Chapter 2385: Memories

The commander’s eyes showed a hint of embarrassment. Going to Ling Xiaotian to ask for funding—unless the Lord of the Great King Palace was beaten to death, he still wouldn’t dare go, right?

Seeing that the commander didn’t answer, Ling Wanru got a bit annoyed. Her charming eyes glared as she said, “What’s wrong? You can’t do it, is that it?”

“I can! I can! I’ll follow all of Miss’s orders.”

That commander was terrified. Who would dare offend this Witch Miss of the Spirit Dragon Hall? She’d probably be able to tear down the entire Taiwang Palace when the time came.

“Let’s go!”

Ling Wanru reached out and hooked her arm through Ding Fan’s, walking out like a little couple. Ding Fan’s face looked somewhat awkward, but he couldn’t very well throw a fit in public, so he could only follow her out, embarrassed.

The guards of the Great King Palace were all stunned. From the looks of it, Miss Ling had taken a fancy to Ding Fan, but Ding Fan didn’t seem all that willing?

The light of the Teleportation Array lit up once more. Ling Wanru clung to Ding Fan’s arm the entire way through each teleport. She was like a girl just learning about romance, sticking close to Ding Fan’s side. This trip immediately caused a huge stir—Miss Ling was hugging a young man? Could it be that this young master was the future son-in-law of the Spirit Dragon Hall?

When Ling Wanru and Ding Fan appeared in Spirit Dragon City, that feeling grew even stronger. The news spread through the entire city in no time: Ling Wanru had openly appeared with a young man in tow—this was totally the rhythm of bringing the son-in-law to meet the father-in-law.

“Bang!”

When Ling Wanru, arm in arm with Ding Fan, arrived at one of the halls of the Spirit Dragon Hall, Ling Xiaotian exploded on the spot. He suddenly slapped the sandalwood table in front of him into pieces and then said, “Ling Wanru, you are the eldest miss of the Spirit Family—shouldn’t you pay a bit of attention to your image? In broad daylight, you’re openly wrapped around a man. You don’t want your face, fine, but where am I supposed to put my old face?”

“Bang bang bang!”

Ling Wanru, however, had an even worse temper than he did. When she saw Ling Xiaotian giving Ding Fan this show of authority, she burst out at once, stepped forward, and smashed three sandalwood tea tables in a row, roaring at Ling Xiaotian, “Ling Xiaotian, you’re the dignified Spirit Dragon Hall Master—shouldn’t you also pay a bit of attention to your own image? I bring a friend back and you give us that stinking face—who are you trying to impress? Believe it or not, I’ll tear down this hall of the Spirit Dragon Hall for you right now!”

“Like father, like daughter, huh!”

At that moment, these few words suddenly floated through Ding Fan’s mind. Looking at the Spirit Family father and daughter glaring wide-eyed at each other, Ding Fan laughed inwardly, yet on the surface he still had to pretend to be perfectly proper.

Ling Xiaotian was so angry his whole body was trembling. He was the Hall Master of the Spirit Dragon Hall, one of the eleven top Royal Families of the Central Plains. If anyone else dared smash tables and roar at him, he would’ve taken action long ago. But when it came to his own Little Witch, he was completely helpless.

He had scolded her, beaten her, even locked her up.

But none of these methods had any effect on Ling Wanru, and as long as things weren’t handled just right, Ling Wanru would immediately go threaten to kill herself. This really left Ling Xiaotian utterly at a loss! Alas, pity the hearts of parents the world over—having a daughter like this in the Spirit Family, probably no one would have a good solution.

Ling Xiaotian took several deep breaths, deciding not to keep locking horns with Ling Wanru. Otherwise, all the dignity of this Spirit Dragon Hall Master would be lost right here, and he didn’t want an outsider like Ding Fan watching the joke.

He waved his hand and said, “I don’t want to quarrel with you today. I have a lot to do. You two can leave. Someone, see them out!”

Truly, the older the man, the craftier the mind, the older the horse, the keener the sense.

Ding Fan sighed inwardly. Ling Xiaotian clearly understood that Ling Wanru wouldn’t just come cause trouble for no reason, especially not together with Ding Fan. There had to be something they’d come to ask of him.

On the surface he was retreating, but in reality he was forcing Ling Wanru to come beg him.

Seeing Ling Wanru still puffed up with anger and not knowing how to respond, Ding Fan could only brace himself, clasp his hands to Ling Xiaotian, and say, “Ding Fan greets Uncle. This nephew has come to discuss a business matter with Uncle.”

“Not interested!”

Ling Xiaotian turned around, took a sip of tea brought over by a maid, and said, “Don’t call me Uncle. Your father fought me for over ten years, yet he always looked down on me. I don’t dare accept you calling me Uncle. As for business matters, you can go to a few of the elders in the hall to discuss them. I’m very busy, so I won’t get involved.”

Ding Fan could only look helplessly at Ling Wanru. Ling Wanru’s eyes shot out furious light, True Yuan flickered in her hand, and the Divine Weapon in her dantian shone with dazzling brilliance—she was ready to ram this hall to pieces.

“You still want to make a scene, huh?”

Ling Xiaotian’s hand stopped mid-air as he was drinking his tea, and he said furiously, “Go on, smash it! If you dare lay a hand on anything, just see if I don’t send you up to the Cliff of Repentance and lock you there for a hundred years!”

“Hmph!”

Ling Wanru’s gaze turned cold, and the expression she used to look at Ling Xiaotian became strange. Suddenly, her breathing weakened, and she drew the Divine Weapon in her dantian back. She said icily, “Ding Fan, I’m sorry, I didn’t get things done for you. Let’s go back to the Northern Wastelands. There’s not a trace of human warmth here. I never want to come back to this place again.”

Ling Xiaotian was hurt by Ling Wanru’s attitude. A flash of killing intent shot through his eyes as he gave Ding Fan a cold look; that bone-piercing chill made Ding Fan feel as if he had fallen into icy hell.

“Stop!”

Just as Ling Wanru reached the doorway, ready to walk out, Ling Xiaotian finally let out a sigh. Helplessly closing his eyes, he said, “Ling Wanru, you go out. Ding Fan, you stay.”

Ding Fan grabbed Ling Wanru’s arm; he genuinely didn’t want her to fall out with her father because of his affairs. He looked at her with pleading eyes. She hesitated for a moment, then left Ding Fan behind and stormed off alone.

Ding Fan walked back, sat down without speaking to Ling Xiaotian, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and said, “Lord Ling, the way you’re teaching your daughter is wrong. If you keep handling it like this, you’ll only make your relationship more and more rigid. Ling Wanru is actually quite pitiful—she’s extremely rebellious by nature. The more pressure you put on her, the harder she’ll bounce back…”

“Shut up!”

Ling Xiaotian said coldly, “Are you lecturing this Hall Master now? Stop wasting this Hall Master’s time, or get out.”

Ding Fan awkwardly rubbed his chin, then took six Space Rings from his own Space Ring and placed them on the table in front of Ling Xiaotian. He said to Ling Xiaotian, “Lord Ling, these are Spiritual Materials I obtained in another world. I want to make a deal with Spirit Dragon Hall, to exchange for the Spiritual Materials we need. Mm… this is only a small portion. I hope the Hall Master can keep this secret, otherwise… I’ll be in big trouble.”

Ling Xiaotian casually picked up one of the Space Rings and forced his Divine Sense into it to scan. His gaze instantly turned fierce, though not a single expression appeared on his face.

After finishing his probe of the first ring, he quickly picked up the others and examined them carefully one by one. Then that blade-like sharp gaze locked onto Ding Fan, yet he said nothing, merely sank into thought.

After a while, he said, “These things, you got them from the Alien Races, didn’t you? Did you rob them by force, or did you trade with them?”

“Impressive.”

Ding Fan secretly admired him. No one outside yet knew about what happened in the Barbarian Realm, and he could also be certain Spirit Dragon Hall hadn’t planted any spies in the Northern Wastelands. Ling Xiaotian had deduced the truth of the matter just from a few of Ding Fan’s words and some ordinary information. Becoming Spirit Dragon Hall Master was definitely not a matter of luck.

Ding Fan stood up and cupped his fists toward Ling Xiaotian, saying, “Yes, they did come from some Alien Races, but they all now swear loyalty to me and have become my subordinates. I can swear to you, I can swear on my life, I’m not doing business for Alien Races. All of these Spiritual Materials belong to me.”

“Your subordinates?”

A hint of mockery touched Ling Xiaotian’s lips as he said, “Ding Fan, you really are bold. Do you have any idea how deep the grudge between the Alien Races and the Human Race runs? You dare accept them as your subordinates? If this gets out, even if your Ancestral Master wakes up, he won’t be able to protect you.”

“Hmm…”

Ding Fan hadn’t realized the matter was so serious, and was shocked that Spirit Dragon Hall’s intelligence network was so formidable. His Ancestral Master was lying unconscious in Sirius Fortress—this was top-secret within the entire Sirius Clan—yet Spirit Dragon Hall was still able to uncover it.

Frowning, he said, “There are many races among the Alien Races. In the small clans of the Northern Wastelands, plenty keep Alien Race slaves—that’s normal. I don’t believe there are no Alien Races in the Central Plains. Aren’t there eleven Royal Families, and one of them is the Ghost Tribe?”

“You know jack shit.”

Ling Xiaotian cursed him mercilessly, then said, “The Ghost Tribe was the first batch to swear loyalty to the Human Race. We needed to draw in some Alien Races, that’s the only reason they’re allowed to exist. The Ghost Tribe will be wiped out sooner or later. Ding Fan, you didn’t grow up in the Ding Family in the Central Plains, you don’t know these outsiders. Those Alien Races are not human, and they’re no different from Mystical Beasts.”

Seeing the doubt in Ding Fan’s eyes, Ling Xiaotian stood up and began pacing in the hall as he explained, “The origin history of humans actually predates the Myriad Clans, but in ancient times humans were weak. The Alien Races were born with powerful bodies, innate gifts, and terrifying bloodlines. So back then, people lived in extreme misery; they became slaves to all sorts of Alien Races. They were constantly robbed and oppressed, even turned into food for other races. Many Alien Races took pleasure in hunting the Human Race for sport.

A trace of pain surfaced on Ling Xiaotian’s face as he said excitedly, “At that time, humans were no different from livestock. They had no way to resist the atrocities and plunder of the other races. This was the darkest chapter in the history of the Human Race—every other race was bloodily slaughtering humans, until a hero arose among the Human Race and created a kind of Divine Arts, which is now the warrior heritage of the Samurai.”