Chapter 453: Final Hope
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Li Xue naturally knew that after one stepped into the seventh stage of the Divine Shocking Dragon Formula, the XianTian realm, they would be able to change the characteristics of their cultivation method. Extreme hardness can be changed into extreme softness. Extreme Yang changed into extreme Yin. The countless changes would give an enemy a big headache, and it was also the reason why Ling Tian could face Ye QingChen despite just entering the XianTian realm.
"All these years, you have truly come up with many schemes. Are you addicted to it? Don't you feel tired of it?" Li Xue said teasingly.
"Siiii" Ling Tian ripped a piece of clean cloth and wrapped up the last wound on Ling Jian's body. Only then did he stand back up and wash his hands by the door. "It seems like you have other thoughts?"
"Of course!" Li Xue folded her arms and rolled her eyes, "Schemes are no more than little games. Using a scheme to trap someone and deal with small affairs is still reasonable. However, little schemes wouldn't be able to affect the victory and defeat of a battle. While it may be sufficient to change the imperial family of an empire, it would definitely require a long period of time. In such chaotic times, the use of your little tricks and schemes is limited."
"Oh?" Ling Tian raised his eyebrows and sat down on a chair. "Then what do you think I should do now?"
"No hegemon from the ancient times until now was able to rule over the world by just scheming!" Li Xue said, "The most important thing that would determine the ruler of the world would be warfare! You must raise up the flags of war and openly engage in battle! You must not hope for luck to be victorious. Do you truly think that these little schemes and tricks of yours will win you the world? Even if you are able to do so, it will take a few decades for sure provided that everything goes your way. At that time, would there be any meaning or joy even if you succeed?"
"You are right," Ling Tian agreed, "schemes are naturally insufficient to rule over the world. However, you have ignored something special about this world. Before war truly breaks out, even the Yu, Xiao and Shui Families have to tread carefully. Up until now, all the various powers are still hiding their true strength, and all of their trump cards are like the young miss of feudal societies, never taking a step out of their house. Do you truly think that a young nouveau riche family like my Ling Family would be able to raise the banners of war and openly sweep through the continent?"
"Err…" Li Xue was stumped.
"I also wish to storm through Heavenly Star Continent and wipe out all of my opponents with a thunderous strike. I will then collate my forces and launch my attacks on the other two continents to build my ambition on millions of corpses! However, is this possible? If I were to raise the banners of war before my strength is mature, I will definitely be a huge target for the other powers. At that time, would I be any different from the other powers that were tricked so badly by Ling Tian?" Ling Tian asked solemnly.
"I'm sorry," Li Xue lowered her head in guilt, "I didn't consider the matter carefully."
"No. Your opinion was extremely useful." Ling Tian said seriously, "However, the time isn't ripe yet. After the matters in Bright Jade City are over and I settle the matter of the DongFang Family, it would be the right time for me to raise the banners of war. But before that, I have no choice but to be extremely wary." Ling Tian said with a self-mocking smile, "In the previous life, I made the mistake of being too high profile. How would I make the same mistake again? After such a brutal and miserable lesson, I would have to learn a little from my mistake right? Hahaha"
While Ling Tian was laughing, Li Xue could hear the bitterness in his voice. Thinking about the miserable experience Ling Tian had in his previous life, Li Xue couldn't help but weep silently.
Walking to the bedside, Ling Jian's breathing had already stabilized but he was still unconscious. Ling Tian then supported Ling Jian up and sat cross-legged behind him. Placing a palm on Ling Jian's back, Ling Tian circulated his inner qi and transmitted his pure inner qi to Ling Jian.
After probing Ling Jian's internal condition, Ling Tian realized that Ling Jian was almost at his wit's end with his meridians in a complete mess. When Ling Tian transmitted his own inner qi into Ling Jian, he could feel an empty feeling, despite both of their inner qi having the same source. Even after a full cycle, Ling Jian's inner qi was still completely unresponsive. It could be seen just how miserable the previous battle was!
Li Xue watched silently and spread out her divine sense to observe the surroundings carefully. While Ling Tian didn't give her any instructions, she knew at the very first moment that she should take up the role of protecting Ling Tian. At the same time, she tried to create a conversation, "The more I think about it, the more I feel that your gamble with the Martial Order Medallion owner is an intentional move on your part. How strange!"
"Why is it strange?" Ling Tian's eyes remained closed and he continued to transmit his inner qi. At the same time, the corner of his lips curled up slightly upon hearing what Li Xue said.
"I can't place my finger on it. If the appearance of the Martial Order Medallion was unintentional but you chose to escape, it doesn't fit into your personality." Li Xue shook her head frustratedly, "But it wouldn't be able to believe that you were prepared for the Martial Order Medallion. After all, the strength of the Martial Order Medallion owner is too far above ours…"
Right at this moment, Ling Jian's body shook. With the aid of Ling Tian's pure and powerful inner qi, Ling Jian's inner qi finally responded and followed Ling Tian's inner qi in a circulation cycle. Ling Jian's eyes then began to open, and he said weakly, "Thank you young noble."
"Recuperate well! Don't talk." After determining that Ling Jian was able to control his own inner qi, Ling Tian stopped transmitting his inner qi and got off the bed.
"Will you give me an explanation? Young noble Ling?" Li Xue looked at Ling Tian and said with a smile.
"Before the Martial Order Medallion was used by Wei ChengPing, I already had the intention to leave Sky Bearing to take a look around. Apart from understanding the trump cards of the various powers, I had some other plans." Ling Tian smiled, "You can't possibly think that after being in the world for so many years, the only strength under my command is the Ling Family Courtyard, right? I wanted to take a look at how well developed the other organizations under me are. After all, receiving news from a letter isn't the most reliable method. Only after making an evaluation of all my forces will I decide if I want to start the war. However, the arrival of the Martial Order Medallion owner gave me a great excuse!"
"A great excuse?" Li Xue asked in confusion.
"That's right, an excuse." Ling Tian nodded his head before chuckling, "If I disappear without a trace in Sky Bearing, all the other powers would definitely follow my trace closely and the various cards which I have hidden may be revealed. Even if they only manage to find one or two of my cards, that would still be a huge loss. Right when I was feeling a headache over this, the Martial Order Medallion owner appeared! It is like having a naked lady throw herself into my arms when I was thinking about my wife! Exactly what I wanted! Haha…"
Li Xue's face turned red as she grunted, "How shameless." She then asked curiously, "Exactly what you wanted?"
"That's right. There are four advantages of me leaving Sky Bearing." Ling Tian said solemnly, "First, my subordinates in Sky Bearing will be given a chance to mature, and they will not be so reliant on me in future. Second, I can use the reason of the Martial Order Medallion to take revenge on the Northern Wei imperial family, getting rid of the weakest party in this war for hegemony. Third, I can make use of this time to put things in order and also investigate the strength of the other powers. With me being pursued by the Martial Order Medallion owner, anyone who wants to approach me would definitely be extremely cautious. No power in the continent would want to risk angering Justice. Thus, our tracks were unknowingly concealed. Fourth, with my movement techniques, I can bring Justice along with me to charge around the continent brashly. As long as I am not killed by him, I can even make use of him to draw out the various trump cards of the other families. Currently, didn't the Xiao Family reveal almost all of their trump cards?"
Ling Tian then gave a mysterious smile, "It isn't a difficult matter for me to escape from Justice. You should know that our face-changing techniques are extremely advanced in this world. Furthermore, with my concealment techniques, how many people in the world would be able to find me?"
With regards to what Ling Tian had said, Li Xue couldn't bring herself to agree with him. While everything he said was logical and things had indeed gone according to his plan, Ling Tian thought far too highly of himself. However, Li Xue only frowned slightly but didn't voice out her thoughts. Since her thoughts were different from his, it would be best for her to talk to him about it when he was calm and she was alone with him. Li Xue was extremely familiar with Ling Tian's character and knew that this wasn't the best time to disagree with him.
Nothing is absolute, so could Ling Tian's plan possibly be flawless?! Can he truly put the people of the world in his palms and play with them?!
"Hmph, if you really chose to hide in a rural village or live secluded in the forest, while Justice may not be able to find you, your gamble with him will last for half a year. For you to break away from the world for half a year, many things on the continent would be different and the situation on the continent may be completely different. If you want to continue controlling the various organizations under your power, you can't truly break away from the world. However, if you were to appear at a secret stronghold and found by Justice, it would be extremely disadvantageous for you. Thus, you decided to lead Justice to play hide and seek with you while not delaying your affairs at the same time. What a good plan of yours!" Li Xue followed along with Ling Tian's words and pointed out what Ling Tian was thinking.
"Haha, my parents were the one who gave birth to me but Li Xue is the person who knows me best." Ling Tian laughed heartily, "No wonder you were able to set up a trap full of flaws but yet still lure me in. You truly understand me too well!"
After untying the knot in his heart, Ling Tian no longer placed the matter in his heart. Seeing how Li Xue was interrogating him, he intentionally used the matter to provoke her, lest she continue her interrogations further. If that's the case, he would truly be exhausted and thus better off shutting her up quickly.
While Li Xue did indeed understand Ling Tian extremely well, Ling Tian also understood her weakness. Now that he had attacked her weakness, the effect was immediate.
"Hmph!" Li Xue grunted and turned around, with her lips pursed and silent in dissatisfaction.
Finally some peace!
Ling Tian let out a sigh in his heart, Even if I am a little despicable, so be it. I can finally have some peace. Such peace truly doesn't come easily.
In the same night, while the Yu Family was uncomfortable and Ling Tian's party almost experienced a calamity, the ones who suffered the most was the Shui Family.
The huge setback drove Shui QianHuan to the brink of insanity!
Shui QianHuan truly felt as though he was pulled down from heaven to hell! The poor young noble Shui was still intoxicated by his dream of controlling the Northern Wei imperial palace. But the next moment, he suffered from an unbearable and almost unthinkable setback! This setback was far worse than when he led the 400,000 strong Northern Wei army and suffered defeat!
This time, everyone who died belonged to the Shui Family! The roots which his Shui Family had in Northern Wei were completely uprooted! Nothing was left behind!
The Yu Family's extermination mission was based on the principle of killing the innocent rather than letting anyone go. The imperial court of Northern Wei in Bright Jade City was completely washed clean! While there were a few innocent parties amongst those killed, not more than 30% of those killed were innocent. The rest of them belonged to the Shui Family! Regardless of the old spy who had concealed himself for decades or the newly appointed official, none of them were spared!
All of the spies which the Shui Family had planted over the past few decades were executed. The losses suffered couldn't even be measured with numbers!
The Shui Family had always been extremely careful over the past few decades and spared no expense in aiding their spies to climb up the ranks of authority. After the Northern Wei incident, the Shui Family had already occupied almost half of the imperial court and had quite a huge authority.
After that, they borrowed the strength of the First Pavilion and killed many officials of the Northern Wei imperial court. The Shui Family then paid a huge price to overcome many barriers before allowing the lower leveled officials of their Shui Family to rise up the hierarchy and take up important posts, occupying almost all the important posts in Bright Jade City.
According to young noble Shui's estimations, Bright Jade City would fall into the hands of his Shui Family if nothing went wrong along the way. In fact, they would be able to create a huge amount of trouble without waiting for such a long time. It was a pity that the Yu Family had decided to mimic the moves of the First Pavilion launch an all-out massacre! This time, they had truly wiped out almost all of the Shui Family's spies and manpower in Northern Wei!
Decades of effort was completely wasted! While there were still some spies who weren't executed, the ones executed were the leaders and brains of the Shui Family stationed in Northern Wei. Just like the saying, 'a headless snake can't move and a headless bird can't fly'. The leftover spies were like a bunch of headless flies and wouldn't pose any further threats. If the Shui Family wanted to build up their information network again with the thin foundation left behind, they would definitely need a decade of effort! Furthermore, the Northern Wei imperial family was completely finished and the Northern Wei territory belonged to the Yu Family.
It can be said that the Shui Family's mission in Northern Wei had ended in a complete failure.
After this calamity, young noble Shui QianHuan was left completely alone! In fact, he would be facing the threat of being caught by the Yu Family. It could be said that he was currently in a life or death situation!
When he made use of the previously agreed upon method to contact the First Pavilion, he couldn't get a response. It was as though the First Pavilion had never appeared in Bright Jade City before and that everything which had happened was no more than a nightmare.
At the end of the dream, it disappears without a trace.
However, this dream was far too cruel to Shui QianHuan.
Shui QianHuan fell into a daze as he thought about the many things which had happened after he came to the Heavenly Star Continent. He suddenly had a feeling that every action of his was being controlled by a large invisible hand, forcing him step by step into the dire straits he was in.
"Young master, the Yu Family has been thoroughly enraged by the assassination incident and they are executing the various powers stationed in Bright Jade City." By his side, Shui QianHuan's guard said, "The Yu Family is now searching the whole city and it won't be long before they arrive here. Furthermore, we have already lost most of our manpower and we are lacking in information. We don't have much time left and just to be safe…"
"Leave?" Shui QianHuan sneered and said with desolation, "Even if I can walk out of Bright Jade City, where can I go? Shui Seven, almost all the experts who followed be from Heavenly Wind have perished. On top of that, almost all the spies which the family has planted over the past few decades in Bright Jade City have perished in just a single night. We have only suffered such a huge loss because of my decision. Even if I can keep my life today, how will I be able to face the members of our Shui Family? How will I be able to face my father and the various elders who placed their expectations on me?"
"As long as you remain alive, there will always be hope." Shui Seven lowered his head and said in a depressed tone, "As long as young master preserves your life, there will be a chance to rise up again. If you give up on yourself now, you will never have a chance to turn the situation around."
"Rise up again? Hahaha… rise up again?!" Shui QianHuan burst out into an agitated laughter filled with hopelessness, "Since you said those words, it means that you also understand that my title of being the first successor will definitely be revoked. Shui QianHu, Shui QianJiang and Shui QianHai have been eyeing this title for so many years already. How would they let me off so easily? Haha, when I return to Heavenly Wind, what awaits me would definitely be a severe punishment from the family. This time, even my father will not be able to protect me! Would I still have a chance to rise up again?!"
Shui Seven looked at the young noble Shui who was on the verge of insanity and remained silent. However, that was indeed the truth. It would be a blessing for Shui QianHuan to keep his life. As for his future of succeeding the family? There wasn't even a need to talk about it! However, Shui Seven was no more than a servant in the Shui Family. What else could he say?
"We definitely have to leave, but before I leave, I want to vent my anger!" Shui QianHuan stood up abruptly with a crazed look in his eyes, "Who was the one who forced me into such dire straits? Am I going to just leave like that?"
"Vent your anger? Young master, are you going to deal with the Yu Family?" Shui Seven hesitated for a moment before asking carefully.
"That's right! The Yu Family! That old man Yu ManLou made use of my ambitions to wipe out the elites of my Shui Family. This hatred is irreconcilable! I will not be a man if I don't take revenge!" Shui QianHuan grit his teeth and his eyes were bloodshot with his body trembling.
"However, with our current strength…" Shui Seven said with a frustrated expression. With Shui QianHuan's current strength, it would be challenging for them to even obstruct Yu ManLou slightly, much less take his revenge!
"Yes! We are indeed too weak on our own. However, we have our allies and Miss Chen. I can pay any price necessary to contact Miss Chen and my sister for aid. No matter what, I must definitely make the Yu Family remember me!" As he mentioned Ling Chen who he thought about day and night, Shui QianHuan's gaze finally regained some clarity. However, it was quickly replaced with pain and hatred again.
As the young master of the Shui Family, Shui QianHuan's standards had always been extremely high. Furthermore, he had grown up together with a top-notch beauty like his sister, Shui QianRou. How would he take a liking to ordinary ladies? He only felt his heart beat rapidly upon meeting Ling Chen and for the first time in his life, understood what it meant to long for someone. At the same time, he also became more expectant towards his future. While Ling Chen was completely disinterested in him, it made Shui QianHuan even more stubborn in his heart.
What one can't gain is what he would yearn for the most.
Right when he was high-spirited and secretly dreaming about his beautiful future, such a huge loss had occurred which completely destroyed his beautiful dream. When he returned to his family, freedom would already be a luxury! There wasn't a need to talk about having a beauty to accompany him for the rest of his life.
Realizing this point, Shui QianHuan felt his spirit collapse as he grabbed onto his hair and knelt on the ground. The feeling of having his dreams ruthlessly shattered in just a single night had completely destroyed this Shui Family genius…
"She will help me. My sister will help me for sure. Miss Chen will also help me for sure… Since Miss Chen was able to pay a huge price to hire the First Pavilion to deal with the Yu Family and work with me, she would definitely be able to help me. Miss Chen treats me…" As he knelt on the ground, Shui QianHuan began muttering under his breath. Up until the very end, he muttered incomprehensibly and even he himself didn't know what he was saying. The tears which he would never shed had also trailed down his cheeks. This was Shui QianHuan's final hope.