"Brother Ma, you asked me to help you place the poison, and I've already done so. Helping you deal with this brat… does not seem to be a part of our agreement," Yu Zheng said slowly, as if he had not seen that Ma Lang was suffering.
Ma Lang knew that Yu Zheng was also a greedy man; he was no longer interested in the benefits he had promised him previously. Though he was reluctant, he could only say, "This brat must have discovered some kind of ancient secret trove to be able to progress from the second layer of Body Refining Tier to Element Gathering Tier within a short two months. He has even managed to form two flashes of Sword Qi. Just think, how very valuable would this treasure trove be? Let us join forces to force this brat to reveal this treasure trove, and we'll split the contents between the both of us equally! Our future prospects would be beyond measure!"
Yu Zheng had only known that Ling Han was an extraordinary young man, but he had never imagined that this guy had been so weak in the past. With such a colossal discrepancy between his past and present, it could only be explained by the fact that he had obtained some kind of ancient treasure trove.
Even a piece of trash could obtain such a complete transformation, then what if it was he who had obtained this kind of treasure trove?
His breathing became harsh, and killing intent revealed itself in his eyes. His killing intent was even directed towards Ma Lang as well. As long as he managed to obtain that treasure trove from Ling Han, he would definitely kill Ma Lang to keep things quiet.
"Very well, I shall help you!" As he said so, he removed the bundle he had been carrying on his back. From within he withdrew two daggers. There was a greenish light flickering from the sharp blades of the daggers. They had been dipped in powerful poison.
"Yu Tong, get rid of him!" Ling Han said casually.
"Understood!" Liu Yu Tong replied. Xiu, her figure flew forwards, making her seem like a descending deity.
Too fast!
In a flash, she had already appeared behind Yu Zheng. Her right hand forced his hand up, and Yu Zheng could not control the brandishing of the dagger he had been holding, which drew against his throat.
"Pu!"
Blood splattered, and Yu Zheng stumbled back. He used one hand to press onto the wound on his throat as the other frantically searched through his sleeve for the antidote. But his face quickly turned black, and when he finally drew out a jade bottle from his sleeve, his eyes had already lost all signs of life.
"Peng," he collapsed with his head raised. Till his final moment, he still could not manage to believe that he would actually die here, and furthermore, that such a divinely beautiful, cold as ice maiden would actually have such great power that he had not even managed to display a single technique before death.
Ma Lang was extremely shocked as well. He too had not imagined that Liu Yu Tong would be so powerful, and even be able to instantly kill Yu Zheng, a martial artist in the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier, in one move.
Such a genius, why was she willing to lower herself to stay by Ling Han's side?
"You still dare to be distracted at such a time, are you complaining that death is not coming fast enough?" Ling Han smiled coldly, and brandished his sword in a killing move.
Ma Lang raised his saber to parry in panic, yet was still forced to retreat about seven or eight steps by the shockwave from this move. Another wound appeared on his body.
"Let me see you off!" Ling Han brandished his sword once again, like a rainbow piercing through the day, presenting a dazzling image. [ED/N: Day or sun, quite ambiguous; day is more likely though]
This was the strongest move of Shocking Electricity Sword Arts, named Flash Strike!
Ma Lang gritted his teeth and raised his saber in a parry. But the saber missed, and with a "pu", he only managed to feel a sharp pain in his chest. His heart had been pierced through by the long sword, and the terrifying shockwave generated by this attack immediately exploded his heart.
Martial artists in the Element Gathering Tier had a strong vitality. Even though his heart had been exploded, he was not completely dead yet. He kept staring at Ling Han and his mouth opened and closed a few times, as if wanting to say something, yet he did not manage to produce any sound at all.
"After such a long battle, how could it be that I have not managed to seen through your moves?" Ling Han knew what Ma Lang wanted to ask, and replied calmly.
'You're a damn monster, we've only battled just a short while, and you've actually seen through my moves?'
Ma Lang was spitting out curses in his heart, and he finally breathed his last, unwillingly closing his eyes in death.
Ling Han withdrew his sword, and glanced over the scene. Ling Dong Xing had dealt with majority of the law enforcers, and even if any of them were so fortunate as to get away from him, Liu Yu Tong would immediately deal with these leftovers.
Meanwhile, Ling Zhong Kuan and his grandson, Ling Mu Yun, had also died under the powerful effects of the poison. Their eyes were fixed in a stare, filled with a powerful rage, though who knew who was it they hated the most–Ma Lang and Yu Zheng or Ling Dong Xing and his son.
"These two traitors, they've gotten off lightly!" Ling Han humphed. He had initially intended to kill the two of them himself.
"It's fine, they are, after all, clansmen of the Ling Clan. Dying in the hands of outsiders is good," Ling Dong Xing only sighed. He was, after all, the Clan Head, and so there were many more things he needed to consider.
They naturally need not deal with the bodies themselves. However, killing someone was easy, but dealing with the aftermath… Ling Dong Xing had a bit of a headache at this.
"Han'er, you and Yu Tong must immediately leave, go as far away as you can!" Ling Dong Xing had decided. He could remain behind and die with the Ling Clan, but his son was the hope of the clan. At the very least, he needed to ensure that Ling Han remained safe.
Ling Han smiled, and said, "Father, I had not done this act out of impulsiveness. We can let Chen Feng Lie deal with this issue."
"So many people have died, and there's even a disciple of Seventh Elder. Can he really solve the issue?" Ling Dong Xing asked, frowning.
"For the sake of his own life, he would definitely do all he can," Ling Han laughed. "Moreover, Yu Tong is the princess of the Liu Clan, one of the Eight Great Clans of the imperial city. If worst comes to worst, we can reveal her identity."
Yet Ling Dong Xing still shook his head. He naturally thought of his son as the best young man in the whole world, but would the Liu Clan think the same? When he recalled that his own wife was also the great granddaughter of the Third Elder of Winter Moon Sect, yet in the end, their conclusion was tragic… there was already a previous example.
Still, they really are real father and son, even the women they got to know were of such high, noble status.
He could not help feeling a little worried. As a father, he did not hope in the slightest for Ling Han to follow in his footsteps.
"Right, Yu Tong?" Ling Han had never been a father, so he would not be able to understand Ling Dong Xing's current thoughts. He saw how Ling Dong Xing still looked very worried, and misunderstood his father was still worrying about the issue of Stone Wolf Sect, so he asked Liu Yu Tong for assurance.
"En!" Liu Yu Tong nodded, her expression extremely solemn.
When Ling Dong Xing saw this, as someone who has had previous experience, how could he not be able to tell that Liu Yu Tong had already developed feelings for his son?
Hopefully this will not be another pair of star-crossed lovers! No, this will definitely not be an ill-fated romance, his son was better than him by a hundred, a thousand times, and in the future, he'd definitely be able to exceed the limitations of martial arts of Rain Country. So what would be inappropriate in marrying the daughter of one of the Eight Great Clans?
Ling Han immediately wrote a missive, and had a messenger deliver it at full speed to Stone Wolf Sect, addressed to Chen Feng Lie. If Chen Feng Lie was unable to deal with this matter, then he actually had an alternative solution, and that was Zhu He Xin. Zhu He Xin was a low-level Black Grade alchemist. Although he did not have a very high opinion of him, but within Rain Country, Zhu He Xin possessed quite a high status. At least he was someone that the Stone Wolf Sect definitely did not dare to trifle with.
…Liu Yu Tong was his little female attendant. It would be very embarrassing to be forced to make use of her background.
Chen Feng Lie received the letter on the third day. When he had finished reading the contents of the letter, he had almost been shocked to the point of heart attack, thinking how was it that this young master could be such a troublemaker? He had just killed off one Cheng Xiao Yuan, and now he's also killed Ma Lang and a whole law enforcement team.
Cheng Xiao Yuan was fine. He was Chen Feng Lie's disciple, and so what if he's dead? It's fine as long as Chen Feng Lie did not intend to pursue matters. But Ma Lang was Old Seventh's disciple, and was also the most excellent one of them. How could he bury this pit?
But he had no choice but to do it, for his life was tied to Ling Han.
Ling Han did not know how Chen Feng Lie had dealt with the issue. He only knew that two days later, the latter replied to his message and said that there was no longer any need to worry about anything.
Since this matter was already resolved, Ling Han decided to enter Seven Wind Mountains. There was still one month before the end of the year, and he needed to achieve at least the fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier to have a chance to compete for the first place in the Da Yuan Tournament.