Chapter 683: Choice

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

“Hmph hmph.” Ling Jian ignored her and walked towards his own tent.

“What are you snorting about? Overestimating your own abilities and thinking that you can assassinate the Above Heavens sect master! Do you really think that you are the number one assassin? You’re only the number one in bragging!” Xiao YouHan looked at Ling Jian’s back and shouted out, “You better tie a rope around your body so it will be easier for me to save you!”

“Meng FanYun?” Ling Jian did not turn back and said with his back facing Xiao YouHan, “He is just a peak XianTian expert! If I want to kill him, a single sword is sufficient!” He then walked into his tent slowly.

For some reason, Xiao YouHan did not mock Ling Jian after hearing those words. She could clearly feel the immense confidence hidden under Ling Jian’s calm voice!

Hearing those words and seeing his confidence as he left, Xiao YouHan suddenly had a thought in her mind, Could it be that he is truly able to kill Meng FanYun? How is this possible?!

Thinking about that, she scolded herself for thinking too much. Who was Meng FanYun? He was the sect master of Above Heavens, a character who was definitely one of the top five experts in the world! There were far too few individuals in this world capable of being a match for him!

Who was this stone-face fellow? He was only a subordinate under Ling Tian and is still far too young. How is it possible for him to kill Meng FanYun? Isn’t this just a joke?

“King of bragging! Living in his dreams!” Xiao YouHan muttered under her breath. All of a sudden, she imagined the scene of Ling Jian attempting to assassinate Meng FanYun and being killed on the spot. She felt a wave of guilt in her heart again. After all, he only received such a dangerous mission because of her!

“No matter what, I will not allow him to die!” Xiao YouHan clenched her fists tightly. “Regardless of whether it is to meet the First Pavilion Head, I will not allow him to die because of me!”

Ling Tian lay on Ling Chen’s thigh comfortably with his eyes closed as he heard Li Xue’s arrangements.

“… fifty-five men. Apart from the four sent to the south-west, the two left behind in the Courtyard to take care of the injured together with Ling Fifty, fifteen to protect the safety of the imperial palace and Ling Family, the remaining more than thirty individuals have already split up and made their way to the south-east. The south-east information net has been activated fully and the Crystal Pavilion is also gathering information to the best of their ability. Everything is within our control!”

“As for the Yu Family, we have arranged for an additional 100,000 troops in Swallow County and began transporting military rations. We can ensure that the grains will be transported without stopping and there will not be any future worries. After all, a true battle may break out this time. The Yu Family army has already retreated five miles back and they have begun reorganizing their army. Before they can confirm our intentions, I believe that they will never dare to take the risk and launch an attack.”

“We added another 100,000 soldiers to Mourning Soul Mountain as well. The general in charge of the Yu Family army is XiMen Sa and he will naturally not make a rash move.”

“With advisor Meng overlooking the army and deploying the troops, there isn’t a single gap and possibility for accidents.” Li Xue ended her report with confidence.

At this moment, Ling Tian had already shifted all of his forces to the south-east to give Above Heavens a lightning-fast blow and remove all future trouble. However, the more he did so, the more he had to be wary of the Yu Family. If the Yu Family launched their forces at this moment, the Ling Family would face the risk of being assaulted from all directions. Even with Ling Tian’s current forces, he might not be able to endure such an assault.

Besides, the Yu Family’s three souls and seven bodies were just wiped out by Ling Tian and it would be understandable for Yu ManLou to launch an attack in rage.

Thus, Li Xue employed an extremely bold move. She decided to take the initiative and increase their forces deployed to their borders. At the same time, she began sending strategic resources to the borders endlessly as though battle was about to erupt. As such, the Yu Family would definitely think that the Ling Family was about to launch a military expedition and would not dare to make any rash moves.

A weak country has no diplomacy. Only a country that is strong enough can talk about diplomacy. As long as a country has sufficient strength, no other country would dare to thoughtlessly attack!

The true purpose for Li Xue’s plan was to fight for two months worth of time. At that time, even if the Yu Family wanted to launch an attack, it would be too late!

“Mmm, that’s right, but I still have to remind you about something.” Ling Tian thought for a moment before saying, “Above Heavens has supported the Xiao Family for many years and it can be said that the entire Xiao Family is within Above Heavens’ grasp. Our current mission is naturally for the Xiao Family. While it wouldn’t be difficult for us to wipe out Above Heavens, if Above Heavens knows that there is no turning back, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to drag the entire Xiao Family down with them. If the entire Xiao Family perishes, there won’t be any meaning for us to wipe out the entire Above Heavens. It would even cause a huge uprising in the south-east. After all, the Xiao Family and Above Heavens have a huge influence among the commoners in the south-east. The only way to stabilize the people is to keep the Xiao Family.”

“What do you think we should do?” Li Xue asked with a frown, “I thought of this matter before and thought that we should first lure them out. But if we lure them out, we would definitely end up alerting them. While we do not place a power like Above Heavens in our sights, it would be a huge headache for us if they were to hide within the pugilistic world and plan for their revenge. We need to choose the lesser of the two evils!”

“I understand your concerns. Just like what you say, we have to choose the lesser of the two evils! If that’s the case, we shall protect a couple of important individuals in the Xiao Family before the start of the operation. Arrange some men to take care of this matter, and as for the rest…” Ling Tian pondered for a moment before saying with a mellow tone, “we can only leave matters up to the heavens.”

“Alright!” As someone who was not as emotionally invested, Li Xue was naturally far more resolute than Ling Tian. Even if all of the Xiao Family members died, she wouldn’t feel the slightest bit of compassion! She would naturally not bother about how many from the Xiao Family died.

She was extremely clear who Ling Tian was referring to as important Xiao Family figures. This was completely irrelevant to the authority hierarchy in the family. It was completely dependent on who Xiao YanXue was close to.

It could be said that the objective of this operation was to annex the entire south-east of the continent into the Divine Prefecture Empire. However, the main reason for the operation was because Ling Tian didn’t want his woman to be hurt!

Ling Chen smiled gently as she combed Ling Tian’s hair with her fingers, “It is already extremely rare for young noble to have such a heart. If younger sister YanXue knew about this, she would definitely be extremely touched. However, the moment battle breaks out, it will be impossible for even a celestial being to protect the weak and helpless members of the Xiao Family from the ferocious hands of the experts of Above Heavens. Thus, we only have to try our best. Just like what young noble always says, as long as we do not go against our conscience!”

Ling Tian and Li Xue both looked at Ling Chen with their eyes widened as though they had just known her. After a long which, Ling Tian let out a smile and continued lying down on Ling Chen with a look of ease on his face.

Li Xue chuckled, “I am truly the one at ease for younger sister Chen to say these words. With younger sister Chen as the empress in the future, she will definitely be able to manage Tian’ge’s imperial harem extremely well.”

Ling Chen’s face flushed red, “Sister Xue is teasing me again. Actually, sister Xue is the most appropriate choice.”

Ling Tian laughed and said, “Chen’er, she isn’t teasing you but praising you. You are the only master of the imperial harem that I have acknowledged and no one will be able to change that fact. Do you understand?! As the master of the imperial harem and the mother of the world, it would be impossible for you to accomplish that without some means. While I do not support a woman being unscrupulous, there isn’t a need for an empress to exist if she does not have some means. For you to say these words today, it proves your ability. Knowing when to sacrifice is the trait of an accomplished empress! Remember, you are the only master of the imperial harem that I will acknowledge!”

Ling Chen looked down in deep thought. As though she realized something, she suddenly smiled, “Young noble, sister Xue is also here. Don’t you think that sister Xue is more suitable for the position of empress? If you want me to… I am afraid that I will not be able to do so.”

“In terms of ability, Li Xue is truly the best choice.” Ling Tian said slowly, “But Chen’er, you have to know something. Both Li Xue and I are too tired in regards to fighting for authority!”

“We are really extremely tired!” Li Xue muttered under her breath before leaning on Ling Tian’s chest with a gentle look on her face. This was the first time such an expression could be seen on Li Xue’s face.

“Everyone’s the same, we are truly tired. It would be best if we can choose not to think about anything but lead a life without worry with our loved ones.”

Ling Chen thought to herself and an apologetic look could be seen on her face. She could feel the fatigue in the hearts of both Ling Tian and Li Xue. This was a fatigue that came from the heart and it wasn’t faked in the slightest.

However, how would she know that both Ling Tian and Li Xue had been fighting for authority for a full two lifetimes?!

They were truly sick and tired of it!

For Ling Tian, Li Xue would do anything and was willing to help him plan anything! However, she wasn’t willing to touch authority! As long as Ling Tian held authority in his hands, Li Xue would never allow herself to hold onto any form of authority and power!

Perhaps it was just Li Xue thinking too much. But the intuition of a lady told her that if she were to hold onto authority, it was inevitable for her to clash with Ling Tian. After the experience in her previous life, she wasn’t willing to let the slightest bit of displeasure to exist between the two of them!

Li Xue was confident that if she wanted to fight for the position of empress, no one would be able to beat her! Even Ling Chen wouldn’t be a match for her. However, after she became the empress, it would be impossible for her to ignore everything even if she wanted to. After all, even if the empress wanted to ignore everything, she already had a huge amount of authority in her grasp. Any action or word of hers would be studied by the people around her!

Thus, Li Xue would only aid on the side and would never interfere directly.

It was the same when she was helping Ling Tian now and the same when she aids Ling Chen to manage the harem or Ling Tian to manage the world in the future!

Besides, both Ling Tian and Li Xue were clear that Ling Tian was invincible in the world today! If there was someone capable of being a threat to Ling Tian in this world, that person wouldn’t be Yu ManLou or Justice but Li Xue!

There was only a single person who was capable of killing Ling Tian in this world! Only Li Xue!

Only Li Xue would be able to make use of everything within her grasp to defeat Ling Tian!

In terms of personal strength, Li Xue was Ling Tian’s biggest opponent in the world! She was the only opponent worthy of Ling Tian! Regardless of whether it was in terms of schemes or means, Li Xue and Ling Tian were completely on par. In fact, Li Xue was slightly superior in some areas!

However, Li Xue would never become enemies with Ling Tian!

She would never touch any form of authority! This was something that Li Xue was adamant about! She had suffered for an entire lifetime because of Ling Tian and had even died because of Ling Tian! She had even chased Ling Tian to this world!

In Li Xue’s heart, there was nothing more important than Ling Tian! Even if it was the authority of the world! In Li Xue’s heart, there was nothing that she couldn’t give up! The only thing she couldn’t give up is love! Ling Tian!

These were Li Xue’s thoughts and Ling Tian was extremely clear about that! Ling Tian was also clear that with Li Xue’s strength, if she grasped authority in her hands, some of her plans would be the complete opposite of Ling Tian’s. Their wisdom was comparable and Li Xue was extremely clear of all of Ling Tian’s weaknesses. She was more familiar with Ling Tian’s weaknesses than Ling Tian himself!

She understood what all of Ling Tian’s expressions symbolized. What kind of emotion it meant and what kind of thoughts he had. In fact, there were many things that Ling Tian didn’t even need to say before Li Xue noticed and settled the matter!

Currently, Li Xue was still able to manage and overlook everything while watching calmly from the sides and not touching authority. This was the best way for her to help Ling Tian. Furthermore, Li Xue herself would also prefer such a lifestyle.

Thus, Ling Tian would not force her. On the contrary, Ling Tian would purposefully make a few mistakes for Li Xue to correct as a form of entertainment for both of them. Ling Tian knew that he would absolutely not suspect Li Xue currently. However, Ling Tian would never use the word ‘forever’. After all, human’s would change.

Ling Tian could not be certain that his future would never change. Ling Tian was extremely familiar with human nature and thus knew that Li Xue’s choice was the best one! This choice of hers had ensured that the two of them would never suspect each other in this life of theirs!

With Li Xue aiding Ling Chen in the future, Ling Tian’s imperial harem would be impossible to break. Distancing herself from the struggle of authority, she would naturally be able to see everything clearly.

Of course, there were definitely cons with this. With an existence like Li Xue, the imperial harem will always be united. However, Ling Tian who was on the losing end would never be able to add anyone to his harem…

This was a point that Ling Tian lost completely! He lost completely to Li Xue in this life of his. However, for a man to lose to a woman for his entire life, it was also extremely fortunate!

For any couple to remain happy for the whole lifetime, there would always be a strong and weak party. Furthermore, the weak party would definitely have a way to deal with the strong party. If both parties were strong, conflict was inevitable! If both parties were weak, it would end in a tragedy! The best solution would be to achieve a balance between strong and weak!