Chapter 481: Crazy Stakes
Translator: DavidT Editor: Rock, DavidT
"Nonsense! How can fighting for hegemony over the world be treated as a child's game?" Yu ManLou said with dissatisfaction.
"The way I see it, this is no different from a game." Ling Tian smiled, "This is also the game most worthy for one to gamble his life on. Family Head Yu, just speak what is on your mind. You are obviously tempted in your heart and this game is probably a little boring to you. After all, there is a big difference between the both of us. You pay attention to the outcome while I pay attention to the process."
"If that's the case, why don't we divide and conquer? We could sweep away all the obstructions in our respective territories, and we wouldn't need to be wary of each other. We would naturally speed up the process of conquering the world greatly. When the world is divided into two, it would also be the time for it to be united into one. At that time, it would be either you destroying me or me destroying you and the fate of the world can be decided easily! At the very least, it would be much better than us scheming against each other. If we were to drag matters on as such, while one of us may end up winning in the end, we would definitely require a huge amount of time to reach that outcome. If that's the case, things will be too boring. Furthermore, it is very likely that both of us will end up in mutual destruction and give the Xiao or other families the advantage."
"I believe that you aren't willing to witness such an outcome either, right?"
Ling Tian sneered, "Take today for an example. While you may have the strength to kill me today, if I know that my death is certain, I would definitely go all out and you will be bedridden for half a year at least. You should be fully aware that this isn't a lie."
Yu ManLou pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement. He had to admit that Ling Tian truly had the ability to rival his strength!
"If we were to have a life and death battle today, even if you were to emerge victorious, your Yu Family will definitely suffer a loss in the battle with the Shui Family! If that's the case, the Xiao Family which has the support of Above Heavens will definitely gain the upper hand. At that time, your chance of ruling over the world would definitely be greatly reduced!" Ling Tian said with a confident smile, "Thus, the both of us need to work together. My need for you is far lesser than your need for me! That is why I dared to wait for you here today!"
Ling Tian stood up and waved his hands, "If the world is a huge game of chess, then the two of us would be the best chess players! If the world is a huge gambling table, then let the both of us bring our riches to the table!" Ling Tian let out bright, unrestrained and maniacal laughter!
It can be said that Ling Tian truly had a great grasp of Yu ManLou's character. From the many reports that he had received on Yu ManLou, it was obvious that he was an individual who was intoxicated with the allure of authority! Furthermore, he was an individual who truly had the strength to rule the world.
Ling Tian's words were undoubtedly targeted at Yu ManLou's character. In fact, Ling Tian's maniacal laughter at the very end had also stirred the ambition in Yu ManLou's heart!
At the same time, a sharp glow could be seen in Yu ManLou's eyes!
"What a good gamble! What a good gamble with the world as the stakes!" Yu ManLou praised with his eagle-like eyes fixed on Ling Tian. "Ling Tian, ever since you were five and stood out in Sky Bearing, I have sent someone to spy on you."
Ling Tian was startled in his heart. Five? Did you have nothing else better to do but to care about a five-year-old child?
Are you mad?!
"As your reputation grew nastier and nastier when you got older, my guard was truly lowered." Yu ManLou let out a self-mocking laugh, "When I heard about your profligate actions from my spies in Sky Bearing, it also made me extremely disappointed. Only five years later when an unknown underground force sprouted out in Sky Bearing, with the head of the force being untraceable, did you attract my attention again. While there were a few different gangs on the surface, the leader behind the gangs was very well concealed. However, as long as one had the heart to investigate the matter, it was impossible to fool the eyes of a wise individual. After scrutinizing every incident clearly, I realized that these few gangs barely had any major conflicts."
"As such, I ordered my men to investigate who would have such an ability but they were unable to come up with a conclusive conclusion. However, they managed to investigate something else: all the stories about young noble Ling Tian's profligate actions were spread by these few gangs. Furthermore, if one investigated those incidents, not a single trace of the incidents would be found. At that time, I knew that you were definitely related to the gangs in Sky Bearing."
"But at that time until the scholarly meeting, I only thought that you were a gifted and bright child. Even if you had some means, it wasn't enough for me to pay any attention to you. However, only when the various families gathered at Sky Bearing did I place you on my list of dangerous figures."
Yu ManLou let out a heavy sigh, "However, I only found out at this moment that you have already grown to become my greatest enemy. Even the Shui Family cannot be compared to you in my heart. As for this bet that you have proposed, I honestly did not want to agree to it but would rather kill you on the spot, even if I would have to pay an unbearable price. You are just far too dangerous, but because of the current situation, I have no choice but to agree to it! Ling Tian, I never imagined that you had researched my character to such a frightening degree!"
Yu ManLou looked at Ling Tian and said with a heavy and solemn voice, "I agree to your suggestion!"
"There isn't a need to wait until three months later. I can agree to it right now!" Yu ManLou continued, "If Justice was able to kill you, how would you have been able to stay alive for the past three months? Since he wasn't able to kill you in the past three months, then it is no different from it being Justice's loss. It is just that he isn't willing to admit it now."
Yu ManLou then said with a mocking sneer, "To think that he chased after a fifteen-year-old child for three months and is still unable to kill the child. This Justice is truly a laughingstock of the world."
Ling Tian let out a chuckle. He never imagined that Yu ManLou's confidence in him was even greater than his confidence in himself. However, Yu ManLou had never faced Justice in battle and didn't know just how frightening Justice truly was. He then replied, "According to what I know, it seems that Family Head Yu also wants my life but you are also having a good conversation with me right now." In other words, Ling Tian was trying to point out that Yu ManLou had no rights to criticize Justice.
"Furthermore, I only believe half of your previous words." Ling Tian raised his index finger and waved it around, "You have been scheming against me for many years already and is there a need for you to deny that? In Sky Bearing, there is probably no lack of your men!"
Yu ManLou paused for a moment before laughing bitterly. He then suddenly said with frustration, "Could it be that you are lacking men in Bright Jade City?"
Ling Tian burst into bright laughter. As Yu ManLou looked at Ling Tian laughing heartily, he also joined in the laughter and the both of them laughed without any restraint.
An old fox and a little fox with ulterior motives of their own laughing so heartily together. However, just who would be able to have the last laugh?!
"Let us go along with your suggestion. With the Cold River as the divider, the south will belong to you and north will belong to me. How about that?" Yu ManLou looked at Ling Tian and offered a suggestion.
The Cold River was the biggest river in the Heavenly Star Continent which went from east to west and was only a hundred miles north of Sky Bearing. Yu ManLou's suggestion was akin to cutting away half of Sky Bearing's territory that originally belonged to Ling Tian! While this suggestion of Yu ManLou's seemed extremely fair on the surface, it was greatly to his advantage!
However, Ling Tian didn't grow angry. At this moment, he was at the losing end and if Yu ManLou didn't make use of the opportunity to extort him, he wouldn't be Yu ManLou. Ling Tian responded with a chuckle, "Why don't we use the Bright Jade City as the divider? The north of the city would belong to you, and the south will belong to me." This suggestion of his was even more vicious, separating the core territory of the Yu Family.
Yu ManLou also smiled. His previous suggestion was only a probing one. He wanted to probe to see if Ling Tian would be willing to come to a compromise in such a situation. If Ling Tian immediately came to a compromise, it only meant that Ling Tian wasn't truly sincere in their cooperation or was even unworthy of cooperating with him. How could a ruler lacking in charisma and boldness be worthy of being a match for him?! It was very likely that Yu ManLou would immediately strike out to kill Ling Tian, this unworthy opponent!
Yu ManLou shook his head helplessly, "I knew that you would disagree. You wouldn't be Ling Tian if you agreed." He then pointed towards the west, "I have placed great effort in Western Han and it can be said that half of Western Han already belongs to my Yu Family. I will definitely not give it up and there isn't any room for discussion." His calm tone made it seem as though he was illustrating a fact and not having a bargain.
Ling Tian replied with a trace of mockery, "That is only what you feel. When you truly need Western Han, you will realize that you have gained control of far less than half of the Empire. In fact, you may not even be able to control 10% of the Empire. When I said uniting the continent, I wasn't just referring to the other party submitting to you. Even if they were to submit completely to you, their strength wouldn't completely belong to you. You should understand what I mean right?"
Yu ManLou's eyes widened, "If that's the case, the next five years would definitely be extremely tough for us."
Ling Tian let out an indifferent smile. "That's right. Where would the motivation come from if there wasn't any pressure?" He then raised his head and looked at Yu ManLou, "The both of us are too used to scheming in the dark. We are used to hiding behind the scenes and causing storms with just our words. I do admit that such a feeling is extremely satisfying, but we cannot expect to rule over the world through schemes. Thus, we will have to use true strength this time."
As Ling Tian said that, he thought about Li Xue's warning. While schemes would allow him to gain a slight upper hand, it wasn't the true method for him to rule over the world. If he wants the world to fully submit to him, he must come out in open and display true strength!
Thinking about this, Ling Tian's mouth curled up into a proud smile. "With regards to this, you have a slight disadvantage. Your Yu Family is restricted by the Shui Family and there is still the restless Xiao Family. Thus, I gave you the rights to decide the territorial divide. However, this does not mean that you can take the lion's share. This is something that you should be very clear of and also the most important part of our cooperation." Ling Tian's voice turned chilly, "If you want to become a fatty from a single bite, you have to first see if you have sufficient capacity! If you are greedy, you will be like a snake swallowing an elephant, dying because of bloating!"
Yu ManLou replied with a cold smirk of his own and it was obvious that he agreed with what Ling Tian said, "If that's the case, let us use the Valley of Sobbing Spirits as the divider. That was originally the territorial borders between Sky Bearing and Western Han. In five years, my Yu Family will level Western Han, unite Northern Wei, destroy the Wu Empire and defeat the Shui Family to unite half the continent! The rest would belong to you."
The rest would naturally refer to Southern Zheng, Eastern Zhao, Sky Bearing and the number one financial magnate, the Xiao Family. Apart from Sky Bearing already being in Ling Tian's control, Southern Zheng and Eastern Zhao were still completely intact. Furthermore, there was still the gigantic and mysterious Xiao Family. Thus, Ling Tian's half of the continent was undeniably more challenging.
Both of them had a point in common in that the empire where their family was located was already destroyed and they were truly the rulers of their respective territories! However, Bright Jade City was falling into pieces because of Ling Tian's schemes and Yu ManLou was undoubtedly at a loss. On the other hand, the experts of the Yu Family stationed in Sky Bearing would definitely have some accomplishments and thus it was still considered fair.
When Ling Tian proposed this bet to Yu ManLou, he had already expected Yu ManLou to make such a choice and was thus not surprised.
After considering for a moment, Ling Tian said with a seemingly bitter smile, "You have too big of an advantage with such a divide. You must give me some compensation."
"Go f**king die! How did this daddy here not give you any compensation? The fact that I didn't take your life today is already the biggest compensation!" Yu ManLou roared as he never expected that Ling Tian would be thick-skinned enough to ask him for compensations! He was angered to the point he began roaring with expletives, "Northern Wei is in a complete mess right now! Furthermore, the Shui Family, Western Han and Wu Empire aren't easy to deal with either! Besides that, there is still a Moon Deity Empire and Lei Empire behind him! Aren't they your trump cards?"
Yu ManLou cursed fiercely, "You are talking about uniting half the continent and not suppressing them. Five years from now, if there is still another power independent of either of us, it would mean that party has lost. Even if the Moon Deity Empire is far away and detaches themselves from the continent, they still belong to the Heavenly Star Continent right? At that time, won't that be your excuse? This old man's difficulties are far greater than yours!"
"However, the truth is that this young noble has helped you deal with the Shui Family already. Since we are going to cooperate with each other, Family Head should not be talking about my life and death already!" At the same time, Ling Tian cursed Yu ManLou in his heart for not being foolish.
"Your life is still in this old man's hands right now! Is this not the truth? Furthermore, this old man helped you get rid of the Above Heavens experts yesterday!" Yu ManLou continued to roar, "Even plenty of my Yu Family members fell to your scheme but your men were still having a good time in bed last night without any fatalities! Why didn't you talk about that?"
Ling Tian raised his hands and feigned surrender before saying helplessly, "Alright alright, we shall go with what you have suggested. Alright?"
Yu ManLou glared at Ling Tian before cursing under his breath. All of a sudden, Yu ManLou gasped, "Five years…" and came to a sudden realization, "Good brat! I have still fallen into your trap!"
Ling Tian looked at Yu ManLou with an innocent pair of eyes, "What trap?"
Yu ManLou looked at Ling Tian's mischievous appearance and could not help but fume with anger, "The Shui Family is in the Heavenly Wind Continent and how would our Yu Family be able to control when they choose to create trouble with us? Even if we can win against them three years later, the Shui Family's foundations would still be present! As long as they wish to do so, they can still backstab this old man! If that's the case, won't things be even tougher for this old man?"
"That is your problem," Ling Tian said shamelessly. "This isn't something for me to worry about. I need to worry about the omnipotent Xiao Family."
"Omnipotent?" Yu ManLou let out a 'chi' filled with disdain and did not say another word.
"This is only a bet between the both of us with the world as the stakes. However, both you and I will not be able to fully control what happens." Ling Tian said solemnly, "I can only restrict my subordinates from seeking trouble with you but all other things are not in my control. At the same time, I hope that you will also control your Yu Family members."
Yu ManLou replied with a sneer, "Naturally. My words are definitely of greater weight as compared to yours." After pausing for a moment he continued, "If that's the case, I will pull back the Yu Family members stationed in Sky Bearing. I hope that you will not have any actions."
Pull back? Ling Tian almost burst into laughter. Send your forces when you want and pull them back as you wish? Do you think Sky Bearing is your backyard? Ling Tian then coldly said, "I definitely will not do anything. If they can return, let them return swiftly."
"As long as you do not make a move, no power would be able to stop them." Yu ManLou said with sincerity, "Don't worry, I will not let them bring back anything that belongs to Sky
Bearing."
Let go when it is time to let go was Yu ManLou's character. Since there was such a bet between them, there wasn't a need for him to make use of Yu BingYan to scheme. While many people would definitely scoff and mock this bet of theirs if it were to spread and doubt the authenticity of such a bet, Yu ManLou knew that it wasn't a joke!
Yu ManLou firmly believed that this elegant teen in front of him was just like him! As crazy as him and as heartless as him!
This was the conclusion he came to after observing Ling Tian for a long time and Yu ManLou was certain that he won't be wrong!
Let this world be the stakes for a bet between two crazy individuals! Yu ManLou was filled with a thrilling feeling.
However, who knew whether or not Ling Tian had the same thoughts as Yu ManLou? If Ling Tian knew what Yu ManLou thought of him, he would probably end up bursting into laughter.
The moment this bet was set, regardless of who ends up ruling over the world, the time taken would definitely be halved! This reduction in time was something that both Ling Tian and Yu ManLou would be extremely satisfied with.
Thus, Yu ManLou was truly unwilling to backstab Ling Tian at such a moment.
Ling Tian let out an indifferent chuckle, "Up to you."
Yu ManLou nodded his head and a crazed glow could be seen in his eyes. Such a bet was completely in line with his crazy character! To treat the world as a chessboard and humans as chess pieces!
Yu ManLou was extremely satisfied. In his heart, the many people in the world were of little importance and no different from ants! Only he had the rights to be in control of the life and death of these ants. He had full confidence in winning this bet! So what if Ling Tian was extremely talented? Could the foundation of a thousand years be withstood by a single Ling Tian?
In fact, Yu ManLou did not even think that Ling Tian had the hope of uniting the east in five years and have a final battle with him. However, Yu ManLou was not bothered about this. He wanted to unite the west in five years so that more than half the battle would be won! At that time, regardless of whether or not Ling Tian united the east, Yu ManLou wouldn't mind going to war with the world!
No matter what, this would save much more time than his original plan! Yu ManLou only wanted time.
As Ling Tian looked at Yu ManLou forcefully suppressing his craziness, an odd feeling rose in his heart. While this plan of his was carefully planned with Yu ManLou's craziness in mind, the moment this bet was set, it also meant that there was no turning back for him!
Five years!
Compared to Yu ManLou, Ling Tian did not lack time at all! After all, he was only seventeen and had the time to wait. While Ling Tian was not as crazy as Yu ManLou, and the people of the world did hold a place in his heart, Ling Tian wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice them if it was necessary for him to rule over the world!
Even if he managed to gain five years from Yu ManLou, these five years would undoubtedly be filled with slaughter!
While Ling Tian had plenty of trump cards up his sleeves, Yu ManLou was not lacking in means either. Both of them were gloating about how the other party had fallen into their trap and was completely certain of their own victory!
Both of them laughed in delight at the same time.
"If that's the case, let us slap our palms in an oath! One that we must never break!" Ling Tian said solemnly.
"Pa! Pa! Pa!" They slapped their palms together three times before making the same action.
Both of them lowered their heads and looked at their palms with a frown.
A short while later, Yu ManLou asked calmly, "What did you see?" However, his calm voice was filled with a bloodthirsty aura.