Chapter 101: A Fatal Slip—Xiao Bingyu Enters the Sovereign's Banner!
“What kind of sorcery? I’ve never even heard of it, I—”
“What if I put it more plainly? Like, Xiao Fanling?”
Yan Chen didn’t bother pretending ignorance and went straight for the knockout blow.
With everything under his control, her evasions were useless.
“How exactly did you find out? Not even he managed to trace it…”
Before Yan Chen even spoke, Yang Wenlian had already taken out a rare innate treasure to block Xiao Tianqi’s surveillance.
If her father found out, she wouldn’t even know how she’d end up dead.
Any Grand Emperor was far beyond her ability to deal with; the gap was too great.
“It’s simple. I told him,” Shen Yan appeared before Yang Wenlian without hiding.
There was no other way to explain how Yan Chen knew.
“You…”
Yang Wenlian’s eyes narrowed; she hadn’t expected Yan Chen’s luck to be so good, to have someone with such powerful spiritual strength by his side.
Judging by sight, without a corporeal form and yet possessing such immense spiritual power, this had to be a Grand Emperor.
Each Grand Emperor had their own divine ability; if his ability was related to this matter, it wasn’t impossible.
With the leverage in Yan Chen’s hands, Yang Wenlian’s expression darkened.
She had considered silencing him but making a move here would be suicidal.
As for Xiao Fanling—it was, in a way, a misunderstanding. Xiao Fanling went out to train, was targeted by her using this sorcery, not knowing he was from the Xiao family.
She only learned how to trigger it, not how to stop it.
Since Xiao Tianqi hadn’t noticed, she disregarded the matter.
She never expected that years later, the bullet she fired would strike her own forehead so precisely…
“What do you want to do?”
Yang Wenlian’s tone softened. Being at the mercy of others, a little self-awareness was necessary.
Otherwise, if he turned around and reported her, she’d lose everything.
Having lived so long, she knew how to read the situation.
“Technically, Xiao Fanling is my elder sister in name, but I just returned recently. Whether she is friend or foe matters little to me.
What I care about is whether I can seize the position of the next young clan leader…”
Yan Chen smiled at Yang Wenlian, clearly pleased with her shift in tone.
His first sentence implied that revealing this secret wouldn’t benefit him at all.
He didn’t care; she might as well keep her thoughts to herself.
His second sentence laid out his demand.
If she wanted him to keep the secret, she had to pay a price.
For example…
Lend a hand to help him secure the position he desired.
“Ninth Young Master, your talent is unparalleled. I am willing to lend my support!”
At this point, Yang Wenlian had no choice but to agree.
After all, Xiao Xiting also wanted to join; this was a convenient pretext.
Once agreed, she put away the innate treasure.
She was now on a sinking ship, but it was unavoidable.
Had she known she’d be caught in the crossfire, no matter what, she wouldn’t have come.
But now, it was too late to turn back.
…
Time passed swiftly; a few days vanished in the blink of an eye.
The eight direct descendants had already moved their forces and resources to the contested area.
They had settled their bases, marking their territories.
It was clear the group was divided into two camps.
The members of each camp weren’t clustered but maintained some distance.
After everyone entered, Xiao Qitian casually waved his hand, sealing off the designated area.
In the first few days, no fierce battles occurred.
Everyone was watching, waiting to see who would falter, hoping to benefit from the conflict.
Only, these were all sharp minds; they wouldn’t give anyone an easy chance.
Competing for the tokens was just a minor skirmish.
But when a month passed, conflict erupted.
A month was a turning point when many tokens appeared.
Where there was profit, there was conflict.
Everyone wanted to hold more tokens to gain an advantage.
“Eh? You’re here too?”
While fighting over a token, a voice sounded.
Ling Tian narrowed his eyes, smiling.
“You… you all came here too?”
Ling Tian had wanted to say “you,” but seeing Xiao Bingyu beside her, he switched to “you all.”
If only Xiao Xiting were here, Ling Tian might not have activated his Nine Nether Enchantress Body.
But with Xiao Bingyu around…
He was here for her, after all!
“I think since we have more people, and you can’t beat us, just let us have these tokens.”
Ling Tian sized up the numbers on both sides and said calmly.
Xiao Yanying was stunned.
Was that even allowed?
Would the others agree?
This matter needed careful consideration.
Yet, she also thought Ling Tian’s reasoning made sense.
“Fine! Then these tokens are yours, but the next batch belongs to us.”
Xiao Xiting nodded, agreeing with a gleam in her eyes.
You could say she lacked wisdom, or perhaps she was somewhat clever.
After all, if next time her side had more people, wouldn’t she have to hand over the tokens?
She was a little smart, but not much—how could so many avoid running into Ling Tian’s group?
Ling Tian was delighted; he hadn’t expected it to be so easy.
Xiao Bingyu was speechless hearing Xiao Xiting’s words.
“This can’t be decided so easily. You’re clearly bullying them.”
She blocked Xiao Xiting, glaring at Ling Tian.
She couldn’t fault him for causing trouble, but he stuck like a leech, impossible to shake off.
“Well then, if you agree to join my faction, I’ll give you these tokens. How about that?”
Ling Tian looked at her with interest, proposing his terms.
“Dream on. Let’s go.”
Xiao Bingyu snorted lightly.
Noticing Ling Tian’s expression shift, she immediately tried pulling Xiao Xiting away.
She felt that if they didn’t leave now, they wouldn’t be able to later.
“Did I say you could leave? The first time, with a Grand Emperor present, I held back. This time, I’m politely inviting you again, and you refuse. Haha, you don’t get a chance to refuse anymore.”
Ling Tian sneered and took out the Emperor’s Artifact, the Human Sovereign Banner.
He had long wanted to do this; since his sincere invitation was rejected, he’d resort to force.
“Divine Bind!”
Before Xiao Bingyu could activate her spiritual energy and escape, Ling Tian unleashed Divine Bind, targeting her.
Besides refining others, the Human Sovereign Banner could also trap them like a cage.
The sensation inside was far from pleasant.
He’d let her endure it for a while; if that didn’t work, he’d take further action.
“Spare them!”
Yang Wenlian’s voice rang out as she waved her hand, sending an attack to stop Ling Tian.
She didn’t expect this young man to be so ruthless just because she refused him.
“Spare?”
Ling Tian took out the jade pendant given by Luo Qingqiu, focusing his mind.
A Grand Emperor’s strike followed.
Spare? His words didn’t match the force of his blow!
After the strike, Yang Wenlian was somewhat embarrassed.
It wasn’t a true Grand Emperor attack—lacking innate spirit.
Even if she couldn’t fully block it, she could evade.
Still, it was somewhat comical.
“A Grand Emperor’s strike?”
Yang Wenlian concentrated, no longer daring to underestimate Ling Tian.
This kid’s backing was obviously formidable.
After consideration, she grabbed Xiao Xiting’s shoulder and pulled her out of the Human Sovereign Banner’s range.
In truth, the banner hadn’t fully trapped Xiao Xiting; Yang Wenlian was protecting her, so it was easy to pull her out.
“Sister Bingyu, Master, and Sister Bingyu…”
Xiao Xiting looked anxiously at Xiao Bingyu trapped inside the banner and hoped her master would rescue her.
Yang Wenlian’s face darkened.
No, my foolish disciple, haven’t you noticed the situation?
Did you see me looking so helpless just now?
Do you think I can beat him?
Sometimes, having a troublesome disciple can be a curse.
“Quiet, I’ll decide.”
Yang Wenlian, somewhat annoyed, stopped Xiao Xiting suddenly.
She was truly caught between two fires.
If she fought Ling Tian, she wouldn’t win.
She didn’t know how many trump cards he held.
For example, the Human Sovereign Banner might be an Emperor-level artifact—such a person surely had many secrets.
“Don’t worry, your Sister Bingyu is fine.
I just want her to come in for some tea.
If she agrees to my terms, she can leave.
If you don’t believe me, feel free to look for her.”
Ling Tian spoke meaningfully.
Hearing this, Xiao Xiting calmed down.
If he dared say this, it meant Xiao Bingyu was safe.
If anything were wrong, he wouldn’t have allowed her to be seen.
“Let’s go. We’ll deal with her situation later.”
Yang Wenlian’s forehead creased deeply.
Seeing Xiao Xiting’s resolve, she hurriedly pulled her away.
Truly, being bought out and then counting the money for the buyer.
That young man didn’t look like a good person.
“So, you really want her to join your faction?”
Beside them, Xiao Yanying was dumbfounded, eyes wide, staring at Ling Tian.
She hadn’t expected him to resort to trapping people in the banner over a disagreement.
Ling Tian retracted his Human Sovereign Banner, glanced at Xiao Yanying, and shrugged.
“What else?”