Ao Feng sneered, “Twenty years ago, you were already a loser. That is the case now, and so will it be in future!”
“Then let’s battle!” Ling Dong Xing’s fighting spirit soared as he stepped down with his sword in hand.
Yuan Cheng He could not help but turn towards Ling Han, his gaze quizzical.
Ling Han nodded, and indicated for him to do as said.
With his current prowess, even if Ling Dong Xing really couldn’t match Ao Feng, Ling Han would still be able to rescue his father in time.
Yuan Cheng He released the binds on Ao Feng to allow two men who had developed an enmity twenty years ago to battle for the last time here.
Ling Dong Xing summoned the Demon Birth Sword.
Yes, Ling Han had given this Level Ten Spirit Tool to his father. Although Ling Dong Xing was not able to activate even a single pattern on the sword, a Level Ten Spirit Tool was still a Level Ten Spirit Tool. Merely the sharpness of it was nature-defying.
While Ling Dong Xing had little talent in martial arts, and could merely be considered a somewhat talented person, he was definitely not a genius. He had Ling Han’s full guidance, but even so, he could only manage to form a single flash of Sword Qi.
That was enough; a flash of Sword Qi would enable him to borrow on the might of the Demon Birth Sword, and the destructive power that he could display was unbearably terrifying.
After all, the might of Sword Qi was influenced both by the cultivator and the sword used; how could a Level Ten Spirit Tool be anything but awesome?
Ling Dong Xing and Ao Feng were embroiled in a fierce battle.
A feud that had been buried for twenty years finally exploded. The two men exchanged blows, and Sword Qi danced and Origin Power collided. Both released their strongest abilities.
In theory, Ao Feng was definitely stronger. He had broken through to the Flower Blossom Tier a few years ahead of Ling Dong Xing, and his knowledge of how to use power on the level of the Flower Blossom Tier was far superior to Ling Dong Xing’s. Moreover, he had formed as many as nine flashes of Sword Qi, and was just a single step away from forming ten flashes, at which point he had hopes of solidifying his Sword Qi into Sword Ray.
In comparison, Ling Dong Xing had merely grasped a single flash of Sword Qi. However, he possessed a Level Ten Spirit Tool.
The Sword Qi that was unleashed by the Devil Birth Sword was incredibly severe, and completely crushed Ao Feng’s Sword Qi. Upon contact, Ao Feng’s Sword Qi was shattered; it completely was not qualified to match it.
Peng, peng, peng . The more Ling Dong Xing fought, the stronger he became. He had consumed an unknown number of Spiritual Herbs, but did not manage to make use of all their effects. A lot of their essence was acc.u.mulated in his body, and with this battle, all this essence instantly circulated and was endlessly absorbed by him.
This was akin to his energy being continuously replenished. On the other hand, Ao Feng’s Spirit Base had been shattered, and he could not possibly absorb Spiritual Qi with his Spirit Base anymore to convert into his own Origin Power. He could only depend on continuously taking alchemical pills.
However, alchemical pills would induce the development of immunity. The first pill would produce full effects, the second would only have ninety percent effect, then slowly declining to eighty, seventy, sixty percent and further.
In this way, the longer the battle went on, the weaker he naturally became, so how would he be able to match Ling Dong Xing?
After two hours of battle, Ao Feng had signs of loss of endurance. However, he, too, knew that whether it was Ling Dong Xing or Ling Han, neither could possibly spare him. In the end, he gritted his teeth in bitterness, and did not open his mouth to plead for mercy.
Every strike he delivered was deadly as he intended to destroy both himself and Ling Dong Xing even if it cost him his life so that he could drag the latter down with him.
Unfortunately, if it had been five years ago, Ling Dong Xing would naturally die with him without a doubt, but now, he had his wife, his son, and a grandson too, so how could he be willing to die with this great foe of his?
He merely strengthened his defenses, and waited until Ao Feng had expended all his energy. By then, his only fate would naturally be death.
“On the path to the Netherworld, I’ll wait for you both!” Ao Feng finally declared with a harsh voice and expression as he ran out of strength. His gaze was so venomous that he looked like he wanted to devour them.
Pu !
His chest was pierced through by a single strike from Ling Dong Xing. The Demon Birth Sword pierced his chest, and all signs of life were immediately completely destroyed. With a vital point struck directly by a Level Ten Spirit Tool, even a Heaven Tier cultivator could not possibly survive, what more when Ao Feng was merely in the Flower Blossom Tier.
Ling Dong Xing could not help but feel extremely rueful. He had initially thought that he could not possibly get his revenge in this lifetime, because he knew that Ao Feng’s talent in martial arts was indeed above his own. Moreover, the latter had a colossal existence like the Winter Moon Sect backing him up, so the gap between the two would only become larger and larger.
But who asked him to have a good son?
Ling Han did not start a ma.s.sacre. He had spared all of Ao Feng’s children. He was not one who enjoyed mindless bloodshed. In truth, as long as someone did not touch his bottom line, he had always been one to opt for peaceful discussion before violence.
At the same time, he was a lazy person.
When he discovered that Helian Xun Xue had exceptional leaders.h.i.+p talents, he had her take charge of all national matters. She was, after all, a member of a royal clan in the Northern Sea, and how big was the Northern Sea? She had confidence to manage even the enormous Northern Sea, what more when the current territory was only so small.
Helian Xun Xue accepted the task gladly. In her eyes, this throne would naturally belong to her own son in future, so what would be wrong with helping out her son? However, in front of outsiders, she changed her appearance with the use of the Disguise Pill to avoid being found out by the Sea Race.
As for the territorial expansion, with Yuan Cheng He and Li Feng Yu as great generals and the Rock Spirit as support, there was no place that could not be subdued—at least not in the north region—so he was naturally at ease.
There were others to handle both internal and external matters, so what else did he have to worry about?
If he had to do everything himself, then what was the use of so many followers?
He very happily became a man who told others to work but did nothing himself. He only had one request, and that was to pacify the hearts of the people and prioritize stability. That was because the purpose of the expedition was not to expand his borders, but obtain the power of the nation. Only when the hearts of the people were loyal would power of the nation be strong.
Under Ling Han’s command, the Great Ling Nation 1 began a wide recruitment of troops, and laid out extremely attractive conditions. Another aspect was to improve the lives of the people so as to allow every citizen to have the opportunity to cultivate and, at minimum, be able to reach the fourth or fifth layer of the Body Refining Tier to keep them fit so as to raise the living standards of the whole nation.
Due to Zhu Xuan Er’s strong suggestion, Ling Han decided to take a trip to the Half Moon Sect.
If they could recruit the Half Moon Sect, they would be able to avoid bloodshed, which would also make Zhu Xuan Er feel better. After all, this was her sect.
Ling Han and Zhu Xuan Er naturally could not be absent. Helian Xun Xue, meanwhile, remained behind to handle national matters. Liu Yu Tong and Li Si Chan continued to accompany Ling Han’s parents, and only Hu Niu, Rabbit, and the Gold-seeking Rat followed.
Ling Jian Xue had not been weaned off his milk yet, so he naturally could only stick with Helian Xun Xue, but Ling Han had purposely subdued a few White Jade Cows that were still nursing so as to avoid his son not having enough milk. The milk produced by this type of Demonic Beast was the most nutritious.
This naturally made Helian Xun Xue very displeased. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were just a little small, but she really had abundant milk, all right?
Ling Han and the others set out and advanced towards the Half Moon Sect. Seven days later, they arrived at their destination, and with Zhu Xuan Er to inform the sect of their arrival, they soon received summons. Next, Ling Han revealed a bit of his prowess, which naturally intimidated the Half Moon Sect.
Added with the fact that Zhu Xuan Er would become Ling Han’s beloved consort in future, which meant that after the Half Moon Sect surrendered their allegiance, their status would not decline, the higher-ups of the sect made a most wise decision—resistance would be undoubtedly fatal, so was there need to still consider which choice to make?
This could be considered a conclusion that everyone was satisfied with.
Ling Han did not immediately return, but instead set out towards the Agriculture Enclosed Mountain.
This was where Zhu Xuan Er’s Master experienced a Dao injury. Ling Han had been very interested when he heard about it. However, at that time, his power was inadequate, so he had set the idea aside. Now, his battle prowess could match the Heaven Tier, so he was naturally full of confidence.
Another seven days later, they arrived at their destination. This was the westernmost area of the north region. If they traveled a bit further, they would reach the region barrier separating the north region and the west region.
Agriculture Enclosed Mountain, Eaglewood Valley. This was a forbidden land.