1360 What"s Wrong?
"Haste will not bring success. If you force yourself too much, you might create trouble instead," Number One reminded her.
"I understand. All the decisions I make currently are not only for myself. I will not be reckless." Ling Lan turned back. Her gaze was sharp but clear. She didn't lose control of her emotions because of her concerns.
Number One lowered his head and hid the approval and satisfaction in his eyes. He said, "Go ahead."
Ling Lan stepped forward firmly, leaving the learning space in a blink of an eye.
"Ling Lan, if you want to wear the crown, you have to bear the weight. This is the path you chose. No matter what happened, you must follow through it with determination," Number One said softly. Then, he slit the air and returned to his dimension and started meditating.
Ling Lan returned to her mindscape. Her mindscape was still withered, filled with wounds and scars.
"This can't continue. I must find a way to recover my spiritual power." Ling Lan took a deep breath and sat down. Even though she knew that using her spiritual power to cultivate would bring her great pain, she still decided to do it.
Once she activated her spiritual power, her head started hurting, as though someone used a hammer to knock her. The pain that came from the depth of her mind so she could fall unconscious to rid of it if she desperately wanted to.
However, that was impossible for the determined Ling Lan. Ling Lan gritted her teeth and resisted the terrifying pain. She forced herself to congregate a thin wisp of spiritual power.
Luckily, Ling Lan had already tormented herself for two lifetimes so she had a high tolerance for pain. Anyone else would have fainted from the pain and failed.
Ling Lan controlled the wisp of spiritual power that was about to disperse. She used the Divine Command sect's method of cultivating spiritual power to regenerate her spiritual power slowly. She did it again and again. Every time she used the method, the pain each time would get stronger. She gritted her pearly white teeth so forcefully that cracking sounds could be heard from her mouth. Her mouth was filled with the taste of blood.
Ling Lan couldn't care less about all these. She fully focused on forcing herself to remain conscious and not lose to the excruciating pain. One hour passed. Two hours passed… Ling Lan's perseverance finally succeeded. Spiritual fountains started appearing in her withered mindscape. It slowly nourished the dry ground. As the amount of water kept increasing, Ling Lan's face, which had a hideous expression due to the pain, turned calm again.
She passed the most difficult obstacle!
Ling Lan slowly opened her eyes and let out a satisfied smile.
If her father, Xie Yi, Little Four, Little Blossom, and all her other friends weren't waiting for her to save them, she might not have been so harsh on herself. As expected, humans needed to be forced.
However, Ling Lan remembered Number One's warning. Haste will not bring success, and the cultivation of spiritual power was the same. She must relax when she needs to. Ling Lan decided to pause her cultivation for the time being and return to the rainbow palace to take a look at what had happened during these few days.
Ling Lan opened her eyes. Little White, who had been guarding her all these while, shouted happily when it saw her opening her eyes.
It knew that its master was cultivating but the memory of what happened a few days ago still frightened it. It was afraid that its master would lose consciousness for many days again.
Ling Lan smiled as she hugged Little White. She didn't mind how messy and dirty its fur was. She still rubbed it forcefully.
Then, the ground of the swamp opened again. Ling Lan slowly walked out of the hole.
The swamp was still the 'reed field'. It looked like nothing huge had happened. Ling Lan floated in mid-air and disappeared the next second.
When she returned to the rainbow palace, she saw the servants guarding outside her room. They were elated to see her. "Lord Gen, Guardian Ji and Guardian Yu have important things to report to you."
"Oh?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows. She sent these two people out to deal with the matters in Lord Gen's territories so they would take at least ten days to finish touring the territories. Why were they back so early?
"Okay. Ask them to wait for me in the main hall," Ling Lan ordered. No matter what happened, she would meet them first.
"Yes, Lord Gen." The servants left respectfully and called for Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei to enter the palace.
Ling Lan tidied herself casually and placed the red gown the servant prepared for her over her shoulders.
Just before going to the main hall, Ling Lan thought of something. She asked Little White who was washing itself too. "Little White, how many days has it been since I entered the swamp for cultivation?"
Little White counted with its tentacles before replying, "Seven days, master."
Seven days had passed by unknowingly. That meant Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei weren't very early.
Ling Lan shifted her body and appeared in the main hall. She flicked her red gown slightly and floated down from the sky before landing stably on her ice throne.
The combination of her cold and handsome face and the dazzling and vibrant red gown made her look enchanting and beautiful, even when her hair was short and black. Yu Shangfei and Ji Ming, who were waiting in the main hall, were shocked.
This was the first time they saw Ling Lan's face clearly. But, they were only able to take one look at her. The next second, when they looked at Ling Lan again, they couldn't see her face clearly anymore.
However, that one look was enough to make a lasting impression in their minds.
They controlled their astonishment and paid their respects. "Lord Gen."
"What's the matter?" Ling Lan asked sternly. Little White jumped into Ling Lan's arms obediently. Everyone knew that their new Lord Gen had a very cute little pet. Lord Gen liked it very much. The people in the rainbow palace liked it too. They would feed Little White occasionally, and Little White never rejected any of the food. Ling Lan didn't care about that either as Little White's stomach was made of steel. If someone wanted to poison it… it was a waste of their time.
The new Lord Gen was a man of few words. Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei only met Ling Lan a few times but they knew that this was their new master's style.
"The leaders of the three big factions, Jimu, Feihuang'e, and Tianpingyuan, which are under my territory, would like to meet Lord Gen," Ji Ming replied hurriedly.
"Why?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows.
Ji Ming glanced at Yu Shangfei. Yu Shangfei rushed forward and kneeled down. "This is all my fault. I drank too much at the welcome party of the leader of Jimu and accidentally revealed some of your details. Please punish me."
Ling Lan stopped stroking Little White. Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei suddenly felt a sharp gaze dismembering their bodies. Ji Ming's heart shuddered. He also kneeled down. Yu Shangfei placed both hands on the ground, not daring to look at Ling Lan's eyes.
"What did you say?" Just when the two of them were unable to resist Ling Lan's force of presence anymore, she finally spoke.
"I just said that Lord Gen is more powerful now. That's all." The perspiration on Yu Shangfei's forehead dripped on the marble floor. The amount of sweat almost formed a puddle, and this was caused by just a simple release of Lord Gen's force of presence. If their master really got angry, Yu Shangfei didn't know how he would die.
"Ji Ming, I don't have to tell you what punishment you'll receive, right?" Ling Lan glanced at Ji Ming indifferently. Ji Ming nodded quickly. "Yes, Lord Gen."
"Three days later, ask them to meet me here." Ling Lan disappeared after she finished her sentence.
1361 Depend On Your Performance!
Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei kneeled for a while longer before they finally found their strength again. They slowly stood up.
"Do you think that we're doing the right thing?" Yu Shangfei wiped the sweat off his forehead as he asked with uncertainty.
"If he's really powerful, the three leaders of the factions will not change anything. However, if he is just… don't blame me for being merciless." A ray of ambition flashed passed Ji Ming's eyes. Since anyone could be Lord Gen, why couldn't it be him? The two powerful subordinates of Lord Gen had already left. He was now all alone in the rainbow palace. Ji Ming felt that he had a chance.
"Rawr!" (Master, that asshole wants to betray you.)
Little White was in charge of watching over the entire rainbow palace so it heard the exchange between Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei clearly, so it immediately reported to Ling Lan angrily.
Ling Lan laid on the soft bed in her room lazily with her eyes closed. She seemed to be asleep. She caressed Little White's furry body and said calmly, "It's alright. I can use him as a warning to others. At least, I don't need to search for one anymore."
"Rawr!" (Okay. Master, I can help you with this.)
Little White waved its tentacles excitedly. This was definitely an opportunity for it to perform. It would make use of this opportunity when the person who always prevented it from performing, that irritating person, wasn't here (the irritating person was Li Lanfeng).
"Sure. I've fed you till you're so fat so it makes sense that you help me with some things." Ling Lan smiled as she pinched Little White's fat body. The feeling is not bad.
"Rawr…" (No way, Little White isn't fat!)
Little White waved its tentacles angrily. (Don't think that just because I came from other planets, I don't understand human language. Master is definitely teasing me. Master is so bad.)
"Not fat? If you use your body to knockout those three people, I'll believe you." Ling Lan opened her eyes and smiled as she pointed at Little White's fat forehead with her finger.
Little White wrapped its tentacles around Ling Lan's forefinger and whined. "Master, Little White can definitely do it. Hence, Little White isn't fat. I'm really not fat. Really, really not fat."
Little White was smart. In the past, its master said that if it got fatter, she would cook it and eat it. 'I still remembered this. I wouldn't give master any chance of cooking me. Hmph!'
"That'll depend on your performance." Ling Lan didn't expect Little White to take her joke for real and still remember it until now.
Actually, as long as there was a strong spiritual fluctuation in Little White's mind, Ling Lan would be able to detect its thoughts through the spiritual waves even if it didn't 'rawr'. Little White thought that it was thinking silently but in actual fact, Ling Lan knew almost everything it was saying in its mind. Similarly, Li Lanfeng could read Little White's mind too. That was why Little White always lost to Li Lanfeng. Imagine if you tell your opponent what you want to do to him… if you could still succeed, it was definitely because your opponent felt that you were too pitiful and decided to cooperate with your plan.
Let's give some tears of sympathy to our naive and cute Little White!
Three days passed with a snap of the finger. During these three days, Ling Lan was either cultivating or meditating. Compared to three days ago, her mindscape was in a much better state. Her mindscape at least wasn't dry anymore as there was a thin layer of spiritual sea. Her internal injuries had almost fully recovered with the help of the Qi exercises. After recovering, she could now use her ice element concept, but her Profound Insight was still a problem as it was still bound by the unknown concept.
This was a lethal problem. When she activated her Profound Insight, the amount of concept energy consumed would increase twofold. The consumption of energy was calculated by the second. The first second, the energy consumed was normal. The next second, the energy consumed was twice of the first second. The third second, it would be four times of the first second. The fourth second, it would be eight times and the fifth second, it would be 16 times… Based on the amount of energy she had, she could only activate her Profound Insight for 53 seconds. It wasn't even one minute. This was a sad thing.
"What's that unknown concept?" Ling Lan already tried using all of her energy. It was still 53 seconds, not a second more and not a second less. She was tired and helpless. She started meditating to restore her energy.
This was already her third test. But, she still didn't understand what that unknown concept was. Besides wasting her Profound Insight energy exponentially, there weren't any other implications. This revelation made her quite confused. Currently, she was in a normal situation but during a battle, she didn't know if the unknown concept would cause any trouble.
After recovering her energy, Ling Lan didn't investigate the unknown concept anymore. Instead, she had a comfortable sleep to be full of spirit and energy when she welcomed the three leaders.
Today, Ling Lan was wearing red too… For some reason, the servants at the rainbow palace liked to prepare red gowns for her. Ling Lan never cared about her style so she just wore whatever that was prepared. She didn't like rich colours but every time she saw the servant carefully walking over with the red gown and the fear and anticipation in their eyes, Ling Lan didn't want to disappoint them.
Besides the colour, these gowns were really comfortable to wear. They were well-fitted too. Ling Lan really respected those servants. They only served her occasionally and never touched her body but they were able to get the right proportions just by looking at her. They were quite impressive.
Ling Lan admired such workmanship so she respected them a lot.
At this moment, Ling Lan sensed something in the main hall. She moved instantly and appeared on her ice throne in the main hall in an instant.
The main hall wasn't as dark and gloomy as it was in the past. But, it was very cold, so cold that a normal person would the instant they walked in.
To prevent the weaker servants from getting hurt, Ling Lan restricted them from entering the main hall.
Anyone who entered the main hall was required to have a certain amount of strength. This rule, in the future, would serve as a guide in measuring the strength of the people in the Lawless Lands. It would become a legend. Of course, that was in the future. We shall not talk about it now.
The main hall was so cold the temperature should be around zero kelvin. Hence, by right, besides some unique flowers and plants, nothing could survive here. Yet, strangely, in the two rows of flower beds at the side of the main hall, there was a plant that looked like the zephyr lily, which looked like an ordinary green plant.
No one knew what plant this was because Lord Gen had planted them personally. They started sprouting in two days and after another day, they flourished. The pale main hall appeared lively because of them.
1362 Bottom Line!
The leaders of Jimu, Feihuang'e, and Tianpingyuan walked into the main hall with scrutinizing gazes.
The reason for their sudden visit was because they had heard rumours doubting the strength of the new Lord Gen. To validate their new found doubts towards the new Lord Gen, they asked for a meeting indirectly so that they could test him personally. And, thinking about it now, what Guardian Yu said might not be a slip of the tongue. He might have intentionally revealed the information to them.
The three leaders were all smart people since they could convince the previous Lord Gen to allow them to develop in his territory. After sorting their thoughts, they knew that they were used by Yu Shangfei and Ji Ming.
The three of them exchanged glances with one another. They had already made a secret agreement prior to this meeting, but everyone had their own ideas on how this meeting would end.
Who was this new Lord Gen? They decided to wait and see.
Right at this moment, a man in a red gown suddenly appeared on the ice throne above them. While staring them down, he sat down on the throne slowly.
Based on the amount of grace and oppressiveness the man had, the three leaders instantly knew that he must be the new Lord Gen.
The three leaders lowered their heads and performed a deep bow. "Lord Gen!"
Ling Lan stared at Ji Ming, who led them in, coldly. Seeing the ice cold stare, Ji Ming knew he needed to speak up, so he hurriedly took a step forward and introduced the leaders from the left to the right. "Lord Gen, they are the leaders of Jimu, Feihuang'e, and Tianpinyun. Huo Yan, Lu Jiachi, and Xiang Tengyun."
"So, you want to meet me. Well, that's a coincidence, because I also wanted to meet the faction leaders in my territory," Ling Lan replied calmly.
The three leaders didn't dare to reply to Ling Lan as they were not clear on what the new Lord Gen was trying to suggest with his words. Was he trying to give them an opening gambit or was he still intending to maintain a good relationship with them?
"This is my territory. Besides my men, anyone not under my reign shall exist." Ling Lan wasn't interested in chatting with them so she just dropped the huge announcement.
The respectful expressions on the three leaders dropped. Only Ji Ming lowered his head as he gave a knowing smile.
"You are left with two choices. One, move out of my territory. Two, join my rainbow palace." Ling Lan gave them no room for negotiation. As this land would be her future headquarters, she wasn't interested in sharing her territory. She wasn't the Ling Lan who was passive until someone touched her bottom line. Now, she wanted to become a king, and to become one, she mustn't make any concession.
"Lord Gen, we already made an agreement with the previous Lord Gen. Even if he isn't around now, you can't just overturn the pact we made in the past," Lu Jiachi replied agitatedly. He couldn't control himself anymore.
Ling Lan slightly lifted the corners of her lips, looking as if she was sneering at how easy it was to agitate them. "He is he. I am me. If you're not happy with me, I can help you go look for him."
Lu Jiachi replied furiously, "Sure. I want to see the previous Lord Gen."
Hearing his outburst, Ling Lan just smiled mysteriously at him. The mysterious smile made Lu Jiachi feel like a bucket of cold water was poured over his head. After realizing what he said, he shivered and regained his senses immediately.
"Do you really want to meet him?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows and asked.
Lu Jiachi opened his mouth. However, he couldn't squeeze the word 'Yes' out of his mouth.
"What a pity. The previous Lord Gen is very lonely in Hell…" Ling Lan crossed her legs and petted Little White which was lying on her legs. The tone she used sounded regretful.
The moment she said this, the three leaders looked at Ling Lan with fear. They thought that the previous Lord Gen had just retired and handed over his crown to the new Lord Gen. That was why they were indignant when they heard that the new Lord Gen wanted to end their agreement. However, now, they knew that this wasn't a peaceful succession. The new Lord Gen killed the previous Lord Gen brutally and got the position that way.
But, why didn't the other 12 lords sound any complaints?
The same question appeared in the minds of all the three leaders. They had stayed in Lord Gen's territory for a long time so they knew the 13 Lords had a relatively good relationship with each other, even though on the surface they were constantly trying to beat each other.
Other than that, they felt fear because they could feel the malice this new Lord Gen had towards them. When he said that sentence just now, they really felt a flash of killing intent from Lord Gen.
The three of them started becoming more vigilant as they were not aware how far this new LOrd Gen would go to enforce his reign. Huo Yan's right hand, which was hidden in his sleeve, secretly held on a black round pearl.
"My patience is limited. Tell me, what do you choose?" Ling Lan noticed that the three people had calmed down so she continued pressing them for answers.
The faster she took care of this, the earlier she could go back and cultivate. The fate of many people rested on her shoulder. Whether Little Four, Little Blossom, her father, and Xie Yi could wake up or not depended on her concept energy and her spiritual power, so the thing she lacked most was time. If her self-control wasn't strong enough, she might have indulged in cultivation and never come out.
"Lord Gen, are you forcing us to leave?" Huo Yan asked in a pained tone. They had been developing in Lord Gen's territory their entire life. All their men and power were here. To build themselves until this point, he had put in an entire lifetime of effort. If they really left, they would have to start from zero again, but they were already too old to start from zero. They didn't have the spirit or the courage to start all over again.
"You can take it that way," Ling Lan replied calmly.
"Lord Gen, you are the lord here but you mustn't force someone into a hopeless position." Xiang Tengyun clenched his fist. The veins on his forehead were almost exploding. He really hated Ling Lan's ruthless methods just like the other two leaders.
"I've already given you two choices. No matter which one you choose, your lives will be spared," Ling Lan said indifferently.
She didn't directly order to kill them. This was the bottomline she guarded. Ling Lan didn't forget the wall painting she saw when she passed her mission in the learning space. She didn't choose to go on the cold and heartless Sovereign Dao in the past. Now, she wouldn't choose it either.
"We will not choose any of the options." The three leaders looked at one another before replying simultaneously.
In the past, they bore with the suppression of the previous Lord Gen before managing to gain the opportunity to develop their faction. They didn't rely on their tongue to get this opportunity. The previous Lord Gen didn't allow them to develop in his territory because he felt kind either. They got the chance because they had an item that could threaten the previous Lord Gen.
Huo Yan suddenly opened his palm, revealing the black round pearl in his hand.
"Lord Gen, don't force us to use this," Huo Yan said calmly.
Ling Lan frowned slightly. What was this round black pearl? Why didn't she recognise it? She didn't have any relevant information in her memory… Was he making an empty show of strength or was it really a threat to her?
Ling Lan narrowed her eyes. She touched Little White's soft fur with her right hand while looking as though she was considering something.
Chapter 1363 Thunderbolt Sphere?
While the leaders of the three factions were speaking with Ling Lan, Ji Ming silently moved closer to the door of the palace. When he saw that little white ball appearing, he wanted to rush out of the palace. However, he didn't expect that when he wanted to leave, he felt as though his legs were being pulled on.
Bang! Ji Ming fell face-first near the entrance.
He turned around and looked at his ankles with apprehension. He could feel a slimy tentacle wrapping around his ankles, and the source of that tentacle was the strange flowers behind him. Currently, the plant was looking at him with a hungry gaze while its tentacles were growing longer as it flailed around furiously.
Ji Ming immediately realized something. Back when the five lords came to this place to probe Ling Lan's capabilities, it was the plant that had stopped them.
Everyone had always believed that the tentacles were Ling Lan's own abilities. They never expected the source of the tentacles to be the normal-looking plant.
Ling Lan glanced at Ji Ming indifferently. When she discovered Ji Ming's odd behavior, she had already put Little White in charge of keeping him in place. Thus, if Ji Ming behaved or moved oddly, Little White would make a move on him.
"Tell me, what is that and what can it do?" asked Ling Lan.
Ji Ming had a frustrated expression on his face. He indeed knew the faction leaders would use this item to fight against Ling Lan. However, he didn't expect that he would fall into such an unfavorable position. Faced with a threat to his life, he could only choose to tell Ling Lan the truth.
"This is called a thunderbolt sphere, an item created from the Heart of Imperial…" a look of fear was shown on Ji Ming's face.
"Thunderbolt sphere?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows, "I think I understand somewhat."
"You think that can harm me?" Ling Lan was curious. Even if an imperial realm formidable master came down to kill her, it was almost impossible for him to do it alone. She didn't understand why these faction leaders, who were only titled domain realm master levels, could be so confident in a small ball.
Ling Lan finally understood the degree of talent in the Lawless Lands. In the Federation, encountering someone at the domain stage was very difficult, and titled domain realm masters were even rarer. However, here in the Lawless Lands, one can easily encounter a domain realm master and anyone that was called upon could easily be a titled domain realm master. It was indeed just as the rumors in the Federation mentioned. The rumors were that in the Lawless Lands, domain realm masters were all over the place and ace operators were like cattle in a farm, were true.
"You can test it out," Jimu Huo Yan said coldly. A hint of confidence and decisiveness showed in his eyes.
Seeing his sudden burst of confidence, Ling Lan thought about it carefully. It was as though she was thinking whether she should try it or not.
Ji Ming's expression changed instantly and shouted loudly, "Lord Gen, once the thunderbolt sphere explodes, it could reach the strength of three imperial level domain realm masters combined together. You must not let it explode!"
Perhaps Ling Lan might not die from it, but the others in the room wouldn't be able to get away with their lives.
The thunderbolt sphere was indeed very terrifying, but it was usually used as a deterrence. It wouldn't be used unless absolutely necessary. It was because after it is used, it would be an outcome of mutual destruction. Ji Ming did want the throne, but he still loved his own life more.
"Three times the power? No wonder you're so confident." Ling Lan finally knew why they were so confident.
"Do you actually want to give up your lives?" Ling Lan leaned against the armrest of her chair as her right hand rubbed Little White's soft hairs rhythmically. She seemed to not even care about the threat of the thunderbolt sphere. That uncaring expression on her face made Jimu and the others begin to hesitate.
In the end, none of them wanted to die.
"You asking us to give up everything here is the same as asking for our lives. If that's the case, then why would it matter if we give up our lives? At least, we will have you come with us. It will be worth it." shouted Xiang Tengyun angrily, and the hesitation of Jimu and Lu Jiachi instantly turned into determination.
If they were to back down now, they would have nothing left. Plus, they were already one foot in the grave so they didn't need those extra years in misery.
Although they were all titled domain realm formidable warriors, they still lived 20 to 30 years more than the average person in the Lawless Lands. So if they were to leave without a fight, they would live the rest of their lives with nothing. Unless they have the luck to break through their barriers and advance into the imperial realm, they would be nothing for the next few years. After being comfortable for most of their lifetime, were they actually going to become poor, homeless and become stepped on by others in their last few years?
Moreover, they had offended many people. As soon as they become removed by the current position, their old enemies would definitely make moves and go against them. When that happened, they would be totally helpless.
"You people really won't give up until it's over it seems." Ling Lan sighed.
Everyone looked at each other. Only Ji Ming had a sharp look in his eyes, but he immediately put his head down, not daring to look at Ling Lan again. It was as though he was afraid Ling Lan would be able to see through to his thoughts.
Right as the three of them didn't know whether to accept Ling Lan's terms, they suddenly felt their bodies turning stiff.
Jimu's expression changed instantly. He wanted to open his palm to toss out the thunderbolt sphere. However, he shockingly discovered that his hand had become a block of ice. Even the thunderbolt sphere in his hand was frozen in ice.
"Break!" The flames on Jimu's body roared. He wanted to crack open the ice around his body, but discovered that no matter how strong his flame concept burned, it wasn't any bit effective against the layer of ice.
It easily suppressed his power. Their concepts were supposed to suppress each other, but right now, only his was suppressed.
What made him feel even more despair was that the thunderbolt sphere actually left his palm and slowly floated out of the ice. Two long, jade like fingers held up the thunderbolt sphere.
"This is the thunderbolt sphere?" Ling Lan felt the energy within it and was dumbfounded for a moment.
"Explode!" Another angry voice echoed in the room. Xiang Tengyun, who was originally encased in ice, actually moved. Another thunderbolt sphere flew towards Ling Lan.
Right as Ling Lan was about to use her ice element concept to freeze the thunderbolt sphere, it exploded right after leaving Xiang Tengyun's hand.
"Ah!" Xiang Tengyun was instantly sent flying by the explosion's energy. He smashed onto the wall of the palace before falling limply to the ground. Not long after, a puddle of blood painted the ground red. Xiang Tengyun was covered in blood. The right hand he tossed the black sphere with instantly turned to dust, leaving him with a broken arm.
Of course, the explosive energy did not only send Xiang Tengyun flying. The others were also sent flying backwards. Jimu and Lu Jiachi were somewhat protected because they were frozen by Ling Lan. Although the layer of ice turned to dust after the explosion, the two of them were more or less still intact. They smashed to the ground and fell unconscious as blood continuously poured out of their mouths. If they couldn't receive any medical attention soon, they probably wouldn't be able to live for long.
After seeing Xiang Tengyun toss out another thunderbolt sphere, Ji Ming activated his domain to protect himself, so his condition was much better than Jimu and Lu Jiachi, but he was still severely injured.
1364 Refuse?
Of course, this was because the imperial level energy created by the thunderbolt sphere was controlled. If it had exploded with all of its energy, they would definitely be reduced to shreds by the terrifying energy equivalent to three imperial realm formidable masters attacking all at once.
Ling Lan senesed the terrifying domain concept energy and knew it was going to be bad.
She wanted to activate her ice element domain to go against the sudden explosive energy.
However, right at that moment, the worrying concept that wrapped around her Profound Insight, suddenly activated with her Profound Insight domain.
"Holy sh*t!" Ling Lan couldn't help but swear out loud. This power that she had no control over was too damn familiar. Ling Lan remembered when she was in the learning space studying, the instructors loved using this method to pull her back into their dimensions to train without asking whether she wanted to or not.
Despite Ling Lan knowing that this uncontrollable energy had nothing to do with the instructors, she still automatically thought of her loving yet annoying instructors.
The instructors, who were busy cleaning up the learning space, all simultaneously rubbed their ears and felt hot.
It was odd. Why did their ears suddenly become so hot? Did Number One forget to turn on the A/C?
Although they were a bit disgruntled, they remembered Number One's stone cold face and stopped themselves from doing anything stupid.
The only one who was brave enough to find Number One… Oh no, she didn't sense anything. It was because when Ling Lan thought of the instructors, she didn't exist in that list.
Ling Lan couldn't activate the ice element domain she wanted to use and could only accept using the Profound Insight domain that could only hold for 53 seconds.
"Disintegrate!" Ling Lan only hoped that the disintegration power of her Profound Insight would be able to neutralize the force of three imperial realm formidable warriors combined.
Disintegration can reduce the power of any concept, and it was indeed the best method of dealing with this situation. If it didn't last for only 53 seconds, Ling Lan would have definitely used it from the beginning. However, 53 seconds were definitely not enough to completely disintegrate such a large explosion. Ling Lan even suspected that it could only disintegrate a small portion of the energy before running out of juice.
She should think how to use the ice element to follow up her Profound Insight.
Ling Lan prepared herself for the worst outcome. There would definitely be flaws during the switch which would cause great harm to her. She only hoped that her body would be able to handle the shock when she switched between the two domains. Even if she would be injured, there at least would be any life-threatening injuries. It should be known that she didn't have any Nuwa agent on her at that moment.
However, something unexpected happened. Just like before, when Ling Lan wanted to activate her ice element domain, the unknown concept overruled her control and activated her Profound Insight instead. This time it was the same as before. When Ling Lan wanted to use her disintegration technique, the unknown concept overruled her control once again. It cooperated with the Profound Insight domain to create a whole new technique.
Ling Lan actually felt the explosive force suddenly losing its strength quickly. This wasn't the power of disintegration, but it was rather compressing these energies down.
This behavior of her new technique gave Ling Lan a familiar feeling. As she was feeling the Profound Insight energy from her body depleting, she began to think why she felt so familiar with the new technique.
Ling Lan began to scour through her memories. Finally, she remembered the time when she first obtained her Profound Insight domain. When she was choosing a technique, there were two different choices.
Back then she had chosen disintegration!
The rejection power she had given up on… seemed to have this type of power.
Could it be this was what was meant by Rejection?
No, Ling Lan felt it was somewhat different. It came from an unknown concept. It seemed this new technique had an unknown connection with the mystery concept.
As time passed, the literal bomb in the palace was slowly being compressed.
Seeing the explosive energy being compressed into a large ball, Ling Lan didn't plan on letting up just yet.
If she were to let the energy explode now, wouldn't all that she had been through be for nothing?
Compressing energy wasn't an easy task, especially when it was about compressing the energy of three imperial level formidable warriors. Despite the Profound Insight being the main component and the unknown concept helping it, each second of the compression would cause a backlash towards Ling Lan's body and mind. Luckily, Ling Lan's endurance had already reached a godly state. If she were to deem herself as second in the world in terms of endurance, no one would definitely dare to proclaim themselves as number one. Additionally, with Ling Lan impressive spiritual power, she was able to endure it all while still conscious.
The 50 seconds that she had endured didn't seem long. However, compressing the concept energy for 50 seconds was comparable to torturing both her mind and body for the same amount of time.
"Compress!" Ling Lan shouted. She used the last of her Profound Insight energy, in addition to all of the spiritual power she could amass to put them towards the large sphere in front of her.
Bang! A sharp snap was heard. Ling Lan felt disoriented all of a sudden. She was like that for a moment. When she recovered from her dizzy state, she saw a black sphere floating in front of her.
Ling Lan decisively reached out her hand and held it. It was the thunderbolt sphere that she put all of her effort into compressing.
Of course, Ling Lan still had a few questions. Why did it return to being a thunderbolt sphere after being compressed? Or perhaps that might be the way the thunderbolt sphere was created? These questions would have to wait until she had time to do some research. However, she now must first resolve the troublesome individuals in front of her.
Ling Lan clapped her hands. Soon, a few relatively capable guards came into the main hall.
Right as they entered the main hall, they saw the terrible state the three faction leaders were in. They all had terrified expressions on their faces, not knowing what could have happened to them to land in this state. The only thing they could be sure of was that these faction leaders definitely offended their Lord Gen.
They quickly knelt down, waiting for Ling Lan's orders.
"Take these three to the medical department. Doesn't matter how you treat them, just make sure they are alive in the end," Ling Lan said nonchalantly.
Ling Lan really didn't care to save the three of them since they already decided to die when they thought about mutual destruction. However, seeing that they had made her discover her Profound Insight's path to its next evolution, Ling Lan gave them a chance to live because she was in a good mood. Of course, whether they can survive or not would have to depend on the ability of the medical department of the rainbow palace. If they didn't have any way of bringing them back alive, what awaited these three was still going to be death.
The guards quickly took the three to the medical department. When they turned around to leave, they remembered that they didn't feel cold inside the main hall. In the past however, they would shudder from the cold if they even got close to the door of the main hall, not to mention being inside.
1365 Convince Me!
After dealing with those three individuals, Ling Lan looked at the severely injured Ji Ming nonchalantly.
"You're smart but also dumb," said Ling Lan as she walked beside him while staring him down.
Ji Ming endured the pain as he struggled to raise his head. He had a look of innocence on his face before managing to squeeze a sentence out of his lips. "Lord Gen, please trust me. I didn't know they would do that."
Ling Lan smirked. "Do I look like someone that's so easy to be fooled?"
"Yu Shangfei said he misspoke when he got drunk, but I already knew it was done on purpose. On top of that, I knew it was all arranged by you." Ling Lan formed a three prong ice spear on top of her right palm. "You really think you had a chance because I took down Lord Gen and 13 Lords accepted me as the new Lord Gen? Are you an idiot?"
Ling Lan's words turned Ji Ming's originally pale face even more pale and defeated. He didn't think that his little plot had been known by Ling Lan long before this. He didn't know why Ling Lan didn't make a move earlier and just let him play it all out.
Ling Lan smiled mockingly. "It just so happens I need to do something to show the unruly people in this territory who's boss. But, luckily you came and helped me with this."
Ji Ming now knew that Ling Lan was trying to use him to frighten all of those who reside in the rainbow palace.
"But now, you are no longer of use to me." Ling Lan slightly raised the three pronged ice spear and slowly stabbed it towards Ji Ming's forehead.
This spear came extremely slowly. Ji Ming watched as the spear came closer and closer towards him. He wanted to move away, but it was like his body had been sealed, stopping him from moving an inch.
No, he didn't want to die! Ji Ming shouted in terror, "Don't kill me. I'm also from the Huaxia Federation."
The ice spear suddenly stopped before Ji Ming's forehead. Ji Ming could completely feel the chilliness of the ice spear. He could feel the coldness seeping into his head, as though it was slowing his mind.
"Oh?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows.
The voice floated into his ears. Ji Ming couldn't piece together what the voice was trying to say. His consciousness slowed down to a snail pace. The only thing he knew was the fact that he was still alive.
"Lord Gen, you are from the Huaxia Federation as well, right? Even if you aren't from the Huaxia Federation, you still have some relations with it. Lord Gen, seeing that we come from the same birthplace, please let me go," pleaded Ji Ming.
Ling Lan frowned and thought for a moment. The hand that held the ice spear suddenly loosened, causing the ice spear to fall to the ground.
Ji Ming closed his eyes in despair, yet the expected pain didn't come. When he opened them again, he saw the ice spear slowly dissolve before his eyes.
Without there being a threat to his life in front of him, Ji Ming loosed up and fell to the floor. He then realized that even in such an icy cold place, his inner shirt was actually soaked by his sweat.
"I will give you three minutes to convince me to let you live…" Before Ji Ming had time to make head or tails of the situation, Ling Lan's icy cold voice rang in his ears.
Ji Ming immediately calmed his nerves and sat up. He knew that whether he could live or not would depend on those three minutes. He would need to find a reason to convince Ling Lan.
Ji Ming thought for a moment and then said, "Lord Gen, I am a citizen of the Huaxia Federation. It was because of my good innate talent that I was provided the opportunity to get into a military academy, and I graduated with flying colours. However, after entering the military, I mistakenly offended a descendant of a powerful family, which I didn't think was a big deal at that time." Ji Ming smiled bitterly after saying all this. "But, what I didn't know was that after offending him, not only was my future destroyed, they also painted me as a criminal. In the end, I was convicted before they sent me to the Lawless Lands."
Ling Lan sat on her icy throne and looked at him indifferently, "You still have two more minutes. You can think of a better reason."
Her words meant that she didn't believe that story.
Ji Ming shouted frustratingly, "Lord Gen, what I have said was all true. If that wasn't the case, why would I be here?"
"That's the answer you're giving me?" Ling Lan leaned against the armrest with her right hand holding her head. She knowingly looked at Ji Ming with a half-smile. The look froze the frustration on Ji Ming's face and in the next second, his expression slowly returned to normal.
"What do you want to hear, Lord Gen? That way I can make up a story up to your liking." Ji Ming suddenly became neither haughty nor humble. It was completely different from his behavior of being a scaredy cat who hid behind others and plotted against people.
"This is your actual personality," said Ling Lan. "How could someone who dares to plot against the position of lord be afraid of dying? Don't take your acting too far."
"Thank you for pointing that out." Ji Ming knelt on his knees. Despite having heavy injuries on his body, he still straightened his back as he endured the immense pain. He completely got rid of his sleazy behavior from before.
"If you want to die, I'd be happy to give you that. If you don't want to die, then you should understand what you need to do in order to live." Ling Lan caressed Little White, who had jumped up onto her knees asking for comfort. She had a look of indifference. "If you want to get something, you must pay something of similar value… I'm not someone that's so generous."
Ji Ming clenched his fists and a struggling expression flashed between his yes. However, he had already reached this point. He didn't want to just give up and die.
"I'm from the Huaxia Federation." Finally, Ji Ming made his choice. He raised his head and stared at Ling Lan with fire in his eyes, "That's the truth."
"Okay," Ling Lan replied. She didn't raise her head, still focused on rubbing Little White's soft hairs. Rubbing these hairs was like an addiction of sorts. Little White's soft hairs felt more comfortable the more she rubbed them. She really wanted to rub these little hairs on her face, but she had to maintain her cold and unmoving impression.
"What I said before wasn't made up. I did indeed graduate from the military academy with flying colors. Then I entered the military…" Ji Ming's expression was complicated. If he was given the choice again, would he still choose the same path he chose in the past? Probably not.
"There we go," Ling Lan said calmly. "When you entered the domain stage, you probably weren't even past 35 years old. In the Huaxia Federation, being a domain realm master at such a young age, you would be considered a prodigy. Even if you had offended a descendant of a powerful faction in the military academy, with your qualifications, there would still be organizations who would be willing to protect you."
Ji Ming's eyes brightened. The hesitation he had originally instantly disappeared. He nodded and said, "Yes. Although I had some problems with a descendant of a powerful family, there were still organizations who protected me. After entering the military, my development was smooth. I became an ace operator, domain realm master and team leader of a certain ace mecha clan"
After saying all that, Ji Ming had a look of pride in his eyes. This was the achievement he acquired on his own. The position he held was 100% acquired through his own abilities.
1366 Plan of Sacrifice!
"You would have had a great future if you stayed in the Federation. So, why did you come here?" asked Ling Lan.
"Humans are all in nature greedy, and would almost always give in to their desires. Even if I was doing well in the military, I could only be promoted to a lieutenant colonel, while he had already been assigned as a commander of a regiment and been promoted to senior colonel through his family's connections." Ji Ming smiled sarcastically. "Isn't it funny? The achievements I was proud of were nothing in the face of a powerful background. Especially when his military rank was higher than mine, my belief in the system cracked.
"With your personality, you would never do something like betraying your nation or committing a severe crime. As long as it wasn't too over the top, the organization you were with wouldn't give up on you that easily," Ling Lan guessed. "Then there leaves one other possibility. You were unsatisfied. Unsatisfied where you are in life. You wanted to rise higher than that descendant just so that you could return all of the humiliation you received."
After hearing that, Ji Ming's eyes narrowed to not show the surprise in his eyes. He didn't expect to have his personality totally be figured out after just meeting this new Lord Gen four to five times. This prospect terrified him. This person in front of him was not only incredibly strong, just his intelligence, thought process and methods were already heaven-defying. Who could deal with such a terrifying individual?
"Am I wrong?" Seeing Ji Ming be totally silent, Ling Lan raised her eyebrows and asked him, but her eyes were filled with confidence.
That sentence awakened Ji Ming from his thoughts and immediately replied, "Lord Gen, your guess is spot on."
He continued to smile bitterly. "Back then, I was young, naive and proud. I always thought that as long as I dared to think it, I would be able to succeed. However, all that changed when my organization drew up a plan to invade the Lawless Lands. They called it the Plan of Sacrifice."
"Plan of Sacrifice?" Ling Lan frowned. This name already had a bad vibe to it. It definitely wasn't anything good.
"Yes, Plan of Sacrifice. They would choose the most loyal soldiers of the Federation to give up their current statuses and train them into the most hardened criminals to enter the Lawless Lands. We would then use our own methods to infiltrate into the different factions to incite many turf wars, and thus depleting the strength of the Lawless Lands. What's worse is that we are not allowed to expose our identities even if it meant death." Ji Ming said calmly. Because of his hotheadedness, he wasted 30 years during the best time of his life in the Lawless Lands. Moreover, with the problem of the environment, his body quickly deteriorated to this current state, and soon he will see the end of his days. His body and mind had been depleted of their potential. After trying everything he could to reverse that, even trying to go back to the Federation, he gave up. Now after he gave up, he could finally calmly see all of his mistakes in the past.
"It seems like you failed," said Ling Lan.
"I don't know whether there are still spies in the Lawless Lands. I never knew any of them and wouldn't contact them even if I know their identities. I was just by myself from the very beginning all the way until now. I don't even know whether I had killed my so-called comrades during the past few decades." Ji Ming looked down at his two old and wrinkly hands, the hands that had already committed many sins. Even if he were to successfully complete his mission, he wouldn't be able to return his past self.
"The 13 Lords aren't people you can overthrow." Ling Lan sighed regretfully for Ji Ming's sake. If their goal was to overthrow the 13 Lords, the Plan of Sacrifice was already destined to fail. The only thing that was unfortunate was that this plan cost the lives of many outstanding and loyal individuals from the Federation.
Ling Lan believed that the spies who were still alive were definitely just as strong as Ji Ming. Otherwise, they would never be able to complete the mission they were assigned. However, just the lords she had met, each of them were old sly foxes. They would definitely look through a person's ancestry before promoting them. Although Ji Ming managed to conceal himself, were the others as lucky as him?
Plus, Ji Ming was originally someone who was naturally good at disguising himself. He also cleverly chose to disguise himself as an annoying and negligible person. Through all these years, he managed to avoid suspicion just because of his disguise. Ji Ming was undoubtedly very intelligent. He controlled a few points very well and hid himself among the guardians. He didn't perform too well while also not falling behind.
"I understood that after becoming a guardian. If you hadn't appeared, I thought I would be living the rest of my life like this. Everything I experienced in the Huaxia Federation would then become just a passing thought in my mind…" Ji Ming showed pained expression. If he had known it would come to this, he definitely wouldn't have competed with that descendant.
"Okay, I'm very satisfied with your answer." Ling Lan held Little White and stood up. "Your life is your own now. Whether you can live or not, will depend on whether you can get to the medical department."
After saying that, Ling Lan disappeared from the main hall.
Ji Ming looked at the empty main hall and smiled bitterly. The secret he kept for his entire life was let out because of his desperation to live. This would be considered as betrayal. Normally, he would feel ashamed of himself, but for some reason, he actually felt relieved. It was as though the burden in his heart was completely lifted after he explained everything.
He sat there silent for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. He endured the immense pain on his body and crawled up from the ground.
Lord Gen said that if he wanted to live, then he must depend on himself. Ji Ming felt his injuries become worse. Thinking about it, he really regretted thinking of such a silly plan to scare Lord Gen with the thunderbolt sphere. Luckily, Lord Gen had blocked off the strongest wave of the explosion. Additionally, his own timely activation of his domain also helped save his life. However, this was all it could do. The only hope he had was the medicinal agents at the medical department. He hoped it could be strong enough to stop his injuries from becoming worse. That way, he would be able to live another day.
Ji Ming slowly limped towards the medical department. This was the first time he hated the fact that the medical department was so far from the main hall. If he were to live through this, he would definitely move the medical department near the main hall!
At that moment, in the farway Huaxia Federation, on Planet Cheyu, Lingtian Independent Army, that had recovered their strength, received two uninvited guests.
Qi Long kept a straight face as he pretended to not see the two "VIPs" from the Flying Dragon Special Forces sitting on the leather sofa in his office.
"Major General Qi, we're considered acquaintances, right? Don't give us that kind of look please." Mu Chaoran had a smile on his face. He wasn't any bit awkward after seeing Qi Long's rude expression.
"Haha, Senior Colonel Mu, we've only met a few times on the field. I don't think that qualifies as being acquaintances," Qi Long put a fake smile on his face. He really didn't want to talk to these two people.
Every time these two came to Lingtian, it wouldn't be for anything good. In the past, Boss could deal with them, so he was carefree about their presence. However, now, according to Han Jijyun's words, he must stay as far as possible from them as possible in case they drag them into something troublesome.
"Don't be so heartless. In the past, we also went through hardships with your Boss so we can be considered brothers," Mu Chaoran began trying to get on Qi Long's good side.
He had no other choice. It was because Ling Lan's whereabouts were too secretive, so they had no choice but to meet Ling Lan's underlings for some information.
1367 Bad or Good Thing?
Qi Long smiled in a friendly manner, "I wouldn��t dare go that far."
"Forget it, I don't want to go around in circles with you." Mu Chaoran heard Qi Long's perfunctory tone and stopped smiling. His expression was somewhat stern. "We came here because we hope Major General Qi can provide us with some information."
Qi Long's expression also became stern. "Please go ahead."
"Where did Lieutenant General Ling go?" Mu Chaoran asked this question straight away.
Qi Long raised his eyebrows. "Ever since Lieutenant General Ling disappeared from the battlefield in the battle against the Twilight Empire, there hasn't been any news of his whereabouts. Hasn't military headquarters been trying to find him all this time? I also want to know where he is."
Tang Ningyu, who was sitting on the other side, spoke up, "You can only fool outsiders with those words. Everyone knows that it was you, Major General Qi, who brought Lieutenant General Ling to Planet General."
Qi Long had an innocent smile on his face. "Senior Colonel Tang, your words don't make any sense. Let's not even say whether or not Lieutenant General Ling had gone to Planet General. Even if he had gone there, I would think he had gone through with your connections. After all, Senior Colonel Mu just said that you were like brothers who had gone through hardships together with Lieutenant General Ling."
Qi Long seemed to be an honest and obedient person on the outside, but in reality, he was ranked third among everyone in Lingtian in terms of evilness.
Boss didn't even need a mention. He was definitely the most evil out of all of them.
Li Lanfeng on the other hand, who liked hiding his intentions behind a smile, showed as a mild-mannered individual on the outside. He made people feel warm and cared for, but was actually plotting to kill them behind their backs. Every sentence he spoke might be a trap. A person wouldn't know when they had fallen into a trap. Qi Long feared Li Lanfeng the most and would never challenge him unless absolutely necessary. However, other than these two, even Han Jijyun was only just strategic, not evil in his eyes. He had a good heart, but wasn't as evil as Qi Long. Han Jijyun was also considered someone with an odd personality.
This ranking was internally accepted by everyone in Lingtian. Otherwise, why would they have worked together to get Qi Long into the highest commanding position? It was because everyone believed other than Boss and Li Lanfeng, only Qi Long could carry the heavy burden of the Lingtian Independent Army on his shoulders.
Qi Long's words made Tang Ningyu speechless. He didn't know how to respond for a short while.
"Major General Qi, let's not test each other anymore. We don't have any negative feelings towards Lieutenant General Ling. It's just that we received our chief's orders for us to follow Lieutenant General Ling and protect him." Mu Chaoran didn't want to waste anymore of their time here and instantly told Qi Long the reason they came here.
"Chief? General Ren from the Flying Dragon Special Forces?" asked Qi Long in surprise.
"Yes, that's him." Mu Chaoran nodded heavily.
Qi Long remembered that him becoming the commander of the Lingtian Independent Army was largely because of his help. Although he didn't know whether it was with good or bad intentions, he still couldn't forget the help he had given to him.
"I don't know," Qi Long said slowly.
He wasn't lying to them. He really didn't know where Boss had gone. When Boss left, he only told him that he was going to the vast universe to create his own organization. After he did that, he would come back and fight against the top brass of the military headquarters to avenge his father.
At that time, Qi Long didn't want to ask for more detail. The safest way of keeping a secret was not knowing it. Qi Long knew this very well. Thus, he didn't ask back then because he knew if he had asked, Boss would definitely tell him the answer.
That was his intuition and was the trust between brothers. However, the more it was like that, the more Qi Long didn't want to know the answer. He didn't want Boss to be exposed to more dangers. If it had been Qi Long himself, Boss wouldn't have wanted that either.
"Lieutenant General Ling didn't leave any information behind?" Mu Chaoran's eyes showed that he was somewhat anxious.
"The universe," Qi Long thought for a moment and then said this word.
He knew only this word. As for whether they could find him or not would depend on their abilities.
Why did Qi Long choose to tell them? It was because his Animal Instinct told him that it would be better if he told them.
Other than Boss, Qi Long trusted his Animal Instinct the most. It was because Boss had said it was his strongest ability. Although there wasn't any reasoning behind it, the information his Animal Instinct innate talent gave him had always been the most suitable, relevant and correct.
Qi Long kept that in mind. Thus, when his Animal Instinct innate talent notified him, he would follow it to make the most suitable decision.
"Universe?" Mu Chaoran's eyes brightened. He could now confirm that he definitely wasn't anywhere in the nation.
"The rest is up to you guys. I can't help you anymore," Qi Long said plainly.
"Understood. Thank you for putting your trust in us, Major General Qi." Although Mu Chaoran felt it was odd that Qi Long was so cooperative, they now had hope of finding Ling Lan. Mu Chaoran didn't want to waste any time here with Qi Long, so he and Tang Ningyu said their goodbyes and left.
After they had left, the door of the restroom on the side opened silently.
Han Jijyun walked out from there and frowned. "Are they safe to deal with?"
"I'm not sure, but they probably shouldn't be a problem." Qi Long smiled.
"Oh? Your innate talent?" Han Jijyun knew Qi Long the best. After hearing Qi Long say something like that, he understood what he meant.
"Yeah. I also have a feeling that something big will happen and it will be connected with these two." Qi Long had a slight look of anxiousness on his face. The information his Animal Instinct had given him was too vague. He just knew that it wasn't going to be a bad thing, so perhaps it would be something good?
"Can you determine the rough time?" asked Han Jijyun. If Qi Long said something big was going to happen, then something big would definitely go down. No matter if it was good or bad, he must make proper preparations.
Qi Long rubbed his forehead and felt his thoughts for a moment. "It should be within three days."
Three days quickly passed by. Inside the headquarters conference room of Lingtian's base, Qi Long, Lin Zhong-qing, Luo Chao, Han Xuya, Li Jinghong and He Chaoyang were discussing the progress of preparations done by the logistics department.
Suddenly, Qi Long raised his head. A sharp look appeared in his eyes as he disappeared from his spot. When he reappeared, he had already reached the door. An iron fist with an explosive sound went through towards the empty doorway.
Poof! A muffled sound travelled to their ears. Then, a silhouette appeared from thin air, blocking Qi Long's iron fist with both of his hands.
The strength of both of them actually created a large dent on the metal door.
Qi Long saw that person and was overjoyed. He took back his fist and shouted in excitement, "Luo Lang."
Luo Lang? Everyone present who was familiar with that name all looked towards that person. As expected, it was the face that they couldn't be more familiar with. A face that they didn't see each day, but still thought of each day. It was Luo Chao's older brother, Luo Lang.
"How come your back? Where is Boss?" Qi Long walked up and hugged Luo Lang's shoulders as he shouted in excitement.
"Boss didn't come back," Luo Lang said calmly.
"Didn't come back?" Qi Long put his hands down disappointedly. "Aren't you supposed to be protecting Boss? Why did you come back?"
Chapter 1368 A Drunken Fit
Although they were very happy seeing Luo Lang come back, they were still more worried about Boss.
"Of course I have a reason for coming back," Luo Lang said in an annoyed tone. "Quick, prepare some food for me and water. I'm dying from hunger and thirst."
Luo Lang went to the neutral nation that was the closest to the Federation on the 7th Bugle Call. 7th Bugle Call was a big target which made it inconvenient for it to go into the Federation. Thus, Luo Lang let those on 7th Bugle Call start purchasing supplies. Luckily they brought some native products from the Lawless Lands with them to sell, so they could acquire some money that way. It was just that selling and buying would take a lot of time. However, that wasn't a problem. According to Ling Lan's plan, the 7th Bugle Call was originally taking on the role of drawing the attention of the 13 Lords to the neutral nation. Luo Lang on the other hand would use that opportunity to sneak into the Federation, make contact with Qi Long and let Qi Long prepare the supplies. Afterwards, they would take the Jialan Ship and transport it to the Lawless Lands.
All in all, the 7th Bugle Call was just bait to make the 13 Lords not know the real powers behind Ling Lan. They could think it was the Soul Society or the mercenary world. The more unsure they were, the safer Ling Lan was.
In order to not expose himself and to save time, he had his domain activated all the way here. Other than when he was incredibly hungry, he didn't waste any time on any other miscellaneous matters.
Seeing Luo Lang's disheveled look, Luo Chao immediately prepared food and drinks for her older brother.
Luo Lang gulped down a large cup of water, and only after he felt he was alright, he spoke, "Boss has an assignment for all of you."
After hearing Luo Lang's words, everyone stood on attention with their backs straight. It was as though it was no longer Luo Lang standing before them, but rather Boss Ling Lan who they admired and respected.
"Boss needs supplies. This is the list." Luo Lang took out a list of items and handed it to Han Jijyun, who had already arrived.
Han Jijyun opened it up and took a look. A look of surprise appeared in his eyes for a moment. Although there were some restricted military supplies in the list, most of it was basic supplies for living needs. Some were even very common.
'Could Boss be somewhere where these resources are limited?' Han Jijyun looked through the list of items and accurately determined the situation Ling Lan was in.
"Time is of the essence. We came here as fast as we could. Even with the Destruction Devil, it still took us 31 days, and plus the fact that I also used up four more days to get here. In total, we used up 35 days. Now there's a problem. This shipment of supplies must reach Boss within 25 days," Luo Lang said in a serious tone.
"How is that possible?" After hearing the time restraint, Han Jijyun's expression changed slightly. "We still need to gather the supplies. The fastest we can do that is three days, then we would only have 21 days on the road… No starship can fill in the difference of 10 days." Destruction Devils were already the fastest starships in the Federation. Han Jijyun couldn't think of any other starship that could be faster than a Destruction Devil. They required a starship that had triple the speed of a Destruction Devil to even barely stay within the time limit. This was definitely not a mission they could complete.
"You have to make it possible even if it's impossible," Luo Lang's expression was not good. "Otherwise, Boss will be in danger in the Lawless Lands."
"What happened?" Everyone there all had surprised expressions on their faces.
"Let's stop asking. Zhong-qing, Jijyun, Jinghong and Chaoyang, you four go and prepare the supplies. The quicker the better." Qi Long was the most calm out of everyone. He knew that it was a race against time. Thus, he ordered those four to go do what they needed to do. As for the questions, they could save them for when they finished gathering the supplies.
Qi Long's words calmed everyone down. Soon, Han Jijyun, Lin Zhong-qing, Li Jinghong and He Chaoyang all rushed to different warehouses and began to go through the supplies the base already had. They knew very well that if the supplies could be gathered quicker, then they would have more of a chance of staying within the given time limit.
After seeing everyone beginning to gather supplies, Luo Lang breathed a sigh of relief. After relieving his concerns, he was able to focus on the bowl of rice in front of him as he ate in a crazed manner.
After sensing his digestive system no longer protesting that it needed food, Luo Lang then raised his head to look at Luo Chao, "Little sis, Boss said you and Jialan will be responsible for the shipment this time."
Qi Long's eyes brightened. How could he forget about Jialan Ship?
If other Destruction Devils couldn't complete this task, Jialan combined with Luo Chao might be able to do it.
However, could Luo Chao endure the long and arduous journey?
Combining with Jialan used much of her limited amount of energy. With Luo Chao's current level of Qi-Jin, no one knew how long she could do it for.
Luo Chao's eyes shined brightly. She enthusiastically clenched her fists and nodded with force. "Understood. I will definitely complete the mission."
Luo Chao can feel the trust Boss had in her because Boss gave her a mission that put her life in her hands. It was just like in the past when Boss chose to expose her real gender to her and Han Xuya without any hesitation.
"Bang!" An angry fist smashed into the table in front of Luo Lang.
Luo Lang immediately reached out with his hands, creating multiple afterimages in the process. They all safely grabbed the plates and bowl that are flying up in the air, not letting even one bit of the food get spilled.
"I also want to go," Han Xuya said angrily.
Luo Lang calmly put down the food plates and bowls and replied, "I didn't say you aren't going."
"I want to go. I have to go… Ugh? I can go?" Han Xuya thought Luo Lang would refuse so she shouted reflexively.
"Boss knew that you and Luo Chao wouldn't leave each other. If Luo Chao goes and you aren't allowed to go, the world will be turned upside down. You follow Luo Chao to the Lawless Lands and turning that place upside down would be better than leaving you here and give Qi Long a headache," Luo Lang rolled his eyes.
Even though Boss didn't come back, he still knew everyone's reactions. He had told Luo Lang how to handle every one of them before he came here.
"Hahaha, the person who knows me best is still Boss." Han Xuya laughed out loud with her head towards the sky.
"Alright, go, just don't cause trouble for Boss," said Qi Long worriedly.
Han Xuya ruthlessly glared at him with a look of dissatisfaction. "When did I cause trouble?"
"Did you not? A few days ago, you broke the rules to drink alcohol, and you actually got drunk. You were even in a drunken fit. That was fine, but you also shamelessly put your hands everywhere." After Qi Long remembered this part, his expression was somewhat annoyed.
"Hey, yes, I broke the rules. Yes, I got drunk. But who the f*ck said I got into a fit and put my hands everywhere? Who was I touching with my hands?" After hearing Qi Long's words, Han Xuya exploded with anger. In her memories, she slept like an angel. The next day when she woke up, she was wearing her pajamas and her uniform was folded near the front of her bed frame. This was enough to prove that she got drunk and went directly to sleep. She even remembered to change into her pajamas and fold her military uniform.
"You put your hands on…" Qi Long suddenly closed his mouth and stopped talking. Then, he snorted coldly, "All in all, you are not allowed to drink alcohol while you are there, in case you cause Boss any trouble."
Chapter 1369 Flying Solo?
"Hmph, cat got your tongue?" Han Xuya raised her head proudly. "Don't worry, I know my place. Plus, if it wasn't because I miss Boss so much, I wouldn't have drank anyways. Now that I can be together with Boss, why would I need to drink that foul thing?"
After hearing Han Xuya talk about being together with Boss so enthusiastically, Qi Long felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
It was probably because he wasn't the one following Boss in the Lawless Lands. Qi Long finally felt the taste of being restrained by his responsibilities. He couldn't do whatever he wanted. He could only restrain his desires while trusting Boss and comrades and do what was best for everyone.
On another front, Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran, who had been surveillancing Lingtian's headquarters all this time, discovered Lingtian's suspicious movements.
"I think there's something going on." Tang Ningyu put down the infrared binoculars and turned towards Mu Chaoran, who was laying down at the top of a hill.
"That definitely the case," Mu Chaoran said confidently as he spat out the grass he was chewing in his mouth.
"What do you think it could be?" Tang Ningyu's eyes brightened.
"Although they're being very careful, the things they're moving are still too much. As long as someone went in to investigate, they would definitely be able to find something odd," Mu Chaoran said while in deep thought. "I don't mind using the power of the Flying Dragon Special Forces to go investigate. I keep getting the feeling that it has something to do with him."
Tang Ningyu nodded, "I also think that's the case. But, during the time he doesn't want to come back, what we need to do is to not expose him."
Both of them knew very well who they were referring to as 'him'.
"I think we should pay them a visit." Mu Chaoran smiled somewhat devilishly.
"Perhaps we might accidentally find something." Tang Ningyu also smiled.
At that moment, Lingtian was fully working in full force to help gather the supplies Ling Lan had requested. The people Qi Long sent to do the work were all veteran mecha operators and veteran logistics personnel who had followed Ling Lan from the very beginning.
Of course, these mecha operators were now team leaders of mecha teams, or at least deputy team leaders. The logistics personnel were almost all logistics team leaders and deputy team leaders.
In order to keep the secret from spreading, most these people, who usually delegate the work to others, didn't bring any team members with them. At most, they would bring only the confidants they could 100% trust. Additionally, they themselves would do the work as well. The result of bringing less than the usual amount of people was that everyone was exhausted to the point where they couldn't even stand. It reminded them of times when Ling Lan mercilessly pressured them. That taste of darkness, pain and being at death's door they dearly missed.
For them, it tasted sweet as nectar. It was as though they had gone into the embrace of their mothers.
Seeing this, Zhao Jun and Lin Zhong-qing, who were leading them, could once again confirm these veterans were all masochists. They wouldn't feel comfortable if they weren't in pain.
Of course, only Boss had the qualifications to put them through that type of pain. This time, after hearing they were going to prepare supplies for Boss, they ran very fast, arriving at their destinations in the blink of an eye. They definitely didn't have the unwillingness from the past when they were given a mission. In the past, when asked the reason for their laziness, they would say that they were old and needed to retire and that those types of assignments should be given to the younger soldiers to help them gather experience.
What they said wasn't wrong, but they could say that so blatantly was because Qi Long and the others didn't have Boss's ability to make these veterans fully comply with their words.
Of course, when it came to major matters, these veterans wouldn't drag Lingtian down. They would do what they needed to and also complete them with flying colors and perfectly. Qi Long and the others knew the reason they were so cooperative and hardworking. It wasn't because of them, leaders only by title, but rather it was because of the commander they all admired, Ling Lan!
In reality, they only acknowledged Ling Lan as the only commander of the Lingtian Independent Army. Qi Long was a great representative, but that was it.
If Qi Long had even a single thought of changing the Lingtian Independent Army, those veterans would do things that would definitely hurt Qi Long's feelings.
However, Qi Long indeed didn't have any thoughts of changing anything. Seeing the army working so well with Boss, he admired Boss's abilities even more. Even though Boss left, Lingtian Independent Army was still Boss's independent army. It would still develop in the path he had designed and not stray into a different one.
"Going at this speed, the most we can cut is 2 hours. Do we need to choose a few more trustworthy people to go and help transport and load the supplies?" Han Jijyun said worriedly. The number of people they could use were too small in numbers. As luck would have it, the supplies Boss wanted were way too much. This time, the entire Jialan Ship was filled up. In order to create more space, the soldiers going with Luo Chao were cut to 2000 from the original 5000.
If it wasn't for the fact that they were afraid of not having an ace mecha clan holding the fort and fighting off dangers, they would have taken out the entire mecha clan and made space for the supplies in the mecha hold.
"We can't anymore people. The veterans we can trust are all here. Those who aren't going are more or less unclear in terms of trustworthiness. We can't take that risk. Plus, the more people there are, the bigger the commotion. It would also draw the attention of certain people. It wouldn't be any good for us." Qi Long shook his head and overruled the idea.
"If that's the case, Luo Chao will be under a lot of pressure." Han Jijyun was worried about their little sister.
"They will need to grow up sometime," Qi Long said calmly. "Boss called Luo Chao for this mission probably because he thinks she has the qualifications to fly solo now."
"You think so?" Han Jijyun asked with uncertainty.
Back in the day, Boss fully protected their two little sisters. Although he behaved in a secretive manner, they still knew Boss very well. How could they not have sensed that?
As for men like them, it was just cruel torture. They would be tossed into dangerous situations against dangerous people, and Boss wouldn't hesitate even for a moment. Boss fully believed that their real potential could only be forced out at death's door. It was a way of improving themselves in an explosive manner. Each one of them came out from those types of training alive. Facing death was already something they deemed as normal. If it wasn't like that, they wouldn't have used it either.
However, their Boss's determined life-or-death training method completely collapsed when it came to their two little sisters.
When dealing with their two little sisters, the training amount was slowly changed. Boss was afraid if he had gone overboard, it might cause some permanent problems for their two little sisters (All the male underlings cried in pain. Why didn't Boss worry about them having problems with their bodies). Not only that, when their two little sisters were training, Li Shiyu was waiting on the side. It was because Boss was afraid an accident might happen which required treatment at a moment's notice (All the male underlings cried in agony once again. Why did they still have to crawl to the medical department by themselves for someone to save them after they only had one breath left in their bodies after the training?)
Not to mention, Boss had personally researched a training method that was suitable for their two little sisters. He even taught them the Ling family's fighting technique (self-defense technique?) for females. This difference in treatment made these male underlings all look at their two little sisters with envious looks (Li Lanfeng did not express his jealousness, but he would bite on his blankets at night).
Chapter 1370 Going Side by Side!
All in all, the difference in treatment allowed these male underlings to understand that they were just random spurts of mud on the ground in Ling Lan's eyes. Their two little sisters however, were viewed as precious treasures in Boss's eyes.
With that in mind, the fact that Boss would be willing to send their precious little sisters onto the front-lines boggled Han Jijyun's mind.
"Although Boss has protected Luo Chao and Han Jijyun very well in the past, have you not noticed the path Boss has arranged for them?" asked Qi Long.
The moment Qi Long said that, a lightbulb lit up in Han Jijyun's mind as he immediately figured out why Boss had a sudden change of treatment towards their two little sisters.
"So Boss has been developing Luo Chao and Xuya from the very beginning," said Han Jijyun.
"It's just that the method he used to develop them is different than ours." Qi Long slowly stood up from his seat. When the bright gleam of the eastern sun shone upon his face, he looked as though he was an ancient sage who was gleaming into the insight of the universe. "Forceful and conservative. Both very good methods."
"Men are more suited to be trained with the forceful method. If I was told to train in the same way as Luo Chao and Xuya, I would definitely die from boredom." Han Jijyun thought for a moment, and understood why there was such vast difference in treatment.
"This is what Boss decided early on," Qi Long said calmly. "From the very beginning, Boss never planned to pamper Luo Chao and Xuya into weaklings who needed our protection. He wanted them to fight with us side by side."
"I only submitted to Boss because he would never give up on any of us. He would shatter every perception of us and build us up to the top with him, this includes the supposedly 'weak' women." Qi Long clenched his fists. At that moment, he discovered that compared to Boss, they were too inferior in every possible way.
While they were running in the front, their minds were filled with thoughts about Boss and their brothers, which one of them was thinking of the two little sisters who were lagging behind them?
Only Boss remembered that there were still two silhouettes running behind them. Those two wanted to catch up to them, but they didn't know how to do that. In the end, they became saddened by that fact. It was Boss in the end who held their little sisters' hands and helped them catch up step by step.
"Aren't we all the same?" Han Jijyun walked beside Qi Long and stood shoulder to shoulder. "Sometimes I think we're lucky to have such worthy Boss to put our trust in."
Qi Long nodded. Right as he was about to say something, he saw two uninvited guests rushing right past the guards, who tried to stop them, and got into his office.
"…Do you think Lingtian is part of the Flying Dragon Special Forces that you can come and go as you please?" Qi Long had a stern look on his face. When they were putting all their effort into preparing the supplies Boss needed, these two suddenly barged in here. This was definitely not a good sign.
"Tell us. Where are you going with all those supplies?" Mu Chaoran plopped down on the sofa with his leg propped up and got straight to the point.
"Hmph!" Qi Long suddenly had the urge to punch someone in the face. "Why are you still here?"
Mu Chaoran opened his hand and said, "Well, it can't be helped. That one word you gave us didn't give much information, so we can only monitor you to acquire more useful information."
"Are you not afraid that we won't have any information?" Qi Long was a bit annoyed.
"How's that possible? You're the brother-in-arms Lieutenant General Ling trusts the most. He would definitely contact you. It's just a matter of how long it would take," Mu Chaoran said confidently.
"In reality, everyone knows this. If it wasn't for the Flying Dragon Special Forces, do you actually think your little operation here could deceive the surveillance of the military headquarters' special ops team?" said Tang Ningyu, who sat on the side with an expressionless face, coldly.
In order to protect that person, they used all of their efforts and connections to lead those surveying around Lingtian's base away. Of course, the main reason they could do that was because they had the chief's full support in whatever they did. Otherwise, just the two of them, wouldn't be able to deal with that many people.
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Qi Long walked to the front of Mu Chaoran and Tang Ningyu before sitting down forcefully on the seat opposite of them.
"Does Lieutenant General Ling need these supplies?" Tang Ningyu's eyes looked straight at Qi Long. He wanted an answer to the question.
"That's right," Qi Long didn't beat around the bush and instantly admitted to it.
Han Jijyun slightly raised his eyebrows. Although he didn't know why Qi Long was so straightforward, he was still very trusting in Qi Long. He knew Qi Long definitely had some reasons for his decision, so he just stood on the side and watched on.
"We want to go where the supplies go." Mu Chaoran leaned his body forward and placed one hand on the coffee table in front of them while he stared at Qi Long right into his eyes. His eyes were filled with an unwillingness to be rejected.
Hearing that, Qi Long just crossed his arms as he smiled cheekily.
"Don't worry. The order we received is to protect, not anything else." Tang Ningyu also leaned forward with a serious look on his face.
"I believe that, but after I let you go, you will lose everything you have by going there. You won't have your name, your identity, and there is a chance you might not come back in this lifetime. Are you sure you want to go?" asked Qi Long while laughing.
"When we took up this mission, we were already no longer part of the Flying Dragon Special Forces," Mu Chaoran said in a serious tone.
The sudden statement shocked Qi Long. It was as though the chief of the Flying Dragon Special Forces had predicted something like this would happen. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made such arrangements beforehand.
"Alright, after two hours, the supplies will be fully loaded and the starship will officially depart." Qi Long didn't deliberately try to make it difficult for Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran, and just allowed them to go.
"That's great." Mu Chaoran excitedly clapped his hands. Suddenly, he raised his head and asked, "Why did you let us go this easily? I thought you would ask us to promise something before allowing us to go."
"Promise what?" Qi Long raised his eyebrows and asked.
"Such as making us promise to obey Lieutenant General Ling's orders or to not do anything that could endanger Lieutenant General Ling," said Mu Chaoran.
"Heh heh!" laughed Qi Long. "You actually think you can threaten Boss with your meagre strength? Plus, after getting to Boss and you still dare to defy him, then I can only say you've done living life."
Qi Long's words incited anger in Tang Ningyu. As a proud member of the Flying Dragon Special Forces, Tang Ningyu had a type of pride that Qi Long didn't have. It was clear that Qi Long was looking down on them. That was why he let go so easily. It was because Qi Long was sure they definitely couldn't be a threat to Ling Lan.
"Don't be angry. I'm only speaking the truth. Despite how outstanding you are, compared to Boss, the difference is between night and day," Qi Long said indifferently.
Right as Tang Ningyu was about to stand up and refute what Qi Long said, Mu Chaoran held him down. He smiled, but his eyes had a hint of coldness. He spoke to Qi Long, "I know Lieutenant General Ling is a one in a million prodigy from the heavens, so those words can perhaps only be said by Lieutenant General Ling. You on the other hand aren't qualified…"
Chapter 1371 Departure
Hearing Mu Chaoran trying to put him down, Qi Long just spoke in an indifferent tone, "Sure, whatever you say. In reality, you know better than anyone. If you could actually be somewhat troublesome for Boss, I would love to hear and see that."
Qi Long's attitude of looking down on them ignited the fury in Mu Chaoran and Tang Ningyu's heart. Right as they were about to explode, they heard Han Jijyun speak to them from the other side of the room, "Senior colonels, are you not going to prepare anything? After all, there's nothing where you're going…"
Mu Chaoran's eyes narrowed. "Really nothing?"
Han Jijyun shook his head side to side. "Piss poor."
"Understood. Thank you for the reminder." Mu Chaoran nodded towards Han Jijyun before snorting coldly towards Qi Long. Then, he stood up and left with Tang Ningyu. Of course, he didn't forget to ask Han Jijyun the time they needed to gather for departure.
It wasn't because they didn't want to instantly go over to the area of departure, but because Qi Long and Han Jijyun were too careful and only agreed to bring them there when it was time for departure.
After seeing the two of their silhouettes disappear, Han Jijyun turned around towards Qi Long, who had stopped looking prideful, and asked him, "You wanted to bring them down a notch?"
"From what we heard from Luo Lang, we can know that Boss isn't having an easy time in the Lawless Lands. Other than having strong enemies pressuring him from every angle, he also lacks strong fighters under his command. Unfortunately we can't go since we have to make sure to guard the Lingtian Independent Army for him." Qi Long sighed in resignation. "Those who can go are like Zhao Jun, who has a commoner background with no ties with any factions, and Luo Chao and Han Xuya who or enemies don't put focus on."
"Yeah. All the brigade leaders are all being watched closely by different factions and organizations. Once they leave the base, they would definitely investigate them. Although Zhao Jun would also be followed, it would be fine as long as he was sent out under the name of a 4 or 5-star mission," replied Han Jijyun. "Luckily, Zhao Jun took many 4 and 5-star missions in the past in order to find a breakthrough for himself. They investigated him quite a lot back then, but after discovering he was indeed on assignments, they just let him go without checking him too much in the last few assignments."
"Moreover, Zhao Jun never showed signs of being close to Boss." Qi Long deviously. "In those people's minds, Zhao Jun works under Li Lanfeng. They see him as someone out of the 10 brigade leaders who isn't a confidant of Boss."
"That's why we treated Zhao Jun differently, right?" After hearing Qi Long's words, Han Jijyun smiled.
Although Zhao Jun entered Lingtian because he followed Li Lanfeng, after so many years of growing up, moving forward and bonding with them, he had already elevated his own status to being their brother for life. Zhao Jun and Li Lanfeng's relationship was indeed close and separable, but his admiration and respect towards Boss wasn't any less than the others.
"It will be hard for us to send out more people to help Boss. There's no doubt that two strong people like Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran going there will be a good thing," said Qi Long. "However, I can't let them think that they're actually that important."
"That's why you stomped their pride into the ground, making them think that we just think of them as a nuisance and that we did them a favour by helping them." Han Jijyun sighed as he shook his head.
"They're going there to be Boss's underlings, not be his master. Plus, they said they are going there to protect Boss, pfft~ It must have been hard for them to speak so shamelessly. Isn't it better for them to understand the reality of it all earlier?" Qi Long replied calmly.
"I thought you're very friendly with Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran," Han Jijyun's intuition was on point.
"I'm not sure why, but whenever I see that guy, I just get annoyed, but I don't see him as an enemy." Qi Long's Animal Instinct was oddly discriminatory against Mu Chaoran. That was why Qi Long didn't have any good expressions on his face when speaking to Mu Chaoran.
"Oh right, is Zhao Jun ready? " Qi Long put aside the problem with Mu Chaoran and Tang Ningyu and continued to discuss the matter they were speaking about before.
For this assignment, Zhao Jun brought his own brigade. He also chose a few capable and trustworthy mecha operators and combined them into an ace mecha clan of 2000 people to protect Jialan Ship. This time, in order to ensure the battle potential of the ace mecha clan, they brought with them the Federation's newly invented second generation free transform ace mechas, while those who were now imperial operators on the other hand, brought the Federation's standard imperial mechas with them. However, the outer appearances of these mechas were not any different than the 2nd generation free transform ace mechas. The capable mecha engineers of the Lingtian Independent Army perfectly disguised these mechas.
"He is already done. The logistics department brought along a group of experienced veterans. They're all great at repair and maintenance, without any need of getting used to the environment. They can work the moment they get on the job," replied Han Jijyun.
"That's good." Qi Long's eyes began staring into the void. This was all that he could do right now. He could only send out as many capable individuals as he could and hope that they would be of help for Boss faraway in the Lawless Lands.
After a short while, Jialan Ship finally departed from the port two and a half hours ahead of the prearranged time.
On the surface, it was taking off to facilitate Zhao Jun in his four-star team mission. He would lead the mecha operators who worked under him towards the designated planet of the assignment.
Although using a Destruction Devil as a transport vessel was considered luxurious, it still wasn't considered outrageous because he was one of the ten brigade leaders of Lingtian. Plus, the three commanders and the vice commander had agreed to it. At most, the military headquarters would speak out on how this Senior Colonel Zhao Jun from Lingtian was being inappropriate by showing off.
On this front, Jialan Ship ship successfully departed, but on the other front, Li Lanfeng went through many neutral nations. He changed many different starships before finally arriving at the Chaotic Lands.
His speed was much slower than Luo Lang. After all, he wasn't like Luo Lang who had the luxury to board the 7th Bugle Call.
Although the Chaotic Lands were deemed as ungoverned on the outside, it was still realistically being completely controlled by the many large factions and organizations. If it wasn't for the fact Ling Lan had cooperated with Xia Qingyi from the Soul Society after taking out the Frost Monarch and quickly taking control of the Frost Monarch's faction, much of the Chaotic Lands wouldn't be in their control. Additionally, after taking over Hades' territory with the power of the Soul Society backing him, Xia Qingyi was able to stabilize everything they had acquired in the Chaotic Lands.
Of course, on the surface, the territory of the Frost Monarch still belonged to him and the Soul Society controlled Hades' territory. Even the Soul Society believed from Xia Qingyi's reports that they only controlled one territory and was only cooperating closely with the Frost Monarch.
The only person who knew about this secret was Xia Qingyi, who controlled both territories by himself. Every time the 'Frost Monarch' worked together with the Soul Society, Xia Qingyi would always respectfully provide the Frost Monarch some unimportant benefits during the negotiations. It was these mutually beneficial negotiations that made the Frost Monarch's faction and Soul Society's relationship even closer.
The Soul Society also didn't feel any dissatisfaction from the way Xia Qingyi dealt with these matters. The two guardians, who were sent by the Soul Society to protect him, but actually to watch him, had begun working for Xia Qingyi a long time ago. When they made their reports, they would make it sound as if they're working really hard. Additionally, the Soul Emperor of the Soul Society was quite satisfied because of the amount of benefits the Soul Society had reaped from the Chaotic Lands.