Chapter 250: War of Words
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT , Rock
Gu XiYan threw aside all other things and personally led Ling Tian up to the Heavenly Fragrance Chamber. She was extremely hospitable along the way, afraid that her service might be lacking.
Ling Tian then said with a frown, "Tower Master Gu, you just have to provide hospitality the way you would normally. In the future, everything will be counting on how much effort you put in. But as long as you put in some effort, I will definitely not mistreat you. However, your present actions are making me extremely uncomfortable."
With her wit, how could Gu XiYan not understand what Ling Tian meant? She quickly acknowledged his orders and took her leave.
A short while later, five to six beautiful ladies walked into the chamber and served some tea and fruits up respectfully. After Ling Tian had looked around, he suddenly pointed towards the east and said, "When was this curtain hung up?"
One of the ladies then said with a smile, "Young noble Ling has not been here for a few days and would naturally be unaware. Our Smoky Thea Tower has been preparing for this scholarly meet for a few days. There is a huge change on the other side of this cloth, and young noble can witness it yourself by lifting the cloth to take a look.
Ling Tian responded with an ‘oh’, and Wang Tong walked toward to pull on the edge of the curtain. However, he used too much strength and the whole curtain was torn down!
As everyone looked over, they all couldn’t help but take in a breath of cold air. What effort! The Smoky Thea Tower had actually torn down the whole wall and left a huge hole in its place! The Smoky Thea Tower was most famous for their twelve chambers! The place where Ling Tian was at was the largest and most fanciful one, the Heavenly Fragrance Chamber! It faced the south with the back of the chamber to the north and was extremely majestic.
To the left of the Heavenly Fragrance Chamber was the Heavenly Dream Chamber, with Yu ManTian’s hairy chest being clearly seen. To the right was the Heavenly Moon Chamber, but it was tightly wrapped in cloth and the insides of the chamber couldn't be seen.
To the east were the Purple Air Chamber, East Arrival Chamber, and the Rising Sun Chamber. To the west were the Purple Clouds Chamber, Extreme Joy Chamber, and Setting Sun Chamber. There were also three chambers in the south: the Pure Sun Chamber, Morning Sky Chamber, and the Crouching Dragon Chamber!
The twelve chambers surrounded the large courtyard in the center, and the original greenery in the courtyard was completely gone!
Covering the courtyard which was almost a 1000 square feet large were stacks of red cloth and a huge wooden board on it! It seems as though it was completely possible for the place to be used as a horse race track! With just this alone, it was something impossible to accomplish without a good 10,000 taels of silver!
Wang Tong then plucked up his courage and carefully walked towards the wooden board. He had no choice but to be careful, after all, the wooden board was a good 50 feet above the surface of the ground. If he were to fall down, it wouldn’t be a joking matter!
After taking a few steps on the board he only felt the board shake gently. Then, he began to test the board further by walking to the center of it and realized that it was no different from a normal flat surface! In a moment of excitement, he performed a backflip on the board and began to perform a fist routine. The board was indeed stable without any problems at all!
All of a sudden, the sounds of cheering could be heard and a crisp laughter sounded, "Not bad, not bad! Before the scholarly meet has begun, we managed to witness a monkey show first. Interesting, it’s interesting indeed!"
Wang Tong was enraged and looked at the direction of the voice, only to face the Extreme Joy Chamber where the XiMen Family resided. He then saw a tall and charismatic man with a mocking smile on his face, with his hand holding onto a lady dressed in palace garments.
"Who are you?" Wang Tong asked with fire burning in his eyes.
With a ‘swoosh’ sound, that young man opened up a folding fan and fanned it slightly. With a carefree attitude, he replied with a smile, "This young noble is XiMen Qing."
Wang Tong then burst out into laughter, "I was still wondering who you could be! So it turns out you are from the XiMen Family who hides like turtles after my young noble killed five of your guys! I have long heard of your fame!"
A loud laughter could be heard from the north, with Yu ManTian’s laughter being the loudest and the five assassins jeering at the top of their voices.
A crisp chuckle could then be heard from the east, "They definitely wouldn’t be able to win against the Ling Family. Do you expect them to line up and rush into their deaths? This is just too immoral of you. Just as the saying goes, those who have a clear view of things are the true geniuses. The XiMen Family can be said to be full of geniuses!" The words were filled with disdain with a strong tinge of sarcasm, not giving any face to the XiMen Family at all. Just who was it?!
Everyone turned to look and saw a figure standing up straight by the entrance of the Purple Air Chamber. He was DongFang JingLei! Ling Tian looked at him and he responded with an amiable smile and a nod of his head. Ling Tian smiled to himself and thought, It seems that the DongFang Family also wants to build ties with my Ling Family. Ling Tian had a good impression of this DongFang JingLei and decided to accept this favor.
Another loud laughter could be heard, "That’s right, that’s right. Everyone in the XiMen Family is extremely suave. Back then, those from the XiMen Family were all in pieces, I guess that’s why they can be called geniuses." 1
The words of this person were even more wicked. While DongFang JingLei’s words were sarcastic, they weren’t so direct. However, who would have thought that someone wouldn’t place the XiMen Family in their sights at all, pouring salt on their wounds in such a direct manner. As everyone turned to look, they unsurprisingly saw the number three figure of the Yu Family, Yu ManTian.
XiMen Qing’s face turned red as he bellowed in anger, "This is a scholarly meet and those childish arguments are no more than an embarrassment for all those present. Since everyone’s tongue is so sharp, why don't you guys make a display in the scholarly meet?"
A resounding laughter then sounded, "That’s right! These words make sense indeed. Since you can’t win in a fight, why not drag the boorish fellow into a scholarly battle. Isn’t that the best way to gain back your face?"
For some odd reason, everyone seemed to be at odds with the XiMen Family today! Just who was this other person?!
As everyone turned to take a look, they were startled. Everyone then saw NanGong TianHu come out from the Morning Sky Chamber! Why would he help Yu ManTian to speak up? Aren’t they enemies? They just had a fight a while back and their enmity isn’t small! Furthermore, NanGong TianHu’s words were obviously to aid the Ling Family. Since when did the Ling Family form an alliance with the NanGong Family? However, the Xiao Family which usually had a close relationship with the Ling Family, didn't aid the Ling Family at all.
XiMen Qing’s face turned ashen from anger, but he also knew that this wasn’t the time for him to fly into an outrage. Suppressing his anger, he closed his curtain with a ‘swoosh’ and the whole Smoky Thea Tower was filled with laughter.
A short while later, a few well-dressed young men and gorgeously dressed women arrived as well. The number of people also gradually increased and the various aristocratic families from Sky Bearing arrived as well, with the Yang Family not being an exception. Yang KongQun walked in majestically with his three sons and two nieces.
‘Coincidentally’, the Yang Family was situated in the Pure Sun Chamber, the left of the NanGong Family! Both the arch enemies were actually right beside each other! To the right of the NanGong Family was the BeiMing Family in the Crouching Dragon Chamber! The NanGong Family was actually surrounded by its arch enemies! It was indeed like the saying, ‘not gathering if they weren’t enemies’!
From the Morning Sky Chamber, a frustrated groan could be heard, and Ling Tian couldn't help but smile. He could totally imagine the looks on the faces of those from the NanGong Family.
While the envoy from Northern Wei should be seated with Yu ManTian, none of them dared to enter his chamber when they saw his domineering appearance. Despite there being many Great Families present today, Third Master Yu definitely wouldn't hold anything back if someone were to frustrate him! Thus, the envoy from Northern Wei had no choice but to squeeze in the Purple Cloud Chamber, left of the XiMen Family. As for the Setting Sun Chamber, both the Wang and Shen families shared it with plenty of space leftover!
In the Eastern Arrival Chamber, a few Sky Bearing scholars brought their disciples and were seated within it. They obviously wanted their disciples to become world famous through this scholarly meeting! In the Rising Sun Chamber, the number one financial magnate was seated within it, the Xiao Family! A pair of bright star-like eyes could be seen looking at Ling Tian.
Only the Heavenly Moon Chamber in the north was still silent. Their curtains were still closed up tightly, and it was unknown who was within it.
As Ling Tian looked towards the north, he saw the frail-looking, white-haired Mister Qin. Ling Tian was immediately stunned, standing up and taking a step out. With a fluid motion, Ling Tian had already crossed the center courtyard and appeared in front of Mister Qin. Taking a bow with a smile, he said, "Mister, what are you doing here?"
Mister Qin let out a chuckle and said, "I heard that junior brother LiGe was here and this old man is here to say a few things to him. Furthermore, I also heard that young noble was invited to this scholarly meet. Just like the saying, ‘not flying for three years, shooting straight to the sky upon flight’, how can I not be here to witness young noble’s exceptional means?" In front of everyone, Ling Tian had actually appeared with the status of the Ling Family’s head and gave a bow to him. Mister Qin was extremely gratified in his heart as his face shone with radiance.
Beside him, a middle-aged scholar with a well-refined appearance and three strands of black mustache could be seen. Before waiting for Mister Qin to make the introductions, Ling Tian had already said with a smile, "This must be the famous Meng LiGe, senior uncle Meng, right? Ling Tian had long heard about your fame, and it resounds in my ears!"
Meng LiGe let out a bitter laughter and responded respectfully, "I am just a countryside peasant and my lowly name has polluted young noble’s ears. How could I dare to claim that my reputation is resounding? As for the title of ‘senior uncle’, I definitely wouldn’t dare accept such a title!"
Ling Tian’s eyes glimmered as though he thought about something. He also didn't force the matter and let out a profound smile. Then, Ling Tian said to Mister Qin, "Since Mister is here, why don’t you and Mister Meng follow me to the Heavenly Fragrance Chamber? If I don't have guidance from both of you for such a scholarly meet, won't I end up making a fool out of myself?"
Mister Qin glared at Ling Tian with a rebuke and said, "I dare you to continue acting in front of this old man! This old man only has a few more years to live. If I can't witness you becoming a shining star in the world, I will not be able to die in peace! If you don't come out on top of this meeting, this old man will be extremely disappointed!" Ling Tian let out a bitter laughter and he heard Mister Qin saying to Meng LiGe, "Dear brother, why don't we go to the Heavenly Fragrance Chamber. We can also help cheer for my disciple!"