Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The Zhao Clan was ruled by Zhao Jin, the Guardian of the Mystical Sky Mansion. The person below him was his son, Zhao Deng. Following that would be the elders in Mystical Sky Mansion from the Zhao Clan.
Naturally, not all the elders from Zhao Clan carried the surname Zhao. Most of them were actually unrelated to the Zhao Clan, but since they were relying on Zhao Jin and Zhao Deng’s power, they could be considered as part of the Zhao Clan as well.
Among these people, there was no lack of Zhao Jin and Zhao Deng’s disciples as well.
If everybody in the Zhao Clan was grouped into a pyramid, Zhao Jin would be the one standing at the top of the pyramid. He was the leader of the Zhao Clan.
For this reason, his every word and action represented the will of Zhao Clan!
For example, if Zhao Jin, the Guardian of the Mystical Sky Mansion, fell out with Meng Qing, the Mansion Master of Mystical Sky Mansion, the Mystical Sky Mansion’s elders and disciples from the Zhao Clan would also stand behind Zhao Jin even if they carried a different surname.
It was precisely because of the Zhao Clan’s united force that their position was above millions and was only under the Mansion Master.
“Come up with a method to lure Ling Tian away from the estate and kill him with a sneak attack?” Soon after, the Mystical Sky Mansion’s elders and the disciples on the Mystical Sky Ranking from the Zhao Clan each received the order given by Zhao Jin.
Naturally, this was a secret order.
Although Zhao Jin had an extremely high position in the Mystical Sky Mansion, he still did not dare to openly kill someone in the Mystical Sky Mansion. There was still the owner of the Mystical Sky Mansion, the Mansion Master, around. The Mansion Master was someone even he was wary of.
“Ling Tian… This name… Isn’t he widely acknowledged recently as the strongest person among the younger generation in our Mystical Sky Mansion?” Many Mystical Sky Mansion’s elders and disciples of the Zhao Clan had been in closed-door cultivation for some time and had just come out. They had only heard that a monstrously talented Martial Cultivator below the age of forty who had already reached the peak of the Refined Saint Stage had joined the Mystical Sky Mansion.
As for the dispute between that genius Martial Cultivator and their Zhao Clan’s Little Young Master Zhao Ji, they had not heard about it yet.
“That’s right! It’s him!”
“What did he do? To think Lord Guardian personally passed down an order to kill him!”
“You must have just returned or come out from closed-door cultivation, right?”
“Yeah, I just came out from my cultivation yesterday.”
“No wonder… Ling Tian has offended our Zhao Clan to the point they can be considered as mortal enemies! Lord Guardian has said that he would adopt whoever who successfully lures Ling Tian out of the estate and kill him.”
“Seriously? Adopted son or daughter? The adopted child of Lord Guardian would be brothers with Lord Zhao Deng!”
“I’ve already confirmed this news so it’s impossible for it to be fake!”
“Looks like Lord Guardian really treats Ling Tian as his mortal enemy. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a promise. Hurry! Tell me how did Ling Tian offend Lord Guardian and the Zhao Clan?”
“Ling Tian is really too much. Previously, he had publicly slapped Young Master Ji twice in the summit of Heaven Palace. After that, he even eliminated Young Master Ji from the Saint Martial Secret Zone after three days. Young Master Ji had yet to locate any Divine Ability Relics, let alone Divine Abilities.”
“No wonder! The Saint Martial Secret Zone is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Treating Young Master Ji in such a manner is equivalent to ruining the future of our Zhao Clan. Coupled with how fond Lord Guardian is of Young Master Ji, who else would Lord Guardian kill if not Ling Tian?”
Soon after, everyone from the Zhao Clan in the Mystical Sky Mansion’s estate began to enthusiastically make their moves. After all, they would be able to become the adopted child of Guardian Zhao Jin if they managed to lure one person out of the estate before killing him.
This was a good opportunity to rise up into the sky and become a phoenix. Naturally, no one was willing to give up this golden opportunity.
Duan Ling Tian was, naturally, unaware of all this. It was not only Duan Ling Tian, but the others from the Mystical Sky Mansion did not know about this as well.
Although this news was widely spread among the Mystical Sky Mansion’s elders and disciples from the Zhao Clan, it did not leak out at all. Based on this, one could see how powerful and united the Zhao Clan was. It seemed as though there were no chinks in their armor at all.
Many Mystical Sky Mansion’s elders and disciples from the Zhao Clan began to make their way to the Heaven Palace where Duan Ling Tian lived. However, they soon discovered he was in closed-door cultivation. They did not see him at all even after waiting for more than two weeks.
Many people began to leave one by one.
Naturally, there were some who remained. It was as though they would not rest until Duan Ling Tian came out of closed-door cultivation.
Another two weeks went by, there were hardly any people left from those who had remained behind.
‘I guess I’ll just wait until he comes out from closed-door cultivation before I come again to lure him out. Waiting here is just pointless. Moreover, this will only attract other people’s attention.’ These were the thoughts of many Zhao Clan’s elders and disciples before they left.
The very few people who remained behind, on the other hand, were all Mystical Sky Mansion’s disciples from the Zhao Clan. Moreover, they were also at the Early Eminent Saint Stage. All of them wished to become Guardian Zhao Jin’s adopted son by killing Duan Ling Tian. At that time, their position would rise quickly like a rocket.
No matter how busy it was outside, Duan Ling Tian remained in the third level of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda. Currently, he was very close to breaking through to the Intermediate Refined Saint Stage already. If he was successful in breaking through, he would be an Intermediate Refined Saint Stage Martial Cultivator!
At that time, his Sun True Origin would rise again to the level equivalent to the True Origin of an Intermediate Eminent Saint Stage powerhouse.
“Once I break through, my strength won’t be inferior to Intermediate Eminent Saint Stage powerhouses even if I don’t rely on my brute strength or external tool! Not only that, but I’ll be able to easily defeat most of the Intermediate Eminent Saint Stage powerhouses by relying on the profundity of the second stage of the Sovereign Heart Sword’s second stage and the sword technique!” Duan Ling Tian began to feel more excited when he was on the verge of breaking through.
At this moment, he was completely unaware there were many people waiting outside, wanting to kill him. Only by killing him would their position rise, and they would be able to make a name for themselves.
“Adopted son? Adopted daughter?” Zhao Ji who was in closed-door cultivation for an entire month finally came out. The first thing he heard was the promise his grandfather made to the Mystical Sky Mansion’s elders and disciples in the Zhao Clan. He was momentarily stunned.
“I can’t believe Grandfather made such a promise for my sake!” The moment Zhao Ji thought of this, a smirk appeared on his face. “Ling Tian, I’d like to see just how long you’ll be able to live!”
This was the first time he had seen his grandfather going to such great lengths to kill someone. He believed his grandfather’s promise was enough to tempt 90% of the people from the Zhao Clan.
They would even risk their lives for the sake of this promise!
Soon after, Zhao Ji also learned it was his father’s turn to monitor Xu Jing, the Young Mansion Master of Rising Sky Mansion.
Currently, Xu Jing’s souls had yet to recover, and he remained in a comatose state. He was also being locked in a secluded and secret room in the Main Mansion of the Mystical Sky Mansion.
The secret underground room was constantly being monitored by Vice Mansion Masters from the Mystical Sky Mansion who took turns every month.
With the Vice Mansion Masters of Mystical Sky Mansion monitoring him, very few people in the Lower Province of the Dao Martial Saint Land would be able to bring Xu Jing away.
Moreover, if someone wanted to kidnap Xu Jing, the Vice Mansion Masters were only the final obstacle. That person would have to go through many elders and disciples who patrolled around the Main Mansion of Mystical Sky Mansion.
As for this month, Zhao Ji’s father happened to be on duty.
“Since I have nothing to do, I might as well go see Xu Jing! It seems like I’ve met him once before. However, since he’s only a mere fourth-rate force’s Young Mansion Master, I did not pay any attention to him.” In the Mystical Sky Mansion, it was extremely hard for an ordinary person to enter the secret underground room, but it was easy for Zhao Ji to enter the room.
This was because he was the Little Young Master of Zhao Clan.
Even the patrolling elders and disciples around the Main Mansion of Mystical Sky Mansion and the guards inside the Main Mansion had no choice but to give in to Zhao Ji in consideration of Guardian Zhao Jin and Vice Mansion Master Zhao Deng.
“Fathe…” For this reason, Zhao Ji arrived outside of the door of the underground secret room unobstructed. Before he could even finish calling out for his father, someone had appeared out of thin air, emitting terrifying killing intent.
Horror dawned on Zhao Ji when he felt the killing intent aimed at him, and he quickly said, “Father, it’s me.”
“Ji’er, why are you here? Aren’t you in closed-door cultivation?” The person who had appeared out of thin air outside the secret underground room was none other than one of the Mystical Sky Mansion’s Vice Mansion Masters.
It was Zhao Ji’s father, Zhao Deng!
Zhao Deng quickly withdrew the killing intent on his body when he saw it was his son.
“Father, I just came out of closed-door cultivation, and when I heard you’re here, I decided to come see you.” Zhao Ji chuckled.
“That’s a lie, right? The truth is you came to see Xu Jing, the Young Mansion Master of Rising Sky Mansion, right?” Zhao Deng was Zhao Ji’s father. How could he not know what his son was thinking?
Zhao Ji chuckled awkwardly.
“Did you achieve anything during your closed-door cultivation this time?” Zhao Deng asked.
“I’ll definitely be able to break through to the Mastery Refined Saint Stage during the next closed-door cultivation!” Zhao Ji said solemnly and sincerely.
“Oh?” Zhao Deng’s eyes lit up immediately as he nodded. “Not bad! You should be able to break through to the Mastery Refined Saint Stage before Gao Peng from the Heaven Palace does… Although it can’t be compared to Ling Tian, it’s still quite good!” Zhao Deng had subconsciously blurted out the last sentence.
The moment the words left his mouth, he immediately knew he had said the wrong thing.
As expected, he saw Zhao Ji’s expression turned grim immediately. He quickly tried to mend the situation. “Ling Tian won’t be able to live for long. I’m sure you’ve already heard about your grandfather’s order and the promise he made, right? He didn’t even ask for my opinion and arbitrarily decided to find me a sibling just to seek revenge for you.” When Zhao Deng reached the end of his sentence, he could not help but sigh as well.
It looked like his position as a son in his father’s heart was inferior to his own son.
However, it was his own son after all so Zhao Deng was not jealous. He only sighed emotionally.
“With Grandfather’s order and promise, Ling Tian will definitely die!” Zhao Ji’s eyes flashed coldly with killing intent.
