Third Master Yu was depressed beyond belief when he saw NanGong TianHu, his head swollen like a pig's head, standing at the pavilion assigned to the NanGong Family and laughing sinisterly. After he had finished the registration, he ignored the hospitality of Gu XiYan who had urged him to stay and walked out with a frustrated expression.
Suddenly, a wave of familiar danger swept past his heart. Raising his head, Yu ManTian's face revealed joy, as in front of him was a youth dressed completely in black, looking at him with the gaze of a hawk!
"Aiya! It's you, kid… Third Master has finally found you..." Yu ManTian immediately identified the youth as Ling Jian. While he didn't know Ling Jian's name, the battle between the two the other day was the most dangerous, as well as the most thrilling fight he had ever had in the last few years of his life. So how could he forget this person's features?
Before he even finished his sentence, Ling Jian shot a glare at him, whispering quietly, "Follow me!" before turning away.
Yu ManTian was overjoyed, trailing behind Ling Jian without another word. He didn't even seem to care that the other party was a ruthless murderer! Neither did he consider that a trap could have been set!
Would it be better to simply call him an idiot rather than a martial arts fanatic?
After the battle that day, even though Yu ManTian had always admired the white dressed youth, he felt that the white dressed youth won mainly because he took advantage of his own weakness at the time. While he admired the white dressed youth's strength, he didn't respect that white dressed youth. However, this stubborn and fearless black dressed teen struck a chord with him, making him feel that it was a pity such a talent became a killer. This was because Yu ManTian felt that the teen resembled him when he was younger, creating a sort of resonance with Ling Jian.
As for Ling Jian who was leading the road in front, he had a rare sense of appreciation. Yu ManTian might seem uncouth and insensitive, but he was actually a down-to-earth, hot-blooded fellow! Ling Jian only had admiration for this sort of person. He thought that to actually have such a friend wouldn't be such a bad thing after all! This was the first time Ling Jian had thought of befriending someone, and if Ling Tian were to hear of it, he would be gratified for sure.
Ling Jian was fiercely loyal to Ling Tian ever since he had been taken in, but Ling Tian's regret was that Ling Jian didn't know how to display his feelings at all, and was usually cold and detached. There had never been a person who could crack apart his icy shell, the only exception being Ling Tian. To think that the insensitive Yu ManTian would be the one to melt Ling Jian's frozen surface!
The two of them, one leading and one following, sped out of the city gates in the time it took to pour a cup of tea. Suddenly, Ling Jian's speed increased sharply, leading to Yu ManTian being unable to stay even with him. The best he could do was to maintain a distance of ten feet behind Ling Jian, which nearly drove Yu ManTian crazy! This kid's movement techniques aren't just a notch better than mine! For me to have a much higher cultivation than him, but be unable to catch up to him speaks volumes about his skills!
The two of them resembled wisps of smoke as they sped across the wide expanse of lands outside the city. Only upon reaching a lush green forest did Ling Jian gesture to Yu ManTian before shooting inside like a bolt of lightning.
Yu ManTian didn't hesitate at all, impetuously following him in. As for the saying 'No one runs into a forest willingly', it was no more than bullsh*t to Third Master Yu!
In a clearing within the forest, the black dressed Ling Jian stood ramrod straight, like a javelin piercing straight into the ground, warmly smiling at Yu ManTian! The trust the latter had shown him made him feel especially delightful! If Ling Chen and the rest of the Ling people were to see his current expression, they would be shocked beyond relief. Ah'Jian… Brother Jian could actually smile?!
"Where's that white dressed fellow? Errr… your house's young noble?" Not being able to see that refined demeanor of the person he most wanted to see, Yu ManTian felt incomparably downcast! He stared hard and continued, "Since you called me over, why isn't he here? While your skills are good, you are still not this Third Master's opponent!"
"My house's young noble?" Ling Jian looked at Yu ManTian as though he was a joke. "When did I say that I came under the instructions of my young noble?"
"Eh! This isn't under your young noble's orders? But you are really not my match! By the way, how are your injuries from that time? Your strength isn't comparable to that whatever Golden Leaves guy, and my elder brother had said that his injuries would take at least a hundred days to recover. You were even more heavily injured than him that time, so how could you activate your movement technique?" Yu ManTian was a little surprised, as based on his estimations Ling Jian needed months to heal, but after only a few days he seemed right as rain!
"Thank you, Third Master, for your concern. My house's young noble has the teachings of heaven. In just two days, all my injuries were healed!" Upon speaking about his own master, Ling Jian's face glowed with a respectful look.
"That white dressed kid, who is your family's young master, is indeed an unfathomable expert. I thought that by meeting you today, I would be able to chance upon him for a rematch. At that time, I had already used up more than half my total strength fighting you, or else he wouldn't have been able to withstand three blows with me!" Yu ManTian couldn't help but let out an expression of sadness on his face. After fighting with the great families, he had felt his momentum and confidence reach unprecedented heights. He had begun to think that he was the strongest in Sky Bearing and was looking to beat up that white dressed fellow just like he had done to NanGong TianHu!
Seeing Ling Jian, he naturally linked him to following the white dressed man's order. Along the way, he was adjusting himself to his best mental state, and now hearing that the young noble wasn't present, his excitement deflated just like a torn rubber ball. Slumping to the ground dispiritedly, he muttered, "Then why did you even call me out? You're not even my match! I respect you, so let's not fight, for you're really not my match! If you aggravate your internal injuries once more, you will never be able to advance for the rest of your life!"
A cold gaze shot out from Ling Jian's eyes, aiming straight at Yu ManTian. Even though what he spoke were facts, to someone as proud as Ling Jian such a sentence was like a humiliation. So how could he take that lying down?
Yu ManTian seemed not to have noticed that he had insulted someone with his careless words, even continuing in a friendly tone, "Black dressed boy, you had better just call out your young noble, Third Master doesn't want to fight with you at all!"
"If you want to fight with my family's young noble, just based on your current skills, you're unworthy! Although the last time you were disadvantaged due to our fight, in the end, our young noble had only exchanged three strikes with you!" Thinking about the objective Ling Tian had entrusted to him, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and push back all unnecessary thoughts. But his tone became noticeably colder.
"What?! I'm not worthy? It's true that we only exchanged three strikes, but before that, I went extremely easy on you to prevent you from harming too much of your vitality. In that hundred strikes, I could have killed you easily!" Yu ManTian now looked like a cat that had its tail stepped upon, and jumped up from the ground with widened eyes shouting, "I'm not worthy? Damn his mother! This #%$%^# b*st*rd! He's just a @#$#%#$..." A huge number of choice swear words flowed unceasingly from his mouth. Third Master Yu gestured at the sky and spat on the ground, full of hate! One could see his hairy face begin to turn purple!
How dare he look down on me, Yu ManTian! This is unforgivable! Third Master Yu ground his teeth, creating cracking noises as all the muscles in his face twitched uncontrollably, as though he was about to detonate.
A sense of wicked delight rose up in Ling Jian as he stared at Yu ManTian. "My young noble has spoken! If Third Master can fulfill a condition, he will pay Third Master a visit and allow you to happily engage in an all-out battle with him! However, if you can't pass his test, then forget about even discussing it!"
"What condition?!" Yu ManTian jumped up, rushed straight to Ling Jian, and was about to grab his collar. Ling Jian seemed like he was floating as he leaped back a few feet, soaring into the air. At this point, his right hand also grabbed onto his sword hilt and slid the sword half-way out of its sheath.
"Shrrring!" As he pulled the blade out, he injected his internal energy into the body of the blade. That caused the sword to continuously tremble and scrape against the sheath, producing a sonorous and clear sword sound that rang unceasingly!
Shou! Shou! Shou! Shou! Shou!
Following this sound, five other black dressed youths appeared out of the forest, standing in a row beside Ling Jian. All of them saluted, "Brother Jian."
Ling Jian nodded before turning to face Yu ManTian. "Here are my five brothers. Third Master, if you can break apart their formation, then my house's young noble will show himself for a fight!"
"Hahahaha… this fellow is looking down on me too much. Isn't it just five shrimps? Eh… these five guys…" Turning his gaze over, he was shocked to see five pairs of eyes brimming with killing intent! His big mouth also closed immediately, as goosebumps appeared all over his body!