Chapter 1: Ling Tian's Vengeance
Translator: DavidT Editor: celllll
The sun rose and daybreak arrived.
The surface of the ocean glistened in the sunlight and the waves rose and fell like the gentle rocking of a mother’s embrace. Wave by wave, it continued to rise and fall without end.
In a faraway place, a colony of seagulls flew up into the skies, circling in the skies for a long time.
Ling Tian, with a suave face and beautiful complexion, was dressed in a snow white windbreaker, appearing as though he was a marble figurine. He sat on the yacht and completely blended with it as his body rose and fell together with the waves. His fringe blew with the winds, and a mysterious smile spread across his face with an intense look in his eyes. He melded into this beautiful picture and everything looked to be in complete harmony. Even the pickiest of painters would not be able to find any flaws in this natural picture.
Ling Tian’s expression did not reveal any joy or surprise as he silently enjoyed the beautiful scenery around him. But in reality, his heart was in turmoil and he was deeply troubled as the matters of the past flashed through his memory.
Ling Tian came from the most mysterious ancient martial family in China: the Ling family. Ever since he was young, he received the most brutal of trainings and was smarter than his peers. At the age of 15, he was already a head above the rest and was unbeatable amongst people from his generation – be it inner or physical martial arts, the four arts of a Chinese scholar [1], or other miscellaneous things. He was regarded as the hope of the younger generation in the Ling family and was the most outstanding representative.
As he thought about that, bitterness was inevitably displayed through Ling Tian’s eyes. Ling Tian was born from the second side branch of the Ling family and was not of direct descent. As such, ever since he became famous when he was 15, the second side branch of the Ling family was not only given more attention but also ruthlessly suppressed by those of direct descent.
As Ling Tian turned 16, the second side branch was already in a perilous situation. If not for the protection of a few elders in the family, the second side branch might have been completely wiped out because of Ling Tian.
A conspiracy finally happened in the midst of the silence.
Ling Tian remembered clearly that it happened during summer when he was 17. It was only 11 days before the Mid-Autumn Festival when he had gone to the lakeside because he was feeling frustrated. However, he had unexpectedly found his younger sister, Ling Xue’er, drowning in the water!
Ling Tian did not have a good impression of this sister of his as he felt that she was too materialistic and competitive. Thus, he would usually keep a distance from her. But no matter what, he would never leave her in the lurch in such a situation. Seeing Ling Xue’er crying for help in the water, Ling Tian did not think of anything and jumped in immediately.
At that moment, Ling Tian did not even find it strange for Ling Xue’er, who was always surrounded by people, to be by the lake alone. How was it possible for a girl who grew up by the river to not be able to swim? How was it possible for someone with such profound martial skills like Ling Xue’er to fall into the lake without any rhyme or reason? Wasn’t it strange for the usually proud Ling Xue’er to cry out for help?
Perhaps Ling Tian considered all of these things. Perhaps he did not consider any of these. But no matter what, he still jumped in to save this sister of his whom he disliked since he was young.
Although Ling Tian was smart and was not one with simple thoughts, he was only a 17 year old child at the end of the day! Ling Tian, who had never come into contact with the outside world, was still extremely pure despite being pressured by the family. He would never have expected that they would resort to such means just because of authority.
Just when Ling Tian jumped into the water and approached Ling Xue’er, the weak Ling Xue’er suddenly became extremely energetic and fought him in the water. At the same time, she began to cry out for help with a pitiful voice full of fear!
In that instant, Ling Tian realized that Ling Xue’er’s clothes were actually in tatters! It was as though someone had torn it apart by force. Then, Ling Tian began to feel that something was wrong. Just when he wanted to break free from Ling Xue’er and head back up to shore, the shore was already filled with a large group of people.
Ling Tian’s mind immediately turned blank because everyone present was a direct descendent in the family! This, this is definitely a trap! A trap enough to destroy my reputation completely! What a joke, I actually jumped in without guarding against her completely!
Of course, Ling Xue’er was rescued up to shore! Then, she bitterly complained about how Ling Tian tried to rape her. Her torn clothes became the biggest evidence for her claim that Ling Tian threw her into the water out of frustration when she tried to resolutely defend herself! At that moment, the 50-odd people surrounding the lake became the eyewitnesses!
The evidence was concrete! Ling Tian’s actions were dishonorable: not only had he tried to usurp power in the family through lustful means, but also tried to rape his own younger sister in the family. His actions were extremely vile, making one’s hair stand at the thought of it! He was worse than a beast!
The family head personally gathered the five elders of the sect and made a judgement towards Ling Tian! Throughout this process, Ling Tian did not say a single word. In actual fact, he no longer had the need to say anything.
In just that instant, Ling Tian was no longer the hope, but rather, the shame of the family! The second side branch of the family which Ling Tian was in was also affected by that incident and thus, was not allowed to interfere with family affairs for the following 10 years! Ling Tian’s parents did not bring him up properly and they had their freedoms restrained. They were not allowed to step out of the family for life!
As for Ling Tian, he was the main offender and was a degenerate of the family. Thus, his punishment was also the harshest: his martial arts was completely crippled and he was chased out of the sect, never to return to the sect in his lifetime!
Ling Tian was thrown out from the family just like trash. Throughout the whole process, Ling Tian was in a daze as though he was in a dream.
From then on, Ling Tian led a miserable life!
Although Ling Tian was already chased out of the sect, his cousins did not intend to let him off! They found the greatest joy in humiliating someone whom they could never have hoped to even reach in the past. They never left his everyday life as if they were Ling Tian’s shadow, and used every means possible to humiliate the man they used to look up to. For three whole years, the proud genius was struggling in a life worse than hell! Only after three years did his younger sister, Ling Meng’er, find a chance to save him by sending him to the Eastern Ocean far away from the family. Only then did his torture end.
Every now and then, Ling Meng’er visited Ling Tian to give him some daily necessities and update him about the situation within the sect. As time slowly passed, the Ling family seemed to have completely forgotten the existence of this genius in the family. But Ling Tian could never forget everything which he had gone through! Revenge had become the only reason for his survival!
The first elder who crippled his martial arts did not show him a shred of mercy at all. It was impossible to take revenge with martial arts from then on. In those few years, Ling Tian spent all of his time on firearms. The cold firearms had become the only resort he was left with.
Just three months ago, Ling Meng’er visited for the last time to inform Ling Tian that Ling Xue’er, who framed him before, was going to get married with the young master of the Huang family. The wedding was slated to take place at the Eastern Ocean and Ling Tian was subtly told that it would be an extremely luxurious one. All of the large families and societal powers would be present to witness the blissful moment of Ling Xue’er! As for the Ling family, all of the young talents and three elders would be present.
As Ling Meng’er delivered the news, Ling Tian slipped into silence, not saying a single word until Ling Meng’er left. Before Ling Meng’er left, she said, "I know what you are thinking of... I also know what the only thing you want to do in this lifetime is. If you want to do it, you can dial this number. No matter what you need, the person who picks up the line will arrange everything for you nicely."
Ling Meng’er then left a name card and disappeared from the sights of Ling Tian with confidence.
Ling Tian just sat there for a whole day and night without moving as though he was a rock. The following day, he resolved to make the phone call after a whole night of consideration.
Ling Tian knew that that was his best chance; if he missed it, he might never be able to take his revenge! Furthermore, that was also an ultimatum that his sister was giving to him!
If he could eliminate everyone at the wedding, all of the various families would definitely suffer greatly – especially the Ling family, which would suffer a catastrophic damage capable of destroying them. From the whole event, the only ones who would be able to benefit would be his own sister, Ling Meng’er, and the branch which he was from.
After he understood this point, many of his doubts in the past were cleared! Ling Meng’er, this naïve-looking sister whom he took such great care of, was actually hiding such shrewdness. She was actually able to plan so far ahead! Her ambitions were actually so huge!
Without a doubt, Ling Meng’er had been planning this Eastern Ocean scheme for at least five years! Ever since he was chased out of the sect, Ling Meng’er had plenty of opportunities to secretly save him. But she still chose to let him live in that hell for a full three years! Perhaps she had only completed the plan on the day she saved him. The most important piece of puzzle in the whole plan was himself. With his abnormal ability to calculate and set traps, as well as his deep understanding of explosives, Ling Tian was the rare genius in the family! Besides, he was prepared to die for revenge!
All of these would not materialize without a single piece of the puzzle. But Ling Meng’er was finally able to look forward to such a day! Now every piece of the puzzle finally fell into place!
After he understood all these, a chill rose from the depths of Ling Tian’s heart, turning even his limbs cold. The last shred of goodness in his heart also disappeared. At the same time, the gratitude he felt towards Ling Meng’er also became hatred!
No wonder his sister and everyone from his branch did not bother pleading for him when he was crippled and chased out from the family; they had already treated him like a tool – a tool for authority! The whole event of Ling Xue’er framing him was not only because of the direct descendants! It was also something that the second side branch was looking forward to! Crippling his martial arts and chasing him out of the sect was to eliminate the potential danger he posed to the direct descendants. Yet, he became a hidden nuclear bomb instead!
The planning process had actually occurred without any signs for a whole five years! It was no wonder then that Ling Meng’er sent him to the Eastern Ocean instead of all places in the world! The location for the wedding between Ling Xue’er and young master Huang had probably been decided a decade ago. At the same time, the plot which Ling Xue’er had been planning for was to strike them during the wedding!
Now, there was already a large amount of explosives buried under the Huang Family mansion where the wedding was going to take place! The explosives that were more than enough to transform a small hill into a small lake were silently buried under the ground, waiting to be activated. The only thing that was missing was someone to ignite it.
No matter who were to ignite the explosives, the person would die for sure! In this world, only a small amount of people would be willing to give up their lives for ideals. Not everyone would have the courage to sacrifice themselves like that.
However, Ling Tian was different! The only reason Ling Tian was still alive was for revenge! Ling Tian had an irreconcilable feud with Ling Xue’er! Moreover, after being humiliated by the direct descendants for three years, it was impossible for him to co-exist with them! In order to bring all these people to hell with him, he was willing do so even if it meant that he would die a horrible death. In fact, he was glad to do so!
After Ling Tian dialed the number, he only requested for a few important tools. At the same time, Ling Tian warned them not to make any rash moves! Before igniting the explosives, this mission solely belonged to him!
Ling Tian knew that if there were any anomalies, it would be enough to ruin the whole revenge mission. Hence, Ling Tian could not afford such a risk. Although he had unknowingly become a chess piece, he was still quite satisfied with his role!
Meng’er, my sister. Although you are only using me, I am thankful! Ling Tian became silently steadfast. Since you want that family and that position, then I will help you!
[1] The four arts of a Chinese scholar refers to the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting.