Chapter 716: Future Head of the Ling Family
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Cui Lao was a senior figure in the Ling Family. He had been a loyal servant to the Ling Family for over 30 years and was also the leader of these men of sacrifice. If even he got on his knees to kowtow to Ling Yun, how could all these men of sacrifice not do the same?
Moreover, Ling Yun didn't just save the entire Ling Family, he also saved the lives of the 36 men of sacrifice. They wanted to kowtow to Ling Yun quite some time ago but didn't manage to find the appropriate opportunity to do so. Now that Cui Lao took the lead, there was no need for a second calling, all of them got on their knees almost instantly!
It could be said that throughout the entire Ling Family, only Ling Lie had received treatment like that before. Even the current head of the family, Ling Zhen, hadn't received a ma.s.s kowtow from all the men of sacrifice.
These men of sacrifice were all personally nurtured by Ling Lie and Cui Lao, so they would only sell their lives for Ling Lie. Of course, it wasn't as though Ling Zhen couldn't give orders to these men of sacrifice, but that was subjected to Ling Lie's approval.
However, Ling Yun had healed Cui Lao on several occasions, so why did Cui Lao kneel down for him this time?
Just because of the severity of injury?
The answer was naturally not so simple.
Cui Lao had a deep motive. He wanted to use this opportunity to create a prestigious reputation for Ling Yun! He wanted to push Ling Yun all the way up to the throne of the Ling Family!
Eighteen years ago, the t.i.tle of Head of the Ling Family would have been given to Third Young Master Ling Xiao if it weren't for that tragedy. Ling Zhen wasn't even in the queue to be the head of the family.
If Ling Xiao hadn't wasted his own cultivation, there was no doubt that he would at least be at the pinnacle of Xiantian Realm Level Five or Six.
At that point, Grandpa Ling Lie was already at the pinnacle of Xiantian Realm Level Four. If it wasn't for his injuries, he would be at least Xiantian Realm Level Eight or the peak of Xiantian Realm Level Seven. The Ling Family would definitely be the most dazzling family among all the other families.
The pity was that everything that happened was due to an unexpected tragedy that shook the entire Ling Family. This changed the entire dynamic of the family. Everyone who knew the true story from back then would feel wronged, humiliated, and indignant.
Even Ling Zhen, who was one of the main culprits of the Ling Family's tragedy, always felt immense remorse. Yes, his wishes came true, he became the head of the family. However, the Ling Family's position among all the other families became so bad that Ling Zhen couldn't even lift his head with pride when standing in front of the other six Family Heads. What was the point in becoming the head of such a family?
It was truly embarra.s.sing for them to even step out of their house!
For the past 18 years, every time Cui Lao sat down alone with the increasingly depressed Ling Xiao, he always felt extremely sorry for him!
Every time he finished his training with the men of sacrifice, Cui Lao's heart would ache when he saw how dazed and desolate Ling Xiao looked!
There was nothing sadder than a withered heart. Since his heart was dead, what was the point of keeping an empty sh.e.l.l?
Seeing the exceptionally talented Third Young Master, Ling Xiao, fall to a pathetic state like this, there was an indescribable pain in Cui Lao's heart. He wasn't willing to accept it!
Eighteen years later, the son of Ling Xiao and the Devil Sect's Holy Virgin, Ling Yun, returned to the home of the Ling Family!
Furthermore, he rescued the entire Ling Family on his return by taking on all the enemies by himself!
This was a perfect opportunity, and Cui Lao knew exactly how to make full use of it. Otherwise, why did he go through so much trouble to bring Ling Yun back from Qingshui City?
The Ling Family's eldest grandson was Ling Hao, and his desire to become the next head of the family was obvious to everyone. Naturally, Cui Lao also knew this, and if it was any time before this, he was definitely going to be the next head of the family.
This was because Ling Yong wasn't interested in becoming the head of the family, while Ling Feng was obsessed with his sword art. Ling Li was much like his father, Ling Yue, who was smart but lacked ambition. These three people couldn't be bothered to compete with Ling Hao.
However, everything was different now that Ling Yun came back.
Just based on Ling Yun's performance earlier, he was the obvious choice to take over as the head of the family if they had to choose between Ling Yun and Ling Hao.
Ling Yun was much better than Ling Hao in every single aspect.
Moreover, before Cui Lao's second trip to Qingshui City, Grandpa Ling Lie did tell Cui Lao that as long as Ling Yun was willing to return, he would be the perfect candidate to be the future head of the family.
Otherwise, why would Ling Lie get Cui Lao to pa.s.s Ling Yun the inheritance of the Ling Family?
Grandpa Ling and Cui Lao wanted it, and there was no need for any discussion about Ling Yun's abilities. Right now, Cui Lao knew that he had to kneel down to create that presence for Ling Yun!
Heaven-shaking!
When all the remaining men of sacrifice got on their knees, Ling Zhen's expression was exceedingly awkward. On the other hand, Ling Yue was still observing everything without saying anything. n.o.body was able to tell what was on his mind.
Ling Lie smiled, and even though he didn't say anything, he didn't stop it. He wanted to see how Ling Yun was going to handle this.
To be honest, Ling Yun never considered becoming the head of the Ling Family!
Ling Yun was a carefree man who had handed the ma.s.sive businesses he had in Qingshui City to Tang Meng, Tie Xiaohu, and Abing. Why would he care about being the head of the family?
Ling Yun wasn't interested in settling all the trivialities that came with being the head of the family.
If he had so much time, Ling Yun would rather undergo closed doors cultivation.
Just because Ling Yun didn't want to be the head of the family didn't mean he didn't understand Cui Lao's intention. Given his level of intelligence, he immediately understood what was going on when all the men of sacrifice got on their knees.
Ling Yun bent over to personally help Cui Lao up before saying, "Cui Lao, please stand up quickly! You exchanged your own life for the lives of my grandpa and my uncles. If we are going to be appreciative, I should be the one thanking you. Why are you the one thanking me now?"
After saying that, Ling Yun smiled slightly as he turned and clasped his fists towards the men of sacrifice, kneeling on the ground. He spoke in a sincere tone, "My fellow brothers, every one of you has been incredibly brave and fearless in putting your lives at risk to protect my relatives. I haven't even thanked all of you properly, so how can I deserve your kowtow? Everyone, hurry up and get back on your feet!"
When the 36 men of sacrifice saw that Ling Yun wasn't claiming credit and even thanked them in such a sincere manner, all of them were touched from the bottom of their hearts. Every one of them looked at Ling Yun with utmost admiration and respect.
They were all warriors between Houtian Realm Level Seven and Nine, so they were aware of how strong a Xiantian Realm Level Seven expert would be. Ling Yun managed to kill a Xiantian Realm Level Seven expert in less than three moves, so he was undoubtedly an exceptional expert in this world of experts!
Even with such strength, he didn't exude any sort of arrogance and talked to them as though they were his equals. How could these men of sacrifice not feel touched?
"The Ling Family's men of sacrifice will forever be ready to fight and risk our lives to protect the Ling Family!"
Yet another roar of voices, but n.o.body got up!
When Ling Yun saw how motivated and hot-blooded these 36 men of sacrifice were, he couldn't help but scratch his head. "Grandpa, I think you should hurry up and get these brothers to stand. They are all injured, so let me heal all of your injuries first before attending to them."
Ling Lie nodded but didn't say anything. He simply exchanged a glance with Cui Lao.
"You can all get up now and rest where you are. Later, Young Master wants to heal each one of you personally."
Cui Lao waved his hand at everyone, and the 36 men of sacrifice slowly got up.
"Grandpa, let me treat you now."
At the thought of the fact that the Chen Family could still send people over, Ling Yun dared not take his time. He got Cui Lao to watch over the place before sitting down cross-legged and starting to heal Ling Lie.
When Ling Lie sat cross-legged in front of Ling Yun, Ling Yun used both his hands to press on Ling Lie's back. The Wood Spiritual Energy inside his body surged into Ling Lie's body like large streams of river water.
Ling Yun, who was at Physique Tempering Stage Nine, was no longer the same Physique Tempering Stage Five Ling Yun that healed Cui Lao. He only needed the blink of an eye to heal Ling Lie completely.
However, Ling Yun wasn't satisfied, and he immediately used the Wood Spiritual Energy emitted by the Divine Willow Wood to heal Ling Lie's old injuries.
Why did Ling Yun use the Yin-Yang harmony balance to heal Cui Lao but use the Wood Spiritual Energy to heal Ling Lie?
This was because the current Wood Spiritual Energy in Ling Yun's body was from the Divine Willow Wood, and the Divine Willow Wood was the inheritance of the Ling Family and had absorbed incredible amounts of Black Yellow True Qi from the disciples of the Ling Family. Ling Lie also cultivated the Black Yellow Sutra, so he had the purest of Xiantian Black Yellow True Qi in his body, which came from the same source.
Using this method to heal him was naturally going to save time and achieve even better results.
Furthermore, Ling Yun had been cultivating the Black Yellow Sutra for many days so that he could irrigate the Divine Willow Wood. He had cultivated the Black Yellow Sutra to the highest realm, which meant that the Black Yellow True Qi in his body wouldn't lose out to the Yin-Yang True Qi.
With this in mind, Ling Yun was able to mobilize the Black Yellow True Qi within Ling Lie's energy center. He used the most energetic and vibrant Wood Spiritual Energy to envelop Ling Lie's Black Yellow True Qi. It started wandering around Ling Lie's damaged meridians and healing them.
Water Spiritual Energy and Wood Spiritual Energy were the supreme commodities for healing. Therefore, he only needed one small circulation to get rid of all of Ling Lie's old injuries!
With both his old and new injuries out of the way, Ling Lie suddenly felt that the True Qi in his body flowed extremely smoothly. He felt so comfortable that he wanted to shout into the sky!
He hadn't felt anything like that for over 18 years!
However, Ling Yun was still far from being satisfied. He transmitted a message urging Ling Lie to get ready for a breakthrough before turning to Ling Xiu.
"Big Sister, please bring me a large ocean bowl!"
When Ling Xiu saw how red Ling Lie's face was becoming and noticed how he looked more spirited than before, she was inwardly delighted for her grandpa. At the same time, she was stunned by Ling Yun's shocking medical skills.
He managed to heal two people in such a short period of time… How could Ling Yun's medical skills be this good too?
Her younger brother was an absolutely heaven-defying existence!
When Ling Yun asked her to get a large ocean bowl, she felt slightly puzzled, but she didn't probe further. She left and came back with a large ocean bowl not long after.