Chapter 635 Arrival At Heavenly Wind (2/2)

Closely tailing after the lead rider, another horse shot past without even making eye contact, but he left in his wake a biting chill, an awe-inspiring chill that penetrated to the heart.

”Eh?” Shui ManCheng looked on in shock at the two lead riders. How could it be that there were people who dared to be so brazen, overtaking the three heads of the Sky Alliance? Could it be that they were tired of living? Shui ManCheng would love to see how they would die!

However…

Hoofbeats continuously sounded as the troops in the Sky Alliance increased in speed under the command of the three leaders. They resembled a huge black dragon, roaring as it soared through the skies. When they pa.s.sed by Shui QianRou, all three leaders uniformly cupped their fists in a show of respect before disappearing into the distance.

Shui QianRou's face turned red as she lowered her head. With her knowing the true ident.i.ties of the Sky Alliance's leaders, she clearly knew why they would show respect to her. It was not because of her ident.i.ty as the little princess of the Shui Family, but rather because it was a form of subordinates of her beloved paying respects to the Mistress upon meeting her for the first time. To think that they would be aware of such a matter even though they were situated so far away here in Heavenly Wind... could it be that the cold-faced a.s.sa.s.sin was the one with loose lips? A weird suspicion formed in Shui QianRou's heart, but try as she might, she could not envision the cold-blooded a.s.sa.s.sin who could not even show emotions to be a gossiper. If it wasn't him, then that would only leave the lecherous wolf himself. How could he be such a shameless p.r.i.c.k?

She suddenly saw a weird movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to look. What she saw was Shui ManCheng with a smile plastered all over his face, in the posture of cupped fists.

This Third Master Shui mistakenly thought the respects paid by the three leaders to their new Mistress was towards him as thanks, and could not help but have a proud expression suffuse his face. He boasted, ”Look at this, while you weren't here, your third uncle has braved the lands, traveling far and wide. Who would dare not show respect to me? Even the three leaders of the Sky Alliance still had to pay their respects towards me!”

He had actually completely forgotten that it was precisely him who was so afraid of offending them just now that he commanded the troops to move towards the side!

Even though Shui QianRou was filled with disdain and anger towards her third uncle's behavior, she still could not help bursting into laughter at this scene. She had seen many shameless personages her entire life, but not one who had such a thick skin! This was akin to imagining that one's love was being reciprocated, right?

The area surrounding Jade River City was filled with undulating mountain ranges as well as thick forests. They served to completely s.h.i.+eld the view of the area from the curious gazes of any pa.s.serby. While this place was only a mere 150 kilometers from the city, it could already be considered a dangerous no man's land that few dared to tread.

After leaving the official roads, the 800 troops were just like a thread of smoke as they weaved their way to this area. Only after they were separated more than 30 to 40 kilometers from the nearest village did they finally stop in their tracks.

Following the order of Tian ZhiYi, all troops dismounted and lined up into a phalanx formation. With the three Tian brothers in front, long unmasked, the three leaders first kneeled down before kowtowing on the ground.

”Ling One salutes Young n.o.ble!”

”Ling Two salutes Young n.o.ble!”

”Ling Four salutes Young n.o.ble!”

The troops behind them, who were still pulling straws to figure out the ident.i.ties of these two black-robed men were received a rude shock. They immediately followed suit, kneeling down and shouting out, ”We salute Young n.o.ble, and we pray for his well-being!”

Ling Jian, who was closely following behind Ling Tian, immediately floated a few steps to the side as though his body was weightless, avoiding the salute.

”Rise, all of you.” Ling Tian warmly laughed, ”Number one, you really outdid yourself these past few years. You've far outstripped my original calculations. I'm impressed and extremely satisfied!”

”Many thanks to Young n.o.ble for your praise, this is merely my job.” Tian ZhiYi (Ling One) kowtowed again in response, before solemnly standing up. Turning around, he looked at all his subordinates, before shouting out, ”Brothers, this young n.o.ble in front of us is actually the true owner of the Sky Alliance, Young n.o.ble Ling Tian from the Heavenly Star Continent! He will also be the future owner of Heavenly Star! From today onwards, all of us, including myself, will have to follow the commands of our young n.o.ble unconditionally, without any hesitation! Furthermore, the news of our young n.o.ble coming over to Heavenly Wind Continent should be kept as the number one secret of Heavenly Wind Continent, without even the slightest leaks! Any person who disobeys will be executed!”

”Yes!” A uniform roar greeted him in response.

”Brothers, do you know why our name is called 'Sky Alliance'?” Since they had already introduced Ling Tian, the brain of the Sky Alliance now stepped up. ”This is because, we are all the subordinates of Ling Tian, and thus we are the Sky Alliance! The 'sky' in our Sky Alliance, is not the sky of the heavens, but rather the 'sky' of our Young n.o.ble Ling Tian! Do you guys understand now?” [1]

”Understood!” All 800 voices echoed in unison, and one could see the flames of pa.s.sion in every single one of their eyes. Gazing at Ling Tian who was standing above them on a hill, every one of them could feel a sort of blazing pa.s.sion coming from their eyes. Even though they had not affirmed it all this while, but with the convenience of information gathering within them, the matter of young n.o.ble Ling Tian had long been universally heard among them.

Young n.o.ble Ling Tian breaking into the ranks of a 500,000 strong army just to save his father! Rus.h.i.+ng straight into the armies, an outcome of sure death!

Young n.o.ble Ling Tian was even pursued by the unbeatable Martial Order Medallion owner, the number one expert Heavenly Justice, and finally managed to force him to revoke the millennium-old tradition of the martial order medallion!

Young n.o.ble Ling Tian, using the strength of one person, managed to topple a huge mountain peak, causing the course of river water to be reversed! Resulting in the defeat of the 400,000 strong army of the Xiao Family!

Young n.o.ble Ling Tian wiped out the Yang Family, killed the DongFangs, extinguished the XiMen, punished the NanGongs, slaughtered the Southern Zheng, and eliminated the Eastern Zhao...

All these matters, whether spoken or heard, were matters that would rouse the blood of anybody. The people from Sky Alliance had long accepted the miracles created, and the shameful matters of him chasing away over ten teachers when he was five years old to him going to the brothel when he was six for 'exploration' were all harshly dismissed.

Under such forms of influence, young n.o.ble Ling Tian had almost become some sort of superstar idol within the ranks of the Sky Alliance. Thus, upon seeing such a legendary figure in the flesh today, and furthermore knowing that this young n.o.ble was actually the leader that they had sworn loyalty to, made all the soldiers present immensely emotional.

One could say that the brainwas.h.i.+ng and propaganda done by Ling One and the rest over the years towards Sky Alliance was an extremely successful case, with definite results. As for these 800 troops that were chosen to come out today, they were the backbone of the entire Sky Alliance. They definitely couldn't be more thoroughly brainwashed. As such, how could they not feel hot-blooded upon meeting the idol of their lives?!

A few of them were already breathing heavily with emotion. If not for the strict training regimen that they went through, they would probably already have broken ranks and rushed towards Ling Tian, asked for his autograph, shaking his hand, maybe even feeling around his whole body, appearing to leave some sort of their mark on him... cough cough...

”Brothers!” The moment Ling Tian opened his mouth, the whole area turned silent. Everyone felt as though Ling Tian's voice had sounded right beside their ears, as though he was personally talking to them. They subconsciously stuck out their chests in pride, straightening themselves even more as they gazed with adoration to where he was...

”From today onward, we're considered a family.” Ling Tian secretly wiped the sweat off his hand upon seeing such a scene, before continuing, ”During this period of time, you guys have been great! Even in Heavenly Star, I would receive snippets of news every now and then about you, and I've always been proud of your achievements! Let's leave the bullsh*t and pleasantries aside, and I'll sum everything up into one sentence. Our target from today onward is to trample the world under our feet, and make this entire world our own piece of heaven!”

”Generals and Ministers are not created without reason, all of them had to work for it! As for the aristocrats that they have to pay respects to, are they really better than us? Among you, how many of you people will become generals, become ministers in the end? Brothers, we'll all wait and see together just how many of our own brothers will be able to leave their names on the history books, through the sands of time, told to countless generations after! When this entire battle ends, every single one of you people will be immortalized in the history books of our dynasty, leaving your grand story to be told for ages to come!”

”Oh! Oh! Oh!....” Under the encouragement from Ling Tian, the 800 men were acted as though they had just consumed v.i.a.g.r.a, all getting excited.

....

After disseminating the order for all of them to retreat, the three leaders, Ling One, Two, and Four, guided Ling Tian and Ling Jian into Jade River City, where they removed their masks and traveling robes. All of a sudden, these three were not the mysterious heads of the Sky Alliance, but rather the richest and most powerful people within the city. They domineeringly booked out the most expensive restaurant in the city, the 'Leisure Jade River Restaurant', just to hold a welcoming party for Ling Tian and Ling Jian.

The current time was barely past noon, but the table was already laden with fine wines as well as all sorts of cuisines. All of them were even unique delicacies within Heavenly Wind Continent, such as beasts of the fields and birds of the air, exotic delicacies spread all over the place in a neat and tidy manner. Furthermore, there seemed to be a never-ending stream of dishes being sent up like water...

After three rounds of wine were pa.s.sed, everyone finally loosened up. The initial emotions they had felt upon seeing the young n.o.ble again also gradually calmed down.

Ling Tian was seated at the head with Ling Jian on his right. On the left was Ling One, and the order continued. Everyone sat in their positions, with only the five of them in this restaurant.

”Number One, I sent Nineteen and Twenty over here a while ago. Where are they now?” As Ling Tian dined, he casually asked.

”Those two brats are simply restless souls.” On the mention of Ling Nineteen and Twenty, Ling One seemed to have gotten a headache. He groaned, ”After they sent the skills over, they had no intention to leave this place anymore, saying it was under the orders of the young n.o.ble. Since you said it was an order, then just stay there quietly! But they just had to be the exact opposite, it's not like you don't know their characters, young n.o.ble. They seem to enjoy watching the world burn, and without fighting for a day, they would feel itchy and uncomfortable. After sharpening themselves in the war for so many years, they cannot even sit in tranquility for three days. They turned my entire place upside down, beating up all the brothers under me, and even claiming it was to help me to discipline them! My subordinates came running to me at all hours in those three days and two nights to grumble! In the end, I thought, since they liked to fight so much, I handed them all sorts of fighting tasks to fulfill, taking a great load off our minds...”

Everyone laughed at this point, and Ling One scratched his head in awkwardness before continuing with a laugh, ”On the day young n.o.ble's letter arrived, we had just received a large order, and while escorting a convoy, we had actually gotten robbed! The two of them took off that very night to slaughter the whole bunch of them. We've just received news yesterday that the two of them had found leads, and are on the pursuit.”

”Oh.” Ling Tian nodded. Ling Jian on the other head interjected, ”In other words, ever since the two of them came, the three of you have been lazing around, right? Your skills probably haven't improved a single bit as well, right?! The brothers under you have been trained by Nineteen and Twenty, but what about you guys?! Your original skills were much better than Nineteen and Twenty, so why can't you guys defeat them, furthermore when its three against two? Do you have a reason for me?!!”

”Cough cough cough...” The three of them immediately choked and went on a coughing fit. Their faces turned from red to white and then to green! Ling Two and Four hatefully stared at Ling One, cursing his big mouth and wis.h.i.+ng nothing better than to beat him up.

”No problem, to laze around every now and then is actually natural. After all, you guys are now high ranking officials. I never had any intention to blame you guys.” Ling Jian suddenly smiled in a hair-raising manner. ”After we finish this meal, let me see how much you guys have progressed. En, I think I'll have a little spar with you guys, just to give some pointers.”

”AH?!” The three of them almost fell out of their seats upon hearing the first half, but after the second half of the sentence was completed, the three looked as though their faces could turn into a shade of purple. What bullsh*t luck was this, one sentence and they actually received such a severe punishment! Ling Two and Four's gaze at Ling One became all the more unfriendly, with a clear meaning: D*mn you and your big mouth! Upon thinking of the beatings they suffered from Ling Jian in the early few years of their lives, the three couldn't help but shudder involuntarily.

Ling One sat there as though he was making preparations for a funeral. He could not wish to smack his own mouth, cheap, how cheap was his mouth! To blurt out everything so easily...

Sensing their pleading gazes on him, Ling Tian could not help but laugh out as he replied, ”Alright, even if we want to spar, let's wait till after this meal. By then, you guys will have more strength. You guys, just willingly accompany your Jian'ge to spar, he has been suppressing his desire for battle throughout the entire journey here.”

The three of them screamed inwardly. There seemed to be no hope left for them...

”By the way, how goes the progress at Mount Vacant Sky?” Ling Tian brought up the question that he was most interested in.

”Mount Vacant Sky has already become the property of the Shui Family and has turned into a forbidden ground for the whole of Heavenly Wind Continent. No one is allowed to trespa.s.s.” Ling One sighed, ”We initially thought that the Shui Family was planning something fishy within the mountain, but the two times we infiltrated the place, there was actually nothing out of the ordinary. However, we were unable to make it all the way to the deepest recesses, so if there are any discrepancies, I'll apologize to the young n.o.ble in advance.”

”It's like this?!” Ling Tian asked in curiosity. Why was this so? Could it be that the Shui Family was aware that Mount Vacant Sky held some secret? Ling Tian stroked his chin as he asked, ”Unable to thoroughly check the place?... It's nothing, there might not be anything present in the area. At that time, I also mentioned it out of convenience! It's just that.... based on your observations, which part of the mountain was the most tightly guarded?”

Ling Four knew that since the young n.o.ble had asked, then there had to be some sort of reason behind it. While he said that he only asked out of convenience, it was merely a show to ease the anxiety of the three of them. He thus pulled aside a plate of fish and began to draw a map instead. ”Young n.o.ble, please look. There are three peaks on Mount Vacant Sky, and they form a '品' formation. If we take this fish as an example, then the head of the fish would be the east while the tail would face west. On both sides, they are not very strictly guarded, so long as one's movement techniques are profound enough, one can forcibly infiltrate the area and return. However, no one has tried going deeper. I believe in the deepest recesses, there would be at least seven to eight layers of traps, and unless we choose to launch an all-out attack, otherwise...

”The middle peak?” Ling Tian opened his eyes wide. The Shui Family is tightly guarding the middle peak? This is really the heavens aiding me!” He shook his head and laughed out, looking overjoyed.

Following this, Ling One, Two and Four talked about the difficulties and strange observations that they had made throughout their years here in Heavenly Wind. Ling Tian listened with gusto, and before long, it was already the evening.

Having met after so long, and with much experiences to share from both parties, even Ling Jian had long forgotten that he wanted to whip Ling One, Two and Four back into shape. However, the sudden sound of hoofbeats broke the calm atmosphere, causing everyone on the street to exclaim. Ling Tian frowned, for directly outside was the most prosperous and busy street of Jade River City, and the crowd never thinned. For someone to use such a speed on a horse, he was as good as not putting the lives of the commoners in his eyes.

[1] The Tian in Ling Tian is the word for Sky.

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