Chapter 239: Rigorous Schemes and Deep Foresight
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: DavidT , Rock
While Yu BingYan was still in a daze, Ling Tian had already placed his brush back on the table, coming back to her side.
"How do you feel?" After a while, as though afraid to break her contemplation, Ling Tian then softly spoke, his voice faintly discernible like the light drizzle of spring. It slowly wormed its way into her thoughts, breaking her out of that mysterious reverie.
"An exquisite and flawless portrait of mountains and rivers; and a set of severe sword techniques. I also sense a sort of mysterious cultivation technique, and also… an endless imposing manner. The artwork also contains your own line of thinking, as though your whole self had blended to become the artwork itself. This… what kind of realm is this in… Yu BingYan’s eyes remained glued to the painting, her state of mind still trapped within it as she spoke dreamily.
"If you could infuse your martial arts into your painting… weaving all the knowledge of your martial arts into the painting, making up for your deficiencies in being unable to cultivate, what a wonderful thing that would be." Ling Tian’s voice sounded like a wisp speaking to her, or perhaps an immortal voice descending from the heavens, burrowing deep into her subconsciousness, eliciting encouragement, desires… and hope!
This was actually a heart sutra that Ling Tian was skilled in, the Music of the Dream Immortal! It closely resembled hypnosis, but was much more profound than just plain hypnotizing the victim! This method was created by Ling Tian through observing the psychological therapy processes as well as the art of hypnotism, and its purpose was mainly to elicit confessions from people! However, Ling Tian found out that this heart sutra had the convenient effect of being able to subtly influencing a person’s thoughts, not just merely for confessions. As such, seeing Yu BingYan so lost in her own dreams, he decided to operate the skill and lend her a helping hand!
As long as Yu BingYan really digested this concept, and discovered how to fully integrate her martial skills into painting, then Ling Tian had the confidence to push her to greater heights! He would allow her to separate herself from the painting, removing her obsession that was ‘seeing the mountain as a mountain’. Only then could she truly integrate her abilities, and open up a new path in the way of martial arts!
"If I could infuse martial techniques into art… infuse martial techniques into art…" Yu BingYan muttered to herself, her eyes still focused on Ling Tian’s picture of the mountains and rivers. Her mental state was becoming more and more perplexed. In Yu BingYan’s eyes, the painting seemed to have transformed into a sword dance, and she felt as though she had been enlightened on something, but at the same time it was still out of her grasp...
Even after a long while, silence still reigned in the study. Not a single sound could be heard!
Knowing that Yu BingYan had already reached the crucial point, Ling Chen also silently stood by the window, not daring to make a squeak. She was not jealous of the prajna-like state of enlightenment that Yu BingYan was going through because she knew that as long as she wanted to learn, her young noble would pull out all the stops to make sure she mastered it!
Suddenly, a groan came out of Yu BingYan’s mouth, and her face turned pale as she lost consciousness. Luckily, she fell straight into Ling Tian, who had positioned himself behind her.
Ling Tian laughed bitterly to himself as it turned out that he was too impatient! While this lass had an iron will, her constitution was too weak and couldn't take the pressure, collapsing when she was one step away from success. However, she had already gotten a brief impression and the rest would depend on her hard work from now on. So long as she constantly recalled this feeling, one day she would definitely breakthrough the bottleneck!
***
Yu ManTang hurriedly went to the Yu Family’s signature building, the Moon Climbing Star Picking Tower. In his hand he held a piece of paper, and this mental state was anxious.
"Big brother, Xue Leng from Sky Bearing has sent us news. Take a look, what should we do now? Are we really going to stand on the sidelines?" Seeing Yu ManLou, he immediately spoke in an urgent tone.
Yu ManLou was poised in front of the table, practicing his calligraphy. Every stroke was written slowly and meticulously, and he didn't even turn his head to address the speaker, saying, "Second brother, come and see; has my calligraphy improved over the past few days?"
Yu ManTang didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, "Big brother, there’s a missive from Sky Bearing, it’s important news!"
Without batting an eyelid, Yu ManLou merely replied, "And what of it? Second brother, as a leader, one has to temper their will as well; not flinching even if a mountain collapses in front of him, and not batting an eyelid even at a sword rushing towards him! Your will still needs more tempering!"
"Uh…" Yu ManTang knew that his elder brother was right, so left without a choice he could only sigh and sit down at the side in a depressed mood. However, he found out that he couldn't sit still, and started pacing around the room.
A long time passed, at least an hour before Yu ManLou wrote his last word. He stood up in satisfaction, staring at his finished product with a smile, obviously pleased with his work.
"Second brother, what do you think of this set of calligraphy?" Yu ManLou seemed to have carefully spoken out, but it perfectly interrupted Yu ManTang who was about to speak.
"Good, this… the strokes are vigorous and fascinating, how beautiful!" Yu ManTang spouted some bullsh*t before diverting the topic, "Xue Leng sent a message…"
"En? You’re such a spoilsport…" Yu ManLou only raised his eyebrows in response, finally sighing in resignation. Tossing his brush aside, he spoke with an indifferent attitude, "Say it, what’s it about? Why are you panicking over such small matters!"
Yu ManTang finally let out a breath of relief, opening up the missive and reading out loud, "Xue Leng has delivered news, that Sky Bearing is now engulfed in a strange disturbance, one that they can't put a finger on. All the major powers have gathered there, but have all been suppressed by one person, and no one dares to move…."
Yu ManLou’s eyebrows shot up instantly, "Ling Tian has finally shown his true colors? Displaying strength far above all others, creating a huge show of intimidation?"
"Big brother is a genius!" Yu ManTang was thoroughly convinced by his brother’s talent, "This is indeed so! We have no idea as to why Ling Tian would suddenly make a move, killing five men from the XiMen Family, with one of them being their youngest child, XiMen Zhang! The whole of Sky Bearing is now in shock, and according to Xue Leng, Ling Tian’s ability isn’t inferior to third brother! There are also rumors going around that Ling Tian is a successor for Beyond Heavens!"
Yu ManLou laughed as he rapped as fingers on the table, "This makes more sense! If he had still remained hidden at this point, then I would be truly mistaken about him! Judging by the way he does things, he shouldn’t be from Beyond Heavens; however, who could actually raise such a frightening character? This is the answer I most wish to know!"
Leisurely returning back to his table, Yu ManLou continued, "Since he devised a plan to lure all the major powers to Sky Bearing, then he definitely has a scheme! But if he appears as the silkpants noble he normally is, then no one would bother to pay attention to such a licentious person, even if he’s the successor to the Ling Family of Sky Bearing! Thus, Ling Tian has to show off his influence! Throwing aside his previous image and showing the families how aggressive and tyrannical he is, only then could he suppress all the families! Only by doing so can he then proceed with the next part of his plan!"
Yu ManTang couldn't help but be startled. In front of his brother, what he deemed as a heaven shaking event in Sky Bearing seemed to have already been totally anticipated by his brother. He couldn't help but let out a wry smile, feeling a burden lifting off his shoulders. He then continued reading out the rest of the contents of the letter.
"Deng...deng...deng," Yu ManLou’s fingers rapped against the tabletop as he sank into deep thought. "Third brother wrecking havoc in Sky Bearing seems to be rude and impetuous but also seems to be part of Ling Tian’s scheme. However, this has no disadvantage to us and can in fact be used to proclaim the influence of our family. This only has gains and not losses for us." Yu ManLou concluded leisurely, "The problem lies within Yu BingYan and Ling Tian…" At this, Yu ManLou sank into contemplation as he furrowed his brows.
Yu ManTang also furrowed his brows, saying, "Big brother, I don’t think this matter is appropriate!" In the end, he only had this one daughter, so how could he calmly hand her over to Ling Tian? He immediately voiced his dissatisfaction.
Yu ManLou chided him, "What is inappropriate about it? This is a good thing, and we should put in all our efforts to make this happen!" Yu ManLou paused to let out a sigh before continuing, "Second brother, I know your heart aches for your daughter, but how can I not have any heartache for her too? I have no daughter by my side to begin with, and in my heart, she is as good as my daughter! A pity that fortune does not favor her, afflicting her body with this incurable disease that can't be solved by any panaceas. She can't live for much longer, but to think that on her is such a heavy family burden! Right now, she has finally obtained some measure of happiness, so how could we not grant her that? This could be her last and greatest wish! Don’t tell me, you are not willing…"
"Since big brother has put it that way, this young brother has no objections either." Upon digging up his heartaches, Yu ManTang only let out a long sigh and replied simply. The corners of his eyes already appeared wet as he continued, "Fulfilling her wish is also good, then she would not have been born without any purpose. Since big brother thinks so highly of that kid, then he's definitely suitable for Yan’er."
Yu ManLou’s eyes flashed with a weird light as he laughed, "That is so!" However, deep in his heart, he thought to himself, Yu BingYan can't survive much longer, and she could already be considered to have one foot in the grave! However, if she can complete her marriage vows with Ling Tian before attending the battle against the Water of Heavenly Wind, then Ling Tian will also become a target of the Shui Family! With such strength that he has displayed, he would create a nightmare for them, allowing our Yu Family to profit off it!
When the time comes, the Yu Family can use the excuse of a duel to decimate half the forces of the Water of Heavenly Wind! While our forces will be reduced, it would not be a vital loss, and the death god that is Ling Tian could just swoop in to settle the rest of the problem! As long as the Yu Family aids him, the Shui Family might just end up annihilated! When the time comes, wouldn’t the Yu family be left as the largest influential family in the whole of the three continents?