Chapter 106: Three Questions
Translator: DavidT Editor: celllll
Ling Chen’s face turned chilly as she rolled her eyes, "Why do you only know how to wipe out their families! Apart from killing, can you think of something else?"
Ling Jian gave a cold ‘hmph’ and scolded, "The NanGong family is audacious, daring to actually take the initiative to deal with us! That means that they must be tired of living! Killing one is also enmity, killing hundred is still life and death enmity! Then why should we pity them? Kill them all without leaving any troubles behind is the best way."
Ling Jian had personally experienced what he just said. Back then, the Blood Rose Hall killed his family because of greed but he managed to escape from them. But because of him alone, he managed to wash the Blood Rose Hall in blood single handedly three years later! That night, Ling Jian slaughtered hundreds alone with a single sword. That feeling of thrill was something which he still reminisces about up until now.
It was also that night which determined that he will be a bloodthirsty killer in this life! Now, The First Pavilion was renowned around the world because of the foundation built from that night!
Killing one is a crime but killing ten thousand makes one a hero. If one killed nine million, he would be the hero of heroes! Ling Jian never liked songs in his life, but after hearing Ling Tian sing that song, Ling Jian’s blood began to boil from the lyrics! As long as it is beneficial to his young noble’s ambitions, so what if he had to kill nine million people!
Up until now, he still remembered the first thing Ling Tian asked him when he came back soaked in the blood of revenge, "Do you know what the Blood Rose Hall was destroyed?" At that time, Ling Jian shook his head. He only knew that he killed to the point he was overjoyed, but he never thought about any form of reasoning.
At that time, Ling Tian said, "As a gang, the Blood Rose Hall did not do anything wrong! It was only right for a gang to commit murder and arson. If they do not kill and commit crimes, how can they be called a gang? The only mistake the Blood Rose Hall made was their moment of carelessness. They did not remove the roots of the problem and allowed you to escape! Then you, met someone like me who was able to groom you! So, the gigantic Blood Rose Hall was destroyed by that single mistake! Their gang destroyed and people massacred!
Ling Jian, you have to remember, you have to be cruel to your enemies, removing all roots in the process. Be it men, women, old or young, you have to view them all equally and must not let anyone off! You have to know — a single spark can start a fire. Since you have already decided to go against them, they are your enemies. What are enemies? Enemies are the people who will kill us if we are not careful! Facing your enemies, there is no such thing as mercy! The rules of the pugilistic world and so call morals are worthless in front of hatred! You must never leave behind the chance of a future problem! You would rather be a heartless individual then allow your enemies to grow before you! Do you wish for the Blood Rose Hall to have someone like you come take revenge years later? Ah ah…"
While seven years had already passed, the words which were spoken by Ling Tian back then still resounded in Ling Jian’s ears! Ling Jian would never allow anyone to sow such a seed of revenge. If he was able to meet the young noble, why can’t others have similar encounters? The world is such a huge place, who knows how many people like the young noble there are in the world? Only by killing everyone cleanly and ensuring no loose ends can one protect the things dear to him! Get it done, once and for all! All this while, Ling Jian's actions had been influenced by this statement said by Ling Tian and it was already deeply rooted in him. Vicious and merciless had already become the standards in Ling Jian’s heart!
Ling Tian laughed and said, "This NanGong family, since they have already thought about touching us, they must definitely suffer from our retaliation. But, with the way the world is today, we definitely cannot make any large actions. Now, the undercurrents in the continent is already surging violently, ready to burst out into war at any time. The NanGong family is one of the large aristocratic families in the continent. If we hastily exterminate the NanGong family, we will be the spark for the war. At that time, war would sweep through the continent and this is not something we want.
Ling Jian’s face changed as he said, "Young noble, with our strength now, do we still have to continue enduring silently? If the continent falls into chaos, that would be the best time for us to rise to prominence. The chaotic world will be the foundation for young noble’s ambitions!"
"Nonsense!" Ling Tian scolded, "Even if the continent were to fall into chaos, we should not be the one to trigger it! If we were to take action now, it is akin to alerting our enemies and exposing our strength. Do you not understand what it means to conceal ourselves?! In such times, it is best to use the chaos to our advantage! Our policy should be to watch the tigers battle while we benefit from all directions! When the tigers fight, us — as the hunters — would be the final victor! That should be the direction to head towards! Stupid!"
Ling Jian’s and Ling Chen’s faces were ashen!
Ling Tian gave a sigh as he looked towards Ling Jian, "Ah’Jian, I have three questions for you, answer me!"
"Please speak, young noble!" Ling Jian bowed respectfully. After being reprimanded, the nose of this top notch killer was already filled with sweat.
"First, with our current strength, is it enough to destroy the NanGong family?" Ling Tian asked.
"Our forces are resolute and strong; each soldier of our 20,000-large army is able to fight ten people single handedly. Furthermore, the martial arts of the 36 Blood Iron Warriors are also exceptional with each of them in possession of a special skill. Besides that, there is also Ling Chen, Ling Chi and the others from The First Pavilion. Young noble’s martial arts is also at an extremely profound level, almost achieving perfection. If we want to destroy the NanGong family, there is an 80% chance that we will succeed. Furthermore, we have the Ling family as our backing…" As Ling Jian said until there, he looked towards Ling Tian and realized that something was wrong with Ling Tian’s face. Thus, he stopped talking.
"You’re wrong, extremely wrong! First, you are blindly confident in our own strength. You only know your own strength but you do not know the enemy’s strength. While you can treat your enemy with contempt, you must not underestimate them. While the few of you are strong, the NanGong family isn't weak either. As for me, I do not dare to say that I am the number one expert in the world! The world is a vast place with many talents and experts around. It far exceeds your expectations for sure! That NanGong family is one of the eight great aristocratic family which has been present for hundreds of years already. You can imagine just how powerful they must be! With our strength, while we may win, it would be a bitter victory for sure, harming ourselves greatly in the process. The final result may even be for both parties to suffer heavy losses. It doesn’t really matter to me if the NanGong family is eliminated or not. At least, I am not too worried about the NanGong family! But if more than half of our strength is diminished because of the NanGong family, we would lose the ability to protect ourselves. This is something which we can never accept and a price we can't afford to pay!
Second, there is no one who knows about the full strength of our army. This is also the reason for our survival. If everyone were to know about our army, our extermination would also be near.
Third, if we really combine our strength with the Ling family, the combined force would end up becoming a large variable in the world and the target of everyone. Our Ling family would never become the subordinate of another family. As such, not only will we attract enmity from all the powers in our country, the whole continent would also treat us as a thorn in their flesh and would eliminate us for sure! Then, while the Ling family would become powerful, it would receive attacks from all sides. At that time, the day of our destruction would be near! Do you agree?"
Ling Jian was a smart person as well. After hearing what Ling Tian said, he broke out in cold sweat as he bowed in agreement.
"Next, what do you think about Yang KongQun from the Yang family?!" Ling Tian asked again.
"While that Yang family is big, it is large but impractical and nothing to be afraid of! That old man Yang KongQun is a worthless idiot as well. After being controlled within young noble’s palms for so many years, he did not realize it at all. He is just an old fogey! If young noble wishes to, I can present young noble with his head tonight!" Ling Jian said proudly, without a single regard for Yang KongQun!
"Wrong again! Yang KongQun is an old fogey? I think you are the little fogey!" Ling Tian smiled from anger, "That old man Yang has great foresight and planning. He can definitely be considered a powerful opponent. Ever since the ancient times, the Emperor would be at odds with the ministers in power. If the imperial family is powerful, the ministers would be weak and vice versa. However, the imperial family is still the legitimate ruler after all and the ministers had always lost in history. Even if the courts are corrupt and chaotic, justice is still in the hearts of the people. If a single mistake is made, everything can be gone in just a single night."
"While the present Emperor cannot be considered to be an excellent one, he is still clear about the situation and knows when to advance or retreat. At the same time, he is also enduring silently. Before his strength develops to a point where he can crush both families, he will not make any rash moves and would only sow discord between both families. He would not let the families grow too quickly and would definitely not allow both families to fight each other, lest the foundations of the Sky Bearing Empire is affected. He only hopes for both the families to slowly wear each other down. When the time is right, he will then grasp both the Ling and Yang family in his hands! If Yang KongQun has the same temper as grandfather, he would have probably fell into the trap of the Emperor already. If that was the case, both the Yang and Ling family would have long been in the Emperor’s hands."
"The only reason why we are able to maintain such a balance is largely due to Yang KongQun! This old fogey is extremely wise and reads the situation well. Towards the emperor, he would never use his strength to humiliate the imperial family, playing his own role dutifully. Towards our Ling family, no matter how we provoke them, he would always choose to take a few steps back, as long as it doesn’t affect the roots of his Yang family! This amount of patience and endurance is not something which I possess. While people on the outside think that he is an old and weak man, he actually has his own wisdom. Facing the Emperor who tries to sow discord and pressure from the Ling family, he has never panicked. He single handedly managed to balance the imperial, Ling and Yang family. The amount of wisdom he has is definitely to be praised! Yang KongQun is a crafty hero! As such, among the three powers in the Sky Bearing Empire, the Yang family is actually the strongest. It is just that the world does not know about it only! He actually managed to gain an upper hand in such a precarious situation! This person definitely cannot be underestimate! If not, we will definitely suffer a great loss in his hands!"