Chapter 370 The Big Picture
Dongcheng Wudi seemed not to hear w.a.n.g Tianzong’s meaningful words. He kept his smile unchanged and moved forward leisurely.
w.a.n.g Tianzong no longer looked at Li Tianlan. He walked side by side with Dongcheng Wudi and chatted casually.
One was the Sword Emperor of Zhongzhou State who influenced the situation in the country with the power of one family.
The other was the Commander in Chief of Zhongzhou State, whose influence had covered the army for many years.
The fellowship between the two was not deep, but they were not unfamiliar. Walking together, they could find the topic without embarra.s.sment.
Dongcheng Wudi casually mentioned the two military projects currently being studied by the Dongcheng Clan. w.a.n.g Tianzong smiled and said that he would arrange the relevant information. With a few words, the project cooperation was finalized.
Two pairs of young lovers followed in silence.
This strange picture was seen by more and more people. Everyone’s eyes were weird.
Two big shots in Zhongzhou State were likely to fall out today.
Two young Chosen Ones would soon fight a life-and-death battle for victory.
Yet they were laughing together when the maneuver would start right away.
This scene was really strange.
The team maneuver was located near the third stand on the training ground.
The Sky Academy once again set up an exaggeratedly huge screen.
All devices were connected properly.
Without the maneuver personnel’s entry, the screen was playing the internal scene of the maneuver area silently over and over again.
The team maneuver had always been the most important part of the final maneuver. So the maneuver area was large. It extended from the front of the third platform to the edge of the jungle behind the screen, which was equivalent to officially entering the maneuver area.
The terrain of about two-kilometer area was not complicated, but it was very rich in forms. There were dense forests, a pond, undulating terrain, an abandoned teaching building, and an old warehouse.
When Li Tianlan walked to the third platform, all the elites of the two academies partic.i.p.ating in the maneuver today stood in front of the big screen and carefully observed the situation in the maneuver area.
Li Tianlan counted them and slightly twitched the corner of his mouth.
When Gu Xingyun held a symposium a week ago, it was confirmed that there were 12 teams partic.i.p.ating in the maneuver.
Today, only seven were present in the maneuver venue.
Among them were the East Emperor Palace, Phantom Palace, Three Thousand World, and Jilei Mountain.
In other words, after he seriously injured Gu Qianchuan and showed the combat capability of the Invincible Realm, there were only three teams in the two academies that were willing to advance and retreat with w.a.n.g Shengxiao and Gu Hanshan.
They were destined to be the loyal forces of the other party, and there was no possibility of changing their positions.
“I see a few friends, and I’ll go to see them.”
As he was about to stand on the third stand, w.a.n.g Tianzong suddenly smiled. “Wudi, see you later.”
“See you soon.”
Dongcheng Wudi nodded calmly.
The moment the six were about to part ways, w.a.n.g Shengxiao, who had been silent, suddenly reached out to Li Tianlan.
“You are strong.”
He looked into Li Tianlan’s eyes. “I should not be your match now. But in today’s maneuver, we still have a chance of winning. Be careful.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong paused, without turning or speaking.
Li Tianlan looked into w.a.n.g Shengxiao’s eyes.
His eyes were peaceful and calm, with a touch of regret.
Li Tianlan suddenly laughed.
He neither had any bad feelings nor good feelings for w.a.n.g Tianzong. For an unknown reason, at this moment, he had a little more appreciation for the next patriarch of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
Perhaps it was because of the frankness of the other party.
Li Tianlan reached out and held w.a.n.g Shengxiao’s hand.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao’s palm was slightly firmer. He said calmly, “I can’t fight fair with you. I am sorry for you and myself. But how can people do as they wish in the Jianghu world? From my standpoint, I owe you an apology. From the standpoint of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, I will do whatever I can.”
He loosened his grip.
“You won’t win today. Today, next year, I’ll make a toast to you with good wine.”
He pulled Song Ci and turned around, never looking back. “See you in the maneuver.”
w.a.n.g Tianzong moved forward silently.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao and Song Ci followed silently.
“If you were not enemies for naturally-occurring stances, he should be the kind of person you admire the most, right?” w.a.n.g Tianzong suddenly broke the silence and said slowly.
“If he were not one of the Li family, wouldn’t he the kind of person you admire most?”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao smiled.
w.a.n.g Tianzong said, “It’s a pity.”
“Yes.”
w.a.n.g Shengxiao nodded. “It’s a pity.”
The backs of the three were getting farther and farther from Li Tianlan’s sight.
Li Tianlan looked back calmly and looked at Dongcheng Wudi.
Dongcheng Wudi emotionlessly stared at w.a.n.g Tianzong’s back without saying a word.
He talked a lot with w.a.n.g Tianzong, but it seemed like they talked nothing. From start to finish, he never mentioned today’s final maneuver.
w.a.n.g Tianzong did not mention it, either.
Obviously, the Sword Emperor’s determination had been made.
When he— a Zhongzhou State magnate and the top leader in Army Headquarters, took Li Tianlan personally to the maneuver site, w.a.n.g Tianzong still did not intend to give the minister a little bit of respect.
Now that the determination had been made, it was useless to say anything.
“Tianlan, take care.”
Dongcheng Wudi slowly said, “w.a.n.g Shengxiao is not talking big.”
Li Tianlan certainly knew the truth of w.a.n.g Shengxiao’s words.
The combat capability of the Invincible Realm was not truly invincible.
Even among the Invincible Realm experts, few people dared to say that they were truly invincible.
w.a.n.g Shengxiao, Gu Hanshan, Jiang Shangyu, any one of them would not be his match.
But today it was the cooperative combat. The three geniuses’ combat strength was far beyond their realms. Once they joined forces, their strength might not be worse than the combat capability of the Invincible Realm. If this maneuver were really a must-lose one, w.a.n.g Shengxiao and Gu Hanshan would abandon early.
“I know.”
Li Tianlan nodded.
“The boy in the w.a.n.g family of Beihai is pretty good.”
Dongcheng Wudi smiled. “I’m not referring to his apology to you. Instead, he stands in his position and is able to admit that he is inferior to you. For this kind of mind alone, he is much better than the little b.a.s.t.a.r.d in Kunlun City. Tianlan, you can appreciate him. But in this maneuver, you must treat the enemy clearly. Don’t keep your strength.”
“How come?”
Li Tianlan smiled. He knew better than Dongcheng Wudi what this maneuver meant to him and the Li family.
If he won, the Li family would usher in a real rise from now on.
If he lost, the situation would be extremely bad, even if the Li family was not doomed eternally.
This maneuver was critical to Zhongzhou State, and it was also critical to the Li family.
Otherwise, knowing that he was likely to face the entire w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City, Li Tianlan would not attend the maneuver with the attention of destroying indiscriminately at the beginning.
“If he didn’t have the surname w.a.n.g, maybe you would be good friends.”
Dongcheng Rushi took Li Tianlan’s hand and said softly, “Just like Lin Fengting and Li Baitian.”
Li Tianlan reached out, touched Dongcheng Rushi’s long hair, and said softly, “How can there be so many hypotheses?”
The three walked to the third stand of the training ground under everyone’s sight.
The stand was full of people sitting down.
People from all circles in Zhongzhou State who were eligible to appear had already been present here.
Li Tianlan saw several familiar faces, and they all sat very close to the front.
There were enemies and friends.
Princ.i.p.al Zhuang Huayang of the Sky Academy.
Huating’s top leader Zhong Youwei.
Ye Fengcheng, Director of Huating Special Operations Bureau.
Zhang Qi, Minister of the Southeast Special Warfare Headquarters.
Liu Xiuyuan, Head of the intelligence department of the Curtain in Huating as well as Head of the Blue Sky Group.
Han Donglou, Chairman of the Board of the Shengshi Group, and Han Xinyan.
Zhang Houlong, who had met him several times, sat between a couple with elegant appearances and waved at him with a smile.
Liu Shuanghua in Jiangnan Society—the intelligence organization of the w.a.n.g family of Beihai, sat quietly.
w.a.n.g Zhaoliang, Commander of the Shadow Sting Army, the largest special forces in Zhongzhou State, looked serious.
Li Tianlan also unexpectedly saw Wu Zhengmin, the new deputy prime minister of Zhongzhou State, who represented the Cabinet at the final maneuver.
Gu Xingyun, who was a little pale, sat in the most central position and looked at Li Tianlan. His eyes were indifferent.
Politicians, military strongmen, intelligence elites, patriarchs of wealthy families, and Speical Warfare Magnates.
They all gathered here.
Li Tianlan also saw more people he did not know.
Everyone came here with their own plans and goals.
Wu Zhengmin came here to represent the government of Zhongzhou State.
The principle ‘the Party commanded the gun’ of Zhongzhou State had not changed for hundreds of years. Gun, of course, represented the Army Headquarters.
Therefore, after the Special Warfare System was formally formed, this system, which could be on the same level with the Army Headquarters, was more directly responsible to the government. The presence of Wu Zhengmin here meant that the government was always watching the changes in the Special Warfare System of Zhongzhou State.
Military generals were not very welcome here. These strongmen who were destined to grab talents from the Special Warfare System did not seem to care much about the eyes of their colleagues in the Special Warfare System.
The patriarchs of wealthy families came here naturally for investment.
Every team partic.i.p.ating in the maneuver today might become a behemoth that would influence the situation in Zhongzhou State in the next ten or even decades. A correct investment could often become the key to the prosperity of their families after many years.
Therefore, after the maneuver, these wealthy families would be the most active to contact these teams.
The intelligence elites sat here for a relatively simple purpose.
In addition to finding the talents they needed, the maneuver they watched was intelligence in itself.
The Special Warfare System was a force that must be involved.
Because the maneuver of the two academies was an internal matter of the Special Warfare System, so Gu Xingyun, G.o.d of War in Zhongzhou State, must come even if he did not want to.
When Dongcheng Wudi stepped onto the stand, everyone on the stand stood up to greet him.
After all, Dongcheng Wudi was the highest-ranking magnate among those who had attended this maneuver. He was the standing minister of the Army Headquarters and the real leader of nearly five million troops in Zhongzhou State. Although he ranked third among the nine Zhongzhou State magnates, his power in this position was even higher than that of the prime minister when the international situation was tense. It was really the power st.u.r.dy to the extreme. People must respect him or even be in awe.
Dongcheng Wudi shook hands with everyone, and at the same time, introduced Li Tianlan to everyone.
Everyone could feel the seriousness and solemnity of Dongcheng Wudi.
So everyone looked at Li Tianlan, and their eyes became more and more complicated. They were the forcibly changed kindness, good-will, softness, and lament.
They all knew what would happen in today’s maneuver.
If Li Tianlan were defeated by the cooperation of several Chosen Ones, he would inevitably die in blood in the maneuver area.
But if he won, he would most likely face the sword of Sword Emperor and the killing intent of Kunlun City.
No one was optimistic about Li Tianlan.
He was the Chosen One.
He was the most amazing talent of Zhongzhou State in recent decades.
He had an excellent apt.i.tude but no scary background.
The Li family had turned things around.
But the Li family’s strength was still weak.
Everyone felt that Li Tianlan would die today, especially when they knew that Dongcheng Rushi also gave up partic.i.p.ating in the maneuver.
But now Dongcheng Wudi directly overturned everyone’s inner conjecture.
He appeared on the stand with Li Tianlan and seriously introduced the Li family’s Chosen One to everyone. That kind of intention and the formality could clearly make everyone feel his firmness and determination.
Some time ago, Zou Yuanshan was transferred to Jiangzhe.
Everyone knew that the Dongcheng Clan had completely regarded Li Tianlan as the most important person in their future development. Zou Yuanshan, Dongcheng Qiuchi, and Dongcheng Rushi were all operating around Li Tianlan.
In the development of the next few decades, the Dongcheng Clan had clearly regarded Li Tianlan as their new core.
The w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City wanted to kill Li Tianlan.
The military magnate tried everything to protect Li Tianlan.
Regardless of the outcome, at least Li Tianlan was no longer the Chosen One with talent but no background.
The Dongcheng Clan might be worse than Kunlun City and the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
But Li Tianlan was definitely stronger than w.a.n.g Shengxiao and Gu Hanshan.
It was so complementary.
Dongcheng Wudi finally walked in front of Gu Xingyun.
The G.o.d of War of Zhongzhou State was pale, but at this time, his face was strangely cyan. He seemed to be suppressing his anger.
He saw Dongcheng Wudi meticulously introduce Li Tianlan to everyone.
This was not the so-called useless work.
He completely put pressure on the w.a.n.g family of Beihai and Kunlun City.
The Dongcheng Clan’s previous support for Li Tianlan had been vague, but now they completely stood out and protected Li Tianlan under their wings.
Killing Li Tianlan would inevitably start a feud with the Dongcheng Clan.
It did not matter what Li Tianlan’s surname was.
What was important was that he would become the core of the next generation of the Dongcheng Clan.
It was just like the position of Gu Hanshan in Kunlun City and the status of w.a.n.g Shengxiao in the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
At this time, if he hurt Li Tianlan, it seemed not surprising that the Dongcheng Clan would do something.
Gu Xingyun kept breathing deeply. His injury was far from recovering, so his chest was full of pain.
He gritted his teeth silently and looked at Dongcheng Wudi in front of him.
He was sitting.
Dongcheng Wudi was standing.
So Gu Xingyun must look up.
After the rain in the sky, the sun shone down and fell on Dongcheng Wudi’s body.
His body was covered with medals issued by Zhongzhou State, symbolizing all the honor and courage of a soldier.
The medals shone in the sun, a bit dazzling.
Gu Xingyun narrowed his eyes, held Dongcheng Wudi’s hand, and said calmly, “Marshal, you are really different today.”
“Indeed.”
Dongcheng Wudi let go of his hand and sat casually beside Gu Xingyun.
“For this kind of me, not to mention others, even I am a bit unfamiliar. I almost forget the origins of many medals myself. If I do, I am afraid that others have long forgotten them?”
Gu Xingyun slowly withdrew his palm, gently clenched into a fist, and laughed. “How can that be? Zhongzhou State will definitely remember your achievements. You are a hero, and Zhongzhou State can not and dare not forget you.”
“Hero?”
Dongcheng Wudi shook his head with a smile and handed Gu Xingyun a cigarette. “I don’t like being a hero. It seems that heroes are good-tempered and can tolerate some clowns jumping in front of themselves. I have a bad temper. I thought everyone knew it. But it turns out that some people have forgotten my temper even if they haven’t forgotten my merits.”
Dongcheng Wudi looked at Gu Xingyun softly. “Xingyun, do you think that I have killed too few people?”
His voice was very light.
But his voice pierced through the sun in midsummer. Everyone who heard this sentence shivered subconsciously.
G.o.d of Ma.s.sacre in Zhongzhou State.
How come there were too few people he had killed?
Gu Xingyun’s body stiffened for a moment, then he calmly said, “Marshal, you are joking.”
Dongcheng Wudi laughed and calmly shifted the topic. “How is your injury? You have been attacked these days, and it is very lively in Zhongzhou State. I have approved several doc.u.ments on the search for the murderer in the Army Headquarters. Do you have any clue of the killer now?”
Gu Xingyun’s elegant and pale face remained the same, but a cold light flashed in his eyes.
He stared straight at Li Tianlan in front of him and expressionlessly said, “There is no clue for the moment. But I believe that no matter who the killer is, he will not live long.”
At this moment, Gu Xingyun thought of Dongcheng Wudi’s introduction of Li Tianlan to everyone.
Such a move was putting pressure on Kunlun City and the w.a.n.g family of Beihai.
But wasn’t that a provocation?
The w.a.n.g family of Beihai never retreated in the face of provocation.
Was Kunlun City going to retreat?
On what grounds?
It was not only he who came to the Sky Academy today.
There was also Li Xi hidden in the dark!
Gu Xingyun straightened his body, looked at Dongcheng Wudi’s eyes, and said flatly, “I guess he can’t live today.”
“Really?”
Dongcheng Wudi looked at Gu Xingyun’s eyes for a long time before he casually asked a question.
He did not wait for Gu Xingyun to reply, nodded directly to Li Tianlan, and said gently, “Tianlan, you go first. Focus on the maneuver and leave everything else to me.”
Li Tianlan nodded and turned slightly.
His turning movement seemed to be in place.
But the next second, his entire body already appeared in front of the big screen under the stand.
He was like a ghost.
The clear afterimage dissipated in exclamations.
Gu Xingyun’s face twitched again.
Dongcheng Wudi no longer spoke, just watching the screen under the stand quietly.
By introducing Li Tianlan to everyone, he had already stated his final att.i.tude.
This was also the last attempt.
Until now, Dongcheng Wudi still hoped that things could end in the rules of balance and compromise this time.
This was more in line with the overall picture of Zhongzhou State.
He did what he could.
But he did not know if the w.a.n.g family of Beihai could see the so-called overall situation.
Kunlun City saw the big picture but did not want to care about it.
A grown Li Tianlan made Gu Xingyun scared and lose reason.
As for w.a.n.g Tianzong?
He did not want to see the big picture at all.
The Sword Emperor of Zhongzhou State slowly stepped onto the high platform before the maneuver and sat beside Gu Xingyun in the chatting along the way.
Dongcheng Wudi, Gu Xingyun, and w.a.n.g Tianzong.
The three magnates looked bland but determined.
Dongcheng Wudi suddenly laughed at himself. He seemed relaxed all over, leaning slowly on the chair behind him.