"There's no rush." XiMen WuYi chuckled, "ChongTian, you have your military duties and there isn't a need for you to move out personally. This old man will have to stay in the family…Mmm… how about this, First Elder will lead twenty people from our family to search toward the north. Second Elder will lead twenty people to search toward the east. Sa'er, you will search toward the west. Your third uncle's military camp is near the western gate and you must maintain contact with your third uncle. Don't make any rash moves."
The four of them stood up and bowed, "We hear and obey the Family Head's orders!"
XiMen WuYi's face turned chilly as his gaze swept past the three of them, "The moment you find Ling Tian, block him at all cost! I don't need any of you to kill him, and you only need to delay for time! Even if all of our men were to die in Ling Tian's hands, we must ensure that Ling Tian will die in the hands of the Martial Order Medallion owner!"
Just when the XiMen Family was having their secret meeting and arranging their plans to deal with Ling Tian, all the other families that received news of this matter were also in the midst of planning.
After all, the Ling Family without Ling Tian was akin to a huge piece of fresh meat without any ability to defend itself. At the same time, it was also certain that the rumors of Ling Tian being a disciple of Beyond Heavens were definitely false!
A while ago, a large battle between Northern Wei, Sky Bearing, and Western Han broke out without any signs at all. While the battle was indeed a miserable one, it was extremely short and lasted a few days only. Before the various families had a chance to react and plan the insertion of their troops, the miserable battle had ended.
In just a short few days, there were tens of thousands of casualities and over 200,000 captured soldiers! While this battle lasted for only a short while, it had a huge impact on the situation in the whole world!
The Northern Wei army had launched 400,000 soldiers to face the 70,000 Sky Bearing troops but suffered a huge loss under the coalition of Sky Bearing and Western Han. Currently, it was impossible for Northern Wei to pick themselves up again! Regardless of whether or not someone was intelligent, it was obvious to see that Northern Wei was in a state where anyone could bully them!
As for the Sky Bearing Empire, while they were the victors, the unlucky emperor Long Xiang had failed in his scheme to uproot the Ling Family and was uprooted instead. At this moment, the Sky Bearing Imperial Family was there in name only and had lost all authority! All the authority of Sky Bearing was in the grasp of the Ling Family. Despite them retaining the name of Sky Bearing and even supporting Long Xiang's unborn child to become the emperor, everyone knew that this was no more than a stop-gap measure. It was only a matter of time before the Emperor's surname in Sky Bearing changed!
With the fall of the two empires, the biggest victor was the very target the three empires wanted to get rid of: the Ling Family! The unpredictable changes of the world were just so amazing!
However, the very thing that shocked all the Great Families was not the sudden rise of the Ling Family but Ling Tian's display in that battle! Rushing over from a thousand miles away and charging into the enemy's 400,000 army with five men to save his father! At the same time, he was able to grasp the perfect opportunity and use his less than 50,000 troops to score a victory against the 400,000 Northern Wei army and capture almost 200,000 soldiers! This battle had successfully created a god of death on the battlefield: Ling Tian!
If Ling Tian had revealed his outstanding talent when wiping out the XiMen Family in Sky Bearing, then this battle had caused his name to truly shock the whole world! He had become the individual that every family and empire felt wary toward! An expert like himself coupled with his talents in leadership was the talent that every empire sought to have. But if he was their enemy, he would be the number one target to get rid of! Apart from Beyond Heavens, what other sect or family in the world would be able to nurture such a well-rounded talent? Thus the rumor of Ling Tian being the disciple of Beyond Heaven.
Almost everyone was certain that the Ling Family and Ling Tian would definitely rise up in fame all over the world! Everyone could not help but curse Long Xiang for being foolish. If not for Long Xiang plotting against the Ling Family, the past 'silkpants' Ling Tian would never have risen up in revolt! Every power in the continent had been preparing for that very moment, to do everything in their power to prevent the rising of Ling Tian! The moment Ling Tian's foundations were set, it would be the demise of every other power. However, in everyone's heart, Ling Tian was a disciple of Beyond Heavens, and none of them wanted to be the first to stand out against Ling Tian. This was also the reason why no other powers entered Sky Bearing!
However, just when everyone was making their plans silently, a huge storm broke out in Sky Bearing and the shocking news of Ling Tian being pursued by the Martial Order Medallion owner had spread. Apart from letting the major powers heave a sigh of relief, all the major powers had the same thought: Since you are not a disciple of Beyond Heavens, there is no need for us to be wary of anything!
While they didn't have to consider the fact that Ling Tian had a special background, the authority Ling Tian wielded, the wealth of his family, the strength of his martial arts, and his intellect made Ling Tian a huge threat to all the major powers! Especially the fact that he didn't have the rules of Beyond Heavens to rein him in, this would only turn Ling Tian into an even more frightening character!
Thus, none of the major powers would allow Ling Tian to exist in the world! While the Martial Order Medallion owner had already appeared to chase after Ling Tian, and Ling Tian's death was almost certain, Ling Tian was still only being chased after with his death presently uncertain. As long as Ling Tian lived for another day, he would definitely pose a threat to the major powers and they had no choice but to… thus, all the major powers began to stir.
The Xiao Family.
In the chilly night sky with the vast skies filled with stars, the Family Head of the number one financial magnate, Xiao FengHan, was standing in the Windblown Pavilion of the Green Ripple Immortal Park with his head facing the starry night sky and a look of worry on his face. He had suddenly remembered the bet Old Madam Ling had with him when he annulled the marriage with the Ling Family ten years ago. Then, he thought about Ling Tian's frightening talent and could not help but let out a desolate sigh as he thought, I have already lost this bet since ten years ago! While I didn't want to admit the fact that I have lost, it was only a matter of facing the facts. No matter how I choose to hide the matter, it is a fact that I have lost! Thinking about the decision of the family in the meeting, he could not help but let out another sigh.
As the saying goes, an ambitious individual should not be concerned with the little details. However, could he really perform such ungrateful and treacherous acts? Xiao FengHan looked at the night sky with his heart in a complete mess.
Footsteps sounded from behind him and the number two character of the Xiao Family, Xiao FengYang walked over, "Big brother, are you still worrying about the matter of Ling Tian?"
"That's right," Xiao FengHan frowned, "in the meeting, almost everyone who had authority requested for this old man to issue a kill order for Ling Tian and Xue'er was the only one who strongly disagreed. Haiz, how would any of you understand the bond I shared with older brother Ling back then?! If I were to issue the kill order today, how could I ever face my brother and sister-in-law? I am really in a dilemma!"
Xiao FengYang went silent for a while before saying, "Big brother, if I were to put it crudely, what is important to you is your own personal affair but the matter we are discussing about is the affair of the family. The only reason why our Xiao Family has been living in seclusion for so many years is to fight for hegemony with the world. We are different from other pugilistic families and are definitely not an ordinary merchant family. We have to heartlessly get rid of anything that stands in our way and we should not be affected by personal emotions, even if you are the Family Head. These two matters should not even be talked about in the same breath! Currently, there are two huge barriers to our final goal: the Yu Family and Ling Tian. The Yu Family has the same idea as us, wanting to wait until the final moment before turning the whole situation around to their favor, and they have been waiting for the opportunity as they remain hidden. Despite his young age, Ling Tian already revealed his ambitions to rule over the world and had many advantages such as wealth, strength, and authority. Regardless of the reason behind Northern Wei using their Martial Order Medallion to kill Ling Tian, it is a one in a lifetime opportunity for us. If we do not make use of this opportunity to get rid of Ling Tian with the aid of the Martial Order Medallion, Ling Tian will eventually become a huge tumor in our side! Furthermore, the Martial Order Medallion has never failed in its task and we are only speeding up the process."
Xiao FengYang then took a step forward and whispered, "Big brother, not to mention Ling Tian, even if we are only talking about the Martial Order Medallion owner… we can also kill two birds with a single stone." his last phrase was said with a profound tone.
Xiao FengHan's eyes lit up as he nodded in agreement, "That's right, this is a good opportunity indeed! If not for second brother's reminder, I may have really missed this opportunity because of my personal affairs! If that's the case, let us not delay matters. Let brother Guo send out news tonight to carry out this plan. Nothing can go wrong!"
Xiao FengYang laughed out loud, "Rest assured big brother, brother Guo's martial arts have already achieved great heights, and together with the aid of his sect, no one will be able to stop him. This matter would definitely be successfully accomplished! Big brother just needs to wait for the good news patiently."
Seeing that Xiao FengYang didn't have the intention to leave but was in deep consideration as though he was hesitating about something, Xiao FengHan could not help but be puzzled. With his second brother's steadiness and firm attitude, could there be something that he didn't know what to do? Thus, he could not help but ask, "Second brother, is there anything else? Even you are hesitating?"
After a moment of delay, Xiao FengYang said, "Big brother, have you noticed that Xue'er's mood has been extremely erratic recently? In today's meeting, wasn't her reaction a little extreme as well?"
Thinking about Xiao YanXue's actions in the meeting, Xiao FengHan nodded his head in agreement, "Xue'er is indeed acting strangely recently and I am also in a dilemma because of this. If not for second brother's reminder, I would have forgotten about it."
Xiao FengYang said with worry, "Big brother, when this little brother brought Xue'er to Sky Bearing, not only was Ling Tian suave and elegant, his literary talents were stunning and he is a martial arts expert. Furthermore, he originally had a marriage agreement with Xue'er and even saved her life once. I'm afraid that Xue'er may be infatuated with him. With Ling Tian's talents and looks, what lady wouldn't fall in love with him?"
Xiao FengHan felt his heart skip a beat as he remembered the bet from back then and laughed bitterly. Could it be that he really lost so bitterly? He then said with a mellow tone, "Xue'er isn't young anymore, should we…"