Chapter 357: Lonesome like Snow
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
Ling Tian sighed once, and patting Ling Chen on her back, he injected his internal energy into her, to rouse her. Seeing Ling Tian still standing in front of her, very much alive, a hint of a relieved smile appeared on her face. Ling Tian was just about to speak but noticed a group of people rushing towards his courtyard. They turned out to be his grandparents and parents.
After hearing that earth-shaking noise and disturbance from Ling Tian's courtyard, as though the entire heavens and earth had been overturned, how could they still be so relaxed? They immediately threw down all their matters and rushed over.
Ling Tian groaned inwardly and could only go to greet them.
"Tian'er, what happened here?" Ling Xiao was still wrapped all over in bandages and spoke in a pained voice.
"What else could make me like so?" Ling Tian laughed without betraying any of his worries. "Elder brother Ye had brought a few of his friends over, and we decided to exchange some moves. Who knew that in my carelessness, I would cause such an incident. It seems like your son is going to be bankrupt."
Seeing the entire courtyard in disorder, Ling Xiao could only guffaw out loudly. After seeing the indomitable sight of his son mowing through the 400,000 strong enemy troops, his son was already considered unparalleled under heaven to him! The moment he heard Ling Tian speak as such, he had already relaxed his stance.
At this point, Old Grandpa Ling as well as the rest had also spotted Ye QingChen, and realized that this was a group of experts sparring and exchanging moves. Since there was a personage of the Beyond Heavens present, there was no harm in leaving them to it. They merely exchanged some greetings before Ling Tian sent the four seniors out of his courtyard.
"Did you not think about getting the whole group of your subordinates to surround and attack me together?" The moment the Ling Family members had arrived, Justice had been standing on the far end, as though distancing himself. Right now, he approached Ling Tian, with a smile and yet not a smile on his face as he asked, "The group of youths under you have passable martial skills. If you gathered all of them and asked them to barricade me, you might still stand a chance."
"I never thought that Sire would also like to jest!" Ling Tian snorted disdainfully at that, "Do you even believe your own words? Don't think that this young noble doesn't know, little tricks like encircling and trapping do not work on you, and instead serves as a stumbling block for me since I need to coordinate with them, allowing you more chances!" In their last exchange, Ling Tian found out that Justice's repelling force contained a hint of chilling cold. He had actually managed to borrow a portion of Ling Chen's attack and used it to repel Ling Tian. In this case, surrounding him with manpower would only cause him to have more strength to counter Ling Tian!
This sort of martial skill that specialized in diverting force seemed like the Undying Seal Law from 'Twin of Brothers' in Ling Tian's memory! Thus, to Justice, encirclement was just a joke that was not the least funny. Recall the scene from when he snatched the Heaven Splitter, wasn't he also encircled? What happened in the end? If it was not for the fact that Justice didn't wish to engage in an all-out slaughter, there would be many more innocent lives lost that day!
"Chen'er, fetch some jars of Hero's Blood. Since my elder brother has come for a visit, I definitely have to have a good drink with him!" Ling Tian smiled as he gestured to Ling Chen.
"That's right, Justice, you definitely must try it. This little kid's wine is really top in the world! No counterfeit goods involved!" Ye QingChen laughed. Justice smiled slightly as he nodded his head. He understood that this was Ye QingChen trying to help Ling Tian stall for time. Since this matter didn't have a deadline, what was wrong in giving his old friend some face? Ling Tian would just die at a later date. Be it tonight or tomorrow night, was there a difference?
Besides, Justice actually held Ling Tian in great admiration. This was especially when he heard Ling Tian's arrogant shout when he just entered the capital. 'In this world, who can understand how lonely I, Ling Tian, am?!' The bold words struck a chord with him, thus making him rush over immediately! If he didn't care about his status, he would have long ago shouted back, "In this world, who can understand my, Justice's, loneliness?!"
This youth was probably the only person who could understand and empathize with himself! While both of them didn't have any relations with each other, Justice had developed this sort of innate instinct deep in his heart. A pity, he had to die! And all because of the Martial Order Medallion!
Life is really lonesome like the snow!
Ling Chen seemed to hesitate a little, looking at Ling Tian. She was afraid that Ling Tian was sending her away so he would face Justice one-on-one.
Ling Tian laughed as he pinched her tiny nose, "Chen'er hurry up. I still have some matters I need to pass down to you, so I won't leave just yet!"
Ling Chen's eyes lit up. That's right, if her young noble really wanted to leave, with his temperament, he would first settle all outstanding matters. She immediately nodded and turned to leave.
"The achievements of this lass in the future cannot even be measured! Within 30 years, she might actually reach the peak of the martial way!" Justice gazed at Ling Chen as he slowly spoke.
"Eh? Does senior have thoughts of accepting her as a disciple?" Ling Tian immediately looked towards him. "However, while Senior has many accomplishments in martial arts, if you were to have instructed her instead of me, she might not have reached her current level."
"Haha, you're right in that." Justice didn't refute Ling Tian's statement. "I might be good at cultivating, but this doesn't mean I can teach my disciples well. In this point, I definitely have to take my hat off to you."
Ling Tian laughed and flicked his sleeves. A sudden gust of wind came, sweeping up all the various debris of the battle before on the floor, and a table and some chairs flew over.
He gestured for the two seniors to take a seat, before looking all around him. He suddenly let out a laugh, "Old Justice, everything turned upside down the moment you arrived. If an outsider was to look at this scene, who would believe that this was the residence of the great Ling Family? Everyone would think that this was a beggar's nest!"
Justice laughed along, but suddenly fell into silence as he stared at Ling Tian, "I've killed many people, but this is the first time that I'm going to have wine with someone I'm about to kill! You're actually different from all those I've killed. No wonder Brother Ye looks up to you."
"Oh? Is that so? I thought you had discovered it early on, but it seems like you never noticed." Ling Tian smiled carelessly towards Justice. He maintained an easy and confident stance, as though nothing could affect him.
Justice sank into deep thought for a while before suddenly speaking out, "You seem as though you are rather confident of escaping from my hands? From your attitude and words previously, can I assume that?!"
"No, it's not that I'm rather confident," Ling Tian slowly nodded as he smiled, "But that I have absolute confidence! You will not be able to kill me!"
"HAHAHA…" Justice burst out into crazed laughter, a finger pointing towards the heavens. "Kid, you know what? I'm liking you more and more right now. Your arrogance and pride are really unmatched under the heavens! You thick-skinnedness really makes one gasp in amazement."
At this point, Ling Chen was carrying a few jars of wine using a broken piece of a door as a tray. In a soft and charming voice, she spoke out. "Senior Justice, your confidence and pride are also number one under the heavens!"
Ye QingChen and Ling Tian laughed at that, with Justice pausing in shock. He too couldn't help revealing a smile in response.
Ling Tian took a jar and broke the seal with a well-placed palm as he beckoned, "Chen'er sit down with us. You won't get many chances to drink with these two esteemed figures from Beyond Heaven. Furthermore, one of them is even the self-proclaimed number one under the heavens!"
Ling Chen chuckled at his words. "In my heart, there is only one person worthy of that title, and that is you, young noble." She then sat down, but surprisingly, she chose her seat to be in between that of Justice and Ling Tian. Justice glanced once at her, and could only let out a bitter smile in his heart. Silly lass, since I have already promised brother Ye, I definitely will not make a move now! However, he couldn't help but admire her loyalty and devotion.
The dark red wine was poured into four beautiful white jade goblets, and the rich fragrance of the wine suffused throughout the entire courtyard. Ling Tian raised his goblet up, and smiled, "It's rare that we have such a chance to congregate and share a cup together. Justice, do you dare to drink my wine?"
Justice merely smiled and downed the contents of his cup in one go. Laughing, he replied, "So what if there's poison? In this world, is there any poison that can still affect me? I'd rather it be poisoned, so I could kill you sooner and clean up the entire matter!"
The pupils of Ling Tian shrank, but he hid it with a laugh, "Bold indeed! Ling Tian admires you. However, Brother Justice, you're destined to not get your way." He too downed the contents, before getting Ling Chen to refill their goblets.
Ye QingChen looked at the two of them and suddenly sighed. The strong taste of premium wine that he had incessantly thought about for the past half year suddenly turned bland and dull to him.
After drinking another cup, Ling Tian suddenly stood up. "My two seniors, please continue, I'll be speaking to my wife in private."
Ye QingChen immediately took the chance and cut in, "No worries, it's ok if you take more time." Justice didn't reply but only had a smile hung on his lips. He didn't pay attention to Ye QingChen trying to outvoice him.
Ling Tian tugged Ling Chen to a corner, before speaking in a low tone, "Chen'er, remember everything that I will be saying next! You cannot allow any negligence, or the consequences will be unimaginable."
Ling Chen only thought that Ling Tian was leaving behind a will, and felt thoroughly broken-hearted, almost crying out loud. With tears welling up in her eyes, she stared dumbly at Ling Tian, as though she could never get enough of him. How could she still bother as to what Ling Tian was about to say?
Ling Tian helplessly sighed, and could only explain slowly, "As you saw, we cannot overcome him through encirclements. If we make a move here, not only will I be hindered, but we will also injure the people in the Ling Residence. Thus, I'm planning to lure him outside. I'll think of an idea that will allow him to accept a bet from me and set a time limit for him to kill me. If this doesn't work out…" Ling Tian caught himself and glossed over it. "I'll need you to take care of the family, so I will not have any hesitations and can go all out to contend with him."
Ling Chen immediately stopped crying. Could it be...
Chapter 358: What is Justice?
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Ling Tian said calmly, "After my departure, as long as you don't see my corpse, you must never believe that I am dead, regardless of the rumors spreading outside! Do you understand? You have to live for me, always remember that!" Ling Tian's words were extremely solemn.
"Yes! As long as I don't see young noble's… young noble's… Chen'er will never believe that young noble has left us!" Ling Chen repeated what Ling Tian said as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Ling Tian nodded his head and continued, "It's good that you remember. Next, you have to be wary. After I leave, the Yu Family will definitely make use of BingYan to usurp authority within our Ling Family using various means. This matter concerns our very foundations and you must not be careless! Remember, if things fall into a desperate situation, you must use all your might to protect the Ling Family Courtyard!"
After pausing for a moment, Ling Tian said, "As for BingYan's final decision, let her make it on her own. Tell her that while she is the lady whom I have acknowledged, she is still a daughter of the Yu Family. Regardless of what her choice is, I will not blame her. But if she chooses to stand on the side of our Ling Family, you must aid her in increasing the influence of her father, Yu ManTang, in the Yu Family. All of these must take place secretly. As for all other things, I will settle them when I get back. But if BingYan chooses to stand on the Yu Family's side… then you should know what to do."
"Furthermore, with regards to Justice, you must keep it a secret from the elders in my family, lest they end up worrying about me. As for Ling Jian and the others, you must rein them in and not let them make any rash moves. For a face-off at such a level, their appearance wouldn't be of any help but a hindrance instead. You must ensure that they remain calm and do whatever they are supposed to do! Don't hesitate in any of your decisions. Also, when I am not around, you must try your best to expand our circle of influence. The moment we stage an uprising, I want the flags of our Ling Family to be raised all over the continent! As for Shui QianRou, you can just make the decision yourself."
Ling Tian then kissed Ling Chen lightly on the cheeks. "Chen'er, trust me! I am 100% confident that I can make it back alive! For my most beloved one!" As he said that, Ling Tian let out a proud smile. "The strength of Justice is indeed unrivaled, but I will only die if I choose to fight him in a life or death battle! As long as Justice agrees to our bet, there wouldn't be anyone in the world capable of winning against my mysterious methods in the wilderness! Silly lass, why are you so worried?"
At this moment, Ling Chen suddenly thought about Ling Tian's unfathomable concealment methods and was a little more at ease. At the same time, she began engraving all of Ling Tian's instructions into her memory as she began making plans for them.
After a period of consideration, Ling Tian suddenly added on, "Chen'er, while the present situation may seem to be extremely precarious, it is also a chance for us to truly rise up! The appearance of the Martial Order Medallion would surely create a huge commotion in the world! Both the Yu and Shui Family will definitely get restless when I am not in Sky Bearing to preside over the Ling Family and will definitely try to swallow my Ling Family! Furthermore, there is also the Xiao Family, and Xiao FengHan has already been wary of me for ten years! The moment news about my disappearance was to spread, the Xiao Family would definitely make a move as well. When I am not in Sky Bearing, all of you can choose to keep a low profile to protect yourselves, hiding your true strength while watching the major powers battle it out and seek for benefits from the side. After following me for so many years, you can definitely make the decision on such matters!" Ling Tian smiled, "To have my beloved lady presiding over the matters in the Ling Family, I am assured. Remember, as long as you don't see my corpse, never believe that I am dead! A true powerhouse will always have a final trump card in his hand!"
Ling Tian gave a carefree and confident smile, as though he had the utmost confidence in dealing with the matters to come. However, only he himself knew just how frightening the Martial Way realm was! That was a height which an ordinary person could never even dream of achieving! With regards to whether or not he could truly win the bet, for the first time in his life, Ling Tian didn't have full confidence. In fact, he didn't even have more than 50% of confidence at all. However, Ling Tian was extremely clear that if he were to remain in Sky Bearing and the Ling Residence, he wouldn't even have a shred of hope! He would be dead for sure!
As for Yu BingYan's choice, Ling Tian was completely at ease. While Yu BingYan had a similar background to Shui QianRou, there was a stark difference between the both of them. Even if Yu BingYan were to be stuck in a dilemma and chose to remain on neutral ground, not helping either side, she would certainly never side with her family to deal with his Ling Family. Furthermore, the change of her status would undoubtedly affect her final decision and it was likely that she might even choose to stand with the Ling Family!
After all, Yu BingYan was already the daughter-in-law of the Ling Family!
In truth, apart from the lack of time, Ling Tian had another hidden intention behind his current actions. For the past few years, Ling Chen, Ling Jian, and the others were far too used to his presence around them. The moment they were faced with a problem they couldn't solve, their first thought would be to seek him to ask for advice. At the same time, he himself was also used to dealing with problems as such. It can be said that for the past few years, Ling Tian had been shouldering countless of winds and storms with the tender shoulders of his! Regardless of the problems thrown at him, he would always be able to deal with them perfectly and the strength of the Ling Family Courtyard was able to soar as a result of that. At the same time, Ling Tian had also unknowingly built up a prestige which nobody would ever be able to shake.
However, this unshakable prestige also had a huge shortcoming. Despite Ling Chen and Ling Jian having huge authority in their hands and their martial arts fully developed, they never had the experience to truly make huge decisions and be fully in charge of the courtyard! Thus, the both of them were still considerably tender and immature leaders.
Ling Tian knew that as long as he remained beside them, the both of them would still approach him for advice or ask for a solution whenever they face a problem. They would never rack their heads to try and come up with an idea to solve the problem themselves.
With regards to the bet with Justice this time, he would be truly detached from the Ling Family and the Ling Family Courtyard. While it would be only for a short while, this short while in the midst of the brewing storms would definitely be sufficient for them to mature as competent leaders!
Only after they were fully mature would Ling Tian be assured to take the next step in his plans! Thus, while Ling Tian's bet with Justice would be filled with danger, it was definitely worth it!
Seeing Ling Tian walk towards him, Justice nonchalantly raised his glass. "Have you said your last words?"
"Last words?" Ling Tian said with a chuckle, "Brother Justice, you are just as confident as I am."
Justice twiddled with the wine glass in his hands and said indifferently, "Really? There aren't many people who can be as confident as young noble Ling when standing in front of me. There were a few in the past, but their ends were all extremely tragic and they entered into the afterlife without exception."
"My confidence comes from my strength and your confidence comes from arrogance!" Ling Tian's tone suddenly turned chilly, "In the world today, no one would be able to represent Justice but you actually created such a name for yourself. I would really like to ask you, what is Justice?"
Without waiting for Justice to reply him, Ling Tian then continued, "To be born requires justice, to die also is to encounter justice. Justice governs over the samsara, and I'm here to deliver justice! What a resounding slogan! However, if justice delivered by your hands always ends up in death, where is the justice that leads to life?"
"There are countless innocent people dying every day but where is your Justice? As for the Martial Order Medallion, that is an even greater joke! With just a wooden medallion your Beyond Heavens gives to a monarch, one is able to create an empire? While you are guarding the peace of the empires on the surface, you are actually just a cold-blooded killer in truth. You should not be called Justice but you should be called 'Unreasonable'!"
Ling Tian's words were extremely sharp, but Justice burst out into laughter upon hearing them, "The so-called Justice is strength! If you have absolute strength, you will have the authority to exercise justice! Countless of innocent people dying everyday? Let me ask you, why would they die innocently? Because they have no strength! They can only allow others to slaughter them mercilessly! Are such ants even worthy of justice?" Justice sneered and continued, "Just like how I am here to kill you today. Apart from the Martial Order Medallion, it is also because I am stronger than you. My strength is such that even if you gather all of your subordinates, you wouldn't be able to prevent me from escaping! But if I want to kill you, it is as easy as flipping my palms! Just because I have strength, I can represent Justice when standing in front of you! Similarly, if you can kill me, then you can exercise justice over me! Since you have the time to grumble, why not have a good battle with me instead. Even if you don't have a single shred of hope, you can still try to seek life within death!"
"HAHAHA…" Ling Tian burst out into laughter, "Justice, I can only say that your schemes are fantastic indeed! I have to admire the fact that you have grasped my only weakness. This is the Ling Residence and the moment I fight you, my home would definitely be destroyed and my kin injured. For you to say such a thing when I have apprehensions in my heart, I look down on you! Even if I were to die in your hands, I would still look down on you! In what way are your actions different from holding my family members hostage and forcing me to commit suicide?! To think that you still have the cheek to talk about justice in front of me! What a joke!"
Chapter 359: Betting With Justice
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Justice stared at Ling Tian and said with a sneer, "You provocations are interesting indeed. However, it is a pity that my only intention now is to kill someone and not to have a fair fight. As an assassin, your unsettled emotions are what I am truly seeking for. What would you do if you were me?!"
Ling Tian then responded in a cold manner, "If I was here as an assassin, I wouldn't bother about fairness at all either. However, you are different. Didn't you proclaim yourself to be justice? The Martial Order Medallion owner of Beyond Heavens will never fight an unfair battle. It was the same back then with Ren PingSheng and it definitely won't be any different now!"
Justice let out a hearty laugh, "You seem to know quite a bit about the stories of Beyond Heavens. Did Old Ye tell you those stories? If he was the one who told you that, he should have also told you about my previous accomplishments! You still have the heart to fight me in a fair fight? I feel that if you are at home, you can have some helpers at the very least and your chances of survival would be much greater. For example, you have that lass and the few brats from before. If you are going to add on that boorish fellow, I believe that you will have a small chance of surviving!"
Ling Tian's eyes turned chilly, "Of all the battles in the world, fairness is extremely rare. What is the point for you to talk so much? If you really want to seek a fair fight, why not find me ten years later! At that time, you would definitely be the one to die!"
Justice replied with consideration, "Your words do make some sense. Despite being so young, you have already reached the XianTian realm and even if your inner qi isn't comparable to Old Ye, your combat prowess definitely far exceeds his! However, even if I were to give you another ten years, it would be impossible for you to escape from me!"
Ling Tian responded with a provocative smile, "There isn't anything absolute in the world. How will you know if we do not try? Do you dare to wait ten years for me?"
Justice responded with a smile, "What a good 'there isn't anything absolute in the world'. However, let us continue this conversation after you have escaped from my grasp!"
Ling Tian then cursed hatefully, "Even if you want to kill me, can you let me pick my own grave at the very least?"
Justice looked at Ling Tian with interest, "Do you really intend to fight me outside? You don't want to fight me in your territory?!"
Ling Tian said proudly, "If both of us do not have any apprehensions and we are allowed to use any means necessary, there is still a 50% chance for me to win! The victor has yet to be decided!"
Justice couldn't help but burst into laughter, "50%? Ling Tian, I am admiring you more and more by the second. Your confidence stems from nowhere and is without any basis. If I want to kill you, it is an extremely simple affair!"
Ling Tian's eyes burned as he asked, "What if you can't kill me in the end?"
"Can't kill you? Hahaha…" Justice laughed out loud, "What a joke! In the world, can there be anyone that I can't kill?!" While his words weren't loud, they were said without a shred of doubt and hesitation.
"Let us set half a year as the deadline. What if you can't kill me?" Ling Tian looked towards Justice and asked calmly.
"Half a year?" Justice's ashen face slowly calmed down as he said with a thoughtful tone, "What do you want to do? Have a bet with me?"
"Do you dare?" Ling Tian chuckled and provoked.
"Ah ah, if that's the case, let me have a bet with you." Justice smiled, "When you told that lass that you wanted to have a bet with me, I was still wondering what sort of tricks you would use. I never imagined, hahaha… how interesting! I am starting to be reluctant to kill you."
"Justice, had you decided to accept my bet from the very start?" After spending so much effort to purposefully provoke him into accepting this bet, Ling Tian never imagined that the other party had long heard his conversation with Ling Chen. Furthermore, he intended to accept it from the start… Despite Ling Tian's face being thick to the point knives and swords wouldn't penetrate it, he couldn't help but feel his face turning red.
"That's right, I have said it before. I do not wish to kill you so quickly. After all, while there are many arrogant people in the world, there aren't many who have the right to be so arrogant. At the same time, you are the only person in the world who understands the loneliness I feel! If I were to kill you, I would only feel lonelier," Justice said in a despondent tone.
"My choice is a lonely path, and I am destined to be alone for all my life." A desolate smile could be seen on Justice's face. "The price for standing at the top of the world without rival is to be lonely for all my life. As for you, you have also chosen a lonely path! I wish to rise up to the heavens and you wish to rule over everything under the heavens! Ah ah ah, how can it be easy to walk the path of a monarch?! The road of a monarch is lonely up till the very end!"
"While a bet of half a year is a little long, you will definitely end up as a ghost under my hands and it wouldn't be going against the Martial Order Medallion! However, whether or not you would be able to survive past half a year would be completely up to your own abilities!" A dense killing intent shot out from Justice's eyes. "When I am chasing after you, I will not show a single shred of mercy! Perhaps, I will kill you at the very first moment!"
Ling Tian responded with a confident smile, "That may not be the case!" After pausing for a moment, he said, "Since this is a bet, how can there not be any stakes? If I lose, my life will be lost. But what if you lose?"
Justice looked towards Ling Tian and asked, "Since you have mentioned this, I believe that you have thought of the conditions already. With your character, would you let anyone take advantage of you?"
Ling Tian burst out into laughter and said to Justice, "If you lose, you can't seek to kill me again in your life! Furthermore, you have to promise me three favors!"
"Three favors? In other words, I will have to fulfill four conditions if I fail?" Justice said with a bitter laugh, "Isn't this too unfair?"
Ling Tian then said mischievously, "Strength determines justice and fairness! As long as I win, according to your logic, it is acceptable for me to make as many requests as I want! Am I right?"
"After discussing justice for so long, this is where your true intention lies!" Justice burst out laughing and nodded his head, "Let me hear what these three favors are. There aren't many things in the world that I can't accomplish."
Ling Tian smiled and replied, "I haven't thought about them yet. But if you lose, I will have a few decades to think about them. There is no rush at all."
"Alright! It is a deal!" Justice faced the skies and laughed heartily.
Ling Tian also burst out into laughter, as though he wanted to accompany Justice, facing the heavens as they laughed to their heart's content.
But before he faced the sky fully, a sudden changed occurred!
Without a single trace, Ling Tian's chest suddenly bulged up and a brilliant silver light shot out from his bosom! Ling Tian's arms were still by his side without moving and none of them expected Ling Tian to shoot out hidden weapons from his chest. Furthermore, the number of hidden weapons shot out wasn't small at all. In front of their very eyes, such an unbelievable thing happened!
Both Justice and Ye QingChen were startled! They were too near to each other and were almost side by side! Despite his unrivaled martial arts and firm will, Justice never expected Ling Tian to be so despicable! Before they even finished their conversation, he had launched his sneak attack. Just a moment ago they were still laughing heartily together, and the next he had launched an all-out attack! Justice didn't have the time to make any preparations, and the lethal hidden weapons had already surrounded him! With his neck as the target, the dense hidden weapons shot over with a powerful force!
Following the flashing silver lights, Ling Tian turned into a thousand-hands demon as a dazzling rainbow shot out from his body and countless hidden weapons appeared from different parts of his body! At the same time, Ling Tian's right hand that was tucked within his sleeves suddenly shot out two black pellets and the whole courtyard and engulfed in a thick black smoke, making it difficult for one to even see his hands!
Ling Chen and Ye QingChen then heard a few 'peng peng peng' sounds from within the smoke and the smoke was blown apart! At the same time, Ling Tian had already disappeared completely, his whereabouts unknown! Even with Ye QingChen's eyesight, he was completely unable to discern when Ling Tian had left the courtyard.
Justice's face was ashen as he stood rooted to the ground. As Ling Chen and Ye QingChen looked towards him, they couldn't help but be dumbfounded! Justice's body was already riddled with countless of different silver needles, sleeve darts, caltrops… with even copper coins which had been sharpened! There were more than ten different kinds of hidden weapons all over his body, making him look like a gigantic human porcupine!
With a loud roar of anger, Justice waved his arms and his slim and lanky figure suddenly turned faint as he gradually melded into the winds and disappeared without a trace! Despite Ye QingChen and Ling Chen standing right in front of him, they were unable to even detect the slightest trace of movement and Justice had already disappeared in front of their very eyes!
Swoosh! The hidden weapons that were originally all over Justice's body had landed on the floor! The hidden weapons landed at Justice's original position in an extremely orderly fashion, forming a perfect semi-circle on the floor! Under the glaring sunlight, each and every hidden weapon glimmered beautifully!
Ye QingChen couldn't help but take in a breath of cold air! Despite Ling Tian having so many hidden weapons concealed, he was completely unable to even spot a trace of them! He couldn't help but imagine, What if they were shot towards me?… Ye QingChen shook his head with a bitter laugh at that thought. Even Justice couldn't avoid them and could only forcibly withstand the hidden weapons. Thus, he would naturally be completely helpless as well! The only difference was that Justice would be able to use his pure inner qi to solidify his skin into an iron-like defense, resulting in the hidden weapons being unable to puncture through his skin. However, Ye QingChen could only wait for his death in the face of the myriad hidden weapons!
A thick worry clouded Ling Chen's face as she thought about Justice's unfathomable martial arts and mystical movement techniques. Can young noble really… can he really escape from such a person?
Chapter 360: Jungle Battle of Wits
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Ling Chen looked dumbly towards the door of the courtyard and suddenly her soul felt completely empty. Her head had blanked out completely and it was as though she could no longer think clearly. She stood there in a daze as tears filled her beautiful eyes. How I wish… how I wish that white figure could be like before… with a gentle smile on his face, walking into the courtyard in an unrestrained manner and called out with gentleness in his tone, "Chen'er…"
Tears rolled down her cheeks…
Suddenly, Yu BingYan sprinted into the courtyard with anxiousness all over her face as she grabbed onto Ling Chen sleeves. "Sister Chen, where is Tian'ge? Where is he?? Where did he go??"
However, Ling Chen remained in a daze and didn't respond. All of a sudden, the anxious Yu BingYan blacked out and collapsed on the floor from anxiousness.
Ye QingChen let out a long sigh!
Ling Tian sprinted at full speed, dashing out of the city like a gust of wind!
Ling Tian was very clear about what his greatest advantage was.
Justice's advantage was naturally his dense inner qi and unrivaled martial arts. As for whether or not Justice had other abilities, Ling Tian didn't have the time to be concerned with that now. With his present martial arts, it was impossible for Ling Tian to ever be a match for Justice. Thus, Ling Tian could only resort to other means to try and preserve his life. The accumulated knowledge and experience from his previous life had become his biggest trump card and hope to preserve his life!
In the eyes of others, Justice's life may be extremely arduous, and his youth could be considered to be miserable. But in Ling Tian's eyes, Justice's life story wasn't miserable at all! Even though his parents passed away, he was still adopted by someone else. Despite suffering from a huge setback in his life, he was accepted into the sacred Beyond Heavens at a young age! As for all the bitterness he suffered after, it was all for his martial arts cultivation. After he had attained his current level of martial arts, he was already at the peak of the world and a head above the rest.
It was always him chasing after others and never the other way round!
How could this be considered miserable? Ling Tian wanted to spit on that idea!
Thinking about his previous life, almost all the dangerous missions in his family were solely accomplished by him! In a year, he would spend almost 300 days being on the run and there probably wasn't anyone more experienced than him in such an area.
There was a time once where he was trapped in the mountains with over a thousand armed individuals searching for him. But so what? He was still able to survive until they called off the search operation.
A bitter yet proud smile was formed on his face!
I do not believe that some fellow who calls himself Justice will be able to send justice to me!
Could it really be the case that Ling Tian wouldn't be able to settle the matter in Sky Bearing? Perhaps? Perhaps not. But no matter the reason, the thought of remaining in Sky Bearing probably didn't even cross his mind.
Such a familiar feeling! As though I am back in my previous life…
The mountains and forests… are all of you still fine?
A strong pressure and majestic presence were gradually nearing him! Justice, the one who could possibly be the most powerful expert in all of mankind was hot on his tail! Sky Bearing City was already far behind them and the only thing that lay ahead was a dense forest!
Ling Tian, who was originally almost at his top speed, sped up suddenly and disappeared into the forest like a gust of wind!
Justice had once heard Ye QingChen praising Ling Tian and Justice had already tried to think extremely highly of Ling Tian. However, he never expected the movement technique of Ling Tian to be so well developed and perhaps a notch above his own. Furthermore, Ling Tian was only a young teen and a pampered young master in the eyes of the world!
Just this alone was enough to make Justice rethink his impression of Ling Tian!
Originally, the distance between the both of them was gradually decreasing, but Justice suddenly saw Ling Tian speeding up and the gap between them widened instantly as Ling Tian dashed straight into the forest. A look of praise could then be seen on Justice's face as he also followed Ling Tian in without hesitation!
The moment he entered the forest, Justice felt a trace of oddity and shock. At the same time, he couldn't quite place his finger on what was wrong…
Despite being in the afternoon of a hot summer day, there wasn't a single trace of the wind in the forest and the trees seemed to have lost all their energy under the blazing sun! Only the grass on the forest floor that was a mere two to three centimeters tall was still brimming with energy!
Occasionally, there would be the sound of a birds chirping but even their chirping sounded extremely lifeless!
Justice walked along the forest silently as his gaze swept past his surroundings attentively. After taking a few steps, he suddenly heard rustling by his feet and a green snake bobbed out of the grass before escaping in fear! At the same time, the whole forest was filled with the fearful cries of birds, and countless birds took to the air and hovered around the forest!
Justice shook his head and gave up the thought of killing the venomous snake. Just as he wanted to take another step forward, his heart suddenly shook and he ceased all movement!
He suddenly realized the reason why he felt a trace of oddity when he entered the forest!
When Ling Tian entered the forest, he did not alert a single animal in the forest! Just what was going on? How did he do it? Could it be…
Thinking about that, Justice quickly retreated like a wisp of smoke!
In just a blink of an eye, Justice had already arrived at the edge of the forest. After seeing something, he could not help but be dumbfounded with a weird look on his face!
In front of him was a huge poplar tree with a large portion of it shaved off by a sword. At the same time, there were words carved on the tree, "Justice, this young noble shall make a move first. Hurry up and don't take your time! :)" At the very end of the words, there was even a smiling face carved out! Even though the face was only formed with a few strokes, it was extremely lifelike and drawn to perfection!
Justice's fists were clenched tight as a cold glare shot out of his eyes! Then, his body suddenly vanished and he dashed out of the forest to give chase.
If Ling Tian left behind a few illegible words on the tree, Justice wouldn't be too mad. After all, it proved that Ling Tian was in an extremely pathetic state! However, Ling Tian was actually able to leave his calligraphy-like words behind without missing a single stroke and even drawing a huge smiling face to mock him!
Unforgivable! Justice had never been belittled like this ever since he attained his current level of martial arts! Regardless of the tolerance he had, he was seething with anger at the present moment!
Right after Justice's figure disappeared, at a location not too far away from the poplar tree, another tree suddenly began to warp and a human figure walked right out of the tree! If an ordinary person were to witness such a scene, he would definitely think that he had just seen a ghost!
Ling Tian had camouflaged himself to the exact same color as the tree and hid under the shadows of the tree. After revealing a smile in the direction where Justice disappeared in, his figure darted nimbly towards the depths of the forest…
After exiting the forest, the first thing Justice did was to find high ground. Then, he looked into the horizon to see if he could spot Ling Tian. He was extremely clear that it was impossible for Ling Tian to disappear completely with his movement techniques and was certain that it was impossible for Ling Tian to be too far away. If Justice were to choose to give chase blindly, he would have truly fallen into Ling Tian's trap!
However, he could not see a single sign of Ling Tian in all directions! Justice could not help but think to himself, How can this brat be so crafty? Can it be that his speed is much faster than mine?!
Right at this moment, the cry of frightened birds sounded from the forest and a huge flock of birds took off into the air!
"I've been tricked!" Justice immediately realized that he has been tricked and that Ling Tian must have been hiding by the edge of the forest, only entering the forest after he exited from it. At the same time, Justice didn't know whether to laugh or cry. As the Martial Order Medallion owner, he was actually played the fool by a young teen!
Looking at the direction where the birds were crying out, Justice bolted towards the forest again with a loud swoosh! Let's see where you can run to this time!
After entering the forest, Justice almost fainted from anger! In front of him was another big tree with words engraved on it, "Justice, going to and fro like this, are you tired? :)"
"Good brat! Crafty indeed!" This was the first time in his life that Justice felt such humiliation!
This was just the first day of their half-year agreement and he had already been fooled by Ling Tian twice! Justice couldn't help but think that if he were to be tricked by Ling Tian time and time again, would he be angered to death?
From far off, another flock of birds took to the air. Justice was certain that if he didn't give chase to Ling Tian immediately, he would almost certainly lose track of Ling Tian. At that time, it wouldn't be easy for him to find a single person in the whole continent!
Thinking about that, Justice hesitated no longer and gave chase towards the direction of the fleeing birds.
Despite Justice's speed, he was greeted with silence when he had arrived at the location of disturbance! It was as though not a single soul had been here before!
A look of unprecedented solemnness appeared on Justice's face!
The fleeing birds were definitely a result of them being startled by someone and Ling Tian must have definitely been here before! If not, it was impossible for the birds to be startled. However, the strangest part was that there wasn't a single trace of Ling Tian at all! Not to mention footprints, there wasn't even a trace of a single blade of grass being disturbed! Apart from the slithering sounds of the snakes around, the forest was extremely peaceful and without a trace of Ling Tian's aura!
Just how did he do that?
Chapter 361: Layers of Schemes
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
Thinking up to this point, Justice could not help but feel a shiver of fear shoot through his heart! At this point, he developed the strange thought that this could be the strongest opponent he had ever met in his life! This was probably the most difficult task that he had been handed ever since the Martial Order Medallion was formed!
He could not help but smile. After so many years of loneliness, he finally found himself the best partner to play with!
Before this, while Justice had some impression of Ling Tian from Ye QingChen, it was only a sort of admiration, just like an accomplished senior appreciates a junior with an immeasurable future. It was merely an appraising gaze that a senior would use towards a junior. However, right now, Ling Tian had transformed into a rival that could match Justice himself! This was the first time that Justice had felt that there was actually a person that could be his opponent! And that this opponent, if given half a year, would actually have a 50-50 chance against him!
This meant that as long as he lazed off, he might really fall under Ling Tian's hands in the future! This was how frightening Ling Tian's intellect and scheming was! Even though it was against him, he still had no guarantee of success!
However, this frightening thought also roused his fighting spirit which had been dormant for a long time! Only against such an opponent would things be fun and interesting!
Having confirmed his thoughts, he planned to leap up a tree to observe Ling Tian's tracks. However, just as he was about to push off using the tips of his feet, he noticed a weird smell being emitted.
Following that faint but unique scent, Justice crouched down and fumbled among the grass. Indeed, there was a tiny incense there, slowly burning and releasing that smell!
Justice took a closer sniff at it, and could not help but frown. This scent was weird and even had a hint of fishiness to it. This was no bewildering smoke, but since Ling Tian had already removed all traces of himself, why would he leave behind such a scent? What was his purpose?
At that moment, Justice suddenly discovered that the entire forest seemed to be shaking, as though the surroundings were turning restless. From a hundred feet around him, the rustling sound got louder and louder, finally turning into something like a downpour!
Above his head, the tree leaves and branches were also rustling madly, as brightly colored poisonous snakes slowly appeared, coiling lazily around the branches. There were thick and skinny ones, some as small as chopsticks, and some as large as a grown man's arm. The funny thing was, all of their gazes were fixed on that tiny incense that Justice was holding, even as they surrounded him!
On the ground, within the grass, the number of snakes gradually congregated, forming a huge circle around Justice. They did not launch their attacks immediately, probably out of fear from Justice's intimidation, but it did not stop them from hissing. The "Ssss" sound that was emitted made one's ears numb just listening to it. From afar came more rustling sounds, coming closer and closer, as though the entire population of snakes was approaching.
"That darned brat! So it turns out that the incense was made using the Pistil of Serpent's Spit! It is just that he managed to remove the fishiness from it!" Justice cursed. As a medicinal master himself, he was aware that he had been duped once again by Ling Tian! The incense he was holding in his hands was made from the unique herb named 'Pistil of Serpent's Spit'. The particular herb could only grow after being doused with the spit of hundreds of thousands of venomous snakes, and was extremely scarce in number. Especially if it was turned into a scent, it had the miraculous property of attracting all kinds of poisonous snakes. Ling Tian had managed to remove its characteristic fishy odor and hid it under the grass, but its fundamental property of attracting snakes remained, inviting the entire snake population of the forest over to this place!
And with his own meticulousness, Ling Tian had expected that he would dig this item out from beneath the grass. However, once this appeared, it would cause all the snakes that were attracted over to turn insane with frenzied desire!
While the forest was devoid of wind, the scent had still slowly spread, naturally attracting all the snakes nearby. By making use of the fact that Justice was not afraid of any ambush, Ling Tian planned it such that he would hold the incense in his hands, ending up being surrounded by a large circle of snakes, hundred and eighty degrees around him!
What a meticulous scheme!
Justice could not help but praise Ling Tian inwardly. This move was like attracting a person into jumping into a pot of boiling water, inflicting self-harm. Ling Tian had perfectly calculated his every move! Such intellect was frightening!
'Sou!' One of the snakes finally could endure it no longer, and with a sudden flick of its tail, shot itself towards Justice like a colored bolt of lightning. Before it reached him, it had already opened its mouth, revealing two gleaming fangs!
A small snake also dares to offend me? Justice paid it no attention, rather finding this scene amusing as he lightly stretched out his hand, grasping the end of the snake and flinging it aside. His actions were carefree and easy, yet the snake was as dead as it could be!
However, with one brave soul pioneering the way, various sounds of wind breaking the silence could be heard as the air above him suddenly seemed like it was raining. It was a rain of snakes!
The snakes on the floor began their assault as well! Wriggling forward, their speed was frightening to behold! If Ling Tian was still present, he would sigh in amazement. This was the so-called land-air joint operation! One group attacks while one retreats, with wave after wave of attacks. This was truly a seamless coordination!
That being said, there will always exist a way to break out of a trap! Just relying on these little snakes to stop me would be childish! Justice suddenly let out a long shout, and with a bright flash, his sword left the sheath! Since he could not catch up to Ling Tian, then the snakes present became the venting point for Justice! Ray after ray of splendid lights flashed past, causing the sky to brighten in response and the ground to increase with another snake's corpse. The lush grass was flattened by the dead snakes, with every snake being chopped into over 10 pieces!
Justice then carefully extinguished the incense he held. This Pistil of Serpent's Spit was a good thing, and so he kept it in his pocket. With another shout, his sword drew a full circle, cutting the rest of the snakes down! Nary a moment had passed since the snakes started to attack, but the bodies of the snakes were already piled up like a mountain, not a single one left alive!
From far off, a hint of bright light could be seen. It was the fringe of the forest! Justice had carefully tracked Ling Tian, and the surprising thing was that he found it simple to spot traces of Ling Tian, as though he had purposefully left those clues for him! This only made him have 120% cautiousness as he proceeded!
With the deviousness of that child, why would he leave traces? There was something chasing to kill him, so why would he be so foolish? Was there any reason to do this?
When he finally came to the end of the forest, Justice let out a sigh of relief. While he did not want to admit it, but in the jungle, Ling Tian's expertise was way above his! Right now, he had already decided that if Ling Tian were to continue playing hide and seek in the jungle, he would rather burn down the whole jungle than to follow him in once again! While he was not afraid of any ambushes, to be constantly played by Ling Tian wasn't anything nice either!
Just as he was musing over it, he noticed that a tree nearby had a large piece of bark carved off, and something was written on it.
Justice immediately knew that it would not be anything nice, and was reluctant to go over, but this involved the tracks of Ling Tian! After sighing once again, he strolled over. However, seeing the line of words on the tree, he bellowed angrily and smashed a palm of the tree, splintering the entire tree apart!
"There is Justice in life, and there is Justice in death. Samsara cannot escape from Justice, and snakes also face Justice! To serve Justice to all, impressive, truly impressive! ;)" This was what Ling Tian had carved on the tree, and there was even a teasing smiley face drawn at the bottom!!!
Ever since he accepted the bet and left Sky Bearing, Justice had never once met up with Ling Tian even once! Forget about the life and death battle, not only did he not get the chance to even see him, but he had been repeatedly played by him! This time, Ling Tian had even used his name to make a joke out of him using poetry!
One had to know that Justice was the top martial arts expert in the pugilistic world! Even with his amount of tolerance, he would still be unable to accept this! A killing intent never seen before was emitted from his body! Right now, not only was he raging over Ling Tian, there was also a sense of fear!
How would he know that I would kill all the snakes? Don't tell me that all my moves are within his plan? If that's the case, then it would be too scary!
While Ling Tian wasn't aware if Justice would kill off all the snakes, he knew that Justice would definitely kill a few of them to vent his frustrations! However, the way an expert did things sometimes might not be according to common sense, and thus Ling Tian phrased his poetry in this way. Since Samsara could not escape Justice, thus whether he killed the snakes of not, it would still be considered a form of meting out Justice to the snakes...
Right now, Ling Tian was already miles ahead, and when he heard the loud explosion from the forest behind him, he could not help but smile. Finally, you're mad! He could not help but feel a few notches of pride for making Justice reach this state.
As he glanced upward in the sky, he corrected his path. Ling Tian thought for a while, before suddenly rushing towards in the direction of Western Han.
Justice meanwhile ascended a small hill, and by coincidence, happened to see the small dot that was Ling Tian round a bend and disappear from his sight!
Chapter 362: Life Depriving Blow
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
Right now, almost half a day had passed. Justice was well aware that the path Ling Tian currently took was surrounded by mountain ranges and greenery, and that within the next few hundred miles, there was no trace of humans at all. This sort of environment was greatly advantageous to his opponent, because the moment he did not pay proper attention, he would immediately lose his prey. He could only urge himself to go at full speed forward.
Having passed the foot of a mountain, Justice suddenly had a strange thought. With the narrow valley right in front of him, and the surrounding high mountain peaks, the entire area looked as though it had been sliced apart by a single hack from a giant! There was only a narrow path a few feet wide, and flanking it were cliffs that were so smooth, they literally shone in the light. This could be considered the best place to ambush a troop of soldiers! Right now, his surroundings suddenly seemed eerily quiet, without the slightest bit of movement!
If Ling Tian were to set an ambush here… Justice took in a sharp breath at the thought. Could there be the possibility that, even though Ling Tian fully knew that he had angered Justice, he would rather not run for his life and stay to ambush him? Instead of escaping, to choose a hidden spot to hide and attempt to kill me, what arrogance! With just Ling Tian himself, even if he could plan out an ambush, what danger did he pose alone?
Justice let out an involuntary laugh, it seemed like he really had some fear towards that little kid!
He shook his head and laughed lightly as he activated his movement technique and shot deep into the valley...
Standing at the mountain peak, Ling Tian also let out a smile, before slashing down with his sword! Bang! With the rope made of twisted tree bark almost as thick as a grown man's thigh being slashed apart, rumbling noises could be heard as a few boulders started to roll downwards into the ravine...
Justice immediately cursed. That brat is too devious!
Gazing at the boulders rolling down at the moment, Justice calculated that with his current speed, he would not be able to make it across without getting his head squished. What precise calculations from the opposing party!
While Justice believed that Ling Tian would not go wrong in his calculations, there would still be human errors! Halting his steps, he stopped himself forcefully in midair, and landed onto the ground. Justice coldly smirked as he thought, Just a few boulders and you want to obstruct my path? I'll just wait for the boulders to stop dropping then I'll take my time to go across!
Just as the thought appeared, the sound of a piercing wind could be heard on his right, and turning that way, he got the shock of his life! A huge boulder weighing many tons was hurtling towards his head, with dead-on accuracy!
On looking higher, at the top of a certain peak, there was a small human silhouette lifting up yet another stone and throwing it down like hail, that was Ling Tian! His delighted voice traveled down, "Old Brother Justice, you haven't eaten yet, right? This young noble here is gifting you with some meat buns! However, they're a little bit tough to bite, so I hope your teeth are strong!"
Justice might have been a magnanimous and easygoing person, but even he was about to go mad from Ling Tian's schemes. He hatefully shouted, "Ling Tian! Other than such devious tricks, what else can you do?!"
Ling Tian laughed at the statement, and lifted up another boulder, aiming and throwing it down with his full strength. He shouted in reply, "I can't do anything else, but to be able to throw stones at the number one expert, the Martial Order Medallion owner, hahaha, I'm happy enough!"
Justice let out a long howl in anger and threw himself up into the rain of stones. Throwing out a hand, the boulder in front of him immediately disintegrated into powder, slowly scattering down like snow! Twisting his body, he allowed a boulder to brush past his body, before stepping on it and propelling himself farther upward! Just like an arrow, he shot up straight towards the peak where Ling Tian was.
Ling Tian nearly jumped out of his skin, and immediately threw down the rest of the boulders that he had prepared, but all of them only served to further propel Justice upward towards him. Upon seeing Justice shoot towards him like a shooting star descending onto earth, Ling Tian threw out the last boulder straight at him, then turned to flee.
"You still want to run?!" Justice already had a belly full of fire, so how could he allow Ling Tian to just slip past his hands? He did not even attempt to land, instead kicking the mountain face to propel himself even quicker towards that annoying brat!
Ling Tian gasped in dismay, and could only revolve his internal energy to the maximum, his feet barely touching the ground as he increased his current speed by 100%!
Seeing how obviously Ling Tian was overexerting himself, a cruel smile appeared in Justice's mouth as he thought, Little brat, no matter how fast you run, you can't compare to my internal energy which I spent tens of years accumulating! If you harm your vital energy because of exertion, then you won't even have the chance to face off with me in battle! A hint of pity surfaced in Justice, because while Ling Tian had repeatedly tricked and scammed him, in the end… he was still the only person who would even have a chance to catch up to his prowess!
Aii, Heaven makes fools of Man. What a pity!
Even as he was engrossed in his thoughts, Justice's speed did not show any signs of slowing down. The two of them flew around the mountains like a pair of shooting stars, the distance between both of them closing… closing up...
Now's the time! Justice threw out a palm strike ruthlessly towards Ling Tian who was less than twenty feet in front of him. Under the revolving of his internal energy, the edges of his palms even had white smoke drifting out. This strike of his was enough to shock the entire universe!
If this palm were to connect, most likely, Ling Tian would have to undergo reincarnation again...
As though he felt the pressure from the palm behind him, Ling Tian who was originally flying straight immediately did a slight shift, his body twisting like a fish in water. This allowed him to suddenly change his direction while maintaining his speed, causing a sharp sound to be emitted from his clothes!
Justice sighed. While he himself had already surpassed all others in martial and literary skills, when he was at Ling Tian's age he was nowhere near compared to him! Such a miraculous movement changing method, without even the slightest hint of forcibly diverting direction was indeed amazing! Justice exclaimed in praise in his heart, but his feet remained tense, stubbornly catching up to Ling Tian once again!
Ling Tian was hurtling forward in front of him, but suddenly his back arched, and with a shake of his arms, his speed suddenly increased by a small notch! Justice fell into deep thought, could it be that his movement technique involved him shaking his arms? However, the next instant his face changed, as a large mass of silver needles suddenly shot out from Ling Tian's back! Ling Tian had actually positioned his back such that all the needles were aimed straight at Justice's eyes!
Never in his life did he expect Ling Tian to have such a move! Justice let out a strangled cry as he used his right arm to shield his eyes. "Shua shua shua" was heard, and a prickling pain could be felt in his arm before a numbing and itchy feeling could be felt. This angered Justice even more! To ambush him with the needles at high speed, right in his eyes was one thing, but to think that even his needles were smeared with poison! And it was even some sort of unique poison!
"Despicable! How could this seat be plotted against by using poison!" Justice shouted in anger. Even as he continued rushing forward, he flicked his right sleeve and removed all the needles. Taking a deep breath, his face suddenly turned purple, and on his right arm, the six pinpoints suddenly swelled up, and started disgorging blood that had a fishy smell!
Even though he was rushing along at full speed, the poison in his body was still being expelled by his pinnacle level internal energy!
Right at this point, another blinding flash was seen, and the Ling Tian that was running away originally swiveled around, drawing out a sharp black iron sword much like how an azure dragon rises up from the sea! Taking advantage when Justice was purging the poison, he rushed forward with a sword!
I ndeed, even a shrimp dares to dupe the dragon when it is in the shallow water; a tiger may even be teased by a dog when it leaves the remote mountains and comes to the bright and flat area! Justice thought angrily to himself. But he had no choice in this matter, to purge his poison while rushing forward had already forced him to double his expenditure of internal energy, so how would he dare to take head-on that dangerous looking sword of Ling Tian? He floated up, avoiding that life-threatening sword, and the tip of his foot shot towards the wrist of Ling Tian's sword hand like lightning in a counter!
But he did not expect Ling Tian to bark out in laughter instead, "Justice? Number one under the heavens? I'll oblige you to give me some pointers!" He immediately kept his sword and retreated, but not before Justice saw the disdain on his face as he turned!
To Justice, this sort of tone and expression Ling Tian displayed had a more potent effect than if he had scolded him to his face! For all of his life, he had moved unhindered in the world, without a single opponent! It was only him who bullied people, so since when had he ever been despised by others? Under his anger, he took in a deep breath and circulated his internal energy to his utmost, sprinting straight towards Ling Tian!
Ling Tian was halfway down the mountain at this time, and leaped off the mountain, spreading his arms like an eagle as he stepped onto the bough of a tree. Justice let out a sneer as he followed suit. One foot stepped on the same place right after one left, much like a shadow chasing the human!
However, who would expect Ling Tian to suddenly do a 180-degree somersault in midair, and drawing his sword, stab down towards Justice, the resplendent blade resembling a silvery river flowing down from the heavens!
Man and Sword as One!
Ling Tian's realm of Man and Sword as One was akin to comparing Heaven and Earth when compared to Ling Chen, Ling Jian, and Ye BaiFei! The vast imposing manner, together with its billowing prestige and devouring tyranny all combined to form a decisive strike of no return!
For this sword, Ling Tian had schemed and planned all from the start, in order to set the stage for this beautiful performance!
All the provocations in the forest, the throwing of boulders in the valley were just to incite Justice's wrath and to sap him of his strength. The final poisoned needles were just to ensure that he could not be at peak form when he faced this heaven shaking strike!
This was also the first test that Ling Tian was attempting on Justice!
Killing him with one strike with all his strength! At this moment, this point in time, this was an action that could be capable of killing even the gods!
This whole performance was designed to kill anyone, including Justice, for he too was a person after all!
Based on Ling Tian's calculations, this strike had to wait until Justice was in the air, directly behind him, with no other way to retreat, and could only stake his all on blocking him head-on. Only then could his victory be assured!
Chapter 363: Calculated
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT, Rock
This sword strike was completely out of Justice's expectations! However, to have moved unhindered everywhere for the last ten years, how would Justice lose himself to panic so easily? He merely closed his eyes and froze on the spot, forcefully halting his flight in midair! A stiff and rigid body, but he actually managed to keep himself suspended at the exact same spot!
Ling Tian's strike was still in place, however, this pause resulted in a displacement in his originally strongest, most tyrannical strike! The optimal point of his strike had disappeared, leaving behind a weakened version of it. The strike that originally posed difficulties to Justice was thus reduced in effect!
At this point, Justice suddenly let out a shout akin to a thunderclap as he drew out a long sword from god knows where. His bold and powerful internal energy gushed out in torrents, resulting in a 'weng weng' sound of vibration being heard from his sword. He displayed a shocking scene, where Ling Tian seemed to have been surrounded by swords from above to below, as though heaven and earth had connected with his sword with this strike!
Justice was indisputably the number one expert in legends, even with such a disadvantage, he was still able to forcefully alter the scenario! However, while Ling Tian's sword was displaced because of his actions, he too could not employ his full strength under such a situation!
"Ting ting ting…" The clustered sounds of metal clashing resounded continuously, as though a bowl of beads were poured onto a jade plate, or the rain splashing down onto the leaves of a tree!
What a pity that the swordplay of both parties was not at their peak! If they were to clash at their peak strength, then how glorious would this scene actually be?
With a couple of slashing sounds, two streams of blood rose up unbidden into the sky. One was from Ling Tian, who was knocked back, somersaulting and drawing a circle of blood as it sprayed from his wound!
Being in mid-air, Justice had no borrowing force to speak of, but with the advantage of his pinnacle level cultivation, he managed to alter the result of battle. However, in the end, he was still merely human, and with the combination of all the different unfavorable circumstances, he was also knocked back and forced to descend with a lacerated shoulder! While his internal energy was above Ling Tian's, he had spent the whole day in pursuit of Ling Tian, falling for Ling Tian's schemes and being poisoned. His consumption was naturally great! And with this surprise ambush from Ling Tian, as well as that godly blade Ling Tian held, it was no wonder he was injured!
In the past decade or so, this was the first time Justice was injured in an exchange! If this matter were to spread, Ling Tian's name would shake the entire pugilistic world!
As the adage goes, 'A person's name is like the shadow a tree casts'. Ling Tian definitely wished that he would be able to cleanly settle Justice in one strike, so his fame would be spread wide. But he was also aware that Justice's title was not something conjured out of nowhere, and so had already made preparations in advance. Upon descending, he wrapped himself around a huge tree, and kicked out viciously with both legs, launching himself into the sky once again!
Behind him, that tree that would take two men to hug suddenly toppled over! Falling down with a pressure akin to a mountain dropping, the tree headed straight for the head of Justice!
Before Justice had arrived previously, Ling Tian had come over and used his sword to hack through more than two-thirds of the tree, thus with the application of force, it produced this surprising result!
Justice had not even managed to touch the ground and could already see the shadow of the tree looming over him! He unconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air, and could not care less about his injuries, immediately increasing the speed at which he descended, followed by stomping hard and flying backwards, avoiding that life-threatening danger!
The tree smacked onto the ground harshly, as though an entire mountain peak had collapsed! The topmost branches of the tree even came into contact with the retreating calves of Justice, causing him to frown. Although it did not injure him in any way, this was still too embarrassing!
Justice flipped himself upright, and stared at his surroundings, only to find out that Ling Tian had vanished! To be unable to kill him in one hit, his fame would spread far and wide from now on!
Standing by the slope, Justice raised his sword and got another shock. This sword had been forged by a tempering fine steel a hundred times and had already accompanied him for over a decade without any blemish whatsoever. However, under the pressure of Ling Tian's Man and Sword as One, its edge was damaged and jagged, as though it had turned into a saw instead of a sword!
A deep pondering look passed through Justice's face at this time, before he suddenly let out a faint smile.
This figure, who had been looked upon as an outstanding person akin to a demon or devil since a long time ago, actually could not defeat a youth in one blow, instead getting himself injured. Furthermore, his beloved sword of ten years had actually been damaged, and the worst part of this was that he had even been at a disadvantage in their exchange!
However, not only was he not furious to the point of turning insane, but instead after a moment of contemplation, he suddenly smiled!
Justice did not fall into a rage and blindly dash forward like before, instead quietly sitting on a tree, head bowed as he recalled all that had happened the day before in his mind. From the moment he met Ling Tian in the Ling Residence, his every move, every expression, and every sentence was recalled, as well as his own answers and reactions!
"Hahaha… interesting, really interesting!" Justice suddenly laughed out in jubilation. "Ling Tian, you're motherf**king interesting!" He suddenly did not think that it was a grievance for him to have fallen to this state! Were it not for his current level of skill and cultivation, most likely this very place would have become this grave! The arrangement, schemes, and martial arts that Ling Tian had displayed really shocked him!
It was only now that Justice had found out that the moment he had walked into the Ling Residence, everything that happened had been under Ling Tian's control! It was a coincidence that Ye QingChen was present, and while Ling Tian did not ask Ye QingChen to scheme with him, his plan had made full use of Ye QingChen's presence to lead Justice to fall into the palm of his hand!
Ling Tian had taken advantage when Ye QingChen and Justice were talking to cut in the conversation, attracting attention to himself. Since Ye QingChen was on the scene, with Justice's character, he would definitely give face to Ye QingChen and not kill Ling Tian in front of him! He wanted to first let Ye QingChen finish talking, but Ling Tian had cut in and continued the conversation by himself.
Through this, Ling Tian had managed to successfully dissipate the killing intent Justice originally had for him into a three-way conversation. In front of an old friend, if his friend were to also smile and speak to you, you couldn't possibly just ignore him, right? Once he replied to Ling Tian, he had already fallen into Ling Tian's trap, and under these conditions, he would not take action in the Ling Residence.
Right after this, Ling Tian immediately took out the quality wines, and while Ling Tian only invited Ye QingChen to drink, without any intention to butter Justice up, being in the same sect as Ye QingChen and also with a mission at hand, how could Justice leave the area? He could also be said to be entitled to drink the wine!
And there was Ling Tian's second trap! The moment Ye QingChen raised his cup, Ling Tian took the chance to excuse himself so as to speak to Ling Chen. Ye QingChen couldn't possibly stop him from doing so, and thus could only turn to Justice! Justice even suspected that Ling Tian's words to Ling Chen were all designed with him listening in mind, because if the contents were really private, then Ling Tian could have used voice transmission instead. To resort to whispering in her ears, wasn't that akin to attempting to deceive oneself by believing that an expert would not be able to eavesdrop?
Following this was Ling Tian's provoking words, displaying his confidence and arrogance to him. But all this was actually spoken with his identity of being from Beyond Heavens in mind! By rousing Justice's arrogance through reverse psychology, Ling Tian made him accept a bet of a half year with him!
Once the bet was set, and when Justice himself was feeling pleased with himself, Ling Tian suddenly attacked him, catching him unprepared! To have thrown his face in front of his old friend, this would definitely incur his wrath, and thus he had completely fallen into Ling Tian's traps.
The following schemes were all designed to further provoke his ire, making him constantly fall into ambushes and sap him of his strength! Justice could predict that every path that he walked, Ling Tian had walked through it once, but with all the elaborate schemes that he employed, he ensured that Justice himself would spend enough time in there for him to walk the same route a few times. In this manner, Ling Tian gained the necessary time to continue scheming, and set this entire valley to become a death trap!
As for the poisoned needles behind his back, they were the pinnacle of assassination tools! Justice knew that if not for his quick reaction, the needles would have pierced into his eyes, and by then, whether he was the undisputed number one expert or not, he was as good as a fish on the chopping board! Thinking of this, Justice could not help but shiver.
Just like that, under Ling Tian's plotting, he had lost over half of his internal energy reserves. However, Ling Tian still pretended to be on the losing side, playing little tricks here and there as Ling Tian led him towards the kill site that Ling Tian had prepared long in advance. Again, Ling Tian made use of the territory to launch an abrupt attack, which if not for his movement techniques, he would have taken a serious hit! This did not end there, as surprisingly, Ling Tian had actually provided himself with a countermeasure, whether he succeeded or not! The clean slice through more than half of the tree trunk already told Justice the story. It spoke volumes about Ling Tian's meticulousness and attention to detail! Ling Tian did not even let go of any possibility!
With so many layers of schemes in place, Ling Tian finally achieved a result that would shock the entire pugilistic community — to be able to exchange blows with the Martial Order Medallion owner, Justice, on even terms! It was to the point that, if Justice was just a little bit lacking, he would have been finished off!
Justice laughed bitterly. He realized that he had made the wrong choice from the very beginning. From the moment the bet was made, he had always assumed it was for Ling Tian to escape from him. However, it was actually the opposite, that Ling Tian was actually plotting for his death while on the run! He employed all sorts of methods, despicable or not, just to kill him!
What an arrogant fellow who does not know of the immensity of the heavens and earth!
What an intelligent and treacherous Ling Tian!
Even a lion would use its full strength to catch a rabbit. Was it that his life had been too smooth flowing the last few years?!
Chapter 364: Disguise
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
However, what should he do next? Facing such a crafty foe with plenty of strange ideas, Justice had finally treated Ling Tian as a worthy foe! However, Justice could not help but feel that his opponent's next move was difficult!
From their encounter today, Justice already had a rough idea of Ling Tian's plan for the next half a year: Delay! Drag the fight on! Ling Tian would definitely continue to escape with all he had but would undoubtedly deal a killing blow as long as he had the chance! Furthermore, the thing which gave Justice the biggest headache was the fact that Ling Tian obviously meticulously planned each and every one of his moves. Regardless of whether or not his killing blow was effective, Ling Tian would definitely plan an escape route for himself. Perhaps the only way for Ling Tian to stop would be the death of Justice!
While Ling Tian's martial arts were far beneath his, Ling Tian's movement techniques weren't much weaker than his own and were even more exquisite. At the same time, the thing that puzzled Justice the most was the fact that a pampered young noble like Ling Tian would be so proficient with concealment techniques! Not only that, Ling Tian was also extremely familiar with escaping for his life! Just what kind of a strategy should Justice adopt?!
While it had been just a short while, Justice was shocked to realize that Ling Tian's experience with escaping was far above the Blood Swallow, Liu Fe, who was famed for his movement techniques and concealment methods! This was something unbelievable! The Blood Swallow was an infamous character in the pugilistic world who everyone sought to kill! It was no exaggeration to say that the Blood Swallow was the number one enemy of the world and lived his life on the edge, being chased all year round. However, Ling Tian was even more experienced than the Blood Swallow. Was Ling Tian really a pampered young noble?
Ever since they left Sky Bearing City, Justice predicted that Ling Tian would definitely play a game of hide and seek with him along the borders of Sky Bearing. Justice was certain that Ling Tian would make use of the various factions he had in Sky Bearing to block or distract him. However, the present progress was largely out of his expectations!
After passing through this ravine, they would be in the Western Han territory!
What is this brat thinking of? Leaving his own territory and bringing me for a tour around the world?
This was no different from playing with fire! If Ling Tian was the slightest bit careless, the XiMen Family would definitely surround him on all sides, and Ling Tian would die a horrible death!
Was Ling Tian really playing with fire?!
In front of Justice was a forked road with one road leading to the Celestial Gathering City of Western Han and the other leading to the Gold Water City also of Western Han. Without any hesitation, Justice immediately continued his chase toward the Celestial Gathering City.
While Ling Tian was extremely careful and meticulous, he was also extremely arrogant and prideful! Despite the Celestial Gathering City being home to his mortal enemy, the XiMen Family, Ling Tian would definitely not be wary about the XiMen Family! Even if he was being chased by a frightening killer, he definitely wouldn't be bothered! On the contrary, if Ling Tian would go against his heart and pick Gold Water City instead to escape with his life, Justice would definitely look down on Ling Tian. Thus, Justice headed towards Celestial Gathering City without any hesitation!
On the other hand…
Ling Tian was panting heavily with the pain on his shoulder attacking him in waves. This made Ling Tian feel extremely displeased and annoyed! He felt that he was too anxious and not steady enough. If he could persist for a while longer and fight Justice a while later, his chances for victory would definitely be higher. Even if he couldn't win, he was certain that Justice's injuries would be much worse than his! But because of a moment of rashness, he had lost such a good opportunity! With Justice's intellect and experience, Justice would definitely be able to guess his intention and would never give him a second chance!
Ling Tian gave a self-deprecating smile. What if? There are no what-ifs in this world!
His next move must definitely be planned properly. If he were to be blocked by Justice, it would be extremely difficult for him to escape.
Looking at the bend in front, there seemed to be a small hut by the side of the road with a small banner sticking out. Mmm, to think that there would be a tavern at such a desolate place! Looking at the huge 'Wine' word on the banner, Ling Tian felt his stomach growling. It wasn't because he was craving for wine but because he was truly hungry. As long as there was wine, how could there not be food to accompany it?
While escaping was important, his meals should not be neglected. If not, where would he find the strength to escape?
Furthermore, if his estimations were correct, Justice would probably be catching up soon as well. After not eating for a full day, Justice wasn't made out of steel and would probably want to check his injuries and plan his next move as well. Perhaps…
Ling Tian's eyes lit up and walked behind a tree. When he came out from behind the tree, he had been transformed completely. His white robe was gone and replaced with a black robe. At the same time, his hair was now half black and half white and his face filled with wrinkles. His clear eyes also turned foggy, and his usually straight back began to slouch. Ling Tian had completely transformed into a sixty to seventy-year-old beggar! His face changing techniques were just too mystical! Ling Tian then gave out a chuckle and walked unsteadily into the tavern.
After Justice had given chase for miles, he was still unable to spot a single trace of Ling Tian. If not for Justice's will being more resolute than others, he would definitely suspect that he had given chase in the wrong direction. Right at this moment, the banner of the tavern fluttered in front of his eyes. Regardless of how high his martial arts attainment was, Justice was still a human and had his needs as well. He could not help but gulp down a mouthful of saliva as his stomach began to growl. At the same time, Justice could not help but think to himself with a slight trace of fear, Being agitated by Ling Tian, I actually forgot to eat my meals! This is definitely not a good thing!
This was evidence that Ling Tian had successfully incited his rage. If this chase were to persist for a long time, it would be inevitable for Justice to lose his cool from Ling Tian's provocations! He must definitely maintain his cool.
Ling Tian ordered a huge plate of beef and a bowl of noodles as his stomach growled again in the face of the delicacies in front of him. After a day of escaping, Justice wasn't the only one who was tired. Ling Tian himself was exhausted as well and completely famished. As for wine, how could Ling Tian be attracted by the low-quality products of this tavern after drinking his fine collection of wine every day? Thus, he didn't bother to order wine at all.
Right at this moment, Ling Tian felt his heart skip a beat and a figure walked into the tavern. Then, a crisp voice sounded, "Waiter, give me a plate of beef and a large bowl of noodles."
It was Justice!
Ling Tian could not help but be shocked. Why did this fellow order the same dishes as me? Thinking about that, he let out a burp and raised his head up openly, wanting to look over at Justice's direction with a pair of squinting eyes, only to see Justice standing right in front of him.
While Justice looked calm on the surface, he was actually extremely anxious in his heart. After standing at the peak of the pugilistic world for decades, there had never been anyone capable of escaping from him. However, his half a year bet with Ling Tian had just begun and he was already on the losing end. Furthermore, he had completely lost sight of Ling Tian at the present moment! With his sixth sense, he was certain that Ling Tian wasn't too far away from him but he just couldn't determine Ling Tian's exact location! It was just far too strange!
For such a situation to occur, there was only a single explanation: Ling Tian had also entered into the Martial Way realm! But after the few encounters he had with Ling Tian, Justice was sure that Ling Tian hadn't reached the Martial Way realm and was only at the middle XianTian stage. In fact, he was even weaker than Yu ChaoChen from two years ago. But just how did Ling Tian escape from him? There just wasn't an explanation for that.
Just when he was feeling frustrated and in doubt, he saw the old man staring at him with a pair of curious looking eyes. A sudden thought surfaced in his mind and Justice asked, "Old brother, did you see a white-robed young man pass by here?"
"White-robed young man?" the old man's eyes lit up and he replied with a hoarse voice, "I think I saw a white-robed young man passing by hastily just now. As for his age, please forgive this old man for my poor eyesight. Err, little brother, is that young man your relative?"
Justice's eyes lit up: With Ling Tian's speed, it would be strange if the old man could see his face clearly. He then replied with a smile, "That's right, thank you old brother for your information." Then, he took out an ingot of silver and placed it on the table, "Let me treat old brother to some wine."
The eyes of the old man lit up and he seemed to have turned into a miser who was in front of a mountain of gold. With his trembling hands, he grabbed the ingot in his hands and tried to chew on it with the corner of his teeth. He then shouted out, "Silver! It's real silver!" He then hugged the silver and began tearing up.
Justice let out a soft sigh. After seeing so much in the world, Justice was used to the scene in front of him and said, "Silver and gold are just material possessions. Why does old brother have to act in such a manner?" At the same time, the waiter had also served Justice's plate of beef and bowl of noodles.
That old man then said with agitation, "Little brother may not know this but my wife has been toiling for a good half of her lifetime. She recently succumbed to her fatigue with her life near the end. However, this old man does not have any money to hire a physician for my wife. With this ingot of silver, my wife can be saved." As he said that, tears filled up his eyes again and he wiped them away with his sleeves before they could fall.
For some odd reason, Justice suddenly felt that something was wrong. However, he could not put a finger on just what was wrong. Justice could not help but think to himself, Can it be that I am exhausted to the point where my judgment has been affected? Shaking his head and throwing out such frustrating thoughts, he heard the old man's trembling voice and felt a tinge of sorrow in his heart. For all his life, he had followed the desires of his heart, and he actually unknowingly performed a great deed today.
Justice let out a long sigh and asked, "What is old brother's surname? How old are you?"
That old man lowered his head with a tinge of embarrassment, "This old man's surname is Huo and my name is Huo YuanJia. I am 63 this year."