Chapter 358: What is Justice?
Translator: DavidT Editor: DavidT, Rock
Ling Tian said calmly, "After my departure, as long as you don't see my corpse, you must never believe that I am dead, regardless of the rumors spreading outside! Do you understand? You have to live for me, always remember that!" Ling Tian's words were extremely solemn.
"Yes! As long as I don't see young noble's… young noble's… Chen'er will never believe that young noble has left us!" Ling Chen repeated what Ling Tian said as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Ling Tian nodded his head and continued, "It's good that you remember. Next, you have to be wary. After I leave, the Yu Family will definitely make use of BingYan to usurp authority within our Ling Family using various means. This matter concerns our very foundations and you must not be careless! Remember, if things fall into a desperate situation, you must use all your might to protect the Ling Family Courtyard!"
After pausing for a moment, Ling Tian said, "As for BingYan's final decision, let her make it on her own. Tell her that while she is the lady whom I have acknowledged, she is still a daughter of the Yu Family. Regardless of what her choice is, I will not blame her. But if she chooses to stand on the side of our Ling Family, you must aid her in increasing the influence of her father, Yu ManTang, in the Yu Family. All of these must take place secretly. As for all other things, I will settle them when I get back. But if BingYan chooses to stand on the Yu Family's side… then you should know what to do."
"Furthermore, with regards to Justice, you must keep it a secret from the elders in my family, lest they end up worrying about me. As for Ling Jian and the others, you must rein them in and not let them make any rash moves. For a face-off at such a level, their appearance wouldn't be of any help but a hindrance instead. You must ensure that they remain calm and do whatever they are supposed to do! Don't hesitate in any of your decisions. Also, when I am not around, you must try your best to expand our circle of influence. The moment we stage an uprising, I want the flags of our Ling Family to be raised all over the continent! As for Shui QianRou, you can just make the decision yourself."
Ling Tian then kissed Ling Chen lightly on the cheeks. "Chen'er, trust me! I am 100% confident that I can make it back alive! For my most beloved one!" As he said that, Ling Tian let out a proud smile. "The strength of Justice is indeed unrivaled, but I will only die if I choose to fight him in a life or death battle! As long as Justice agrees to our bet, there wouldn't be anyone in the world capable of winning against my mysterious methods in the wilderness! Silly lass, why are you so worried?"
At this moment, Ling Chen suddenly thought about Ling Tian's unfathomable concealment methods and was a little more at ease. At the same time, she began engraving all of Ling Tian's instructions into her memory as she began making plans for them.
After a period of consideration, Ling Tian suddenly added on, "Chen'er, while the present situation may seem to be extremely precarious, it is also a chance for us to truly rise up! The appearance of the Martial Order Medallion would surely create a huge commotion in the world! Both the Yu and Shui Family will definitely get restless when I am not in Sky Bearing to preside over the Ling Family and will definitely try to swallow my Ling Family! Furthermore, there is also the Xiao Family, and Xiao FengHan has already been wary of me for ten years! The moment news about my disappearance was to spread, the Xiao Family would definitely make a move as well. When I am not in Sky Bearing, all of you can choose to keep a low profile to protect yourselves, hiding your true strength while watching the major powers battle it out and seek for benefits from the side. After following me for so many years, you can definitely make the decision on such matters!" Ling Tian smiled, "To have my beloved lady presiding over the matters in the Ling Family, I am assured. Remember, as long as you don't see my corpse, never believe that I am dead! A true powerhouse will always have a final trump card in his hand!"
Ling Tian gave a carefree and confident smile, as though he had the utmost confidence in dealing with the matters to come. However, only he himself knew just how frightening the Martial Way realm was! That was a height which an ordinary person could never even dream of achieving! With regards to whether or not he could truly win the bet, for the first time in his life, Ling Tian didn't have full confidence. In fact, he didn't even have more than 50% of confidence at all. However, Ling Tian was extremely clear that if he were to remain in Sky Bearing and the Ling Residence, he wouldn't even have a shred of hope! He would be dead for sure!
As for Yu BingYan's choice, Ling Tian was completely at ease. While Yu BingYan had a similar background to Shui QianRou, there was a stark difference between the both of them. Even if Yu BingYan were to be stuck in a dilemma and chose to remain on neutral ground, not helping either side, she would certainly never side with her family to deal with his Ling Family. Furthermore, the change of her status would undoubtedly affect her final decision and it was likely that she might even choose to stand with the Ling Family!
After all, Yu BingYan was already the daughter-in-law of the Ling Family!
In truth, apart from the lack of time, Ling Tian had another hidden intention behind his current actions. For the past few years, Ling Chen, Ling Jian, and the others were far too used to his presence around them. The moment they were faced with a problem they couldn't solve, their first thought would be to seek him to ask for advice. At the same time, he himself was also used to dealing with problems as such. It can be said that for the past few years, Ling Tian had been shouldering countless of winds and storms with the tender shoulders of his! Regardless of the problems thrown at him, he would always be able to deal with them perfectly and the strength of the Ling Family Courtyard was able to soar as a result of that. At the same time, Ling Tian had also unknowingly built up a prestige which nobody would ever be able to shake.
However, this unshakable prestige also had a huge shortcoming. Despite Ling Chen and Ling Jian having huge authority in their hands and their martial arts fully developed, they never had the experience to truly make huge decisions and be fully in charge of the courtyard! Thus, the both of them were still considerably tender and immature leaders.
Ling Tian knew that as long as he remained beside them, the both of them would still approach him for advice or ask for a solution whenever they face a problem. They would never rack their heads to try and come up with an idea to solve the problem themselves.
With regards to the bet with Justice this time, he would be truly detached from the Ling Family and the Ling Family Courtyard. While it would be only for a short while, this short while in the midst of the brewing storms would definitely be sufficient for them to mature as competent leaders!
Only after they were fully mature would Ling Tian be assured to take the next step in his plans! Thus, while Ling Tian's bet with Justice would be filled with danger, it was definitely worth it!
Seeing Ling Tian walk towards him, Justice nonchalantly raised his glass. "Have you said your last words?"
"Last words?" Ling Tian said with a chuckle, "Brother Justice, you are just as confident as I am."
Justice twiddled with the wine glass in his hands and said indifferently, "Really? There aren't many people who can be as confident as young noble Ling when standing in front of me. There were a few in the past, but their ends were all extremely tragic and they entered into the afterlife without exception."
"My confidence comes from my strength and your confidence comes from arrogance!" Ling Tian's tone suddenly turned chilly, "In the world today, no one would be able to represent Justice but you actually created such a name for yourself. I would really like to ask you, what is Justice?"
Without waiting for Justice to reply him, Ling Tian then continued, "To be born requires justice, to die also is to encounter justice. Justice governs over the samsara, and I'm here to deliver justice! What a resounding slogan! However, if justice delivered by your hands always ends up in death, where is the justice that leads to life?"
"There are countless innocent people dying every day but where is your Justice? As for the Martial Order Medallion, that is an even greater joke! With just a wooden medallion your Beyond Heavens gives to a monarch, one is able to create an empire? While you are guarding the peace of the empires on the surface, you are actually just a cold-blooded killer in truth. You should not be called Justice but you should be called 'Unreasonable'!"
Ling Tian's words were extremely sharp, but Justice burst out into laughter upon hearing them, "The so-called Justice is strength! If you have absolute strength, you will have the authority to exercise justice! Countless of innocent people dying everyday? Let me ask you, why would they die innocently? Because they have no strength! They can only allow others to slaughter them mercilessly! Are such ants even worthy of justice?" Justice sneered and continued, "Just like how I am here to kill you today. Apart from the Martial Order Medallion, it is also because I am stronger than you. My strength is such that even if you gather all of your subordinates, you wouldn't be able to prevent me from escaping! But if I want to kill you, it is as easy as flipping my palms! Just because I have strength, I can represent Justice when standing in front of you! Similarly, if you can kill me, then you can exercise justice over me! Since you have the time to grumble, why not have a good battle with me instead. Even if you don't have a single shred of hope, you can still try to seek life within death!"
"HAHAHA…" Ling Tian burst out into laughter, "Justice, I can only say that your schemes are fantastic indeed! I have to admire the fact that you have grasped my only weakness. This is the Ling Residence and the moment I fight you, my home would definitely be destroyed and my kin injured. For you to say such a thing when I have apprehensions in my heart, I look down on you! Even if I were to die in your hands, I would still look down on you! In what way are your actions different from holding my family members hostage and forcing me to commit suicide?! To think that you still have the cheek to talk about justice in front of me! What a joke!"