Chapter 1147: Chapter 1145: The Beginning and End of That Year_1
Shi Xiaole had asked Ling Zixin the same question, but unfortunately, she only had a partial understanding and couldn’t clarify, presumably because her knowledge was limited.
After the tragic death of Shi Xuanzhong and his wife, Ling Wenlong traveled throughout the South Sea, sparing no effort to mobilize all the resources of the Ling Family to investigate the truth, until finally, he was ambushed by an enemy and returned gravely injured.
Shi Xiaole believed that the information controlled by the other party was definitely beyond what Ling Zixin could compare to.
The second floor became very quiet.
The expressions of the three members of the Ling Family varied, and Ling Hu sighed, "Family Head, with the Young Master’s strength, he deserves to know the inside story of what happened back then, and he has the right to know as well."
After saying that, he activated his power, directly setting up a layer of sturdy Vigorous Air on the second floor, isolating the inside from the outside. This action deepened the look in Shi Xiaole’s eyes.
"Father..."
As Ling Cunyi was about to speak, he saw Ling Wenlong shaking his head with difficulty, "Ah Hu is right; if your nephew were just an ordinary genius, even if he were on par with Ling Jianming, I would not disclose the events of that year. But despite his young age, his strength is enough to be considered a giant in the world."
Ling Wenlong’s face was full of satisfaction, and Ling Cunyi seemed to realize this point for the first time, giving Shi Xiaole a complicated look, before finally swallowing his words.
"A thousand and five hundred years ago, our Ling Family’s status was in jeopardy, and it was your mother who stood out. Her talent in Array System formation was the rarest I have ever seen. Not yet twenty years old, she could set up Void Origin Realm arrays, and by the age of thirty, she had studied all the great Sky Origin Realm array tomes of the Ling Family and deployed the first Sky Origin Realm array."
Shi Xiaole was secretly shocked, gaining a deeper understanding of his mother’s talent.
"That’s right, the Ninefold Sky Origin Realm array outside Lingtian City, which was damaged in the great battle between heaven and earth many years ago, was also repaired by your mother. Many key sites of the Ling Family have been preserved thanks to her involvement, using the power of arrays to secure important resources and fend off strong enemies who came looking for trouble."
"There are also many masters in my Ling Family who were saved because of your mother, and even now, quite a few have become central pillars."
As Ling Wenlong recounted, the image of a talented woman who bravely faced the challenges of crisis began to take shape in Shi Xiaole’s mind.
He was not surprised by the miracles his mother had created.
An Array System master’s role in a power could absolutely be as significant as any top expert’s, if not more so. After all, the stability and expansion of a power would constantly require arrays.
Not to mention, Ling Yujie could even independently create Sky Origin Realm arrays, which was a truly earth-shattering ability!
While there are many Sky Origin Realm arrays in the South Sea, ninety percent of them were passed down from ancient times, and today’s people only operate them according to the corresponding methods.
Take, for instance, Elder Chen from the Carefree Sect.
"Your mother quickly became a significant figure in the South Sea, but she wasn’t content. For many years, she had been secretly pondering a type of array that could gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Until seventy years ago, she found a clue and, due to testing the array, accidentally discovered an extraordinary place."
"The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in that place was a hundred times that of other places! She planned to transform it, and she told me about this. Naturally, I agreed."
Speaking to this point, Ling Wenlong’s expression became animated, "Everything was ready, and it was going smoothly at first. But who knew, just as she and your father were reaching the final stage, they suddenly suffered a lethal sneak attack!"
"When I arrived there upon hearing the news, the scene was covered with blood and the residual aura of brutality. Hundreds of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers had been turned into lakes, and the fragments had formed islands. I searched for a long time, but there was no trace of them."
Shi Xiaole asked, "Besides the two of them, were there no other members of the Ling Family there?"
"That matter was highly confidential. Only your parents were involved in the operation, and very few were even aware of it. But due to the mobilization of resources, there were still some in the Ling Family who knew, a total of seven people."
Ling Wenlong’s eyes were bloodshot.
"Which seven?"
Shi Xiaole asked hastily.
"Apart from your parents and me, there were your grandfather Ling Hu, the Grand Elder of the time, Ling Wenlong, the Third Elder Ling Wenbin, who was in charge of resource coordination, and Ling Wenyu, who was responsible for the security of the Ling Family."
The candlelight on the second floor flickered a few times, and outside the window, the rain began to fall again.
Ling Wenlong sneered, "Your parents were very adept at concealing their movements; no one could track them. Therefore, it was certainly someone who leaked the information, leading to the involvement of no less than six unrivaled experts!"
"When I inspected the scene that year, although the attackers had tampered with it, erasing most of the aura, across hundreds of thousands of miles, there were still some clues. I am certain that, in addition to the six Forbidden Martial Emperors, there was at least one individual who was above the level of the Forbidden Martial Emperors!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Cunyi’s breathing quickened, obviously, there were some things he was learning for the first time today.
Above the Forbidden Martial Emperor, wouldn’t that be a Fake Sky Origin Realm expert? In the entire South Sea, there are only six such people, those invincible legends!
Heaven, the Ling Family’s adversaries involved this level?
Shi Xiaole kept a poker face, but his mind was filled with numerous doubts.
According to Ling Zixin, Shi Xuanzhong met Ling Yujie over fourteen hundred years ago. There was a period when he disappeared, likely going to East Victory, and that made sense.
But according to Ling Jingsi and the Thousand Dark Poison Emperor, a thousand years ago Shi Xuanzhong, after his wife fell into a coma from the "Accompany You to Hell" poison, tried the poison himself, swallowing an amount that could kill a million people, resulting in a regression of his power.
Considering this, if he were to be attacked by a master of the Fake Sky Origin Realm and other unmatched experts, it wouldn’t be unusual for him to be defeated, but what about Ling Yujie?
How could she, who lay unconscious, create her own legend within a thousand years?
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Shi Xiaole said, "Just by a piece of news, you can draw out experts beyond the Void Origin Realm?"
Ling Hu laughed and said, "Child, you still don’t understand the weight of your mother. The Array System that covers the entire South Sea, able to discern Outer Heaven Demons, has had a total of six leaders over the years. Your mother is the final leader of these two thousand years, understand?"
Hearing this, Shi Xiaole was profoundly shaken.
Ling Yujie was one of the leaders of the Array System?
Then, the fact that he did not exhibit the characteristics of an otherworldly being, could it be related to this?
Or could there be other reasons?
Shi Xiaole, keeping his composure, asked, "If my mother could set up an Array System of the Sky Origin realm, it stands to reason that she wouldn’t be attacked by someone of the Fake Sky Origin Realm."
Ling Wenlong shook his head, "Setting up an Array System of the Sky Origin realm requires unimaginable materials, and your mother also wanted to set up an array to gather Vigorous Air. At that time, the resources of the Ling Family were already close to depleted."
"As for the most basic Array System of the Sky Origin Realm, with the mental strength of a master of the Fake Sky Origin Realm, it’s not impossible to break through."
Shi Xiaole fell silent.
He had already heard from Ling Zixin that the South Sea possessed methods to refine mental strength, and every two hundred years, they would open a secret realm known as the Land of Fate, which was said to accelerate a martial artist’s entry into the Sky Origin Realm.
Those six masters of the Fake Sky Origin Realm were precisely the biggest beneficiaries of six seasons of the Land of Fate.
"Could grandfather find out who leaked the secret?"
Shi Xiaole asked another key question.
This time, Ling Hu answered, "Of those seven people from the past, your parents disappeared without a trace, I stayed alone with the house master in the small building. Ling Wenlong went missing while adventuring in dangerous lands, and Ling Wenbin is already dead."
Shi Xiaole looked at Ling Wenlong, who gave a bitter laugh and said, "Back then, based on clues, I found that Ling Wenbin was suspected of leaking secrets, and he admitted it. He said it was because Yu Ji had withheld resources from his lineage, so he held a grudge in his heart and ultimately revealed himself and died. Ha-ha, what a laughable reason!"
Ling Wenlong and his servant, whether intentionally or not, did not mention the last person in the know, Ling Wenyu, who became the family head. But the more they omitted him, the more it proved that their suspicions towards Ling Wenyu were the greatest, yet they were in agony over the lack of evidence.
Ling Wenlong began to cough up blood again, his face contorting fiercely, "Child, do you know that the place your mother discovered back then is today’s Bee Island, a legendary treasure land that gathers all the top forces of the South Sea, elite powers! Because of some selfish and despicable people, the Ling Family lost its elite and the opportunity to rise!"
This time, Shi Xiaole was truly shocked.
Bee Island, known as the greatest treasure land in the South Sea, has the most resources, the most Vigorous Air, but is also the most dangerous; because fighting occurs there every moment, and those who die are mostly great figures who dominate their own realms.
Without that level of power, you couldn’t even get close to Bee Island.
"Child, there are some things not even your grandfather can see through, some people, if you’re not certain, you shouldn’t act rashly. Grandfather is telling you all this, hoping you’ll work even harder, not act impulsively and ruin everything," Ling Wenlong said earnestly. He seemed so exhausted from talking that he couldn’t even lift his eyes.
"Grandfather, rest assured, I understand. I will try to wait for grandfather to take revenge together," Shi Xiaole nodded, not using his life-and-death martial arts to treat Ling Wenlong. Because Shi Xiaole had already figured out what caused the old man’s injuries; saving him would actually harm him.
Hearing his words, both Ling Wenlong and Ling Hu trembled, the latter’s eyes bursting with an incomparable brilliance, making the air on the second floor feel as heavy as iron and lead, suffocating Ling Cunyi.
"Good, good..."
Ling Wenlong suddenly burst into laughter, fainting amidst his elation but with a look of ambition on his face that Ling Cunyi hadn’t seen in years. Was his father different from what he had expected?
By the time Shi Xiaole and Ling Cunyi left the small building, it was a 2-hour period later.
Ling Hu murmured, "Family head, in truth, the person we underestimated the most wasn’t Ling Wenyu, but your son-in-law! Back then, he managed to lead your daughter through the siege of so many experts and even reach East Victory. That level of skill is rare in the world," Ling Hu said.
Ling Wenlong smiled again on the bed.
Who would argue with that? His only extravagant hope now was that the couple was still alive. How he yearned to hear them call him father again one day.
Could he? He certainly could!
Exiting the peach garden, they walked in silence. Not until they reached Ling Cunyi’s residence did Shi Xiaole say, "Uncle, I’m planning to take a trip to Bee Island."
Ling Zixin was startled, while Ling Cunyi smiled bitterly, "You waited until now to tell me, you already possess patience far beyond your peers. With your strength, it shouldn’t be too dangerous as long as you’re careful."
"By the way, your younger uncle Ling Cunwei is also on Bee Island. When your mother met with trouble back then, he went mad and has been risking his life on Bee Island these years, most likely also trying to investigate the truth of what happened. I hope you’ll look after him."
