1381-1390

1381 Nothing!

"He only took over my body for one second, but the backlash is already so severe. Just how strong is Instructor Number One?" Ling Lan pressed against her chest and smiled bitterly. However, asking Instructor Number One to possess her body for a while was a part of her plan. Even though it would severely injure her, it was something that needed to be done. For her plan to conquer the Lawless Landed, she needed the strength to stand on level ground with them, even if she didn't have it, she still needed to fake she had it.

"This should be enough to stall them for a while." Ling Lan endured the immense pain and walked to the ice throne to sit down. Then, she began to practice her Qi exercises. Without the Nuwa agent, Ling Lan could only use her own restoration techniques. She was lucky that the Qi exercises had always been good to her. Despite not being as strong as the Nuwa agent, it still showed some positive results.

At the spaceport, where the Jialan Ship was docked at, it was just as Ling Lan had expected. A few unknown factions attempted to steal the supplies on the Jialan Ship. However, these people didn't think that they would be met with a brick wall.

There were actually more than 10 titled domain realm formidable warriors guarding Jialan Ship and domain realm masters swarmed the ship.

Of course, the thieves weren't weak either. Although they were caught off guard in the beginning, they quickly calmed themselves and pushed back those on the Jialan Ship.

Right as other factions were watching from the sidelines, deciding whether they should join or not, the Jialan Ship finally revealed their fangs. No one expected the Jialan Ship to have an ace mecha clan of 2000 soldiers, and most of them were peak level ace operators.

It should be known that an elite ace operator with a top-class ace mecha could easily deal with a beginner domain realm master. A peak level ace operator with a top-class ace mecha would be able to fight against titled domain realm formidable warriors. It was just like if the Jialan Ship suddenly had 2000 men who were just as strong as titled domain realm formidable warriors. Would any standard faction be able to fight against them? Unless it was a faction under the 13 Lords. However, the factions of the 13 Lords had made a pact with Ling Lan, so they definitely wouldn't take the risk of exposing themselves by sending their own ace mecha clans to join the battle.

Those factions who saw the situation turn badly for them, quickly retreated. Zhao Jun and the others remembered Ling Lan's orders and didn't chase them. They stood firmly and guarded Jialan Ship without leaving its side.

Li Shiyu, who had been busy saving the injured soldiers, finally treated the last patient. After some grueling hours of work, he finally stepped out of the medical operating room.

Luo Chao, who had been busy dealing with all kinds of administrative affairs, was currently lounging on a sofa in front of the operating room. She was leaning on the back of the sofa with her eyes closed.

Her face showed that she was completely exhausted. As the commander of the starship, she was given the responsibility of commanding the battle. It was her first time taking on such a huge responsibility, so it really exhausted her.

When Li Shiyu walked out of his operating room and saw this pitiful sight, he felt sad for LUo Chao. He walked into his own room beside the operating room, took out a blanket and gently placed it over Luo Chao.

His gaze fell upon Luo Chao's beautiful and elegant face. Despite Luo Chao and Luo Lang's faces being almost identical, Li Shiyu could always differentiate between the two of them ever since the first time they met.

Although everyone basically reached a consensus that even their smiles were completely identical, Li Shiyu never actually agreed with that. From his point of view, Luo Chao and Luo Lang's smiles were completely different. Luo Chao's smile had a hint of shyness to it, while Luo Lang's smile on the other hand was a blank sheet. If he were to say it nicely, it would be considered a pure smile. If he were to say it in a mean way, then it would be considered just Luo Lang being stupid.

But, all of this was just his own opinion. After all, Li Shiyu wasn't someone who would force people to agree with his subjective opinions. The differences he saw between the two of them were kept in his mind, never to be told to anyone.

However, it was because of his unique perspective that made him pay more attention to Luo Chao. In Lingtian, Luo Chao had always been the person who everyone neglected. Her brother Luo Lang just shined too brightly in front of others. No matter if it was physical skills or mecha piloting, among the younger generations in Lingtian (not including Lingtian's Boss Ling Lan who wasn't considered a human), he was definitely among the top three. In addition, he was also the one of the brigade leaders. Luo Lang was definitely the person everyone had their eyes on in Lingtian.

In contrast, his younger sister Luo Chao, other than the friends she grew up with, along with a few older individuals who she was in good relations with, most would ignore Luo Chao's growth because of the traditional and primitive thoughts about women. If she were to appear in front of everyone, she would either be mistaken for her brother Luo Lang, or be given the label of Brigade Leaders Luo's younger sister. It could be said that in Lingtian, even though she had become the department head of the one of the departments in logistics, there were still people who believed she got to that position because she had such a good brother. Furthermore, they also brushed off her personal achievements just because she was Boss's fiancée.

No one truly acknowledged Luo Chao's abilities. She was constantly being underestimated and wronged, even her dumb older brother Luo Lang didn't notice. Boss Ling Lan however… As the commander of an army, there were too many matters he needed to handle, which constrained his time to concern himself with his fiancée. Additionally, Luo Chao had always been a strong-willed woman. Even if she had been wronged, she wouldn't speak out about it. She would only bite her lip and work hard to quickly grow, in order for everyone to acknowledge her sooner.

It was like that when she followed Li Shiyu to learn medicine. There were many times, when he did checks at night, he saw her staying back in the operating room by herself. She used needles on her own body to study where the pressure points were precisely at. Only after experiencing the effect and pain that came along with it could one finally acquire this technique. Luo Chao understood that, and did not go easy on herself.

Li Shiyu acknowledged that in the past, he was more or less affected by the traditional way of thought. That was why when Boss sent Luo Chao and Han Xuya to learn under him, he only taught them some basic first aid for emergency purposes. He didn't want to teach them too much. However, Luo Chao's perseverance and her willingness to improve made him acknowledge her, and all her drive to improve was because of one person. Wasn't he the same when he first set out to be a military doctor? It all was to help that one person who he treasured the most. Li Shiyu understood Luo Chao's thoughts because he was in her position before.

After noticing her strong drive to improve, Li Shiyu began to patiently teach Luo Chao all of his learnt medical techniques. He was willing to teach whatever Luo Chao wanted.

After Lingtian became an army and Luo Chao left to become a department head within the logistics department, Luo Chao finally felt she could hold her head up high. Luo Chao faced the suspicions against her, worked hard and slowly proved everyone wrong. Others might not have seen all of her hard work behind her glorious achievements, but he saw it clearly. He knew the path Luo Chao took was not an easy one, but rather quite hard.

Most importantly, no one helped her in this difficult path. Luo Lang had always been negligent and careless, so he wouldn't understand Luo Chao's trouble unless told. Boss on the other hand… Li Shiyu actually believed Boss clearly knew about Luo Chao's troubles, but Boss never chose to do anything about it, he just watched from the sidelines. Sometimes, even Li Shiyu couldn't understand why Boss would be so heartless. After all, Luo Chao was his fiancée, not just another subordinate. Why did he treat her that way? Even if he didn't help her, at least he should give her some words of comfort.

Unfortunately, he never said anything to her.

1382 This Was Love!

Li Shiyu saw everything. He felt his heart hurting for Luo Chao. He interacted with Luo Chao for a long time, so he knew she was working so hard for Boss Lan's sake.

Luo Chao didn't want to be left too far behind by Boss Lan. She wanted to catch up with him and stand beside him.

This was probably what love was!

Li Shiyu didn't really know anything about love, since he placed all his focus in his medical research, so he never really had the time to experience love before. However, after learning Luo Chao's feelings towards Boss Lan, Li Shiyu felt that her actions could only be explained by love (actually, Luo Chao just wanted to catch up to her idol).

Unfortunately, the man Luo Chao loved wasn't someone who would prioritise his family! Boss Lan's heart was too big for just his family. He fitted too many people inside his heart, leaving the space for Luo Chao almost negligible.

Boss Lan was definitely a good boss and a good brother. Li Shiyu acknowledged Boss in those aspects wholeheartedly. However, looking from Luo Chao's point of view, Boss Lan wasn't a qualified lover or fiancée.

However, this was all Luo Chao and Boss Lan's personal matter, while he was just a bystander. He didn't have any right to decide whether they were qualified to be together.

Oh, he needed to talk about his little sister, Xuya, too. This was their matter. Although he couldn't say anything about their relationship, he could still have his own opinion about it. In his opinion, Boss Lan was a bad lover and a bad fiance.

He felt pity for Luo Chao, so maybe because of this feeling that he started to take notice of Luo Chao. Unconsciously, he started doting Luo Chao as though she was his blood-related little sister. He hoped that Boss Lan wouldn't let down such a good young lady. He didn't want to see his beloved little sister getting hurt or cry because of love.

If that day really came, he hoped that he would be able to provide Luo Chao with a sturdy shoulder to cry on.

Thus, when he heard that Luo Chao wanted to lead the Jialan Ship to reinforce Boss Lan, so as someone who was worried that she would get hurt, he decisively moved his surgery room onto the Jialan Ship.

Of course, this was only a small part of the reason. Most importantly, he was worried about Boss Lan. When Boss Lan left, he didn't bring many bottles of medicinal agents with him. Li Shiyu was afraid that without him, based on how Boss Lan always disregarded his safety when he was fighting, Boss Lan would be severely injured. He was really afraid of this.

Still, he didn't expect the first night at the Lawless Lands to be so dangerous. If the reinforcements didn't come in time, if there wasn't a Dr. Frankenstein like him stationed here, a lot of soldiers would have died.

As the captain of the Jialan Ship, Luo Chao had a torturous night. Luckily, she managed to pull through it.

Li Shiyu's gaze landed on Luo Chao's furrowed brows. She was frowning even in her sleep. Ever since Boss disappeared during the battle with Twilight, Luo Chao's brows had never relaxed. Li Shiyu was worried about Luo Chao's state of mind.

Impulsively, Li Shiyu raised his right hand and massaged Luo Chao's brows lightly. He wanted to straighten the creases on her forehead.

His little sister Luo Chao was most beautiful when she was smiling.

Suddenly, Luo Chao opened her eyes with vigilance when she felt someone touching her forehead.

Li Shiyu retracted his hand in shock. He looked at Luo Chao, who opened her eyes, with a gaping mouth. He didn't know what to say suddenly.

"Brother Shiyu?" Luo Chao looked at Li Shiyu in surprise. She didn't understand why he looked so scared.

Luo Chao sat up, causing the blanket covering her body to slide down. Instinctively, she lowered her head and pulled it up. When she saw the blanket, she knew that Li Shiyu must be the one who placed it over her. She looked up and said gratefully, "Brother Shiyu, thank you for the blanket."

Li Shiyu finally regained his senses. He said seriously, "Don't sleep like that in the future. The temperature here is a little low. It is easy to catch a cold here, especially when you're so tired."

"I understand, Brother Shiyu," Luo Chao replied obediently. She knew that Li Shiyu reprimanded her because he was concerned about her, so she accepted it readily.

"Luckily, you're alright." Li Shiyu suddenly turned to walk into his room. After some time, he came out carrying a leather suitcase.

"Brother Shiyu, where are you going?" Luo Chao asked sternly. They just fended off the thieves. It wasn't safe to go out now.

"I am going to see Boss Lan," Li Shiyu replied calmly.

"Why? Didn't Boss say he would come and find us?" Luo Chao asked in confusion.

"Boss sent everyone out yesterday, why do you think he did that?" Li Shiyu asked Luo Chao instead of replying to her.

Luo Chao started thinking seriously. After a moment, her pupils dilated in fear. "Boss is fighting too?"

"Do you think that they will only mess with us?" Li Shiyu sneered. "If they wanted to uproot us, they definitely would not let Boss go."

"Why didn't you say earlier? I'll call people over immediately," Luo Chao jumped up and said agitatedly.

"This is not the right time for them to go over," Li Shiyu replied in a composed manner.

"Why?" Luo Chao didn't understand what Li Shiyu meant. Shouldn't they send help to Boss as soon as possible?

"Boss's fight isn't something people like us can take part in. He sent everyone here probably because he was afraid that his fight would implicate us. He is concerned about our safety." Li Shiyu's mind was as clear as day. As someone who was once an inheritor of the Li family, he had been groomed to become a family head ever since he was young, so his thought process was smooth and based on reason. If there wasn't already a better choice, the Li family would never bear to let Li Shiyu walk on the medical path.

"I'm just worried that Boss might be injured and that he doesn't have enough medical agents with him. If he doesn't get the agents in time, it may affect his health in the future." Li Shiyu explained why he wanted to leave now. The thieves came and left quickly, so there was a huge possibility that Boss won his fight.

"I understand, but I want to go too." Luo Chao hurriedly caught up with him.

"If you leave, what will happen to the Jialan Ship?" Li Shiyu understood that Luo Chao was worried about her fiance but as the captain of the Jialan Ship, it wasn't right for her to leave.

"It's alright. My brother is here." Luo Chao gave a naughty smile.

"Huh?" Li Shiyu was puzzled. What did this have to do with Luo Lang?

Luo Chao pouted. "Hmph, my brother always asks me to pretend to be him. This time, he can pretend to be me."

"Huh?" This time, Li Shiyu was stunned.

"Let's go, Brother Shiyu. I've already told Jialan to inform my brother." Luo Chao hooked Li Shiyu's arm and smiled at him sweetly.

"I see. You're Luo Lang now." Li Shiyu understood her intention now. Luo Chao would return to the rainbow palace as Luo Lang. Fine, this could be a way for Luo Lang to compensate his little sister after years of not taking care of her and leaving her without a care in the world. Li Shiyu abandoned the poor Luo Lang decisively.

Thus, 'Luo Lang', Ji Ming, Yu Shangfei, Tang Ningyu, Mu Chaoran, Li Shiyu, and Han Xuya brought a portion of the servants from the rainbow palace back.

Lord Gen's guardians were with them so their journey back to the rainbow palace was very peaceful. No insensible people came out to block them or create trouble for them.

1383 Reckless.

When they returned to the rainbow palace, they went directly to the main hall. As they pushed open the door to the main hall, the sight of an apocalypse was revealed to them. However, there was no one in sight. Everyone's expression turned grave when they couldn't see Ling Lan. Under Ji Ming's lead, they rushed towards Ling Lan's room.

"Boss!" Han Xuya was the most anxious out of everyone. She was so worried about Ling Lan's safety that she recklessly pushed the door open without asking and ran inside.

Behind her, Luo Chao stood there, looking helplessly at her hand. She wanted to grab Han Xuya but she missed her by just an inch.

"Hmph~" A cold snort was heard. Then, the familiar voice of Boss entered their ears. "Come in."

Hearing the calm voice, everyone finally felt relieved. They took a deep breath before stepping into the room.

Once they entered the room, they saw Han Xuya being locked up in a huge ice cube three meters away from the main door, only her head was not encased in ice. She looked at them pleadingly as she mouthed out the word 'help'. She was obviously asking them to save her as soon as possible. She was probably afraid of angering Boss so she didn't make any sound.

Mu Chaoran smiled when he saw this. He walked over and patted the sturdy and huge ice cube. He said, "We can't destroy this. You have to wait for Boss."

Han Xuya glared at Mu Chaoran when she saw him teasing her. She turned and looked pleadingly at Luo Chao and Li Shiyu. She knew that only these two people could help her.

Luo Chao shook her head helplessly. She had no choice but to shout into the bedroom, "Boss, we're here. Are you still resting?"

"Wait for me for a moment." Ling Lan's cold reply came from the room. Li Shiyu frowned slightly. Boss's voice sounded a little weak. It looked like Boss was seriously injured in his fight.

However, there were some people here whom he wasn't sure whether they were his allies. Thus, Li Shiyu suppressed the worry in his heart. He would wait until there was no one around before treating Boss.

After some time, Ling Lan slowly walked out of the room with a red cloak over her shoulders. She glanced at the group of people indifferently.

Luo Chao blushed at the sight. She didn't expect Boss to be so handsome when she wore a red cloak. The bright red colour and the cold aura of Bboss were two extremes but on Ling Lan, they seemed strangely harmonious.

Mu Chaoran and Tang Ningyu felt confused when they saw Ling Lan. Was this still the pure and invisible Little Brother Shaoyun in their memory?

Of course, this wasn't the cold and oppressive Major General Ling they saw on Planet General either.

The current Ling Lan was still cold but he wasn't extremely cold like how she was in the army. She was more indifferent now. She gave off the feeling that she had forsaken the world, looking at the world coldly as a bystander. It felt as though nothing mattered to her. Her aura wasn't as domineering as before when no one dared to look at her in the eyes. However, her nonchalant glance was still too piercing for someone to look directly at her.

"Sit." Ling Lan signaled for everyone to sit down and talk.

Hearing Ling Lan talking, Luo Chao regained her senses. She couldn't bear to see Han Xuya being punished so Luo Chao pleaded for her. "Boss, Xuya was reckless, but she was just worried about you and wanted to see you. Please forgive her."

Ling Lan glanced at Han Xuya. Han Xuya looked like she knew what she did was wrong. Thus, Ling Lan flicked her finger and the ice cube around Han Xuya dispersed immediately.

"Don't be so reckless in the future," Ling Lan said.

Based on how natural Han Xuya pushed open her door, she probably did it many times in the military camp. It was alright if she just pushed her door or Luo Chao's door but if she pushed other men's door like this, wouldn't she suffer if she saw anything she shouldn't see?

Fine, Ling Lan never thought that the men would be the ones that would suffer in that situation. If a situation like that happened, she would decisively stand on the lady's side.

"I understand, Boss." Han Xuya quickly raised her hand to show that she understood.

Everyone sat down. Ling Lan looked at Ji Ming. "What happened yesterday?"

Ji Ming quickly stood up and replied, "There were indeed many factions that got greedy. Many of those dirty thieves came." As he spoke, he looked at Luo Chao and Li Shiyu before continuing, "However, the Jialan Ship had a mecha clan protecting it so everything ended well."

Even the people of the starship came to visit Lord Gen. From the looks of it, Lord Gen's position in the Soul Society wasn't as simple as he thought.

"That's good." Ling Lan looked at Li Shiyu.

Li Shiyu didn't need Ling Lan to open her mouth to know what she wanted to ask. He said, "There are some injured but no one died."

Ling Lan nodded her head in satisfaction. This was just the start of her overall plan, so she didn't hope to see casualties so early. Although Ling Lan knew that they would be casualties in her pursuit to conquer the Lawless Lands, she still hoped to push it as far back as possible.

Ji Ming remembered the mess they saw in the main hall. He couldn't suppress his curiosity so he asked, "Lord Gen, what happened in the main hall. Did someone attack the rainbow palace?"

"Oh, that place… Lord Kun and I got excited during our chat so we decided to have a duel. I didn't notice the state of the main hall." Ling Lan replied dispassionately, "Since you asked, you'll be in charge of the maintenance of the main hall."

"Yes, Lord Gen," Ji Ming replied happily. To him, this was the first step Lord Gen was taking in trusting him.

"Go ahead." Ling Lan waved her hand. Ji Ming left the room and started getting busy with repairing the main hall.

There were now only the people from Lingtian and the Flying Dragon Special Forces left in the room. Li Shiyu looked at Ling Lan and enquired whether these two people from the Flying Dragon Special Forces could be trusted.

Ling Lan gave him a look to tell them that they were alright. Li Shiyu put down his worry and immediately rushed over to Ling Lan's side. He took out a small device and started inspecting Ling Lan with it.

Luo Chao and Han Xuya looked at Ling Lan worriedly as they noticed her pale face.

"Boss, why didn't you take the Nuwa agent?" Li Shiyu was slightly furious.

He detected that Ling Lan's old injury had flared up again because she fought before her old injury could recover. Hence, with the addition of this new injury seriously damaged her body. This kind of injury was the hardest to treat as it needed to be treated slowly. Once a mistake was made during the recovery process, there would be lost-lasting implications. As a responsible military doctor, Li Shiyu hated this kind of patient. First, they were hard to treat, and second, they were irresponsible people who didn't take care of their bodies.

"I finished it," Ling Lan said calmly.

"You finished it?" Li Shiyu exclaimed in surprise. Boss only left them for a few days and he already finished all the Nuwa agents he brought along with him? Those were life-saving agents. Did Boss drink them for his three meals?

"Yeah. I almost died so I used all of them." The way Ling Lan talked about her close shave to death made it sound extremely casual.

1384 Identity Of The Spy

Li Shiyu was shaken to his core. Just how severe was Boss's injuries for him to use up that many Nuwa agents? Everyone was totally aware that Boss was heaven's child who could have anything he wanted in life. Their current situation was a perfect example of this, where Boss easily took over the position of Lord Gen after coming to the Lawless Lands for only such a short amount of time. However, no one knew that him acquiring this position almost had cost him his life.

After thinking about the struggles Boss had encountered, Li Shiyu rejoiced that he made the decision to come. At least when Boss goes to the front-lines, he would be able to nurse Boss's body when he returned back after a tough battle.

While he was praising himself in his head, his hands didn't stop moving as he prepared two vials of Nuwa agents before handing them to Ling Lan.

Ling Lan calmly took them off Li Shiyu's hands and drank them immediately. With Nuwa agent by her side, her recovery speed would increase by quite a lot. In a place that was fraught with danger, quickly recovering can ensure her own battle strength and safety.

Ling Lan quickly absorbed most of the Nuwa agent's effects. The rest of the effects must be absorbed slowly. The amount of Nuwa agent Li Shiyu had given her was very precise. If there was anymore, her body wouldn't be able to absorb it which would be a waste.

After all, this was not the Federation. Li Shiyu had the ability of creating the agent, but here he didn't have the materials to create anymore. In a barren place like this, Nuwa agents were basically equivalent to another life, so they must not waste even a drop of it.

Feeling her condition becoming much better, Ling Lan placed her attention on Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran. Yesterday, when she was deflecting the suspicion on her from the 13 Lords, she didn't have any time to speak to them in detail. Now, the danger had passed so Ling Lan was in the mood to speak with them.

"You probably already know roughly what I want to do. Tell me, are you planning on going back or staying?" asked Ling Lan in a straightforward manner.

"You want to make use of this barren land?" Tang Ningyu asked with a disapproving expression. "Will that be of any use? You should return to the Federation with us instead. The position of general of the 23rd division is waiting for you. Your future shouldn't be wasted in such a barren place."

"What's the military headquarters' answer for my father's death?" asked Ling Lan coldly.

"…" Tang Ningyu was silenced by Ling Lan's oddly piercing words. He didn't know how to respond.

"Just say it. Although I already know what they did, I still want to know how despicable they can be." Ling Lan pulled on her sleeves as her expression turned colder than normal. Looking at the sight before them, Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran felt that the icy cold Major General Ling from the past had returned.

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran looked at each other with vigilance. Then, in the end, Mu Chaoran bit his lip as he said, "Taking on the enemy without being given any orders to engage! Dealing with private matters over performing his duties!"

"Great, great, great! Haha…" Ling Lan laughed angrily. Her malevolent aura quickly exploded outwards.

"Ugh!" Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran's chests felt as if a fist had ruthlessly struck them. A mouthful of blood instantly came out from their mouths.

Luckily, Ling Lan only fully let go for a slight moment. Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't be just spitting out blood. On the other side, Li Shiyu, Han Xuya and Luo Chao were not even one bit affected. Despite being overly angry, she didn't lose her rationality. Her force of presence was still controlled perfectly. It was only sent towards Mu Chaoran and Tang Ningyu.

"Haha, that's the military headquarters for you! In the Twilight Empire, which one of the steps that my father took wasn't after careful planning and thought? If it wasn't for their devious scheme, why would he leave a winning battle to come and save me?" Ling Lan laughed out maniacally. "Even though it is all their fault, they not only push away all responsibility for their crimes, they even dirty the name of my father. Tell me, what can I do against a completely corrupt military headquarters if I go back? I probably would become a puppet that they can toss back and forth."

"However, you can't resolve General Ling's grievances by being here," shouted Mu Chaoran. He didn't want Ling Lan to walk a crooked path. The stronger Ling Lan became, the more afraid he was that she would walk the wrong path. If that day were to come, it would be the end of the Federation.

"I can't now, but it doesn't mean I can't go back in the future," Ling Lan regained her composure and said in a calm expression. The anger she had festing in her body seemed to have disappeared.

Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran stared blankly after hearing those words. Mu Chaoran recovered quicker of the two. "You want to take over the Lawless Lands? That's impossible."

Only by becoming the king of the Lawless Lands, would Ling Lan have the qualifications to negotiate with the Federation. Then, there would be hope for the military headquarters to give some leeway and right the wrong they did to Ling Xiao.

"Why would it be impossible? I'm already one of the 13 Lords," asked Ling Lan.

"It's impossible. No matter if it's the Federation, Caesar or any other nations, they won't allow the Lawless Lands to have just one king." said Tang Ningyu with certainty. As the next generation leader who was developed by the Flying Dragon Special Forces, the database Tang Ningyu had access to was vast. For example, secrets regarding the Lawless Lands.

"I know. There's spies hidden in here from many nations. Once they discover danger, they would work with their home nation to create chaos and bloodshed." During the time on the Lawless Lands, Ling Lan had been reading through the documented events on the Lawless Lands. She had more or less discovered some patterns.

Tang Ningyu's mouth moved but in the end, no words came out of his mouth. In his mind, the Federation wouldn't resort to doing that.

"I also know that some of these spies have risen quite high here. For example, being the guardians of the 13 Lords." While Ling Lan was speaking, she was also focused on Tang Ningyu's expression. "Some may even have become one of the 13 Lords…"

After those words were said, Tang Ningyu's eyes twitched a little. Despite it being hard to detect, how could it escape from Ling Lan's sharp eyes?

Seeing that, Ling Lan narrowed her eyes and smirked. It was just as she had expected!

In the past few days, Ling Lan had been thinking about an issue. It was clear that Lord Qian and Lord Kun were strong, but why had they never thought about unifying the Lawless Lands? With the strength of the Lord Qian and Kun, it was definitely possible.

Unless, Lord Qian wasn't in the god-realm like the rumours said. However, all of the documented information showed that the possibility of Lord Qian had entered the god-realm was highly likely.

Lord Kun, who just fought with Ling Lan, was clearly halfway into the god-realm. Someone who could be respected by someone who was halfway into the god-realm, other than an actual god-realm individual, there was no other exception.

The fight with Lord Kun wasn't just to buy her more time. Ling Lan was also using that fight to determine Lord Qian's real strength.

Both sides were probing each other. Perhaps Ling Lan fell into the trap of believing the fake facade the opponent had purposely created. However, Ling Lan had always been cautious. She would rather assume her opponents to be stronger than her than to think they were weaker.

The only thing that could scare Lord Qian from unifying the Lawless was definitely the person or people pulling the strings behind the 13 Lords. Or perhaps Lord Qian himself was also a spy.

This prediction seemed absurd, but after careful thought, it was a possibility.

1385 Damage!

It was highly likely the Lawless Lands being in a messy state was because of that possibility. A treaty of alliance between the 13 Lords but on the surface, they flooded each other's land pillaging, killing, raiding, doing everything possible to make it seem that peace would be impossible between the 13 Lords, and the reason for them doing so? They wasted countless lives of innocent citizens with terror just to create an image of an unstable land to throw off the surveillance being put on them by the other nations

So what if spies were embedded in their power structure? They had spent their entire youth, maybe even their entire life at the Lawless Lands. Ultimately, humans were slaves to their emotions, and as time passed by, emotions would change. When people obtain positions of power, they would be more susceptible to their selfish desires, abandoning what they had in the Federation just to fulfill their selfish desires here. All in all, people's intent would change over time.

"The 13 Lords are very interesting." Ling Lan smiled. "We have a lot of time. We can slowly dig deeper into them, and I'm sure there'll definitely be something."

Tang Ningyu calmed down and took a deep breath. He said, "Lieutenant General Ling, I hope that you can consider this carefully. You're one of the 13 Lords now, but it won't affect the overall power structure of the entire Lawless Lands. Hence, the nations won't act when they receive the news. But, when they realise that you have the intention of unifying the Lawless Lands, they will definitely get rid of you at all costs. There is no question in that."

"We won't let them know my intention then." Ling Lan smiled at Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran ambiguously. "Are you planning to tell them what I said to the Federation?"

Tang Ningyu pursed his lips tightly. The emotions in his gaze were complicated. He couldn't decide what he should do in that instant. After remaining quiet for some time, he finally replied, "The order I received is to protect you. The spies have nothing to do with me."

In the end, he still lost to his feelings for Pei Shaoyun. He only interacted with Pei Shaoyun for a short one month and met with his real identity a few times after that. By right, he shouldn't have such a deep emotional attachment to him. However, in the depths of his mind, the innocent smile and the eyes that trusted him fully would always appear in his mind whenever he tried to ignore him. Because of this feeling of guilt, he was unable to do anything harmful to the real identity of Pei Shaoyun.

Forget it, he should just pretend that he didn't know anything. He was supposed to watch over the Ling Lan, not the Lawless Lands. Why should he care?

Also, if Ling Lan was able to hide the truth from the tight surveillance and unify the Lawless Lands, that was his ability to do that.

Tang Ningyu decided to be a bystander. As for Mu Chaoran, he wasn't as loyal to the Federation or to the Flying Dragon Special Forces as Tang Ningyu. Thus, he obviously wouldn't report Ling Lan to the Flying Dragon Special Forces. From the very beginning, he already decided to side with Ling Lan.

Plus, a hacker like Ling Lan wouldn't let them have any opportunity to leak the news out.

The two of them understood this point so they chose not to do anything. They were already Ling Lan's guests, so they wouldn't be so stupid as to become his prisoner.

Li Lanfeng, who had stayed in the Chaotic Lands for three months, finally compiled all the supplies Ling Lan needed with the help of Xia Qingyi.

He yearned to go back to Ling Lan so he left the port the same night and rushed all the way to the Lawless Lands. By the time he arrived at the Lawless Lands, he had already left Ling Lan for five months.

The moment Li Lanfeng reached the port of Lawless Lands, he called the manager of the port to look after the three transport ships. After he settled everything he needed to do, he rushed all the way back to the rainbow palace.

This was the first time he left Ling Lan for so long. He missed Ling Lan so much that he almost went mad. One day apart feels like three autumns. Li Lanfeng finally had a taste of what this felt like.

He dashed straight to Ling Lan's room. He knew that if there wasn't any matter for him to deal with, Ling Lan would most probably be cultivating or resting in his room.

"Ling Lan!" Li Lanfeng pushed the door open and shouted happily.

"Ah, Big Brother Li is back." A pleasant voice much like the gentle sounds of a windchime floated over.

Li Lanfeng stopped in his tracks abruptly. The joy on his face disappeared instantly and his expression turned cold.

But, the next second, a smile appeared on his face again. His aura turned gentle. "It's Luo Chao."

Yes, it must be because the Jialan Ship had arrived. He missed Ling Lan so much that he forgot all about the Jialan Ship. They needed Luo Chao to merge with Jialan in order for them to send the supplies within such a tight time limit.

"Why are you in Boss's room?" This was the matter Li Lanfeng was most concerned about. Even if she was Boss's fiancée, they should avoid arousing those rumours, right?

"Boss asked Xuya and I to move in together with him," Luo Chao said shyly. Although they knew that Boss was a lady, others didn't. Thus, when they moved in, everyone would definitely think that they were already Boss's women.

In actual fact, this was indeed the case.

Luo Chao's words made Li Lanfeng's heart ache tremendously. His heart couldn't bear such torment.

"C-Con…" He wasn't able to say the word 'congratulations' no matter how hard he gritted his teeth.

Li Lanfeng didn't say anything but Luo Chao understood what he wanted to say. Her face immediately turned hot. Fortunately, she still remembered the order Ling Lan gave her. She said hurriedly, "Boss asked you to meet him in the study."

Although Ling Lan's decision would cause some misunderstanding, Luo Chao and Han Xuya knew that this was Boss's way of protecting them. There were too many powerful people in the rainbow palace. All of them were unruly and belonged to the previous Lord Gen. They didn't dare to create any trouble now because they succumbed to Boss's frightening strength but that didn't mean that they might not do something stupid. For instance, they might challenge Ling Lan's subordinates to crack down Ling Lan's powerful image.

The two ladies were on the weaker side so they were easy targets for these people. When someone wasn't strong enough, their identity became even more important.

Li Lanfeng forced the heart-throbbing pain back into the recesses of his body when he heard this. He quickly turned around and dashed into Ling Lan's study.

The moment he entered the room, he heard Ling Lan's indifferent voice. "You are back."

Hearing the words, Li Lanfeng felt warmth in his heart. Ling Lan's words seemed to have appeased the throbbing pain a little.

"I… didn't expect your two fiancées to come." Li Lanfeng had already lost his cool. He didn't choose to report his work but instead, insisted on finding the truth.

"Luo Chao came so it would be weird if Xuya didn't come." Ling Lan looked at Li Lanfeng in surprise. With Li Lanfeng's intelligence, he should be able to guess what had happened easily.

"I thought that Qi Long wouldn't bear to let her go." Li Lanfeng couldn't control his desire to tamper their relationship so he acted decisively.

Ling Lan was shocked. "What do you mean?"

Li Lanfeng rubbed his forehead in frustration. He seemed to regret what he said without thinking just now.

"I knew Xuya likes Qi Long. Are you saying Qi Long likes her too?" Ling Lan was happy. She didn't want her two younger sisters to really become her fake wives. If there were really people who like them without fearing that they would offend her or get beaten to death by her, and she felt that the man was good too, she didn't mind letting her younger sisters go.

Ling Lan had more expressions than normal but the greater the fluctuations in her emotions, the colder her expression became. This made it harder for people to understand her true emotions.

Hence, in Li Lanfeng's eyes, Ling Lan looked angry.

As expected, Ling Lan liked women. He liked his two fiancées.

1386 The Result Of Hunger

At this realization, Li Lanfeng was in despair. Did this mean that he doesn't have any hope at all?

'No! Nothing is certain until the last moment. I still have a chance. I must have.'

Li Lanfeng's eyes were sparkling. Initially, he was planning on progressing their relationship slowly. He wanted to ingrain himself into Ling Lan's heart with baby steps. However, the arrival of Luo Chao and Han Xuya lit a fire under his butt. He now understood he must take the initiative. If not, he would lose everything.

"In the past, I unintentionally noticed that Qi Long's gaze is a little special when he looks at Xuya. That's why I took notice of it." The moment Li Lanfeng decided to take the initiative, he wouldn't be soft-hearted.

"Qi Long has been hiding it from me very well," Ling Lan controlled her urge to roll her eyes as she spoke calmly.

It was no surprise that they were starting to look for love since they were now adults. She still remembered in the past when Han Xuya confessed to Qi Long. That brat rejected her directly with the reason of wanting to focus on becoming stronger.

"I think he's just afraid of offending you. After all, Xuya is your woman. Even if Qi Long really likes her, he won't dare to say it." Li Lanfeng pushed forward secretly again.

"You know that I was heavily injured at that time so I had to accept Luo Chao and Xuya's care under those circumstances. My family rule is like this so I must abide by it. But, if the two of them like each other, I can't heartlessly break them up, right? But, the brat's performance really disappoints me. He is really bad," Ling Lan said angrily.

Was she so unreasonable in Qi Long's eyes?

"Maybe the more you love someone, the harder it is to break the status quo… Plus, Qi Long has respected you ever since he was young. He takes you as his elder brother. He might feel bad if he troubled you with his love struggles." Li Lanfeng pretended to be speaking up for Qi Long.

"I have to thank you for telling me this, Li Lanfeng." Ling Lan felt thankful in her heart. She didn't believe that Li Lanfeng had a slip of his tongue. He must have discovered something so he used this chance to remind her.

Ling Lan lifted her right hand and rubbed the middle of her eyebrows. In the future, she might have to worry about her younger sisters' marriage to prevent some men from snatching them away when she wasn't paying attention.

Although Qi Long was a brother she groomed personally, in this case, she would stand on her younger sister's side. If anyone dared to bully her younger sisters, even if they were her brothers, she would beat them up.

Li Lanfeng saw this and hurried forward. He stood behind Ling Lan and helped her to massage her temples.

"Actually, there's no need to be angry. You should know that you're the dream lover of all the women in the Federation. If you want, there will be a line of women waiting to marry you," Li Lanfeng comforted Ling Lan softly. He was afraid that the issue he said would make him Ling Lan unhappy.

"The Federation? Dream lover? Isn't that talking about my father?" Ling Lan felt speechless. Everyone envied her but to her, this was nothing to be happy about.

"That's the generation before us. Two years ago, the military did a survey. The person that the ladies in our generation wanted to marry the most is you." Li Lanfeng's heart was dripping blood. If he had a choice, he didn't want to say this. This meant that he had many potential love rivals, too many. What made him the most frustrated was that he still reminded Ling Lan about it voluntarily. Li Lanfeng felt that in this relationship, all of his actions were getting dumber by the second.

"You mean that without Han Xuya, there will still be many ladies waiting for me to pick?" Ling Lan finally understood why Li Lanfeng said this to her. She found it infuriating and funny at the same time. She felt touched too. Without a doubt, Li Lanfeng was worried that Qi Long and Han Xuya's issue would hurt her so he took great care to console her with those words.

"You said it." Li Lanfeng pushed the blame away from him instantly.

"I'm not a stud," Ling Lan said with disdain. "One wife is enough for me. Also, I don't have the heart to think about these now. This is what I've discovered during this period of time. Lanfeng, take a look at it." Ling Lan quickly ended the useless conversation and took a file from her table. She passed it to Li Lanfeng who was behind her.

Li Lanfeng took the file and quickly read through it. About a minute later, he closed the file.

"What do you think?" Ling Lan leaned back on her chair and turned her chair to face Li Lanfeng.

Li Lanfeng placed the file back on the table and contemplated for a while before replying, "The waters in the Lawless Lands are very deep. It's deeper than we expected."

"You see it too." The corners of Ling Lan's lips moved up slightly.

"That's because the information you chose is very useful. It's all very scattered but once you put them together, you'll still be able to notice a link between them." Admiration flashed past Li Lanfeng's eyes.

"The difficulty has increased but this is an opportunity for us too." Ling Lan's eyes shone brightly. At first, she thought that she would need at least eight to ten years to complete her goal but from the looks of it, if she planned her steps properly, she might be able to reach her goal faster.

Li Lanfeng said, "Diverting attention!"

Ling Lan said, "Substituting one for another!"

The two of them came up with their opinions simultaneously. When they heard each other's words, they exchanged a glance and smiled. Their plans were different but they knew that the result was the same.

Recently, the entire rainbow palace was very busy, from the top all the way to the bottom.

Whether it was the authoritative figures of the rainbow palace, or the maids, all of them very extremely busy.

During this time, the biggest change was the life of the maids. At the start, they always lowered their heads in fear but now, they were able to look straight into anyone's eyes.

Anyone, including the men under the other 13 Lords or the authoritative figures in the rainbow palace, felt their hearts shaking if they laid their eyes on these maids.

The maids were able to be so confident… Yes, and it was all because they were the personal guards of Lord Gen's wives.

That's right, those maids who didn't have any pride, the maids that could be bullied by anyone in the past, were gathered by the two wives of Lord Gen. Out of boredom, they gathered the maids to train them into their personal guards. The two wives even set a rule. The maids had to come to training every morning. All their work would be shifted to the afternoon. No one was supposed to disturb them during their training.

What? What about those team leaders, managers, or guardians who didn't have anyone serving them?

Nothing would happen. If they couldn't accept this, they could find Lord Gen for their maids.

This was the oppressive reply the two wives gave them.

Such actions undoubtedly ignited people's anger. So unsurprisingly, the infuriated group of guardians and managers went to look for Lord Gen to give them an answer.

They looked for a long time and finally found their Lord Gen in the kitchen.

When they saw him, they were all dumbstruck.

The powerful Lord Gen in their memory was raising a kitchen knife and gesturing the knife at a fish on the chopping board. He seemed to be considering how he should cut the fist.

He looked… a little disheveled.

When Lord Gen saw them, he asked calmly, "What's the matter?"

When he found out what they were here for, he replied with a question. "Don't you have hands?"

"So?"

"So… you go make your own breakfast! Do you understand?" Lord Gen growled furiously at them. He looked like a malevolent devil coming from the depths of hell. No one dared to protest anymore.

After everyone calmed down and analysed the situation, they instantly understood that the malicious gaze from their Lord Gen was because he was too hungry.

1387 Want To Do.

Ling Lan laid lazily on her soft couch. She felt like she received a new life.

At the side, there were no leftovers on the plates. A pair of slender and beautiful hands were tidying the table carefully.

"I didn't expect your cooking skills to be so good." Ling Lan was in a good mood. Her eyes were curved upwards like the beautiful crescent moon.

This scene was entirely different from Ling Lan's usual cold and proper image. Somehow, it was still mesmerizing.

At the rare sight, Li Lanfeng's hands trembled slightly. The plates he was holding almost slid off his trembling hands. Fortunately, he reacted quickly. He exerted force on his fingers, managing to nip the plate between his fingers. Luckily, he didn't embarrass himself in front of Ling Lan.

"In the past, I lived alone so if I want to eat something, I have to figure it out myself," Li Lanfeng replied calmly. He wouldn't tell Ling Lan that in order to win his heart over, he secretly learned many new techniques. Cooking skills was ranked the number one technique you had to know when chasing someone, so he definitely learned it well.

This was the kind of person Li Lanfeng was. If he decided to do something, he would do it to perfection.

His hard work finally paid off. Li Lanfeng waited for a long time to show off his cooking skills, and the chance came.

When he knew that Ling Lan was figuring out how to cook in the kitchen, Li Lanfeng prepared an elaborate breakfast for him. However, he didn't send the food over directly, instead he waited until Ling Lan almost exploded in anger because of her hunger. Then, he would swoop in like an angel descending from heaven, gracing Ling Lan with food that could save her life.

As expected, Ling Lan was extremely touched.

Li Lanfeng was indeed very scheming. He loved Ling Lan crazily but when he should be composed, he remained calm and calculated how he could get the most out of this serving of breakfast.

"You're really impressive. I tried to learn how to cook many times but I kept failing…" Ling Lan looked at Li Lanfeng in admiration. She had already realised that her talent in cooking was close to nil. She reckoned she inherited this gene from her mother. Luckily, her father's cooking skills were amazing.

"You don't have to worry about such small matters. It's a waste of your effort. "Li Lanfeng smiled. "In the future, I can be in charge of your breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"That'd be great. Thank you as always, Lanfeng." Ling Lan smiled in satisfaction. This would really solve her greatest difficulty. These past few days, she was really very hungry… Mind you, she had a huge appetite ever since she was young. If you stopped her from eating, she would really turn berserk.

She didn't know how Luo Chao and Han Xuya came up with the idea to train the maids. Ling Lan couldn't help but recalled what happened a few days ago.

"Boss." Luo Chao and Han Xuya rushed into her study room excitedly.

"What the matter?" Ling Lan put down the things she was doing and asked them with her raised head.

"We thought of what to do," Han Xuya shouted happily.

For the past three months, they could only stay in Ling Lan's room. If they wanted to go out, they had to make ample preparations. Ling Lan had to send a few powerful guardians to protect them or send Zhao Jun or Luo Lang to do it.

There were just too many dangers in the Lawless Lands. No one knew what would happen if they went out. Plus, Ling Lan was still reorganising the various factions in Lord Gen's territory. Where there was suppression, there would be resistance. At places where they couldn't see with their eyes, the battles never stopped. Ling Lan had to be careful.

One or two days were easy to bear but once they stayed here longer, Han Xuya and Luo Chao got bored. Of course, they were people who were able to restrain themselves. They knew they shouldn't create trouble for Boss at this time so they didn't say anything to her.

However, Ling Lan was always concerned about her two younger sisters so she soon realised their boredom. Thus, she asked them to look for meaningful things to do in the rainbow palace.

Her younger sisters were very obedient. They decided on the spot that they should go back and think about this carefully.

They thought deeply for more than ten days. They took so long that Ling Lan wanted to give them things to do. But, the two of them finally found an answer.

Ling Lan allowed them to think of a fun activity to do because she wanted to train them. She wanted them to learn how to quickly find their position in a new environment. This was how Xie Yi was trained in the past.

"Fine, tell me what you have thought of. After all, you have thought for a really long time." Ling Lan put down the documents in her hands and teased them.

Luo Chao glanced at Han Xuya. Han Xuya opened her mouth and said, "Boss, we have been studying the ranking system of the Lawless Lands. This is a place where strength determines your status. Powerful people will have a better life. In an organisation, they will be able to sit in high positions and enjoy more authority and benefit."

"Just like the nations in the central region, ladies are at the bottom of the social status. Their lives are probably worse than the ladies living in the central nations. In the Lawless Lands, the lowest beings, the maids, are women. Women can be sold and killed whenever people want. They are treated like animals…" Luo Chao's expression was sorrowful and furious. This place was a woman's hell. Unless they met a good husband, no one would have a good ending.

The women that had better lives were the maids of the 13 Lords. No wonder the women in the Lawless Lands turned crazy in order to be placed on the waiting list when the 13 Lords choose their maids every year. Those parents who loved their daughter were willing to spend a huge sum of money to buy a waiting list position. Those without money would kill to get a position.

"But, in actual fact, the women in the Lawless Lands are not as weak as the people from the central regions. After Brother Shiyu's experiments, we realised that the special climate and environment of the Lawless Lands caused a rise in people's physical constitutions here. This doesn't just apply to men. It applies to women too," Luo Chao continued speaking.

"It looks like you really did your homework. You even bother our extremely busy military doctor." Ling Lan smiled mysteriously at Luo Chao. Only she was able to ask Li Shiyu for a favour. If you asked who's the person who doted on Luo Chao the most in Lingtian, it wasn't her. It wasn't Luo Chao's blood-related brother, Luo Lang either. Instead, it was their military doctor, Li Shiyu. He had always loved her like his blood-related younger sister.

"I didn't. Brother Shiyu was already analysing the special environment of the Lawless Lands. He knew that I needed it so he gave me the result of his research," Luo Chao replied hurriedly. She just went to find Brother Shiyu and coincidentally, the thing he was researching on was what she needed.

"I'll believe whatever you say then." Ling Lan shrugged. What else could she do? This was her beloved younger sister. She couldn't expose her, right?

"Boss," Luo Chao and Han Xuya said simultaneously.

"Fine, fine, fine." Ling Lan quickly raised her hands to surrender in front of the whining Luo Chao and Han Xuya. "Continue speaking."

Her younger sisters' whining skills were really powerful. Even though she was a woman, she couldn't handle it. Ling Lan really felt worried about the men who liked her younger sisters.

1388 Very Shameless.

"We performed an examination on the physical constitutions of the maids in the palace, and we found out that most of them have physical constitutions that are as strong as the both of us. Some even have better physiques than us." Han Xuya's eyes lit up as she recounted their findings, as this finding made them exceptionally exhilarated.

"So…" Ling Lan seemed to understand what they wanted to do.

"So, we decided to train these maids to let them understand that women can take charge of their own lives too, and that they are not inferior to anyone, not even to their male counterparts," Han Xuya clenched his fist as she spoke excitedly.

"In the past, we were able to form an all-female combat team in Lingtian. Today, we will form an army of capable women that will strike fear into whoever hears of their name." Luo Chao took a step forward as she puffed up her chest confidently. Her face was already red in excitement and her eyes were sparkling brightly as she envisioned the future of her successful army.

"Have you formulated a plan for your goal?" Ling Lan thought for a moment and asked.

"We've already done it. Boss, please take a look at it." Han Xuya quickly took out the proposal they prepared and passed it to Ling Lan.

Looking at the nervous and anticipating faces of Han Xuya and LUo Chao, Ling Lan let out a wide smile like a proud mom would and said, "You really made ample preparations. You even have the proposal ready."

Han Xuya scratched her head and smiled foolishly in reply.

Ling Lan carefully read through the carefully written and well thought out words and snickered a little

"It looks like you didn't just use my military doctor. You even brought in my strategist." Ling Lan smiled ambiguously at Luo Chao and Han Xuya again.

"No, w-we did not. We really didn't. Lanfeng just felt that our idea is very good but is lacking in some aspects, so he kindly offered us some pointers to improve on the plan." Han Xuya wiped away the cold sweat off her forehead. In reality, they really did use Boss's name to ask many of her loyal subordinates to help come up with this meticulous plan.

"It's fine. Anyways, the proposal is very detailed. The timeline is thoroughly planned out and segmented well too. If you can persist with this plan, you might really see some great results." Every aspect of the proposal was written clearly, and issues that might come up were already geared up with contingency plans to resolve them. If they followed the proposal, there would be no problem.

But, even still, it was quite unexpected for Li Lanfeng to help them with their proposal. What was even more surprising was that she could tell he had spent a significant amount of effort to write this proposal. Ling Lan knew Li Lanfeng well enough to tell that he wasn't a person who would do tasks that were of no benefit to him unless she was the one who ordered him to. Without her direct order, Li Lanfeng would reject anyone who required his expertise. Even if he couldn't coldly reject the person entirely because of their relationship, he would just come up with some half-assed plans and be done with it.

At that time, Ling Lan didn't actually understand why Li Lanfeng would help Han Xuya and Luo Chao so much. Now, after satiating her hunger, it was as if a hemorrhage in her brain had been unblocked, ideas of why Li Lanfeng would help them surfaced in her mind until only one idea persisted.

"Were you the one who gave Luo Chao and Xuya the idea to train the maids?" Ling Lan immediately sat up straight from the sofa. Her eyes narrowed as she thought, 'So this is the fellow who caused me to be hungry for so many days. Why did I even feel grateful towards him in the first place?'

"Not really," Li Lanfeng said with an innocent face.

However, his innocent baby face didn't work on Ling Lan as she smiled coldly. "If it wasn't you, who suggested the idea then? Anyways, why would you be so kind as to help them write up an entire proposal in the first place?"

'Hmph, are you trying to fool me? Don't you know I understand you the best? What a sneaky guy! Hnng!'

"It is a long story." Li Lanfeng gently and meticulously wiped the coffee table as he replied calmly, "When I came back, I kept noticing them sighing every day. I can't bear to see them like this so I asked them what happened."

"So, you gave them this stupid idea?" Ling Lan asked in frustration.

"No…" Li Lanfeng gave a wronged puppy-eyed look. "After hearing their concerns, I suggested Luo Chao and Xuya to return to the Jialan Ship. After all, they are the captain and vice-captain of the ship. They can go back and train their little soldiers to pass time. Luo Lang will also be able to come back. Plus, I think Luo Lang is more suited to stay here."

"But, they can't go back now." The Jialan Ship was now kept under tight surveillance from all the factions in the Lawless Lands. Luckily, everyone thought that Luo Lang was the captain of the Jialan Ship. With him being a titled domain formidable warrior and having an ace mecha clan at his beck and call, were enough to deter anymore from doing any shady business. If they revealed Luo Chao and Han Xuya as the true captains of the ship, trouble would come right on their doorsteps the very next day.

Ling Lan wasn't afraid of those direct confrontations, but she was very afraid of the secret schemes they could cook up to mess with the two ladies. So, even though it pained her seeing her sisters so sad, she had to keep Luo Chao and Han Xuya in her room.

"I know, so I asked them to cultivate whenever they have the time to improve their personal strength. Only when they have the capability to protect themselves and the people around them, can they be released." Li Lanfeng smiled. He appeared as if he was really thinking for his younger sisters.

"Hadn't they been doing that for the past three months?" Ling Lan glared at Li Lanfeng angrily. What he said achieved nothing but confused her in a giant loop. In the end, wasn't he saying the same thing?

"Yes. I just said it would be more tolerable if there are people training with them." Li Lanfeng shrugged. His expression was extremely innocent. "I just said this sentence at the end."

"Haha, so you're saying Luo Chao and Han Xuya were enlightened by your words and decided to train the maids?" Ling Lan scoffed. "Do you think I'm so easy to fool?"

"No. I might be able to fool anyone else, but I can't fool you, Ling Lan." Li Lanfeng sighed. "Aren't you the one who understands me the most?"

Ling Lan just looked at him coldly.

"Fine, I concede. I did say something else." Li Lanfeng raised his hands to surrender. He felt bitter in his heart. How frustrating. Why can't I hide anything from him? Rabbit really understood him very well. He might be unable to escape from his grasp in his entire life.

"I told them I miss the Lingtian Independent Army. If we were there, they would be able to lead their army of females to challenge the other battle teams for some fun. They won't be so bored there." Li Lanfeng finally told her the truth.

"I knew the root of the problem lies in you." Ling Lan felt strange that Han Xuya and Luo Chao would suddenly have the idea of training the maids in the palace when they never thought about this for the past three months. Now, she found the culprit who foiled her breakfast and lunch in the past few days.

"But, why did you suggest such a bad idea?" Ling Lan felt speechless. The maids all went to train, leaving no one behind to cook until it was late afternoon. If Li Lanfeng didn't help with her breakfast and lunch, she would have to resort to using her non-existent cooking skills. Ling Lan felt her heart clogging just thinking about it.

"I didn't expect you to agree." Li Lanfeng pulled a long face. He looked as if he really did mention it casually.

"You've already written such a good proposal. How can I not agree to it?" Ling Lan felt even more frustrated. If you didn't want it to happen, why would you write such a thorough proposal? She couldn't even find a reason to reject them.

"That's because you will be looking at it." Li Lanfeng appeared even more innocent. "If I didn't write it properly, you might think that my skills have decreased. I will feel very wronged if you really think that."

"Huh? Your skills are decreasing? I'll thank you if you stop being so good at shamelessly scheming against people." Ling Lan rolled her eyes at Li Lanfeng with an annoyed expression. His words were too fake. He obviously created this mess but he shamelessly denied it.

"Thank you for your compliment." Ling Lan was completely defeated by Li Lanfeng's proud look when he 'complimented' his shamelessness.

1389 Reliable?

Li Lanfeng's smile broke a little when he noticed that Ling Lan's expression was still frosty. He conceded in the end "Fine, it's my fault. I'm willing to make up for my mistake. I'll take care of all your meals from now on, is that alright?"

"At least, you're smart when it comes to appeasing me," Ling Lan replied in satisfaction. If Li Lanfeng didn't dare to admit his mistake, she would definitely drag him to the training room next door and teach him a good lesson.

Her attitude must be too good recently. All of them were starting to rebel.

Li Lanfeng laughed softly when he heard this. He carried a pile of plates and chopsticks and left Ling Lan's room.

The moment he stepped out of the door, Li Lanfeng's smile curled up even higher. He appeared a little arrogant.

His immaculate scheme allowed his plan of pursuit to finally go on full gear. First, he gave Han Xuya and Luo Chao some work to do so they didn't have to stay with Ling Lan all the time. Now, without them constantly reminding him that Ling Lan had two fiancées, he would be able to imprint himself deeper into Ling Lan's heart without interruption.

He now had more time to spend with Ling Lan with him being in charge of Ling Lan's three meals.

Li Lanfeng never thought of just making breakfast and lunch for Ling Lan. He was so greedy that he wanted to take care of her dinner too. He wanted Ling Lan to fall in love with his cooking. It would be the best if Ling Lan got addicted to his cooking. That way, Ling Lan wouldn't be able to leave him for his entire life.

Since he had already decided to chase a husband that had a difficulty grade of SSS+, Li Lanfeng knew that he had to use all kinds of methods while using a multi-pronged approach to break down the defenses in Ling Lan's heart.

Li Lanfeng never thought that he would fail. To win or die trying. He would either live a loving life with Ling Lan or die.

Ling Lan didn't know that the strategist she trusted the most actually had such 'evil thoughts' towards her. She didn't have much experience with romantic relationships, so she didn't notice the 'bad intentions' behind Li Lanfeng's current actions.

After half a year of reorganisation, Ling Lan finally took control of most of Lord Gen's territory. She took care of all those people and factions that had evil underlying intentions. Of course, this kind of reorganisation resulted in a series of bloodbath.

The people that acted were mostly Luo Lang, Zhao Jun, Tang Ningyu, and Mu Chaoran. Their methods when executing these bloodbaths were merciless and vicious. Soon, their feared name started to spread across the Lawless Lands, and soon they were deemed as the Four Heavenly Kings.

No one knew the names of these executioners, so they were given titles that used their individual unique appearance to differentiate them.

They were: Pretty Heavenly King (Luo Lang), Violent Heavenly King (Zhao Jun), Cold Heavenly King (Tang Ningyu), and Smiling Heavenly King (Mu Chaoran).

All the leaders of the various factions in the Lawless Lands knew about the Four Heavenly Kings. They were Lord Gen's most trusted confidants. Although there were ten guardians at the rainbow palace, they belonged to the previous Lord Gen, so they obviously would need some time to win over the trust of the new Lord Gen. The only guardian that the current Lord Gen trusted more was Ji Ming. Even Yu Shangfei, who accepted the new Lord Gen right at the start, lost to Ji Ming in terms of the trust given to them by Lord Gen.

Everyone thought that Yu Shangfei would be unwilling to accept this unfair treatment and would argue for his fair share of trust, but unexpectedly, Yu Shangfei voluntarily took a step back and listened to Ji Ming like a subordinate would. The other guardians of the rainbow palace were extremely astounded when they saw such a scene. It should be known that when they were still following the previous Lord Gen, Yu Shangfei was the right hand man while Ji Ming was more on the sidelines.

They didn't know that the reason Yu Shangfei suppressed his unhappiness was because he didn't have any confidence to outperform Ji Ming. Who told him to turn his coat on Ling Lan so early on. Although the new Lord Gen had told him to redeem himself by good service and didn't really punish him, the initial wrong move caused him to lose Ling Lan's trust. If he wanted to turn the tides around, he needed to perform well in the future.

During such a situation where his position was unstable, how would he dare to create any trouble? He had to tuck his tail between his legs and keep a low profile.

The old and new of the rainbow palace had a harmonious relationship with each other. Surprisingly, they actually didn't engage in internal strife, and it was all because the new Lord Gen didn't discriminate against the followers of the previous Lord Gen. Although he didn't really trust them, he still allowed them to remain in their positions while building a few new powerful teams to let his close confidants be the leaders.

When distributing miscellaneous missions, he still used the old guards. When he needed to strike hard and suppress those restless factions, he would use his confidants.

Since the Four Heavenly Kings were really young, everyone including the other 12 Lords, were waiting to see them make a laughing stock out of themselves. They wanted to see Ling Lan failing and embarrassing himself. However, although these four young men were young, their strength were on par with titled domain realm formidable warriors like them. Not only did they complete the missions Ling Lan assigned to them, they also earned a feared name for themselves.

The people that didn't take the new Lord Gen to heart didn't dare to underestimate him anymore after seeing the performance of these four young men.

But, in the Lawless Lands, peace was only temporary, and soon, Ling Lan and her men welcomed their first problem.

"Are you saying that the goods that we transported back this time were snatched by Lord Li's men?" Ling Lan was shocked when she heard the emergency report by Ji Ming.

Ji Ming nodded. "Based on the timeline, it's time for a battle royale."

Hearing the term, Ling Lan remembered the information she tidied up a few days ago. She raised her eyebrows and said, "A scuffle every three months, a battle every six months, and battle royale every year?"

"Yes. In the past few months, because of your new position, our people suppressed themselves very much. Hence, the scuffle didn't happen…" Ji Ming replied.

"So, will it be a battle or battle royale?" Ling Lan needed to ask clearly. There was a difference between a battle and battle royale. If she didn't know which one it was, she might make the wrong decision.

"Based on their movements, it should be a battle royale. However, you just succeeded the throne, so I don't know what the other lords are thinking." Ji Ming wasn't very clear on the procedures when it came to the matters of a new lord, since there had not been a change in the 13 Lords since he came here.

"A battle is a fight with one party, while battle royale is an all for nothing brawl with everyone involved." Ling Lan knocked on the handle of the ice throne and quickly started thinking of a solution.

"Let's discuss our plans on the basis that it will be a battle royale." At this moment, a gentle voice suggested behind her. It was Li Lanfeng who came in to send her lunch.

"Okay, let's do that." Ling Lan felt that this was the safer option. She nodded and said with a cold expression, "Ji Ming, immediately bring four guardians and the battle teams under them to the battlefield at the borders. Let them enjoy a good fight with Lord Li's men."

"Yes, Lord Gen," Ji Ming said excitedly. Without a doubt, this order meant that Lord Gen trusted him completely. Lord Gen gave him the right to command all the battle teams. Only a confidant could do this.

Li Lanfeng looked at Ji Ming's back as he left the palace happily. Then, he retracted his gaze and turned to look at Ling Lan. He asked, "Is he reliable?"

Li Lanfeng left the Lawless Lands for a long time so he didn't have a clear understanding of the old guards like Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei. Plus, Li Lanfeng was also a very suspicious person. Besides Ling Lan, he would suspect anyone else, much less trust them.

"You can give him about 60% of your trust. That's enough," Ling Lan replied indifferently.

This was Ling Lan. She never totally trusted anyone. She just knew how to put them to good use.

1390 Collaboration!

"I think the likelihood of it being a battle is slim. It is much more likely for them to start a battle royale." Ling Lan raised her chopsticks and ate a few mouthfuls of her lunch before she continued.

"Yes. If they really did wish to start a battle royale, they will look for you." During this period, Li Lanfeng had formed his own secret intelligence team. It was in charge of gathering all kinds of information from the territories of the other lords.

Ling Lan nodded and stopped talking. She focused on filling up her stomach.

Li Lanfeng sat at the side and looked quietly at Ling Lan. Whenever he looked at Ling Lan, he wondered how good it would be if he could just continue staring at him for his entire life.

Suddenly, Ling Lan hastened the speed of her chopsticks and finished the last bit of food. The moment she put down her chopsticks, a man in a purple gown appeared before her.

"What has happened for Lord Zhen to grace my palace with his presence?" Ling Lan calmly took the towel that Li Lanfeng passed over and wiped her hands slowly.

"Did Lord Li snatch your goods?" Lord Zhen smiled and asked.

"Yes. I want to know if this is a battle or the battle royale?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows. In order to create the impression that the Lawless Lands were in chaos, the 13 Lords collaborated with each other to create many 'games' that were built on top of numerous corpses and pools of blood. As long as they were able to achieve the results they wanted, they didn't care how many injuries or casualties were caused.

When Ling Lan realized this, she felt pity for the lowest dregs of the Lawless Lands as their fates were being in the hands of these cruel lords. However, now, she needed to be involved with those cruel lords. She really hated this feeling of helplessness. She felt contempt towards the 13 Lords as well as those who feared the potential of the Lawless Lands.

"You're indeed a smart person. The other lords were wondering if we should inform you but Lord Qian and Lord Kun said that you would have known about it already so we don't need to make the extra effort," Lord Zhen lamented.

"I'm just surprised. Since the 13 Lords are already basically on the same side, why don't you just form an alliance and develop the Lawless Lands properly?" Ling Lan asked. Her clear and transparent eyes made Lord Zhen unsure if Ling Lan was testing him or if she was really curious about it.

He contemplated for a moment before answering slowly, "Humans are hard to predict. No one can know when they will be backstabbed if they form an alliance."

"I see. None of you completely trust one another." Ling Lan nodded.

Ling Lan's straightforward and direct answer stabbed right into Lord Zhen's heart. Could we still have a friendly conversation?

"Do you trust us?" Lord Zhen refuted.

Ling Lan pondered carefully before replying, "I really can't."

Lord Zhen felt frustrated by the reply again. This fellow wasn't even willing to pretend to be friendly. He was really bad.

"Did you come because I am collaborating with you for this battle royale?" Ling Lan noticed that Lord Zhen didn't have the interest to chat further so she went straight to the point and asked for his purpose of his visit.

"Clever. You understood everything without any explanations from me." Lord Zhen gathered his composure. Maybe this youth was still young so he hadn't learned how to be slick in his speech. He shouldn't make people feel so stifled when talking to him.

"Who is our opponent?" Ling Lan asked curiously. She wanted to know how the 13 Lords choose their enemies for a battle royale.

"This time, Lord Li and Lord Demon are on the same side," Lord Zhen replied.

"This time?" Ling Lan immediately caught the main point.

Lord Zhen looked at Ling Lan meaningfully. During all their conversations, this youth was able to catch the main point of his sentence every time. This sharpness was rarely seen among the younger generations he knew. Lord Zhen already didn't plan to hide so he nodded and said, "We drew lots."

"And you chose me?" Ling Lan smiled ambiguously. It looked like the other 12 lords admitted her identity as Lord Gen on the surface but deep down, they still discriminated against outsiders. They didn't even call her during such an event and just let her fate be decided by random lots.

"Actually, as long as six lords have gathered, we can start drawing lots," Lord Zhen explained why she wasn't invited. Ling Lan didn't know if he was speaking the truth or not.

"Is it a 2 versus 2 battle royale?" The documents kept in the rainbow palace didn't explain the battle royale clearly. Thus, Ling Lan still had many questions regarding it. Since she had the chance to clarify her doubts now, she wouldn't miss it. She would ask everything she needed to ask.

"Not really. There would be six teams. Besides the team which had been decided right from the start to be our enemies, we can still form other relationships with the other teams," Lord Zhen replied.

"Form relationships… they can be your enemies or your friends, right?" Once again, Ling Lan detected the hidden meaning behind Lord Zhen's words.

Lord Zhen was speechless. He was already so obscure with his words but the other party was still able to accurately catch the important point.

"I understand. How do you want to fight?" Ling Lan replied.

"Together." Lord Zhen gave a helpless look. If it wasn't for this, why did he come here?

"I mean, are we splitting up to fight with one opponent each or are were doing it together?" Ling Lan felt helpless too. In Lingtian, she didn't even need to talk. One look was enough for her comrades, whether it was Han Jijyun or Li Lanfeng, even people like Qi Long, Zhao Jun, and Xie Yi were able to understand her intention and made the necessary arrangements. She didn't need to go into so much detail.

"Of course it's together. Based on Lord Li's temper, he won't likely split up." Lord Zhen understood the other lords very well. Lord Li had a fiery temper. He liked to gather together and attack his opponent with all his might. As for Lord Demon, she didn't like to make any decisions so normally, she would listen to what her partner preferred.

"Is Lord Li very bossy?" Ling Lan asked when she noticed that Lord Zhen only mentioned Lord Li but said nothing about Lord Demon.

"He's a little bossy but that's because Lord Demon doesn't care about anything." Lord Zhen smiled as he explained the reason.

"Really…" Ling Lan was dumbfounded. She met Lord Demon before. That time, the impression that Lord Demon gave her wasn't that of a person who was easy to talk to…

However, Lord Zhen had known Lord Demon for more than ten years. He would have a much deeper understanding of her so Ling Lan decided to listen to Lord Zhen's opinion temporarily. As for whether Lord Demon was really like what Lord Zhen said, Ling Lan felt that she had the time to assess it personally.

"Oh, right. Whether it's the battle or the battle royale, the 13 Lords never show their faces." When Lord Zhen was leaving, he reminded Ling Lan.

"They don't show their faces?" Ling Lan frowned. She felt worried about letting her comrades go onto the battlefield alone without her overlooking them. After all, the men under the various lords, whether it was their techniques or their physical skills, were all much stronger than her comrades.

"Ling Lan, no one can be 100% certain of what will happen on the battlefield. You need to let go when you should. If not, they won't have the chance to grow up," Li Lanfeng suddenly opened his mouth and said.

"You're right." Ling Lan's gaze turned cold instantly. She wanted to protect the people she loved but she never thought of pampering or spoiling them.

"Ask Luo Lang, Mu Chaoran, and Tang Ningyu to lead their teams for battle. Let Zhao Jun lead the elite mecha battle team and follow behind them." Ling Lan gave her first battle command coldly.

"Yes." Li Lanfeng's expression turned stern too. He quickly changed into his subordinate mode and prepared to leave to inform his other comrades. Ling Lan abruptly stopped him and said, "Tell them that we don't do unfavourable trades."

Li Lanfeng smiled immediately. "I understand."

As expected, Rabbit was still that cunning rabbit. He would never do anything that was unfavourable. Lord Li… you better take care of yourself.