Chapter 279: Chapter 226: Ancient Ruins
Profit is the original sin that sparks all conflict!
The Adventurer’s Guild Ling Su had formed ran into this very problem. The human heart is a complex thing. They had made it this far only by working together seamlessly, helping one another, and uniting as one.
But with victory in sight, the team’s first crisis of trust erupted.
These Ancient Ruins were hidden within a great mountain, at the bottom of a cliff, completely surrounded by giant trees that blotted out the sun, making them very difficult to find.
Relying on her extraordinary abilities, Ling Su managed to find it. However, everyone soon discovered that there was simply no way to open the Ancient Ruins! The group set up camp, but their minds had already begun to waver. People constantly tried to figure out how to open the ruins’ great gate.
Finally, one day, Ling Su accidentally found the method to open the Ancient Ruins. The moment it opened, everyone seemed to see riches beckoning to them.
Disaster struck in that instant!
The most powerful Demon Swordsman on the team launched a surprise attack, instantly killing everyone except for Ling Su!
He left Ling Su alive because he was afraid of being sealed inside the ruins later.
Ling Su was very clever and showed no reaction at first. Then, catching him off guard, she bolted. The Demon Swordsman gave chase relentlessly. Ling Su fled in a panic for six or seven days straight until she finally reached Seven-colored City. There, she happened to be seen by Zhe Jianye, who casually rescued her and subdued the Demon Swordsman at the same time.
Ling Su, of course, would not mention the Ancient Ruins. The Demon Swordsman, however, wanted to curry favor with the Zhe Family and told them everything, thinking he would receive a handsome reward. He never expected that after Zhe Jianye had extracted all the information from him, he would kill the Demon Swordsman without a moment’s hesitation.
’What a joke. How could I possibly keep someone like that alive?’ To his dying breath, the Demon Swordsman never imagined that Zhe Jianye, a man of great renown throughout the entire Zichuan Empire, could be so vicious.
Zhe Jianye thought the man was an idiot. ’The one who can open the Ancient Ruins is Ling Su, not him. Every one of the great hidden families and sects rose to power by obtaining the legacy of some Ancient Ruins.’
Upon learning that new Ancient Ruins had been discovered, Zhe Jianye’s first reaction was to claim them for himself!
’That Ling Su is a natural beauty, with looks that could topple nations. If I can obtain both her and the treasure, all the better!’ What’s more, that unlucky fool of a Demon Swordsman had revealed one other thing: Ling Su came from the Ling Family of the Lanyue Empire!
A year ago, or even just over half a year ago, Zhe Jianye would have heard this news with a faint smile and thought nothing of it. ’So what if she’s from the Ling Family? They’re just upstart nobles, nothing to worry about. That Ling Tianxiao might seem powerful, leading his army to guard the Lanyue Empire’s border, but that’s only by mortal standards. For a hidden family, a single Sword Emperor could slaughter those so-called elite troops and send them into utter chaos.’
The only reason no one had ever done so was simply that the hidden families had their own rules. But if they were truly provoked, one or two who didn’t abide by the rules might emerge, and the resulting damage would be incalculable!
But now, hearing that this Ling Su was from the Ling Family, Zhe Jianye had to reconsider. The Ling Family... that was Ling Xiao’s family!
And that Ling Xiao had just killed over five thousand mercenaries from the Divine Wind Mercenary Corps—a corps controlled by his own family—during the Lanyue Empire’s New Year’s festival!
Although most of them were only Martial Artists at the Sword Master level, that was still an extremely formidable fighting force!
Zhe Jianye had been furious about the matter for a long time! ’I originally thought it was a good opportunity to destabilize the Lanyue Empire’s internal affairs, but I ended up suffering a huge loss instead.’
After that, all sorts of rumors about Ling Xiao continuously reached Zhe Jianye’s ears through various channels, each more astonishing than the last. The recent news about the Beauty Pill, as well as the rumor that Ling Xiao possessed a Divine-level Sword Skill and Technique, was especially tempting to Zhe Jianye!
’That Ling Xiao... he’s a walking set of Ancient Ruins!’
This was what led Zhe Jianye to send someone to deliver a message to the Ling Family, written in Ling Su’s voice, explaining the situation. His goal was to lure Ling Xiao to him.
’Even though that Ling Xiao has a follower at the Sword Emperor level, I’m not afraid. My father, Zhe Shixun, is also a High-Tier Sword Emperor! As long as he can keep their Sword Emperor busy, the dozens of Demon Sword Masters in the Zhe Family will be more than enough to ensure Ling Xiao never leaves this place alive!’
’At that point, I’ll use this to force Ling Su to marry me. Once she submits, the Zhe Family and the Ling Family will be joined. To ensure his sister can live a better life with us, I’m not afraid of that Ling Xiao disobeying me. Getting my hands on his things will be easy then, won’t it?’
Such was Zhe Jianye’s perfect scheme. But he never expected Ling Xiao to possess such tyrannical strength. Not only was Ling Su rescued, but even his own son, Zhe Xiaoxing, died by Ling Xiao’s sword.
Ling Su quickly finished explaining the whole story. Song Mingyue couldn’t help but shake his head slightly. "That Zhe Jianye is quite the schemer. Tonight... if Brother Ling hadn’t suddenly erupted with power and killed those High-level Demon Swordmasters, I’m afraid we really would have fallen into that old scoundrel’s hands. However, this also means we have now made a bitter enemy of the Zhe Family!"
As he spoke, Song Mingyue snorted. "But my Sea Domain Song Family is not one to shy away from trouble! I was involved in this matter, so don’t you worry, Brother Ling. I will share this burden with you! If the Zhe Family dares to retaliate using the power of a hidden family, the Song Family will definitely not stand idly by!"
Comments