Chapter 479: The Top Brass Discusses
Translator: chuchutrain Editor: Rock, DavidT
"You're not interesting at all!" Ling Tian grumbled.
"Not interesting is far better than not being alive, won't you say so?" After contemplating for a while, as though in disapproval of Ling Tian's words, Yu ManLou spoke.
Ling Tian was startled before letting out a smile. "I'll take back my previous words then. You are really interesting!"
One moment saying that he was boring, the other interesting, Yu ManLou didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He could only laughingly scold out, "F**k! So am I interesting or not? What are you playing at?!"
Ling Tian instead opened his eyes wide, his eyeballs almost falling off as though he had seen a real life dinosaur in a city as he stuttered, "You… you… actually said a mouthful of crass words! I never would have thought that the catchphrase of Third Master Yu would come out from your very own mouth!"
Yu ManLou, however, sighed in contentment, his entire body relaxing as he replied, "Indeed, it's been a long time since I last felt this way. Do you know, when you burst out into laughter just now, I was certain of killing you in more than ten ways, and when you glared at me, I at least had seven to eight chances? I can see that you really do not have your guard up against me at all, that even facing an enemy that wishes to kill you before anything else, you still are not wary! Why is this so? Give me a reason, I'm very interested in this!"
Ling Tian smirked inwardly to himself, Did you think that I was completely off guard? You might as well ask me to strip naked and seal off all my acupoints before throwing myself into a nest of vipers! This young master's preparations aren't something you can easily see, with your current knowledge of only this era! However, what he said was completely different, "It's only because I believe that the Yu Family Head is not such a despicable and shameless person. A family with a millennia worth of background has to live up to a certain expectation. Does Family Head agree with this?"
Despite hearing the thinly veiled insults towards him, not only did Yu ManLou not get incensed but rather heartily laughed out as he replied, "Well spoken! No matter if it's your true thoughts or not, I still feel very pleased hearing that! As such, in your heart, what kind of person do you think I am?" Yu ManLou suddenly asked in a serious tone. The eyes which he used to gaze at Ling Tian, seemed to say that he viewed this very seriously.
However, Ling Tian only laughed out in a crafty manner before replying in turn, "In your heart, what kind of person am I, Ling Tian?"
To this teasing reply, Yu ManLou actually closed his eyes, contemplating for a long time. Only then did he open his mouth to say, "If I did not exist in this world, then many years later, you would probably be the only person to rule these lands!" This praise was not small, and coming from the Yu Family Head's mouth, the weight of such words was akin to Mount Tai itself!
"Family Head is over-promoting me." Ling Tian only let out an indifferent smile. "However, as chance has it, this is exactly the same thought that I have of Family Head." His eyes narrowed. "If I was not alive, then many years later, Yu Family Head would definitely be the one to rule all under the heavens!"
"That's why I must kill you today! Be it for myself, or for the future of the Yu Family!" Yu ManLou laughed out in an abnormal way, even though the content of his words was frighteningly scary. At the same time, the gleam in his eyes suddenly sharpened. In the process of conversing, he had found out that the advantage had long been grasped by Ling Tian, letting himself shiver all over. At this time, he could not hold in the urge of killing intent towards Ling Tian!
"Perhaps, in this entire world, you're the only person who can understand me." Ling Tian sighed as he exclaimed, "But if we look at it again, maybe the only one who can understand you in this world is me. This is because our end goals are the same, to the point that even the methods we use are also similar. In my opinion, if there is no accident, the global war in the future will definitely be started by our very hands. What do you think?!"
A tiny spark of pride flickered past Yu ManLou's eyes, even as he nodded, "Based on the current circumstances, it would seem the case. Unfortunately, you no longer possess such a chance, because there's a high chance I'll kill you the next moment, and to a dead person, a chance to start a war does not matter."
Yu ManLou felt stifled; even with his current strength far outstripping Ling Tian, he had still fallen to a disadvantage in front of him. Thus, he did not wish to follow along Ling Tian's thread. However, every time Ling Tian spoke, he would immediately scratch on the sensitive spot on Yu ManLou's heart, causing him to react adversely. It could also be his own sixth sense telling him that, if he did not retaliate, he would fall into an even greater disadvantage. But if he were to reply, then that would mean falling into Ling Tian's traps. This was really the case of being trapped between a rock and a hard place. Or else, with his grand identity as a family head, how would he be reduced to threatening someone with his life and death?
Ling Tian, however, shook his head with certainty. "You definitely won't, at least not in the current window. With this situation now, how could you even bear to kill me?"
"And why so? Give me another reason!" Yu ManLou laughed out in ridicule. "Till now, I still cannot come out with a reason to not do so, and my greatest wish is still to eliminate you! As for you, you had the chance to escape at the start. But now, you do not even possess the slightest bit of a chance."
Ling Tian ignored him, instead raising his head up to look at the small patch of blue sky currently revealed through the cracks of the tree's canopy on top of them. He leisurely said, "I've always thought what a fascinating scene it would be if I was able to have a leisurely talk with my greatest opponent. Whoever won or lost in the end, this conversation will be recorded down in the annals of history, passed down to the ages! Thinking of it, one's heart would also get infatuated, as this is proof of one's mark on this world. As such, I've always thought about what sort of scenario would happen if the two of us ever sat down together."
"No matter how you think, it will only end with a forfeiture of your life!" Yu ManLou callously spat, throwing aside his original demeanor, with his killing intent now billowing out all over the place.
The third battle ended as Ling Tian's overwhelming victory! He had completely taken control of the flow of the conversation, and while Yu ManLou had tried to break out of the scenario present, using his trump card of killing Ling Tian, the latter had not even given him the chance to follow up, pulling further and further away from him.
Ling Tian only chuckled, before his expression suddenly grew grave as he seriously said, "Dare I ask Family Head, if I did not exist, then what's the best estimate of the time required for you to unite all under heavens?!"
Yu ManLou received a shock at his words. From Ling Tian's tone, he realized that this was the main course of today's conversation! As he pondered over this question, just as he was about to confidently reply to him, he realized that whatever answer he had, they all were unsuitable after some thought.
Five years? That was an impossibility. Three years later would be the Generational Battle between the Yu and Shui Families, and after the battle, whoever won or lost, there would definitely be injuries to both families. If they wanted to recover in two years to conquer the world, that was the dream of a fool!
Then a decade? With the Xiao and DongFang families still present, and with the handicap posed by the Beyond Heavens and Above Heavens Sect, that was unlikely too.
Taking a step back, two decades? While he had the confidence to complete this matter by then, he would have lost all his imposing manner! What a pathetic answer he had. After two decades, he would be an ancestor with one step into the coffin, and by then what was the point of being a hegemon?
Ling Tian had obviously calculated a rough estimate of the time Yu ManLou needed and knew where his hesitation lay, thus he started to laugh out loud.
His face reddening in embarrassment, Yu ManLou could only snap angrily, "Then this old man will ask you, Ling Tian, how many years would you need to conquer the world without me being present?!"
The laugh coming from Ling Tian was cut short immediately, he too being stumped for an answer. The Xiao, Yu, and Shui Families. Each one was a huge power unable to be ignored, and to speak of the time needed to conquer them would be a big question mark. Ling Tian might be arrogant, but he had not lost his head yet! To speak of settling everything within a decade, let's not talk about Yu ManLou not believing it, even Ling Tian himself did not believe he could actually pull it off!
It was Yu ManLou's turn to cackle in schadenfreude, as he mocked in revenge, "Seems like you can't even give an answer to the question you posed!"
"That's right. For this question, both of us cannot answer with any guarantee. The world as a chessboard, with its infinite changes, nobody can predict the next move with certainty!" Ling Tian honestly admitted, "However, I would like to pose a question to Family Head then. If you were to kill me right now, then in my most conservative estimate, you would still need at least another fifteen years of warring from north to south, before you can achieve your plan of conquering all under heavens. If we were to throw in the variables in Heavenly Wind and Heavenly Sun continent, then maybe thirty years might not even be enough. Might I ask then, how old is Family Head currently?"
Yu ManLou's hand, while stroking his goatee in satisfaction, suddenly froze as his expression grew dark. This was his sore spot, and he started to exude the aura of a dangerous beast!
"According to my sources, Family Head should be 49 years old this year." Ling Tian only continued with a cold smile. "Even if we compromise and take the rough estimate of twenty years, you would have conquered all under heavens at the ripe old age of 70. By then, can you still taste the pleasure of ruling all under heavens?"
Yu ManLou raised his head, a sharp yet wounded look in his eyes.
Ling Tian, however, ignored it, callously continuing, "Even if you can finish your career in twenty years, you would be 70 years by then. How many years can you seat on this treasured seat? One year? Two? Maybe, three?! Hahaha… your martial skills might be profound, but you are no god, and you are definitely no immortal! There will be a day when you meet your maker, and when that happens, what are you going to do?!"
Ling Tian barked out in laughter, before harshly spitting out, "Becoming a monarch at 70 years of age! Seventy!! Even if you become a monarch, what use is there? Even if you rule all under heavens, how long more time would you have to fulfill your grand ambitions? Don't tell me, that your aim is to get the treasured seat of the heavens to die in?! To ensure that your rotten meat weighing over fifty kilograms has a beautiful place to die in?!