Chapter 527: Parting on Bad Terms
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
With regards to the Shui Family, both Ling Chen and Li Xue were extremely displeased. However, on account of the fact that the Shui Family members had come here from afar, the two ladies discussed for a moment before choosing to give the Shui Family some face.
That day, Li Xue, Ling Chen, and the fully recovered Ling Jian went together. It could be said to be giving Shui QianRou a great deal of face. However, before the negotiations even began, Ling Jian had almost drawn his sword to kill! Both parties had fallen out with each other!
It was for no other reason other than the three Shui brothers being unable to control themselves when they saw that the partners of their cooperation were actually two country-toppling beauties like Ling Chen and Li Xue! After finally being able to control themselves, they could not help but begin flirting. The three brothers felt that with their status as a Shui Family member, coming from one of the two greatest families on the three continents, cooperating with the Ling Family was already far beneath their status. Now that they had their eyes on the Ling Chen and Li Xue, with the difference between their status, wouldn't getting those two ladies be as easy as beckoning their fingers?
As such, the words of the three Shui brothers were extremely frivolous and they even showed signs of wanting to put their hands on them. Before Li Xue or Ling Chen could blow up, Ling Jian who followed them there flew into a rage! With a single slap, he sent the most arrogant Shui QianHu flying and made him lose a few of his teeth. Before Shui QianHu could get back up, Ling Jian stepped on him and pressed him onto the ground. According to Ling Jian's intention, Shui QianHu should just be executed!
After both parties did all they could to dissuade Ling Jian, they finally managed to save Shui QianHu's wretched life. However, it was already impossible for both parties to talk about cooperation at this moment and they parted on bad terms. Before the Shui brothers left, Ling Jian had shouted out arrogantly, "If you guys still want to talk about a cooperation, it is best for all of you to behave obediently! If you guys don't want to talk about a cooperation, then scram out of Sky Bearing quickly!"
Before the three Shui brothers could even retort against what Ling Jian had said, Ling Jian made a new decision: The Ling Family would not be in charge of the meals and accommodations of the Shui Family! Every member of the Shui Family must pay fifty taels of silver for food and accommodation! If they couldn't afford it then they should scram!
Just when the Shui Family members had flared up in anger and a huge fight was about to break out, the world famous First Pavilion Head unsheathed his sword and diced up a gigantic tree 100 feet away into a pile of firewood! He then raised his sword towards the Shui Family members and glared at them coldly!
The Shui Family members immediately went silent from fear! Especially Shui QianHu who had just escaped death felt thankful in his heart. If not for the fact that he was injured by Ling Jian, he would have definitely struggled and at that time, he would have probably turned into firewood!
While there were many experts of the Shui Family who came this time, not a single one of them could match Ling Jian's attainment of the sword! The might of this sword had completely stunned the Shui Family members!
Then, this world-famous assassin pointed his sword at the three Shui brothers and said arrogantly, "If you guys want to continue this discussion, pick another date and be sure to behave obediently! If you guys don't want to continue this discussion, pay up and scram! If anyone of you dares to look at the two ladies in a lecherous way or flirt with them, this daddy here doesn't mind cutting off their tongue or gouging out their eyeballs!"
Facing Ling Jian's majestic might, all the members of the Shui Family including the six elders became extremely obedient and did not dare to even display a trace of anger… Their previous arrogance was also completely thrown out of the window…
Before they came to their senses, Ling Jian had already escorted the two Misses away!
Ling Jian's actions were undeniably extremely refreshing to Shui QianRou! Seeing the pitiful appearance of her three cousins, Shui QianRou felt overjoyed as she gloated over their demise. It had taken her all the strength she had to prevent herself from bursting out laughing.
With their prestige no more and face all gone, the Shui Family members silently went back to their temporary residence. Despite it being a short one-hour meeting, this short hour had given them an unbelievable amount of shock!
Who would have thought that the Ling Family that they had always looked down upon as a third-rate aristocratic family would have an expert at such a level? This was something that they had never imagined! The single sword strike that Ling Jian had just displayed was far too shocking. Such martial arts and such swordplay was something that even their thousand-year-old family would find difficult to match. In the eyes of Shui QianHu, Shui QianJiang and the other elders, Ling Jian's martial arts were at the level of the Shui Family's top-notch experts. If they wanted to find someone capable of suppressing Ling Jian, probably only their number one expert of the family, Shui WuBo, would be able to do so!
Shui WuBo was the number one elder in the Shui Family and was at the peak of Heavenly Wind. In his lifetime he rarely found a match and had never tasted defeat before. Even the Yu Family also listed Shui WuBo as the most dangerous person of the Shui Family, with the level of danger he posed being above the current Family Head of the Shui Family, Shui ManKong! If not for the fact that Shui WuBo didn't desire the authority of the Family Head and only indulged in martial arts, the position of the Family Head would have changed hands by now!
Another flaw of this person was that he was extremely overprotective! He did everything based on what he liked and there was no such thing as logic to him. As long as he liked someone, even if the person was incompetent, he would still support the person fully!
It was also because of such an existence in the Shui Family that the elders in the Shui Family would act in an extreme unbridled fashion. It was also because of him that the two younger brothers of the current Family Head were able to bring the other elders onto their side and build up a faction to oppose Shui ManKong! Especially during this period of time when Shui QianHuan and Shui QianRou failed in their mission and lost many men in Heavenly Star. The three brothers used some unknown method to gain the favor of Shui WuBo and sowed discord between the two factions, resulting in the internal fracture of the Shui Family and the loss of authority of the Family Head. This was also the reason for the three Shui brothers arrival.
Even if Shui WuBo is the number one expert of the Shui Family and was able to suppress all of their enemies singlehandedly allowing their Shui Family to rule over Heavenly Wind, there were still detriments because of his presence. As long as he supported someone and displayed favor towards anyone, a large storm would definitely result because of that. Take this time for an example, just because he looked at the three Shui brothers with favor, the upper echelons of the Shui Family began breaking into factions and the strength of the Shui Family began to weaken! Of course, this was something that Shui QianHu and his brothers would never realize. They would only be delighted in the fact that they gained the favor of this ancestor.
Upon personally witnessing how the Ling Family Courtyard had such a powerful strength, these few elders were naturally dumbfounded! The moment they returned to their residence, the first thing that the first elder did was to summon Shui QianRou.
"Princess Rou, is the teen who appeared today the spokesperson of the Ling Family, Ling Tian? He does indeed live up to the name of being a demon and is outstanding indeed!" Recalling the killing intent that the teen gave off, the First Elder still felt a lingering fear in his heart. But if this youth was Ling Tian, then everything would make sense.
"No, Ling Tian is still being chased around by the Martial Order Medallion owner Justice, and isn't in Sky Bearing at the moment." Shui QianRou shook her head, "The youth that you just saw is Ling Jian. He is Ling Tian's number one subordinate and has an extremely high martial arts attainment. However, he rarely shows his face and I have mostly only heard of him and rarely saw him. Perhaps the Ling Family viewed this cooperation highly and thus sent him to meet us!"
At the same time, Shui QianRou felt doubtful in his heart. The last time she saw him was when they were in the Smoky Thea Tower and his martial arts definitely weren't at such a level. How could he achieve such a huge improvement in his martial arts in just a short few months? It was as though they were two different people.
"Oh, I never imagined that such an expert would appear in the small Ling Family. We must reevaluate the strength of the Ling Family after today. Perhaps it is time for us to reexamine the cooperation with the Ling Family and there may be a large hope for it to be successful." The First Elder then pondered for a moment before saying slowly, "How do Ling Tian's martial arts compare to this Ling Jian?"
Shui QianRou began comparing both of them in her heart before saying carefully, "Based on my observations, Ling Tian's martial arts should be on par with his or even slightly stronger. However, he wouldn't be too much stronger"
The First Elder was shocked. "Does princess mean that Ling Tian isn't any weaker than Ling Jian and may even be superior?!"
"Ling Tian's martial arts attainment is extremely high. Even if he isn't superior to this Ling Jian, they would definitely be on par. Just based on the fact that he was able to emerge victorious in an army of a million people, his strength can be easily imagined!" Shui QianRou said with certainty.
The First Elder nodded his head with agreement. This was more reasonable. For Ling Jian to have such martial arts prowess at his young age, it would be akin to a miracle in any other families. Even in the Shui Family, there wasn't a genius like Ling Jian at all. If Ling Tian who had not appeared yet had martial arts far above Ling Jian, then it would be far too bewildering and illogical.
"Based on Princess Rou's views, what kind of an attitude should we take with regards to the cooperation with the Ling Family?" At this moment, the First Elder realized that Shui QianRou's words were extremely likely to be true and she, in fact, downplayed the strength of the Ling Family. If they were able to work together with the Ling Family, it would definitely be a joyous occasion. However, it was too late for regrets now and they could only attempt to salvage the situation. With regards to how they should salvage the situation, Shui QianRou who had the most contact with the Ling Family was undoubtedly the most suitable to voice her opinion. Thus, the tone which he used to question Shui QianRou was extremely gentle and humble.
"Cooperation?" Shui QianRou chuckled, "First Elder really knows how to joke. Do you think we are still able to cooperate with them at this moment? The three young noble Shui offended two of Ling Tian's beloved women and his most trusted aide in the first meeting. With Ling Tian being absent, everything in the Courtyard is determined by both Ling Jian and Ling Chen! Their daggers were already drawn after today! The present situation is extremely disastrous and if I were to be honest, it would be a good outcome if we do not suffer an attack from the Ling Family after today. Don't you think that it is a big joke for us to talk about cooperation under such circumstances?"
"Shui QianRou! What do you mean by that?" Shui QianJiang stood up in anger, "Before today, all of us didn't know their status either. Furthermore, it is the dream of all men to chase after a beautiful lady. What is wrong with us displaying our affection? Furthermore, we didn't know that they were Ling Tian's women before this. If the Ling Family acts in such a petty manner and uses this excuse to not cooperate with our Shui Family, it only goes to show their lack of sincerity!"
Shui QianHai by the side also began jeering, "That's right! Furthermore, why didn't you inform us about the Ling Family's strength in the first place and allow us to misjudge the strength of the Ling Family? The outcome today is a result of that and you cannot escape blame for sure!" After pausing for a while, Shui QianHai seemed to have thought of something and growled ferociously, "Perhaps you had your own insidious intent! You did that on purpose!"