Chapter 697: Everything Has a Weakness

Translated by Yan of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Just when everyone was waiting for the Cang Alliance to make their stance known, You JunQi was ‘detained’ on Amaranthine Mountain by Tian Gui.

You XiaoMo personally ran outside to meet his clingy dad who had an extremely unwilling expression on his face. After he saw him, he didn’t immediately rush over and plaster himself to him like he had in the past; instead, he looked at him with a face full of hidden bitterness.

Father and son both had the same exact bitter expression.

Ling Xiao had always thought it was very mysterious. He knew that You XiaoMo was a soul from a different world, so logically speaking, the two of them weren’t really father and son. But often times, their expressions were both mysteriously similar.

Whoever dared to say that they weren’t father or son would definitely be considered crazy!

“Dad, don’t look so miserable. Things aren’t actually as serious as what you’re thinking.” You XiaoMo hugged his dad’s arm and looked at him, all smiles.

But You JunQi couldn’t be happy at all. Instead, he snorted at him and complained, “What’s not as serious as what I was thinking? My son is about to ignore me, how can I not run over immediately!”

You XiaoMo rubbed his head awkwardly.

He couldn’t do anything about it either. If he didn’t do this, his clingy dad wouldn’t have come over.

After all, the Vermillion Blood Clan was a major clan. Even though You ZhenTian was dead, the clan wouldn’t break up in a short amount of time. They still had many experts in the clan.

He had heard his clingy dad say before in the past that many of the previous generation actually supported him. Those people were the true treasures of the Vermillion Blood Clan, as some had even survived from before the ancient war and had personally witnessed the beginning and end of it.

The only thing was that those old farts ignored worldly affairs and hadn’t been involved in clan matters for many years already.

So after his clingy dad had been falsely accused and You ZhenTian monopolized the Vermillion Blood Clan’s power, they didn’t make an appearance and help out, but that didn’t mean that they didn’t want his clingy dad to return.

You XiaoMo hoped that his clingy dad would return to the Vermillion Blood Clan, implying that he needed to become the Vermillion Blood Clan’s head, but his clingy dad who had been living free for quite a while definitely wouldn’t agree. So he told Tian Dao to tell him that if he didn’t come back, he would ignore him from now on.

“Dad, don’t misunderstand. Actually, you might not necessarily have to become the family head,” You XiaoMo hurriedly explained. He didn’t want his clingy dad to go do something that he didn’t want to do either.

“What do you mean?” You JunQi looked suspiciously at his son, who had pressed his lips together into a smile, as if he was turning some clever idea over in his head. For now, he would listen to him talk a bit.

When You XiaoMo saw his expression relax a little, he immediately told him what he was thinking.

Right now, the Vermillion Blood Clan only lacked an expert who could keep everything under control. An outsider definitely wouldn’t do, since they would undoubtedly incite the backlash of the clan’s members. As a result, the most suitable one was You JunQi.

Of course, You XiaoMo would also work. After all, on the surface he was still You JunQi’s son, but he had many things to do. Lin ShaoYi’s and Ling Xiao’s grudge still hadn’t been resolved, so he and Ling Xiao would be unable to remain in South Continent one day. Therefore, the best pick was only You JunQi.

If he wouldn’t be the family head, then he could just be the acting family head.

After stabilizing the Vermillion Blood Clan, he could select the person who could really become the family head. However, this person had to be on their side, or else there would be another You ZhenTian, and You JunQi might as well be the family head in that case.

As for a candidate, that wasn’t actually that hard to find. The Vermillion Blood Clan was a large clan, and besides You ZhenTian’s bloodline, there were still quite a few other factions. There would definitely be a lot of people who secretly refused to accept You ZhenTian.

After listening to him, You JunQi also felt that this method was okay. He indeed wasn’t willing to see the Vermillion Blood Clan decline like this. The only reason the Vermillion Blood Clan ended up where they were today was 99% due to You ZhenTian, but they also had no choice but to obey You ZhenTian. You JunQi was willing to give them a chance.

Finally, the father and son duo reached an agreement.

You XiaoMo successfully persuaded his clingy dad to assume control over the Vermillion Blood Clan.

Afterwards, they told Fu CangQiong about their decision, and Fu CangQiong indicated that he wouldn’t meddle in this matter. Furthermore, if he had to, he could dispatch someone to come help.

You XiaoMo was waiting for him to say that.

They had too few people on their side. If they wanted to subdue the thorn that was the Vermillion Blood Clan, they couldn’t depend on just his clingy dad, even if he was a superior Sacred Realm expert.

Fu CangQiong let You JunQi take his smartest disciples, who were also the best at administration, Yue QianShan and Yu Bu. With them at his side giving advice, things should progress very smoothly.

Standing on the path at the bottom of Amaranthine Mountain, You XiaoMo sent off the reluctant to part You JunQi, who looked back every three steps. You XiaoMo smiled till his face grew stiff. Since he couldn’t go with You JunQi, his clingy dad had thrown a fit the entire day until You XiaoMo finally managed to comfort him.

Two days later, he and Ling Xiao set out for Xi Jing.

Tian Gui didn’t go with them since he went with You JunQi to the Vermillion Blood Clan. Tian Gui was good at fighting, and was also someone who was vicious, merciless, and bloodthirsty. With him there, You JunQi could ask him to help take care of matters that weren’t convenient for him to appear at.

By the time they returned to the Ghost Tomb Mountain Range, two more days had passed. As a result, they ended up seeing someone who they never thought they would meet at Weeping Ghost Shore.

Ling Xiao casually swept a glance over him. “What are you doing here?”

You XiaoMo looked suspiciously between the two of them. It seemed as if he had never met this uncle before, but Ling Xiao knew him. Who could it be?

It was as if Lin Ming didn’t see the somewhat unwelcome expression on his son’s face. He turned to look at You XiaoMo, his gaze assessing. After a while, he laughed. “You must be You XiaoMo. Sure enough, you’re just like what A-Gu said.”

You XiaoMo blinked and finally knew who he was.

Ling Xiao’s father, the fake Qilin Lord. He had always been a mystery, but now he appeared in front of them in broad daylight. He felt as if something wasn’t quite right, but Ling Xiao’s father was just about the same as what he had been imagining: bold and powerful, heroic and honorable-looking, his features honest, almost two meters tall, extremely tall. His appearance seemed extremely masculine.

He looked completely different from Ling Xiao.

Before, You XiaoMo had thought that it was very likely that Ling Xiao had inherited his father’s genes. Now that he had personally seen the father in question, he finally knew how wrong his assumption had been.

Lin Gu saw that the atmosphere was going awry, and he hastily stepped out to help Lin Ming explain. “Ling-er, this time, when your father came over, he isn’t planning on leaving again.”

Ling Xiao lifted an eyebrow slightly and sneered. “Exposed?”

Lin Gu nodded his head awkwardly.

But Lin Ming wasn’t embarrassed in the slightest. He suddenly reached out a hand and forcefully patted Ling Xiao’s shoulder, who didn’t move at all. Lin Ming didn’t care either, and he said, “Lin ShaoYi is already in control of the Qilin Clan. Two days ago, he suddenly brought people and burst into the Qilin Clan before exposing my identity in front of everyone. He even framed the previous Qilin Lord’s death as my doing. All those old farts believed him. At this point, Lin ShaoYi should have become the new Qilin Lord. Son, you must be careful; the Lin ShaoYi now is different from before. It seems as if his plan has succeeded.”

Ling Xiao frowned. “Even those old farts believed Lin ShaoYi?”

Even though he didn’t mention anyone by name, Lin Ming seemed to know who he was referring to. His face darkened a little. He didn’t need to say anything for the answer to be self-evident.

Never mind the fact that Lin Tian was both father and grandfather. In reality, he was incredibly indifferent to familial loyalty. He had never really looked at his son Lin Ming or his grandson Ling Xiao or cared enough about them to ask after them. Of course, he might have also never had anything to do with Lin Ming ever since he was young.

Ever since Lin Ming was young, he had been brought up by the Qilin Lord. In terms of affection, perhaps he was closer to the Qilin Lord. As time passed, father and son nearly became estranged. Even when something happened to Lin Ming, Lin Tian didn’t have anything to say.

Lin Ming had long since abandoned all expectations for this father of his.

It was even more impossible for Ling Xiao. He could count on less than three fingers the amount of times he’d seen Lin Tian before while growing up. On this matter, they knew Lin Tian’s choice since the beginning. However, once he stood on Lin ShaoYi’s side, that meant that a day would come where they would meet on the battlefield.

“Son, it’s up to you now. If you don’t quickly destroy Lin ShaoYi’s plotting, according to the next step in his plan, he will target the Demon Phoenix Clan, True Dragon Clan, and Black Turtle Clan. Seizing them means he’ll seize Xi Jing. When that time comes, he will definitely continue expanding his influence.” Lin Ming spoke with concern. It wasn’t that he liked to worry about the country or its people; it was that when Lin ShaoYi succeeded, the first people that he would deal with would definitely be them.

“Based on what you’re implying, Lin ShaoYi still hasn’t reached that realm yet.” Ling Xiao pondered.

Lin Ming said, “How could it be that easy to reach the realm? However, I imagine it’ll be soon…”

“What do you mean?”

“It seems like he’s planning something big. I suspect that the TongTian Emperor has already been killed. That day, when he burst into the Qilin Clan, some of the TongTian Emperor’s underlings were among his, but the TongTian Emperor himself has disappeared. We most likely don’t have much time remaining.”

Ling Xiao nodded. “I understand.”

After speaking, he left with You XiaoMo.

Lin Ming originally wanted to talk with him privately, but Ling Xiao ended up running away when he wasn’t paying attention. By the time he wanted to call out for him to stop, Ling Xiao had already disappeared.

“Don’t force him. Give him some time.”

Lin Gu just knew that it would be like this. In any case, what he had was time.

But Lin Ming didn’t have as good of a temper as Lin Gu had to indulge Ling Xiao. After hearing that he immediately laughed and scolded him. “Don’t spoil him too much. I can see that that damn brat is clearly purposefully stringing you along. It’s most likely because I didn’t tell him the truth last time so he bore a grudge until now.”

“Didn’t tell him the truth?”

After a stretch of silence, Lin Gu’s emotionless voice suddenly sounded.

Lin Ming silently cursed in his head. He had accidentally let it slip.

A second later, while standing in the doorway of the Smile Pavilion, Tian Dao saw someone dragging somebody else away by the ear. His stiff expression revealed an imperceptible smile.

Sure enough, everything has a weakness!