Legend of Ling Tian

The third day of the third month; Mount Vacant!

Dark clouds filled the skies and the clouds loomed gloomily over the mountain. Those who were about to participate in the battle were clad in black while the spectators were clad in white, looking as though they were sending their heroes off on their final journey.

The black-robed warriors were like ink on a sheet of paper and the white-robed spectators were like snow on the mountain!

On the Blood Drinking Peak, the two families were separated into two obvious camps.

Outside Heavens and Beyond Heavens were seated north and south of the battlefield, with Beyond Heavens in the north and Outside Heavens in the south.

Under the gaze of everyone present, Ye QingChen and the eagle-nosed elder from Outside Heavens walked into the plaza. After investigating the plaza carefully, they both lifted up their arms to indicate that nothing was wrong with the battlefield. The battle was about to begin!

No one noticed that behind Yu BingYan and amid the Yu Family guards, there were two foreign faces looking into the plaza. With their martial arts, Ling Tian and Ling Jian would naturally be able to sneak into the vicinity without an issue. However, not many people were aware of their presence.

Despite having thousands of spectators present, silence filled the place.

With a strict look on their faces, Ye QingChen and the eagle-nosed elder spoke up together, “Inviting the two Family Heads.”

Yu ManLou and Shui ManKong stood up together and walked into the plaza with solemn looks on their faces. With a wine glass in each of their hands, they touched glasses before finishing the wine with a single gulp. After finishing their wine, they smashed the wine glass onto the ground and smashed it into smithereens.

The two of them raised their palm and struck their palms together, reciting an oath solemnly, “The agreement of sixty years, life and death battle. The winner has no enmity and the dead has no grievances!”

These words were the blood oath that the ancestors of the two families swore a thousand years ago!

“Brother Yu, please!”

“Brother Shui, please!”

The two of them then burst out into laughter together before drifting back into their seats. From the camps of the two families, an individual was sent out with a golden scroll in their hands indicating their roster.

The golden scroll of the Yu Family was sent into the hands of Beyond Heavens while the scroll of the Shui Family was sent into the hands of Outside Heavens.

The generational battle was split into eleven rounds: ten solo battles and one final battle with each family sending out a hundred members! They weren’t fighting for victory or defeat but life or death! Life or death was up to fate, victory or defeat was up to the heavens! Even if one party lost the first nine battles, the final few battles could not be avoided! Life and death must be determined!

“The first battle!” Ye QingChen’s voice sounded, “The member from the Yu Family: Second Elder of the Dark Shadow Pavilion, Yu ZhiQing!”

The eagle-nosed elder announced, “The member from the Shui Family: Ninth Elder of the Shui Family, Shui WuHeng.”

The first two to take the stage were famous characters in the two families and their martial arts were not to be underestimated. They were at the peak of the XianTian realm and were first-rate experts in the world. The two families obviously wanted to have a victorious beginning.

The biggest show of the generational battle today was naturally the battle between Shui WuBo and Yu ManLou. From this point alone, it was apparent that Shui ManKong no longer bothered about authority. With a single look, the difference between the authority of the two was obvious! If not, with their status, even if Shui ManKong knew that he wasn’t a match for Yu ManLou, he would have to step up in battle!

Furthermore, the roster of the Yu Family was arranged by Yu ManLou alone but the family head of the Shui Family had completely given up on his authority, allowing his brothers and Shui WuBo to make all the decisions.

Originally, Shui ManKong would naturally not make such a decision as the generational battle would have large implications on the power struggle in the Shui Family. It could be said that the faction that gained the most merit during this generational battle would be able to determine who the next family head would be. Shui ManKong’s faction already had their backs against the wall and they no longer had any room to retreat. If they could not produce any results in this battle, Shui ManKong would definitely have to step down from his position.

Ever since Shui ManKong found out about the relationship between his daughter and Ling Tian, the despair that he had towards his family gave him a new idea. He thus decided to just let his cousins do as they wished. As long as his cousins wanted to attain victory, they would have to bring out all of their elites. However, were the members of the Yu Family pushovers? Suffering heavy casualties would definitely be the inevitable outcome!

With the aid of Ling Tian, Shui ManKong had the absolute confidence of cleaning out his opposition after the generational battle! Even if he had to get rid of the number one expert in the family, Shui WuBo, he would have no regrets!

Regardless of how many losses the Yu Family or his cousins’ faction incurred, it would only bring him and Ling Tian absolute benefits!

Shui ManKong had already come to a decision in his heart. Since his own son had already died and there wasn’t anyone from his faction to continue his lineage, if the Shui Family was to be handed into the hands of his cousins, Shui QianRou and Ling Tian would probably get rid of the Shui Family at the very first chance! If that was the case, the Shui Family would truly be doomed! Furthermore, he still had a daughter! Handing the family to his daughter was also equivalent to handing it over to his son-in-law!

While I, Shui ManKong, may not be able to achieve victory over Yu ManLou, the combined strength of my Shui Family and Ling Tian will definitely be superior to Yu ManLou! The only important thing is for Yu ManLou to lose in the end! Furthermore, Yu ManLou would lose in the hands of his son-in-law! It would still be considered a victory for my Shui Family!

Of course, if Ling Tian allows QianRou’s child to inherit the Shui Family, it wouldn’t be a bad choice! Although this last thought of his was only his fantasy!

After Ling Tian unites the entire world, if Ling Tian was willing to make Shui QianRou his empress, it would naturally be for the best. At the very worst, she would still be a consort! Even if Ling Tian chooses to suppress the aristocratic families after his ascension, it wouldn’t matter too much either. In any case, his Shui Family would be the kin of the emperor. However, the Yu Family would definitely be finished at that time. Regardless of what the outcome was, the Shui Family would definitely be the final victor.

Regardless of what the outcome was, as long as his Shui Family could emerge on top, Shui ManKong would be satisfied!

Thus Shui ManKong had a drastic change in his thoughts! Of course, if Shui QianHuan was still alive, Shui ManKong would never accept such a situation or even think about it! It was a pity that Shui QianHuan was no longer around. At the same time, it was a blessing that Shui QianHuan wasn’t around!

After the secret meeting with Ling Tian, Shui ManKong had come to a decision! He decided to place all of his bets on Ling Tian alone! As long as Ling Tian could rule over the entire world, everything would be worth it!

Even if he did not have a son, a son-in-law was also considered to be half a son! As Shui ManKong looked at the delighted faces of victory on his cousins’ faces, he thought to himself in his heart, Fight! Go on and fight to your deaths! The crueler and more intense the battle, the better! The more the members from my cousins’ faction and the Yu Family die, the better! The more their losses the better! It will mean that I will need less strength to cleanse them in the future and also mean less of an obstruction to my son-in-law’s ambitions!

The battle between the two in the plaza was extremely intense. They had already exchanged hundreds of blows, with their battle causing strong gales as they fought with their lives on the line.

While the original intent of the battle was to only determine the victor and loser but not life or death, it had already been their thousand years of tradition to fight to the death! It wasn’t a fight for victory or defeat but life or death! It would never end before one of the two died! Even if one knew that he wasn’t a match for his opponent, it would be impossible for him to admit defeat! Only the one who survives would be the victor!

Ling Tian and Ling Jian were hidden behind Yu BingYan with a strange look on their faces as they watched the battle before them.

Ling Tian whispered, “Ah’Jian, in your eyes, how do you think the martial arts of these two individuals are?”

Ling Jian watched the battle seriously and said with disdain, “In the past year, my cultivation has increased greatly and I am confident of assassinating him with a single move! I am also certain that I would be able to kill the two of them together!”

“What if you have to face them in a head-on battle?” Ling Tian nodded in satisfaction at Ling Jian’s response.

“If I face them in a head-on battle, I am confident of winning against them in ten moves if I use some risky moves. But if I want to fight them without taking any risks or paying any price, I would have to fight them for a hundred moves at least,” Ling Jian stroked his chin and said solemnly.

“Ah’Jian, you have truly improved greatly.” Ling Tian praised, “You actually know what it means to fight without taking risks.”

Ling Jian’s forehead was immediately filled with black lines and he didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Could this be considered praising me? Isn’t this as good as saying that I didn’t use my brain in the past? Of course, only Ling Tian would dare to reprimand Ling Jian in such a manner! As for the others, even Li Xue and Ling Chen would have their considerations.

“Look at Yu ManLou.” Ling Tian’s voice sounded as he looked towards Yu ManLou with a profound gaze.

Ling Jian also looked away from the intense battle in the plaza and looked towards Yu ManLou, only to see Yu ManLou casually chatting with Yu ManTang looking as though he could not be bothered with what was going on in the battlefield.

Of the thousand or more people in the plaza, there were only two people who had a relaxed expression on their face. The first was Yu ManLou and the second was Shui ManKong! It was truly coincidental that the two of them were the two family heads of the two families. However, the only difference was that Yu ManLou was certain of his victory while Shui ManKong had other plans up his sleeves.

“Very calm. It seems like Yu ManLou is certain of his victory.” Ling Jian said solemnly, “Currently, the gap between the Yu and Shui Families is becoming larger. If the Shui Family doesn’t know how to improve, there probably won’t be a point to continue with their generational battle!”

“I am not asking you to take a look at that! Nonsense, Yu ManLou is obviously extremely confident and this is something that even the Shui Family members can tell. As for the generational battle, how can there be a next time for these two families?!” Ling Tian snapped, “I am asking you to take a look at Yu ManLou’s complexion and aura. Is he any different from the Yu ManLou you saw in the Yu Family a while back?”

“Anything different?” Ling Jian pondered for a moment before shaking his head, “He still looks the same. Is there anything different about him?” He then fell into deep thought before adding on, “However, there is a hint of gloominess in his expression.”

“That’s right!” Ling Tian said with a solemn nod, “I said this about Yu ManLou before. Apart from the ancestral martial arts of the Yu Family, Yu ManLou should be cultivating another evil martial art that is extremely sinister! When his palm strikes the enemy, his enemy’s inner qi would be dispersed and his meridians frozen. At that time, his face would always be filled with a cold qi. However, that cold qi can no longer be seen on his face. There are only two possibilities. First, Yu ManLou has crippled those evil martial arts of his. Second, that evil qi of his has entered his body and his evil martial arts have achieved a major completion!”

“His evil martial arts has probably achieved a major completion!” Ling Jian sneered, “If you were to say that Yu ManLou would cripple his martial arts, I would rather believe that a rooster can lay an egg!”

“That’s right, I agree with your judgment.” Ling Tian smiled with satisfaction, “Without me by your side, none of you should attempt to fight Yu ManLou. Not to mention the fact that he wouldn’t give you such a chance. Even if he does, it would be too dangerous.”

“Is he truly so powerful?” Ling Jian said with indignance as he glared at Ling Tian with the urge to test Yu ManLou’s strength, “I truly want to try.”

“If you fight Yu ManLou now and place your life on the line, there should probably be a chance for you to mutually perish with him!” Ling Tian said slowly. “However, the biggest probability would be you dying on the spot and Yu ManLou being left with a single breath.”

“If I can use my life to sweep aside the biggest obstruction for young noble, then…” Ling Jian said with a solemn expression, “…so what if I have to die?”

“Yu ManLou coming to Heavenly Wind would be our best chance! It is a chance given by heavens! Young noble, I am certain that I will be able to complete this task!” Ling Jian had a burning gaze in his eyes with the determination to die!

“B*st*rd!” Ling Tian scolded in anger, “I just praised you only and you immediately went back to your original form! Since I already mentioned Yu ManLou, I would naturally have the confidence to deal with him. Let me tell you, in this trip to Heavenly Wind, I met a fortuitous encounter and my cultivation took a huge step forward. In the world today, apart from Justice, I believe that there isn’t another person who is a match for me. Even Yu ManLou who has achieved a breakthrough wouldn’t be an exception. This is a war for hegemony and we have to take things a step at a time. Yu ManLou’s death wouldn’t mean that we would be able to rule over the world peacefully!”

“Isn’t Yu ManLou young noble’s biggest enemy?” Ling Jian asked with doubt.

“He is! Of course he is! He is truly my biggest enemy with his wits and strategies!” Ling Tian said slowly. “However, fighting for hegemony and uniting the world would require the strength of the army! Our ambitions can only be forged in the battlefield through blood and fire! Only then would we be able to rule over the entire world peacefully without anyone daring to rebel.”

“If our rule over the world comes too easily, it would also be extremely difficult for us to keep our rule. This is a logic that any ruler would understand.”

“Historically, any ruler capable of setting up their kingdom would have crawled out from mountains of corpses! Any of these rulers would definitely have numerous experts under their leadership and it wouldn’t be impossible for them to send an assassin to assassinate the enemy’s leader. But why didn’t they do so? Why did they choose to fight it out on the battlefield?”

“Which emperor’s rule was gained from the assassination of the enemy’s leader?”

Ling Jian was truly puzzled, “Young noble, I truly do not understand why they would not choose to assassinate the enemy’s leader. For two armies to fight in a war, tens of thousands of lives would be lost. Why wouldn’t they want to avoid such losses if they can do so? In truth, Ling Chi, Feng, Yun, Lei, Dian, and I have such thoughts but we do not dare to act without young noble’s orders!”

“That is because the final battle to determine the ruler of the world is there to intimidate the world! This is an intimidation bought with the lives of thousands! Secondly, it is also to serve as a warning to their descendants!” Ling Tian said with a deep tone, “When we defeat Yu ManLou’s forces at their peak, it will be a declaration of our strength to the entire world. It will serve as a warning to the entire world to tell them that we are not an entity that they can provoke or resist! Besides that, we will grow old eventually and the future centuries will belong to our descendants. They would only know how to treasure our sacrifices by understanding how much we gave up to establish our empire. Only then would they act with caution and protect our territories.”

Ling Tian raised three fingers up and added, “Three generations! Our battle would probably be able to ensure three generations of stability for our future descendants! As for three generations later, I wouldn’t know how things would be. At that time, we won’t be around any longer and they can do as they wish…”

Ling Jian was completely stumped. He never imagined that Ling Tian would say something like ‘they can do as they wish…’

What emperor did not wish for their empire to last for thousands of years? What emperor would not want their descendants to have a stable rule over the land? However, Ling Tian was truly an oddball in this regard!

“Doesn’t young noble wish for your descendants to enjoy peace and prosperity forever?” Ling Jian asked carefully.

“I wish.” Ling Tian answered with certainty.

“Then why…” Ling Jian was even more bewildered.

“Wishing for it is one thing, but does wishing for it mean that my wish will come true?” Ling Tian looked at Ling Jian and let out a sigh. “In our war for hegemony, if we want to put it nicely, we will be fighting for the commoners’ peace. However, if we put it in a selfish manner, the so-called fighting for hegemony is no more than a game in our eyes. A large game in our life.”

“Talking about a game, in this life of ours, isn’t everything a game? Growing old and dying of sickness is not more than a game. Loving and hating is just another way to play the game. At the same time, fighting for the hegemony in the world is no different from playing a game as well! It is just a different way of playing the game and treating the game with a different attitude. As long as we can control everything as though we are playing a game and detaching ourselves from the game, we won’t have to worry about winning or losing. If we treat everything too seriously, we would end up losing everything!”