Very quickly, Ling Chen sent out the messenger falcons and took the chance to sit beside Ling Tian blissfully. With her jade like hands ma.s.saging Ling Tian’s shoulders, her delicate face was tinted with a flush, not unlike what one would get after a workout. She had long heard Ling Tian say that those people were the top ranked experts in this present age, and to actually be on par with them tonight, furthermore when there were two against one, Ling Chen could not help but feel excited.

Looking at Ling Chen’s face which was full of expectation for a praise by Ling Tian, the latter could not help but want to laugh. Yet he knew that right now was definitely not the time to do so. There was still a huge flaw for Ling Chen when it came to adapting to the situation. Even though there was no indication of losing in today’s battle, Ling Tian ,who was clear about Ling Chen's abilities, was clear that Ling Chen was already on the losing end. This was not a problem with her strength, nor her moves. In fact, the sword moves that Ling Tian had pa.s.sed to her were complex beyond words, surpa.s.sing those black robed men by at least one grade.

Ling Chen’s underperformance today was fully because of her inexperience. If Ling Tian were to praise her right now, it would only negatively impact her future progress.

Looking at Ling Tian’s solemn face staring back at her, the elation that filled Ling Chen slowly ebbed away. She looked at Ling Tian nervously, unsure of what crime she had committed.

"Are you feeling very proud of yourself now? A sixteen to seventeen year old la.s.s, actually holding her own again those at the peak of this world and actually not falling behind? Quite self-satisfied, aren’t you?" Looking at Ling Chen, Ling Tian’s face was a little icy.

"Uuu... " Ling Chen only dared to take a peep at Ling Tian’s expression, and immediately hung her head down. Her long eyelashes fluttered as the rims of her eyes began to turn red.

"By rus.h.i.+ng in like this, did you think that your timing was perfect? If you had waited for a moment before striking out, you would be placed in the most advantageous position possible. But you were greedy and advanced prematurely. If the men in black could deal with you, then you would have been defeated, and most likely injured."

"As for the troublesome move that the black robed men perform, I’ve previously taught you how to overcome their moves, but what did you do? If not for the fact that your sword arts were far more superior than them, you would probably have trouble even escaping with your whole body intact. Once the battle drags on, they will get used to your style, which means that the danger will rise another level!" Ling Tian lectured in a low tone. Seeing how Ling Chen was close to bursting out in tears, he began to feel as though his words were a little too harsh. However, he had no choice, if he did not burn this lesson into her mind, then if they were to meet with someone stronger in the future, she would definitely get into big trouble.

The tears shed today would be better than the blood shed tomorrow!

Ling Chen stood rooted with her head bowed down, not daring to talk.

Seeing that, Ling Tian’s voice also became gentle as he said, "Don’t harp on it, these problems appeared because your experience in life or death scenarios is too little. Thus, these problems would occur. After you become more experienced, then the problems will also gradually disappear."

Ling Chen wiped her eyes, sniffling as she replied, "Yes, Young n.o.ble. Chen’er knows her mistake."

Ling Tian took a deep breath. He had already achieved his objective. Based on her intellect, Ling Chen would be able to figure out his meaning easily. He took her into his arms as he whispered gently, "You have to remember that when true experts fight, they will not wait for their opponents to utilise their moves before they go and attempt to counter them. Their bodies are so conditioned that they will naturally convert to the counter moves. This sort of feeling, I call it muscle memory! This can also be called an instinct of someone in the Martial Way. For most people, the speed of processing thoughts usually cannot be kept up with the limbs. As such, the limbs might surpa.s.s the mind totally. If you wait until you fully understand your opponent's moves before carrying out your counterattack, your life would have already ended up in the control of the enemy! After mastering muscle memory, even if you cannot defeat the opponent, you still can fight on equal grounds, without danger to your life!"

Ling Chen still had traces of tears in her eyes, but had already entered into a contemplative state, silently digesting the words which Ling Tian just spoke. Her dainty body continued to lie in Ling Tian’s embrace, her head resting on his chest, and her hands wrapped around his waist... 

Ling Tian tenderly stroked her black, glossy hair, the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a gentle smile. In the room, what was full of thunder and gloom had suddenly morphed into a place full of warmth and love. Both parties did not make any sound, and though it was deep in the night, both did not have any intentions to sleep. The flame of the oil lantern on the table danced cheerfully, and emitted a spark with a ‘pa’ sound, somehow increasing the joy in the room by a few notches…..

For the next two days, Ling Tian brought a cross dressed Ling Chen out the moment the day broke. For those in the residence, they all thought that Ling Tian was headed to the Imperial Palace. In actual fact, Ling Tian spent those two days giving pointers to Ling Chen, Feng, Yun, Lei, Dian and Chi to increase their overall strength. While the joyous atmosphere in the Imperial Palace increased to an all-time high, so did the killing atmosphere in the Ling Outer Courtyard!

After the battle Ling Chen had that night, the other five received huge setbacks when they heard about it! They were currently not even a match for Ling Chen, and to think that the duo could even hold a slight upper hand when against Ling Chen! Hearing such news, all five of them could not help but have reddened eyes. All of them could be seen practicing their sword moves from dawn to dusk, to the point where they could not even move a finger before they thought of resting.

Ling Tian was not stingy too, and pa.s.sed on all his battle experiences as well as core techniques. During training, even though those fellers were screaming to the heavens, they actually practiced even harder. Seeing this situation, Ling Tian also felt gratified.

As for the little princess of the Yu Family and Wei XuanXuan, seeing as Ling Tian never appeared in their courtyard ever since the first day, they decided to go to the outer palace hall to take a look. Since Yu BingYan was hiding her appearance, she hardly stood out. However, Wei XuanXuan was in trouble. The moment the crowd of silkpants saw such a country-toppling beauty appear, they all crowded around her, appearing to be particularly attentive. This was especially so for the three Yang brothers, as well as NanGong Le and w.a.n.g Bo. All of them stared at her as though they wanted to swallow her in a gulp! All of them gave the n.o.ble and virtuous Wei XuanXuan a huge headache.

For the whole of the second day, Ling Tian actually did not appear at all, causing the two ladies to feel disappointed. Actually, Wei XuanXuan was not willing to attend this troublesome banquet on the third day. But, Yu BingYan was dead set on taking Ling Tian as her master in drawing, and thus pulled her back to the outer palace hall.

The moment the babes appeared again, the silkpants formed a s.h.i.+eld around them, leaping and crowding around the two of them with zest, as though they were precious jewels. Having not spotted Ling Tian, the two of them were disappointed, ignoring the silkpants pointedly before making an excuse before fleeing the scene.

On the road back to the Wei Residence, the girls were a little sulky. This was especially so for Yu BingYan, who was extremely suspicious of Ling Tian in her heart — for someone as widely acclaimed to be a silkpants as him, isn't he embarra.s.sing the t.i.tle of silkpants by missing such an event? However, thinking from another angle, she felt relieved; if he did not even bother to show face by attending the banquet hosted personally by the Emperor, this showed how rampant he actually was!

Upon coming to this conclusion, Yu BingYan could feel her depressed heart lightening up, and could not help but burst out into laughter, making ‘Pu pu~’ sounds.

The Wei XuanXuan who had to endure all sorts of attention from the silkpants previous was still full of unhappiness in her heart. She could not help but fume as she pouted. However, seeing how Yu BingYan suddenly burst out into laughter, she could not understand and asked, "Sister, what’s the matter?"

Yu BingYan laughed as she replied, "I was thinking, this fellow is really interesting. He is obviously learned and talented beyond extreme, to the point that it would be difficult for him to maintain a low key. However, he chose to do the opposite and raise his infamy to the heavens; but no one suspects him, only thinking of him as an arrogant silkpants. Even for the banquet hosted by the Emperor, he actually dared to not turn up for two days in a row. Even so, he is only merely cursed at. I’m now really curious, how did he fool the rest these past few years?"

Hearing as such, Wei XuanXuan also laughed, thinking of how she bitterly hated this name in the past, she could not help but giggle, "Weirdo!"

"Haha, Sister XuanXuan, why not we pay this weirdo a visit tomorrow?" Yu BingYan’s eyes were already gleaming, as her smile grew even wider.