The moment Ling Tian finished speaking, he was greeted with sour expressions. This was no easy task! Among those present, a majority were secretly recruited by Ling Tian three years ago and sent out to develop their own strength. In these three years, the largest group one of them had acc.u.mulated was only 10,000 strong! Some of them did not even have a headcount of over 1,000. They might be elites, but there was a limit to how large a group they could sustain. So how could they afford to feed another 10,000 mouths? Furthermore, these people were not even part of their original group, and with such a large group, were a mutiny to happen, it would be a deadly scenario! Even if everything went according to plan, to get enough rations was the next problem!

A tall and st.u.r.dy youth with bushy eyebrows stood up, saying, "Young n.o.ble, this might be a little difficult. If we were to inflate our members with 10,000 extra people suddenly, I really can't find any way to do it. However, if the courtyard can help and supplement a bit… heehee…."

Feng Mo jumped up in shock, and fearing that Ling Tian would agree, immediately stood up and interrupted, "What nonsense! You guys have only gotten 10,000 each, but the courtyard is going to pick up the other 120,000 stragglers to form an army! We're also scrambling to find an answer, so how would we have the capability to help you guys?" As he spoke, he exchanged glances with w.a.n.g Han. Both of them had a head covered with cold sweat!

Even with the original amount of 20,000, the two of them were already hard pressed. Right now, the 20,000 had actually increased to 120,000 and this caused their heads to swim!

The youth unhappily complained, "What does 120,000 mean to you guys? With young n.o.ble by your side, let's not talk about 120,000 soldiers, even if it were 1.2 million, or even 12 million, there would not be a problem! But who is there to support us?"

Ling Tian's face sunk as he shouted, "Stop arguing!" The crowd gave each other a look and sat back down in embarra.s.sment.

Ling Tian indifferently remarked, "Who's supporting who? You guys only have yourself to support! If you need someone to solve every single problem for you, then you guys will never grow! Think it's tough to support 10,000 troops on your own? Useless things! Right now, I'm telling you guys, whatever you guys do, I want this matter settled properly! Whether you do it through robbing or setting up a business, one year later, I want to see a company that is up to my mark and not a ragtag bunch of sh*theads! If you guys can't achieve that, then you can accompany them and starve to death!"

He stood up as he serenely continued, "This is also your final test! If you are unable to carry out such a task, then what sense does it make to talk about accomplis.h.i.+ng major events? With this event, we really don't have that much time anymore. This ambush has given my Ling Family a terrible blow, but with danger always comes opportunity. Through this war, we've received a large number of soldiers. But there will be more troubles ahead! With Chen'er holding the fort back there, the matter at Sky Bearing should be settled. However, it will be impossible for everything to return back to normal in a short amount of time! We need to have a change in our point of view and look at the world, having Sky Bearing just as a base of operations! As such, the resources from Sky Bearing now and in the future will not be given to you guys. You have to find a way out on your own! Understand?!"

All of them uniformly stood up and expressed their a.s.sent. Seeing the worry lines still etched on their faces, Ling Tian laughed, "Don't you guys know that in this world, other than a business, there's still another way of getting rich quick? It's called being a Robin Hood: Robbing the rich and giving to the poor. So long as you guys can protect yourself and your men, turning them into elite soldiers to conquer the world in the future, you can do anything you want! The path is yours to forge! And remember, if you fall, never complain!"

Finis.h.i.+ng this sentence, Ling Tian took out a jade bottle from his bosom and gave everyone present a Great Cyclic Pellet. He instructed them to ingest it after they return and go into closed-door cultivation. However, they had to be wary of any potential dangers while cultivating. After that, he no longer spoke and waved his hands, dismissing them all.

These people were all under the direct command of Ling Tian, and every one of them was a leader personally groomed by him. They were of the same batch as Ling Chi, Ling Nineteen's group! While they might have their own names now, but their real names, or more accurately, the name that showed their young n.o.ble's recognition of them, was the number Ling Tian had given them that year! It was an incomparable honor for anyone of them sitting there! That year, other than Ling Yun, Lei, Dian, Chi, and Ling Feng, the rest of the fifty were all spread out over the continent like a web by Ling Tian, carrying out the order to live undercover! Right now, there were only eight of the brothers present!

If all fifty of them were to be gathered in the same spot, what sort of insane strength would they possess?

Standing on the higher ground and watching the eight separate groups kick up dust as they disappeared from the gra.s.s plains, Ling Tian had only a bitter smile and was lost in his thoughts. Yesterday night he had already received a letter from Ling Chen. Knowing that the matters in Sky Bearing had been settled, a good part of the weight in his heart had also lifted. Now, he had begun to reconsider his situation.

With the finances the Ling Family would obtain after taking over Sky Bearing Empire, it would be a piece of cake for Ling Tian to take care of all these people. But the problem was, he did not wish to do so!

This world was too big, too complicated! Ling Tian could already sense the alarm that would spread across the continent the moment war started! If it was merely comparing intellect as well as perseverance, Ling Tian would gladly welcome each and every challenge, for he was not alone! With Ling Chen and Mister Qin, as well as the military officers on Ling Zhan's side, he had full access to their expertise! He had not even included Meng LiGe, who was staying at his house due to a lack of residence for himself. While he did not expressly state that he would aid Ling Tian, he had also never once rejected him every time Ling Tian approached him to ask for a.s.sistance!

Even when it came to comparing martial strength, Ling Tian too never feared anyone! This even included the Jade of Heavenly Star and Water of Heavenly Wind! Ling Tian estimated that with his and his subordinate's skills, they could possibly already stand against an aristocratic family! If they were to stick to a.s.sa.s.sinations, even hegemons like the Yu Family would suffer greatly before them! Hence, Ling Tian had no fear!

Rather, what Ling Tian lacked now was actually a general who could survive on their own! A true general that only answered to him! The moment war breaks out, every area on the continent would be filled with battles, with the various empires vying for supremacy! As the supreme leader, Ling Tian could not possibly be there on every single battlefront, guiding and leading his troops! Even if he had the Monkey King's skills, it would still not be enough! As for pa.s.sing the baton over to Ling Xiao to go to war, or allowing the various generals in Sky Bearing to go in his stead, let's not talk about whether they even have the ability. Even if they did, Ling Tian would still never allow it to happen!

Thus, he had to train up a batch of capable brothers who not only possessed a set of exceptional martial skills but could also manage tens of thousands of soldiers and have unswerving determination, a great general who could stand on his own! Becoming a general was easy, but to be able to judge the hour and take stock of the situation, capitalizing on advantages and falling back when unfavorable, one had to have real skill!

Ling Tian was already hard-pressed for time to nurture them, so right now, even if he had to push them beyond their capabilities, he had to squeeze this potential out of them!

Ling Tian had always lived by the idea that in the world there was no such thing as a genius! All geniuses, as well as successful people, were merely humans who had their potential squeezed out of them! A person who grew up with a silver spoon and never faced hards.h.i.+p would never amount to anything great!

Unless you had traveled through time and s.p.a.ce to reincarnate, then maybe you would still have that sense of danger...

Once a person is forced to a certain extent, in order to avoid being buried under the sands of time, he will suddenly burst forth with tremendous potential! Only this way could one succeed! Of course, if the person is forced to his limits but cannot display his potential, then that can only be his fate. Those that are fated to survive will naturally live, and those who cannot… that's life! There will definitely be people who are unlucky enough to be unable to display their potential!

Heroes are always born in troubled times. Without an insane ambition and resoluteness to couple with your chivalry, then you can just go ahead and die. Or to put it bluntly, you'll die sooner or later! This point was made perfectly clear to Ling Tian! Having a chivalrous att.i.tude was something Ling Tian had long scoffed at even in his previous life! In his point of view, that was merely being soft-hearted! As such, he had to drill this concept into all the brothers under his direct command!

The best way to save someone was just to let him save himself! Allow the person to face their own difficulties, and emerge from it a stronger and better person!

While Ling Tian could not bear to force his brothers to such an extent, he was already forced into this corner! Furthermore, Ling Tian believed in his judgment. That year, out of the tens of thousands, waves after wave of people were eliminated to the point that there were only 50 left! If this 50 were to be unable to live up to his expectations, then it would only mean that he had poor foresight!

Feng Mo's subordinates turned out to be surprisingly efficient, completing all their tasks before the sun had fully risen. The surrendered soldiers were all already being led into some abandoned barracks in Nine Swallow City, and all the carca.s.ses of the warhorses were buried. Looking back at the battlefield, one would only see patches of dark red soil left, as well as small pockets of piled up soil.

The majority of the group had already entered the pa.s.s, with only Ling Tian remaining where he stood. Ling Tian folded his arms behind his back as he stared at the plains, as though waiting for something. Looking at the quiet plains in front, he felt the urge to sigh deeply.