Under the siege and assault of so many different parties, how could the Cheng Clan resist? They were instantly wiped out!
Perhaps there may be a few who have fortunately escaped, but with Ling Han’s current status in Da Yuan City, the survivors of the Cheng Clan would be ultimately detested by all. They’d have to keep running and hiding, or they’d definitely be apprehended and delivered straight to the Ling Clan.
…Who did not want to befriend Ling Han?
There were not many members of the previously flourishing Ling Clan who survived. Thus, Qi Yong Ye and the others did not leave immediately after eliminating the Cheng Clan. They left behind their people to assist the Ling Clan in taking control of the situation. But after such a battle, most likely no other party within the jurisdiction of the Da Yuan City would dare to make an enemy of the Ling Clan. Previously, more than one hundred different parties of varying power and might came to Ling Han’s aid, so who would not be terrified of seeing a repeat of this scene?
All the properties of the Cheng Clan naturally fell into the ownership of the Ling Clan. However, because the Cheng Clan had long been forced into economically dire straits, they were actually almost destitute. However, their minerals still existed, and so did their shop lots. With proper management, these properties would definitely be able to generate a massive income for the Ling Clan.
After staying at the Ling Clan Residence for about a day, Qi Yong Ye and the others excused themselves and departed. They were about to set off towards Hu Yang Academy, and since Ling Han would be going to the same place very soon, they did not depart with heavy hearts. After all, they’d be able to see each other again in a few days’ time.
Meanwhile, Liu Yu Tong entered seclusion in preparation to break through to Gushing Spring Tier, for she felt that she was really too useless. At a time when Ling Han needed his little female attendant the most, she couldn’t even do anything to help him, causing her to feel very dissatisfied with her current ability.
Thus, as soon as the danger was over, she immediately began the process of breaking through.
Ling Han also needed to stay for a while longer to help take care of some of the clan matters, so he decided to wait until Liu Yu Tong had broken through to Gushing Spring Tier before taking Ling Zi Xuan and Hu Niu with them to Hu Yang Academy.
The first item on the agenda was naturally the funerals of the clansmen of the Ling Clan.
Too many people had died; merely the funerals alone took seven days. Moreover, because too many of their clansmen had died, there was a need to replenish their manpower by a massive amount, or it would not be possible to manage so many different properties.
Ling Han was not of much help. He was an expert in alchemy and martial arts, but in such matters, he was completely inexperienced. Thankfully, Qi Yong Ye and the others left behind many of their own people to assist, and had promised that they would wait until the Ling Clan recovered before calling those people back.
In the meantime, Chen Feng Lie came once, bringing some news to Ling Han: Chen Peng Ju had indeed had a slip of the tongue after drinking too much, and the incident of Hang Zhan’s murder was known by someone else. That person, after much hesitation, finally decided to go to Stone Wolf Sect to tell this secret so that he’d be able to gain some benefits.
Who knew that he actually encountered Chen Feng Lie, and after Chen Feng Lie discovered the whole story, he immediately killed the man to keep him from divulging the secret.
Chen Feng Lie had come deliberately to express his good faith.
The current Chen Feng Lie no longer dared to have any thoughts of betraying Ling Han—how many parties stood behind Ling Han? Unless Chen Feng Lie had lost his senses, otherwise he would not dare to make trouble. Thus, Ling Han gave him the complete medicine formula to resolve his state of madness as a reward.
On the ninth day, an extremely powerful wave of power swept out from the inner courtyard of the Ling Clan Residence, and the terrifying pressure caused many elite martial artists of Gushing Spring Tier to feel as if their hearts and souls were pounding.
Liu Yu Tong had broken through!
Ling Han had been sitting in the middle of the courtyard in the midst of cultivation when a shapely figure flew towards him before stopping at his side. It was Liu Yu Tong.
“Not bad, eight days and you’ve broken through, your talent is truly not bad!” Ling Han smiled and nodded. Though he had previously given Liu Yu Tong much valuable experience in battle, but to be able to break through completely within a mere eight days, Liu Yu Tong’s talent in the field of martial arts was indeed extremely high.
Liu Yu Tong nodded, and in a firm voice, she said, “In the future, I will definitely not become your burden. Instead, I will be a helper you can depend on!”
“Haha, I believe you,” Ling Han said with a laugh. After some thought, he said, “Since you’ve broken through to Gushing Spring Tier, then I’ll teach you the third level of cultivation technique of the Three Yin Mysterious Arts. Once you’ve mastered that, you will never need to worry about falling unconscious again.”
“En!” Liu Yu Tong nodded, appearing slightly excited; this was a Heaven Grade cultivation technique, and for a martial arts maniac like herself, it was an irresistible temptation.
The two of them returned to the inner chambers, and Ling Han naturally again underwent a test of his own while he had been guiding her in the cultivation technique, causing his emotions to ripple continuously.
This young girl was indeed a demon. [1]
After much difficulty, he finally finished guiding her in the cultivation technique. Ling Han once again stepped out and continued to sit cross-legged in the courtyard.
Previously, the black tower allowed him to temporarily obtain the power of Gushing Spring Tier, but it only lasted for one hour. And the next time he wanted to make use of the power of the black tower again, he would have to wait until he has successfully broken through to Gushing Spring Tier.
However, when he has finally broken through to Gushing Spring Tier, he’d be able to gain a preliminary understanding of the secrets behind the black tower. He had no idea what kind of surprises awaited him then.
Additionally, Ling Han had also achieved the fifth layer of Element Gathering Tier by now.
The reason why he had been able to break through so quickly had been because after the blessing of the black tower had been used up, though the power he gained very quickly disappeared, it seemed as if a small portion of it had been left within his body. After a few days of “digestion”, this power now belonged completely to him alone.
Initially, he had only required about a month to complete accumulating enough energy to break through to the next layer, but now that he had obtained such benefits, naturally everything went smoothly, and as to be expected, he had successfully broken through.
With the stimulation of the Five Elements Origin Nuclei, his power would soar to the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier. If he fought with Qi Yong Ye again now, he should be able to achieve an absolute victory.
“My current battle prowess should be about fourteen Stars, right?” Ling Han mumbled to himself.
In the field of martial arts, there were many geniuses who could disregard the gap between their own cultivation level and their opponent to challenge someone much stronger than them. Their actual battle prowess did not correspond to their actual cultivation level, and so cultivation level was completely unable to measure the battle prowess of a genius. As a result, the world of martial arts possessed a different way to measure battle prowess, named as Battle Stars.
For example, if a genius whose actual cultivation level was only fourth layer of Element Gathering Tier was able to battle evenly with an opponent of the sixth layer of Element Gathering Tier, his battle prowess would be six Stars.
‘En, within the ninth layer of Element Gathering Tier, Li Dong Yue’s battle prowess was the weakest, so he only had ten Stars. Jin Wuji should have eleven Stars, and Qi Yong Ye, due to using the Son of Heaven Fist Technique together with three flashes of Fist Qi, should be able to reach thirteen Stars,’ Ling Han thought.
However, there were too many variables that could affect battle prowess. For example, if Baili Teng Yun wielded the Staff of Destruction, his battle prowess would be enough to soar to eleven Stars, but without this staff, his battle prowess would only be about nine Stars. He wouldn’t even be able to match Li Dong Yue.
Some people were the emotional type. Under great rage, or after drinking too much, their battle prowess would shoot up.
As a result, while cultivation levels did not change, Battle Stars were a variable. Only a real-time situation would be able to reveal how many Stars would someone reach at their best.
‘In my last life, although my cultivation level was the peak period of Heaven Tier, my battle prowess should be only about nine Stars, or ten Stars at most. I wonder what level could those freaks have reached?’
Ling Han shook his head. In his last life, he had spent his time either continuously concocting alchemical pills, or secluding himself to break through to the next cultivation level. Even when he had reached the highest he could go in terms of cultivation level, he still did not seek out the other six powerful warriors of Heaven Tier for a serious spar. When he recalled that, he could not help feeling a bit regretful.
And it was at this moment that the sound of a commotion was heard from outside. It quickly transmitted over to the inner court where he was, and became closer and closer. “Peng,” after only a short while, the commotion had spread to this courtyard—the door was heavily kicked open, and a tall, slender young man entered.
This person had an imposing appearance. He was dressed in embroidered clothing, a sword hanging from his waist. His expression was one of extreme arrogance, as if he wanted nothing more than to have his nostrils facing the heavens, making it seem as if coming here had been an exercise of utmost humility for him.
Behind him followed a group of servants of the Ling Clan. They were all underlings Qi Yong Ye and the others had left behind to serve Ling Han. All of them were covered in dirt, as if they had just been beaten up. Some even had their arms broken.
This one had not come with good intentions!