapping her fingers. Then he watched as his body and the coffin disintegrate into ice particles, completely disappearing from this world.

The last scene he saw was Ling Lan's shadow as she left. That shadow looked determined and indifferent. It was as though killing the four of them was something that wasn't considered to be anything difficult.

A person like that either had a clear conscience, or he was completely determined with what he was doing… The black-cloaked man was regretting his decision. He felt that facing such an opponent was a clear mistake. It was just that he had realized the mistake too late, and the price they had to pay for the mistake was their lives.

"Boss, boss, boss, wake up. Come on, wake up." After dying, he still could actually hear voices? What was happening?

"Boss, boss, if you continue to sleep like that, we won't be able to finish our mission." This time, he finally heard the voice clearly. It was the voice of the comrades who died with him? Could they have encountered each other in the underworld? However, what was this mission he was speaking of?

1302 The Only Marshal

"Boss, if you don't wake up then don't blame me for using force." He didn't know why it sounded so annoyed.

Before he could react, he heard a crisp 'phiak' and what followed after was a sharp pain on his left cheek.

"F*ck, who just hit me?" He immediately sprang up while holding his left cheek. To his surprise, he could actually open his eyes in the underworld.

What first entered his vision was the guilty faces of his comrades. When he saw them, his eyes turned wide open and his jaws dropped to the floor. He couldn't believe his eyes so he rubbed his eyes in panic.

"Boss, what's wrong with you? We kept calling you but you wouldn't wake up." One of his comrades spoke as he surreptitiously put his right hand behind his back.

"D-Didn't I just die?" The black cloaked man stuttered in shock. However, after turning his head to check the room he was in, it didn't seem like the underworld. Where were the fires? Where were the demons?

"Boss, did you have a nightmare? What do you mean about dying?"

"Wait!" Suddenly, his normally quiet comrade shouted out loud. His expression was somewhat uncanny as he seemed to have discovered something.

"Did you notice anything strange with me?" The black cloaked man looked towards his comrades with a serious look.

"Nothing. We only saw you suddenly falling asleep. We thought it was because you were too tired from maintaining this stakeout."

"You suddenly falling asleep like that is already strange."

The black cloaked man looked up towards the sunlight seeping through the tree and sighed. "We just lost. We aren't strong enough. What else can we say?"

His comrades, who now understood what had happened, could only look at each other with a pained smile. Even if they were to go against someone like that head on, they probably wouldn't be able to get out alive.

"You know how to write the report when you return, right?" reminded the black cloaked man.

"We didn't see anything and we didn't find anything." After all, they were all wizened members of the military so they immediately knew what their boss meant by his words. Their boss loved to save face. If it was known to other black ops teams that they were taken out silently… they would be in a bad spot.

He still didn't forget the feeling he had before he died in his dream. He didn't want himself to regret anything before his death, so he decided to not participate in capturing Ling Lan.

After rushing out from the district where all the general's manors were, Ling Lan suddenly felt a gaze on her so she turned around to see where the gaze came from. However, not long after, she frowned, shook her head slightly and left.

Although the gaze on her made her feel uneasy and gave her an impulse to go see where it was from, she was still more worried about Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang in the commercial district. She deliberately took in the strongest domain realm master among the four in her Profound Insight's Domain to obtain more information about the internal workings of the military headquarters. She learned that the Federation's military headquarters' research institute had already developed a tool to detect domain concept energies. There was no doubt that it was going to be a problem for them. She was now most worried that this tool had appeared where Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang had been staying. Once that tool was used in their vicinity, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang's location would be exposed.

At that moment, the direction where the gaze was from had a man in a black windbreaker standing on top of a tall tree.

"It seems those four aren't enough to stop Ling Lan," said the man in the windbreaker plainly as he watched Ling Lan leave. "However, it won't be that easy for him to leave."

Right as he was about to go and stop Ling Lan, he suddenly saw his world turning dark.

"Who is it?" said the man in the black windbreaker cautiously.

"It has been a long time since we last met. You've gotten much stronger," said a familiar sounding voice. Immediately after, a silhouette appeared out of thin air and walked towards him. He wore a general's uniform and he had a bright smile on his face. It looked like it should have been a warm smile, but for some reason, it seemed cold and even somewhat demonic.

"Who are you?" The black cloaked man's fingers tightly clenched his fist. His fingers had even dug into the flesh of his palm.

"What? You don't even recognize your own superior now?" Ling Xiao laughed jokingly.

The man didn't respond to his jest. It was as if he was scared of something.

"Cang Lang, I know it's you just from your movements." Ling Xiao didn't care whether Cang Lang responded to him or not and just spoke his mind.

"Why?" After his identity was revealed, Cang Lang lifted his hood and showed a slender yet handsome face. Compared to Ling Xiao and Ling Xiao's current body, Ren Feiyu, Cang Lang seemed to have had a rough life.

"Why what?" Ling Xiao raised his eyebrows.

"You've let the Flying Dragon Special Forces run free for 20 years. Why did you suddenly give out so many orders in the past few days?" Cang Lang looked at Ling Xiao suspiciously. "And before all that, you went to the Twilight Empire's battlefield… This makes me suspect that General Ling Xiao's death has something to do with you."

"General Ling Xiao is a general of the Federation and is also the Federation's prodigy. As the chief of the Flying Dragon Special Forces, how could I do anything that would harm him? You are overanalyzing," Ling Xiao replied calmly. Of course, he was saying that now. As for the previous owner of the body, since he died, the dues he owed in the past had been paid already.

"As for my actions yesterday… Don't you think it's because you did such a poor job until I can't simply turn a blind eye to it?" Ling Xiao looked at Cang Lang with a half-smile. This Cang Lang wasn't a simple character. Although he and Cang Lang's relationship was on good terms and that they could be considered friends, the two of them still walked on very different paths. In the past 20 years, they had already slowly drifted apart from each other. It was only because the two of them didn't have any direct disputes that their relationship didn't worsen until they were enemies.

Cang Lang narrowed his eyes, "General Ren, are you preparing to clean house?"

"Yes, but not really. I don't like people who aren't obedient, especially if it's my deputy. Brigade Leader Cang Lang." The reason Ling Xiao allowed Cang Lang to do as he pleased was because he wanted to use him to inform his daughter of the newly invented detector. He wanted her to be cautious about it. Otherwise, she might be caught off guard by the detector in one of her trips in the Federation.

"I'm disobedient? Chief Ren, I'm hurt hearing you say such things." Cang Lang's face had a look of disdain. "It's actually just that I feel without General Ling Xiao, there would be no one to threaten you. With no one there to stop, you don't need to conceal your true intentions anymore."

"Cang Lang, I have to say that you know me very well. If you were to lower your ambitions, perhaps we can be very good partners." Ling Xiao didn't disagree with Cang Lang. In reality, he did indeed want political power. The more the better. That way, he would be able to make the three marshals pay for what they have done and be able to finally truly protect his daughter from everything.

"But, can you tolerate my existence?" Cang Lang scoffed. Ren Feiyu was a narrowed-minded man. In the past few years, Ren Feiyu had tried his best to distance Cang Lang from everyone. How could Cang Lang not hate him?

"Why can't I tolerate it? You want the Flying Dragon Special Forces? I'll give it to you," smiled Ling Xiao. "Of course, that's only when I become a marshal. The only one."

"The only marshal?!" Cang Lang's eyes narrowed greatly. He had always known that Ren Feiyu had great ambitions to the extent of being one of the marshals. But, he didn't expect his appetite to be so huge. He didn't want to be one of the three marshals. He wanted to become the only marshal in the Federation.

1303 It"s Good To Be Confident.

"Don't believe me?" Ling Xiao raised his eyebrows.

"The three great marshals are the foundations the Federation laid out the moment the military was formed. They can't be overturned. You're daydreaming if you want to overturn their rule." Cang Lang was ambitious but he wouldn't collaborate with a maniac.

"I'll let them exist in name." Ling Xiao patted the huge branch beside him lightly and the tree withered. It cracked loudly before disintegrating, turning into a pile of wood shavings. As the tree disintegrated, they calmly landed to the ground.

Cang Lang squinted his eyes at Ling Xiao's blatant threat. Ling Xiao just smiled and looked at him calmly. He was waiting for Cang Lang's reply.

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Cang Lang's expression constantly changed as he tried to spit those words out. Luckily, he managed to calm down in the end.

"Your reply, I like it." Ling Xiao smiled and said, "But, I'll have to trouble Brigade Leader Cang Lang to head back with me."

Cang Lang stared at Ling Xiao for a few seconds. Suddenly, he laughed. "I thought you'll want to see General Ling Xiao's son."

Ling Xiao replied, "I don't care about Ling Xiao. Why would l be concerned about his son?"

"Really? But he's your rival." Cang Lang immediately exposed Ren Feiyu's lie.

"I'm the one alive, right?" Ling Xiao gave a devilish smile. "There's no use mentioning someone who's dead."

"Ling Lan isn't a simple person. If he's given enough time, he might be your obstacle," Cang Lang said indifferently.

A sharp look flashed past Ling Xiao's eyes. "Are you telling me that I should clear my obstacles beforehand?"

Cang Lang shook his head. "I'm just speaking the truth. You make your own decisions."

Ling Xiao suddenly smiled. "I remember that you have a good relationship with Ling Xiao. If Ling Xiao knows that you're scheming against his child secretly, he might want to kill you."

Killing intent appeared on Ling Xiao's face. It only lasted for a split second so no one noticed it, including Cang Lang who was standing opposite him.

"Since he wants to rely on himself and not cooperate with us, he must show us that he has the ability to act alone. If he doesn't, then it's good to let him experience some setbacks. Otherwise, he won't know his limits and understand what's best for him." Cang Lang remained indifferent.

"Interesting. Breeding poison…" Ling Xiao smiled. "Let's see if Ling Lan is able to escape from Planet General."

"It looks like you know something." Cang Lang glanced at Ling Xiao in surprise.

Ling Xiao shook his head. "No, I don't know anything. However, I do know that some are still worried about him so they will definitely do something about him."

"Are you not of them? I thought you were really afraid of his future." Cang Lang looked at Ling Xiao curiously. If Ling Lan was given time to grow stronger, he would come back and finish each and every one of them off. He would think that Ren Feiyu was one of the people that was most afraid of Ling Lan's potential. Now, it seemed that Ren Feiyu didn't care about Ling Lan at all. Instead, he wanted to watch a good show.

"Only weaklings will be afraid. Without a good opponent, things will get boring. Don't you think so?" Ling Xiao smiled lightly. He was happy to see this. He could imagine his daughter racking her brain to come up with schemes against him. It would be quite cute.

"It's good to be confident." Cang Lang praised lightly. He hoped that this wasn't just blind confidence.

While Ren Feiyu regarded Ling Lan as someone unworthy of serious considerations, Cang Lang felt that Ling Lan was a powerful opponent. Once the time was right, he would rise above everyone else.

However, whether Ren Feiyu would suffer losses in the future didn't matter to him. He was just Ren Feiyu's collaborator, not his comrade. He wasn't close enough to warn him out of the kindness of his heart.

"Why don't we have a bet?" Ling Xiao seemed interested in the topic of Ling Lan.

"Bet? On what?" Cang Lang asked in surprise.

"Whether Ling Lan will be able to leave Planet General and leave the Federation," Ling Xiao replied.

Cang Lang frowned slightly. "What is your bet?"

"I bet that he'll be able to escape unscathed," Ling Xiao said firmly. He believed in his daughter. If his daughter wanted to leave, no one would be able to stop her unless a god-class operator was sent out. However, since she was still his daughter, the Federation wouldn't send out a god-class operator just to kill her as this would spark public outrage. If no god-class operator was sent to stop Ling Lan, Ling Xiao couldn't think of a reason why she couldn't leave.

"You have so much trust in Ling Lan?" Cang Lang also hoped that Ling Lan was able to escape but he didn't have as much confidence as Ren Feiyu had in Ling Lan. He wondered if Ren Feiyu was speaking the opposite of his thoughts or did he really believe Ling Lan wholeheartedly.

"Let's wait for the outcome. If I win, you're going to help me with something." Ling Xiao turned and prepared to leave.

Cang Lang frowned. "What is it?"

"I'll tell you when I win. It won't be something you can't do." Ling Xiao's figure moved further and further away. In the end, he disappeared from Cang Lang's sight.

Cang Lang's expression slowly turned serious. He sighed. "I underestimated him. However, we won't know who will win in the end. Let's wait and see."

He disappeared on the spot after he finished speaking. As for Ling Lan, he had probably gone to the commercial street while he was talking to Ling Xiao. As a brigade leader from the Flying Dragon Special Forces, that wasn't a place where he should go.

Ling Lan missed the chance to meet her father who had changed his identity and body. But, her appearance at the commercial street helped Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang to get out of their crisis.

At first, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang wanted to drag the couple following them into their domains. However, after dragging them into their domains, the frightened look on the faces of the couple slowly disappeared. They gave a delighted smile instead.

Li Lanfeng frowned slightly. "It looks like you've already discovered our identity." Was there a traitor in Lingtian who leaked their identity to the military?

Li Lanfeng always liked to think of the worst scenario so when he discovered that his identity was unveiled, he felt that there might be a traitor in his team.

"Nope. The relationship between the Lingtian Independent Army and Lieutenant General Ling is too close. We have to guard against you fully," the man smiled and replied.

"If it's me, they might betray me. But, he is Ling Lan…" Li Lanfeng immediately toppled his own guess. He didn't trust himself but all his comrades were groomed by Ling Lan personally. He couldn't think of anyone that had the courage to betray Ling Lan.

Ling Lan's invincible image was still instilled deeply in the minds of everyone in Lingtian. No one would be foolish enough to betray Ling Lan if they still wanted to remain alive.

"There must be a source for your information." Li Lanfeng pondered for a long time before arriving at this conclusion. This was the only possibility as they had only smiled after they sensed his domain.

Li Lanfeng had sharp eyes. He noticed all the hidden expressions on the two people's faces.

It must have something to do with their domain concept. Li Lanfeng came up with this conclusion based on the expressions of his opponents. It had to be said that Li Lanfeng's critical thinking ability was amazing. His prediction was very close to the truth.

1304 Courtesy Demands Reciprocity.

"It looks like we have to be careful. We can't go back to Lingtian now and we can't use our domain concept too. If not, we might be discovered." Li Lanfeng already sensed their dire situation.

He didn't know how Lingtian would explain their presence but he believed that Han Jijyun wouldn't be so stupid to admit it directly. If he stated that they were attacked by an unknown faction, they could still return as victims and condemned the security of Planet General. He could be more straightforward by pretending to start a fight and demanding an explanation from the security department of Planet General. That was the best solution.

Li Lanfeng didn't know if Han Jijyun was able to break free from his conservative thoughts and make such a shameless move. If he was the one making the decision, he would definitely choose the second option and make a huge scene out of it. He would recruit up some fake parents for the victims and ask them to condemn the military headquarters.

"I'm just curious why Lieutenant General Ling had to hide his identity. Everyone is waiting for him to return." The man of the couple was puzzled. From his viewpoint, the child of a hero wouldn't be punished unless he committed a huge crime like betraying the country. Lieutenant General Ling ignored the military command many times during the war between Twilight and the Federation. He acted alone and got surrounded by his enemies so General Ling Xiao went to save him and died in the process. But, all these are not serious crimes. If he came back and apologised to everyone, they would all forgive him even if they had some grievances in the end. Lieutenant General Ling is still young so it's normal that he acts rashly.

Li Lanfeng smiled but didn't reply. At times like this, keeping silent was the best decision. The other party was now in control of the conversation. He mustn't give them any chances to obtain any more information.

"Escaping is not a good solution. A soldier should be brave enough to bear the consequences of his actions." The man appeared unhappy when Li Lanfeng didn't reply to him. As expected, birds of a feather flock together. Lingtian was filled with people who shrink in the face of danger.

However, no matter what he said to infuriate him, Li Lanfeng just continued smiling at him silently.

"There's no use talking to you nicely. It seems like we have to invite you by force." The man finally got impatient, especially after looking at Li Lanfeng's fake smile.

A huge flame appeared on his palm. The hot air quickly spread in the air and rushed towards Li Lanfeng.

Li Lanfeng looked up and a black whirlpool appeared in front of him. The hot air was absorbed into the black whirlpool. It couldn't pass through this black barrier.

"Hmph!" The man snorted. He pushed his right hand towards Li Lanfeng furiously. The flame left his hand and turned into a fire dragon. It opened its mouth ferociously and charged at Li Lanfeng.

The fire dragon wanted to pass through the black whirlpool but when it flew high above the black whirlpool, the fire dragon started to get sucked into the whirlpool uncontrollably. After a few seconds, it fell directly into the black whirlpool.

The man's expression changed slightly. He was always in control of his fire dragon but in that instant, he suddenly lost control of it. He felt as though the connection between his fire dragon and him was cut off.

Even though his first attack failed, he was unwilling to give up. He moved his hands and multiple fire dragons appeared. They danced furiously in the air and rushed towards Li Lanfeng in a deadly swarm.

Li Lanfeng raised his head and looked at the group of fire dragons raining down on him and frowned. In response, he spread his hands out slightly. The black whirlpool that was around his height suddenly erupted and covered half of his domain territory. His body was also covered up by the black whirlpool.

The multiple fire dragons seemed to have lost their direction. They uncontrollably flew towards the middle of the whirlpool and got swallowed by it.

Li Lanfeng's body started getting distorted too. This weird scene made the man following him feel uncomfortable. He felt like vomiting.

"Courtesy demands reciprocity." Li Lanfeng lifted his right hand which seemed to have been lengthened from the distortion and a deformed scythe appeared from thin air. The black scythe, which represented death, floated in mid-air. The sound of metal chains scraping against each other was heard, inciting fear in the heart of the man.

They were both domain realm masters but his opponent's domain concept was extremely weird. He even felt that if that scythe just slightly touched him, he would die.

The man could feel death approaching him so he decisively broke the signal device in his hands.

Li Lanfeng sensed his actions and threw his scythe out while the metal chains on the scythe suddenly shot in three different directions.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

After the three earth-shattering impacts, three different people appeared in his domain.

One had a broadsword in his hand, one had wind spheres all around him, and the last one was holding a silver-grey giant hammer. They were named after their unique specialities, namely Broadsword, Wind, and Hammer. The man who fought with Li Lanfeng earlier was codenamed Fire.

"Luckily, you came in time. I almost failed." Fire heaved a sigh of relief when he saw his three comrades.

"We were watching the situation from the outside. What happened? Is he hard to deal with? Broadsword asked as he glanced at the sinister-looking Li Lanfeng.

"His domain is special. I've never seen anything like his domain before." Fire furrowed his brows. He hated fighting with special domain realm masters. There was no information about special domains so he had to take things as they came along. Moreover, improvising in battle was not his strong suit.

"Interesting. Let's slowly attack him together." Hammer knocked his hammer on his hand and laughed. No matter how powerful Li Lanfeng's domain was, once the energy of his domain was depleted, he would be powerless against them. It was four against one. No matter how he looked at it, they would win.

"If you come here, is everything outside going to be okay?" Fire asked worriedly.

"No problem. Our leader is keeping watch outside. If something happens, he'll inform us. We can quickly take care of him and wait for Ling Lan to come back." In their eyes, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang had no chance of escaping. Thus, they started bragging shamelessly in front of Li Lanfeng.

Li Lanfeng sneered. He didn't have the confidence to refute the first sentence but they wouldn't stand a chance against Ling Lan.

Moreover, they would have a hard time finishing him too.

Li Lanfeng clenched his left fist and his entire domain territory got distorted. Li Lanfeng smiled. He hadn't told his opponent that the black whirlpool was his domain.

Wind turned solemn when he saw when he saw the whirlpool getting increasingly distorted. "This is bad. Break his domain."

The space around him had just started distorting but his wind spheres had already turned unstable. If the entire area got distorted fully, their domain might be damaged which would be tragic for domain realm masters. The only way to stop this was to break his opponent's domain and drag him into their domain.

1305 Crazy Fan!

They chose to enter Li Lanfeng's domain because they thought that the four of them together would finish off Li Lanfeng quickly in his domain, which in turn would give them more time to prepare for Ling Lan's arrival. They were basically underestimating Li Lanfeng. However, now, it seemed like their decision to enter Li Lanfeng's domain was a mistake. They should have destroyed Li Lanfeng's domain and then dragged him into their own domains.

The four of them signalled at each other with their forefingers, and all of their domains were activated simultaneously. They had been in the same team since they were young and they had basically never worked apart from each other, so obviously, they would have seamless teamwork.

Soon, an amalgamation of domains were formed as they connected into a line and went against Li Lanfeng's domain.

Even if Li Lanfeng's special domain was stronger than the average domains, their domain amalgamation was still able to pierce through Li Lanfeng's domain.

As his domain shattered like a piece of glass, Li Lanfeng spat out a mouthful of blood. Before he could react, the domain amalgamation splitted apart into four separate domain energies and charged towards him at the same time.

When Li Lanfeng saw the incoming energy projectiles, his eyes gleamed like the stars in the sky as the scythe in his hand grew larger by several meters. After the scythe grew until it was around twelve meters tall, it broke off into four equal size pieces as it flew towards the four domain energy projectiles.

Just as the scythe slightly touched the domain energy projectiles, it began to shake a little before the energy projectiles were instantly erased by it. It was as though they had been formatted by the system of the planet they were in, completely vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Blood continued to drip from the corner of Li Lanfeng's lips uncontrollably. His beautiful face was filled with smears of blood and grime, scabs that were a few centimeters long, and some bruises to top it all off. However, what he gained from getting such horrendous injuries was stalling against four domain realm masters.

Li Lanfeng looked at his opponents with a cold look on his face. He had long discovered that not only was he facing the attacks from four domain realm masters, Luo Lang was also experiencing the same thing. Similarly, Luo Lang also had four domain realm masters attacking him. However, Luo Lang could freely optimize his domains against his opponents through mixing his personality. He was more suitable in fights against multiple opponents. In reality, in terms of numbers, who could actually defeat Luo Lang who had an infinite number of personalities? It was only due to the fact that Luo Lang was currently not strong that he couldn't bring out too many different personalities, and thus limiting his fighting strength. If he had actually reached a point where he could bring out any amount of personalities, even Ling Lan had said that it would be annoying to face Luo Lang in battle.

Of course, this wasn't why Li Lanfeng felt that they were in a rut. It was because he had discovered that other than the eight people fighting them, there were also two others who were just viewing them fighting. There was one leaning against the pole next to the staircase while the other was leaning against the wall. They were also people who activated their domains to contain the commotion their fight was causing.

These two people were undoubtedly not regular domain realm masters since they were able to contain the domain energies of ten of them. They were definitely titled domain realm formidable warriors. They might even be the types who were infinitely close to becoming imperial stage domain experts.

Unluckily, Li Lanfeng had only been able to send them glances, stopping him from accurately determining how strong those two were. Even though Li Lanfeng was quite capable in gauging the strength of his opponents through his outstanding spiritual power, he still couldn't sense anything. If he couldn't sense anything, then either those two opponents had special barriers that could block his senses or they were just so much stronger than him that he could detect them.

However, no matter how strong these two were, their existence was bad news for him and Luo Lang, especially when they were already in a tough situation.

Right as Li Lanfeng was trying his hardest to think of ways to get out of their situation, the two people waiting for the two groups to finish their battle were becoming somewhat impatient.

"So, you still want to wait?" asked the person leaning on the pole.

"It doesn't matter, the result will be us winning either way." The person leaning on the wall had his hands in his pockets with an uncaring expression on his face. If all ten of them moved out and they couldn't capture these three people, then they should just hand over their lives as payment for their poor performance.

"We'll take care of these two first and then there will be no issue. Ling Lan should be back when we finish these two off." The person leaning on the pole yawned dismissively. It was actually quite boring to just watch from the sidelines.

"It's fine. Just wait for a little longer. The chief has said that Lieutenant General Ling is quite strong and might be stronger than us by a stage. If that is really true, then we would need to work together." These two didn't look like they belonged in the same team.

"Maybe the chief thought too highly of him. How old is Lieutenant General Ling and how old are we? If he actually was stronger than us, doesn't that mean we are actually useless?" said the person leaning on the pole annoyedly.

"You can't say that. Did you forget about General Ling Xiao? After all, he is his child. It's quite normal that he's outstanding as well." The person leaning on the wall seemed to idolize Ling Xiao a bit. He truly acknowledged the possibility of Ling Lan having incredible talent.

"Didn't the Federation's Military Medical Research Facility discover that the talents of the descendants of god-class operators would be reduced to nil?" The person leaning on the pole didn't believe that Ling Lan could be stronger than them.

"But General Ling Xiao… he's already an existence that cannot be explained. He also advanced into a god-class operator at such a young age. Additionally, the amount of merits he had built up and his rank were all like as if he was cheating. So having a son who doesn't walk a normal path is quite normal." The person leaning on the wall had completely pictured Ling Xiao as some god-like figure.

"Not going to talk to you about this anymore. You're a crazy fan of Ling Xiao. As long as there was something connected to General Ling Xiao, your mind will always be in the clouds." The person leaning on the pole facepalmed. How could he forget that this teammate of his had this problem? He shouldn't have attempted to talk to him about General Ling Xiao in a logical manner.

"You're looking down on me. When was my head in the clouds?" the person leaning on the wall raised his eyebrows. He didn't let up and said, "It is because my mind is fully logical that I decided to cooperate with you to ask Lieutenant General Ling to report back to the military headquarters. He can't just stay out there in the galaxy, after all he is General Ling Xiao's only son. I need to do something for General Ling Xiao and keep Lieutenant General Ling safe."

"That's why Lieutenant General Ling is too young and impulsive. He was convinced into believing that the Federation did General Ling Xiao wrong… In the end, wasn't it because he didn't follow orders, did his own thing and fell into an ambush, which forced General Ling Xiao to fall into Caesar and Twilight's trap. All in all, wasn't the person who caused General Ling Xiao's death Lieutenant General Ling himself?" The person leaning on the pole didn't see Ling Lan in a good light, especially after obtaining some inside information. After knowing that the person who caused General Ling Xiao's death was Ling Lan, he hated him even more.

It was because of a punk who didn't listen to orders that the Federation lost a godly figure. The strongest future, no, the strongest god-class operator. They had also heard that General Ling Xiao had reached the profound god-class. This made them feel pain in their hearts after hearing that news.

"Alright, alright, after all he's Ling Xiao's son. We still have to cut him some slack and save some face for him. Didn't the military headquarters send us here to ask him to go back because they wanted to save him from further embarrassment as well? Didn't they also want to clear up the misunderstanding?" The person leaning on the wall still had a good feeling about Ling Lan. After all, he was his idol's son. He hoped that Ling Lan could live happier.

"Alright, let's stop talking." The person leaning on the pole raised his hands like he was surrendering to show that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. After all, saying bad things about Ling Xiao's son to a crazy Ling Xiao fan would definitely not be a fun conversation to continue.

1306 Look For an Excuse

They quickly stopped their useless conversation and continued to spectate the two groups that were fighting. After the two groups finished off their respective opponents, they would group up and face Ling Lan altogether.

Right at that moment, the eyes of the person leaning on the pole suddenly froze. He stiffly turned his head and looked at the empty ground not far from him. After a few seconds, a silhouette of a person could be seen slowly appearing there.

Although the person wore a female soldier's uniform, the presence he gave off didn't feel anything like a female. The cold look in his eyes gave him a chill that rushed up from his foot all the way up to his head.

"Thank you for taking care of my two comrades," he said calmly.

Before the person leaning on the pole could even say a word, he felt as though he had fallen into an icy cave. The bone chilling cold made everything feel like they had slowed down to a snail's pace. He couldn't distinguish if a few minutes had passed or seconds. Before he could warn his comrades about the new arrival, that person had already disappeared without a trace.

"What is happening?" He looked around in shock. He discovered that the two groups who had been battling furiously had stopped some time ago. The two groups looked at each other in confusion, looking as though they had no idea what had happened.

"Team Leader Kong, did you sense him as well?" He looked at his comrade who was leaning on the wall.

"Yeah!" Team Leader Kong's expression was frozen as he looked towards a certain direction and answered in a certain tone.

"Was he Lieutenant General Ling?" He gulped audibly. At first, he was calling Ling Lan by her name, but now he referred to Ling Lan with her title respectfully.

"It's probably him. It can only be him." Team Leader Kong felt like his entire body had turned into an ice cold corpse. That feeling came swiftly and deadly. When he finally came to his senses, he realized that Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang had already disappeared from their sight.

"To be able to take them away silently without us reacting, that kind of strength…" The person leaning on the pole looked at Team Leader Kong with cold sweat on his head. The words 'imperial realm formidable warrior' quickly appeared in his mind.

"That's why I said don't look down on General Ling Xiao's son. Their bloodline is full of cheat codes." Team Leader Kong smiled ruefully as he shook his head. At first, he wanted to find a chance to talk to Lieutenant General Ling peacefully. Now, it seemed Lieutenant General Ling didn't even want to give him a chance to even meet him.

"How are we going to write the report?" A slight look of shame appeared on this team leader's face. He remembered being all confident and dismissive about Ling Lan in front of his chief. Now, they were totally played by Ling Lan in the palm of her hands. He could feel his cheeks turning red from embarrassment.

"Oh you." Team Leader Kong also remembered his comrade's dismissive attitude from before. "Now, even if you were to speak the truth, no one would believe you."

Lieutenant General Ling had already reached the imperial realm… or perhaps an even higher stage? If they stated that it was the reason why they failed their mission, their colleagues probably would think that it was an excuse for their failure. Imperial realm before the age of 25? That was indeed quite unbelievable.

"Now the only thing we can do is to make sure we corroborate our reports. We'll say that he was too cautious so he discovered us when we got close so we didn't have a chance to surround him and thus he got away." Team Leader Kong still wanted to be able to stand with his head held up high in front of his colleagues. By reporting like this, although they had failed, they could just make themselves seem unprepared to capture Ling Lan, not like how it actually was, being totally rolled over by Ling Lan. Plus, if they actually reported the truth, no one would believe them. They could only make up a reason that everyone could accept.

The person leaning on the pole thought for a moment. Other than that, they didn't have any other way of writing a sensible report. In the end, he could only agree with a sullen look on his face. Of course, they didn't forget to remind their team members of this. Their team members also didn't want the news of them losing a four against one to be known by others. Even if their team leader didn't remind them, they wouldn't tell anyone of such a shameful performance.

Just like that, in order to save face and to not let anyone make fun of them or misunderstand, they reported those words in the end. The military headquarters totally didn't suspect anything. In reality, they had already known that Li Lanfeng had followed Ling Lan there. He was a very perceptive individual, so it was normal that they were discovered.

Thus, the fact of Ling Lan being an imperial realm formidable warrior became hidden away just like that.

Of course, these two team leaders only guessed that was the case. After calming down and thinking about it, they also believed that it was impossible that Ling Lan was an imperial realm formidable warrior. Theoretically, domain realm masters who were on par with them were able to slow them down and cause them to hallucinate for a short period of time like what Ling Lan did just now. Then that person would be able to take others away and save them.

If he was actually stronger than them like being an imperial stage domain expert, he would have just needed to completely overpower them. He didn't need to use that method to save his comrades and then leave.

The two of them felt that that was the truth of what happened so the feeling of shame in their hearts instantly disappeared. After all, they didn't hide much in their reports. The opponent was indeed overly cautious, found an opening and got away.

At that moment, Ling Lan, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang went into a random person's house and hid there.

If the military headquarters knew they were on Planet General, hotels and hostels wouldn't be suitable for them to hide in since they required their identification cards. Without Little Four, Ling Lan felt it was inconvenient everywhere she went and was in danger of exposing themselves at any moment. Faced with an overpowering mainframe of the Federation, Li Lanfeng could only block off partial amounts of information. He couldn't go around the mainframe and enter flawless data to create new identities. This was why they could only stay at one place for a short while. Otherwise, the mainframe would discover that there was something wrong with the place they were staying at.

In reality, planets nowadays were all under surveillance through one mainframe. However, this type of surveillance inevitably had places where it was white space or other parts where it didn't function as well. Those places were the average residential districts. Although there was still surveillance equipment in these districts, security wasn't as tight. At most, every street would have one surveillance camera.

Li Lanfeng chose a house with no one living in it out of the many average houses around them. It was only for hiding themselves for a short while. A house with no one living in it was the most suitable choice.

The three of them chose a living room in the attic and sat on the floor.

"We can��t go back to Lingtian," said Li Lanfeng.

"I don't understand, how did we expose ourselves?" Luo Lang pulled on his hair in frustration. They clearly disguised themselves very well. He didn't want to suspect his friends, but reality was forcing him to think that way. That feeling of distrust made him frustrated and annoyed.

"Don't think too much. It has nothing to do with Qi Long and the others. The Federation's military headquarters' research institute invented a new tool that can detect domain concept energies. We were discovered probably when we activated our domains. That's how we were caught," Ling Lan said calmly. She knew what Luo Lang was frustrated about from his expressions.

"It's pretty much the same as what I had predicted. I have been thinking that there was something that they used to detect our presence. I just didn't think it could detect domain concept energies," said Li Lanfeng.

"Does that mean if we don't activate our domains, they wouldn't be able to find us?" Luo Lang's eyes glimmered.

"But if we don't use domain energy, can we change our looks?" Li Lanfeng thought of another possibility why they were being followed. Although they could change the way they looked without activating their domains, they still needed to control the domain energies within themselves to adjust the muscles on their faces. He didn't know whether that tool could also detect that as well.

1307 Little White Has Disappeared.

"To be safe, we can't use this method to disguise ourselves anymore." Ling Lan wasn't certain but she didn't want to take the risk. They were at the headquarters of the military. Once they were discovered by their enemy, they would be surrounded instantly. There was nowhere to hide.

"That's not the problem. Most importantly, how are we going to leave Planet General without Lingtian?" Li Lanfeng brought forward the cruel reality to their attention. They were stuck on Planet General without being able to board the commercial starships.

Even if they managed to get on a starship, they wouldn't be able to hide their identities using their disguise or their domain concepts. The mainframe would see through their disguise quickly. Using their domain concept was a good idea but now, the military had a device that was able to detect their domain concept energy. This path of retreat was crossed out.

"Wait," Ling Lan replied calmly.

"Wait?" Li Lanfeng looked at Ling Lan in surprise. Being passive wasn't Ling Lan's style. He always liked to seek opportunities.

"On the way to Planet General, I accidentally saw something interesting." Ling Lan smiled when she saw Li Lanfeng's astonished gaze. Normally, the smile would make Ling Lan's aura warmer but Li Lanfeng felt that her smile seemed a little devilish.

His instinct told him that he shouldn't ask Ling Lan what she was talking about. However, even though he didn't ask, someone else would. The equally confused Luo Lang asked naturally, "What is it?"

Ling Lan lifted her right hand slowly and pointed at Li Lanfeng. The smile on her face got brighter. "Li Yinfei."

"Ah!" Luo Lang turned to look at Li Lanfeng. He remembered the first time he saw Li Lanfeng's real appearance. He was so dumbfounded he asked his boss if he brought Li Yinfei back to be his third wife.

Back then, his boss just replied to him with a forceful knock on his head. Fortunately, Li Lanfeng also had a good temper so he just smiled at him and didn't get angry. Luo Lang felt that if someone thought he was a woman and even took him as someone's wife, he might have beaten the person up badly.

So, from that moment onwards, Luo Lang had a really good impression of Li Lanfeng. He felt that Li Lanfeng was a very good person and was very forgiving.

This was Luo Lang's own thoughts. If his comrades knew about this, they would snort, and snort, and continue snorting. Then, they would release a thesis of at least 5000 words about hypocrites. They would warn Luo Lang against judging a book by its cover and asked him to be aware of a wolf in sheep's clothing. Li Lanfeng was a perfect example of such a person.

Li Lanfeng felt the corners of his lips twitching. As expected, Ling Lan's smile was full of evil intentions. However, what Ling Lan hinted allowed Li Lanfeng to understand what she wanted to do.

"I remember that Li Yinfei is going to attend the ceremony celebrating the return of the soldiers." Li Lanfeng didn't like Li Yinfei but as a strategist, he mustn't let go of any factor he could exploit.

"It'll happen three days later." Ling Lan stood up and walked to the window. Through the gaps of the curtains, she could see the passer-bys walking outside. She continued calmly, "Now, we must think of a way to let her apply to leave Planet General as soon as possible after the ceremony ends."

Li Lanfeng squinted his eyes as he contemplated. "Substituting one for another."

"Yes!" Li Yinfei had her own personal starship. After Ling Lan's identity was exposed, she came up with this idea. After all, there was a real Li Yinfei beside her. The military didn't know this so this was their best chance to leave Planet General.

The two of them smiled at each other. They understood each other without the need for words. Only Luo Lang remained confused. They only spoke a few words and they were already starting to act? He felt that he was still in the dark.

Soon, the Lingtian Independent Army received a summon for a questioning from the military headquarters. Why didn't they inform the military headquarters of Ling Lan and the other two people's presence on Planet General?

The people who participated in this matter answered with only one statement. They just state that they didn't know their commander was here. Hence, they didn't conceal his presence.

The headquarters pointed out that Ling Lan and the two other people were disguised as three JMCs from their army. The moment this was mentioned, the representative from Lingtian flipped the script and lashed out at the representative from the headquarters.

The representative from Lingtian said that they had already received the report from their logistics department. They already knew that three JMCs were missing so they informed their soldiers, who were shopping outside, to look for them. However, there was no news after a few days worth of searching. They were already preparing to report this matter to the headquarters to seek their help in finding the three JMCs.

Han Jijyun changed his passive style of doing things and directly reprimanded the headquarters. Did their JMCs get in danger because the security on Planet General wasn't tight enough? Once this question was asked, everyone in Lingtian turned furious at the same time. All of them demanded an answer from the headquarters within 24 hours. If not, the Lingtian Independent Army wouldn't let them off so easily.

The people from Lingtian denied the accusation and insisted that the three JMCs were real. In the past, Little Four created some fake soldier identities in Lingtian so that Ling Lan was able to do some dirty work with them. Hence, the mainframe was unable to detect any loopholes in the system. It couldn't find any evidence to prove that the three JMCs were fake or problematic so the headquarters couldn't do anything about Lingtian's accusations. They knew that there was something wrong with the Lingtian Independent Army but they couldn't force them to answer their questions when their backs were against the wall.

This was because Lingtian wasn't a normal independent army. It was the independent army of Ling Xiao's only son, Ling Lan. The death of Ling Xiao and the disappearance of Ling Lan caused everyone to place their attention on the Lingtian Independent Army. If the military forced the Lingtian Independent Army, Lingtian just needed to appear wronged and the public would misunderstand the military, thinking that they were trying to snatch the things that belonged to Ling Xiao and Ling Lan while they were gone.

The military indeed had this intention but they couldn't be too obvious with it. If not, they would cause public discontent. They might even lose their positions if Lingtian and the public worked together to push the matter.

In the end, the people from the military headquarters left Lingtian dishearteningly. This matter was pushed aside but the surveillance over Lingtian got even tighter. They believed that Ling Lan and her group were hiding on Planet General. At the same time, they kept a close watch of all the starships at the spaceport to prevent Ling Lan from having any chances of leaving.

At this moment, Han Xuya ran over anxiously. She shouted at Qi Long and the other people, "This is bad. Little White is missing."

"How did it go missing?" Qi Long jumped up from his seat and asked loudly.

"Luo Chao and I were talking about Boss. We said that Boss most likely won't return to Lingtian. Then Little White jumped up and ran away." Han Xuya felt frustrated. "I misspoke in front of it. I forgot that Little White understands human language."

Luo Chao was a step slower than Han Xuya. She ran in too.

1308 Candidate

"I asked Jialan just now and Jialan told me she has no idea where Little White is." Luo Chao arrived later than Han Xuya because she had gone to ask the starship's mainframe, Jialan, first.

After hearing about Little White's disappearance, Qi Long slowly stood up and said with certainty in his tone, "Little White probably went to find Boss."

"But how could it know where Boss is when we don't even know?" asked Han Xuya frustratingly.

"We can't find Boss, but it doesn't mean Little White can't find him." Qi Long let out a forlorn sigh. "Boss and Little White have a special way of communicating. Don't forget how Boss found us in the first place."

"But what if Little White got lost?" Han Xuya was still worried about Little White's safety. Luo Chao nodded in agreement with a face full of concern. How could a tiny white blob be able to survive in the cruel harsh world?

"Don't worry, Little White is very strong. It might even be stronger than us. Back then, didn't Boss let out Little White in the wild from time to time? And didn't Little White come back safely each and every time?" Qi Long patiently comforted them, slowly easing them out of their concerns. "If Little White can't find Boss, I trust that it will find its way back to us."

Han Xuya and Luo Chao remembered what happened in the past, and it was indeed just the same as what Qi Long had said. They temporarily stopped their worrying. They didn't know whether they should hope for Little White to find its way to Boss or to not find him and come back. No matter which one it was, they hoped Little White was safe. In their hearts, Little White wasn't just some pet, but rather their most loyal and reliable friend.

However, the next day, they didn't have time to worry about Little White anymore, as the military headquarters had just notified them that all personnel in charge of Lingtian must participate in the military headquarters' conference at 1pm.

Everyone had their doubt as they rushed to the conference room. Right as they were about to enter the conference room, they were informed by someone sent by Qi Yaoyang, who had been waiting for them, that this conference was about determining who should be Lingtian Independent Army and the 23rd Division's highest ranking officer. The reason it was so sudden and why they weren't informed beforehand was because the military headquarters didn't want them to make any preparations, catching them off guard.

After hearing about it, everyone from Lingtian got nervous. However, they could do nothing about it now. The conference was about to start, and they couldn't just delay it because they weren't prepared beforehand

After entering the conference room, they saw the members of the military headquarters all in their respective seats. There were also a few representatives from ministries of government and representatives from other armies. They almost filled up the entire conference room.

Near the front of the conference room, there were a few rows of seats that faced each other on the left and the right side. Qi Long saw the chief of staff of the 23rd Division, He Xuyang, sitting in the center of the left side. Next to him was a female major general, Ms. Lan Luofeng.

Qi Long's heart stopped beating for a moment. He turned around towards the name tags on the right side which showed the words 'Lingtian Independent Army'. It seemed the seats on the right side were prepared for them.

Qi Long gave a look to his comrades, then led the way to the seats on the right side and sat down.

Besides Qi Long sat Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong. There were also the other brigade leaders and department heads sitting behind them.

After a short while, the large screen at the center of them suddenly lit up. Then it split into many smaller screens. In each of the screens, there was a stern looking general shown within it. Their ranks were from lieutenant general all the way up to general. These were all the generals of the 23 official divisions.

In the end, in the four screens in the middle, it showed the faces of the three marshals. On the fourth showed the Flying Dragon Special Forces highest commanding officer, who didn't appear frequently on these occasions, Ren Feiyu.

Seeing essentially the decision makers of the Federation joining this conference caused a large commotion within the government's representatives.

It should be known that only important matters would cause the three marshals, the generals and not to mention the person-in-charge of the Flying Dragon Special Forces to appear. Could this conference be so important that any decision made here would harm the foundation of the Federation?

Not only was there commotion in those seated below, even the three marshals didn't understand why Ren Feiyu had requested to join this conference.

However, the reason Ren Feiyu had given them was reasonable. The 23rd Division was established by Ling Xiao and was considered to be special to the citizens of the Federation. The requirement for the next person in line to take command of the 23rd Division was quite high. Once the chosen individual did not satisfy the citizens or perhaps there was a flaw of some sort, it would cause the people of the Federation to protest against them. The results of that would be devastating. Ren Feiyu believed that a bad decision on their part could be bad enough to affect the peacefulness within the Federation and shake the foundation of the nation. In order to prevent this outcome from happening, the Flying Dragon Special Forces must come out and watch over this conference. They must make sure the next general of the 23rd Division has no underlying problems.

Although the three marshals were annoyed by Ren Feiyu's rude remarks, they still couldn't reject his proposal. After all, they also didn't want the next general to have any problems in the future, giving Ren Feiyu a chance to uproot them. Although the supervision power of the Flying Dragon Special Forces was considered to be nothing by the three marshals, they still didn't want them coming to their houses hounding them everyday. After all, dealing with them required time. As people who put time as the most valuable thing, they didn't want to waste their valuable time with the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

The official time had reached 1p.m. The person-in-charge of the military headquarters, who was also the host for this conference, gestured for the door to be closed. After restricting anyone from entering and leaving, he spoke, "First, I would like to thank the three marshals and our generals for participating in this conference. Special thanks to General Ren Feiyu for attending as well."

"For this conference, our first objective is to determine whether the rewards and merits given to the division who participated in the war against the Twilight Empire have been approved. The second objective in this conference is to discuss who will be the next general of the 23rd Division and who will be the commanding officer for the Lingtian Independent Army."

Everyone had already prepared for the first objective of the conference. After all, there were only two days left until the award ceremony. The list of names needed to be approved before the ceremony started. However, the second objective came at a surprise to them. Although everyone knew that the 23rd Division and the Lingtian Independent Army needed a new leader, it was still a surprise to them.

The entire conference room was instantly filled with minute chatters everywhere.

"Hm hm." The host coughed a few times and the crowd quickly fell silent.

"Now, we will announce the three candidates for the commanding officer of Lingtian Independent Army."

"The first candidate is the 11th Division, 17th Brigade Leader, Major General Luo Zhiqun. The second is 6th Division, 3rd Brigade Deputy Leader, Major General Zhou Lirong. The third is Lingtian Independent Army, 3rd Brigade Leader, Major General Qi Long."

The first two names were both major generals who were well known and around the age of 50. Only Qi Long seemed out of place from the three candidates. Everyone believed that even if the Lingtian Independent Army had an internal candidate, they would have thought it would be Yang Mingzhi or Liu Furong. After all these two were the deputy commanders of the army. Ranking them up by half a rank and becoming the commander was more logical. No matter if it was age or his position, Qi Long fighting for the position of commander seemed somewhat forced.

Some who knew about Qi Long's background surreptitiously looked towards one of the small screens in the center where the 13th Division Commander, Qi Yaoyang was shown. Did Qi Long receive this chance because of his father helping him in the dark?

1309 Assumptions.

"The portfolio of the three major generals have already been sent to everyone. You can read them on your own," the host continued.

Those people that didn't know the three candidates well, especially Qi Long, clicked on the screen in front of them and started reading the information.

In the military, major generals weren't highly regarded. There were just too many of them, probably more than a million, so to them Qi Long was just an unknown insignificant major general. He didn't achieve any amazing merits, wasn't the one who changed the tides of the war and wasn't the one who led the victory (someone like Ling Lan). To the soldiers, they didn't think much of those soldiers who rose to major general rank according to routine. There were many major generals who didn't have any power too, making their title just a title.

But, soon, many people were astounded. Qi Long was young but his track record was even more outstanding than the other two generals who were twice his age. Whether it was during the battle on Planet Haijiao, the battle in the Nebula boundary, the Twilight escorting mission, or the war with Twilight, Qi Long's performance in them was amazing. He killed multiple ace operators of their enemies and also killed a few enemy imperial operators who were registered in the database of the Federation.

Why didn't they discover this outstanding youngster in the past?

Then, they looked at the prefix of these battles and discovered in every battle he fought the leader was Ling Lan. Then they were enlightened. Ling Lan was just too exceptional. The other outstanding soldiers in his clan were totally overshadowed by his light. This time, without Ling Lan, they were finally able to see how excellent the other soldiers of the Lingtian Independent Army were.

The track records of the deputy commanders, the various brigade leaders of the mecha brigades, and the head of the different departments were all stunning. Any one of them could be a high-ranking official of any clan they join in the Federation.

The people who initially looked down on Qi Long due to his young age now saw him in a different light after looking at his track records.

"Now, let's invite the three candidates on stage to answer everyone's questions."

Qi Long stood up. Yang Mingzhi also stood up after him and patted his shoulders to calm Qi Long down. He encouraged him to remain calm.

Qi Long nodded gratefully at Yang Mingzhi. He turned and looked at his comrades who were looking at him encouragingly and felt warm in his heart. He clenched his fist secretly and reminded himself that he must remain composed. He mustn't embarrass Boss.

No matter what the result was, he must protect the Lingtian Independent Army for Boss.

The three candidates were all impressive. However, Qi Long stood out with his handsome figure and youthful looks. He captured everyone's attention the moment he went up. Without Ling Lan sheltering them, Qi Long had to remove his honest facade and reveal his real personality which he had been hiding so that he could take over Ling Lan's position and protect his comrades. This was Lingtian's tradition. The baton would always be passed down. It would never end.

The entire place was silent. For a while, no one knew what to ask. Based on their track records, everyone had the ability to be the commander of the Lingtian Independent Army.

Finally, someone opened his mouth.

"Can the three candidates explain your future plans for the Lingtian Independent Army?"

This was just empty talk but from their statement, they could determine the ambition and aspiration of the candidates, as well as their understanding of Lingtian.

The three candidates exchanged glances with one another. Qi Long took a step back and raised his hand in front of him.

Luo Zhiqun, smiled at the candidate from the 6th Division, Zhou Lirong, and nodded. He took a step back too.

In the end, Major General Zhou Lirong shook his head. He was the oldest here. Qi Long's actions indirectly caused them to speak according to their age.

The audience members who knew Qi Long's identity smiled at Qi Yaoyang secretly. They were jealous that Qi Yaoyang had such an outstanding son. He wasn't nervous in front of a huge audience and he had also shown that he had good manners for someone his age. This was rare.

Qi Yaoyang smiled as though he was accepting their praises and compliments. But, in reality, he felt bitter in his heart. His oldest and second oldest son was groomed by him but they performed average in his eyes. It would be difficult for them to hold great responsibilities. His youngest son was stubborn ever since he was young. No matter how he reprimanded him, he wouldn't bow down. In the end, he had no choice but to let go of him and let him mixed around with Ling Lan. At that time, he just wished that Ling Lan would hold him back from creating trouble. Yet, unexpectedly, his youngest son was the most successful out of all his sons. Once the time was right, he would soar above everyone else.

Ling Xiao was really the favoured child of god. His talents were better than him and he knew how to groom his child better too. Moreover, Ling Lan was as outstanding as Ling Xiao, even Ling Lan's friends were exceptional too.

Qi Yaoyang sighed in his heart as he thought of this. Ling Xiao was too perfect. This might be the reason why the world couldn't accept him, forcing him to meet disasters time and time again until he met his death.

Zhou Lirong walked to the front of the stage and opened his mouth. "I'm honoured to be one of the candidates for the position of commander in the Lingtian Independent Army. After I received the notice, I immediately went to do my own research on the Lingtian Independent Army carefully. I have deep respect for the first commander of Lingtian, Lieutenant General Ling Lan. He groomed an ordinary mecha clan into a powerful ace mecha clan. Then, he led his ace mecha clan to become an independent army with illustrious military exploits. He achieved all these in less than three years. I believe that none of us here are able to emulate his leadership."

"If I can become the commander of this legendary independent army, I feel excited but glad. In terms of personal ability, I can't be compared to Lieutenant General Ling. However, I've been the deputy brigade leader for more than ten years so I do have some experience with integrating a team. My plan is to turn Lingtian into a mature integrated army. I've looked at the composition of the Lingtian Independent Army and noticed that their main focus is the mecha brigades, with the logisticians supporting these brigades. Although they're able to maintain Lingtian's amazing battling capabilities, it is detrimental to the future development of Lingtian."

In order to turn Lingtian into a complete independent army, all the soldiers must be strong. If I take over Lingtian, I'll cover up this loophole. I'll make sure that in five years, the independent army will complete the requirements for a division. In ten years, it'll become a mature integrated independent army."

Zhou Lirong's speech won him a round of applause. The current Lingtian Independent Army was called an independent army but in fact, it was just a huge mecha clan. Besides their mecha operators who were outstanding, the ability and number of the other soldiers were lacking. This wasn't the kind of independent army the military needed. The military allowed Lingtian to become an independent army because they wanted more integrated divisions to replenish the lack of soldiers in the Federation. Without a doubt, Zhou Lirong's speech gained the approval of some representatives who had the same thought.

1310 Mecha Army!

Qi Long's gaze turned cold when he heard about Zhou Lirong plans for Lingtian's future. His plan was completely opposite of what Boss wanted for Lingtian. If they really progressed based on his plan, then Lingtian would be the same as every other independent armies, losing its glamour in the process.

Zhou Lirong took a step back when he finished speaking and nodded at Luo Zhiqun and Qi Long.

Luo Zhiqun smiled lightly and walked forward to the center of the stage. Just like Zhou Lirong, he expressed his admiration for the first commander of Lingtian, Ling Lan. Then, he explained his future plans for Lingtian. His plan was slightly different from Zhou Lirong. He felt that they should train the current soldiers in Lingtian first before expanding the independent army. You could say that Luo Zhiqun's method was gentler than Zhou Lirong's. His method would ensure the positions of the current soldiers in the army as well as focusing on the current soldiers before turning the Lingtian Independent Army into a mature integrated independent army.

Luo Zhiqun's method would likely be able to gain the support and approval of the current members of Lingtian easier. Although he might take more time than Zhou Lirong to turn Lingtian into a mature integrated independent army since his methods wouldn't have effects in the short run, but his method severely lowered the possibility of any mistakes. It was the safer option of the two routes.

This was the difference between an official leader and a deputy leader. The former knew how to have his soldiers accept the changes calmly while preventing all possible problems from cropping up. On the other hand, the latter's plan was too idealised. The latter wanted to see results as quickly as possible so his methods were more radical.

Although their methods were different, the end result was still the same. Both of them wanted to turn the Lingtian Independent Army into a mature integrated army to lay the foundations for it to become an official division in the future. A commander who doesn't want to become a general of a division wasn't a good commander. Most of the representatives from the military agreed with plans so both their speeches ended with enthusiastic applause.

The last person to speak was Qi Long. Zhou Lirong and Luo Zhiqun's plans had already caused his gaze to turn cold. He wouldn't let anyone who went against Boss's plan to take over the Lingtian Independent Army.

Qi Long took a big step and stood at the center of the stage. He looked down at the representatives with a stern gaze. He stared at them quietly without saying anything.

The chatter in the conference room soon subsided. Everyone looked at the person standing on stage silently in confusion. The atmosphere slowly turned tense too.

Qi Yaoyang slightly raised one of his eyebrows when he saw his son's act. He also straightened his sitting posture a little.

Looking at his expression, he knew that Qi Long was angry. He expected his son to say some shocking words.

After sensing that everyone's attention was on him, Qi Long audibly scoffed. "I highly suspect Major General Luo Zhiqun and Major General Zhou Lirong when they said that they did detailed research of Lingtian."

Surprisingly, Qi Long mocked Zhou Lirong and Luo Zhiqun the moment he came on stage. Those representatives who thought that Qi Long was well-mannered even though he was young frowned.

Although Qi Long's track record was exemplary, he was still too young in the end. He wasn't able to maintain his composure at crucial times. He was too aggressive.

"People who understand Lingtian will know what Lingtian used to be. We were the 250 Mecha Clan."

"We grew from an ordinary clan into an independent mecha clan before becoming an independent army. From the very beginning, the foundation of Lingtian is our mechas," Qi Long continued without hesitation.

"Our commander, Lieutenant General Ling Lan, said this to us when we first became an independent army. He said the Lingtian Independent Army will be the only independent army where all the soldiers will service one kind of soldiers, the mecha operators. Under his leadership, the Lingtian Independent Army is on route to become the most powerful mecha army of the Federation."

Qi Long spoke confidently with full aspirations. The representatives seated below were moved. They were reminded of those times when they fought with all their might on the battlefield.

"In the future, no matter what the Lingtian Independent Army ultimately becomes, whether it will be an independent army or an official division, its foundation will never change. The Lingtian Independent Army can only be a mecha army. It must be a mecha army. It will be the first line of offense on the battlefield. It will also be the last line of defense for a base." Qi Long placed his hand on his left chest and said sincerely, "It will be the most powerful mecha army of the Federation. Its name will bring fear in our enemies. This is what Lieutenant General Ling wanted for the Lingtian Independent Army."

"Hence, I will continue our commander's faith and turn Lingtian into a unique mecha army. We will create our own legacy and leave a mark in the history of the Federation. I've finished my speech. Thank you!" Qi Long saluted solemnly to express his attitude. He truly meant what he said.

The audience was silent. Qi Long's speech was entirely different from the norm. He was breaking fresh ground. Independent mecha clans were all unique but once they became an independent army, they would all turn into integrated divisions in the end. Some of their special traits might still be present but the other types of soldiers would become stronger too so everyone could progress together.

Lingtian Independent Army wanted to overthrow the conventional mindset. None of the representatives knew what to say. They could say he was wrong but if the Lingtian Independent Army really became a powerful and legendary mecha army… they felt excited just by this thought. They couldn't control their imagination. Slowly, they hoped that it would come true immediately. If what Qi Long said was true, they wondered if an independent army with mecha operators as its main focus was really able to walk far.

While everyone was confused and silent, the sound of clapping echoed through the entire conference room.

Everyone looked over in unplanned unison and saw Ren Feiyu smiling and clapping his hands slowly.

"Not bad. You have a very good plan. I've seen enough of integrated divisions. I feel that Major General Qi's plan is very interesting." Ren Feiyu clapped a few more times before putting his hands down and continued slowly, "There are too many of the same integrated divisions. We don't need any more of them. I really want to see what a mature mecha army will be like."

The highest commander of the Flying Dragon Special Forces had spoken. The representatives who had a good relationship with Ren Feiyu opened their mouths to express their anticipation for the future of a legendary mecha army. As for Qi Yaoyang, he would definitely support his son.

The most powerful officers had already spoken to those that were still hesitating, so including both the representatives from the military and the government started clapping.

The Third Marshal finally smiled. Pushing Qi Long up was the decision of his faction. If Qi Long was rejected the moment he showed his face, he would feel embarrassed. From the looks of it now, the neutral faction, led by Ren Feiyu, had high hopes for Qi Long. This was a surprise to him.