Li Hong didn’t have a sword in his hands, but as his body moved, the subtle but sharp sword intent was everywhere in the deep night.
The sword intent was everywhere. It turned into a flash of bright, dazzling sword light as he rushed forward, and the big void was torn apart as the sword light went through it. Aresis and Li Honghe had disappeared completely.
The furious roars echoed in the border area one after another, calm and heroically tragic. The elites of the Li family who had been guarding on the border for the past twenty years kept rushing out of the jungle.
Fighting.
Only fighting.
Aresis showed up.
The Chant of Death fired.
The five combat team in the air appeared again. The light and shadows on the ground were shining and twisting in an extreme way. Finally, they expanded up to the sky, and the shaking sound echoed all along.
The whole battlefield had completely disappeared from sight. There was only light left behind.
Bright, tragic light.
Lin Fengting wanted to launch an attack for several times, but w.a.n.g Tianzong held him down tightly.
The Zhongzhou State Sword Emperor who had the perfect boldness and physical strength now looked pale and unfocussed, and there were confusion and sadness in his eyes. The light and shadows of the battlefield below shining crazily were reflected in his eyes. He held Lin Fengting’s body down and said peacefully, “This is the battle of the Li family.”
“Is this the reason why you just stand there and watch?”
Lin Fengting got rid of w.a.n.g Tianzong’s hands and said with a cold smile. This Patriarch of the Lin Clan who looked carefree and isolated from the outside world now looked cold in the eyes, and there were only thrilling sharpness and sword intent left in him.
“I have more important things to do.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong’s unfocussed face became calm. He took a deep look at the direction from which Li Honghe left and continued to say, “Fengting, now that you’re here, why don’t you come to Huating with me?”
Lin Fengting raised his sword-shaped eyebrows and squinted his eyes. Before he could say anything, w.a.n.g Tianzong already said again, “Don’t worry, Senior Li is fine. At least right now he’s fine. He ruined his own foundation. In his state, even I can’t beat him, let alone Aresis. I have witnessed this kind of things myself, so I actually have something to say. So we have won the battle of the border.”
Lin Fengting’s angry face moved, then gradually turned down.
He stared at the direction from which Li Honghe disappeared and didn’t say anything for a long time.
Li Honghe’s current state was weirdly strong. Lin Fengting had never seen this kind of state, but he heard about it before.
Judging from Li Honghe’s current age, even if he could use the strength of the Invincible Realm, his combat capability should be at the lowest. But thinking about his performance today, his combat capability was brought up to the peak instead of dropping.
There was only one explanation for this phenomenon.
In Martial Arts, this was called ruining one’s own foundation, or the last radiance of the setting sun.
When one was in his worst physical state, if he forcefully stimulated his every bone and muscle, making himself to resume or even surpa.s.s his peak state, what did this mean?
The so-called peak combat capability naturally appeared in someone who was in the golden age. Li Honghe was already really old, but right now he was enduring the power that he could endure when he was in his best physical state.
Li Honghe was amazingly powerful in everything he did, but his ending was destined.
It would only end in two ways.
If a human body was a jar, then the strength was the fire in the jar. The jar itself would get firmer and firmer, and the fire inside would get bigger and bigger; it would always keep a balance. But as time pa.s.sed by, in the process of the jar decaying, the fire inside would die out.
This was the irresistible natural law.
But what Li Honghe was doing now, was using a worn, broken jar to hold the biggest, strongest fire. The first outcome was the jar would be completely destroyed by the fire.
And the second outcome was no better than the first one. In the intense battle, Li Honghe would temporarily release part of the fire in the jar, but his body which had already lost balance couldn’t take the overly powerful strength. In the worn jar, the flames would get bigger and bigger, and the jar could barely hold the fire, but it would be destined to lose balance. The fire would keep eroding the rotten jar. In the end, the jar would slowly be burned into ashes.
This process was destined to be painful and twisted, but the ending could not be changed.
In the battle, if Li Honghe survived, his body would get weaker and weaker, but his combat capability would get stronger and stronger, till his strength and body completely broke the balance. By then, he would turn into a pile of ashes without anyone doing anything to him.
This could last for months, or even years.
w.a.n.g Tianzong had witnessed this kind of extremely horrible state.
More than twenty years ago, before w.a.n.g Tianzong entered the Invincible Realm, the Heroes’ Club, the superpower in America, united Fantasy World and the Polar Ground Alliance together and invaded Zhongzhou State. The old Patriarch of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, also known as w.a.n.g Tianzong’s father had joined the battle with Li Honghe. In that battle, facing the encirclement of three superiors of the Invincible Realm, the old Patriarch of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai had no choice but to choose this cruel method.
After this battle, the two superiors of the Invincible Realm died, and the other one ran away with heavy injuries.
And w.a.n.g Tianzong’s father managed to get back to the w.a.n.g family of Beihai. His body got weaker and weaker under the surging power. But as time pa.s.sed by, his combat capability became unimaginably powerful.
In that period of time, the old Patriarch got seriously injured, and w.a.n.g Tianzong hadn’t entered the Invincible Realm. That was the period of time when the w.a.n.g family of Beihai was the weakest, but still, no one in the whole Dark World dared to mess with them.
The old Patriarch managed to carry on for a few years. After w.a.n.g Tianzong successfully entered the Invincible Realm, he finally gave up fighting and pa.s.sed away with peace.
“Senior Li needs to fight now.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said calmly. He seemed to think about something. There was a bit of darkness flashing through his eyes. Then his eyes got dark again.
An armed helicopter was hovering in the air and getting closer and closer.
“Fengting, how about going to Huating with me? The situation is really serious. This time, I think we should have a proper conversation.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong suddenly said while watching the helicopter in the air far away.
“We can have that conversation now. From here to Huating, we have enough time.”
Lin Fengting took a deep breath. His whole body suddenly rushed up in the air and got into the helicopter cabin after w.a.n.g Tianzong.
The helicopter took a full turn and flew to Huating in full speed.
“Someone committed treason.”
The hovering sound of the rotors was mostly blocked outside the cabin. w.a.n.g Tianzong stared at the night view outside the window in silence, then he suddenly said.
Lin Fengting raised his eyebrows, then looked at w.a.n.g Tianzong without saying anything.
w.a.n.g Tianzong seemed to have a bit of headache, so he rubbed his forehead and said with a sigh, “It was found out not a long time ago. For this battle, the Border Control Corps actually prepared well. They didn’t have the power to fight off the murderous weapon and the superiors of the Invincible Realm, but they were well prepared in firepower.”
“But a few hours ago, someone secretly changed the pa.s.sword of the Border Control Corps a.r.s.enal and at the same time sent dozens of different wrong commands to the air force base nearby, which directly led to the battle of the border just now. We have weak airpower, and due to the change of pa.s.sword, Blood Battalion’s air defense force can’t be used in a short time. I had no choice but to use the Human Emperor. If this isn’t the case, that shot from Human Emperor would have hit Aresis. They indeed prepared well this time.”
Lin Fengting listened in silence. When w.a.n.g Tianzong finished, he nodded and said, “Do you have a suspect?”
“No.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong shook his head with a bitter smile. “There’s a secret investigation going on. Right now few people know about it; President Li Huacheng, the Permanent Minister of Army Headquarters Qi Beicang, Ye Dongsheng, me and Dongcheng Wudi. This is very important, but now it better remains a secret. We’ll talk about it when things in Changdao end.”
Lin Fengting answered coldly and said calmly, “You know this. I don’t care about these things. For Zhongzhou State, the Lin Clan is just a pa.s.senger. We only care about what we should care about.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong listened with a smile on his face, then shot a complicated look at Lin Fengting and said, “If you’re really that carefree, you wouldn’t be here today.”
“Don’t get me wrong.”
Lin Fengting shook his head and said, “I came here today, trying to be a lobbyist, and also to figure out something.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong took a deep look at Lin Fengting. After a while, he nodded and said, “Tell me about it.”
“The Li family!”
Lin Fengting’s eyes looked serious and sharp. He stared straight at w.a.n.g Tianzong in front of him and said in a low voice, “What happened to the Li family back then for them to end up like this right now?”
“And don’t say treason.”
Before w.a.n.g Tianzong could say anything, he waved his hand and said, “The treason was the outcome, but what started it?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong stayed in silence. Under Lin Fengting’s sharper and sharper gaze, after a while, he began to say slowly, “They were looking for a change.”
“Looking for a change?”
Lin Fengting frowned.
“The Dark World changes every day, and every superpower has its own goal. Also because they have their goals and they have to make changes based on their issues, the Li family fell down during the process of looking for a change. The multiple parties fight with one another, but they chose the wrong time and ended up like that.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said slowly, “The reason why the w.a.n.g family of Beihai didn’t do anything back then was that, first, doing nothing was better for the interest of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai. Secondly, it was the Li family’s own business.”
He stared at Lin Fengting’s eyes seriously and repeated again with a heavier tone. “It was the Li family’s own business!”
“What else do you know?”
Lin Fengting’s face looked more and more serious.
“I don’t know. Even if I know, I can’t be sure about it.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong shook his head and dodged Lin Fengting’s gaze, then said blandly, “The w.a.n.g family of Beihai also needs a change, and we will be on this road, too. The Li family took this step earlier, but if the w.a.n.g family of Beihai took the first step back then, we could stay the same if we succeeded. But if we failed, do you really think the Li family would help us?”
He stopped for a second and said coldly, “For what?!”
Lin Fengting closed his eyes and felt nothing but exhaustion.
“In this world, what is right and what is wrong? What is grievance? What is comradeship?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong sighed slightly and said while looking at Lin Fengting who looked exhausted, “Fengting, please stop asking anything about this. It can’t be explained.”
“I can stop asking about this.”
Lin Fengting twitched the corner of his mouth and said slowly, “But you should let go of the thing about Li Tianlan.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong’s face froze. Then he said with a calm face, “Let go?”
“Do you know the history of the Master of Samsara Palace?”
Lin Fengting asked in a soft voice, sounding exhausted inside and out.
“Do you know about this?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong asked back.
“She mastered the 24 Moves of Sword from the Li family. We all thought she was the successor of Senior Li. I’ll dig deep, and I believe you’re digging too. There’s absolutely nothing can be found about this person in our time, like she never exists. I think it’s not that she doesn’t exist, but we have been digging the wrong hole. If she has no relation with Senior Li and knows how to use the 24 Moves of Sword, then can you guess where does she come from?”
Lin Fengting asked.
w.a.n.g Tianzong’s body shook violently. He lifted his head rapidly and looked at Lin Fengting in front of him, saying word by word, “You mean, the Master of Samsara Palace is from the Lin Clan?”
“I’m not sure.”
Lin Fengting shook his head bitterly. “All these years, a lot of people couldn’t stand the boredom of the Lin Clan. They took the money, left, and traveled all around. Some seniors that are old enough to be our grandpas have left for fifty or sixty years without returning. I don’t even know if they’re still alive. There are so many people like them in the Lin Clan. It’s very likely that the Master of Samsara Palace is the descendant of these people. She could be my little sister or elder sister.”
“I can tell you the truth. I feel very upset about the falling down of the Li family. If Tianlan didn’t show up, I have decided to send Youxian to rebuild the Xuanyuantai. This is my thought, but the clansmen of the Lin family scattered outside don’t necessarily think this way. The Master of Samsara Palace found Li Tianlan, which proves it very well.”
“I know your character, and you will never let go of Tianlan. If anything happens to Tianlan and the Master of Samsara Palace does something to help him, if she asks the Lin Clan for help, what do you think the Lin Clan will do?” “You don’t care about the Li family, but you don’t even care about the att.i.tude of the Lin Clan?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong was silent.
The Lin Clan did everything secretly, but they absolutely had enough power to make everyone fear.
“Is this a threat?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said blandly after the silence.
“This is a piece of advice.”
Lin Fengting said calmly, “Everyone has been helping each other for hundreds of years. Are you really willing to see us fight?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong nodded slowly and said softly, “If you tell me all these a few months ago, or even a month ago, I would have changed my mind.”
“What about now?”
Lin Fengting’s face suddenly changed.
“Now it’s too late.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said in a cold tone, “It’s already too late.”
Lin Fengting sat up with a straight face and said calmly, “What do you mean?”
“Last time you went to Mount Dibing, didn’t you ask me where did Hongwei go?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said softly.
“That boy…”
Lin Fengting’s expression softened up a little bit. He said with a soft laugh, “Why? You said that was a secret. Now you can tell me?”
Jiang Hongwei, w.a.n.g Tianzong’s only direct disciple and the young man that Lin Fengting tried so hard to lure back.
The Jiang family of Beihai was an important part of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, and Jiang Hongwei was the only successor of the Jiang family. At that time, the Patriarch of the Jiang family hesitated between the Lin Clan and the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, and finally let Jiang Hongwei be w.a.n.g Tianzong’s disciple.
But in all those years, the w.a.n.g family of Beihai never heard from Jiang Hongwei. According to the calculation, Jiang Hongwei should be thirty-three years old this year.
A thirty-three-year-old man with Double Thunder Veins!
He got all the legacy from the Sword Emperor.
How scary he would be right now?
“All these years, he has been living in North America and in charge of a secret research inst.i.tute.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said calmly, “You must hear about that research inst.i.tute. There’s a drug named Surge among his studies. A few months ago, Samsara bought a dose of Surge through a special channel. They must have given it to Li Tianlan.”
“Is that a research inst.i.tute of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai?”
Lin Fengting frowned, then took a deep breath and said, “Then?”
“Then?”
w.a.n.g Tianzong laughed and said, “About half a month ago, Shengxiao taught Li Tianlan that move Against the Way of Heaven. And according to my secret research, Li Tianlan is no ordinary man. He went through the Fire-flaming Realm and straight into the Thunder-shocking Realm at the age of seventeen…”
Before w.a.n.g Tianzong could finish his sentence, Lin Fengting’s face had turned pale.
The Surge could improve a person’s combat capability by a realm.
Against the Way of Heaven was also the same.
It would be impossible if these two things had nothing to do with each other, and Li Tianlan had entered the Thunder-shocking Realm before…
This was a complete scheme!
A scheme of killing people secretly.
“You!”
Lin Fengting got up slowly with a cold face.
“I can promise you.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong said calmly, “If Li Tianlan survives this time, I won’t touch him within a few years, only on the condition that he survives…” “But now, everything is too late.”
“That research inst.i.tute in North America had been destroyed. Hongwei must arrive in East Island by now. Well, there still isn’t a second superior of the Invincible Realm in the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, but someone already has the combat capability of a second superior of the Invincible Realm… Right now, everything is too late.”
Lin Fengting suddenly turned around and looked outside the window.
It was full of darkness outside the window.
It was the darkest time before dawn again.
Time pa.s.sed slowly. In the night that kept getting darker, the morning sun was about to come.
Where there was night, there was morning.