Chapter 144 – Ouyang Dihua
To put it in layman’s terms, A Xiantian master was an existence that completely upset the natural balance. If a country had a Xiantian master, then the neighboring countries would have no courage to go to against this country. If it really came down to war, then one the very first day the generals of all the armies would die silently in their camps, and on the second day the emperor would also die in his Royal Palace. How could they continue fighting at this point?
If Lin Ming someday had strength that could compare to a Xiantian master, then he would essentially dominate all of Sky Fortune Kingdom; everything would be under his control!
As the news that Lin Ming obtained sixth place on the Ranking Stone continued to spread, the Crown Prince was one of the first to hear of Lin Ming’s situation via a sound transmitting talisman.
The Crown Prince was pleasantly surprised by Lin Ming’s results. He thought again, with Lin Ming as he was now, it was becoming more and more likely that he could defeat Zhang Guanyu in the fourth month. With Zhang Guanyu’s personality, how would he reconcile with this truth?
The Seven Profound Martial House was similar to a beast cage. All talents were gathered, just like those trainers that would find those beasts with good bodies and trap them in a cage, feed them good meat and water, and finally let them slaughter each other to select the final king of beasts.
Now, the Martial House Master had given Lin Ming 4 months to defeat Zhang Guanyu as a target goal; this was equal to turning Zhang Guanyu into Lin Ming’s grindstone.
If Zhang Guanyu was indifferent, or was some particularly tenacious warrior who would become braver when pressured, and could accept their defeat, then even at the worst it would not be a major problem.
But Zhang Guanyu’s personality was demented and paranoid. He would not easily accept his defeat, and the ripples from that fight would be especially alarming.
What dark methods would Zhang Guanyu adopt?
Yang Lin frowned as he thought this. Lan Yunyue was in his mansion, so he was able to guarantee her safety, and Lin Ming’s parents in Mulberry City were under layer upon layer of heavy protection, so there shouldn’t be a problem there either.
As for Lin Ming, Zhang Guanyu would not dare move against him.
So what could Zhang Guanyu do?
Now, at the Allied Trade a.s.sociation. ——-
Zhang Guanyu had a very gloomy expression as he reclined against a couch. At this side were two beautifully dressed maids standing beside him in fear and trepidation.
When Lin Ming had gone to the Ten Thousand Killing Array for the a.s.sessment, Zhang Guanyu was one of the first to receive the news. He could easily have rushed over to see Lin Ming’s a.s.sessment, but he was not even a cent interested in seeing Lin Ming show off in front of everyone.
When Lin Ming had finished the a.s.sessment, Zhang Guanyu was also one of the first to receive a sound transmitting talisman with the results.
Only two months, and he had reached the sixth rank of the Ten Thousand Killing Array!
This result caused Zhang Guanyu to feel uneasy. Although the first 3 ranks on the Ranking stone were far away enough from the fourth that they couldn’t even be considered in the same category, and Zhang Guanyu’s strength had also progressed considerably recently, the speed at which Lin Ming was progressing was simply too horrifying. If another two months pa.s.sed, would even the heavens know how much he progressed?
Now Zhang Guanyu had the feeling of having ridden the back of dangerous tiger; he could no longer back down.
“Young Master… are you looking for me?” Zhang Guanyu turned to see a middle-aged man at the Viscera Training stage walk into the room.
The middle-aged man bowed. He had also heard the news about Lin Ming reaching the sixth rank. Concerning this result, he could only sigh. Two months ago he had disapproved when Zhang Guanyu had gone to provoke Lin Ming, but it was not his place to order Zhang Guanyu on how to handle his affairs.
Now that he had already offended Lin Ming, it was too late to turn back the hand of time, but also with Zhang Guanyu’s character, he definitely would not rescind his hand.
‘If the young master continues along this path and doesn’t change his nature, then I am afraid there will be future trouble concerning Young Master’s status as the successor of the Allied Trade a.s.sociation. It will not be good fortune for the young master… the elder will not choose a man with an extreme character to stand at the helm of the Trade a.s.sociation.’
The middle-aged man silently shook his head; he dared not speak this thought out loud.
Zhang Guanyu sat as he was, looking increasingly dreary and not saying a single word. Zhang Guanyu of course understood what type of person was suitable to be the future heir of the Allied Trade a.s.sociation, but after having cultivated the ‘Divine Acacia Power’, Zhang Guanyu no longer cared for this vaunted position. What he pursued was eternal youth and infinite Yang essence. The status as chief of the Allied Trade a.s.sociation was simply riddled with mundane problems, and would affect his cultivation.
After a period of silence, Zhang Guanyu finally said, “Help me contact the Cloud Prince and the Seven Profound Valleys’ Ouyang Dihua. I must seem them.”
“The Cloud Prince and Ouyang Dihua?” The middle aged man was surprised. He understood that Zhang Guanyu was seeking a helping hand, and that the Cloud Prince was undoubtedly Lin Ming’s enemy and that an enemy of an enemy was a friend. But since ancient times, when it involved the struggle for the throne, the Allied Trade a.s.sociation had always maintained their complete and utter neutrality. They would not favor any party. But this time, Zhang Guanyu actually wanted to reverse this tradition and take the side of the Tenth Prince.
As for Ouyang Dihua, this person was the direct disciple of the Seven Profound Valleys’ Acacia Faction’s third elder: Ouyang Boyan.
In fact, Ouyang Dihua’s talent wasn’t regarded as outstanding among the disciples of the Seven Profound Valleys. He had entered the Pulse Condensation Period at the age of 22, and had now been there for two years, but still had not been able to reach the peak Pulse Condensation Period.
The reason he could be a direct disciple was mainly because he was the nephew of the third elder, Ouyang Boyan. Because of his ident.i.ty, let alone the emperors of various countries, even the Seven Profound Envoys and Martial House Masters had to greet Ouyang Dihua with several points of respect.
These years, Ouyang Dihua had been cultivating the ‘Divine Acacia Power’. Because of this, he had left the Seven Profound Valleys and gone to ‘experience’ the neighboring countries. The truth was this ‘experience’ was in fact seeking the beautiful women in these countries.
Ouyang Dihua had a wide and experienced palate, however, what he was most interested in were two kinds. The first kind was the young daughters of large, respected families. These girls had an outstanding temperament and a great inner pride. What Ouyang Dihua liked the most was to rip of the clothes of these women and turn these originally pure and holy girls into the basest of s.l.u.ts. The second kind was the daughters of wealthy families. These girls were pure and lovely, and were like a breath of fresh air. Ouyang Dihua very much enjoyed the vaguely virgin sweet fragrance of their bodies.
The Allied Trade a.s.sociation where Zhang Guanyu was at had many old dealings with the third elder Ouyang Boyan of the Seven Profound Valleys’ Acacia Faction. The reason that Zhang Guanyu was able to cultivate the ‘Divine Acacia Power’ was because he had obtained it from Ouyang Boyan. Of course, the Allied Trade a.s.sociation had paid a steep price for this.
Five days later, 30,000 miles from the Sky Fortune Kingdom, at the Heavenly Wind Nation’s capital’s palace –
Zhang Guanyu stood in a hall, hands relaxed, without single ounce of arrogance on his face. In front of him was a 20 something year old man lazily reclining on a bed, holding a jade-like beauty in his arm.
Wrapped in blankets, the man occasionally moved, and parts of the blanket would uncover, revealing an indecent scene. Obviously, the woman was stripped naked under the blankets.
“Zhang Guanyu, be honest, for what matter did you come here today to ask for help?” This man was Ouyang Dihua. He had lived these past few days in the Heavenly Wind Nation, enjoying the beautiful women while also attempting to break through to the Perfect stage of the ‘Divine Acacia Power’s’ third layer.
Zhang Guanyu found that Ouyang Dihua was staying at the Heavenly Wind Nation, so he borrowed the Allied Trade a.s.sociation’s heavenly wind eagle and spent the last 5 days crossing the 30,000 mile distance to personally visit Ouyang Dihua.
Zhang Guanyu withdrew a painting scroll from his spatial ring and respectfully handed it to the man, who opened it and looked at it. It was a drawing of a beautiful woman, aged around 15 or 16. She had an extremely fresh appearance, and rarest of all, her body exhibited a very faint pure and n.o.ble mixed temperament, making one wish to immediately make her their own.
The girl on this painting was Lan Yunyue.
“Good!”
Ouyang Dihua’s eyes lit up. What he liked most were the princess types and the pure daughter types of wealthy families, but the woman in this painting seemed to have the makings of both at the same time.
“Where is she?” Ouyang Dihua cut straight to the chase.
Zhang Guanyu hesitated slightly, and then truthfully said, “In the Sky Fortune Kingdom’s Crown Prince’s palace.”
Ouyang Dihua was momentarily stunned, and then he immediately laughed and said, “Zhang Guanyu, has the Crown Prince of Sky Fortune Kingdom offended you? This girl is the Crown Prince’s concubine? You want to borrow my hand to defeat the Crown Prince? Although I do not fear some little Crown Prince, do not think that I am someone who will unknowingly act as a proxy weapon for your own interests. And if this girl has has already been received by the Crown Prince as a concubine, then I do not have much interest.”
Zhang Guanyu said, “Young Sir has misunderstood; this girl’s virginity is absolutely intact. Moreover, this girl was born on a Yin year and Yin month. Before this, I already sent my men to look for 12 Pure Yin girls to help Young Sir Ouyang break through to the fourth layer of the ‘Divine Acacia Power’. This girl is a superior third-grade talent, she will happen to make an excellent ‘primer’ of the 12 Pure Yin girls. Now there has already been a small harvest of the 12 Pure Yin girls that I am looking for.”
“Oh?” Ouyang Dihua grew interested, “12 Pure Yin girls… heh, you are quite determined.”
The way Sky Spill Continent calculated dates was by the union of celestial stems and earthly branches. There were 10 heavenly stems and 12 earthly branches. The odd were Yang, and the even were Yin, both respectively occupying one half. Therefore, there were many Yin year Yin month girls that were born. Lan Yunyue happened to be one of them.
However, it was actually quite difficult to collect 12 Pure Yin girls. The first girl, or the ‘primer’, had to be the best looking. However, the following girls all followed the ‘lead’ of the first girl’s horoscope, and required the calculation of their birth horoscope. The result was it became increasingly difficult to find them.
Moreover, these girls also had to be above a third-grade talent. The number of third-grade talents in the population was only a mere 1%; this already excluded the vast majority of women.
Finally, the 12 Pure Yin girls all had to be beautiful women below the age of 20, and also had to have the body of a virgin.
To cultivate martial arts, one’s spirit had to be joyful and un.o.bstructed. If the girl’s appearance was too ugly, then those martial arts cultivators would not be moved. How could they possibly depend on these ugly girls to break through their cultivation bottleneck?
To be at least a third-grade talent, below 20 years old, a beauty, virgin, and more and more harsh horoscope requirements, this caused the gathering of 12 Pure Ying girls to be very difficult to find.
There were some Acacia Faction disciples who had attempted to collect 12 Pure Yin girls. They spent several years looking, and finally found them with great difficulty. However, the first girl’s age would have already surpa.s.sed 20 years.
However, in terms of looking for 12 Pure Yin girls, the Allied Trade a.s.sociation had an unmatched superior advantage. This was because the Allied Trade a.s.sociation was involved in almost all areas of business, and one of their biggest ones was the slave trade.
In the Sky Spill Continent, slave trading was a common occurrence. There were many poor families that had children they could not raise, so they would sell these children, who would eventually become something like a maid, concubine, servant, eunuch, and other occupations. During times of war, the ma.s.sive numbers of captives and refugees were often turned into servants and slaves.